The Amusing Adventures of a Directionally Challenged Dad and Daughter-Chapter 155

After playing for a while, they called their guards to carry the two brothers, who had drunk themselves into a stupor, back to their rooms.

The women followed the servants to their prepared quarters to rest.

The Jiang Brothers were the well-behaved type when drunk—they didn’t cause any trouble and simply collapsed into bed as soon as they returned to their rooms.

The next morning, their heads still felt heavy, and they had completely forgotten the events of the previous night, unaware that they had somehow become Old Gu Six’s grandsons.

By the time they woke up, Old Gu Six and Chang'an had already left the inn, leaving only a farewell message for the guards to relay.

Chang'an didn’t find much else worth seeing, so she decided to return home with Old Gu Six.

As they left, they spotted a fortune teller on the street—likely another charlatan Second Jiang had brought in from elsewhere.

He was a middle-aged man with refined features, dressed in a white Daoist robe, his hair half-tied with a wooden hairpin. At first glance, he did exude an air of otherworldly wisdom.

Most of the customers at his stall were women seeking answers about love and relationships.

Such matters were easy to exploit, and this fortune teller had mastered the art of empty rhetoric to perfection.

The town was even livelier than during its opening day, bustling with visitors drawn by novelty, including merchants scouting for business opportunities.

The father and daughter turned from the temple path into the mountains, the distant clamor of the town still audible.

For now, the project was undoubtedly a success, though two days were too short to judge—they’d need to wait for the foot traffic to stabilize before accurately predicting its long-term prospects.

Chang'an wasn’t worried. Second Jiang was a shrewd businessman; he wouldn’t let his venture fail.

As they walked through the mountains, they encountered a young monk gathering firewood. A branch slipped from his grasp and landed at Old Gu Six’s feet.

Pausing briefly, Old Gu Six picked it up and placed it on a slope so the monk could retrieve it.

The young monk clasped his hands together. "Amitabha. Many thanks, benefactor."

Old Gu Six smiled and nodded in silence before continuing on with Chang'an.

The town’s biggest attraction was the temple, where a revered monk resided. As long as the monk stayed, Second Jiang could milk this selling point for years.

A few days after returning home, the father and daughter discovered their small fishing boat, which had been safely docked by the shore, was missing.

"Dad, someone actually stole a boat?" Chang'an wondered. What would they even do with it? Go fishing? If they ran into trouble, they couldn’t possibly hold her and her father responsible.

"Could be mountain folk," Old Gu Six mused. "Now that the town’s officially open, maybe someone wanted to fish and sell their catch there."

The silver wolf trotted over, letting out a couple of "awoo"s as if tattling.

Old Gu Six asked, "Did you see who took the boat?"

The wolf bounced in place twice before howling toward the direction beyond the mountains.

"Not mountain folk, then? Someone from outside?"

Father and daughter frowned. Could it be one of those young noblemen here for leisure?

If so, and if something happened, the area would be thrown into chaos. They considered whether they should move elsewhere.

With the coast now a bustling marketplace, there was no guarantee thrill-seeking young men wouldn’t wander in. Spotting a boat and taking it out to sea wouldn’t be unusual for them.

Fearless and reckless, armed with nothing but audacity—such people were all too willing to gamble with their lives.

The boat was already out of sight, drifting who-knows-where.

They had no idea when it had been stolen, but judging by the weather, rain might come by evening.

The sea was dangerous in a storm. The thieves would have to face the consequences.

The father and daughter didn’t intervene. Some lessons had to be learned the hard way.

Passing by the cornfield, Chang'an picked four ears to steam as a snack for Old Gu Six.

Just then, the old man who had vanished for nearly two years after being fleeced by them suddenly reappeared.

"Old man, here to deliver some gear?"

[Stop thinking about fleecing me. Take your dad to earn some merit.]

"No." freewebnøvel.com

[Your dad’s running dangerously low on virtue. You don’t want him failing his tribulation because of a lack of merit, do you?]

"...Fine. How do we earn this merit?"

[A group of treasure hunters dug up a thousand-year-old tomb in the deep mountains of Liangzhou County. A zombie crawled out. Eliminate it, and you’ll get 3,000 merit points.]

"You want my dad to die? He’s not a Daoist priest. This isn’t his job. Get the priests to handle it."

[This is a thousand-year-old zombie. Mortal priests can’t handle it.]

"My dad’s a mortal too. If supernatural threats appear in an ordinary world, isn’t that the Heavenly Dao’s responsibility? Let it deal with it."

[Trust your dad. No one’s more capable than him. The Heavenly Dao can’t intervene right now.]

"Fine, but you’ll have to raise the reward."

[...So you’re not worried about your dad, just unhappy with the payout?]

"Obviously. With me around, nothing will go wrong. But only 3,000 merit points for a thousand-year-old zombie? I suspect you’re skimming off the top."

Old Man: Damn, she’s onto me. This isn’t skimming—it’s deducting your dad’s debts.

[Fine, 5,000?]

[...]

[​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‍8,000?]

[...]

[10,000. That’s the highest.]

Any more, and he’d be paying out of his own pocket.

"Old man, you’re ruthless. Pocketing 7,000 for yourself? Even capitalists aren’t this exploitative."

The old man felt like no amount of explaining would help. This was repayment, you ungrateful brat!

"Old man, got any talismans or something?"

[You won’t need those. Just let your dad handle it.]

"I didn’t mean for the zombie. Give me something fun."

Old Man: Ah, she’s fleecing me again.

[Fine. Ten misfortune talismans, ten flatulence talismans, five stinky-foot talismans. That’s all I’ve got.]

"Fine. Next time you ask us for a favor, bring more gifts. You can’t show up empty-handed when requesting help."

Old Man: She’s finding new ways to fleece me!

Before leaving, he also spoke to Old Gu Six. Unsurprisingly, he got fleeced again.

The merit reward jumped from 10,000 to 15,000. The old man hadn’t skimmed anything—instead, he ended up losing 5,000 of his own. He trudged away, utterly defeated.

The more he thought about it, the more unfair it seemed. Why was he footing the bill for this world’s problems? He’d have to get the Heavenly Dao to reimburse him.

So he went and squeezed 10,000 merit points out of the Heavenly Dao, finally leaving in better spirits.

Chang'an hadn’t expected they’d have to return to Liangzhou County. By the time they made the long journey, the thousand-year-old zombie might already have declared itself king.

"Old man, old man! We need transportation. How else are we supposed to get there? By the time we arrive, the zombie’s kids will be all grown up."

[...You don’t need to rely on me for everything. Your dad can handle it.]

"Are you joking? The man got lost for three years just buying scallions. How exactly is he supposed to ‘handle it’?"

[...]

He’d genuinely forgotten about that. If the oaf hadn’t gotten lost back then, he wouldn’t have lost the egg in the first place.

[Fine. Wait.]

Old Gu Six began packing for the trip. Since he had a storage space, Chang'an didn’t need to help.

He even harvested all the crops outside and stored them—space wasn’t an issue.

If not for the land inside his storage, he might’ve scraped off the topsoil too.

The ox and the mule had always been kept in the space, so now the four wolves were brought in—they could be useful as guides.

Chang'an looked at the emptied-out valley and the bare, stripped-down house.

Should she praise him for being so thrifty?