Chapter 120: 153, 154

It is common knowledge that the ghost of a noble family descendant is nearly indestructible, which is why Su Houzhang was confident enough to formulate a plan to "get close to the evil ghost."

However, this "common knowledge" was shattered in Song Cheng's hands.

The mysterious monk's ghost was crushed directly by him.

In this process, Song Cheng also gained a bit more understanding of "Reappearance," a power unique to evil ghosts.

Reappearance is actually quite similar to "imprisonment" or "soul-detention"; it is pulling your soul into the "Reappearance World" in an instant, after which you can never leave.

And in the "Reappearance World," the power of your physical body and the power of your soul are completely ineffective, because Reappearance is a very terrifying power of "imprisonment."

But "Reappearance" is only imprisonment, not destruction, so the souls of many people killed by evil ghosts are not yet extinguished; they only exist temporarily in the Reappearance World.

And Song Cheng, who compressed the power of Reappearance, naturally possessed a "pulling force" when attacking others' souls.

Ten clusters of fox fire attacked, and the Double Ghost Reappearance pulled.

Between one strike and one pull, repeated back and forth, cracks appeared on the surface of that hard-to-destroy ghost, and subsequently, because it could not recover in time, it completely crumbled.

The father and son of the Yan family looked at the standing Two-Tail Xuanhu, and for a moment, their sense of security was overflowing.

That feeling of "wandering through the low valley of death and seeing sunlight in a hopeless desperate situation" made the father and son's eyes turn red.

"Uncle Song!"

"Brother Song—no, Mr. Song, I... I truly don't know how to thank you."

Song Cheng wrote on the ground: 'Gongyang Gu's death has suspicious circumstances; I was worried about you, so I came back to take a look.'

Lishan King said: "It is fortunate that you came back to take a look, Sir, otherwise my father and son would likely have died here completely."

Speaking of this, this Prime Minister of the Great Shang Dynasty, King, and member of the Imperial Court suddenly rolled his eyes, and as his thoughts turned like lightning, he looked at Yan Baixiang and said: "Xiang'er, from now on you must regard your Uncle Song as your own father; you must not have even half a point of neglect, and no matter when, you must never forget today's events."

Yan Baixiang had long worshipped Song Cheng immensely; at this moment, he looked at Song Cheng with eager eyes, and said nervously, as if "afraid of being rejected": "Uncle Song."

Song Cheng nodded, which counted as tacit consent.

He hoped that Su Mengzhen's lineage could continue well; after all, it could be considered loving the house and its crow.

Lishan King was the Prime Minister after all; seeing Song Cheng like this, he immediately exerted his skill of "climbing up the nose to the face," and at this moment smiled: "Mr. Song, I see that this child and you are like old friends at first sight; why not let him acknowledge you as his foster father."

Lishan King was calculating in his heart.

First, Song Cheng is so powerful; if he lets his own son acknowledge him as a foster father, if he can continue to guide his son, then Xiang'er's achievements in the way of war will surely be limitless.

Although Thunder Cloud Province is remote, there are many demon beasts on Jilei Mountain. After seeing Gongyang Gu's three thousand elites in Duanhun Gu, he roughly understood the future trend of power: troops should be elite rather than numerous.

When the Northern Barbarians invaded, he had also led some people north to resist. After seeing the Northern Barbarians' Demon Beast Cavalry, he was greatly moved. On this journey back from fleeing, he had been thinking, if he returned to Thunder Cloud Province, could he, Yan Bore, also organize a Demon Beast Cavalry? Originally the hope was not great, but on this journey, his son's worship of Song Cheng's way of war as if it were divine, and Lishan King recalling some rumors he had heard about Song Cheng, this small hope suddenly existed.

Lishan King wants to gain a foothold in Thunder Cloud Province, and even defend this place, so he inevitably needs the help of this "brother-in-law."

Second, Song Cheng has a deep relationship with Fairy Sister; if he mediates in the middle, then... is there a possibility to increase the chance of him and Fairy Sister reuniting? In short, letting Xiang'er acknowledge Song Cheng as his foster father is a business with ten thousand profits and no loss.

But as soon as these words were spoken, Song Cheng was also stunned.

This matter should be asked of Su Mengzhen and Su Ningyu first.

He wrote: 'Let me think about it.'

Lishan King was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.

Being able to "consider" it was already quite good.

"Brother-in-law" is truly a great person.

Subsequently, Song Cheng sent the Yan father and son further into the depths of Thunder Cloud Province.

Along the way, Yan Baixiang kept asking him questions about military strategy, and later mentioned the "possibility of forming a Demon Beast Cavalry."

Song Cheng only wrote: 'Demon beasts are hard to tame; if you want to integrate them with cavalry, you must start from a young age, and it cannot be built in a year or two.'

He could mix medicine-men and Martial Artists into the army, but "Demon Beast Cavalry" was not in the category of military momentum, but rather "the demon beast and the cavalry must be compatible themselves, and the cavalry must be able to control the demon beast." This kind of thing cannot be done without a dozen years.

Yan Baixiang said: "Uncle, then if I try to organize it, can I invite you to come and take a look?"

Song Cheng thought about it; using young General Yan here to do an experiment was not bad either. After all, his Hanping Village also wanted to establish a Demon Beast Cavalry, so he nodded.

The three traveled west, and after a few more days, they arrived in front of a city that was almost bathed in wind and sand.

Unlike the bustling pedestrians of the cities in Zhongtu, there were only a few pedestrians scattered in front of the city gate here. Most of these people were merchant caravans; it seems that Thunder Cloud Province also has some special products that can sell very well in the Central Plains.

The city gate commandant had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his whole body was filled with a hidden explosiveness, but his temperament was completely different from his appearance, just presenting a slouchy look.

He sat on the city wall, drinking fine wine, looking into the distance with drunken, blurred eyes, muttering poems like "Yellow sand falls with the sun, wolf smoke rises alone, standing long on the city wall, no one understands."

Suddenly, he saw two figures in the wind and sand, was slightly stunned, then rubbed his eyes and looked again, immediately froze, and then happily rushed to the parapet, looked into the distance, and shouted: "Prime Minister? Young Master?"

Lishan King looked up and smiled faintly at him.

Yan Baixiang used his Qi like thunder and laughed heartily: "Han Zhu, tired of the boredom in the army again, so you came to sit on the city wall?"

The city gate commandant laughed and said: "Young Master, old Han I was bored to death, but since you and the Prime Minister are back, the days ahead probably won't be boring, hahaha."

Lishan King tilted his head slightly, suddenly nudged Yan Baixiang, and said: "Your Uncle Song has left."

Yan Baixiang sighed softly, then clenched his fists and said: "We can always meet again! Father, from now on we will manage here in Thunder Cloud Province; as for the schemes and intrigues in the Imperial Capital, to hell with them."

Lishan King thought of the advantages of Thunder Cloud Province, his son's bravery, and thought of his own influence here, as well as that terrifying brother-in-law, and his heart was quite settled. He let out a breath and said: "Your Uncle Song has the grace of saving our lives, and the grace of teaching you; from now on, we will probably have to rely on him a lot."

Yan Baixiang nodded heavily.

Just as they were speaking, in the distance, at the city gate, Han Zhu had already led a cavalry unit out, and dismounted halfway there.

"Respectfully welcome the King, respectfully welcome the Young Master!"

The voice was loud and clear, dissipating into the wind and sand.

For a time, the heroic spirit in Lishan King's heart was reborn.

Whoosh! Song Cheng returned to his body with a thought, and only then did he hurriedly return to Hanping Village.

This time escorting the Yan father and son, part of his own power was tempered and exerted, but it was only a part; others such as "Xuanwu Swallows the Moon" could not be verified in actual combat.

Returning to the village, he first bathed, and then while gorging himself, he saw his wife and children coming over one by one.

Song Cheng asked about the recent events, and after knowing that everything was fine and that no spies like "Yin Mingzong" had appeared again, he also let out a breath; the safety of his wife and children was his bottom line.

Since they were safe, he began to turn his thoughts to the matter of "demon beasts."

In fact, at the very beginning, the idea held by both him and Young Miss An was to "tame a batch of Demon Beasts" and then roam the wilderness, allowing for both advance and retreat.

But this plan was disrupted by a series of subsequent events; now, after going in circles, it has come back to being a matter of consideration.

Demon Beasts have robust Qi and blood, far beyond what ordinary people can compare to; if a group of Demon Beasts were gathered together, they could survive even in the Ghost Domain, which would be like a "Yang-Qi warship."

Besides this, in these times where military power is becoming increasingly important, Demon Beast Cavalry will also appear very important.

Song Cheng knows deeply that the most terrifying combat power of Hanping Village is not him, but him commanding troops.

How to make soldiers the strongest and most elite is also a thing he tirelessly and unwearyingly wants to do.

If a person has no long-term worries, they will have near-term troubles; only by constantly thinking about how to become stronger can one have an extra possibility of surviving in this "incredibly deep" world.

However, mentioning Demon Beasts, one cannot bypass "Taming Technique."

Song Cheng has earnestly looked into the Taming Technique of White Camel Manor.

No.

That is not Taming Technique, it is only Snake Taming Technique.

And as everyone knows, "Snake Knights" do not exist, so the limitations of this taming method of White Camel Manor are very great.

The only chance he has to come into contact with Taming Technique is actually through Madam Zhushan.

Madam Zhushan has entered the Barbarian lands for a long time and has stayed in the "center of power" of the Barbarians for a long time; with her studious personality, she must have learned the "Taming Method" to a great extent.

During a chat last time, Madam Zhushan said she was "advanced in years and wanted to retire to her hometown," and now it is unknown if there is any follow-up.

Just as he was thinking this, his brows suddenly twitched, and he saw two graceful figures winding out from behind the archway.

One was charming and affectionate, wrapped in red silk, her face carrying a bit of arrogant, naive charm; it was precisely Xiao Yu'er.

The other was an intellectual beauty wearing a snow-white long dress so dignified it could be called conservative; her skin was porcelain-white and crystalline, her chin slightly raised, her eyes neither wandering nor glancing sideways, carrying a bit of cold pride that looked down on everything and saw no one in the world.

This... if this is not Su Mengzhen, then who is it? With these two standing together, if you picked any man who wasn't blind and asked him "who is more charming," that man would inevitably say "Xiao Yu'er," yet... that dignified and conservative beauty in the white dress was the one who was truly charming to the bone.

That kind of charm is soul-stirring and highly targeted.

If one has not seen such style, if one has not enjoyed such ultimate bliss, it is difficult to comprehend that kind of "high-level charm."

Su Mengzhen walked unhurriedly, as if in her eyes, Song Cheng was also just an ordinary man no different from anyone else.

Xiao Yu'er quickened her pace, plopped down in front of Song Cheng, and coquettishly said: "How did you take so long to return from your tribulation? Sister was already finished long ago. Speak! Where did you run off to again?"

The fox fairy Young Miss, who was somewhat cunning at the beginning, after becoming completely familiar with Song Cheng, could no longer disguise herself, becoming her true self and incredibly frank; Song Cheng, meanwhile, curiously glanced at Su Mengzhen, then said: "I thought your sister went somewhere to cultivate."

Xiao Yu'er was relentless, not letting the topic go, and said: "So, why did you come back so late?"

Song Cheng sniffed his nose and suddenly discovered that there was actually a faint smell of alcohol on Xiao Yu'er, so he wondered: "You drank alcohol?"

Xiao Yu'er said offhandedly: "It's drunken chicken, a new dish at the restaurant. Don't change the subject, hurry up and speak!"

Song Cheng said: "Sister Su, this matter actually has to do with you."

"What does it have to do with my sister?" Xiao Yu'er asked curiously.

Song Cheng felt there was nothing to hide, and it just so happened he needed to consult the two women about the matter of the "foster father," so he poured out everything: "The Yan father and son visualized Su Mengzhen, but Su Mengzhen didn't appear, so they had to visualize him, and he escorted the Yan father and son into Thunder Cloud Province, killed a mysterious monk along the way, and Yan Baixiang admires him and wants to acknowledge him as a foster father, and he said he would consider it," and so on.

Su Mengzhen sat down beside Xiao Yu'er, asked Song Cheng about the time, and then said: "At that time, I was indeed in the Ice Coffin of the Su Family contemplating the Three-Tail technique, and I truly did not perceive the visualization.

Afterward, I discovered that contemplating alone was too slow, so I wanted to cultivate with you, Little Song. At that time, you and I will each practice our own, and if there are doubts or uncertainties, we will verify them against each other. Therefore, I set off from the Su Family's Ice Coffin and came here.

Moreover, A Ting, Xiao An, and Ling Xue all still need to learn; as a teacher, how can one not teach them well?"

Speaking of the children, a natural gentleness appeared on Su Mengzhen's face; it was a purity that made one feel extremely comfortable without being mixed with the slightest bit of desire.

Xiao Yu'er said: "Then I forgive you. But, my sister's child wants to acknowledge you as a foster father, that has to be up to my sister."

Song Cheng looked at Su Mengzhen again and smiled: "That child Yan Baixiang is obsessed with the military path, and I just happened to give him a few pointers, and he became fascinated. Acknowledging me as a foster father, I imagine he still wants to hear me lecture.

As for the Lishan King, he needs me as a hired hand to save his life at critical moments, so he is also happy to see it happen."

Su Mengzhen discovered a blind spot that Xiao Yu'er had not noticed and said: "Little Song, you said you killed a monk; a monk capable of hunting down the Lishan King should be the true body of a great family descendant, right? How did you kill him?"

At this point, Xiao Yu'er also looked at Song Cheng in astonishment.

Su Mengzhen secretly glanced at her sister's reaction and sighed inwardly.

To tell the truth, if her sister is not familiar with someone, she can barely pretend to be mature and cunning, making people think she might be a "calculating vixen," but once she is familiar... then anyone would discover there is no "calculating" at all; she is completely unaware of what she said the day before, she is truly naive.

And what kind of existence Song Cheng is, she cannot see through.

To bind such a brother-in-law, she still has to put in the effort herself.

To this day, she still hasn't figured out how the "Reappearance Tribulation" was passed.

Because according to the progress of the "Reappearance Tribulation," she was certain to die.

Song Cheng naturally could not reveal the "Three Phases" or the "Black Tortoise Ghost Soul."

Because this simply could not be explained.

Why are you capable of Six-Tail, why can you reappear? Why do you have two souls?

This involves too much, how could he explain it?

Therefore, Song Cheng chose the simplest explanation: "A treasure given by a noble person."

Xiao Yu'er had also heard about the "noble person."

And with "a treasure given by a noble person," the logic was sound.

The three did not chat further about this matter and soon turned to the matter of the "foster father."

Xiao Yu'er blinked her eyes, looked at Su Mengzhen, and said: "Sister, that is your only descendant; letting Song Cheng help take care of him is also quite good."

She wanted to be in favor of it.

Su Mengzhen smiled politely and said: "But if that happens, it will be too much trouble for Little Song; doesn't Little Song have his own things to do? Going to take care of that brat for free really doesn't make sense."

Xiao Yu'er said: "Song Cheng, what do you think?"

Song Cheng said: "I listen to my wife."

Xiao Yu'er said: "Then it's settled."

She is very close to her eldest sister; although her eldest sister's descendant is not a ghost, she also feels a bit of closeness, and with Little Song helping to look after him, she is also happy.

After a moment, the three finished chatting, and the two women rose to leave, but Su Mengzhen walked away with Xiao Yu'er without even looking back.

Even though the look Song Cheng cast toward her held a hidden heat, he was met only with ice-like indifference, as if that day had truly been a Dream, as if nothing had ever happened.

The hem of her snow-white long dress swayed gently over her embroidered shoes, revealing a few glimpses of snow-white skin in the wind—her ankles, appearing and disappearing. The long dress was not made of silk, nor was it in the least bit transparent, completely concealing her crystalline, slender legs. However, the dress was craftily designed to be extremely form-fitting, so the curves of her figure were still outlined; from her waist and back to her legs and hips, the arcs were clear, graceful, and alluring.

She was like a cold, aloof flower.

She kept him at a distance, neither warm nor cold.

Clearly, you have already possessed her, yet she uses her actions and words at every moment to tell you, "You have never possessed me."

Song Cheng felt he might have been PUA'd. His sister-in-law was clearly a high-level bad woman.

Yet it was precisely this kind of bad woman who made his heart beat faster for no reason, making even his breathing grow rapid.

Song Cheng watched the backs of the two women as they left, only withdrawing his gaze after a long while; then, he composed his mind, took the "Kulou Shuangyu Peidai" from the room, and opened the communication link to Lady Zhushan.

Whether Lady Zhushan could return was related to "whether he could obtain the Taming Technique of the barbarian lands," which was very important.

However, there was no response.

Song Cheng frowned slightly, feeling that this was not very normal.

If it were in the past, no response might mean Lady Zhushan was extremely busy, but now it was somewhat strange.

He intended to try again later, so he put away the jade pendant and turned toward the neighboring courtyard.

In the neighboring courtyard, the beauty in the snow-white long dress was already teaching the three children.

A Ting was drawing.

Xiao An was "aba-aba-ing" while learning characters.

Xiao Lingxue, meanwhile, had bright eyes and sat with a straight posture, just like "the model student in Song Cheng's perception."

Song Cheng's arrival made A Ting smile at him, and Song Cheng returned a smile to his little darling.

Xiao An reacted belatedly, waving and shouting, "Daddy!"

Beside her, Xiao Lingxue said, "Quiet, we are in class."

The sister-in-law also only swept a faint glance at Song Cheng from the corner of her eye, then clapped her hands and said, "Xiao An, listen to the lesson carefully."

Xiao An looked aggrieved.

Song Cheng smiled and said, "Listen to Teacher Su."

Then he walked away.

Returning to Hanping Village, Song Cheng naturally had to stroll around the surroundings, and to avoid trouble, he specifically wore the headgear customary for an Ordinary Disciple of the Yinkui Society—a bamboo hat.

And in order to be able to spend, he took a token of an Ordinary Disciple of the "Yinkui Society" from An Jie's room, found a blank "Merit Ledger," scribbled a few strokes on it to add 3 merit points, and then stamped it with An Jie's secret seal as the head of the "Yinkui Society."

Come to think of it, the Yinkui Society had been established for nearly a year and a half.

With An Jie's ability and the foundation of Hanping Prefecture, the Yinkui Society had long since taken proper shape.

In the current Hanping Village, gold and silver were no longer currency; merit points were.

The use of gold and silver was limited to simple food, clothing, housing, and transportation, while the purchase of important items required merit points.

However, gold and silver could also be used to exchange for merit points.

It was roughly 200 taels of silver for 1 merit point.

Conversely, 1 merit point could be exchanged for 100 taels of white silver.

In fact, the things that 1 merit point could purchase usually had a market price of only about 100 taels outside; this was to encourage disciples to obtain merit points by completing tasks.

As for what merit points could be exchanged for? That was a long list.

Besides food, clothing, housing, transportation, beauties, and wealth, there were also resource Pills, divine weapons, and sharp blades, and most importantly... cultivation techniques.

Back then, to support Eldest Miss An in creating the Yinkui Society, Song Cheng had personally handwritten many cultivation techniques.

There were those for the Force Realm, Jin Realm, Form Realm, and Qi Realm.

The first three realms had the most, and among them were even many secret arts.

One must know that for the power of the first three realms, Song Cheng had reached perfection in all of them.

And for the first two realms, he had even reached the ultimate.

A few words from him could produce the effect of "a single sentence of true transmission."

With these cultivation techniques, plus the support of Lady Tong's Pills and so on, the "exchange system" of the Yinkui Society was incomparably rich.

At this time, Song Cheng strolled to the village road of Hanping Village; the farmland in the distance had just finished harvesting, the smell of rice still drifted in the air, and on both sides of the street, restaurants and brothels stood in great numbers, and peddlers and stalls were everywhere one looked.

Shuimo Dashi's blacksmith shop was still at the street corner, and through the thick gray cloth curtains that lifted and fell, one could vaguely see the crimson sparks erupting from within. Outside the blacksmith shop, a Martial Artist was standing, holding a merit ledger and flipping through it, seemingly hesitating whether to spend merit points to buy a "weapon pill."

Qianzhen Ge had also reopened in a new building; the first floor still had trades like gambling on weapons, but unlike before, every shop assistant here would patiently explain the items for sale. The second floor sold Soul Strengthening Pills, Soul-Nurturing Pills, and Heaven-Blessed Pills as usual. And if one had enough merit points, one could even secure a "profession" as a "Soul Refiner" for friends or family.

Among them, the Heaven-Blessed Pill was actually a Medicine Man Pill.

But the name Medicine Man Pill did not sound good, so An Daxiaojie changed it to a new name.

Heaven-Blessed Pill, because only with the blessing of Heaven could you raise your level by a major grade, but precisely because the blessing of Heaven was exhausted, it ended there.

Song Cheng found a restaurant, used 1 merit point to exchange for 100 taels of silver, then ordered fine wine and dishes, and while enjoying the local customs of Hanping Village, he began to feast heartily.

All kinds of sounds and topics from the surroundings reached his ears.

"Have you heard? Mr. Song is back again; it is said he has broken through to some major realm again."

"I am about to break through to the Form Realm; as long as I enter the Form Realm, I will be qualified to take the Heaven-Blessed Pill for free and join the Tiangang Battalion."

The Tiangang Battalion was precisely the battalion Song Cheng had formed with Qi Realm Medicine Men.

"The President is currently only issuing Grade D tasks; one can only get one merit point at a time. When will there be higher-level tasks?"

"Soon. When the timing is right, we will head south; by then, there will be plenty of tasks for you to complete."

Tasks were the source of the Yinkui Society's merit points.

An Daxiaojie had set them into four levels: "A, B, C, and D," but currently there were only "Grade D tasks."

"Chengcheng from the brothel has debuted; I heard that two experts from the Tiangang Battalion are competing for her."

"If the Heavenly Dipper Battalion makes a move, we shouldn't even think about it. I hear that Lady Chengcheng is as beautiful as the moon and as lovely as flowers, and her skill in both zither and dance is peerless."

"I heard that Shangpin Weizhen Pavilion has released the Nine Treasures Flower Carved Chicken again. It seems to be limited edition, with only thirty served each day, and they stop once sold out."

"But as far as I know, that Shangpin Weizhen Pavilion actually only sells twenty a day. Why is that?"

"Don't you know? It's because a big shot reserves ten every day."

"Brother Huang, what cultivation technique have you been practicing lately? Why has your strength increased so much?"

"If you were to take one look at that 'Cimang Jin', you would know how stunningly brilliant the person who created the technique is. I have never heard of such a technique; I fear only the Yin Gui Society would have it."

Hanping Village was noisy and bustling, a scene of common life.

And the smoke rising everywhere revealed the clamor of the human world.

This was a small village where hidden dragons and crouching tigers resided; the "density" of experts here was something even the Imperial Capital could not match.

In this world, it was not only Song Cheng who was progressing; everyone in the Yin Gui Society of this Hanping Village was also progressing.

As Song Cheng watched, he suddenly felt something was missing.

Thinking carefully, perhaps it was a lack of confrontation.

If a Martial Artist has no confrontation, then they lack bloodiness.

Thinking of this, he decided to write another weakened version of the "Xuanwu True Form", making slight adjustments to favor offense over defense, calling it "Jiusou Cimang Xing", and using it as a reward to hold a martial arts competition or something similar.

In his past life, when he read novels, the factions the protagonists belonged to would constantly hold martial arts tournaments; now he felt this was a good idea. However, he did not want to host it himself; he would just make a suggestion to An Jie. If it were to be held, An Jie could completely let her subordinates handle it.

Time passed in such noise and leisure, and Song Cheng spent the entire afternoon doing nothing.

This kind of relaxation made him feel as if he had broken free from the tense rhythm of the previous "Double Reappearance Tribulation" and the "Escorting the Yan Family Father and Son".

After ordering another pot of strong liquor brewed from this year's new grain, Song Cheng finally left.

For just one meal, plus some wine, he had actually spent twenty taels of silver.

It was very clear that An Jie was running a black shop. However, black as it was, the taste of the food and the quality of the wine were truly top-tier.

That night, Song Cheng spent the time it takes to burn two incense sticks to hurriedly compile the "Jiusou Cimang Xing", and after tossing it aside, he became entangled in intimate relations with Tong Niangzi, An Jie, and Xiao Yu'er. Only after it was over did he say that they could use the "Jiusou Cimang Xing" to hold a martial arts tournament to stimulate the Martial Artists.

Tong Niangzi looked at the table in astonishment and asked doubtfully: "Just the one you just wrote? Jiusou Cimang Xing?"

All three women were somewhat astonished; after all, Song Cheng's demeanor just now was completely that of someone perfunctorily scribbling something down quickly.

Song Cheng's days returned to normal.

He tried to contact Lady Zhushan several times, but all failed.

And, under Xiao Yu'er's urging, he had to start contemplating the "Third Tail Technique".

Yu Prefecture.

The relocated Barbarians were entrenched here.

Thick cloth tents stretched for a thousand miles.

Squads of patrolling magical beasts kicked up enough dust to blot out the sky and sun.

The Barbarians did not have much discipline; more than ten people gathered in a group, discussing the human customs of this Yu Prefecture.

The interior was completely different from the North Land; there was no connection to poverty or desolation here, and since most of the wars were in Donghai Zhou and Fengzhou, the Barbarians were living quite comfortably.

It was like robbers entering a rich man's house, being treated to good food and drink by the rich man; at this moment, they were all harboring various greeds.

As for gratitude?

Ghost knows how much there was.

Lady Zhushan was in a rather large tent; inside, there were Barbarian women serving her well, but it was also surveillance.

Ever since she proposed the idea of "retiring to her hometown", this kind of surveillance and confinement had arisen.

Her servants were transferred away, and even her Skull Double Fish Pendant was "accidentally" lost.

Lady Zhushan's heart was naturally cold. At this moment, she lifted the curtain and looked outside, only to see fast horses arriving from afar, carrying envoys who looked like Central Plains people heading toward the direction of the Barbarian King's main tent.

She knew those were people from the noble families of Yu Prefecture.

The people from the noble families had already replaced her and become the guests of honor of the Great Barbarian King.

"My Lady, actually, it's quite good to retire on our side," a Barbarian woman who was pouring beast milk for her said gently, as if casually.

Lady Zhushan said: "Give the Skull Double Fish Pendant to me; I want to speak with the Blade King and the others."

The Barbarian woman attendant said: "My Lady, the Double Fish Pendant was stolen; the Great King is also patrolling everywhere to catch the thief."

Lady Zhushan was speechless and sighed deeply, then said no more.

She could actually visualize Su Ningyu.

And Su Ningyu could also hear the things she prayed for.

But now, whether it was the Barbarian King's order or the order of the Yu Prefecture noble families, Lady Zhushan was being monitored extremely strictly.

And visualization only allows the other party to perceive it when incense is burned.

After all, a monster like Song Cheng with an extremely sensitive Soul is very rare.

But Lady Zhushan had no time to burn incense at all; even when she went to sleep at night, there were maids listening to the movements inside from outside.

These days passed in a flash for several more days.

That night, Lady Zhushan was lying on a beast-skin pine-wood couch when she suddenly felt movement outside.

"General Tuoba, the Barbarian King has ordered that no one is allowed to contact the Lady."

"Did the Barbarian King say that I couldn't either?"

"General..."

Slap! A soft sound.

The maid fainted.

In an instant, the curtain was lifted, and a somewhat rugged armored Barbarian general walked in, bowed respectfully to Lady Zhushan and said: "My Lady, long time no see, Tuoba Qi pays his respects to you."

Lady Zhushan looked at the general before her.

This general was someone the Barbarian King had assigned to follow her orders after she arrived among the Barbarian people; the two of them had worked together to kill quite a few Ghost servants, so they could be considered to have a friendship.

Madam Zhushan was just about to speak when Tuoba Qi said, "I know you are anxious to return, so I have prepared a demonic beast mount and Barbarian soldier attire; please put them on quickly and leave disguised as a patrolling Barbarian soldier."

The two exchanged brief pleasantries.

Madam Zhushan quickly changed her clothes and left with Tuoba Qi, after which she mounted a giant demonic wolf and, following repeated words of thanks, sped off toward the wilderness in the northeast.

Not long after she had left, there was movement behind her; Madam Zhushan pulled hard on the reins, but the person behind her caught up very quickly.

Madam Zhushan took a look and saw it was a Barbarian woman in crimson fitted clothing, with a heroic and unruly air, wearing her hair in small braids.

This Barbarian woman was none other than the Third Princess who had once been a hostage in Hanping Prefecture, and also Song Cheng's disciple—Yuan Biye.

Yuan Biye said hurriedly, "Madam, turn back! Tuoba Qi does not have good intentions; he let you go in order to kill you!"

Madam Zhushan said in astonishment, "Why would he want to kill me?"

Yuan Biye said urgently, "The noble families cannot tolerate you! Come back with me quickly, the ambush is right ahead!"

(End of chapter)