The Conscription of Able-Bodied Men

The day after Zhou Yixiu's initiation ceremony, the Chongming Sect was still bustling with activity, as it was Yuan Changsheng's fifth birthday.

The young protagonist was dressed up by his two mothers today, looking like a delicate and beautiful young master from a wealthy family, which was completely different from his father's short, stocky, and dark appearance.

The young men in the sect were also quite happy, because now, in addition to Mo'er, there was also the beautiful Zhou Xinran present.

They were still young, including Han Yundao, so they might not have any romantic feelings, but having a beautiful older sister by their side was always a good thing.

No matter the small world, good-looking people are always more likely to feel the kindness from others.

If you don't believe me, just look at that female cultivator from the Lu Household. They've lived next door for so many years and interacted quite a bit, yet Sect Leader Kang Da still couldn't remember her name.

Zhou Xinran's personality is different from Mo'er's. The former is bright and generous like a brightly colored rose, while the latter is as shy as a mimosa.

This was Zhou Yixiu's first time attending a family banquet like the one Chongming Sect, and he was somewhat reserved.

But Zhou Xinran had already cheerfully taken a jar of spirit wine from Kang Dabao's small table and poured it for each of the younger generation.

This gesture drew cheers from the younger generation, who had spent years serving wine to their elders and had never had the chance to taste meat themselves.

Having only been here for two days, this pretty young lady, who has not yet been formally apprenticed, seems to have already become the leader among the second-generation disciples of the Chongming Sect.

"Ha, Junior Brother has been doing odd jobs outside for many years, and no one at home can control this girl. She's become wild. Senior Brother, please don't be offended." Zhou Yixiu looked at the juniors who were sitting obediently, but were thrown into chaos by the jar of spirit wine that Zhou Xinran brought over, and felt somewhat embarrassed.

"Junior Brother Zhou, what are you talking about? What's there to blame us for? It's a banquet, so it should be lively." Yuan Jin watched as Zhou Xinran pinched Duan Anle's nose and poured wine into his mouth, while a group of kids gathered around and cheered, and he also laughed out loud.

"I remember, Senior Brother Pei and Senior Brother Pei were the least fond of drinking before." Yuan Jin sighed, then took Changsheng from Second Dong's hands and fed him a few bites of good food.

"I don't really like drinking anymore, it costs Spirit Stone." As soon as Sect Leader Kang Da finished speaking his disingenuous words, he downed the wine in his cup in one gulp. He felt the mellow wine, carrying a warm current, flow into his stomach, followed by a rich and fragrant aroma that lingered in his mouth, making him close his eyes in comfort.

Pei Yi smiled but didn't speak. The scene before him seemed to remind him of the time when his master and senior uncle were still alive.

Back then, Kang Dabao was just like Zhou Xinran whenever there was a banquet in the Chongming Sect.

Taking advantage of being the senior disciple, he pinched the noses of his junior disciples and forced them to drink alcohol in turn. He himself didn't drink, so he could take advantage of his junior disciples being drunk and eat all the rare spiritual food.

Years later, when the fellow disciples had grown up and learned more, such scenes would never happen again.

"I hope their future will be better than ours." Pei Yi glanced at Pei Que, who was laughing happily among the group of children, and knew that his choice to defy his master's dying wish and return to his hometown was not a mistake.

Jiang Qing didn't participate in their conversation. Ruyi was riding on his shoulders, grabbing the young swordsman's hair with her two chubby little hands and shouting, "Third Uncle, Third Uncle, let's fly, let's fly!"

Yuan Jin was displeased with the sight and yelled at Ruyi a few times. When that had no effect, he told Dong Ningxin to take her down.

Unexpectedly, after hearing Ruyi call out a few times in her childish voice, Jiang Qing couldn't resist. He stepped onto his flying sword and soared into the air, becoming little Ruyi's "mount".

The sound of children's innocent laughter filled the air. Ruyi was happy, which made Changsheng envious and want to fly away too, but his father Yuan Jin was not going to allow it. So he went to find Kang Dabao, but the latter simply picked up a wine jar and hid.

Changsheng then trotted over to Zhou Yixiu, an old man who seemed easy to bully, and pestered the old man, who smiled wryly as he carried him around in a circle.

Today, the courtyard of the Chongming Sect was filled with joyful sounds. Kang Dabao, holding a wine jar, was about to scold Changsheng when a message came from outside the door. He frowned, quietly walked out of the courtyard, and came to the outside of the Chongming Sect's archway.

The visitor was an acquaintance, dressed in a light blue official robe, but with a short flute tucked into his waistband, which looked rather incongruous.

"County Lieutenant Zhai." Kang Dabao was slightly taken aback when he saw the newcomer, and then bowed respectfully in greeting.

"Sect Leader Kang, we're old acquaintances, why bother with these formalities?" Years later, when facing Kang Dabao again, the word "Sect Leader" in Zhai An's mouth had lost much of its playful tone.

The air of arrogance he once carried had diminished considerably, and his eyes revealed a weathered look, as if he had endured many hardships.

As for why Zhai An would leave his hometown to become a deputy county magistrate in Pingrong County, Kang Dabao actually knew some of the reasons.

Since the death of the Zhai Household patriarch a few months ago, there have been no Foundation Establishment cultivators in his family.

Although his family's Great Zhai Market was also a business that had sought business opportunities in Han City, it couldn't withstand the fact that a branch of the Zhai Household, which had already split off, had produced two Foundation Establishment Ancestor. After hearing about the changes in the main branch of the Zhai Household, they made a comeback under the pretext of splitting off the family again.

Since it was a family matter, and the Han City Yue Household was already embroiled in trouble, they allowed the Zhai family 'Zhai Household Zhai Household Market because of the cover-up by the Zhai Household branch, and because they didn't have the energy to deal with it.

With Spirit Stone at their side, the two families were practically relatives. The Zhai Household showed no mercy, employing ruthless tactics to quickly seize control of the market, resulting in the deaths and injuries of many cultivators from the major branch of the Zhai Household.

Zhai An's main force was thus completely defeated, suffering heavy casualties. Even Zhai He, who had always been inseparable from him, died in the chaos of battle.

In the end, Zhai An, a pampered young master at the Middle Qi Refinement, actually became the most powerful cultivator in the Zhai Household's main branch.

The smaller sect also suffered many casualties. The original formation of Zhai Household Market was of a high grade, but under the desperate resistance of the major sect cultivators, even the two Foundation Establishment of the smaller sect were seriously injured.

This naturally fueled the anger of the minor sect cultivators, who were now sharpening their knives, eager to find these remnants of the major sects.

Zhai An knew he couldn't stay in Jingnan Prefecture any longer, so he wandered around and eventually hid in Pingrong County.

Unfortunately, most of the remaining members of his family were not very capable. In order to obtain a spiritual land for his clansmen to cultivate, Zhai An essentially sold himself to the county government in exchange for the spiritual land that the Iron Sword Sect used to cultivate on.

Magistrate Xie Fu then appointed him as the Pingrong County, which was not a good job, because within just six months, two county lieutenants had died in office for various reasons.

Kang Dabao's prediction was correct. Since the Immortal Dynasty took over Cloud Horn Prefecture, although it had dealt swiftly with all the forces that were too inclined towards the Two Instruments Sect, the Two Instruments Sect was not without countermeasures and had never stopped making various underhanded moves.

The battle between the two families has only just begun; more deaths are yet to come.

Sending capable men to assassinate officials in various counties was the simplest and most effective method among the many tactics employed by the Two Instruments Sect, and it was enough to frighten many officials into resigning and fleeing.

To curb the arrogance of these assassins, Kuang Liuting specially dispatched an experienced coroner from the Dali Court of Judicial Review in the capital to assist in the capture of the criminals.

Although many assassins have been brought to justice in the past six months, including quite a few Foundation Establishment True Cultivator, it is an indisputable fact that being an official in the Immortal Dynasty is a high-risk profession in Cloud Horn Prefecture today.

Therefore, in Kang Dabao's eyes, whether it was the cautious and timid County Lieutenant Zhai in front of him, or the increasingly arrogant County Magistrate Xie sitting upright in the yamen, they both seemed like withered bones in a tomb.

"I wouldn't be here without a reason, but the magistrate has ordered the conscription of men," Zhai An said humbly. Seeing Kang Dabao's eyes suddenly turn angry, he lowered his head timidly.

He couldn't help but be afraid. The county magistrate before him was killed by a Lineage head who ambushed him with a gold brick when he went to conscript cultivators for hard labor.

Even the group of yamen runners that they had managed to coax to come back failed to return.

This has resulted in Zhai An being in office for some time now, yet he is still all alone.

"County Commandant Zhai, let's speak in private."

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