Chapter 244: The Immortal Is Watching

Shopkeeper Niu found Qiao Mai, "Master, shall we stockpile grain?"

"No need, let's try fighting first; even if Huzi is extremely fierce, he can't eat the Ming Emperor, we'll starve him to death!"

"Master, I don't know why, but after hearing you speak, my heart steadied a lot."

"Do business however it should be done, no need to worry."

"Yes."

In August, the war at Beiguan finally broke out; Huzi was extremely fierce, several times almost captured the city. If not for those soldiers fighting to the death to guard it, Huzi would have entered the pass long ago.

Yuan Jiaqi, since the war began, has not returned; he wrote a letter and sent someone to deliver it home.

Qiao Mai raised an eyebrow and asked her to help gather some medicinal herbs.

"Hmm, that's doable; there are plenty of herbs. She hired many ox carts and horse carriages in Town, continuously transporting the herbs over there."

After speaking, Qiao Mai vanished in an instant; the Hu people were stunned in place, "Brother, are we fighting tomorrow or not?"

"One who can kill you."

The others all sobered up, each one tried to get up, but they didn't even have a chance to get close; they were all thrown backward like the people before them.

In March, his daughter-in-law gave birth to a big chubby boy; now his status at home dropped even more, he was constantly commanded around by his daughter-in-law and didn't dare voice any opinion.

At the same time, he was relieved to have been recalled home early; otherwise this time the crippled one would have been him.

The remaining are all the old, weak, and sick; this war can't continue.

"Naturally, yes, we won't fight; who among you can defeat her?"

Qiao Mai extended her palm, and the towering Hu ren lingxiu was drawn toward her.

She saw them lighting a bonfire, eating roasted meat, drinking fine wine, and laughing heartily.

"Are you really scared of her?"

Then she quietly went to Beiguan again; it was truly unbearable to watch— after only a month of fighting, the soldiers of Beiguan were almost all wiped out.

So she told Xiao Qing about it, and Xiao Qing, excited, circled around her.

Everyone present was terrified.

"Right."

Those who died on the Battlefield also had silver sent to their homes.

"Who are you?"

"Hmph, that position has always been held by the capable; why can't I take it?"

"No need? Build houses without spending money? Or manage food, drink, and labor costs without cost?"

Tian Sanzhuang heard the matter, had been angry for a long time, and now seeking revenge against the Qiao Family became even harder.

"Citizens of the Ming Empire, I don't want to see lives drenched in blood, so within a hundred years you must not wage war against the Ming Empire again."

"Do you dare gamble the lives of an entire clan?"

"But now he can't help it; he can't offend the County Deputy, and seeing the Qiao Family shrink makes his heart ache like a cat's claw."

Qiao Mai's figure appeared in front of the tent, and immediately someone brandished a Big Knife to surround her. Qiao Mai unleashed a pressure and a wave of energy, sending those people flying ten meters away.

He hurriedly knelt on the ground, hands clasped in prayer, giving thanks.

When Beiguan fought, the wounded were sent to Shexian; Yuan Jiaqi, as County Magistrate, naturally took charge.

The fighting stopped in early September, stopping inexplicably.

Now, several hundred more were being supported; Qiao Mai sighed.

"Because your luck is bad, because I could slaughter you right now, don't you believe it?"

"Let nature take its course."

The Hu ren lingxiu at this moment stopped eating and drinking, stood up, and surveyed Qiao Mai from head to toe.

Fortunately, with Qiao Mai as this cheat, otherwise he would have had no way at all.

"Lady, I've placed them all at the edge of the forest, and it didn't cost any money."

Yuan Jiaqi, acting on his own, left a group of homeless wounded soldiers, sent people to build houses for them at the forest edge, and had them guard Songlin.

Qiao Mai's slender wrist gave a gentle flick, and the Hu ren lingxiu was flung away.

"I."

"Thinking back, when the Qiao Shi came to our home, they told her to face east not west, to scold her without striking a chicken, and she obeyed perfectly."

"He, a Tian family member, when has he ever endured such humiliation?"

Qiao Mai pursed her lips with disdain, and Xiao Qing hurried to explain to her.

"The power of faith can let the master avoid many detours on the path of Cultivation, so you must take it seriously."

"Alright, since it's already settled, let it be; next time just give me a heads‑up."

The Hu ren lingxiu looked at Qiao Mai, "You didn't come here to kill me, did you?"

"Alright."

"Hmph, anyone who would kill me hasn't even been born."

She leapt over the city wall, heading straight for Huzi's camp.

"It seems she's not joking; indeed, she came a few days ago to deal with this, we won't waste effort, now we're about to break in, and this new issue has arisen."

"Where are the Wang Jiaru's Enemy? Where have they all gone?"

"They withdrew overnight? Unbelievable; they were clearly on the verge of victory. What exactly went wrong?"

"Alright, take Third Son's corpse, we'll withdraw the troops now."

"Great, with such a deity, how could Daming Jiangshan not be prosperous?"

On one hand he had people arrange those wounded soldiers, and on the other he continued the excavation of Hedao, never to abandon it halfway; the deity is watching.

"Is she protecting the Ming Empire? The Old Emperor thought of this, and a strong vigor surged through his body."

"Trust me?"

After the Old Emperor received Yuan Jiaqi's contributions of money, medicine, and effort for this campaign, he was truly gratified and decided to train him for several more years.

"Within a hundred years, you must not attack the Ming Emperor again; otherwise, I will slaughter all of your Hu people—words are deeds."

But this poor county's expenditure on medicinal herbs alone is already a huge cost.

Qiao Mai thought it over; it couldn't be Huzi, and she resented herself for being almost the same, so she let the trust go. To say that the only one in the world who knows she exists is that Old Emperor—could it be that, without being careful, she has actually obtained the Old Emperor's faith?

He claimed great righteousness, but it was he who paid the silver; that's what they call being extravagantly generous.

Just like that, that night, the Hu people unexpectedly withdrew their troops.

The exhausted Physician could not even straighten his back, showing how severe the casualties were.

His palm was right on the neck, "Can you kill?"

"Yes, I'm sorry. As a husband watching them fight for the country and become like that, I truly cannot bear it."

Qiao Mai's one hand clamped his neck, the other merely lifted lightly, and a man who had just struggled to get up was thus slit in the throat.

"You, who exactly are you?"

To be blunt, he is still the County Magistrate, just of a higher rank.

Qiao Mai had secretly inspected one night that all the pharmacies and the Yiguan in Shexian had been requisitioned by the Imperial Court; even within the Xian Ya and the County Magistrate's residence, they were all filled with patients.

"I can slaughter your Hu people, and from then on erase you from Beiguan."

"Master, this is the power of faith; someone has begun to believe in you."

Qiao Mai felt a force swirling around her whole body; she found it incredible, and such power made her feel very comfortable and delighted.

The battle was over, she no longer needed to transport herbs; the Old Emperor gave the soldiers generous relief funds, and those who could be settled home were sent back.

An edict promoted him to a fifth‑rank official, temporarily overseeing Shexian, and without a transfer order he may not leave.

"Now, you believe what I say, right?"

"Me"

The Beiguan soldiers still planned to perish together with the enemy the next day, but when they got onto the city wall and looked, I was like, "Whoa, what a shock!"

After the Old Emperor learned of this, he was also baffled, but his eyes suddenly lit up—could it be that immortal?

"You"

After returning, Yuan Jiaqi was still embarrassed to tell Qiao Mai, but thinking of having to support several hundred people, he shamelessly brought it up.

After five years, the soldiers returned, everything turned upside down, and he became a grandson.

If it weren't for his daughter‑in‑law giving him a son, he truly wanted to resign his post and go home to farm; it was too stifling.

Whenever this happened, he thought of Qiao Mai, how luxuriant her family's life was.

Good food, fine clothes, a respectable household; now in Weicheng, they are untouchable.

When will I also attach myself to someone wealthy and powerful? Then I'll also have a disgrace before shedding blood!

Sorry, the two chapters I was supposed to update today aren't done, because I caught a cold, feel unwell all over, and almost had to write a leave request.

(End of chapter)