Page 52

“General, do you think I’m lying?”

A certain woman covered her mouth with a chuckle, a simple motion filled with allure.

Even Wei Gongcheng, who usually wasn’t moved by women, couldn’t help but feel his heart stir, thinking: Where did Chen Qing find such a seductive creature?

Meanwhile, another woman in white was sitting inside the carriage nearby.

It was none other than Mu Hongqing’s proud female disciple.

At this moment, seeing the usually serious Wei Gongcheng revealing that look common to all men, she frowned deeply.

It wasn’t out of contempt but rather confusion.

In terms of appearance, she believed she was definitely better looking than the woman in red.

However, she couldn’t figure out why the red-dressed woman possessed such an extraordinary charm that not only men but even she herself was occasionally attracted to.

It was truly strange.

Yet by her aura, the woman was unmistakably mortal.

“General?” Wei Gongcheng came back to his senses and then smiled, “Madam, where did you hear that I am a general?

Did the Educational Governor tell you?”

The woman smiled faintly.

This man was still as sharp and delicate as ever.

She remembered when she first married Cui Yan and conspired with Mister Hua Pi to alter Weichi Peng’s memories, she had nearly been caught by this man multiple times; he was indeed troublesome.

It was said Chen Qing had pulled him in?

The kid did have an eye for talent!

“The Educational Governor is much more serious than you, General.

No matter how I pestered him, he wouldn’t reveal a thing.”

“Presumptuous!” The woman in white saw the other challenging her master and her eyes flashed with a cold flame!

“Hehehe, little sister sure has a temper.”

The woman in white’s face darkened.

What kind of chaotic woman had that scoundrel Chen Qing found?

And to make it worse, her master had agreed to help bring her from Capital City.

Given how upright and stern her master was, why would he accept such a request?

What was going on?

Wei Gongcheng noticed the woman’s face turn pale with anger, but still had no intention of taking action against a mortal, which made him inwardly nod.

The disciple instructed by Lord Mu had a decent character.

It seemed that if this woman stayed in Lyuzhou regularly, interactions should be a lot less troublesome.

Changing the subject, he began to talk about Chen Qing, “According to the Educational Governor, almost everyone has left Lyuzhou, is that correct?”

Obviously not interested in bickering any longer, the woman in white saw Wei Gongcheng trying to alleviate the tension and followed along with a nod, “Indeed, that is the case.”

“That’s quite problematic…” Wei Gongcheng laughed, “The country folk who were scared away in a hurry are the least of our concerns since they can’t run far and there is a chance to retrieve them with some methods.

However, the wealthy families and scholars have more options.

The neighboring districts and counties would surely want to entice them to settle down.

If we delay too long, trade routes might just shift.”

“Yet you don’t seem worried at all.” The woman in white frowned, “Aren’t you one of the people Chen surnamed recruited?”

“I’m just here by invitation to recuperate.” Wei Gongcheng smiled, “I didn’t agree to help with any recruitment.

If he can’t handle the job, I’ll just go back to Capital City.

What’s there for me to worry about?”

“You say that, but it seems like you have a lot of faith in him?”

“Hah…

you’re quite observant, Miss.” Wei Gongcheng stretched lazily, “The situation in Lyuzhou is indeed troublesome enough.

Even if replaced with several experienced officials, it would be very difficult to turn things around.

But him…

I reckon he won’t have any problems.”

“Do you sound like he’s quite capable?” The woman in white was suddenly curious.

She obviously understood that someone who could make her master do such a task as delivering a concubine was definitely not simple, at least not as simple as his official record suggested.

“It’s hard to say…” Wei Gongcheng’s expression turned complex, “If we say he’s capable, he’s just a mortal, fragile as can be.

But if we say he’s not, he has solved many troubles that even those more capable have failed to manage!”

“Troublesome affairs?” The woman in white chuckled, “How troublesome could it be for a mortal to solve?”

“How troublesome indeed…” Wei Gongcheng thought for a moment and then laughed, “Even if your master were to be involved, the odds are he wouldn’t be able to solve those troubling matters.”

Hearing him compare a mere mortal to her master, the woman’s smile once again turned cold.

“Nonsense!”

Wei Gongcheng smiled wryly; this woman bristled with anger at the mere mention of her master.

She really respected Lord Mu a great deal.

But what he said was true…

——————————————-

“Come here, let me touch you again.”

Chen Qing said to the four odd-shaped entities in the courtyard.

At this time, all the Imperial Scholars had received their assignments and couldn’t wait to leave Lyuzhou Prefecture, except Zhou Haitao, who ultimately chose to stay.

However, he soon regretted his decision.

His classmate’s carriage didn’t contain just a solitary mountain turtle.

There was also a talking old wolf, a talking bird, and a talking sapling.

These beings talking…

that should be abnormal, right?

Zhou Haitao’s face was grim.

Weren’t these monsters?

The Imperial Court claimed that Master Huang, who taught them in their childhood, was a monster who turned many people within the city into wooden figures.

Chen Qing was close with Master Huang back then, could it be he was a monster too?

He regretted his decision; talking about brotherhood, wouldn’t it be better to obediently become a County Magistrate in some district or county?

On the other side, those creatures, upon hearing Chen Qing’s request to touch them, shook their heads and backed away.

This mortal was a bit eerie.

He seemingly had no bloodline nor spiritual power, but when he touched them, they all felt an electrifying numbness, as well as a sensation of being seen through completely.

The feeling was curious, as if humans were stripped of their clothes and thoroughly examined from head to toe, as though all secrets were lost with just one touch.

If Wei Gong were here, he would certainly recognize that the method Chen Qing was using was the same as when he was recruited at the Weichi Residence.

“Stand properly!” Nezha suddenly showed a fierce face, “What’s wrong with father wanting to touch you?

Even if he wants to mess with you, you’d still have to stick out your butts for me!”

Chen Qing’s face was full of black lines, and he knocked Ghost Doll on the forehead, “What kind of nonsense is that?”

“Is Nezha wrong?” Ghost Doll said, clutching his head aggrievedly.

Although father didn’t have much strength and the knock wasn’t painful, he obviously got angry.

Chen Qing couldn’t be bothered with this foolish child and leisurely walked up to several monster spirits that didn’t dare to move, and carefully probed them again.

This ability was the first one a player acquired after confirming their official position and swearing to the heavens and earth to become a divine being, called Spirit Soothing.

It allowed to check the bloodline aptitude of monster spirits by touching and feeling, which invoked a sense of being fully exposed and a tingling sensation like an electric current, which was a special spiritual power probing the whole body.

The reason Wei Gongcheng felt his legs could sense was precisely because of the spiritual power probing, which actually couldn’t help him recover from his injury.

Chen Qing skilfully used that ability to leave him a glimmer of hope, tricking him with a scheme.

But in reality, this ability was used to explore the aptitude of monster spirits, in order to consider what divine positions to bestow.

“The position at the South Gate is very important, the first spirit to guard it should be you…” Chen Qing touched the head of the old wolf with a coat of white fur.

The old wolf obediently bowed its head, allowing Chen Qing to stroke its wolf fur, but Chen Qing knew that the other party was not docile; he recognized this breed – the Snowfield Demon Wolf, a ferocious pack-dwelling beast demon from the Northern Yan region, with powerful ones even capable of controlling wind spirits.

This old wolf was once the leader of a wolf pack, a former Wolf King, but later due to old age, it was successfully challenged by a younger demon wolf, narrowly escaping death with a crippled leg.

Somehow, it had wandered all the way to the Daqing Mountain area in Lyuzhou.

Dependent on meat for survival, it could now only occasionally catch some fish in the river to feed itself; if its thick fur were lifted, one could see that this once magnificent Wolf King had become so emaciated that only skin and bones were left.

However, for Chen Qing, this was an unexpected boon.

As an initial Gate Deity, the Wolf King’s aptitude was quite exceptional.

As for its old age and physical deficiencies, these were of no concern to those who follow the divine path.

“Lord Chen, Lord Chen!”

Just as Chen Qing had made his decision, Ma Erniang’s voice came from outside the door.

The four monster spirits took cover, the sapling ran into the grass, disguising as a real sapling, the bird started flying around the garden of the Government Office, the old wolf obediently lay on the ground, looking like an oversized Samoyed, and the old turtle simply retracted its limbs and head into its shell.

“Lord Chen, I have brought you the people you wanted!” Ma Erniang called from a distance.

Chen Qing’s eyes lit up, and he quickly walked out.

Behind Ma Erniang followed a strong-looking group of about fifteen people, each one robust with bright eyes, clearly men who had grown up on a diet of meat, and much taller and sturdier than the average men from Jiangnan.

“These are all from our village,” Ma Erniang said with a smile.

“They are the best hunters in the village.

Look at their bodies, their complexion, they have presence, don’t they?”

“Very good, very good!” Chen Qing immediately rubbed his hands together with a smile, originally thinking Ma Erniang would bring at most some petty ruffians, he hadn’t expected her to bring such vigorous hunters, truly underestimating this butcher’s wife’s connections.

“My lord!” the lead hunter said in a deep voice, “Erniang mentioned that you are recruiting soldiers for city defense?

Is this an official position sanctioned by the Imperial Court?”

The military system of Great Jin was unique, with formal enlistment passed down from generation to generation, ensuring that descendants always had military rations to eat.

Being a soldier in Jiangnan was not easy, for Great Jin treated its soldiers well, even with little conflict in Jiangnan, they were given better provisions than ordinary peasants, and if one was willing to go north to serve, the benefits were even more substantial.

However, soldiers in the north faced constant warfare with a high mortality rate, far riskier than the secure life of the Jiangnan navy.

Yet, if a man from the Jiangnan wanted to enlist, connections were necessary.

In Jiangnan, among all soldiers, the City Guard Soldier had the best prospects.

When the hunters heard about this opportunity from Ma Erniang, they all eagerly responded.

Hunting was never a long-term plan, many couldn’t hunt by the age of thirty, and the hunters faced a challenging twilight of life, let alone the inherent risks of hunting itself, which paled in comparison to the prospects of being a defender at the city gates.

“Yes!” Chen Qing said, smiling eagerly, “By special approval of the Provincial Governor, I am allowed to recruit five hundred Mansion Soldiers on my own, all expenses and formalities to be settled by the superiors.

Rest assured, as long as you guard the gates well and remain dutiful, you can be like military households, pass down the position through generations, and I promise that the remuneration for the City Defenders will be the same as it was for the previous Lyuzhou defenders!”

“Are your words true, my lord?” The head of the hunters immediately got excited.

“We have heard of the previous soldiers’ pay, it was ten taels of silver!”

“Of course!”

“Shh!” The group suddenly got excited, rubbing their hands together.

In the wilds, they endured the elements, and on a good hunt could bring down a wolf or a beautiful fox pelt for about seven or eight taels a month; if they only caught rabbits, they’d barely make four taels, all exchanging their bodies and lives for it.

The ordinary peasant could only dream of earning three taels of silver in a month!

But the City Defenders, just for standing at the city gates, could earn such a substantial monthly income, not to mention other perks…

“We are willing to serve you, my lord!” The group knelt down to pledge their loyalty.

Chen Qing smiled slightly, indeed it was the promise of profit that lured people best.

Looking at the excited crowd, Chen Qing’s smile vanished, speaking seriously, “However, I am not hiring you to slack off, you…

dare to kill people?”

The people were stunned, silent for a moment, and several fierce-looking ones stood up, “As long as you fulfill your promises, my lord, why shouldn’t we dare to kill?”

With someone taking the lead, the others felt a rush of blood, and they responded one after another, “Willing to slay enemies for our lord!”

“Good!” Chen Qing applauded with a smile, “True men indeed, then I have another question for you.”

“Please speak, my lord!”

“Do you…

dare to kill ghosts?”

The crowd: “…..”

“My lord…

are you jesting?”

“I am certainly not joking…” Chen Qing said solemnly, gazing outside.

“If I calculate the days correctly, the ghost…

should be on its way!”