Chapter 1348

"Pingjiang, Pinghe, take note of my deployment as follows—"

"The Danfang, Qintian Jian, and Wangyuelou are responsible for alchemy, seizing, and guarding the Treasure Pavilion."

"These three are the most important parts of the Great Shun, each located at one of the three opposing corners of the imperial city, forming a triangular stance, with not-too-distant routes; during a brief walk, Liang Qu had already arranged the affairs of the Southern Touring Palace via mental link."

"Have the hedgehog of Pingyang Prefecture select the palace site and prepare publicity for this year's River God Festival."

"Without a doubt, the touring palace must be built on Mount Pingyang!"

"First, Mount Pingyang enjoys a superior location, high elevation, and overlooks the fief of Yixing; second, it adds beauty and highlights the scene—later, when the Holy Emperor departs, it will become a distinctive scenic spot, even serving as this year's publicity launch point."

"During this period, cost planning and account management must be handled well for easy reporting to the Ministry of Revenue; Ah Fei and Quan Tou's salaries shall be paid at the highest standard."

"The only problem is that Mount Pingyang itself is not very large, necessitating expansion—leveling ground to create hills and adding greenery; this task is perfectly suited for Quan Tou and the 'Cannot Move' specialist."

"Afterward, have Long Binglin inform Lord Qinghe to delay subsidence, and let the entire He Li clan participate in the design, while the Hai Lang clan serves as laborers to fill manpower shortages."

"Building on land differs from water; only shape-shifting yao beasts can help—relying solely on the round-headed Jiang Tun clan is insufficient, but adding the Hai Lang clan makes it more than adequate."

"Finally, detailed work including daily activity arrangements and security—directly let Xu Zishuai issue some credits, allowing disciples of Huaiyin Martial Hall to participate in social practice."

"Liang Qu is now increasingly fond of issuing credits."

"This thing is like tokens—he mints his own money and spends it himself."

"Students feel happy; work is satisfactorily completed, students are simple and honest—this method is far more efficient than spending money to hire lazy old oil sticks; parents feel students have gained growth and training; in between, there is even no room for corruption, everyone is satisfied, and it can be called a great invention."

"Planning strategies within the tent, winning victories thousands of miles away."

"Time is urgent, tasks are heavy."

"While Liang Qu remains in the capital, the water beasts and apprentices of Pingyang Prefecture have already become busy."

"Three months, one touring palace, one miracle—ordinary people could absolutely not complete it, materials would not even be sufficient, but the world has martial masters and martial saints, and abnormal people are just as numerous."

"Trouble is trouble, but it is not without opportunity—the Holy Emperor comes to attend the River God Festival; if handled well, it is absolutely not a bad thing, but even a great blessing."

"The more people attend the River God Festival, the more newcomers, the stronger people's strength, the more favor I gain. When the Holy Emperor travels, how could he not be accompanied by two martial saints? Then accompany dozens of Zhen Xiang as well? Let a thousand Tianwei guards come in a dark mass?

"And attract even more commoners? Jie jie jie, one hundred favors equal one point of control; the Great Hunt will directly yield ten points—I will seize the old Yin Whale on the left and strike the Li Taizu on the right—"

"Halt! Who goes there? This is a vital alchemy site—idlers, keep out!"

"Long spears crossed, guards blocking entry and exit."

"Liang Qu raised his hand, dropping his waist tablet."

"I pay my respects to the Huai Wang."

"The guards bowed, one stepped forward to report, and immediately a Fangzhu came to greet him."

"For ease of management, the Danfang will have a Fangzhu who does not practice alchemy, similar to an administrative post in a large company, specifically attending to the needs and fundraising of each alchemy room, equivalent to a chief steward, naturally also responsible for receiving visiting dignitaries and nobles."

"Today's Danfang Fangzhu bears the surname Wang; Wang Fangzhu has sparse hair, slightly plump, rides a small short horse, leads another small short horse, and respectfully receives Liang Qu."

"He stepped inside."

"The road is wide, buildings stand solemnly, occasionally one can smell faint traces of medicinal herb fragrance."

"Medicine boys pushed past locked small boxes; medicinal herbs from storage to warehousing are fully sealed throughout, with single-use keys, preventing anyone from stealing them."

"Moreover, there are those pushing fire basins, inside which flames burn in various colors, quite extraordinary."

"The Danfang is not a lofty tower like Wangyuelou, but a flat marketplace area, horizontal and vertical, square and upright."

"The deeper one goes into the Danfang, the larger the rooms, the higher the status; in each compartment, perhaps lies a renowned alchemy master busy with a national treasure."

"Where is the demon king's corpse I sent over the past few days?"

"It is currently in cold storage, kept fresh; several alchemy grandmasters are already seeking auxiliary herbs, led by Grandmaster Fu Shu."

"Take me to see it."

"Yes."

"The entire Danfang underground is an immensely vast storage chamber, connected to Wangyuelou through various means and even rituals, storing all kinds of precious medicines."

"Liang Qu, on an extremely important level, saw the corpse of the Little Horse King."

"The entire corpse remains intact in appearance, still emitting vigorous vitality, as if asleep rather than dead—or rather, the flesh itself has not completely died, with ruptured parts, such as the tail, basically recovered by the He Li clan; it is not that Liang Qu caused no damage, but when he transformed into the Bai Yuan, he deliberately preserved a portion."

"The water ape great sage with 100% Ze Ling fusion is already a peak demon king; adding the Hai Fangzhu and aquatic beast enhancements, his main method is 'parasitic'-type demon king—though not grasping tightly, it is still simple and easy."

"Huai Wang, please look—Fu Shu and several grandmasters took some demon king flesh and blood for medicinal property analysis, about a hundred jin in weight, the rest remains here."

"No problem, taking another few hundred jin is also fine."

"Liang Qu does not mind this loss."

"He came to the center of the corpse and made a gesture; a brilliant silver vertical line appeared out of thin air, suspended."

"Cut the Hai Ma Wang's corpse along the position I marked—divide it; the front part belongs to me, the back part to Your Majesty; if anything is needed, prepare it separately."

"Your Majesty?" Wang Fangzhu exclaimed in surprise.

"Liang Qu raised his brow: 'Any problem? Your Majesty worries for the nation and the people, labors for all under heaven, once went a month without sleep or rest, abandoned bed and forgot food; hearing that Hai Ma is a great tonic, I am moved by Your Majesty's deeds, fearing harm to your sacred body—would sending a bit of Hai Ma tonic be unacceptable?'"

"No problem, no problem."

"Wang Fangzhu dared not say more, dare not ask more, and was about to borrow a Xuanbing to cut the demon king's corpse."

"Eh, didn't I draw the line?" Liang Qu tapped the silver thread in the void.

"Wang Fangzhu observed briefly, then suddenly understood."

"He rolled up both sleeves, pressed the Hai Ma Wang's corpse, forcefully pushed it sideways, colliding with the line Liang Qu drew—immediately it met a blade's edge, like a hot knife cutting butter, yellow urine pouring on snow, smoothly slicing the corpse; when it split into two, the silver line just dissipated."

"Exquisite and unparalleled strength and control."

"Wang Fangzhu praised."

"Enjoying alone is not as good as sharing joy; good things should be understood as shared."

"Back then, the Eight-Clawed King's wrist joint—Liang Qu and the Holy Emperor each took one share; this year, the Hai Ma Wang, also must be shared one share each with the Holy Emperor."

"This time, the court supplied materials—appearing neither profit nor loss, but in fact the Donghai demon king organization has mobilized, indirectly benefiting the court, and the greatest beneficiary is precisely the Bai Yuan."

"More than ten demon king favors, all belonging to Liang Qu personally, drawing on the court's benevolence."

The value is incalculable.

Moreover, this alchemy session is also free of charge; clearly, it's not something that can be openly rewarded, but rather a covert reward for "passing along information."

"Where is the latest exchange ledger for creation elixirs? Do you have it? Bring it here so I can take a look."

"Yes, yes, yes."

"This one, this one, this one, and also this one."

"Does the Prince of Huai want these four?"

"Hah, who are you looking down on? Besides the four I just pointed out, I want everything else on the remaining ten pages. The main focus is alchemy, centered around what I've pointed out—I don't really understand medicinal properties, so the rest is up to you, Fu Shuo, and everyone else to help me fill in: whatever's missing, fill it in. Hey, what are you standing there for? How did the alchemy workshop end up with a workshop head as clueless as you? Dazed and confused—how do you manage alchemy well? Go on!"

The workshop head snapped out of it: "Yes, yes, yes, I'm going right now."

The water rippled gently; the once murky silt of the Yellow Shahe had vanished completely, replaced by lush, dense aquatic plants introduced from the Jianghuai region, growing thick as a forest.

Sunlight shone upon the leaves, causing bubbles to form and slowly rise to the surface, clear and transparent.

The great river otter lay on a piece of floating wood, one paw tucked behind its head, the other gnawing on a mineral stone while basking in the March sun, which carried a pleasant warmth.

The renovation design for Qinggong Bay had been fully completed the previous year, leaving the otter designers with ample free time; their remaining duties were merely periodic supervision—checking whether the fat fish and the fists were constructing according to plan.

After eating lunch, the fat fish saw no rush to resume work; despite the holiday break, under its unique innate talent and effective command over the fists, the entire project progressed steadily—and even faster than anticipated.

Speaking of which, since returning to the Yellow Shahe, the fat fish has felt as if it forgot something, unable to recall it no matter how hard it tries; only by eating more fish does it temporarily ease the hollowness, yet a lingering emptiness remains—a gap, a missing piece.

Today, the fat fish recalled again, but its mind remained blank; unable to remember, it lay in a depression, waving its long whiskers alongside its close companion, the green fish demon, asking it: "How many ways are there to write the character for 'loyalty'?"

The green fish demon shook its head.

The fat fish perked up, extending its fins and slightly spreading them.

"Four ways—there are four forms of the character for 'loyalty.' You should remember these; when you become a leader someday, you'll use them when speaking to subordinates, and when you're a subordinate, you'll use them when addressing your superior. Today's fish—you didn't eat it for nothing; I'll teach you how to write it."

The green fish demon listened listlessly, too embarrassed to refuse, watching as the fat fish's whiskers plunged into the riverbed, cutting through the silt, preparing to inscribe a large "loyalty" character here.

Suddenly.

The fat fish lifted its head, as if focusing intently; its post-meal lethargy vanished, its eyes sharp and gleaming, dark and lustrous.

The fist shot up from the ground; the great river otter plunged into the water; the round-headed one waved its fins, and countless river dolphins surged forth, forming neat ranks.

At this moment, they surrounded it from all directions.

The green fish demon felt the atmosphere shift abruptly, as if the next moment it would have to grab a weapon and join the fish king in battle, and it tensed up, glancing left and right.

"Black big fish, what happened? Did the fish king attack?"

"Loyalty is calling————Fish King!?"

Upon hearing the green fish demon's keyword, the fat fish's mind erupted with stellar explosions, cosmic detonations: it saw its own massive mouth, a toad crouched on a stone catching dragonflies, the spiny dolphins' extending and retracting movements, the heavenly deity endlessly swallowing and exhaling, refining the precious fish—endless ideas colliding and fading, the river flowing east, not west.

Hiss.

It remembered—it remembered everything!

That missing puzzle piece, like a black hole in its stomach, had finally been found at this very moment!

Tadpole frog, shell-less turtle, spiny dolphin, black dragon, green fish———

No.

It is————Left General!

"Pa-pa-pa, pa-pa!"

"Beep-beep, beep-beep."

Oars striking the water—three short, one long, two short, two long, nine shallow, one deep————the rower's arms sore, mouth dry.

The Rakshasa demon sat cross-legged at the bow, arms crossed, inner unease spreading like wild grass.

For several consecutive days, the Yellow Shahe remained utterly still.

The Left General seemed to have fled with embezzled funds—utterly unreachable, as if this unease had peaked, with wild grass growing from the heart into the mouth and nose———

"Whoosh-la!"

A massive, stone-black general emerged from the river, white water cascading down like a waterfall.

A tremendous surge of joy exploded like a blast against the Rakshasa demon's heart, making him jump to his feet.

"Left General!?"

"What's going on?"

Standing at the alchemy workshop's entrance, Liang Qu had just selected his precious elixir, stepped out, and heard the fat fish's report through the spiritual link—his face blank with confusion.

Hasn't the Jiangnan bribery scheme already ended?

After a major uproar, the Black Water Toxic Pregnancy Flame "fled due to guilt," the former tribal lord apologized and abdicated, the entire Jiangnan populace panicked—and the matter concluded.

You, Rakshasa demon, aren't you connected to the network? Why are you still bribing the Left General here?

Liang Qu frowned.

"Could it be————that the Jiangnan rebels haven't given up, thinking they can hide in plain sight?"

A thought arose.

"First, agree to him, see how things go, Third Prince—come back quickly, keep pace."

"Hahaha, success! Success!"

The Rakshasa demon was overjoyed.

"Effort is not wasted on the devoted—today, today, the fish clan, the heavenly demon general, the king's left and right arms, received his three great elixirs, promised to persuade him, and in just one day, good news arrived."

The king agreed!

"This is good news, my lord." The subordinates who had slapped the water for days exclaimed in delight.

"Indeed." The Rakshasa demon exhaled sharply, "I thought all three demon kings would fail, but now I've finally secured one—counts as fulfilling the tribal lord's trust, I can return with dignity. Now, as for the Yellow Shahe demon king, coordinating with the Eastern Sea demon king, I'd like to see how the Great Shun regime governs the Yellow Shahe! Come on, let's go back and inform the tribal lord of this good news!"

"Strange————"

In the corner, the Third Prince disliked his dragon horns getting in the way, leaned upside down with his head against the wall, listened, then scratched his head.

It seems, appears, seemingly it's not like what the boss said?

The news was greatly favorable; success depends on secrecy — Rakshasa didn't dare rest for a moment, packed his bags, headed straight south, without sleep or rest, and by the fourth month had run back to the Southern Frontier.

"Haven't you shaken off the atmosphere of defeat yet?"

Crossing the Lcang River, Rakshasa noticed that faint air of dejection among the border garrison officers and soldiers, and sighed with slight emotion.

Kugu's violent death dealt a blow to the Southern Frontier's morale that was truly too great.

Unexpectedly, even now they haven't recovered.

But it doesn't matter, this time he returned bearing good news————

"What? What do you mean the plan failed, the East Sea Demon King flew into a rage, Jiuzhai paid over a hundred portions of Great Medicine, Great Shun raised an army to demand accountability, and paid another fifty million?"