Skilled Fishing, Building a Backbone
Everyone thought that if the Zhao family's act of distributing porridge and clothes could last for two or three days, they would be considered very fortunate.
Because soup kitchens were opened at the same time, and the soup base was thick, even the largest family fortune could not withstand such long-term squandering.
However, this matter has already taken seven days to complete.
And it seems there's no sign of it stopping.
Outsiders have underestimated the wealth of Zhao Jintang and his son.
The fact that his family was able to contract the wine tax in Suzhou and Hangzhou already indicated that their business was not limited to the wine industry, and that people in this era generally had the concept of land hoarding.
Over the years, the Zhao family has continuously bought low and sold high, annexed land, colluded with the government, and manipulated the land, turning thousands of farmers into tenant farmers.
His family stored grain not only at the Zhao residence, but also in Zhongdu own granary and cellar, guarded by relatives and clansmen of the Zhao family.
Chu Tianshu handed Sanqi to Yu Danxia and asked her to take some people out to visit those places.
Grain from those places has been arriving in a steady stream recently.
Even if we continued to provide porridge for another thirty days, it would be more than enough, let alone seven days.
Moreover, during these seven days, quite a few refugees have been selected and assigned to various properties of the Zhao family.
The Suzhou and Hangzhou region was originally prosperous, with all industries flourishing. Even with the Great Yuan's perverse policies, where taxation was mostly contracted out to private individuals and exorbitant taxes were levied relentlessly, shops still lined the streets.
If properly managed, these migrants can be accommodated temporarily by being given jobs.
As these people went to work in various places—restaurants, cloth shops, tea shops, cosmetics shops—rumors about the Zhao family spread everywhere.
It turns out that the Zhao family had recently changed their ways; it wasn't Zhao Jintang and his son who had both broken their heads.
Instead, there was a recluse in the deep mountains, Senior Chu, who devoted his life to practicing martial arts and Daoism in pursuit of longevity, but unfortunately, his lifespan was coming to an end, and human effort could not save him.
He thought that his cultivation in this life should not be wasted, so he went down the mountain to accumulate good deeds in secret, hoping to be blessed in the next life and become an immortal.
The Zhao family, father and son, committed numerous evils and their sins are immeasurable.
When Senior Chu came down the mountain, he first enlightened them, telling them to accumulate some good deeds with him.
But the Zhao family father and son were so stubborn and foolish; they were not so easily enlightened.
Thus, stories soon spread among the common people about how the head steward of the Zhao family, overestimating his abilities, showed off his extraordinary skills, and how the Zhao family father and son invited heroes from all walks of life to help them fight—all of which were resolved one by one by the Senior Chu.
The more fantastical the story, the faster it spreads.
Before long, not only in Suzhou and Hangzhou and Hangzhou, but also throughout the province and even neighboring provinces, martial arts practitioners heard about these news through their own channels.
Ordinary people naturally regarded this Old Hero Chu as an extraordinary and benevolent person.
People in the martial arts world, however, have a different view of him.
He's an old fellow whose lifespan is numbered!
However, unlike the Meteor Gods and Devils, they did not accept their fate and choose someone to Chuangong.
Instead, they are greedy for life and afraid of death, clinging to the mortal world. Even though their days are numbered and they know that the idea of an afterlife is illusory, they still insist on making a fuss over it.
Some self-proclaimed chivalrous figures in the martial arts world secretly mocked him, believing that although he had some skills, he took life and death too seriously and was not the kind of person who could achieve great things. No wonder he was unknown in the first half of his life.
"Those people are truly blind to the Mount Tai!"
The Diba Deng officer stood in the hall, looking indignant.
At this time, the sun was high in the sky, shining brightly.
Although the weather was cold, the sunshine brought some warmth, and the evergreen plants outside had a more languid vitality.
The people in the pigeon house stood in front of the hall, and they had just been reporting on the reactions of some chivalrous figures from various places.
Yang Chengwu sat to the side, lost in thought and motionless.
Sun Liang's head and body were covered with silver needles, and he was sitting in a chair, making it difficult for him to move.
Yu Danxia and the Diba Deng both looked indignant.
"Hehe."
Chu Tianshu smiled genuinely, fiddling with a piece of agate the size of a fingernail in his left hand, while taking a sip of hot tea in his right.
That's the kind of reputation he wants in the martial arts world.
The message released by the Meteor Gods and Devils was that on October 15th, on Bai Gong Causeway of West Lake, talented individuals would be selected and taught divine skills.
Before that, no one knew where this old monster was.
Moreover, since this person is determined to choose a successor, he might be someone who has already taken life and death lightly and is willful and self-centered.
Even if that mysterious person is in charge of the trading methods and approaches the Meteor Gods and Devils, he may not be chosen by the Gods and Devils to exchange his power for theirs.
The image Chu Tianshu is currently cultivating for himself is that of a highly skilled but ambitious old man, which is relatively easy to portray.
"Sect Leader Yang."
He put down his teacup and said, "What's your decision?"
Yang Chengwu came to his senses and bowed his head, saying, "If Senior is willing to spare my daughter's life, I naturally have nothing more to say."
This dark-faced Daoist priest, though dressed as one, was not actually a monk; he had a large number of wives and concubines.
However, he had consumed Marrow Jade in his early years, which caused his bloodline to be different, making it difficult for him to have children. Over the years, he has only had one daughter, who is still an infant and not yet a year old.
Chu Tianshu asked him to Chuangong to Yu Danxia, and he then made the request that he wanted to preserve this bloodline.
If it were anything else, it wouldn't matter, but since it's just an infant, Chu Tianshu naturally agreed.
However, the baby was originally raised by Yang Chengwu's legal wife, who was given to him by the Tartars and had committed many misdeeds over the years; she was also a person who deserved to die.
Chu Tianshu has already given the order to return the child to his biological mother.
Yang Chengwu sighed and stood up, "I can Chuangong now."
The transmission of Chuangong seems to be quite common in this world.
The Meteor Gods and Devils said they would choose a successor here and bestow their Chuangong upon him, and everyone actually believed them.
That's because there are quite a few people in the martial arts world who have had similar extraordinary encounters.
This is also related to the path of spiritual practice.
Back in the Great Ming, although most martial artists practiced internal energy cultivation, the efficiency of Chuangong was extremely low.
Unless one has spent many years specifically studying these techniques, passing on one's skills to outsiders will at most have the effect of refining one's physical constitution; the actual internal energy left behind will be pitifully small.
In the world of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the presence of the Moonlight Turbid Intent made people extremely cautious in their cultivation, fearing that they might lose control.
To dare to Chuangong to others is absolutely Demonic Dao act, intending to use others as "Human Furnace."
In this Yuan Dynasty world, the practice of internal martial arts was prevalent.
The senior's skill is high enough that Chuangong to the junior, the junior can indeed benefit greatly.
Moreover, the physical abilities of the people here are generally quite low, so it's not that difficult for them to separate the foundation of their internal energy from their bodies.
However, how much skill a younger generation can retain depends closely on their own state of mind and innate talent.
For example, the Diba Deng, after receiving the Chuangong their master, possessed immense internal energy but found it difficult to utilize it.
If this situation continued for a long time, the internal energy he had accumulated would gradually decline and dissipate. Fortunately, he practiced diligently and encountered a mysterious person who made a fair deal, selling him a piece of Marrow Jade in exchange for twenty years of pure internal energy.
This prevented his internal energy cultivation from regressing.
"OK."
Chu Tianshu handed the agate stone to Yu Danxia, "Eat it."
This Shitou is Marrow Jade.
Chu Tianshu had been studying it for several days and realized that this item had negligible benefit to his cultivation.
He is not one of those local figures who specialize in internal energy cultivation; his physical body has already approached the realm of "Leakless True Force".
Eating this small piece of Marrow Jade will not change his bloodline at all.
After much thought, Yu Danxia realized that she had been handling things very well lately, and her desire to help those refugees was genuine.
Although she is a widow in her thirties, she is not as adaptable as a young woman.
But if he first eats a piece of Marrow Jade and then infuses himself with internal energy, he can become a capable Gan Jiang in the future.
Seeing this, Yu Danxia was somewhat at a loss. "I already have no way to repay your life-saving grace, let alone such a treasure!"
Chu Tianshu didn't want to waste words, so he seized the opportunity and flicked his finger.
Yu Danxia felt a cool sensation in her mouth, her throat moved, and she swallowed the small piece of Marrow Jade. She subconsciously put her hand on her chest.
Chu Tianshu used such skill that she didn't even cough once, as if she had deliberately swallowed a mouthful of tea.
"Sit back down, don't waste it."
Chu Tianshu flicked his sleeve, Yu Danxia floated back to his seat, the back of the chair tilting slightly backward.
Yang Chengwu's figure flashed, and he was already behind her. He held onto the back of the chair, placed his palms on her shoulders, and began to Chuangong.
Chu Tianshu focused intently, staring intently.
If there is even the slightest mishap during the Chuangong, it can easily endanger both parties.
Qin An is a stubborn man, whose only weakness is his illegitimate son Zhao Yuma, who has committed numerous evils and is destined to die. Yang Chengwu seems relatively weak, but it is hard to guarantee that he will not suddenly change his mind and kill Yu Danxia when he feels his internal strength foundation gradually slipping away.
In truth, he was indeed somewhat wavering.
The pressure from Chu Tianshu was too intense, making it hard for him to breathe.
Since we're all going to die anyway, can't we do something that will mislead Chu Tianshu?
As long as Yu Danxia killed----
As he thought this, he also thought of his daughter.
It's strange, really. It was just a baby. He might not even care much about his own wife, but he cared about the life or death of that baby.
This reminded him of the most perilous time he experienced while serving in the rebel army.
When Cai Wuju launched his uprising, he was accompanied by a Master Han Master Han, who had a daughter who was only two or three years old.
When the imperial army came in large numbers to suppress the rebels, the morale of the rebels wavered.
Yang Chengwu had also considered persuading the Master Han to act as an inside agent and test the waters, using Han's daughter as a pretext.
She is not my biological daughter.
Master Han smiled bitterly and said, "Back then, the Tartar court appointed a Tibetan monk who came to the area around our village. The monk sent people to claim land, and a quarrel ensued, which led to the burning of our village."
"My daughter died that day. When I returned, she was the only child in the entire village who had survived."
"If we lose, the worst that can happen is death, but if we also become officials of the court, what will happen in the future—"
"Will there be boys and girls with similar backgrounds to this child, who grow up and stand opposite us?"
That's what the man who called himself a sorcerer, but was actually a bandit, said.
"I'd rather die than see that kind of scene."
Yang Chengwu just wanted to laugh at that moment.
Orphans of massacred villages generally do not survive and have no chance of becoming adults.
What is there to worry about?
To this day, he still doesn't quite understand what Han meant.
But then he suddenly thought that if his own child were also burned to death by the court, he probably wouldn't surrender either.
"Assumptions are meaningless!"
"If I hadn't met Chu Tianshu, I could still be living a carefree life. It's clear that surrendering back then was the right thing to do; the only mistake was not escaping fast enough this time!"
The dark-faced Daoist sighed in resentment, then with a shake of his arms, poured his last bit of power into Yu Danxia's body.
Buzz!!
A layer of pale white mist rose from Yu Danxia's body.
The dark-faced Daoist priest staggered back three steps, his face stiffening, his body like a withered tree, before collapsing to the ground dead.
Yu Danxia's eyelids twitched, and her aura intensified.
She has practiced the Qingcheng Sword Art for decades. Although she is not a top-tier martial artist, she has already been able to condense her inner strength into Sword Qi.
Recently, Chu Tianshu also passed down a new sword technique, modifying her internal energy circulation path.
"I have failed my benefactor!"
Yu Danxia clenched her teeth, focusing intently on digesting the Marrow Jade and internal energy within her body.
Finally, the internal energy circulated smoothly, and the business began.
The oath above her head condensed into a line of red and white sword light, piercing through the roof and shooting towards the heavens.
It flashes briefly and then disappears.
At the city gate, a procession of Chinese carriages was slowly entering the city.
Inside the carriage adorned with gold-embroidered ornaments, Prince Gusi raised his hand to lift the curtain and gaze at a certain spot in the city.
"Is that the Zhao family, the one that recently encountered some misfortune?"
"The sword oath of the Prime Minister doesn't seem to be the strongest aura in the manor. As for that Chu fellow, he does have some skills, but his weakness is obvious, so he should be put to my use!"