Immortality Path: From the Blind Man at the Pharmacy-Chapter 78 - 75. Eve (Subscribe please)
Chapter 78: 75. Eve (Subscribe, please)
Chapter 78: 75. Eve (Subscribe, please)
The moonlight revealed a cold, dark road.
Song Cheng walked alone on the path back to the prefectural city.
With data, a heart’s eye, and strength, he easily avoided every passerby, making himself seem like a ghost walking the streets of the prefectural city, a person who existed outside of anyone’s perception.
The humanoid forms built from white lines had mostly lain down in this pitch-black world.
The young man walked alone all the way, climbed over the wall at Ruyi Commerce Chamber, quickly returned to his family’s courtyard, removed his bamboo hat and cloak, and sat on the stone stool in the small courtyard.
He needed to rid himself of the hostile air, murderous intent, and the dust of the road, then enter the house.
Hostile air and murderous intent were meant for enemies and trouble.
At home, there was no need for that.
But it wasn’t long before the door opened on its own.
Miss An came out in her nightgown, her hair uncombed, yet she exuded a lazy elegance.
This woman seemed to always know how to keep herself dignified and decent, never showing an unbecoming side, even now.
She twisted her waist, took long strides, sat opposite Song Cheng, rested her chin in her hand, and asked, “Song, are you hungry?”
Song Cheng smiled and said, “Do you want to get Ling to make noodles for me?”
An Chenyu nodded.
She could do many things well, but cooking was not one of them.
She had vowed to become a strong woman during her time in the mire, and thus she refused to have her ten fingers stained by domestic chores because the kitchen was a place for small women.
That was her principle.
But maybe she was too satisfied with her husband in front of her, so… the next moment, she broke her own principle which had never been broken: “I can go and do it, but I’m afraid it won’t taste good.”
Song Cheng said softly, “The ones who extorted my family, the Gao Family, and the Shanhe Martial Arts Hall disciples from the Chi Family are dead.”
“Yes.”
“But I didn’t kill them, Yuan Qianke did. He took their money to fund the military, and that money won’t be coming back.”
An Chenyu was silent, then shook her head lightly with a smile, as if having a deep realization, and said, “Song, you’re wrong.”
Song Cheng: ???
An Chenyu said calmly, “That money will definitely come back, and it will be the Shanhe Martial Arts Hall who will send it back politely and full of apologies, not missing a penny.”
She brushed back her hair and explained, “Tomorrow, I’m afraid those few people’s corpses will be hanging on the street. Shanhe Martial Arts Hall will have eliminated the riffraff, established discipline, improved its reputation, and then will return all the money to our An family, the Gao family, and the Chi family.
At the same time, the person they send will definitely complain about how challenging it is to fight the barbarians outside the city.
This way, our An family will have regained ten thousand taels, but we will have to donate that ten thousand taels plus another three to five thousand to support their barbarian fight.
It’s not unusual for the big households to donate money or for the government to go on an expedition.
This kind of thing is bound to happen; it’s just taking advantage of the situation. If this situation wasn’t there, the government would have openly approached each family for military expenses anyway.
Moreover, I feel that this matter doesn’t just involve the An family, the Gao family, and the Chi family.
The big families of the prefectural city will all have to contribute financially.
If you don’t offer money, can you feel at ease?
The Ma family, which left the city early, had their entire family’s property confiscated for public use.”
Song Cheng was silent.
But at the same time, he felt a mature and intellectual womanly charm emanating from Miss An, the true charm of someone with a broad vision and status, which when coupled with her physical beauty added even more allure.
An Chenyu stretched lazily and said, “Song, you’ve been busy all night. Let me go make noodles for you.”
Song Cheng said, “Sister An, not having those.”
An Chenyu asked, “Then what do you want?”
Song Cheng didn’t say anything, stood up, and scooped up Miss An.
Miss An nestled her head against him, wrapping her arms around his neck, her long legs draping obediently from the crook of his arm, swaying like an autumn swing in the wind.
The two entered the room, mounting the horse.
Spells continuously cast, critical hits…
…
The next day, things went as An Chenyu had predicted.
But it wasn’t just the Shanhe Martial Arts Hall’s outer disciples who extorted the An, Gao, and Chi families that were killed “as a sacrifice to the heavens,” there were many more…
Altogether, nearly two hundred people in total.
These people…
Some believed that “the Northern Barbarians coming south meant chaos had begun,” so they ignored the law and tried to take control of a small family with their own skills. Instead, this man had his hands severed, legs chopped off, and was hung bleeding in the city, not completely dead.
Some secretly formed connections, bribed the city’s garrison officers to let them leave the city quietly. As a result, this family was completely wiped out and bankrupted, and those with some strength were pressed into military service, while the weak were left on the roadside as beggars.
Some intercepted family martial artists to stop them from aiding the government, and they too had their homes confiscated…
Of course, most of them were engaging in “extortion.”
Many people thought that the chaos had arisen, and rushed to gather as much money as possible, so they could flee when things truly got messy.
Thus, these people were eradicated.
Shanhe Martial Arts Hall then sent people to every family to soothe them, returning the “extorted money.”
Afterwards, these small forces and families that had been visited by Shanhe Martial Arts Hall were all grateful, each swearing that their family could hardly repay them, and could only donate more military funds to show their gratitude.
An family…
An Chenyu returned the ten thousand taels, and added three thousand taels, sending off the two Shanhe Martial Arts Hall disciples who had come to visit.
As the two disciples left, one suddenly turned back as if about to say something, but was quickly pulled away by the other.
An Chenyu was puzzled, but no matter how clever she was, she couldn’t guess this kind of thing out of thin air.
She really didn’t know what that disciple was about to say.
…
As the two disciples went further away.
One of them said, “Wouldn’t it be convenient to extort her? Recently, the deceased from the Chen Family had a tiff at the An Residence, right?”
The other replied, “What extortion? Haven’t you heard what the External Affairs Envoy said?”
“What did they say?”
“The External Affairs Envoy said, don’t open another front, let the government muddle through the Chen Family situation in any way they see fit to conclude it.
In truth, it’s simple, I feel that if the Chen Family really makes a fuss, just grab someone without a road guide, who has a record, kill them, and give them an explanation, wouldn’t that be enough.”
“This…”
“The External Affairs Envoy said, that needle… killing him was enough. Do you still want to investigate?
Besides, don’t you know what kind of people the Chen Family are?”
“…”
The disciple who wanted to speak didn’t say anything then, his expression serious, hesitated for a while, and asked confusedly: “That impressive?”
The other disciple said, “In civil matters, no one admits they’re inferior. Do you think the External Affairs Envoy would lie about this?
That’s a sewing needle!
Piercing walls, killing people, penetrating a foot into the ground, and what happened… it shattered the surrounding floor tiles. When the needle was retrieved, even the tip wasn’t bent!”
The coroner checked the time of death, the night patrol reported the surroundings, and the constable interviewed local residents, but they couldn’t find a single suspect.
Investigate?
Investigate what?”
The disciple swallowed a gulp of saliva.
Pretend it never happened.
Normally, if they had nothing to do, maybe Shanhe Martial Arts Hall would investigate a bit.
But now… everywhere is too busy; the fight against the barbarians is a major issue, who has time to handle this?
Just a Young Master Chen, he died, and that’s that.
…
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…
…
Young Master Chen was dead. The frivolous rogue who shouted with an ingratiating voice “Chenyu, how do you plan to thank me” was gone. The ones who came to boast about how talented the Cold Frost Swordsman was also disappeared.
However, during these two days, although Young Master Chen was gone, many other “Young Master Chens” appeared.
These “Young Master Chens” were also quite happy, bragging everywhere about the geniuses their family sent to the government offices.
And these geniuses weren’t protectors or guards, but family members of these families.
The desire to attach oneself to Shanhe Martial Arts Hall and White Camel Estate wasn’t just a wish for individuals, but for families as well.
After a short period of observation, many families dispatched talented geniuses from their clans.
Then, they received a return:
The clan members they sent out actually succeeded in becoming disciples of major forces.
Some wore the robes of Shanhe Martial Arts Hall disciples, others entered the Flower Sea Block of White Camel Estate.
Gradually, the “truth of power structures” known only to the family elites was slowly revealed.
The rumor that “the real rulers of Hanping Prefecture are the three major forces” began to spread.
This delighted these small families even more.
Especially those families that successfully had a Shanhe Martial Arts Hall or White Camel Estate disciple emerge among them.
That evening, An Chenyu couldn’t help but complain to Song Cheng at the bedside.
“Various families claim they have ties with Shanhe Martial Arts Hall and White Camel Estate.
They say their people have become official disciples of these two major forces.
Some even use their seniority to point out things to this little girl.
They said they advised me not to be stubborn and quickly send out the strongmen from my family, or else it would be too late.”
“And, Song, your reputation has also spread.
Many people know what you did in Shanghe County.
But this time, there are even people saying… that the Son-in-law of the An Family is blind, born without qualifications, and has unfortunately missed the chance to join the major forces.”
She mimicked that person’s tone, twisted her graceful body, and said, “Such, a, shame.”
It carried an air of looking down on others from above, as though others had fallen into the mud.
After saying that, Miss An rolled her eyes and continued, “Some even came with charming smiles and asked me if I regretted marrying you.”
She was really pissed off.
Song Cheng caressed his bride beside him, unconcerned, and said, “Sister An, isn’t this a good thing? Everyone’s enthusiastic, the government is raising troops, the big families are contributing money, united as one.”
Miss An had just been ridiculed a lot these days, and with her defenses opened by the young man, a vent seemed to appear, reawakening her once-buried gossip and complaint talents, and adding a few more words.
Hearing his words then, she assented: “True, a good thing.”
Then, she murmured, “When the wall is falling, everyone pushes. Whenever there’s trouble, someone can’t wait to jump out and judge you from on high.”
“Used to it.”
Song Cheng changed the subject, “The army will set out soon.”
“Yeah, either tomorrow or the day after.” Miss An nestled in the man’s embrace, said softly, “Even though I complain, I hope they win. Otherwise… this prefectural city could have barbarian troops at its gates.
I’ve read a lot and listened to a lot.
The barbarians drive demon beasts, adept at flash raids, with miles-long pursuits.
The Northern Barbarian tribes are many, but the five major tribal groups are the Barbarian King and the Four Golden Tents, who knows how many came this time.
Although Hanping Prefecture is at the rear, given the mobility of the demon beasts, there’s not much difference from the front lines.
If it were me, I’d leave enough defense.”
“The Pearl Mountain Taoist Temple didn’t participate in recruiting people, did they? They must be defending.”
“True.”
“Sister An, don’t think too much, you’ve had a long day, rest now.”
“Mm… goodnight, Song.”
