Steward Chen's Self-Destruction

In the guest room of the Spiritual Medicine Estate.

Outside, the sky was faintly brightening, and Han Zheng opened his eyes from cultivation.

Yesterday, after spending 50 Satiety to cultivate, he hadn't gone to sleep but instead continued cultivating until dawn.

The Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill's superiority over the Iron Elephant Skill lay in its ability to enter a state of deep cultivation.

His body unconsciously circulated inner force, while his mind could rest in a half-asleep, half-awake state.

So in the future, Han Zheng could even cultivate while sleeping.

Though the progress wouldn't match normal cultivation, it would still boost his speed considerably.

Han Zheng summoned his panel and glanced at his stats.

Name: Han Zheng

Cultivation: Houtian Meridian Opening Realm (two hundred and twenty Acupoints opened, eight Meridians.)

Martial Arts Skills: Houtian Realm "Iron Elephant Skill" Perfected, Houtian Realm "Vajra Fist" Perfected.

Innate Realm "Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill" Proficiency 15%, Innate Realm "Vajra Demon Subduing Seal" Proficiency 10%

Current Status: Pain Nullified, Qi and Blood Abundant

Last night, Han Zheng entered the Gluttonous Crucible for two rounds of cultivation, plus the boost from the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill, directly opening a hundred Acupoints and three Meridians, his strength surging sharply.

And it wasn't just raw power—his combat ability had improved even more noticeably.

Now, Han Zheng was confident he could face that Pig Demon alone again and crush it head-on.

Stepping out of the guest room, the scent of medicinal herbs filled Han Zheng's nostrils.

The Estate wasn't large, only ten rooms, with just twenty Shenghe Hall workers and one apothecary stationed here to tend the Spiritual Medicine.

"Young Master Han, you're up early. Let's grab breakfast together."

Li Feng walked out from another guest room.

The two arrived at the dining hall, where many workers had already finished eating and gone to harvest the Spiritual Medicine.

Li Sancheng and the others were still sound asleep—understandable, given the fierce battle they'd just been through.

"Oh? Breakfast this lavish?"

In the dining hall, three dishes and a soup were laid out in large buckets: braised pork, chicken stewed with potatoes, and scrambled eggs, plus a big pot of spare rib soup. The staples were White Flour Buns and rice.

All meat dishes—the only green was the scallion garnish on the rib soup.

Keep in mind, Black Stone County was already suffering from severe grain shortages, causing skyrocketing prices.

For ordinary folks, forget meat like this—even Rye Buns were becoming unaffordable.

Many had even braved the dangers outside the city to dig for wild vegetables just to get a bite to eat.

Even Han Zheng, when he treated himself, wouldn't dare eat this well.

"It's the last day, after all. These workers will head back to Black Stone County with us once they're done harvesting the Spiritual Medicine, so they slaughtered the pigs and chickens they'd raised."

Han Zheng asked in surprise, "Is Shenghe Hall only planting this one batch of Spiritual Medicine? No more after this?"

Li Feng took a satisfied sip of rib soup and said, "Of course we'll plant more, but we have to wait half a year until the land's spiritual energy recovers.

Spiritual Medicine is precious precisely because of its harsh growing conditions.

It must be planted in areas with pristine scenery, abundant spiritual energy, and no contamination from turbid qi.

And after one batch, the land needs time to recover and gather spiritual energy again.

Otherwise, a second batch would yield defective products and ruin the Spiritual Field.

The Head Shopkeeper worked hard to find this Spiritual Field, so he treats it with care.

Still, the workers' daily meals aren't bad—the Head Shopkeeper hasn't shortchanged them.

This Spiritual Medicine Estate is isolated, with no villages or shops in sight, like a world unto itself.

They have to stay here for half a year, so they can't be starved. Supplies are pretty generous."

By the time Han Zheng finished eating, Li Sancheng and the others arrived at the dining hall, their eyes reddening at the sight of the braised pork.

They dug in while Han Zheng went to find Steward Chen, urging him to harvest the Spiritual Medicine quickly and set off as soon as possible.

Behind the Estate, there was about ten acres of Spiritual Medicine fields, where Shenghe Hall workers were carefully picking the herbs.

One Spiritual Medicine was worth more than their annual wages, so they dared not damage any.

Seeing Han Zheng approach, Steward Chen snorted and didn't even greet him.

He hadn't forgotten how Han Zheng had humiliated him yesterday!

That brat had made him beg for help to deal with the Pig Demon.

Even in front of Chen Baiqing, he'd never groveled so low!

"Steward Chen, how long until the Spiritual Medicine is fully harvested?"

"About a day. We'll leave tomorrow morning."

Steward Chen said flatly.

Han Zheng frowned slightly. "Too slow. Can you get them to speed up and finish within half a day? This estate is less than a hundred li from where we killed that pig demon, and that pig demon had parents. We made it here from there in one night—do you think a pig demon is slower than us? If it follows our trail, we might be facing two stronger adult pig demons!"

At his current cultivation level, Han Zheng was confident he could take down a pig demon of that strength head-on. But two of them? He wasn't sure. And the parents were bound to be even stronger. Most demons didn't need to cultivate—they relied on their innate racial gifts. The longer a demon lived, the stronger it got, unless it reached the end of its lifespan and its qi and blood decayed. That pig demon's mother had just birthed it a younger brother—hardly a sign of declining vitality.

"Impossible!" Steward Chen sneered. "You think picking spiritual medicine is like pulling radishes in your backyard, one after another? This is delicate work. Rush it, and who guarantees the quality? Besides, it's a hundred li. How could a pig demon catch up? That's a pig demon, not a dog demon! And Han Zheng, you need to know your place! You're just a guard hired by my Shenghe Hall—a glorified escort. I'm the steward of this caravan. When we move is up to me, not for you to stick your nose in!"

Earlier, facing the pig demon's threat, Steward Chen had groveled to Han Zheng. Now that they were at the estate, Han Zheng still wanted to give orders—utterly clueless!

Han Zheng let out a cold laugh, said nothing more to Steward Chen, and turned to leave. This old fool never learned from his mistakes. No wonder Chen Baiqing had made him steward—it was a mystery.

Watching Han Zheng walk away, Steward Chen curled his lip in disdain. A low-level martial artist from a training hall, destined to be a bodyguard or courier his whole life. Did he really think he was someone?

Han Zheng returned to the guest rooms and knocked on Li Feng's door.

"Young Master Han, something on your mind?" Li Feng was reading in his room. His job was to assess the quality of the spiritual medicine, and he wouldn't start until the picking was done.

"Pharmacist Li, from your experience, how long would it take to finish harvesting the spiritual fields in this estate?"

Li Feng thought for a moment. "Whether it's the estate's workers or the ones we brought, they're all seasoned hands. Half a day should be enough. Give me another half hour to sort the medicine, and we'd be about done."

Han Zheng snorted. "But Steward Chen says it'll take a full day and night, and we won't leave until tomorrow morning."

Li Feng seemed to realize something and shook his head. "If Steward Chen said that, it figures. Half a day is plenty for the picking, but he's got personal business."

"Personal business? What business?"

Li Feng closed the guest room door and lowered his voice. "Young Master Han, we've been through danger together, so I trust you. Don't spread this around. Actually, the picking could be even faster. I told Steward Chen last night that they could pick while I sorted on the spot to speed things up. But he refused, insisting I wait for his signal to start. So I figure he's dragging his feet to cook the books and line his own pockets. Spiritual medicine has grades—the price difference between top and low grade can be tenfold or more. Say the estate produces a hundred jin of top-grade medicine. Steward Chen reports only sixty jin, downgrading the top-grade to mid or even low grade. Then back at Shenghe Hall, he sells those 'mid-grade' medicines at top-grade prices, while the books only record mid-grade. The profit margin is staggering."

Han Zheng was taken aback. "The old bastard goes that far, and the head shopkeeper doesn't care? You all know—why not speak up?"

Li Feng shook his head. "Steward Chen's surname is Chen. He's the head shopkeeper's distant uncle—family. We're outsiders. If we meddle and don't have solid proof, we'll just get framed and take the fall. And you know why Steward Chen insisted on his own nephew escorting the caravan? So he could fudge the accounts and hide the medicine grades under the table. Too many eyes make it hard to operate, so he wanted his own people. Honestly, I didn't even want to come on this trip, but the head shopkeeper insisted, and I couldn't refuse."

"That old bastard Chen can line his pockets all he wants, but dragging his feet like this will get us all killed!" Han Zheng laughed coldly.

"Young Master Han, what do you mean?" Li Feng was taken aback.

"This estate is less than a hundred li from where we killed the Pig Demon. Once its parents find the corpse, they can easily track the trail back here.

You saw how hard it was for us to kill that one Pig Demon, Li Yaoshi, didn't you?

If one Pig Demon was that tough, who could stop two?"

Li Feng jolted in shock: "Is that really true?"

Han Zheng said gravely: "Demons aren't beasts. They have intelligence, a thirst for revenge, and they're even more cruel.

They won't foolishly stay in one spot waiting for prey like a stump for a rabbit. They'll travel a hundred li to hunt!"

After hearing Han Zheng's words, Li Feng's expression turned grim.

He couldn't be bothered with Steward Chen's embezzlement, but if Steward Chen's stalling got them killed by demons, Li Feng couldn't sit still.

"Li Yaoshi, you don't have a great relationship with Steward Chen, do you?"

Han Zheng suddenly asked.

Li Feng nodded, unsurprised that Han Zheng had noticed.

He'd barely exchanged a few words with Steward Chen the whole trip, instead befriending Han Zheng—clearly showing they weren't on the same side.

"The Head Shopkeeper is about to retire, but his son isn't skilled at running the pharmacy, so they'll have to pick someone else to take over Shenghe Hall.

I'm qualified, and I want that position. Steward Chen's son is also a senior pharmacist at Shenghe Hall, eyeing the same spot.

Since he's pushing his own son up, of course he doesn't like me."

Han Zheng narrowed his eyes: "Li Yaoshi, remember: strike first and you prevail, strike later and you suffer.

He's the Head Shopkeeper's relative, with a father who can rake in cash—how can you compete?

Why not seize this chance? We'll work together to subdue Chen Moshan, catch him red-handed, and hand him over to the Head Shopkeeper."