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"Seventh Master... do you really think he can do it?"

At the harbor, watching Chen Qing’s boat leaving, Old Eleven looked at his Seventh Master with doubt. His Seventh Master seemed to be the least likely to trust others, yet this time... it seemed a bit different.

And wasn’t Chen Qing’s promise a bit too exaggerated?

The other party promised that, at most in five days, he would arrive with reinforcements, and that if he were given control of Nanyang City for three months, he could reclaim all the regions around Nanyang!

In the current situation this kind of boasting, could the one surnamed Chen really make such a bold claim?

"What can we do if we don’t trust him?" Shen Qi looked at Chen Qing’s disappearing silhouette and shook his head with a bitter smile, "The second brother has left, gone to gamble on his grand opportunity. Without him, Nanyang’s array won’t withstand another zombie attack.

If we don’t think of something else, we’ll truly have nothing to do but wait to die.

Chen Qing might be boastful, but since the second and third brothers might cooperate with him, he must possess some capabilities.

Now... we don’t we have any other choices, do we? "

"Uh..." Old Eleven frowned, feeling the frailty of the Shen Family for the first time. The Shen Family, which once shielded Jiangnan from the chaos of war, was now out of options?

Previously, the direct members of the Shen Family were so strong that they did not need an army, but now they understood that this might have been the wrong path...

"Even if Nanyang City keeps holding up, we’ll eventually run out of food," Old Qi sighed. "Nanyang... now only has three months’ supply of food."

"We can leave the city to search the countryside for food!" Old Ten interrupted.

"How much can just a few of us find? Even if we can find some, what then?

" Old Qi looked at the mist over the river.

"If Nine Heavens Mirror Valley continues to seal us off for a year?

With no guarantee of safety for farming, no matter how much food there is in the countryside, eventually, it will run out. .."

Old Ten and Old Eleven had no reply.

Old Four, however, shrugged indifferently: "Let him try. After all, it’s just an administrative authority. The Magistrates of Nanyang City have always been from our Shen Family. The officials at the Government Office rely on our Shen Family for support, we can take it back whenever we want!"

"I’m more concerned about something else.

.." Third Elder Shen was somewhat puzzled, "Logically speaking, the other party should also be aware of the situation in Nanyang City. The Shen Family’s word is law, and since we’ve agreed to let him govern, it’s certainly binding.

Why would he insist on that Official Seal? "

The other party’s precondition for cooperation was to make the current Magistrate of Nanyang willingly hand over his Official Seal, something Third Master Shen found hard to comprehend.

That thing is just a formality of the Imperial Court, not as important as the person in the Shen Family, what significance does it really hold?

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"Finally, this risk wasn’t taken in vain!"

Chen Qing propped up the Official Seal in his hand and felt the rich imperial power within it, suddenly feeling much more at ease!

Under the Shen Family’s millennium of management, Nanyang was politically stable and prosperous.

Twenty years of power accumulated in the Provincial Government Office’s seal was even more than that of three Magistrates from Lyuzhou.

The key was that they had agreed to his administrative control and conscription in Nanyang, provided he could fulfill his promise.

Could he fulfill it?

Chen Qing thought, of course, he could. With just a few hundred people, he had managed to start in Lyuzhou, so a city like Nanyang with a population of a million, he wouldn’t be able to handle?

As long as the divine path spread in Nanyang City, his planned strategy had an eighty percent chance of success!

"Chen Qing, your mother is seasick!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing quickly pocketed the Official Seal and hurried into the cabin, walking quickly to his pale-faced mother’s side: "Mother, how are you? I told you to stay in Nanyang, yet you insisted on coming along!"

"You ungrateful wretch, did you really plan on abandoning your mother?" The old woman cursed loudly, and the remnants of what she’d just vomited sprayed all over Chen Qing’s face.

Chen Qing was helpless, too busy to wipe his own face, he hurriedly used a handkerchief to clean his mother’s mouth first: "Mother, don’t get excited, haven’t I brought you along?"

"Hmph... If it weren’t for your mother threatening her own life, were you planning to just run off?"

Chen Qing: "...."

He indeed had that thought.

Although the river was passable thanks to the cooperation with Princess Bai Yu, and they were certain that the remaining creatures were in West Sea, there were still dangers present.

Firstly, an Ancient Worm had not been found, and secondly, there were other offsprings of ancient creatures hidden within the river.

If he accidentally encountered them, the risk to his mother, a mere mortal on the boat, was tremendous.

Staying in Nanyang would have been safer under the protection of several members of the Shen Family.

"You scoundrel..." Seeing Chen Qing still showing concern despite the filth on his face moved the old lady, and she took the handkerchief to wipe his face: "With one word from you, our whole family rushed to the north to wait for you, and then with another word, we rush back to Jiangnan. But now you are clearly engaging in risky activities. If you don’t let your mother see you now, who knows if I’ll be able to see you in the future! "

"What nonsense are you talking about, mother?" sighed Chen Qing, "I understand, mother, from now on I’ll take you with me wherever I go."

"Oh..." The old woman suddenly remembered something and looked at Chen Qing: "Son, is Lyuzhou the same as Nanyang? Are there also monsters everywhere?"

"Rest assured, mother, Lyuzhou is doing very well now. Monsters are all outside the city, and although Lyuzhou City isn’t as lively as Nanyang, it’s safer."

"Is that so?" The old woman pondered before finally asking, "Then... how are the people in Chen Family Village doing now?"

Chen Qing: "...."

Seeing Chen Qing’s sudden change in expression, the old woman’s heart sank: "Son? Has something happened?"

"Mother will know once she gets there." Chen Qing sighed, still not revealing what had happened earlier on the boat; after all, his old mother was of advanced age and got seasick easily. Her condition wasn’t suitable for any extreme emotions.

"Chen Qing...." His sister-in-law struggled to find words, finally speaking after a long time, "What about your eldest brother? How is he?"

"Eldest brother—he..." For a moment, Chen Qing didn’t know what to say and could only conceal the truth by saying, "He’s doing quite well; you’ll know once you see him!"

Eldest brother was cheerful every day now; he should... be considered quite well, right?

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"Brother, you’ve come back so late again..."

In the mansion, Chen Yuan complained to her recently returned elder brother. Chen Ye grinned and pinched Chen Yuan’s face, "You, you’re eating so much you’re almost round. Just wait until mother arrives to see how she deals with you!"

"Eh...." At the mere mention of their mother, Chen Yuan instantly felt guilty and shrank back, feebly saying, "But those meaty worms really are delicious..."

Previously, their family had tofu at every meal, but rarely meat even once a year.

Things were better just after their second brother had become a Chosen Man, but then, to fund his journey to the capital for further exams, the family had tightened their belts once more, and she hadn’t had meat for years.

Plus, those meaty worms were so tasty, even better than beef, and they had an unlimited supply at home. She had to eat her fill to make up for the hard years she had endured...

"You..." Chen Ye shook his head and led Chen Yuan, whose hands were plump and oily, into the inner yard of the Government Office, carefully wiping her greasy hands with a paper towel.

"Brother, I saw you several times today; you looked so majestic flying up in the sky!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye chuckled heartily, his eyes brimming with pride!

To promote the spirituality of the Hell Ruler, the Day Traveling God and Night Traveling God would show themselves at populated places now and then.

Every once in a while, he would intentionally reveal himself while patrolling the sky; people who passed by would salute him from afar, even more popular than the Warrior Army!

After all, he was in charge of souls. Everyone hoped he could find and settle their tragically lost loved ones in the Hell Ruler’s dominion.

Now that the new City God Temple had been built, with a place for him as well, when the residents came to offer incense and prayers to the City God, they would also pray to him, the Day Traveling God.

His hard work had certainly not been in vain!

"Your sister-in-law will be very happy to hear this!"

At these words, Chen Ye’s body stiffened.

Chen Yuan didn’t seem to notice her brother’s discomfort and continued excitedly, "Seeing you so formidable now, she surely won’t scold you behind your back anymore."

"I’m not afraid of her scolding me." Chen Ye forced a smile and said, "What I’m afraid of is... Xiao Yuan, do you think... your sister-in-law will like the current me?"

"Eh?" Chen Yuan was taken aback, "Why wouldn’t she? You’re so impressive now, and this time when you go to Nanyang, you’ll definitely bring mother and sister-in-law back here—oh, and my little nephew too. They’ll all be thrilled to see you!"

"Will they?" Chen Ye looked out over the river, feeling a mixture of anticipation and growing anxiety.

Really... would it be like that?

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Chen Ye was not the only deity of the Underworld in the Government Office; Wei Gongcheng, as the main deity of the Lyuzhou Hell Ruler, was also present there, playing a game of Go with Third Master Shen, Shen Yimiao.

"The City God seems to be quite flush with resources lately, even able to use the power of Karma Fruit for this?"

"Hahaha, just a little, just a little..." Wei Gongcheng chuckled.

The situation had been favorable recently.

As Xuu Hu’s Warrior Army recruited more soldiers, the rescue process accelerated, and more and more souls entered Lyuzhou, while the city’s faith in the Hell Ruler laid a great foundation.

Newcomers were quickly influenced by the local residents and soon paid their respects to the City God in memory of their relatives.

He occasionally granted a mortal soul with high virtue a chance to enter dreams once or twice, which spurred the new residents to spread the word and deepen their faith in the Hell Ruler, resulting in a nearly endless supply of Karma Fruit’s power.

It also meant he could afford small luxuries, like using the power of Karma Fruit to create things he enjoyed, such as this exquisite Underworld Go board.

"It seems like Chen Qing’s elder brother is quite apprehensive about meeting his family," Wei Gongcheng commented, smiling.

"Really?" Wei Gongcheng listened and laughed, "I’m quite looking forward to meeting my own family."

Frankly, he was curious about the expression his stepmother—who had nearly killed him—would have upon seeing him now. It would indeed be exciting.

And if she, the old lady, died and fell under his jurisdiction in the Hell Ruler’s realm, that would be even more interesting...

"I’ve heard from Lord Wang about this," Shen Lao San (Third Elder Shen) said, looking at the smiling Wei Gongcheng, "I heard that people from the Weichi Clan have come with the army.

According to the rules, the Wei Family is the most esteemed servant family to the Weichi Clan.

Did your brothers also come along this time? "

"Most likely..." Wei Gongcheng laughed.

"No wonder our City God has been so happy recently..."

"Hahaha...." Wei Gongcheng burst into laughter, "Whether he can stay happy in the end will depend on Lord Wang and whether he can snatch some benefits amidst the chaos. Otherwise... no matter how fast we develop here, it might be too late."

Upon hearing this, Third Master Shen’s smile tightened slightly, and he nodded, "That’s indeed the pressing matter!"