Chapter 42: 42 Calming the Disturbance

An Chenyu said this, and as if she had heard movement outside the door, she said indifferently, "Little Song, your wife has come looking for you."

"Go out first, tell your wife not to worry, and prepare to move here to live."

"As for Ling'er, have you slept with her?"

Song Cheng shook his head.

An Chenyu said, "Then let her stand in the courtyard and reflect properly."

Song Cheng agreed.

Afterwards, he opened the door, handled things just as An Chenyu had said, and then returned to the room.

The Young Miss continued, "The matter of the County Magistrate involves the true power structure of the Great Shang Dynasty; ordinary commoners do not know of it, and those in my Chamber of Commerce who know are also few and far between."

"I will tell you now."

Song Cheng nodded and listened patiently.

An Chenyu said, "First, before the Great Shang Dynasty, there was no dynasty, only martial arts forces as scattered as sand. Great Shang is the first dynasty to unify the martial arts world."

"Second, the predecessor to the Great Shang Dynasty's Imperial Court was actually two martial arts forces: the Divine Weapon Hall and the Star Gazing Tower."

"The Fine Blade you are holding in your hand is a bolt from the Chaos-Breaking Qi Crossbow that the Imperial Court manufactured back then."

"The Chaos-Breaking Qi Crossbow is a giant crossbow, which is why the bolt is long."

"Do you see the linear groove on the hilt of your Fine Blade?"

"That is for hooking the crossbow string."

"Did you see a scabbard before? Actually, that is not a scabbard, but an embedded-style crossbow bolt."

"Back then, the Great Shang Imperial Court's iron cavalry trampled in all directions, and the Four Symbols Guard established by the dynasty were also equipped with these giant crossbows; many Martial Artists died to these bolts, which is why the bolts can often be seen in various places, scattered everywhere."

"However, there are many specifications for the bolts of the Chaos-Breaking Qi Crossbow; the one in your hand does not count as ordinary, but it is not high-grade goods either."

"Third, after the two behemoths, the Divine Weapon Hall and the Star Gazing Tower, merged into one and transformed into the Imperial Court."

"The remaining sects that expressed submission also followed suit and changed, becoming feudal lords of various provinces and circuits."

"These sects are large and small, with roots intertwined; on the surface, the dynasty appoints all officials, but in reality, in many places, the sects have the final say."

"Hanping Prefecture is just such a place."

"Hanping Prefecture borders the Six Towns and is itself a frontier prefecture; of the eighteen counties within it, the County Magistrate of every county is appointed by those reclusive sects in Hanping Prefecture."

"However, there are three sects in Hanping Prefecture."

"White Camel Manor. 'Grass Sea Startled Snake Form' is theirs, and this Shanghe County Magistrate is also their person."

"Zhushan Temple. When the Ghost Tide rises, they enter the city; when the Ghost Tide leaves, they return to the mountain. This sect seems extremely sensitive to evil Ghosts."

"Mountain River Martial Hall. Great recluses hide in the city; ordinary commoners only think it is a martial hall in the center of Hanping Prefecture, not knowing that among the eighteen counties of Hanping Prefecture, they occupy the largest share."

Song Cheng nodded, then shared the information about "evil Ghosts peeling human skin and sneaking into the city" with the Young Miss, and the two of them shared their information.

At this time, it was already dark outside the window, but the Young Miss was extremely busy; she first went out to make some arrangements regarding the "evil Ghosts sneaking into the city," and then sent someone to inform the government, especially about the matter of evil Ghosts sneaking into Biliu Courtyard.

The government has its own experts, and guarding the county seat is their duty.

As for where the news came from? Her Ruyi Chamber of Commerce is a force after all, can't it have its own information channels?

On the other side, Tong Jia moved her luggage to this courtyard.

The servants and guards clicked their tongues in wonder, asking questions one by one with strange expressions.

Before long, the two brothers Wang Tianchuan and Wang Tianma even ran over specifically to find the Young Miss, seemingly wanting to persuade her. But the Young Miss clearly had many methods, and no one knows what she said, but she made the two brothers obediently go to stand night watch.

In the Young Miss's courtyard, besides the main room, there were east and west side rooms, and a tea shed in the center, totaling five rooms and one shed.

Ling'er and Ying'er lived in the west side room.

Song Cheng and Tong Niangzi moved in and lived in the east side room.

After the Young Miss finished her busy round and returned, she pulled Tong Niangzi aside to talk for a long time before leaving.

The sky gradually darkened, and Shanghe County looked as usual, yet tonight was destined to be sleepless.

Song Cheng held his wife, lying on the new bed in the new room.

Today, his wife was actually wearing a brand-new moon-white silk bodice with red plum blossoms.

When asked, it was a gift from the Young Miss.

The Young Miss had many new clothes she had never worn, but her figure was tall and slender, so the dresses were all a size larger than Tong Niangzi's, but the silk bodice was just right.

After some intimacy, Tong Niangzi nestled in her man's arms and suddenly said, "I quite like An Jie."

Song Cheng smiled and said, "You're calling her An Jie already?"

Tong Niangzi said, "I asked, An Jie is four years older than us, and she looks so mature, her conduct is steady, she is well-informed, her conversation is extraordinary, and she is as clever as ice and snow..."

She counted them off one by one on her fingers.

Song Cheng:... Tong Niangzi finished praising her, then sighed and said, "However, it really isn't easy for her."

Song Cheng said, "What did she tell you?"

Tong Niangzi said, "Just domestic trifles, and her thoughts, I suppose."

"She is very strong-willed and is determined to let the An Family complete a class transition and become a stronger family."

"That way, her children, and even the descendants of the An Family, can all have a better starting point."

"But it just so happens that her father is someone who likes to travel the mountains and rivers."

"Her older brother is a troublemaker who only knows how to eat, drink, and play; he can't do good deeds, but he is a master at doing bad ones..." Song Cheng nodded casually, then glanced at the panel.

【Add Points: 40 points】

6.4% probability to deduce the superior cultivation art of "Xuanwu True Strength."

Each deduction costs 4 points.

He was only one step away from the superior cultivation art, which was also the reason why he had previously calmly displayed his methods in front of An Chenyu.

'Wait a bit longer, wait until I gather 20 deductions, then I'll do it.'

Song Cheng suppressed the urge to Add Points right now.

His performance today was actually a bit rushed.

However, this also had to do with the Young Miss returning early and the sudden outbreak of the Ghost Tide.

He had no choice.

Because he could only bind with An Chenyu.

Just as An Chenyu had no choice and could only bind with him.

Nowadays, the survival environment is extremely harsh.

Whether it is him or An Chenyu, they both need each other.

An alliance must be forged, so that there can be a greater possibility of surviving.

Outside the window, the moonlight was clear, illuminating Shanghe County, yet outside the county, there was a faint gray fog surrounding the city.

"Will the Ghost Tide really disperse?"

Song Cheng held his wife tightly and also felt Tong Niangzi wrap herself tightly around him.

In a desperate world, wanting to survive is not easy.

As for others, Song Cheng cannot manage too much, but at least he must become stronger to protect those around him.

The next day.

Ling'er stood until dawn.

News came from the manor that there was a big fire at Biliu Courtyard last night, and the government ordered the County Soldiers to surround the place completely.

Then, some people saw those warbling, delicate courtesans making strange screams in the fire, their bodies twisting.

Those who tried to escape were shot through by fire arrows, and then one by one they were burned into monsters with only human skin and no flesh or blood.

The government was indeed swift and decisive, directly issuing a city lockdown order, prohibiting movement inside and outside the city.

At the same time, they banned all trade and business in the city, telling everyone to return to their own homes.

Those with grain eat grain; those without grain but with money buy grain from the government or the Ruyi Chamber of Commerce; those with neither grain nor money have the government open relief granaries to collect rice porridge on time every day.

As for how thick the rice porridge is, don't count on it.

At most, it just keeps you from starving to death.

Song Cheng was worried that the government hadn't killed them all and that there were fish that slipped through the net, so he grabbed his Fine Blade and walked back and forth through the entire Shanghe County twice, but the result was quite interesting: there were none left.

Upon further inquiry, he discovered that the government had even found and killed the young master of the Water Bird Martial Arts Hall, along with some scholars and literati.

Clearly, the government had found a complete clue and solved the matter on their own, which made Song Cheng feel quite redundant.

However, it is also good that the government can handle things.

It seems that while that County Magistrate is greedy, he still has methods when he gets serious.

After walking around like this, when Song Cheng returned to the manor, he saw everyone in the Ruyi Chamber of Commerce looking at him strangely, each with an expression of astonishment, oddity, and surprise.

It wasn't until Ying'er coughed that everyone quickly ran away to attend to their own business.

Ding Kui grabbed a bright red "Double Happiness" window paper-cut, ran in front of Song Cheng, and said, "Brother, awesome, old Ding I admire you!"

Wang Tianchuan, Wang Tianma, and Gao Lin were the three Martial Artists of the Jin Realm brought here by the Young Miss; at this moment, they each glanced at Song Cheng from afar with strange expressions, as if they wanted to come over to ask questions, but after being glared at by Ying'er, they all left.

After all, Ying'er is actually the strongest person here; although she cannot compare to Shi Yi, she is stronger than the other Jin Realm Martial Artists.

Ying'er scanned left and right, and seeing no one else, she said coldly, "Husband, I want to test my blade."

In fact, Ying'er is the one who is the least convinced.

The Young Miss said Song Cheng is very strong, but Ying'er is not convinced.

Song Cheng nodded, pulled Ying'er to the side courtyard, and then, as if bullying a child, casually knocked Ying'er's blade away with one strike, then left the stunned and shocked Ying'er behind and walked out himself.

He glanced at his own data: 【Strength: 49~98】

As the rust was polished away, the data provided by that Fine Blade changed from "5" to "8", but it seemed this value could still rise.

Song Cheng looked at his remaining points again.

47 points! Enough to perform 11 deductions.

Still not enough.

He decided to wait patiently.

"Still too weak."

"However, there are no Form Realm existences in Shanghe County. If it is as the Young Miss said and the Ghost Tide does not last long, then I can just use this time to become stronger."

(End of this chapter)