Snow Road Oddities, a Relationship of Sustenance

Once they left the manor, the road led uphill.

Snow had piled up on the path, while a sheer drop lay to their right. They had to watch every step with utmost care. One misstep, one slip beneath their feet, and they would tumble into the mountain abyss.

Li Xian brushed the snow from his shoulders, shook out his hair, and gazed into the distance. Mountains and fields lay blanketed in silver, a beautiful sight indeed.

Farther away lay broad stretches of farmland.

The house guards traveling with him told him that nearly everything within sight was Madam Zhuang's property.

Every blade of grass and every tree bore the surname... "Wen."

"Madam Zhuang" meant the mistress of the manor. Her surname was not Zhuang, but Wen.

"What sort of background does this madam have? She's absurdly wealthy."

Li Xian had voiced that sentiment more than once.

Across both his past and present lives, he had lived twice and seen no small portion of the world.

Yet this world was far vaster, whether in population or in every other respect.

One Grade-D House Guard shivered. His martial training was lacking, his Dantian held little inner energy, and his ability to ward off the cold was somewhat poorer. Frozen until irritation burned in his gut, he cursed, "Those lowly peasants really are something else. Couldn't they just obediently come to the manor and pay their rent themselves? Instead, they make us come knocking door to door."

Qiao Dashou immediately chimed in, "Exactly, exactly. The important thing is, we've come all this way through wind and snow to pay them a visit. It'd be one thing if they didn't welcome us with fine food and good dishes, but they still howl to the heavens and beat their chests. Who are they putting on this show for?"

"Hahaha, when I run into that sort, I give them two slaps, smack smack. Their bones are cheap; if you don't beat them, they won't behave," another man said with a laugh.

The house guards all talked over one another. Li Xian did not know them well and had no desire to join in, merely keeping his head down as he walked.

"Everyone's in luck."

After another three or four li, the snowfall showed signs of easing. Feng Huo's tightly furrowed brow relaxed a little, and he finally had the leisure to chat and joke with the others.

"Master Feng, you're an old hand among the house guards. I hear you've encountered quite a few strange things?"

"Yeah, the road's dull. Tell us about them and warm everyone up a little."

Someone started the clamor, and soon they were noisily demanding tales of mountain and wilderness curiosities.

Feng Huo gave a violent shudder, recalling certain unpleasant incidents, and immediately cursed aloud, "Listen to what? Hurry up and get moving! Get there and get back quickly. Do you think we're out on a pleasure trip?"

That roar instantly killed the mood. Feng Huo thought that the others would still be needed for work later, and there was no sense in making their relations too stiff, so he gave a rough explanation.

"It's not that I don't want to tell you. It's just too creepy. If you want to hear it, we can talk after we return to the manor."

They reached a fork in the road, where a sign stood by the roadside. The path to the right led to Longevity Village, while the path to the left led to Tiger Bear Mountain.

"Tiger Bear Mountain belongs to Madam Zhuang too."

Zhao Dachun looked toward the left.

Ranges of mountains rose and fell in unbroken succession, and faint beastly roars could be heard.

"Every winter, Madam Zhuang enjoys going into the mountains for the Winter Hunt."

"I reckon the Winter Hunt will begin again before long."

"We Grade-D House Guards are only there to make up the numbers."

"The Winter Hunt?" Li Xian's heart stirred, and he asked, "What is this Winter Hunt?"

All the house guards abruptly turned to look at him. The whole way, they had chatted and joked while he alone kept his head lowered and walked. Now that this fellow suddenly asked a question, no one particularly wanted to answer him.

Zhao Dachun gave two dry coughs and reluctantly explained.

"This Winter Hunt is work for the manor. House guards can take part too, but..."

Before he could finish, Qiao Dashou deliberately cut him off. "Come on, come on, pick up the pace. Why talk about such useless things?"

Zhao Dachun smiled awkwardly and turned to other topics.

Outside Longevity Village.

Li Xian and the others finally arrived.

"I tell you to train seriously every day, but you slack off and cut corners. Now look at you—even the newcomer has outdone you."

A Grade-D House Guard named Ye Xiaoluo had suddenly caught a chill on the road and broken out in a cold sweat. By the time they reached Longevity Village, his complexion had turned quite wrong.

Feng Huo sent inner energy into him, finally warming his body. Still, after this trip, he was guaranteed to suffer a serious illness for three days.

Ye Xiaoluo was weak and listless, his legs soft. He glanced at Li Xian and silently cursed, Beast.

They had walked dozens of li through mountain roads, yet Li Xian was not even breathing hard.

After all, level ground and mountain paths were not the same, and mountain paths were nothing like snow-covered mountain paths. They looked short from afar, but walking them was exhausting.

"I was perfectly fine at first. Then a gust of wind came, and I just kept feeling worse and worse."

"Enough. You're still talking back."

Feng Huo waved a hand, too lazy to listen any further.

He said to the group, "For collecting rent, pair up in teams of two."

"You newcomer, you'll be with Zhao Dachun. If there's anything you don't understand, ask him."

The house guards scattered in a rush, each rubbing his fists and palms as though ready to make a grand show of it.

"Are all the people in this village Madam Zhuang's tenant farmers?" Li Xian asked as he walked with Zhao Dachun.

"Heh." Zhao Dachun pointed into the distance. "Far more than that. Longlife Village next door, Fortune Measure Village, Wang Family Village... every single one of them depends on Madam Zhuang to survive."

"Someone has to tend tens of thousands of mu of fertile land, right?"

Li Xian secretly clicked his tongue. Zhao Dachun counted on his fingers, then added, "Conservatively speaking, more than ten villages are all Madam Zhuang's tenant farmers."

"What rent are we collecting?" Li Xian asked.

"Winter rent."

As they spoke, the two had already reached a house. Zhao Dachun straightened his clothes and smoothed his hair. "Our manor collects rent three times a year."

"Madam Zhuang's fields are all fertile land. They can yield two harvests a year, and each mu can produce two shi of grain. Rent is collected after every harvest."

"Normally, we take half the yield. Once winter comes and the farming season is idle, these farmers may not be planting crops, but they still need firewood. Within dozens of li, Madam Zhuang owns plenty of mountains."

"But it wouldn't do if these tenant farmers starved to death. So winter rent is generally half of the usual amount again. Madam Zhuang is kindhearted; this is already quite good."

"The Lin Family in neighboring Qingning County is also a major landowner. They may not compare to Madam Zhuang, but they have plenty of tenant farmers under them too. They're the ones who eat people without spitting out the bones."

Zhao Dachun spoke without end. Li Xian inwardly grumbled, Your madam isn't much better.

Li Xian said, "What does Madam Zhuang need so much money for?"

Zhao Dachun shook his head. "That's beyond anything I can imagine. But... I've occasionally heard people mention it. For someone as celestial as Madam Zhuang, the more she earns, the more she spends."

"Besides tens of thousands of mu of farmland, she has other businesses, shops, and plots of land in the surrounding counties and cities."

"Yes... How could a martial artist, without a great estate and immense wealth, afford to sustain Bone Recasting and wash away this Clay Embryo?" Li Xian suddenly understood.

A martial artist who had undergone Bone Recasting and achieved Transcendence Beyond Mortality needed to be "sustained"!

The thousand-odd servants, these villages one after another, even house guards like themselves—they were all links in sustaining Madam Zhuang.

Of course, seen from the other side, Madam Zhuang's existence also brought stability within and beyond the manor.

Zhao Dachun suddenly leaned close and whispered, "Don't say anything later. Just watch carefully."

They had already arrived before a thatched hut.

He knocked on the door and shouted, "Open up! House guards from One Accord Manor, here to collect rent!"

"Open the door, now! If you don't, I'll kick it in!"

Zhao Dachun was no different from the other house guards. When threatening and shouting at farmers, a fierce gleam filled his eyes, terrifying enough to bluff anyone.

"Sir, I... I'm coming."

"Cough... cough..."

A hoarse voice came from inside. The door opened, revealing an old man, his hair white as frost and his back bent. He seemed to have caught a chill as well.

"Old Zhu, aren't you getting too old and useless? Why did it take you so long to open the door?" Zhao Dachun flung the door wide, letting the cold wind pour in. With a grin, he strode straight into the house.