An Chenyu spoke, seemingly hearing the noise from outside, and said indifferently, "Song, your wife is looking for you.

You go out first and reassure your wife not to worry, and get ready to move in here.

As for Ling... did you sleep with her?"

Song Cheng shook his head.

An Chenyu said, "Then let her stand in the yard and reflect on herself."

Song Cheng agreed.

He then opened the door and handled the situation as An Chenyu had instructed before returning to the room.

The young lady continued, "The matter of the County Magistrate involves the true power structure of the Dashang Dynasty, which ordinary people do not know, and even our commerce chamber knows very little about it.

I will tell you now."

Song Cheng nodded, listening patiently.

An Chenyu said, "First, before the Dashang Dynasty, there was no dynasty, only the chaotic and scattered forces of the martial arts world. Dashang... was the first empire to unite the martial arts world."

...

"Second, the precursors of the Dashang imperial family were actually two martial arts world forces, Divine Arms Hall and Star-Viewing Tower.

The Fine Blade that you are holding is in fact an arrow for the Huntian Poqi Crossbow made by the imperial family back then.

The Huntian Poqi Crossbow is a large crossbow, hence the arrows are long.

Did you see the linear grooves on the handle of your Fine Blade?

Those are for mounting the bowstring.

Have you seen a scabbard before?

Actually, that's not a scabbard but an embedded design for the crossbow arrow.

Back then, when the imperial Iron Cavalry of the Dashang rode across all regions, the Four Symbols Guard established by the dynasty later were also equipped with these large crossbows, and many martial artists died by these arrows, so it's common to see these arrows scattered all around.

However, there are many different specifications for the arrows of the Huntian Poqi Crossbow; the one you have is not average, but it's not high-end either."

...

"Third, once Divine Arms Hall and Star-Viewing Tower, these two colossal entities, merged into one and transformed into a dynasty,

other factions that showed allegiance also changed accordingly and turned into rulers of various provinces and states.

These factions vary in size and complexity, and while officially all officials are appointed by the dynasty, in many places... it is the factions that have the final say.

Hanping Prefecture is such a place.

Bordering the Six Towns, it is a remote prefecture, with eighteen counties within it where each County Magistrate is appointed by the reclusive factions of Hanping Prefecture.

However, there are three factions in Hanping Prefecture."

...

"White Camel Estate. The 'Grass Sea Astonished Snake Form' is their technique, and the County Magistrate of Shanghe County is one of their people."

"Pearl Mountain Taoist Temple. When the Ghost Tide arises, they enter the city; when it recedes, they return to the mountain. This faction seems to be extremely sensitive to evil spirits."

"Shanhe Martial Arts Hall. Hidden in plain sight, ordinary people only think of it as a martial arts hall in the center of Hanping Prefecture, not knowing that within the eighteen counties of Hanping Prefecture, they have the largest presence."

...

Song Cheng nodded and then shared the information about "evil spirits peeling off human skin and infiltrating the city" with the young lady, effectively sharing information.

...

By now, it had grown dark outside, but the young lady was bustling with activity; she went out to make arrangements regarding the "evil spirits infiltrating the city," then sent someone to inform the Government Office, especially about the evil spirits infiltrating Biliu Courtyard.

The Government Office has its own experts, and protecting the county town is their responsibility.

As for the source of the news?

Her Ruyi Commerce Chamber is a force to be reckoned with, so why couldn't they have their own information channels?

On the other hand, Tong Jia was busy moving his luggage to the courtyard.

The servants and guards marveled, each asking with odd expressions.

Shortly after, the Wang brothers, Wang Tianchuan and Wang Tianma, even came over specifically to find the young lady, seemingly trying to persuade her. But the young lady evidently had her ways, and whatever she said made the brothers willingly take up night watch duties.

In addition to the main house, the young lady's courtyard also had east and west wing rooms, with a central tea pavilion – namely five rooms and one pavilion in total.

Ling and Ying were staying in the west wing.

Song Cheng and Madam Tong, having moved in, stayed in the east wing.

After the young lady busied herself and came back, she pulled Madam Tong aside for a long talk, then finally left.

As the night darkened, everything in Shanghe County seemed normal, but sleeplessness was destined for this night.

Song Cheng lay with his wife in the new house on a new bed.

Today, his wife was wearing a brand-new moon-white robe embroidered with red plum blossoms.

Upon asking, he learned it was a gift from the young lady.

The young lady had many new clothes she had never worn, but as she was tall and slender, the dresses were all a size too big for Madam Tong, yet the silk jacket was a perfect fit.

After a pleasant interlude...

Madam Tong snuggled up in her husband's arms and suddenly said, "I quite like Sister An."

Song Cheng chuckled, "So you're calling her 'Sister An' now?"

Madam Tong replied, "I asked; Sister An is four years older than us. And she seems so mature, stable, experienced and knowledgeable, with extraordinary conversation skills, and smart as a whip..."

She counted off on her fingers.

Song Cheng: ...

Having run out of compliments, Madam Tong then sighed and added, "But really, she has it tough."

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

Madam Tong replied, "Just about family and local matters, and her own thoughts.

She is very ambitious, determined to enable the An Family to achieve a class leap and become a stronger clan."

In this way, her children and even the younger generations of the An family could have a better starting point.

But unfortunately, her father was someone who enjoyed roaming mountains and playing with water.

Her eldest brother was a devil-may-care type who wouldn't lift a finger to do anything good, but was a mastermind at doing bad...

Song Cheng casually nodded his head and then glanced at the panel.

[Allocate Points: 40 Points]

There was a 6.4% chance of deducing the Superior Technique of the Xuanwu True Force.

Each deduction required 4 points.

He was only a step away from the Superior Technique, which was also why he had been calm in revealing his capabilities in front of An Chenyu.

'Let's wait, wait until I can deduce 20 times before doing it.'

Song Cheng suppressed the thought of adding points right now.

His performance today was actually a bit rash.

However, this was also related to the young lady's early return and the sudden outbreak of the Ghost Tide.

He had no choice.

Because he could only bind himself to An Chenyu.

Just as An Chenyu had no choice but to bind herself to him.

Currently, the environment for survival was extremely harsh.

Both he and An Chenyu needed each other.

An alliance must be formed, so as to increase their chances of survival.

Outside the window, the moon was bright, casting light upon Shanghe County. Yet beyond the town, a ghostly grey fog surrounded it.

'Will the Ghost Tide really disperse?'

Song Cheng held his wife close, and he could feel Madam Tong cling tightly to him as well.

In a world of despair, it wasn't easy to survive.

Song Cheng couldn't worry too much about others, but at the very least, he had to become stronger in order to protect those around him.

...

...

The next day.

Ling had been standing since dawn.

News came from the mansion that there had been a big fire at Biliu Courtyard last night, and the government office had ordered the county soldiers to surround the place so tightly that not even water could escape.

Then there were people who saw those songbirds and swallows—courtesans—screaming strangely in the fire, with their bodies distorted.

Those who attempted to flee were pierced by fire arrows and then burned into strange creatures with only human skin and no flesh.

The government office had acted decisively, promptly issuing a lockdown decree, forbidding any movement into or out of the town.

It also banned all trade within the town, telling everyone to go back to their own homes.

Those with food would eat their food; those without food but with money could buy it from the government office or the Ruyi Commerce Chamber; those without food or money could go to the government's relief granary to receive rice porridge on time every day.

As for the thickness of the porridge, one shouldn't get their hopes up.

At most, it would just keep you from starving to death.

Worried that the government office hadn't killed all of them and that there might be some who had slipped through the net, Song Cheng walked around Shanghe County twice with his Fine Blade, ending up with an interesting result...

There wasn't a single one left.

Upon further inquiry, he discovered that the government office had even found and killed the young master of the Water Bird Martial Arts Hall, as well as several scholars and literati.

Clearly, the government office had found a complete clue and resolved the matter on its own, which made Song Cheng feel a bit superfluous.

But it was good that the government office could handle things.

It seemed that the County Magistrate, though corrupt, had some effective methods when he got serious.

After making a round, when Song Cheng returned to the mansion, he found everyone from the Ruyi Commerce Chamber looking at him strangely, with expressions of shock, curiosity, and astonishment.

It wasn't until Ying made a cough that everyone quickly scattered, going about their business.

Ding Kui ran up to Song Cheng with a big red "double happiness" paper-cut decoration in hand and said, "Brother, impressive, I, Ding, am convinced by you!"

Wang Tianchuan, Wang Tianma, and Gao Lin were the three Force Realm Warriors brought by the young lady, who at that moment glanced at Song Cheng from a distance, their faces filled with curiosity, wanting to come over and ask questions, but after Ying glared at them, they all left.

After all, Ying was actually the strongest person here, and although she wasn't as powerful as Shi Yi, she was still a bit stronger than the other Force Realm Warriors.

Ying looked around and saw no one else was there before she coldly said, "Son-in-law, I want to test my blade."

Actually, Ying was the most unconvinced.

When the young lady said Song Cheng was very strong, Ying didn't believe it.

Song Cheng nodded, pulled Ying to the side courtyard, and then, like bullying a child, he casually knocked Ying's blade flying with his own. Afterwards, he left Ying standing there dumbstruck and shocked, as he walked out.

He glanced at his own data:

[Strength: 49~98]

As the rust was scrubbed away, the value provided by the Fine Blade increased from "5" to "8", but it seemed this number might still rise.

Song Cheng looked again at his Remaining Points.

47 Points!

Enough for 11 deductions.

Still not enough.

He decided to wait patiently.

'Still too weak.'

'But since Shanhe County has no one at the Form Realm, if the Ghost Tide doesn't last long as the young lady said, then I can use this time to get stronger.'

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.