Not Enough Guns to Go Around

After dinner, Shen Jingchuan strolled out of the courtyard, wanting to take a look ahead. He had flown directly into the village last night, and the others in the village didn't know he had returned.

He hadn't gone far when he bumped into a village guard. The guard recognized him and quickly went to help him.

"Young master, you're back."

Where is our Chief Hu?

"Chief Hu is in the Hall of Gathering Righteousness. I'll take you there."

"No need, you go about your business, I'll just stroll over."

Shen Jingchuan waved his hand and headed towards the Hall of Righteousness. Before he even entered, he could hear a lively commotion inside. He pushed open the door and saw Hu Tieniu, Lin Shan, and Lin Yue gathered together, fiddling with a submachine gun.

Hu Tieniu had the loudest voice.

"Don't you have another submachine gun at home? Your sister has one, go ask her for it, stop eyeing the one I have."

Lin Shan was unhappy.

"Don't you have such a big machine gun? Why don't you give me this submachine gun? Look, even my second brother has one, and I'm the only one with nothing. What's going on?"

"That won't do." Hu Tieniu hugged the gun to his chest. "This was given to me by the young master, don't even think about it. How about this, if the Government Army come again, you can borrow my machine gun."

As he was talking, he looked up and saw Shen Jingchuan at the door, and immediately smiled.

"Young master, you're back!"

Lin Shan and Lin Yue also turned around.

"Jingchuan."

Shen Jingchuan nodded and entered the room with a smile.

"Big brother, second brother, what are you doing?"

Lin Yue spoke first, suppressing a laugh.

"What else could it be? Tieniu and I both have submachine guns. Big Brother is eyeing them and insists on having Tieniu's, but Tieniu is stingy and refuses to give them to him no matter what."

Lin Shan gave an awkward smile, looking a little embarrassed.

"No, that's not true. I just thought it looked interesting and wanted to borrow it for a couple of days."

Hu Tieniu disagreed.

"If you want to play, go ask your second brother. Why are you fixated on my rod?"

"It's because you have such a big machine gun, you don't need this small one," Lin Shan muttered.

"Alright, alright, stop arguing." Shen Jingchuan waved his hand. "Big brother, I'll go talk to Qingyao later and ask her to give you the stick she's holding."

Upon hearing this, Lin Shan quickly waved his hand.

"No, no, no, let's keep it for my little sister's self-defense; after all, she's a woman."

"No need to keep it," Shen Jingchuan said with a smile. "She won't need it anymore."

All three men in the room looked at him.

"Qingyao has already begun cultivating. Last night, she successfully entered Qi Refining and is now at the Qi Refining First Layer, a true cultivator."

Shen Jingchuan said:

"She still has a pistol, enough for self-defense. Let the older brother use the submachine gun; he won't need it much in the future anyway—once her cultivation level increases, the power of such mortal weapons will be insufficient, and they won't be of much use."

Lin Shan and Lin Yue's eyes lit up. Lin Yue, with the loudest voice, immediately leaned in.

"Brother-in-law, is what you're saying true? Xiao Yao has become an immortal master?"

"Of course it's true," Shen Jingchuan said. "Yue'er has also entered Qi Refining, as has Ruoli. I'm also going to help Qingshu and Qinghua guide their Qi cultivation today, so they can start cultivating tomorrow."

"Are you serious?" Lin Yue became even more anxious. "Then, what about us two brothers? Can we train too?"

"Me too! Me too!" Hu Tieniu leaned his head closer.

All three of them knew that Shen Jingchuan was a celestial master, but they never imagined that such a good thing would happen to them.

Now that they've heard that Lin Qingyao, Bai Ruoli, and even the little maids in the backyard have started cultivating, they can no longer contain themselves; they're all itching to do so.

Shen Jingchuan, however, poured cold water on the idea first.

"You're all a bit older, so it's a bit late to start. But it's worth a try. We just need to test you first to see if you have Spirit Roots. If you don't, you really can't practice."

Shen Jingchuan continued, "Qinghe and Ju'er didn't show up in the test, so they can't train."

"Then quickly test me!" Hu Tieniu wrung his hands anxiously. "Young Master, quickly test me!"

Shen Jingchuan took out the Spirit Testing Stone.

"Place your hands on it, don't think about anything, clear your mind."

Hu Tieniu quickly and carefully rubbed his hands together, placed his palms on the Spirit Testing Stone, and closed his eyes. The stone didn't move at all. Shen Jingchuan examined it carefully twice more and confirmed that it indeed had no Spirit Root.

Then Lin Shan and Lin Yue also tested it, and the stone still didn't react. Neither of them had any Spirit Roots.

Shen Jingchuan shook his head inwardly. It seemed that this Spirit Root was truly rare, one in a hundred, without a doubt.

When he told them the result, all three of them deflated.

Hu Tieniu stared blankly for a long time, then slapped his thigh, his face full of resentment, but there was nothing he could do. In the end, he could only scratch the back of his head and sigh.

Lin Shan, being older and more composed, sighed with regret, forcing a smile as if accepting his fate, though there was a hint of bitterness in that smile.

The one who suffered the most was Lin Yue. He didn't utter a sound and pressed his hand against the stone twice more. When he still didn't get a response, he finally gave up and slumped down, not lifting his head for a long time.

Lin Yue suddenly raised his head.

"Brother-in-law, wait here. I'll call all the boys and girls in the house over, and you can have them tested too."

"Sure, no problem, they're all our own kids."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yue dashed out like a gust of wind.

Lin Shan, not to be outdone, stood up.

"You wait here, I'm going too, and I'll call my kids as well."

"Big brother, second brother have both gone, how could your family be left behind?"

"No, I'm worried. I'm afraid he'll forget in his haste." Lin Shan said as he quickly went out.

Hu Tieniu was the only one left in the room. He sat there and sighed.

"Oh dear, what a pity. I don't even have a wife, let alone children."

Shen Jingchuan smiled.

"What, is it so difficult for our Chief Hu to find a woman?"

"Young master, please don't tease me." Hu Tieniu scratched his head. "We were poor before, and we didn't want to abduct Miss Bai to the mountain; now, I'm so busy I can't even keep my feet on the ground, and we've been surrounded by the Government Army. How can I possibly have time to get married?"

Shen Jingchuan thought about it and realized that it made sense.

"Then wait until this period is over. You also need to take care of your own affairs. You have to get married and have an heir for the Hu family."

"Yes, young master," Hu Tieniu replied, but then his tone shifted, and his face darkened. "Speaking of which, these Government Army are truly despicable. They can't beat us in a fight, so they just stubbornly stay outside. Young master, how about... we fight our way down the mountain?"

"Oh? Tell me, what makes you think of attacking down the mountain?"

"You don't know," Hu Tieniu leaned forward, "The scouts report that these Government Army soldiers are spending a fortune on food and supplies, and our Yuxi Prefecture simply can't keep up. Apart from the small amount of grain they took with them when they set off, the imperial court hasn't sent a single grain since, and Yuxi Prefecture can't fill this hole."

He paused, then grew increasingly angry as he spoke.

"The Black Armor Army is alright; their discipline is passable. But those border troops are no different from bandits; they've almost emptied several nearby counties. The people's homes already had no food stored, and this time, they have no way to survive. The scouts say that everywhere you look, people are selling their children. To be honest, young master, the butcher shops used to sell pork, but now... sigh."

He didn't say anything more.

Shen Jingchuan understood the meaning of the second half of the sentence, and his expression darkened.

"Is it that serious?"

"Yes, young master," Hu Tieniu said in a muffled voice, "I really couldn't stand it anymore."