Chapter 546: Zhao Jin Is Nothing More Than a Watchdog

The gates of the manor where the Sacred Maiden Hall was located were tightly shut, and the outside was desolate. The servants from various households who had come to look around in the morning had already received word that the Sacred Maiden was in secluded cultivation today and would not be seeing anyone.

"Xiaolan, Steward Le is sincere about offering incense. He's given us so many offerings, and all he wants is to see you before the new year. Won't you just agree?"

"Fourth Uncle, how many benefits have you taken from this old Le? He's been spreading word outside that he wants his eleventh concubine to dress up like me. For the sake of the situation here, I've swallowed my anger and let it go. So what, Fourth Uncle, do you also want to help an outsider trample on your own niece?"

Mu Shulan's fourth uncle, Mu Wujia, was standing outside the parlor door. Two fourteen-year-old boys were watching him with unfriendly expressions. Hearing Mu Shulan's reply, Mu Wujia's face turned ashen. He opened his mouth, but then glimpsed the two boys guarding the door both slipping their hands into their robes, and from both sides of the corridor he could faintly hear the sound of lightened footsteps. He let out a long breath. Ever since his niece had taken in over a hundred young boys and girls to stay by her side, she had not been very obedient anymore.

"Fine, fine. If you say no meeting, then no meeting. I'll just say this one thing: since you still know you're my niece, you ought to understand not to take this Sacred Maiden identity too seriously!" Mu Wujia gritted his teeth and finished these words, then turned and left. Walking through the long corridor and seeing some short, thin figures flickering on both sides, he couldn't help but quicken his pace.

The parlor was very warm. Several young women stood with hands lowered at the four corners of the room. Mu Shulan, who had grown considerably, was sitting in a chair and said with a smile, "You've worked hard this time. Please, sit."

Standing before Mu Shulan was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a passable cotton robe. His face was dark, lined with dense wrinkles, and he looked like a traveling merchant who toiled from place to place, scraping a profit to feed his family. This middle-aged man was extremely deferential and uneasy before Mu Shulan, not even daring to raise his eyelids, standing with his head bowed and hands lowered.

"In the presence of the Sacred Maiden, how could a lowly one like me dare to sit? This time, after passing through Xuzhou, this lowly one also went to Henan and Northern Zhili, so my return to report is a bit late. I beg the Sacred Maiden's forgiveness. Everywhere this lowly one observed, I have already left hidden markers for later verification."

Mu Shulan nodded with a beaming smile and said softly, "I trust you. If you say you went, then you certainly went. Quickly, tell me, how are things over there?"

"Replying to the Sacred Maiden, there have been no changes within Xuzhou City. Everything is still the same as before. The most prosperous place in the Xuzhou region nowadays is He Village... does the Sacred Maiden not know? It's out the west gate..."

This middle-aged man described the current situation in Xuzhou in detail. Mu Shulan listened very attentively. After finishing the general overview, the man then spoke of the notable figures of Xuzhou: "... In the past, Xuzhou had many figures, this hero, that bold warrior, but now they only speak of one person, and that is Zhao Jin..."

When this name was spoken, everyone in the room remained normal. Those recruited in Linqing Prefecture did not know who Zhao Jin was, and the smile on Mu Shulan's own face did not change either; she still listened with the same rapt attention.

"... That Zhao Jin got married last year. I hear the child will be born around June or July next year..."

Hearing this, Mu Shulan's smile did not change, but a closer look would reveal it had stiffened somewhat. She maintained this expression all the way until the other party finished his account.

The smile on Mu Shulan's face grew even gentler as she said warmly, "Although it is now the twelfth month, you must not stay in Linqing. If others were to learn that you went to Xuzhou and then came to speak with me, I'm afraid it would be inconvenient for you. After you leave, someone will give you silver. Remember, do not speak of this matter to outsiders, and take care of yourself."

That man bowed with his hands clasped and said respectfully, "The Sacred Maiden can rest assured. This lowly one knows what to do."

After he finished speaking, one of the young women standing in the corner of the room stepped forward and led the middle-aged man out. Just now, listening to the other party recount the details of Xuzhou, Mu Shulan had listened with complete concentration, her posture unchanged. Now she could finally relax, leaning back more comfortably against the chair. Mu Shulan rubbed her eyes a few times with her hand, then simply covered them.

At first, the serving girls beside her did not notice. Only after a while did they realize something was wrong and hurried over. Sensing that her attendants had approached, Mu Shulan lowered her hands. At a rough glance, nothing seemed amiss, but the rims of her eyes were slightly red, and there seemed to be traces of moisture in her eyes. This could not fool anyone.

Before anyone could ask, Mu Shulan forced a smile and said, "The incense you've lit is a bit pungent. It forced the tears out."

Although the young women serving Mu Shulan were all orphans she had taken in, they could still understand the reason behind this scene. One who was closer to her could not help but say, "If the Sacred Maiden wishes to go back, then just go back. Who could stop you?"

Mu Shulan put away her smile and said flatly, "If I were to return to Xuzhou, my second uncle and fourth uncle would no longer be my second uncle and fourth uncle..."

"Cult Master, the five men we sent to Xuzhou have again gone silent. I fear the worst!" Shen Zhi, the Dharma Transmission Venerable of the Fragrance-Smelling Sect, reported with trepidation. After he finished, he stole a glance at the expression of Cult Master Xu Hongru.

Xu Hongru, his hair loose and wearing a feathered robe, sat upright. His eyes were narrowed, and it was unclear whether he was dozing or pondering.

Shen Zhi glanced at Xia Zhongjin and Hou Wu standing to the side, as well as Xu Hongju, who stood off to one side with a dark expression. Everyone's faces looked rather grim.

"On and off, we've sent nearly a hundred people to Xuzhou, haven't we?" Xu Hongru suddenly opened his mouth to ask.

Shen Zhi hurriedly bowed and replied, "Replying to the Cult Master, ninety-five Incense Transmission Emissaries, and over one thousand two hundred loyal cult members..."

Before he could finish, Xu Hongru gave a snort, and Shen Zhi immediately shut his mouth. Xu Hongru said flatly, "Loyal cult members are a dime a dozen, but these Incense Transmission Emissaries are the seeds of our cult. With one person, they can transform into a hundred, a thousand. How much effort does it take to nurture a single Incense Transmission Emissary?"

His tone was flat, but the few standing there had been with Xu Hongru for a long time and could naturally hear the anger contained within his words. The few of them bowed their heads even lower.

"You keep saying that Zhao Jin is a great threat to our cult and must be eliminated as soon as possible, but apart from continuously feeding in manpower, what else have you done?"

"Cult Master, it is not that your subordinates have been inactive, but that the traitor Zheng Quan is detestable, and some others who defected are also aiding the tyrant. Even if those we send exercise the utmost caution, they are still discovered." After explaining a couple of sentences, he frantically signaled with his eyes to the few people beside him.

Hou Wu coughed and also bowed, saying, "Cult Master, that villain Zhao Jin is now powerful. The greenwood strongmen near Xuzhou dare not help us. We even sent people several times to contact them, only to have them help deliver our men over instead..."

"And yet you are still doing big business with Zhao Jin over at Yutou Town. A third of the liquor sent to Northern Zhili is under your own names?" Xu Hongru's tone remained flat.

However, before the sound of these words had faded, everyone's faces changed. Each of them bowed their heads in utter terror. Even Xu Hongju, who had been angry all along, flushed bright red.

Xu Hongru opened his eyes, stood up from his seat, and looked at those terrified subordinates. He shook his head and spoke with earnest gravity, "We are here to accomplish great things. We cannot afford to be unable to let go of grudges. If those Incense Transmission Emissaries were placed in Shandong, in a situation like this year's, how many people could one man rally? How great a situation could one man create? Going to Xuzhou, isn't that just sending them to their deaths?"

"Gr-Great Cult Master, that little villain Zhao Jin lies across the Xuzhou region and is a great threat to our great undertaking. He now has thousands, nearly ten thousand men under his command. If we are to do great things, he is a stone lying across the road. Without him, we could go all the way to Southern Zhili; with him, it is hard for us to move!" Xu Hongju said somewhat anxiously.

Xu Hongru gave Xu Hongju a cold look and said, "How do you propose to remove this stone? Send Incense Transmission Emissaries to play petty tricks? Last time you led tens of thousands of refugees and still failed. Now with this piecemeal approach, do you think our cult has too many seeds?"

"But... but we can't just let him lie there, watching Zhao Jin grow stronger by the day!" Among those in the room, only Xu Hongju dared to speak like this. If anyone else did, it would be gross disrespect.

Hearing this, Xu Hongru gave a cold laugh and said with considerable disdain, "You suffered a setback once, lost face once, and now you're fixated on getting it back, but you've forgotten the overall situation of our cult. The situation in Shandong is so good right now, yet we still haven't taken what we should. Apart from the Mu family of Dongchang Prefecture, there are still some reckless fools competing with our cult for followers. Instead of attending to these matters, you're fixated on Xuzhou?"

Just as Xu Hongju was about to speak again, Xu Hongru cast him a faint glance, and Xu Hongju immediately fell silent. Xu Hongru continued, "You say Xuzhou is a great stone, and you feel uneasy if it's not removed, yet you also find it impossibly difficult. Back then, tens of thousands couldn't take it, so now you can only resort to underhanded means. In my view, you've all gotten stuck in a dead end. If forty thousand couldn't take it, what about a hundred thousand? What about a million?"

Xu Hongru's voice rose slightly. The few people in the room were all awed into silence, yet their faces showed dawning realization. Shen Zhi, the quickest to react, hurriedly lowered his head and said, "The Cult Master is divinely wise. Even if Zhao Jin had three heads and six arms, he would be nothing before a host of a hundred thousand or a million."

With the Fragrance-Smelling Sect's agitation and guidance, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of disaster victims would surge forward in a rolling tide. This human tide would be like an ocean wave, rushing forth and crushing everything in its path to pieces. Thinking of this, everyone inexplicably felt confident.

"One Incense Transmission Emissary sent to Xuzhou is just one man. But that one man placed in Shandong becomes a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand. Why must you be so impatient for this moment?" Xu Hongru continued. This time, everyone was thoroughly convinced.

Before anyone could speak up to flatter him, Xu Hongru sighed and gently tapped the tea table, saying, "It seems next year's harvest will be good. This is quite unfavorable for our cult. Everyone, focus your efforts on managing the situation in Shandong. As for Xuzhou, just send people to keep an eye on it. You always say how formidable that Zhao Jin is, but in my view, he is nothing more than a greedy, profit-seeking watchdog!"

Thanks to the four book friends "dddddddd, Yuan Li Heng Zhen, Sweet Sugarcane, Wu Liulang" for their tips. Special thanks to Sweet Sugarcane, you are now the Sect Leader of this book. Thank you all for your monthly tickets and subscriptions. Thank you, everyone. I woke up late today.