Discussing Marriage

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. It must be said that compared to Xie Fu, the prefectural Sima Fei still had some humanity.

After the search for the remaining enemy soldiers was completed, the state court's physicians Alchemist would come to check on any of the recruited soldiers from various counties and villages who were still breathing. Those who could be saved would be given medicine, and those who couldn't would be offered some kind words of comfort.

As a high-ranking official of the Immortal Dynasty and having received praise from Sima Fei, Sect Leader Kang Da was naturally the first person the physicians would treat.

His injuries to his muscles, skin, and bones were all relatively minor. The physician gave him ointment and pills, and with proper care according to the prescription, he should recover in a month or two.

However, it's quite difficult to heal these damaged meridians. Even after taking First Tier Mind-Clearing Meridian-Nourishing Pill each costing 200 Spirit Stone) and Three-Silver Water monthly, it would still take one or two years to fully recover.

It's not that the condition is incurable if one can't afford Mind-Clearing Meridian-Nourishing Pill); as long as one focuses on recuperating for another ten or eight years, the condition can be largely cured.

It's not surprising that they can't afford it. Back in the day, when Sect Leader Kang Da offered fifty Spirit Stone in the market, he was able to attract hordes of people to volunteer and fight.

A Mind-Clearing Meridian-Nourishing Pill costs two hundred Spirit Stone; what kind of family background would a Qi Refinement cultivator have to afford it?

Some Pill Formula, from the moment they were created, seem to be completely inaccessible to certain people; truly, medicine is more precious than life itself.

The physicians from the state court naturally had no shortage of First Tier Mind-Clearing Meridian-Nourishing Pill, and even some commonly used Second Tier spiritual pills. However, those were not prepared for Sect Leader Kang Da; they were meant for more precious individuals.

It was only because Sima Fei had spoken with Kang Dabao that this physician, who came from a distinguished Aristocratic Clan in the capital, made an exception and generously left behind a Mind-Clearing Meridian-Nourishing Pill so that the Sect Leader Kang Da could taste it.

The physician gave a few more brief instructions and then left Kang Dabao to check on the other soldiers from Pingrong County. Apart from Qian Liu, none of the wounded men in this camp were easy to treat.

However, compared to his fellow medical officers who were assigned to other county garrisons, the workload of this medical officer did not increase much, mainly because there were hardly any living people left in that area.

After the physician left, Kang Dabao quickly set up a warning array and then took the time to consume the Mind-Clearing Meridian-Nourishing Pill, which he then dissolved in water to refine it.

As the medicinal power of the pill gradually entered his body, he felt a cool sensation seeping into his meridians. The meridians, which had previously felt burning even with slight movement, suddenly felt comfortable, almost making him cry out.

You get what you pay for. The Mind-Clearing Meridian-Nourishing Pill truly lives up to its reputation as First-Tier Supreme-Grade elixir from the state court. It is far superior to the Meridian-Stabilizing Pill and Fire-Dispelling Powder that Sect Leader Kang Da previously took.

This physician is quite skilled; if I take this medicine for six months, the injury will definitely be mostly healed.

However, this skill is somewhat present but not abundant. What kind of skill is it to heal injuries only by spending Spirit Stone? Couldn't the Daoist be healed without spending Spirit Stone?

After muttering his own thoughts of insatiable greed, Sect Leader Kang Da removed the array plate, only to find Kuai Wu, bald, coming to see him.

In this campaign against the Five Aspects Sect, Kuai Wu first followed General Xu and slaughtered many Rogue Cultivators. In a moment of impulsiveness, he rushed into the front lines of the Five Aspects Sect.

He was lucky to be the only one to return alive. The county magistrate who led the team from Tanggu County died in battle, and it took Kuai Wu and a few others two or three days to painstakingly piece together his body.

However, the military judge was also very annoyed with defeated soldiers like Kuai Wu who had returned in disarray.

As a result, Kuai Wu and his men not only lost all their spoils, but were also sentenced to be shaved.

This lenient sentence was only given because of the principle of "the law does not punish the masses." If Sima Fei had truly been ruthless enough to execute the Xu family generals, Kuai Wu would certainly have suffered the same fate as them.

The guillotine missed, but the razor blade was unavoidable.

The razor used by the military law team had a prohibition against it; if Kuai Wu dared to grow hair on his head and not shave it, he would suffer excruciating pain, like being stabbed with acupuncture needles.

Few tough guys would endure this kind of suffering for such a trivial matter.

Fortunately, this restriction will gradually weaken over time, but Kuai Wu probably won't need hairpins for the next twenty years.

However, judging from his appearance, he didn't seem to care much. He was wearing a gray turban that covered his head completely, and he still had the mood to drag his limp to see Kang Dabao.

"Is my brother feeling better?" The Kuai Household was the maternal family of Pei Yi's master, Martial Uncle Li. Strictly speaking, their family could only be considered a family friend of Pei Yi.

As Kuai Wu spoke to Kang Dabao, he kept calling him "brother."

This is because after the Chongming Sect promised his family's Dantong Cliff, he seized the opportunity and changed his tune, which was somewhat of a way of currying favor.

"Brother, you've arrived. Please sit down. I was unable to attend the funeral of Senior Kuai, please forgive me." Kang Dabao quickly pointed to the jade cushion beside him. He hadn't expected that Kuai Wu Household had just died.

This time, Sect Leader Kang Da failed to find many Storage Bag on his expedition, but returned with a body full of injuries, which was a huge loss.

This jade cushion is one of the few decent items in the Storage Bag. It's First-Tier Middle-Grade with the effect of gathering spiritual energy and purifying the mind, making it a presentable gift for entertaining guests.

"Brother, you're too kind. Uncle's coffin has already set off to return to the clan's territory." Kuai Wu before sitting down on the prayer mat, and sighed.

At this moment, there was no hint of blame in his words. Kang Dabao's ten Spirit Stones had arrived, and it was better that he didn't come; every cup of spirit tea saved was a blessing.

No one from the Kuai Household held official positions in the county, and they were a small, insignificant family with no powerful backers. Moreover, the family only had five cultivators in total, and two of them had been recruited this time.

This kind of practice is tantamount to sucking the marrow from the bone.

Kuai Wu was also unlucky. Not only was he punished by the military judge for losing the battle and having his spoils confiscated, but he also ended up in the predicament of one being dead and the other crippled.

The Kuai Household faced even greater difficulties from then on. They were unlikely to be able to send anyone to manage the shop in Chongming Market for the time being, so they could only rent it out to others to see if they could earn some Spirit Stone to make ends meet.

Since they were in similar circumstances, they poured out their grievances to each other, chatting for the time it takes to smoke a pipe before Kuai Wu finally got to the point.

"To be honest, Brother, I previously asked Brother Lu Xun to discuss his marriage with Brother Pei with my younger sister. Brother Pei had no objection, but he also said he wanted to ask Brother's opinion first. I wonder..." Kuai Wu's face turned red, his skin showing that he was not thick enough, and he could not finish his sentence.

In general, the groom's family is responsible for proposing marriage. Even if they do, it's not like Kuai Wu did, where his family made the proposal themselves. Even the humblest family would ask a matchmaker to come to their door.

Cultivators are generally not bound by etiquette, but for Kuai Wu, as the head of the family, to act in this way is going too far and makes the Kuai Household's daughter seem worthless.

His actions embarrassed not only him, but even the Sect Leader Kang Da was momentarily at a loss, only managing to stammer a few words while his mind raced over the pros and cons.

"Ah, the marriage between the youngest sister of the Kuai Household and Junior Brother Pei..." Kang Dabao murmured for a moment, realizing that Kuai Wu had probably lost his composure.

Kang Dabao had some impression of that young lady from the Kuai Household; she was pretty, young, and had the air of a delicate, budding beauty.

The Sect Leader Kang Da did not approve of the marriage beforehand. The reason was simple: Pei Yi was now an advanced Alchemist, good-looking, young, and with good cultivation. These were all acceptable conditions.

It's not just Kuai Wu, the head of the Kuai Household, who wants to arrange a marriage to climb the social ladder; the Sect Leader Kang Da also wants to use Pei Yi to trick a daughter from a prominent family into coming back to the Chongming Sect as a backer.

Judging from the Kuai Household's current impoverished state, they certainly have no connection to the term "distinguished family," and it would be difficult for them to even prepare a dowry.

Even if he couldn't marry a woman from a prominent family, it would be better for Pei Yi to marry Lu Yunniang from the Lu Household than to marry the younger sister from the Kuai Household.

The former is not good-looking, is old, and is said to have a cold personality.

But she's a formidable fighter. Of the seven members of the Lu Household back then, she was the only one who dared to retaliate after being stabbed by Jiang Qing.

Not to mention that Lu Yunniang also knows how to raise spirit bees. If we can trick her into marrying into the family, it would be almost the same as digging up the Lu Household's broken Spirit Vein. Let's see if Lu Xun still dares to play any tricks behind this sect leader's back.

As for Lu Yunniang's less-than-ideal appearance, that's not a big deal. After blowing out the candles, neither of them is much better off than the other. Besides, there are many ways to pass the time, such as taking concubines, having mistresses, or going to brothels. Pei Yi shouldn't feel too wronged.

Sect Leader Kang Da was genuinely considering Pei Yi and the sect's best interests. Thinking about it this way, although the younger sister of the Kuai Household had the advantage of outstanding beauty, she was indeed not a good match for him.

Kuai Wu is a capable person who can take charge, and he's not stupid. He probably already understood the stakes involved. He's probably afraid that Kang Dabao will make Pei Yi refuse, so he's deliberately coming over with a limp to shamelessly play the victim.

It has to be said that his tactic had some effect. Sect Leader Kang Da was a respectable person, and out of consideration for face, he did not refuse on the spot, only saying that he would discuss it with Junior Brother Pei properly after returning home.

Kuai Wu did not get a satisfactory result, but fortunately he was not directly rejected by Kang Dabao. After saying a few more polite words, he limped away from Kang Dabao's cabin.

It seems likely that after returning to Chongming Market, Kuai Wu will come back again to pester him relentlessly.

It's very difficult for someone like him to run a small household; survival is hard, so he sometimes can't care about saving face.

"I'm afraid I still can't afford the Meridian-Nourishing Pill. I'll have to focus on recuperating for the next few years. So, shouldn't I get married?" Sect Leader Kang Da fell into deep thought, considering this somewhat ambiguous matter in the still-stern military camp.

"I should still get married," Sect Leader Kang Da thought it through. "Can't I enjoy myself too?"

He's supposed to be the head of a sect, nearing forty, yet he's still like a rogue, without even a wife. What kind of state is he in?

It's true that you can treat your apprentices like sons, but wouldn't it be even better to have both apprentices and sons?!

"Marry! I must marry him!" With his eyes closed, the Heavenly Thunder Seed thrown by the Five Aspects Sect disciple seemed to explode in his ears again, and his meridians, which had been somewhat better, began to ache again, making Sect Leader Kang Da more determined.

"What kind of woman should I marry? Hmm, I want someone pretty; Lu Yunniang is definitely out of the question."

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