Chapter 132: Chapter 112: Kill with a Borrowed Knife, Profit from Chaos
There was only one ending for him—death.
The only question was whether he would die alone, or if three branches of his family would be executed.
And to make matters worse, he was being transferred to the unfamiliar Guang’an Prefecture. Who could possibly help him there?
He had whipped Jade Peak County into shape, only to have it handed to soone else on a silver platter! It was a complete gift for the Luo Family of Guang’an Prefecture.
The mont they arrived, they could smoothly take over everything without having to worry about interference from other factions. Governing the county would be a piece of cake.
anwhile, he would be completely isolated, forced to fight his battles alone.
In Jade Peak County, he had a legitimate and irrefutable reason to use the power of the Reincarnation Bureau to crush all local forces. But in Guang’an Prefecture, he wouldn’t be able to do the sa—it was simply impossible!
If he dared to do so, it would an breaking the rules. Not only would he die a much uglier death, but the Chang Family would also be ostracized and suppressed!
Looking at the current situation, it seed the Zheng Family had also given up on him.
"Dammit!" Chang Younian’s face was contorted with rage.
’I never imagined the situation would turn out like this!’
’Just a few days ago, I was so pleased with myself for turning my plan around, but I never thought disaster would strike today!’
"What a brilliant move!" the Black-robed Steward exclaid, ignoring Chang Younian’s foul expression. He continued:
"If you’re going to die anyway, why not swap all the officials who are causing problems and send them to govern new territories? It’s a move designed to disrupt every faction’s plans. With this decree, the Noble Families now have no choice but to help officials like you, my lord, govern well, or else they’ll face the execution of three branches of their own families. My lord, you still have a chance! The Zheng Family won’t abandon you, and the Chang Family certainly won’t either!"
"The Zheng Family?" Chang Younian sneered. "If they could suppress the Zhu Family in the Imperial Court, they wouldn’t have let such an advantageous situation slip away, only for the Luo Family to profit!"
"My lord!"
The Master smiled. "The Zheng Family knows the respective values of a County Town and a Commandery City. They have no influence in Guang’an, and they’ve likely been wanting to get a foothold there. Now they have a reason. Compared to Jade Peak County, a Commandery City carries much more weight! Not protecting you in Jade Peak County might be because they want you to go to Guang’an. If you, my lord, can help the Zheng Family take Guang’an, the Zheng Family will let ’Chang Younian’ die a respectable death in the public eye."
That last sentence made Chang Younian pause. He understood its aning.
’With the Zheng Family’s power, as long as I do what they want, arranging for my publicly known ’death’ would be no problem at all.’
"So, my lord, don’t lose heart. As long as you demonstrate your Ability and value, your own family and the Zheng Family will spare no effort to help you."
"What should I do?" Chang Younian suddenly asked.
The Black-robed Steward flicked his right wrist. With a SNAP, his folding fan opened, and he smiled.
"Borrow another’s blade to kill your enemy, and profit from the ensuing chaos! The more chaotic, the better! It will be easier for you to make your move when everything is in turmoil.
This must also be the Sovereign’s purpose in reassigning officials in the various counties! As long as the common people are not in turmoil, Da Liang will not be in turmoil. Right now, the chaos is confined to the Land of Four Mansions, but the Sovereign holds military power and has two major organizations for oversight. The more chaotic the families beco, the more it benefits the Sovereign!
My lord, it’s just like the situation in Jade Peak County. Compared to stable family powers, the Sovereign would rather see the various family situations descend into chaos. This humble servant speculates that this might be why the Sovereign ignores the competition between the various Noble Families and Gate Valves in the Land of Four Mansions."
"Hahaha~" Chang Younian laughed heartily. "Excellent!"
With that, a great weight was lifted from Chang Younian’s heart. "I’ll send a letter back at once! And as for the Luo Family... they think they can just walk in and reap the rewards? We’ll see about that!"
A cold smile touched the corners of Chang Younian’s mouth.
「Tianduan Mountain, Inner Mountain Pass.」
Cheng Zongyang adjusted the basket on his back, waved to the adults, and headed toward the Inner Mountain.
Watching his son enter the mountain again, a smile appeared on Cheng Guanghai’s lips as he spoke to his two brothers-in-law:
"My strength is about double what it used to be. According to Yang’Er, after the dicinal bath and Body Forging tonight, I might reach Entry Grade!"
His older brother-in-law, Zhou Hansong, smiled and said, "We’re about the sa as those two kids, Zhenyuan and Zhendong. With four more Entry Grade Martial Artists, we should be pretty secure here at the Inner Mountain Pass."
"You guys are fast," Zhou Hanchang said from the side, a little exasperated. He still needed a few more days to reach Entry Grade. Being slower than his son was a bit embarrassing for an old man like him.
"It’s only a few days’ difference," Cheng Guanghai said with a smile. "Second Brother, we’re all doing this to help the kids. The faster they progress, the happier we should be."
Zhou Hanchang waved his hand and chuckled. "I’m just grumbling. Of course I know what’s important; I’m not really that bothered.
Like Yang’Er said, different aptitudes an different rates of progress.
The fact that they’re faster than
just ans their aptitude is excellent, which of course makes
happy. If they were worse than , we’d really be in trouble."
"Hahaha." The n all shared a laugh and went about their business.
「Wilderness World.」
From a certain spot, Cheng Zongyang entered the Wilderness World.
He appeared in the marketplace cabin, and a notification imdiately sounded in his mind:
[Soul Slave killed a gray wolf. Points
1]
[Soul Slave killed a gray wolf. Points
1]
[Soul Slave killed a gray wolf. Points
1]
The three consecutive notifications stunned Cheng Zongyang for a mont, and he quickly walked out of the cabin.
He saw Ma San cleaning the Beast Trap.
’The Beast Trap must have worked.’
’It’s been set for a few days. When I ca yesterday, it was still untouched. Clearly, it was only triggered after I left yesterday afternoon, trapping the gray wolves.’
’But what surprises
is that I can actually earn Points when my Soul Slave kills prey!’
His movents naturally caught Ma San’s attention. Ma San was about to co over and bow, but Cheng Zongyang stopped him with a raised hand.
Cheng Zongyang turned and went back inside, his eyes burning with intensity.
’Soul Crystal Stones!’
’I have to get more of these!’
’For the past few days, to save up the Points needed to purchase a few more Soul Crystal Stones, I haven’t bought a single thing from the item shop. I’ve spent these five days just catching fish and hoarding Points.’
He imdiately opened the purchase request tab. As expected, the second purchase request he made three days ago had failed again.
’The transaction failed last ti even when I offered six hundred Points. This ti, I’ll offer seven hundred!’
He then summoned his interface to take a look.
——
Na: Cheng Zongyang
Age: 15
Realm: Eighth Grade (Muscle Strengthening)
Points: 2560
Skill: Archery (11474/20000, Specialized Level)
Martial Arts:
Body Refining Skill (148/3000, Entering the Hall and Chamber)
Basic Saber Technique (286/3000, Entering the Hall and Chamber)
Wind-Stepping Step (86/100, Not yet Beginner)
——
Looking at his Points, Cheng Zongyang quickly did the math in his head.
He imdiately calculated that purchasing three for seven hundred Points each would cost 2100
420
10 = 2530 Points.
His current Points were enough to purchase three. Without a second thought, he tried to make the purchase for the third ti. After completing this task, he looked at today’s acquisition list.
——
Tain: 1 Point/fish (300 fish)
Makou Fish: 1 Point/fish (200 fish)
——
’Two types again, and one of them is new. The potential points are good, too.’ Cheng Zongyang was very satisfied. He imdiately moved the few remaining fish from the fish tank to the counter.
A mont later, he received a notification: [Points
12].
Next, Cheng Zongyang called Ma San to go catch fish with him.
On the way to the stream, Cheng Zongyang asked about the situation.
"What happened with those three wolves?"
Ma San said, "My lord, it happened this morning, just as the sun was rising..."
Ma San briefly recounted the incident.
Cheng Zongyang understood.
One gray wolf had been caught in the Beast Trap and couldn’t escape. Its cries attracted two other wolves, and also alerted Ma San.
Ma San, who also possessed Specialized Level Archery, used his Bow and Arrow to kill the two wolves that were trying to rescue their companion. He then finished off the one caught in the Beast Trap.
"Once all the farming at the outpost is set up, go hunting when you have ti. Don’t kill what you can capture and raise. Keep what’s edible, and crush what’s not and throw it in the pit."
"Yes, my lord," Ma San replied.
They reached the stream. Working together, it took Cheng Zongyang and Ma San two hours to catch enough fish to fulfill the acquisition orders.
[Points
488!]
At the sa ti, the fish that didn’t et the weight requirent were mashed up, thrown into an earthen pit, and then covered with a mixture of soil to create rotted-flesh soil for planting Wilderness Rice in the future.
For this purpose, he also made a special trip to bring back the carcass of the Black-Horned Python, much of which had been eaten by so unknown creature. He also took the opportunity to retrieve the two teeth he had forgotten.
’This also proves that not much neurotoxin remained in the corpse. Otherwise, I would have at least seen the dead body of a scavenger nearby.’
Although it was already rotting and giving off a bit of a sll, the pit was downwind, so he wasn’t worried about the odor. Besides, these tasks were all handed over to Ma San.
Just as Cheng Zongyang was preparing to continue exploring the area, a notification suddenly appeared in his mind.
[Your purchase request has been completed. Please see for yourself.]
Reviews
All reviews (0)