"Life was sweet..."
After spending several days traveling through the villages, Wu Ming had thoroughly enjoyed the decadent life of a feudal landlord's young master.
He practiced martial arts and trained his body, so he naturally felt no fatigue.
Besides, he only ever showed his face for upright and honorable matters, like reducing rents and interest. Those were worthy of his personal attention. As for dealing with the deadbeats who deliberately refused to pay rent, or the shameless rogues who were as slippery as eels, Steward Wu and the rest of his lackeys handled them. The whole trip had been quite an eye-opener.
Now back at his own fortified manor, he had rested for a while before calling in two maids to massage and loosen up his muscles. Both were skilled at tending to people, and each dreamed of rising from a lowly branch to become a phoenix. Naturally, they brought out their best tricks. Wu Ming felt four soft, boneless little hands kneading him with painstaking care. His muscles and bones went limp with pleasure, and he nearly felt his soul leave his body.
What a comfortable, safe, and carefree life...
Wu Ming's eyes narrowed as he mused to himself, If not for the Main God Hall's missions keeping me in check, I'd probably have fallen into decadence long ago.
It was easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but hard to go the other way. Even with ambition, a life this easy could wear away a man's resolve.
Come to think of it... there's still a bit of a gap between the Main God Hall's missions. That's a good thing! Still... the next one should be coming soon.
[ Ding! ]
In the blink of an eye, just as Wu Ming was wondering whether to simply have his way with the two maids and enjoy a dragon with two phoenixes, the Main God Hall's vast voice rang directly in his mind, wiping away every other thought.
"You may leave!"
After sending the two delicate maids away, their faces still tinged with resentment, Wu Ming's expression turned solemn as he read the message in his mind.
[ Esteemed Main God Apostle! Reincarnator Gengshen 69, your mission will begin at midnight three days from now. Please prepare! ]
The Main God Hall's voice was flat and mechanical, yet carried an immense authority.
"At last!"
Wu Ming clenched his fist.
"View detailed mission information!"
Wasn't this why he had held on to a large reserve of minor merits?
For ordinary Reincarnators, the Main God Hall's missions began in a crude, brutal fashion: it would simply drag them in with no warning or preparation. They could only cautiously arm themselves from the start and improve every aspect of their abilities as much as possible.
But Wu Ming was different!
His privilege of learning the details in advance let him exchange for items and enhancements tailored to the mission. At a time like this, a hundred minor merits could produce results worth a thousand for other Reincarnators!
[ Reincarnator Gengshen 69! Your instance will begin at midnight three days from now! ]
[ Scenario size: Medium instance! ]
[ Mission difficulty: Hong! ]
[ Main Quest description: ... ]
Wu Ming's expression remained solemn. He didn't miss a single word.
After a long while, a faint smile finally appeared on his face. "Luckily... it doesn't look like they're going to crank up the difficulty just because I'm a Main God Apostle..."
He understood a little about this difficulty level and the meaning of the word "Hong."
The Main God Hall's missions were probably ranked from top to bottom according to the sequence of Heaven, Earth, Profound, Yellow, Cosmos, Hong, and Desolation. The novice instance he had experienced last time had been the easiest, Desolation rank. This time, the difficulty had only gone up by one level.
"But... I still don't know how big a leap this difficulty represents. My life is on the line, so I can't be too cautious..."
A sharp glint flashed in Wu Ming's eyes as he sank into deep thought.
At the same time.
Two furtive shadows arrived outside the fortified manor.
"So this is Wu Family Fort? It has a certain air about it!"
One wore a Daoist robe. Beneath the night sky, his eyes glimmered like ghost fire, making him unsettling to behold. "With a foundation like this, how could it support that True Dao Seed's rise? I can't make sense of it!"
"Heh... he was born with a fated destiny, carrying great fortune and Earth Qi of his own. What does the feng shui of a residence have to do with it?"
The other man sneered, though there was a note of worry in his voice. "If we go through with this, the consequences won't be small. Be careful we don't strike at the snake only to be bitten ourselves..."
"That's no concern. Others will deal with that person... Otherwise, why do you think our lord agreed so readily? Surely not for some trifling Dao Academy place?"
The Daoist whose eyes gleamed like ghost fire sneered.
"What?"
The other man was stunned. "There's more to this than meets the eye?"
"Of course. What is one spoiled young master worth? Even if he takes a spot, it's hardly enough reason for our lord to pick a fight with that Dao Seed. After all, the Third Young Master isn't exactly someone with much promise. If he can't make it this year, there's always next year."
The Daoist shook his head. "We've come to seize this young master only to break that person's Dao Heart, then let others deal with him! Put it this way... does that reassure you? Once the deed is done, there'll be plenty of people to clean up after us!"
"No wonder I wondered why our lord was so bold this time, unafraid of retaliation. So he'd found himself a backer!"
The other man suddenly understood, then muttered to himself, "To suppress a Dao Seed and a deeply rooted local gentry family, it would take pressure from the higher-ups in the commandery. The Wu family may be overbearing, but they haven't gone so far as to offend the commandery, have they?"
"Heh... so this is what happens when you don't provoke anyone, but someone comes to provoke you! What time is it now? Heaven's killing intent stirs, dragons and serpents rise from the earth, and heroes emerge everywhere, all fighting for that sliver of opportunity. If you stand in someone's way, how can you blame them for moving you aside?"
"Opportunity? Dragons and serpents? Dragon..."
The first man's eyes grew hazy as he considered how signs of a Chaotic World were emerging and all kinds of prodigies were rising. Yet a commandery had only so much fortune to go around, so they would inevitably crush one another as they fought over Heaven's Mandate and their chance at greatness. In a flash, he thought of something. "A struggle between Dao lineages? A fight for dragon aura?"
He paced in circles, his thoughts growing clearer. "Exactly! With Wu Qing's extraordinary talent, praised by the Head of the Academy as having the potential of a 'True Dao Seed,' it's only natural for her Dao Cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds. By the time of the Dragon Gate Gathering, she might even be able to hinder that person. She has to be suppressed!"
"It's enough that you understand. Don't say more and invite needless entanglements of cause and effect."
The Daoist shook his head and fell silent.
The other man was quiet for a long time before sighing. "With the way the people behind the scenes have laid things out, this probably isn't just about claiming the title of Assembly Leader at the Dragon Gate Gathering and standing above everyone else. Our Chu Feng Commandery is in for a turbulent time..."
"Heh... you're wrong again!"
The Daoist smiled proudly. "Look at the world today. Great Zhou declines by the day, the stars descend, and a contest for the realm is inevitable. But whoever rules the land in the future, could they really treat our lord harshly? The realm is like this, and so is this commandery. Whether it's Great Zhou, the Commandery Governor, the Dao Academy, or whoever comes to power, they'll all have to appease the scholars, martial students, and gentry. Otherwise, the people will be seething with resentment... What have we to fear?"
"Exactly! Exactly!"
The other man nodded repeatedly. "It seems we owe the Daoist a great deal for helping us carry out this job."
"We're colleagues. There's no need for that!"
Though he said so, a trace of pride still glimmered in the Daoist's eyes. He looked toward the fortified manor, then frowned. "It'll be troublesome if the young master refuses to come out."
After all, the manor's defenses were formidable. Ever since the incident with Lin Qi, Wu Ming had been somewhat spooked and had tightened security. With Wu Qing around, the Armory was even more fearsome than the one in Da Qing Village: it held three suits of iron armor and two siege crossbows, each capable of firing a bolt a thousand paces. They were truly deadly weapons, and Village Militia patrolled day and night.
With defenses like these, anyone would get a prickling scalp just looking at them, unless they brought an army to lay siege.
"Don't worry!"
The first man smiled. "Under normal circumstances, we'd have no way to deal with him. But it's harvest season, so there'll be plenty of opportunities!"
"Well said!"
The Daoist nodded with a smile. Clearly, as long as the young master was outside the manor, seizing a spoiled young master would be as easy as eating or drinking.
After all, though they'd heard the young master had turned over a new leaf and was earnestly practicing martial arts, the path of martial arts was arduous. What could a few months of training do for a spoiled young master?
The only real expert they had to deal with was Feng Han.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
The two men hadn't miscalculated. They'd simply overlooked one thing!
In Wu Ming's eyes, nothing in the world mattered more than his own life!
With a Main God Hall mission imminent, a little matter of land rent wouldn't get him out the door unless it became a world-shaking crisis.
So for three days straight, he stayed in, meditating and practicing Qi, adjusting his state of mind. All the preparations the two men outside had made came to nothing.
"What are we supposed to do? Do we force our way in?"
The two men outside were at a loss. One sighed. "Could he have seen through our plan?"
"If he had, he'd have sent the entire Village Militia to seize us. We'd be no match for them with just the two of us. We wouldn't get away, either."
The Daoist stroked his beard. "In my view, either the young master's spoiled nature has flared up, or something changed because of a shift in Qi Aura... After all, that True Dao Seed's fortune is as solid as a rock. It won't be broken easily!"
"Then what should we do?" the other man asked anxiously.
"One word! Wait!"
The Daoist appeared confident, though in truth he had other plans.
He had pledged himself to the household, but his position was closer to that of a guest retainer. They could hardly force him to take a risk and throw his life away.
My lord treats me as a man of honor, so I should repay him as one... My current employer treats me only as a guest retainer, so I'll do no more than a guest retainer should...
Ghost fire seemed to flicker in the Daoist's eyes as he turned to the other man. "But waiting around won't do us any good, either. Go and... do this and that... Do you understand?"
"Understood!"
Admiration appeared in the other man's eyes. He slowly withdrew and vanished into the darkness.
The moon shone brightly, and the stars were sparse. Crows flew south.
Without realizing it, midnight had arrived, and the hour of the Rat was close at hand.
Inside the fortified manor, Wu Ming had already told everyone he would be going into seclusion for a few days to circulate Qi and seek a breakthrough, and that he must not be disturbed under any circumstances. Then he settled comfortably into bed and silently called out the name of the Main God Hall.
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