Chapter 100: 113, 114 Ghosts Wander Like Zombies, Tiger-Wolf Army Shows Its Might, Beast-Skin Paintings (Long Chapter, Please Subscri

Once the Ghost Tide receded, just as after a great battle, all sorts of matters followed one after another.

The "Five Giants" of Hanping Prefecture gathered together once again.

Because Zhao Hua commanded the Tiger-Wolf Army, his originally fair and scholarly face had gained a bit of ferocity, and his eyes appeared deeper, yet when he saw Song Cheng, this appearance changed instantly, as if a fierce tiger with a white-spotted forehead had turned into an obedient, large cat.

He leaned in directly and said as if presenting a treasure: "Big Brother, the Tiger-Wolf Army is truly too powerful. When Shouyu and I led the troops out to charge and kill, that feeling... I have truly never experienced it in my life."

"There are many ghosts outside; if we had fought them one by one, our men would certainly have all died in battle."

"But when we closed ranks and charged in formation, we killed over three thousand ghosts, yet only one hundred and twelve of our own died."

Song Cheng smiled.

That was to be expected.

The charge formation of the Tiger-Wolf Army had already been adjusted by him to be flawless; as long as they charged forward, the edge was like an incomparably sharp giant blade sweeping across the ground, and the blade's edge was prone to generating high-value data... and after the baptism of this war, he discovered that the frequency of high-value data generation was even higher.

Clearly, victory baptizes an army.

When every soldier in an army believes they will surely win, the power generated is quite terrifying.

Song Cheng truly understood from a "data perspective" what was meant by an "army that wins every battle."

"An army that wins every battle" is, to a certain extent, truly an "invincible army," unless the general leading the troops is suddenly replaced, which might then cause a collapse—Zhao Hua continued to chatter on, and when he reached the end, he suddenly scratched his head and blurted out: "Big Brother, Manor Master Ouyang is urging for the marriage."

Song Cheng laughed: "That's a good thing. Get married quickly now, have children, and they can be playmates with my A Ting in the future."

Zhao Hua didn't say anything and nodded heavily.

Back when Big Brother had pulled him along to swear brotherhood with Manor Master Ouyang, he had already seen the opportunity.

Moreover, that young lady of the Ouyang family had quite distinctive features: a slender build, deep-set eyes, and a high nose; her face had a somewhat exotic beauty, which perhaps had to do with the Ouyang family's lineage.

Zhao Hua had seen many women, but one like this was truly rare, and coupled with the needs of the big picture, he had directly grown close to that young lady; this time during the Ghost Tide, he had revealed his strength, which made Ouyang Sha finalize the marriage.

As the two chatted, the other three soon arrived.

Tong Niangzi sat by Song Cheng's side as usual, her gaze lingering with an inexplicable intensity. These past few days, she had seen how cute A Ting was and also began to hope for a child.

Plus, now that the Ghost Tide had receded and the farmland was just at the time for sowing, she also wanted to be sown by her own man.

Ouyang Sha glanced at Zhao Hua and sat down beside him.

Tie Zhenyi sat opposite the four of them, somewhat speechless... and then it was time to discuss business.

There were four most immediate matters after the war: first, food; second, city defense;

Third, exploring the surrounding environment;

Fourth, connecting with the subordinate county towns to see their situation.

Afterward, there were various other things to do, especially regarding the Six Towns and the Barbarian King, which needed to be understood clearly.

And among them, the most important were clearly the issues of food and city defense.

After calculating together, everyone decided to let Song Cheng train the troops daily; after all, everyone had seen the combat power of the "Tiger-Wolf Army" with their own eyes.

That unit, whose combat power was usually only considered elite, had become a ferociously powerful Tiger-Wolf Army after Song Cheng's training, the kind of army that could even charge and kill experts of the Qi Realm.

Regarding this, Song Cheng was also very happy to do it.

He would not leave home.

If he were to leave home and a terrifying invisible ghost suddenly came to wipe out his entire household, he would truly be beyond tears.

And by training troops right at his own doorstep, the stronger the troops, the safer his home would be.

As for food, everyone decided to plan new farmland, increase the area of farmland, mainly planting grain and cotton, while simultaneously encouraging animal husbandry.

As for matters like trade, they could be slowed down or even stopped.

In this day and age, with both Ghost Tides and the chaos of war, how could trade still flourish?

What best commodity could compare to food?

The chaotic world of the Ghost Tide was forcing this world into an "era of self-sufficiency and independent development of agriculture and animal husbandry."

The ghosts outside were chaotic, but as long as the walls were built high, there was sufficient food behind the walls, and clothes were warm, that was enough.

As for other matters, they were all still waiting for news.

The scouts had only just been sent out and needed some time.

After a round of discussion, everyone set the future battle strategy for Hanping Prefecture and then returned to their respective places.

Song Cheng accompanied An Jie and A Ting.

Tong Niangzi was busy to the point of exhaustion again before she returned.

After all, Tong Niangzi was the "executor of policy," so she was driven mad with work—but tonight, no matter how busy she was, she still sought out Song Cheng and whispered in his ear: "Come inside today; I also want a child."

Song Cheng was somewhat hesitant.

"Are you worried that I will have a difficult labor like Sister An?" Tong Niangzi saw through her man's worry at a glance.

Song Cheng nodded, but he wasn't too reconciled to it.

He would continue to grow stronger later; he was currently only at Yellow Grade Grade A, and if he reached the Mysterious Grade, would he be forever unable to have children with Tong Niangzi? "It's fine, Sister An could endure it, and so can I. Besides, I am a doctor; I can take very good care of my own body," Tong Niangzi said.

Song Cheng was still somewhat hesitant.

However, that night, at the critical moment, Tong Niangzi suddenly unleashed her supernatural ability.

In an instant, that place was like the Bottomless Pit of Xiankong Mountain, making it difficult for the Ruyi Golden Cudgel that had entered it to withdraw.

Song Cheng was helpless and had to meet the attack with his own defenses, producing many little Song Chengs in one breath to hold the line, before finally letting the Golden Cudgel shrink and escape.

Tong Niangzi propped up her buttocks with a pillow and then said with a giggle: "Now, I will have a child too."

Song Cheng thought about it and didn't say anything; if he were to beget offspring with Tong Niangzi, now might be the last chance, so he responded softly and then fell asleep together.

The next day was sunny.

The bright sun was high in the sky; in the past, this would have been a day for young masters and ladies to go out for a spring outing.

But today, there was a panic at the North City gate.

The sound of rapid horse hooves was like a death-summoning note, carrying a blood-covered person back from afar.

Upon reaching the city gate, he could no longer hold on, and actually rolled off his horse, covered in yellow mud and grass fragments.

The city guards stepped forward to take a look; wasn't this the scout who had left the city only a short while ago?

The city commandant directly took some "Manifestation Water" and sprinkled it over the blood-covered man; seeing nothing unusual, he hurriedly called for people to provide aid.

However, what puzzled him was that hadn't the Ghost Tide retreated? Who had wounded this scout? Nowadays, Form Realm experts were stationed at every gate of the Prefecture City daily.

Soon, that expert arrived.

After a round of emergency treatment, the blood-covered man slowly regained consciousness and said weakly and fearfully: "On the road... on the road there are Ghost Servants. Very powerful Ghost Servants. I... cough, cough, cough... we all fled."

"What about the others?"

"I... I don't know... cough, cough."

"How strong are the Ghost Servants?" The Form Realm expert thought for a moment and added, "Are they as strong as me?"

The injured scout thought about it, but found it hard to discern, only saying: "Very terrifying... very terrifying."

The Form Realm expert pondered for a while and hurriedly reported the matter to his superiors.

Coincidentally, scouts also fled back to the East City and West City.

Compared to the North City, where only one person returned from an entire scout squad, the scouts who returned to the East and West cities fared slightly better; the East City lost over half, while the West City only suffered two or three casualties.

Tie Zhenyi hurried to the scene, and after understanding the situation, his expression turned grave; he immediately led a team out himself, while simultaneously telling Song Cheng to "keep an eye on things in the city."

When Song Cheng received the news, he was sitting in his courtyard teaching Ying'er and Yuan Biye martial arts, while Yuan Shouyu was respectfully asking him for advice on the art of war by his side.

Hearing that the scouts had all returned in defeat shortly after leaving, and that Big Hall Master Tie had personally led troops out of the city, Song Cheng frowned and thought to himself: "Could it be that although the Ghost Tide has retreated, the Ghost Servants are still besieging the city?"

He suddenly thought of something.

During the Ghost Tide Period, one could not go too far from the city, or more accurately, one could not stray too far from "places dense with Yang energy," otherwise, one would very likely have to face evil ghosts.

The Sun Nine-Pattern Golden Coffin could seal "evil ghosts during the non-Ghost Tide Period" only because the evil ghosts had not yet fully awakened during that time.

But during the Ghost Tide Period, who could seal them? And after the Ghost Tide, apart from the lack of evil ghosts and the fact that Ghost Servants could not be mass-produced, everything else seemed the same.

So, has the war not ended yet?

Or is it that the war will never end? Will the world never be safe again? There are both worries and joys regarding affairs in the city.

Zhao Hua got married.

He did it quite decisively.

Ouyang Sha wanted to host a banquet for the whole city, but was persuaded otherwise by him, and he immediately arranged a family banquet in an "unimaginably frugal way."

Laoduwu was so angry he could have vomited blood: "I only have this one daughter, and marrying her to you is not even as good as a wedding for an ordinary wealthy family. What's wrong with being extravagant? Can't I afford to be wasteful? If word gets out, people will laugh at us!"

Zhao Hua said calmly: "Father-in-law, please don't be angry, let me explain it to you slowly."

"When Big Brother married Hall Master Tong in the past, they didn't even hold a banquet. Later, when he married my sister-in-law An, it was just a family banquet. As a younger brother, how could I have a grander display than Big Brother?"

"Besides, no one laughed at Big Brother, did they?"

Laoduwu had become Zhao Hua's father-in-law, so the previous sworn brotherhood naturally didn't count, and thus Song Cheng became the Big Brother again.

Ouyang Sha listened to what Zhao Hua said, thought about it, and said: "Wasn't it because he hadn't gained power back then?"

Zhao Hua said: "Even so, as a younger brother, I still dare not surpass Big Brother."

"Moreover, where does affection need to be manifested through luxury?"

"A friendship between gentlemen, a friendship of life and death, a cup of wine is enough."

"And those banquets with clinking glasses and delicious food are mostly just arenas of intrigue for fame and profit."

Ouyang Sha was silent for a while and was finally persuaded.

The wedding banquet was held very simply, right in the Ouyang family's manor, with only two or three tables set... That night after the wedding, Zhao Hua sowed his seed into the Ouyang woman.

And perhaps by coincidence, the next day Tie Zhenyi led his troops back from outside.

The result was unexpected; the army that the Big Hall Master had personally led out had suffered over half casualties, and the Big Hall Master himself was tense all over, with a minor wound on his waist.

The Big Hall Master summoned Song Cheng and the others with a serious expression and recounted the situation outside one by one.

"The Fox Immortal was right before; if the Ghost Servants had their wits, it would be fine, but without wits... after they don't even look like humans anymore, sigh..."

The Big Hall Master seemed to recall something, sighed deeply, and continued, "I finally understand why the Ghost Servants that have been attacking our Prefecture City for the past three months have all been the same type."

"That is because these mindless Ghost Servants are completely like idiots, only wandering aimlessly at their place of birth; if there is a city or a human gathering place nearby, they will surround it and instinctively launch an attack."

"That is why the Ghost Servants attacking our Prefecture City are so uniform, all of the same type."

"But now, while the Ghost Servants within a radius of several dozen miles around our Prefecture City have indeed been cleared, the Ghost Servants dozens of miles away are still wandering."

"When I led the army to try to cross the official road and travel through the wilderness to reach the county seat, those wandering Ghost Servants were attracted over."

Tong Niangzi said: "If it's like this in the wilderness, will the county seat be..."

Her face was full of worry, and she dared not finish her sentence.

Zhao Hua said calmly: "Sister-in-law, a massacre shouldn't happen."

"If the Ghost Servants truly follow this pattern, then... only larger cities will attract more Ghost Servants."

"The county seat is smaller, so the Ghost Servants encountered will inevitably be fewer."

"Moreover, once the Ghost Servants lose their wits, they won't be able to lurk among the crowds as they did before, so the danger is actually smaller."

Ouyang Sha said: "My son-in-law's analysis is not bad."

Zhao Hua scratched his head and said: "I learned it all from Big Brother."

Ouyang Sha wanted to glare at him fiercely, but found there was nothing to glare at—Song Cheng, after all, is a monster; it's not strange for a big monster to bring up a little monster.

The air was somewhat stifling.

Zhao Hua thought for a moment and suddenly said: "How about I lead the Tiger Leopard Cavalry out of the city to clear the road connecting to the county seat."

Ouyang Sha's eyes, which hadn't glared earlier, glared now; he puffed out his beard and said: "You brat, you've only just entered the Form Realm, what are you trying to show off for?"

Zhao Hua smiled and said: "If Father-in-law is worried, why not come with your son-in-law."

After saying this, he added sternly: "Big Hall Master Tie is injured, and Big Brother needs to train troops in the city; now, the only ones who can take the lead are me and Father-in-law."

Ouyang Sha said speechlessly, "You only got married yesterday! Has your spot in the bed even warmed up yet?"

Zhao Hua lowered his head, revealing a look of tenderness, and said softly, "Chuchu hopes her husband is a hero; if he shirks his duty when it is time to act, how could she like him?"

The Ouyang clan member is Ouyang Chuchu.

Ouyang Sha also knew that what he said was the truth; if they were to leave the city to sweep the area now, the best choice would be the Tiger Leopard Cavalry paired with experts.

And there are only three people in total who can command the Tiger Leopard Cavalry: Song Cheng, Zhao Hua, and Yuan Shouyu.

Not to mention Song Cheng, Yuan Shouyu is the son of the Barbarian King; how could he be allowed to lead troops?

Therefore, the only one who can go is Zhao Hua.

"Fine, fine, fine! Then let's make the trip." Ouyang Sha slapped his thigh, quite unwilling, yet he had no choice but to go.

Zhao Hua said, "Many thanks, Father-in-law."

This expedition of Zhao Hua's is dangerous, because the wilderness outside the city has begun to become unfamiliar.

Ghost servants of the Jin Realm and Form Realm are everywhere, and their appearances are no longer restricted to human shapes.

Therefore, the Barbarian King's hostage is no longer suitable to participate in it.

Before departing, Song Cheng came to the Tiger Leopard Camp to drill military formations with Zhao Hua, doing his utmost to help him further master this Tiger-Wolf Army to make up for his previous shortcomings.

Although the two brothers are only sworn brothers, by this point, they are truly like siblings.

Song Cheng taught very earnestly.

He had already studied every military manual that could be collected in the Prefecture City.

If he could not see the fluctuating data of "military momentum," he might just be a third-rate general who only talks about war on paper, but combined with the data, his understanding of "military momentum" is already extremely terrifying.

Every casual piece of guidance he gave would make Zhao Hua ponder for a long time, and then, after coming to an understanding, his eyes would shine with incomparable admiration.

In the eyes of Huazi, his big brother is a god.

Being able to follow such a big brother, his life, which he could originally see the end of at a glance, suddenly radiated brilliance, becoming dazzling, able to be like fireworks shooting straight into the sky—brief, yet splendid.

Finally, the teaching and learning were about finished.

Song Cheng patted Zhao Hua on the shoulder and said, "You are going out of the city in my stead."

Zhao Hua said solemnly, "Ghost servants are cunning; although some have lost their reason, there are still those that can maintain some. Big brother must sit in command in the city; this is something no one else can replace.

After I leave, I want Chuchu to move to the An Family to live as well.

Big brother told me to have children early; I really did my best last night."

"If your wife wants to live there, then have her move over." Song Cheng smiled and said, "As for children, that is also a coincidence.

It is not impossible that your Sister-in-law Tong will give birth at the same time as Chuchu."

Zhao Hua laughed, "Then if they really do give birth at the same time, if they are both boys, let them become brothers. If they are both girls, then they shall be sisters."

Song Cheng laughed, "If one boy and one girl, then let's arrange a childhood betrothal."

Zhao Hua took a deep breath and said, "Good! In this way, I and big brother will be both brothers and in-laws."

Having said this, the two brothers toasted each other with tea, then flipped onto their horses.

Three thousand Tiger Leopard troops, one rider leaving dust behind, exited the North Gate and gradually went further and further away. Song Cheng watched this army leave with a complex gaze, then went to the temporary military camp near the An Mansion, where two new armies were waiting for him to train them.

This time, besides cavalry, there were also spear and shield soldiers.

After a bout of busyness, he returned to the An Family.

Ouyang Chuchu, who was still a bride yesterday, saw her husband go on an expedition today, and before the expedition, her husband ordered her to come to the An Family to live for a period of time. So she came over.

Young Miss arranged for her to stay in the Neizhai, right next to her own courtyard; it was the courtyard where Lady Zhushan used to live.

And although Song Cheng had changed his way of life, it was still very regular.

Training troops, cultivating, and using the ancient mirror to patrol the Prefecture City to find if there were any ghost servants that had snuck in.

Facts proved that after ghost servants lost their reason, the work of "assassination," which required intelligence, could no longer be done.

The first batch of ghost servants assassinated Lady Zhushan because those ghost servants were still in human form and had reason.

Later, the "invisible ghost servants" assassinated Song Cheng, which was entirely controlled by Su Houzhang behind the scenes, but that kind of ghost servant was extremely rare.

Even later, during the Ghost Tide Period, the reason why ghost servants infiltrated was only because they happened to be able to fly, so they flew into the city from the nearest distance.

Now that the ghost servants around the Prefecture City had been cleared out, naturally there were none left.

This made Song Cheng unable to help but think of a movie he had watched before transmigrating—Resident Evil. In that movie, many zombies were just like the ghost servants at this time, wandering everywhere. It was just that the source was a virus, not evil ghosts.

During this time, Song Cheng was not idle either; he would flip through various cultivation arts in the Library Pavilion of the Prefecture City whenever he had free time.

He could basically thoroughly understand any power below the Qi Realm just by flipping through it.

But the Qi Realm, and even above the Qi Realm, was a distant prospect.

The only two ways to break through to the Mysterious Grade are: one, wait for points; two, the noble families. But, this line of Su Ningyu seemed to have suddenly broken for the time being.

Song Cheng knew that that little fox fairy had gone to heal her wounds.

If she hadn't sealed one in advance, this year's Ghost Tide would have been even harder.

Five months later, the Tiger Leopard Cavalry returned from the outside, having suffered heavy losses.

But the counties under Hanping Prefecture had all been cleared.

Zhao Hua was covered in wind and frost, but his whole person had gained a bit more boldness and roguishness.

And heaven was kind; the bellies of Tong Niangzi and Ouyang Chuchu grew to the same size, both five months pregnant.

Zhao Hua returned to the city, asked for pensions for the fallen soldiers, and after generously rewarding the surviving soldiers, he hurriedly came to the An Mansion to find Song Cheng and tell him what he had seen and heard along the way.

"There are deep pits everywhere, and the deep pits emit a foul stench; there seem to be many skeletons, and no matter what, they cannot be eliminated. This life, I fear, has no end."

Zhao Hua recalled what he had seen and heard along the way, and then added, "However, the county towns are truly as I guessed; although the attacks they encountered during the Ghost Tide were fierce, they could not compare to the Prefecture City.

Big brother, I am thinking about whether we should further shrink our living space in the future.

As long as people are sufficiently dense, the Yang energy will become increasingly strong, and at the same time, the ghost servants we come into contact with will become fewer.

By then, all cities will become settlements that have little communication with the outside, are self-sufficient, and even isolated."

Immediately, he seemed to think of something else and said excitedly, "Big Brother, although the Tiger Leopard Cavalry now only has five hundred and sixteen men left, these five hundred and sixteen men are each the elite of the elite."

Song Cheng smiled and said, "Huazi, the new cavalry still has three thousand men, and among them, medicine men and Martial Artists are still paired up. I have already finished training them; you take them and fill the Tiger Leopard Cavalry to get them integrated as soon as possible."

Zhao Hua stood up excitedly, then left with his wife.

He still had many things to do.

Song Cheng watched him walk away, and from behind him came the sound of "yi-ya, yi-ya."

A Ting was being supported by Ling'er as she walked.

She looked up, saw Song Cheng in the courtyard, and her big eyes shone with light as she called out in a milky voice, "Da-da."

She quickened her pace, but suddenly lost her balance and fell on the flat ground.

Ling'er hurriedly hugged her tight.

She was dazed for a long while, then continued to walk over.

After walking two steps, she fell on the flat ground again.

Ling'er continued to hold onto her.

After falling three times, A Ting finally arrived in front of Song Cheng.

Song Cheng took his daughter, held her on his lap, and then continued to think about things.

Although news from the Southern Six Towns had decreased because the wilderness was filled with Ghost servants, Song Cheng could still know a little through his connection with Lady Zhushan via the Skull Double Fish Pendant.

And this little bit... gave him the feeling that "the Six Towns are cheating."

Why?

Previously, the Six Towns served entirely as the Great Shang Dynasty's wall against the Northern Barbarians.

But now, the Great Shang Dynasty had actually promised the Barbarian King benefits and wanted to join forces to encircle and annihilate the Six Towns.

Lady Zhushan was also quite disgusted by the cause of such chaotic times.

Back when they conquered Beixue Zhou, she had no objections.

The Six Towns occupying Beixue Zhou, she also had no objections.

But now, with the Six Towns continuing to head south like mad dogs, she was also enraged.

Seeing that there were benefits to be had and that he could legally enter the fertile lands of the south, the Barbarian King also raised his troops, and was currently attacking from the north and south to encircle and annihilate the Six Towns.

Song Cheng was a bit puzzled and also quite curious.

How could the Six Towns be so fierce?

One must know that noble families were already involved in this, and the Six Towns had even defeated that person from a noble family.

Was the leadership of the Six Towns really that strong?

However, he was not omniscient, and his only way to understand the southern war situation now was Lady Zhushan.

It was a pity that there were only two Skull Double Fish Pendants; one was currently connected to Lady Zhushan, and the other to Zhao Hua.

"Da."

A Ting called out in a milky voice again, waving her little fists excitedly, and let out a string of unintelligible syllables, "Yi-ying-yo-ge-ha-gua-ya-hou..."

The childish voice pulled Song Cheng back into this small courtyard.

However, what did A Ting say? This stumped Song Cheng, and he looked at Ling'er for help.

Ling'er smiled and said, "Young Master, A Ting is saying that she drew a picture and hopes you will go take a look."

Song Cheng:??? "How did you figure that out?"

Ling'er chuckled and said, "Because A Ting has only done this one thing all morning; she can't say anything else."

Song Cheng suddenly understood.

A Ting tugged gently on Song Cheng's clothes, as if urging him to go look.

Song Cheng was also very curious, so he picked up his daughter and smiled, "Ling'er, lead the way, let me see A Ting's masterpiece."

A moment later... Song Cheng arrived in the room.

Ling'er took out a piece of rice paper.

There was a drawing on the paper.

It was a rabbit.

The rabbit drawn in ink was far from lifelike; it just had the style of "if you don't tell me this is a rabbit, I would absolutely never guess what it is."

Song Cheng praised, "Drawn really well, worthy of being my daughter."

Ling'er said, "Isn't that so? A Ting drew it too well, just like Young Master."

Song Cheng:??? He turned his head and glanced at Ling'er.

Ling'er hurriedly covered her mouth.

A Ting: "Ha."

In the blink of an eye, another two months passed, and it was the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Zhao Hua led the reorganized Tiger Leopard Cavalry out to sweep the area; one reason was to train the troops, and the second was to widen the safe zone, facilitating travel between the Prefecture City, county towns, and villages.

And in this process, the new recruits of the Tiger Leopard Cavalry were also growing rapidly.

As for the other spear and shield army, Song Cheng was a bit troubled.

The difficulty lay in the fact that he could not find a suitable commander for the time being.

However, ever since Su Houzhang was sealed, assassinations had indeed not happened again.

This gave Song Cheng and his little darling more opportunities to spend time together.

On this day, autumn leaves swirled down from mid-air.

The weather was not abnormal; compared to the near-freezing cold at this time last year, this year was just slightly cool and desolate.

Song Cheng walked back hurriedly from outside wearing his Xuan Armor, only to see Ling'er yawning as she sat on a stone stool, while A Ting was sitting on her lap, drawing seriously on the tabletop.

Song Cheng was long used to this scene.

An Jie still had to manage the chamber of commerce, especially at this time when the "boundary between commerce and agriculture was blurred," even more so.

An Jie had a posture of wanting to manage the "farmland" and "animal husbandry" all together.

The Prefecture City area was large, there was plenty of farmland, and with the newly reclaimed land, there was even more.

There was also Zhushan in the Prefecture City, and Zhushan had grass; raising some cattle and sheep was perfectly fine.

If this were in another city, An Chenyu's operation would inevitably cause huge conflicts, but in the current Hanping Prefecture, it was completely one big family. With An Chenyu doing this, no one had any objections.

Therefore, the task of taking care of A Ting was more often left to Ling'er.

Like the scene today, Song Cheng had actually seen it many times, but he could never get tired of watching it.

At this moment, he smiled and stepped forward, wanting to admire his daughter's masterpiece.

Today was the beginning of autumn; his daughter should be drawing leaves, right?

Then, when he walked closer, he was stunned for a long time.

It wasn't about what was drawn; he could tell that his little darling seemed to be drawing rabbits again.

She was very stubborn about drawing the same thing.

If it were just that, it would be fine.

Today, she drew a strange "mirror-image rabbit."

What is a "mirror-image rabbit"? It was two rabbits, one on the left and one on the right, with their heads connected together, somewhat symmetrical on both sides.

Feeling someone approaching, A Ting looked up, and after identifying that the person was Song Cheng, she became visibly happy, her eyes shining, and she used a more standard voice to milkily utter a sound: "Daddy."

Song Cheng said: "A Ting, what is this drawing?"

A Ting babbled: "Crazy, crazy, crazy."

Song Cheng:??? He tilted his head to look at Ling'er.

Ling'er shook her head, indicating that she didn't know either.

Song Cheng had thought that drawing a "mirror-image rabbit" on paper was strange enough.

But at the end of this year, he was shocked by his daughter again.

It was unknown what A Ting "said" to An Chenyu, but An Chenyu brought back a few pieces of "fur."

Nowadays, Young Miss An was a proper big boss, managing many "farmlands," "livestock," and "shops" in the Prefecture City. And these "furs" were mostly whole skins stripped off when pigs and sheep were slaughtered.

An Chenyu said a word, and someone sent over furs of excellent quality.

And so, this scene in deep winter came to be.

This winter, the Ghost Tide did not come.

When Song Cheng returned from training troops outside, he saw his little darling lying in front of the stove, seriously drawing on a sheepskin.

The firelight from the stove glowed a warm orange, illuminating his little darling's snow-white, delicate little face, as well as those focused eyes.

Song Cheng carefully approached.

Hearing the movement, his little darling turned her head to look, discovered it was Daddy, and gave another round of "hugs."

After the hug, she continued drawing.

Song Cheng also watched patiently.

His little darling drew a "mirror-image rabbit" on the sheepskin.

Different from before, this time the "mirror-image rabbit" had a larger gap at the connection point.

After a moment, she finished drawing, looked happily at the "rabbit on the sheepskin," then held it up high, and said to Song Cheng: "Crazy, crazy, crazy."

Song Cheng smiled and said: "Why crazy?"

His little darling looked at her father with a look of exasperation, then tilted her head to think, and said: "Real, real crazy, real real crazy."

Song Cheng:??? His little darling raised her small hands again, cupped them together, then opened and closed them, while saying in her childish voice: "Snap, snap, real sharp."

The father and daughter looked at each other in silence for a moment.

Song Cheng suddenly realized and said: "Oh, you want to use scissors to cut along what you drew, and then use needle and thread to sew it up, to sew a little rabbit, right?"

Thus, the North Land Blade King rummaged through boxes and cabinets, found scissors, needle, and thread, and began to help his daughter with her handicraft.

After a long time, a strange thing that could barely be recognized as a fur rabbit was finished.

His little darling took the fur rabbit and hugged it happily.

She was happy, and Song Cheng was happy too.

Although his daughter was only ten months old and could already express herself simply, which was considered precocious compared to children from ordinary families, Song Cheng knew that his physique was special, and the child born to him was likely special as well.

As long as she could be healthy and happy, there was no need to think too much.

After sewing the rabbit, the family gathered together to eat the New Year's Eve dinner.

Tong Niangzi held her big belly; it looked like she would be giving birth before long.

Strangely, Tong Niangzi did not encounter the same problems as An Chenyu; she did not feel cold, her belly was not cold, and everything was completely normal.

Regarding this, Song Cheng did not know the reason either.

He looked happily at his little family.

And just at this moment, he suddenly felt the Kulou Shuangyu Peidai move again.

He took it out. The moonlight mist revealed a scene on the other side: Lady Zhushan was sitting in a tent.

"Grandmother, Happy New Year."

"Teacher, you look beautiful again."

Song Cheng smiled and greeted her here, giving his New Year's blessings.

Lady Zhushan also chatted briefly, then fixed her gaze on Song Cheng and said: "The Six Towns have been defeated, the bandit leader has been beheaded, and the remaining soldiers, including the townspeople, have been scattered and distributed into Donghai Zhou and Fengzhou. You can rest easy."

Song Cheng was truly stunned. This, it was defeated just like that?

It really is inexplicable.

"Thank you for the news, Granny."

"The Northern Barbarians have also gained quite a few benefits here, so we can head a bit further into the interior. There aren't as many Ghost Servants in the interior; Song Cheng, you all should find a way to head south as well."

Just as they were speaking, the moonlight became hazy, and the twin-fish skull returned to normal.

The moonlight "energy" was insufficient.

Song Cheng put away the jade pendant and began to share the evening banquet with his family.

(End of this chapter)