Growing Chaos

News of the rebel army came from the north.

Dingyuan County already counted as part of the north. Further north, beyond the withered Ridge of Dry Bones stretching for hundreds of miles, lay the true northern desert.

The northern desert's land was barren, its winds and sands fierce. Half the year was frost-bound; crops could not grow, and cattle and sheep could not be fattened.

Yet the people there were fierce and the local customs harsh. Miners who could no longer survive, deserters, and hunters gathered together, becoming roving bandits.

When there were enough roving bandits, they became a rebel army.

It was said the rebels had raised the banner in the northern desert, flying the slogan, "Equalize the land and abolish taxes." At first, they numbered only a few hundred. Now, it was said they had gathered tens of thousands, seized three small border cities, and were advancing with tremendous momentum.

The imperial court could no longer suppress the news—or rather, it had already failed to do so.

Although Dingyuan County was still some distance from the border, if the rebels marched south, Dingyuan would be the first to bear the brunt once they crossed the Ridge of Dry Bones.

The news spread quickly.

In teahouses, taverns, outside apothecaries, at street corners and alley mouths, people were discussing it everywhere.

Some said the rebels killed without batting an eye, leaving not a blade of grass wherever they passed. Some said the rebels were righteous, killing only corrupt officials and sparing commoners. Some said the imperial court had dispatched the Great General Who Pacified the North with fifty thousand troops to suppress them. Others said half those fifty thousand troops had mutinied halfway there and run off with the rebels.

The authorities tried to suppress it, posting notices that said, "Rumors end with the wise," and, "The heavenly troops of the imperial court have arrived; the rebels will be destroyed within days."

Yet the day after the notices went up, grain prices in the city rose by thirty percent.

Wealthy families began relocating south, and the prices charged by carriage companies more than doubled. The hearts of the people on the streets had begun to float, floating like oil blossoms atop boiling water—here a patch, there a patch, impossible to press down.

The changes in people's hearts were even more obvious. In the past, people from Dingshan County greeted each other by asking, "Have you eaten?" Now, they asked, "Are you leaving?"

In the past, shops closed late. Now, before the sun had even set, the street-side stores were already putting up their boards one after another.

In the past, night watchmen still patrolled the streets. Now, even the watchmen rarely came out. Occasionally, a clapper would sound, but only in two hurried knocks, as though they feared knocking too much might summon something.

That afternoon, Su Hongyu stood in Chen Chong's room with a lunchbox in hand, the smile on his face far more forced than usual.

He laid out the food containers. The dishes were still the same few, but the portions had clearly shrunk. There were only six pieces of sweet-and-sour ribs left, and the perch was smaller by a whole size.

"Alchemist Chen, you've heard, right?" Su Hongyu lowered his voice. "The rebels. The rebels from the north."

Chen Chong picked up a rib and chewed it.

"Orders have come down from above for Dingyuan County to consolidate the northern forces and suppress them." Su Hongyu poked at the food in his bowl with his chopsticks, with little appetite. "Our county has to provide men, grain, and silver too. The exact amount hasn't been decided, but there's no escaping it."

"What does the Li Family say?" Chen Chong asked.

Su Hongyu shook his head. "The Li Family has been meeting these past few days. People have been going in and out of Eldest Miss Li's residence every day. I heard the Li Family has to send one Bone-Forging Stage expert, several Tendon-Vibrating Stage experts, and a large batch of supplies."

"A Bone-Forging Stage expert... How many Bone-Forging experts does the Li Family have altogether? Every death means one fewer. Who goes and who does not—they'll have enough to argue over for a while."

Chen Chong did not ask further. He lowered his head and shoveled down his rice, but thoughts churned in his mind. If the rebels truly marched south, could Dingshan County's meager strength hold them back?

At dusk, Li Zhiyi knocked on Chen Chong's door. His expression was even worse than last time. His moon-white long robe was crumpled, and dark circles shadowed his eyes, as though he had not slept well for days.

"Alchemist Chen." Li Zhiyi entered the room, sat in a chair, and rubbed the space between his brows. "Wang Guanyong got away again."

Chen Chong poured him a cup of tea. Li Zhiyi accepted it and drained it in one gulp.

"Three days ago, our people discovered his trail in the west of the city. The Li Family joined forces with the county office and dispatched two Bone-Forging Stage experts, along with more than twenty Tendon-Vibrating and Flesh-Nourishing Realm fighters, to surround a residence. It should have been a sure thing."

He paused, fingers gripping the teacup until his knuckles turned white.

"But Wang Guanyong learned of it beforehand. The moment we broke through the door, he vaulted over the back wall. The two Bone-Forging Stage experts caught up and exchanged several moves with him. They said Wang Guanyong's saber techniques were exceptionally savage. His Tyrant Blade was wielded with such divine mastery that even the two Bone-Forging Stage experts working together failed to keep him. He wounded one of them with a slash, and forced the other back several steps. Then he slipped into the refugee district in the north of the city."

Li Zhiyi's voice lowered. "That area in the north has become a forbidden zone ever since news of the rebels arrived. Every sort of person is inside—deserters, roving bandits, refugees, and desperadoes like Wang Guanyong.

"The soldiers do not dare search it. Once they enter, they may never come back out. That place is more chaotic than outside the city now, and human lives are cheaper than grass. A man can be stabbed to death over a piece of flatbread; a whole family can be wiped out over a quilt. Wang Guanyong slipped in there like a drop of water entering the sea."

Chen Chong remained silent for a moment.

"What is the Li Family's attitude now?" Chen Chong asked.

Li Zhiyi gave a bitter smile. "What else could it be? Eldest Miss Li has already given the order to pull back for now and stop sending people into the refugee district. We'll wait until the rebel situation becomes clear. As for Wang Guanyong, we'll leave him be for now."

He set down the teacup, rose to his feet, and cupped his hands in farewell. When he reached the doorway, he looked back at Chen Chong. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he merely sighed and left.

Time flowed like water. Even in this chaotic world, it merely stirred a few ripples, never ceasing its onward rush.

The refugee district in the north of the city had completely become a lawless land. Notices from the county office pasted nearby were torn down the next day. Soldiers only dared patrol the outskirts; the moment they approached an alley entrance, they turned around.

More than half the city's wealthy households had already left. Those remaining either could not leave or could not bear to abandon their family fortunes. World-Aiding Hall's business had instead become somewhat better than before.

The more people feared death, the more they wanted medicine. True Martial Pills, Essence-Nourishing Pills, Blood-Invigorating Paste—everything they produced sold out. Chen Chong refined two furnaces a day, sometimes three, and the stock in the storeroom never lasted more than three days.

Laborers and stewards changed frequently. Little Zhang might still be slicing herbs today, then fail to show up tomorrow. It was said he had gone south with his family. A newcomer would take his place, work for a few days, and leave again.

Su Hongyu had not left, but the smiles on his face grew fewer and fewer, the dishes in his lunchbox became increasingly plain, and his chopsticks moved more and more slowly.

"Alchemist Chen." One day after they finished eating, Su Hongyu suddenly spoke. "Do you think this world can still get better?"

Chen Chong did not answer. Su Hongyu did not wait for one either; he gathered the bowls and chopsticks and left.

Chen Chong's life remained relatively peaceful. World-Aiding Hall was still fairly stable. The front hall filled prescriptions as usual, the middle hall received patients as usual, and the assembly line in the rear courtyard ran as usual.

Business at the Dark Market had become even more booming.

In troubled times, everything was scarce, and everything was expensive. Medicinal herbs, weapons, pills, cultivation techniques, slaves—anything that could be exchanged for survival had buyers.

The Dark Market's flow of people had nearly doubled from before. Stalls stretched from the depths of the underground passage all the way to the entrance. Every time Chen Chong went, he felt packed in tight.

That middle-aged man truly was capable.

Within a month, he had somehow prepared enough medicinal ingredients for three furnaces of Jade Marrow Essence-Coalescing Pills. Earth Marrow Essence Milk, Nine-Jointed Jade Ginseng, Profound Frost Grass—nothing was missing, and the quality was even better than last time.

"Alchemist Chen." As the middle-aged man wrapped up the ingredients and handed them over, he lowered his voice. "I'll do everything I can to obtain the goods you need. But I must say this first: Profound Frost Grass is becoming harder and harder to acquire. Several herb-gathering teams from the north have recently been wiped out."

"The rebels and government troops fought a battle at the Ridge of Dry Bones. Several thousand died. The yin energy there is heavy now, and herb gatherers do not dare go."

Chen Chong nodded and handed over the True Martial Pills. The middle-aged man accepted them and, as usual, gave him banknotes.

Chen Chong put away the banknotes, left the Dark Market, and returned to the surface. The night wind poured into his collar, carrying an indescribable stench of blood.

He quickened his pace back to the small courtyard, shut the door, and sat at the table.

The panel glowed.

Bone Tempering Realm (13920/100000).

Chen Chong looked at that string of numbers and could not help sighing. "There sure are a lot of zeros."

In one month, he had ground out more than ten thousand experience points. From thirteen thousand to one hundred thousand, nearly ninety thousand remained. At his current rate of more than ten thousand per month, even with the Jade Marrow Essence-Coalescing Pills' boost, it would still take at least another half year.

Half a year. In a world growing more chaotic by the day, half a year was far too long.

Chen Chong leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.

The rebels were in the north. Wang Guanyong was in the north of the city. The Li Family's Bone-Forging Stage experts had withdrawn into their respective residences. Medicinal herbs in the Dark Market were becoming harder to acquire. More than half the city's wealthy households had left. World-Aiding Hall's laborers had changed again and again.

And he sat in this small courtyard, refining pills, practicing martial arts, and saving silver every day. Like a crab building a sandcastle on a rising-tide beach, he did not know when the tide would surge over him.

In the night wind, a muffled boom drifted from afar. He did not know whether it was thunder or cannon fire.