Trial Run

Trial Run

[Starfall] descended once more into the guesthouse area of Baishi Village's outer courtyard just as the last glow of sunset faded.

Chong Li deciphered the information and obtained a large amount of the latest intelligence.

That very evening, she gathered with Ming Shu and the others in the inner courtyard to sort through and compile it.

People had been assigned to oversee the night watch along all four courtyard walls. Old Zhao was at the rear wall to the north, Ren Yuan at the east, Zhao Dun at the southern gate, and Zhao Chuan along the western wall.

Chong Li, Zhao Siqi, and Lü E had set up several desks, along with brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, in Ming Shu's study. Ming Shu simply watched them bustle about.

Zhao Siqi had already changed her hairstyle, tying it into a bun. The long, jet-black hair draped over her shoulders when she and Ming Shu had first spoken in the small courtyard was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, she wore a light, flexible outfit and a pair of convenient boots suited for rushing between the inner and outer courtyards. At present, she had to handle every household affair herself.

Although Ming Shu had previously told her that he did not want an overly forceful wife, he had now become a hands-off manager, leaving everything for Zhao Siqi to deal with.

The manual for lifting the seal on the Spiritual Vein's Spiritual Eye underground had arrived as well. Chong Li could begin preparing over the next few days and try to break the seal herself. If that still failed, they would have no choice but to call for reinforcements.

This concerned their own vital interests, so Chong Li placed it at the very top of the list in importance and urgency. Ming Shu and the others needed to know about it first, but only a professional knew the specifics of how to proceed.

Next came information related to the butcher and the Hunter—

The butcher was a retired Demon Hunter. His strength was decent, and he was already fifty. It was only a few years ago that he had decided to retire. He later settled down in this area.

[Demon Spirit: Zhen Guanxi] possessed slaughter-related skills, with exceptionally powerful cleaver techniques.

The Hunter, meanwhile, was an outer member of the Demon Hunters. He had no demon spirit, but he was an expert Martial Artist at the fourth stage, the Meridian Breaking and Origin Opening Realm. He was also in his forties.

They had met while carrying out missions together in the past, and the Hunter's family lived nearby.

Several years ago, pirates threatened their safety.

The Hunter wanted to return and protect his family, so his good brother, the butcher, came here with him and settled down as well.

Although this was what the Sky-Toppling Observatory had written, Ming Shu still subjectively believed that the Director had arranged this foreshadowing several years in advance.

He simply had no evidence yet.

The Sky-Toppling Observatory guaranteed that they were all trustworthy and could be entrusted with their backs.

The next matter was the agreed-upon schedule for the next several shipments of grain from Qingtian Gate.

They first needed to build warehouses here, especially with measures against water, fire, theft, and the like.

After that came several major events happening throughout the world—

The first: King Chu had launched one military campaign after another. More than half the regions and forces south of the Great River had already defected to him.

In the struggle for the realm, what they fought over was population, wealth, and resources. With Dao Sect's support, King Chu lacked neither top-tier combat strength nor anything else, so he was in no hurry to march north. Developing slowly was more important.

The second: the Han Clan, one of the Three Great Families, had left the Royal Capital and gone south to pledge allegiance to King Chu.

This had caused the southern side's momentum to surge, making them even more arrogant. They had accelerated their recruitment and purchasing of horses. Previously, several great families had secretly resisted, but now they had all obediently submitted.

It seemed that contending for the realm also required reputation, popular support, fortune, and other intangible things.

The Zhao Clan, on the other hand, had supported a prince who was killed in battle on the spot. They had instead become the new emperor's target for wooing and faced no immediate crisis.

The prince supported by the Han Clan had gone south, while the pressure within the clan was immense. Under ordinary circumstances, without the threat of troubled times, and if the northern barbarians and Dao Sect had not been so powerful, the Three Great Families might have joined forces to stabilize the situation.

Now, everyone was making their own calculations, trying to claim a share of the spoils, or even compete to become the ruler of the realm.

Although the Wei Clan appeared to be the biggest winner, it had other arrangements within its ranks as well. When all was said and done, profit remained the most important thing.

Just as Zhao Siqi was carefully organizing this information, Chong Li deciphered the final encrypted message—one concerning the pirates.

Qunwa Island: Originally an unnamed island on the borders of the East Sea and North Sea, it had suddenly seen a group of pirates appear over the past decade or so. Nearly every one of them possessed a demon spirit.

Moreover, they all possessed relatively fragile demon spirits—the amphibious frog-type demon spirits that were easy to cultivate.

Each time, a large number of tadpoles were bred in the north and sent to Qunwa Island for distribution, after which they were left to cultivate and experiment with on their own.

However, the Great Island Master on the island had never appeared on shore. According to the intelligence dug up by the Sky-Toppling Observatory, he was likely the master of an old turtle demon spirit.

He was best at withdrawing into his shell, hiding, and escaping with his life.

They were the same pirates they had encountered before. With this intelligence, they would have far more confidence when facing the pirates again.

No wonder the pirates came and went without a trace. Their ships would still be at sea while the pirates had already landed. Anywhere inland with a river could become a target for their attacks.

So it was all because they possessed demon spirits and relied on their power to travel directly through the water.

Combining this with the information he had previously obtained through the Life Book, Ming Shu saw that there were not only frog-type demon spirits, but turtle-type demon spirits as well.

Ming Shu silently wrote down the information he knew too and had Zhao Siqi compile it. Later, they could share it with Old Zhao and the others.

This would improve their ability to deal with pirate invaders.

Only then did Zhao Siqi finally learn that the great figure who had previously traded with Zhao Wuxu was actually the Sky-Toppling Observatory.

Before Ming Shu could ask Chong Li about it, Chong Li had already told him that once the Spiritual Eye underground was unsealed, she could teach him the second stage of cultivation.

The Sky-Toppling Observatory would place some easy-to-cultivate Spirit Planter seeds in the next grain convoy and have them transported over. A Spirit Planter Master would also come along to guide them.

Cultivation required a great deal of money and resources. Since the Lineage had only just begun, they first needed to develop their own industries.

Artifact Forging, alchemy, and formation arrays were not things one could learn in a short time. Besides, they had no channels for them. Were they supposed to ask the Sky-Toppling Observatory again?

They had already arranged the Spirit Planter Master. It seemed that farming was something they had to experience. Zhao Siqi had planned things that way as well.

Ming Shu silently opened the Life Book, wanting to see whether it contained any way to make money.

When he randomly opened a page and wrote down "the most profitable method," the words "killing and arson bring a golden belt" appeared.

There were also discussions related to waging war to sustain war, an unconventional way of mining—tomb raiding—robbing the rich to aid the poor and robbing bandits, as well as fortune-telling!

Fortune-telling could make money too?

Ming Shu opened another page and wrote down the words "fortune-telling." A great deal of related content immediately appeared. Several complete rituals in particular opened Ming Shu's eyes wide.

This seemed more reliable. He could really make money through fortune-telling. The cost was low, the risks were low, and he could try it first.