Arrival

After arriving at the Dark Canal outpost in Dendrobium Village, the afternoon was already well underway. The carriage had jolted along for a long while before finally coming to a stop.

The outpost's courtyard was vast, but the buildings had all been constructed from nearby stone and timber, using whatever materials were at hand.

Once they arrived, several experienced masons were bent over, skillfully painting something onto the blue-gray stone walls.

At the entrance to the courtyard stood two sturdy, elite guards. Their eyes widened, and they hurried forward.

"Greetings, Young Master." Their words rang out in unison, respectful and deferential.

Seeing this, another man led the coachman to the back courtyard to help unload the luggage. He had a sharp eye.

The carriage the eldest young master had ridden in sat unusually low, as if it were carrying something heavy.

Feng Xiu nodded. "Where's Xiang Geng?"

"Master Xiang went out ahead with some men to patrol. He hasn't returned yet," one of the guards answered.

He then led Feng Xiu into the courtyard. They crossed the threshold, and the ground inside was somewhat uneven.

A few patches of trimmed weeds grew in the brown earth. Near the courtyard walls, eighteen cone-shaped granaries stood in two rows.

Aside from those, several rolled mats and crossbeams lay in the open space, along with five or six women dressed in coarse hemp clothes.

They were helping their husbands, who knew carpentry, roll up the mats into cylinders, secure them with crossbeams, and bind them with thick rope.

Several lean men swung hammers, driving wedges into place. Beneath the blazing sun, sweat streamed down their dark faces.

"Young Master Feng is here!"

When a slightly plump woman saw Feng Xiu enter, her face lit up. She hurriedly tugged at her taciturn husband, who only kept his head down and worked.

"Young Master Feng, what brings you here today?"

Among the crowd, a fairly quick-witted farmer rubbed his hands together, the wrinkles on his face stretching into a smile.

He started to step forward, but then worried that his filthy clothes might offend Feng Xiu's eyes. He hesitated along with the people beside him.

"Auntie, I came to see how you're doing. How are the seedlings coming along? Not bad, I hope?"

Feng Xiu saw how awkward everyone felt and took the initiative to approach them, speaking with a cheerful smile.

Dendrobium Village was the first farmstead Feng Xiu had exempted from rent, and he had met the plump auntie once before.

In fact, many women who tenant-farmed the estates had much the same build.

It wasn't because they ate well, but because years of irregular, exhausting labor had made them gain weight.

"Thanks to you, sir, eight tenths of the gold seedlings came up in our several dozen mu of land. We've got some free time now, so I brought the old man along to help."

The plump auntie spoke in the booming voice unique to farm women.

"That's wonderful. From now on, if you have any broken farm tools, pots, or bowls at home, bring them here. I'll find someone to fix them for you," Feng Xiu said with a smile.

The men all smiled too. Some rubbed their hands together gratefully, unsure what to say.

"Then I thank you, Young Master Feng. Old man, get back to work!"

Seeing how pleased everyone was made the auntie even happier. She was just about to offer her thanks when a group of more than twenty people came up behind Feng Xiu.

After speaking with a smile, she turned and glared at her husband.

"Eldest Young Master."

A deep voice sounded behind him. Feng Xiu had already heard the commotion and turned around at the sound.

The newcomer was Xiang Geng, the biological son of Xiang Yuan, one of the five senior stewards within the lineage.

Like Uncle Zheng, Xiang Yuan was a highly experienced elder. He had originally been a clan elder and village head in Dendrobium Village. After retiring, he had made a point of recommending Xiang Geng for a position here.

Xiang Geng was one of the experts the lineage had been deliberately grooming. He had reached Body Refining Peak before the age of forty.

"You're here. Come, let's go inside."

The granary compound was not a standard three-courtyard residence. Its main feature was the large Grain Courtyard in the middle.

Besides that, there were only the inner room, the main hall, the central room, a kitchen, and dormitories for the people stationed there.

Once they reached the inner room, Feng Xiu took the seat of honor, and Xiang Geng sat below him on the left. A guard poured them both some rough tea, then closed the door and withdrew.

Feng Xiu took a small sip. The tea's bitterness lingered between his lips and teeth.

After getting used to delicacies and restorative medicinal cuisine, the rough tea was truly hard to stomach.

"Young Master, supplies are difficult to transport here. Please don't take offense if our hospitality falls short."

Noticing Feng Xiu's slight frown, Xiang Geng rose and clasped his fists toward him, apologizing.

"It's nothing. I'm not a pampered man."

Though Xiang Geng was broad and muscular, his eyes were exceptionally sharp. Hearing this, he nodded slightly.

He had heard that the eldest young master had begun training in martial arts these past few days. At first, he'd thought it was merely a rich young man's whim, something he'd give up after a few days.

But the guards had been talking about it as if they had seen it with their own eyes.

Now that he saw Feng Xiu in person, his breathing was long and steady, and his organs beat like war drums. It was clearly a sign that he had reached the peak of Body Refining. Xiang Geng had almost failed to recognize it.

"Tell me, has anything unusual happened in the Dark Canal?" Feng Xiu asked.

Xiang Geng thought for a moment. "Nothing unusual, though the river channel in the Dark Canal suddenly flooded again over the past couple of days. Our men caught quite a few fish."

Feng Xiu stared at him. "Fish?"

"Yes, they were all standard Green Carp, but they were huge."

Feng Xiu immediately thought of the strange fish he had encountered before. His brows drew together slightly. "How big, exactly?"

"About this long."

Xiang Geng spread his hands to show a length of roughly one meter.

"After a year of accumulation in Tang Reservoir, Green Carp over a meter long are rare," Xiang Geng added.

Feng Xiu nodded, then asked, "Was the river mouth wide? Were there any other strange occurrences?"

Xiang Geng shook his head. He couldn't help feeling a little puzzled himself, but still answered, "It wasn't wide. I brought men to fill it in yesterday."

From Feng Ao to Master Zheng to Feng Xiu, the three of them had all made baffling decisions lately.

First they'd said they wanted to build granaries at every farmstead. Normally, tenant farmers delivered their grain by donkey cart or rented carriage to Green Rock City themselves.

Building granaries certainly made things easier for the tenants, but afterward the Feng Clan would still have to send people to haul the grain from them.

That meant the Feng Clan alone would bear the costs of transport, including the losses and the food for men and horses.

He understood that, and so did the elders and village heads at each estate. Why willingly sacrifice the lineage's interests?

If Feng Xiu had simply been softhearted and unable to bear seeing the common people suffer, that would have been one thing. But the decision had clearly come from Feng Ao.

And every granary had been built near the Dark Canal, with daily patrols. It was hard not to suspect there was something else behind it.

"What about the fish?"

Feng Xiu saw Xiang Geng's hesitation and asked.

Could these Green Carp be strange fish that had yet to transform?

"Please forgive my subordinate, eldest young master. He couldn't keep his hands to himself. After catching the fish, he couldn't resist eating them."

Feng Xiu seemed unusually concerned about the matter. Xiang Geng's heart tightened, and he hurriedly explained.

"They ate them?" Feng Xiu's voice rose. He abruptly stood up.

After Feng Xiu had carried the strange fish home, Feng Ao and Uncle Zheng had considered the matter carefully, afraid it might be carrying some kind of plague.

They had burned it to ashes on the spot. And that wasn't all; Feng Xiu himself hadn't been spared.

First, he had to bathe for three straight days. Then they used all sorts of pungent spices and expensive medicinal herbs to get rid of the smell on him.

By the end of it, Feng Xiu had nearly shed a layer of skin.

"Yeah." Xiang Geng chuckled awkwardly and scratched his head.

"How many are left?"

Even though Xiang Geng was highly skilled, Feng Xiu's questioning still made his scalp prickle. Cautiously, he raised one finger.

"One fish?"

"Ahem, no. Not a single one is left," Xiang Geng said, bracing himself.

Feng Xiu looked helpless. The man's courage had to be made of iron.

But since Xiang Geng hadn't known any better, Feng Xiu didn't blame him too harshly.

Seeing Feng Xiu's expression ease a little, Xiang Geng breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "Eldest young master, as it happens, after our men ate those Green Carp, they became feverish all over, and their strength increased greatly. Some even broke through to Tough Blood. Their noses bled so badly it wouldn't stop."

Feng Xiu looked astonished. "That happened?"

He had been practicing martial arts for over a month, so he knew what Tough Blood was.

Tough Blood was the stage at which one became aware of one's own qi and blood. Even unconscious breathing would then accelerate its flow, making the skin tougher.

After reaching Tough Blood, one could basically expect to at least reach the peak of Body Refining, barring any mishaps.

So the fish could do that?

"Yes. I thought it was strange too, but I couldn't resist trying some myself. The vital essence and blood qi in these fish are no weaker than what you'd find in a hundred-year-old ginseng," Xiang Geng said with a sigh.

Feng Xiu said nothing. Even Green Carp that had yet to transform could have such effects. If that strange fish hadn't been disposed of, its effects after consumption probably wouldn't have been any worse than the Blood Returning Pill.

Of course, it was one thing to think about it now. If he could go back, Feng Xiu wouldn't regret what he had done then.

No one could have thought of that in the circumstances at the time.

Even if it really was edible, Feng Xiu would still have worried about parasites, possession, and the like.

"Good. That's enough for now. I'll go with you tomorrow. You'll have to keep at it for a while longer," Feng Xiu ordered solemnly.

Xiang Geng started to speak, then stopped. Though his confusion was growing, he didn't dare ask anything.

Feng Xiu must have had his reasons.

A thought suddenly flashed through Xiang Geng's mind. Could there be something else in the Dark Canal?

At the thought, he shook his head sharply and decided to return to the canal and reinforce the flooded river mouth.

"This subordinate obeys."

Before long, Xiang Geng had two guards carry the luggage into a small room.

"This place is simple. I'm afraid you'll have to put up with it, eldest young master."

After setting the wooden chest in the corner, Xiang Geng bowed and spoke politely.

This had originally been his room. Now that Feng Xiu had arrived, he could only go squeeze in with the guards.

Feng Xiu looked around. There was a bed, a wooden table, and two bamboo chairs. The furnishings were simple.

"Thank you for your effort," Feng Xiu said with a warm smile.

"You're too kind. You came in person in this scorching heat to check on the Grain Courtyard. You're the one going to all the trouble."

Xiang Geng smiled, his eyes flickering with a hint of probing.

Feng Xiu didn't call him out. The Reservoir Flood Dragon was one of the Feng Clan's trump cards, and the fewer people who knew about it, the better.

Even a subordinate like Xiang Geng, whom Feng Ao often praised, didn't need to know.

"By the way, find me a large tub for medicinal baths and a quiet place to train."

Feng Xiu changed the subject. Xiang Geng couldn't help feeling disappointed, and looked troubled.

"Eldest young master, finding a medicinal bath tub is easy enough. As for somewhere secluded..."

There was an old bamboo grove three li west of the compound, with a serene setting. Would that do?

Feng Xiu nodded. "That works."