Killing Intent

The summer thunderstorm arrived with extreme speed. One moment it was clear skies, the next, dark clouds blotted out the sun, a fierce wind howled, and raindrops began to patter down. Even the large willow tree at the east end of the village was bent over, seemingly on the verge of breaking. This was the third day since Fang Ming's return. Since he had set the rewards, various affairs had gradually gotten back on track. The Yin Soldiers trained daily, and patrols were conducted with greater diligence. According to Wang Liulang's private report, each fire was eager for battle. If not for Fang Ming's regulations that ordinary wandering souls had no head bounties, the wandering souls of various villages might have suffered.

Fang Ming was quite satisfied with this. After all, eagerness for battle was better than avoiding it.

As for the Clerks, with the Servant Soldiers selected by Guo Sheng and He Dong, the staffing was finally barely sufficient to meet the demand. They could compile the household registers and incense and fire records for believers in each village one by one for statistical purposes.

The four villages under Qingxi Township had a total of 173 households and 864 people.

Among them, 52 were non-believers. After all, there were always people who ate raw rice everywhere. Even if Fang Ming appeared before them, they might not necessarily believe in a Deity.

There were 212 shallow believers. These were the people who would worship any Deity they saw in their past lives. They didn't necessarily believe in the Earth God, but since everyone else was worshipping, they did too. Shallow believers, at times other than the Grand Sacrifice, could only provide Fang Ming with a trace of divine power every two to three days. There were 553 ordinary believers. These were the true believers and Fang Ming's most valuable source of wealth currently. Ordinary believers could provide Fang Ming with a trace of divine power every day, and this would increase during the Grand Sacrifice.

There were only 47 devout believers. These were the seeds for priests, who could be promoted to Temple Keepers. Fang Ming's current five Temple Keepers were all among them.

Adding it all up, Fang Ming now received over 600 traces of white divine power daily. Unfortunately, with the existence of fierce ghosts, half had to be returned to the believers. The remainder was all put into the reserve fund. Fang Ming's current net income was about 100 traces of divine power, all earned by fulfilling villagers' wishes. Every day, he cast various spiritual powers. Even though Fang Ming was a Deity, he was exhausted and felt a desire to find helpers.

As for the Zhang family's great landowner in Qingxi Township, after Steward Zhang returned, there had been no further activity. It was unknown whether he was enduring or had other plans. Originally, it was possible to check through the believers in Qingxi Township.

But now, Zhang Huaizheng had spread the word, forbidding the people of Qingxi Township from believing in the Earth God. With a single order, all the people of Qingxi Township abandoned their faith, leaving Fang Ming with a wry smile and a bit of a chill. He had witnessed the influence of human way power on the Divine Way. If the magistrate of Anchang County ordered villagers not to believe in the Earth God, how many believers would he have left? The thought alone was chilling. He had just used his Qi Observation Spiritual Power to check again and found something new. He had already issued an order.

Thinking of this, he picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip. Zhenzhu, who was serving him, quickly picked up the teapot and refilled the cup.

Zhenzhu was the name of the maidservant from that day. Fang Ming had kept her in the Earth God Law Domain to be responsible for cleaning the main hall, but she was clever. After finishing her cleaning duties, she voluntarily came to serve him.

This teapot and the clear water were also created by Fang Ming using divine power. Although he was a Deity, he did not want to lose the pleasures he once had as a human. Taking advantage of the thunderstorm, he brewed tea and enjoyed it, finding a bit of leisurely fun.

At this moment, He Yuqing arrived, saying, "Your Divinity, you have such elegant leisure!"

Fang Ming smiled, "Just stealing a moment of leisure from busyness!" After getting up to pay his respects, he asked, "Mr. He, are you accustomed to living here?"

He Yuqing gave a wry smile and said, "A newly deceased person should be content with any shelter. I am already extremely satisfied to have a courtyard to live in and servants to attend to me. To ask for more would be to tempt fate."

Fang Ming nodded, "Mr. He, you know contentment is happiness, which is enviable. Please, have a cup of clear tea!"

Zhenzhu offered the teacup. Mr. He took a sip and nodded, looking extremely pleased. Then he shook his head, frowned, and fell into deep thought. Fang Ming looked puzzled and asked, "Mr. He, why are you like this?"

"Please forgive my rudeness, Your Divinity. I have always enjoyed drinking tea, but since becoming a ghost, I haven't brewed tea for over ten days. To think that even my ghostly body can now enjoy tea fills me with joy... Your Divinity's tea is excellent, no less than Ling Lu. As for the tea leaves, please forgive my poor eyesight, I cannot identify them, hence my deep thought. Please forgive my impoliteness..." He Yuqing stood up to apologize, then sat down again. He took another sip, his eyes narrowed, and an atmosphere of leisure and ease arose spontaneously.

Fang Ming smiled wryly. He could only be considered as pretending to be cultured. The demeanor and grace that Mr. He possessed, which were deeply ingrained, were not something everyone could achieve. It required decades of cultivation and influence from Great Clans. Beyond that, it depended on talent. At that time, there were tea connoisseurs, many of whom were famous throughout the land. Unfortunately, they were not found in this small county.

After chatting with Mr. He for a few more sentences, Fang Ming learned that the so-called Ling Lu was dew collected specifically in the early morning. Depending on the object from which it was collected, it could be divided into rose dew, green leaf dew, apricot blossom dew, and so on. However, when it came to brewing tea, tea flower dew from the tea tree itself was the best...

As he spoke of this, He Yuqing became somewhat animated, which astonished Fang Ming. The water he conjured with divine power was naturally extremely pure, no less than Ling Lu. As for the tea leaves, they were Tieguanyin, which he often drank in his previous life. It was not surprising that He Yuqing couldn't recognize them.

Seeing that He Yuqing was somewhat enjoying himself, Fang Ming said, "I have something I wish to ask your advice on! I hope you will not hesitate to tell me!" At this moment, Fang Ming's expression was extremely solemn.

He Yuqing jolted awake, a wry smile on his face. At home, his servants knew that the master disliked being disturbed while enjoying tea, and few dared to commit such an offense, gradually forming a habit. Even his wife and sons would not bring up matters at this time. However, at this moment, of course, it was different. His expression remained unchanged as he smiled and asked, "May I ask what Your Divinity wishes to know?"

At this, Fang Ming stood up, gazing into the distance. Through the sky above the Law Domain, he could faintly see the overcast clouds covering the sky, and large raindrops continuously falling. Fang Ming's voice seemed to turn somber as he sighed, "If I were to rebel, could I compare to Li Heibao?"

"Crash!" A large clap of thunder sounded in the sky at that moment. He Yuqing was startled, and the teacup in his hand fell to the ground with a "crack," splashing tea all over him. However, He Yuqing paid it no mind and exclaimed in alarm, "Why would Your Divinity say such a thing?" He Yuqing had only had a glimpse of Fang Ming's power, but he knew it was extraordinary. His subordinates were fierce, and more importantly, he had established a system, which made him far superior to Li Heibao.

He Yuqing knew that if Fang Ming rebelled, he would essentially be half a Ghost King. The entire Wenchang Prefecture would inevitably fall into chaos. Amidst the rebel soldiers, it was uncertain if his He family could remain safe.

If he colluded with Li Heibao of Linjiang Prefecture, and with the intervention of Ghost Kings from other prefectures, the ambitious individuals in various parts of Wuzhou would certainly seize the opportunity to act. After all, there were many intelligent people. If one region was in chaos, they would wait and see. If two regions were in turmoil, it would be time to act. At that time, Wuzhou would inevitably be plunged into war. Although the imperial court could send heavy troops to suppress it, it would cost a fortune, and Wuzhou would be devastated.

Fang Ming smiled, looking at the pale-faced He Yuqing, and already knew the answer. He then noticed that Zhenzhu had collapsed on the ground and couldn't help but chuckle. It seemed the imperial court still held some prestige. He then comforted them, "I was just saying it casually; I won't actually do it." He added mentally, "But that might not be the case in the future."

He Yuqing steadied himself and said, "Your Divinity, why would you make such a joke? You should know that the words and actions of those with great power are connected to fortune, easily causing many unforeseen events!" However, his voice still trembled.

Fang Ming nodded, "The Way of Fortune, it seems Great Clans are also involved. I will have to seek your guidance in the future." He paused and then said, "I have already made an enemy of Zhang Qingyun, the Ancestral Spirit of Qingxi Township. You saw him a few days ago. If this drags on, I fear a great change will occur. It would be better to strike first!"

He Yuqing breathed a sigh of relief, then thought carefully, cold sweat dripping down his face, his body trembling uncontrollably.

He understood that for Ancestral Spirits to wish to destroy a temple was an irreconcilable enmity. Fang Ming had already decided to kill. This was not something he could dissuade.

But after Fang Ming killed Zhang Qingyun, if the higher authorities came to investigate, how would he explain? After all, Fang Ming's original background was somewhat unclear. If the investigators were more forceful and a dispute arose between them, whether Fang Ming annihilated the newcomers here, or the envoys returned and branded Fang Ming as an Evil Spirit, then Fang Ming would truly have no other path but rebellion.

Of course, he could also persuade Fang Ming to leave this place, but that was not something Mr. He could do. Asking a lord to abandon his foundation and flee without a fight was basically a death sentence for whoever tried to persuade him.

After thinking for a long time, he finally could say nothing, remaining silent for a long time before managing to squeeze out a sentence: "I implore Your Divinity to consider this carefully!" After all, there was still White Cloud Temple overseeing Wuzhou.

A wry smile appeared on Fang Ming's lips. He also did not wish for this, but unfortunately, the other party was also prepared to make a move. Although he didn't know what it was, his Qi Observation Spiritual Power could clearly see a gray-black cloud gathering in the direction of Qingxi Township, intending to harm him. It seemed they had investigated and learned some of Fang Ming's background in the past few days, and the move was imminent.

However, Fang Ming did not regret it. Even if he bypassed Qingxi Township and developed in other townships, what then? If he wanted to advance further, the hurdle of the county town had to be overcome. Not to mention the other two townships were far away. The three townships were located in a triangle within Anchang County, and the villages basically dealt more with their respective superior townships. Fang Ming's foundation was here, and there was no other path!

Using this opportunity, he could also test the county's reaction, which would be of great reference to his future plans. Moreover, he had also arranged for He Song, a chess piece, but he didn't know if it would be effective.

If everything developed in the worst-case scenario, then rebellion might be the only option. However, at this time, it was not opportune, and failure was certain. Fang Ming had made arrangements for a fallback plan to protect himself. But even if he changed locations and hid for decades, waiting for a new dynasty, he would still have to face the county town. That was the core of the most basic human system. For the Divine Way to develop, it could not be separated from that place.

His decision made, he looked at the wind and rain in the sky, feeling at this moment that it was still too little. He truly wanted to roar, "Let the storm come more fiercely!" But considering the dignity of his position, he held back, drained the tea in one gulp, ignored He Yuqing, and strode out.

In front of the Earth God Temple, Wang Liulang and Xie Jin stood solemnly. Behind each of them were two fires. The heavy rain fell, yet they did not move in the slightest.

When Fang Ming came out, everyone saluted, "Greetings, my Lord!"

Fang Ming looked up at the sky and laughed heartily, saying, "In this scene and situation, I truly wish to go out and kill a few people! Are you willing to accompany me?"

All the Yin Soldiers knelt down, "Yes!"

ps: Thanks to My Arrogant Er and others for their rewards.