Witch God Cult

After Chen Sanshi inquired, he learned that Xu Bin lived very close by, only about a five-minute walk away.

He knocked on the door and announced his identity. Shortly after, a young woman opened it.

Chen Sanshi noticed her slightly bulging abdomen and asked, "Is this Xu Bin's home?"

"Yes."

The woman quickly called someone out.

Xu Bin, with a slap mark on his face, came out and awkwardly greeted him, "Chen, Officer Chen."

He recalled that not long ago, he had asked the other to address him by his title.

And now, they held the same position.

"I don't really see myself as an official. You can still call me Little Stone or by my name."

Chen Sanshi smiled and took a slip of paper from his sleeve. "Here, this is for you."

"This is..."

Xu Bin saw it was a chit from the armory and remembered he had indeed borrowed a bow and arrow before.

"What are you standing around for? Apologize to Little Stone!"

Old Xu rushed out and kicked Xu Bin in the behind.

Xu Bin's face immediately turned red.

He had never tried to curry favor or give bribes in the military camp; he always proved himself through hard work.

"Binzi, hurry up!"

Old Xu hopped around anxiously. "Without Little Stone's help, if we offend Commander Wang, our whole family might not even have food to eat in the future!"

"I..."

Xu Bin felt his face burning, but he looked at his wife's swollen belly and finally compromised. "Officer Chen, I..."

"I already said, you don't need to call me Officer."

Before he could finish, Chen Sanshi interrupted. "From now on, we'll use our titles in the camp, but there's no need to be so formal at home. If you don't mind, I'd still be happy to call you Brother Bin."

"What?"

Xu Bin wondered if he had misheard. "You don't resent me?"

"Why would I resent you?"

Chen Sanshi replied calmly.

If he hadn't borrowed the Heavy Bow back then, how could he have easily gained the favor of the Hundred Household Commanders, let alone trained his qi and blood so quickly?

Admittedly, Xu Bin's attitude might not have been the best.

But he had helped.

He could have easily refused to lend it.

"Commander Wang, that person is a bit..."

Chen Sanshi couldn't compliment Wang Zhi's character. "In any case, I'll go talk to him. Everything's fine now."

"That's right! I knew Little Stone had a good heart and wouldn't abandon you."

Old Xu said, "Aren't you going to thank him quickly?"

Xu Bin looked at the young man.

In this day and age, it was good enough if people didn't betray you.

And here was someone willing to let go of past grievances, even calling him brother?

Moreover, for him, it had truly been a simple gesture.

How could he face Chen Sanshi?

For some reason, when Xu Bin looked at Chen Sanshi again, he felt an indescribable aura about him that inspired admiration.

"Admiration" wasn't quite the right word, but he couldn't find a more fitting term at the moment.

After pondering for a long time, Xu Bin finally clasped his fists and said, "From now on, if you need anything, just command me!"

Chen Sanshi smiled. "You're too kind. However, I do have a favor to ask of you.

"When you're not busy, Brother Bin, I'd like to ask you to spar with me in spear techniques."

He had benefited greatly from their last spar.

"I'll be there whenever you call."

Xu Bin readily agreed. "But I really can't accept this."

He handed the chit back.

"Having my own blade is enough. If you insist on giving it to me, it just means you still resent me."

"Alright."

Chen Sanshi didn't refuse any further.

"Little Stone, don't go, let's eat together!"

Old Xu insisted he stay.

At noon, Chen Sanshi and Gu Xinlan both stayed for the meal.

Lan Jie'er and Xu Bin's Wife, Tong Shi, met each other. Since they both enjoyed needlework, they had plenty of common topics and got along very well. They even agreed to keep each other company in the future.

"Buzzz—"

Halfway through the meal, a trumpet call for assembly sounded in the military camp.

"Dad, we have to go."

Xu Bin hastily donned his armor and grabbed his saber. "Stone, quickly!"

"What's going on?"

Chen Sanshi deliberately looked up at the sky. He didn't see any signal fires, which meant there was no enemy invasion.

Upon arriving at the military camp, they saw the Lord Thousand Households with a furious expression.

Xiang Tingchun issued an order in public: starting immediately, half the personnel in the Thousand Household Office would search the city of Poyang daily for members of the Witch God Cult. Even martial arts schools were not to be spared; they were to be searched strictly one by one. Any discovery would be treated as treason.

What is the Witch God Cult?

Why were they searching martial arts schools too? Hadn't they cooperated to eliminate barbarian assassins before?

"I'm not sure either," Commander Xiong said, puzzled. "I only know that yesterday, the Lord Thousand Households went to the Tianyuan Martial Arts Academy with Luo Dongquan. After they returned, he threw a huge tantrum, saying they were all parasites of the court and needed to be taught a lesson."

"The Lord Thousand Households is probably preparing to squeeze some money out of the county officials," Commander Liu mused, stroking his chin. "Isn't he afraid of the higher-ups?"

The Great Sheng Dynasty's treasury was in serious deficit; this was common knowledge even among the grassroots soldiers.

In the early years, the garrisons often had unpaid wages.

Conversely, martial arts schools and local gentry were swimming in wealth.

The money in the hands of these Hundred Household Commanders was merely scraps left from the officials' meals. To put it nicely, it was a bribe; to put it bluntly, it was like giving alms to beggars.

Being able to extract some wealth from the martial arts schools was naturally a good thing.

But the problem was...

If it were truly that simple, the court wouldn't be in such dire straits.

Martial arts schools, gentry, many had retired from official positions in the court, and some were directly the businesses of current high-ranking officials. Who dared to touch them?

On the surface, their Thousand Household Office held the greatest power.

In reality, which martial arts school didn't have connections in the prefecture or province?

They didn't quite understand Xiang Tingchun's actions.

"Unless Xiang Tingchun has leverage over them," Chen Sanshi thought, but didn't say it aloud.

His thoughts were correct.

These people were searching for Immortal Treasures behind the court's back.

Xiang Tingchun planned to extort the martial arts schools with this matter, but it seemed the negotiation had broken down.

"Move out!"

Five Hundred Household Commanders, leading over four hundred soldiers, departed the military camp in a grand procession.

Chen Sanshi and his men were among them.

Wang Zhi was absent, so two General Flags led them.

One was surnamed Miao, the other Fang.

"General Flag Fang," Chen Sanshi asked, "wasn't it barbarian assassins before? Why has it suddenly become the Witch God Cult?"

General Flag Fang shook his head. "The masked man who suddenly appeared and rescued the assassins that night, the higher-ups said he was from the Witch God Cult. They seem to be very powerful, wicked cultists. I don't know anything else."

"I know this, I know!" Xu Wencai eagerly raised his hand and caught up.

"Mr. Xu knows?" Chen Sanshi said, "Please, tell us."

"Ahem!" Xu Wencai cleared his throat and spoke solemnly, "This Witch God Cult originated from the barbarians and has a history of two hundred years, though it declined long ago.

"Only in the last decade have they suddenly become active again. They even supported the Yuwen Tribe in annexing the three tribes of the grasslands in one fell swoop, transforming from a small tribe into one of the four hegemons. In recent years, the barbarians who have been harassing the Great Sheng's borders have primarily been the Yuwen Tribe, while the other three hegemons have mostly remained onlookers."

"Heh, you know quite a bit!"

Zhu Tong asked, half-believing, half-doubting, "You're not making this up, are you?"

"Pah!"

Xu Wencai said proudly, "I traveled all over the place in my younger years. You think that was for nothing?"

"No wonder you weren't home when your father died of illness a few years ago!" Zhu Tong blurted out.

Xu Wencai's face darkened, and he fell silent.

"Witch God Cult, Yuwen Tribe, the border, Immortal Treasures..."

Putting it all together, Chen Sanshi realized that this seemed to be a matter of great importance.

After the five hundred soldiers entered the city, they began searching house by house.

However, they didn't immediately search the four major martial arts schools or the first-rate martial arts schools. They were mainly searching the smaller and less reputable ones.

Xiang Tingchun was killing the chicken to scare the monkeys.

The search of the city continued until dusk before they left. There were no conflicts in the meantime, but this was only the beginning.

After wasting the entire afternoon, Chen Sanshi returned to the Thousand Household Office and went straight to the armory, intending to exchange his weapon strips and then get a bowl of Blood Replenishing Soup.