Chapter 448 (1): Riding Atop a Mountain Ridge

Chen Ping'an and his two companions navigated through the dangerous wind and snow as they continued their journey to the heartlands of the Stone Brush Nation.

Many strategically critical cities with tall walls had already become wastelands devastated by the flames of war. On the other hand, most regional areas had been fortunate enough to escape the catastrophe of war. However, many people fleeing their homes had unfortunately been punished by the three bouts of heavy snow following the arrival of winter, resulting in many emaciated and frozen corpses being littered on the sides of the official roads. There were young men, women, children, and people of all genders and ages.

Ma Duyi was a kind-hearted ghost, while Zeng Ye was a pure and down-to-earth young boy. Neither the ghost nor person appeared like true cultivators from Bamboo Scroll Lake, so when Chen Ping'an arrived at a prefectural city and said that he wanted to find a local to help him set up congee stalls and medicine shops and that they would continue their journey after this was done, both Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye were especially happy with his plan.

After getting everyone's agreement, Chen Ping'an retrieved the jade tablet that signified his status as a guest elder of Cyan Gorge Island and hung it on the opposite waist to his saber and sword. He visited the local government office, and Ma Duyi wore a veiled hat to cover her appearance and even put on a thick coat in a very excessive display. She used it to conceal her lithe figure as a Fox Skin Beauty.

They had already passed many prefectures and counties before this, and the further north they traveled and the closer to the central region of the Stone Brush Nation they ventured, the more destruction and death they witnessed.

They could already see more soldiers and horses, with some of them being remnant armies and brave wanderers who were retreating south after suffering defeat. Some soldiers were wearing new and glistening suits of armor, making them appear very legitimate and mighty. Zeng Ye felt like these warriors might be able to rival the heavy cavalry of the Great Li Empire when they hurried to the battlefield in the north.

However, Chen Ping'an knew very well that these soldiers, who were wearing suits of armor and holding gleaming weapons that appeared brand new even after being gathered from the arsenals of various regions after many years of storage, would die very quickly after charging onto the battlefields. Only a small number of lucky soldiers would have the opportunity to slowly transform from newbies confused about how everyone had died to veteran soldiers who knew how to survive.

During his journey through the river of time in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, Chen Ping'an had personally witnessed many brutal wars that decided the fortunes of the four nations.

In the Majestic World, Chen Ping'an had also personally witnessed the formations of the Great Li Empire's armies and scouts. Seeing these things was enough for Chen Ping'an to understand the inevitable trend, also allowing him to understand why the border army of the Great Li Empire enjoyed the title of Warriors Above the Mounds. These were mounds built up from countless corpses.

For those soldiers who survived after dozens of battles, it could be said that a young soldier of twenty years old from the Great Li Empire had perhaps fought more battles and seen more dead bodies than an influential general of forty or fifty years old from the Stone Brush Nation.

In fact, Chen Ping'an was thinking even further than this. The Stone Brush Nation was one of several vassal states of the Luminous Vermilion Empire, and ignoring those like Huang He and Han Jingling and only focusing on the actions of the majority, many were still willing to resist the invasion of the Great Li Empire.

For example, Han Jingxin, who had died at his hands, had dared to hunt and kill a scout of the Great Li Empire who had been accompanied by two cultivators. Before becoming yin entities, General Wei's soldiers had bravely fought until all of them were killed.

Meanwhile, the emperor of the Stone Brush Nation was still doing everything in his abilities to mobilize troops from around the nation to stubbornly block the southward path of the Great Li Empire's heavy cavalry. Moreover, he continued to defend the capital without any signs of wanting to surrender even though they were now surrounded.

Why was the Stone Brush Nation willing to do this? Why were they willing to sacrifice so many lives to barely hinder the advance of the Great Li Empire's heavy cavalry commanded by Su Gaoshan?

Literati wrote in the books that winter is a time for dense snowfall, the crunch underfoot like clinking jade.

Chen Ping'an looked up and gazed into the distance. There was snow on the path, just as there was snow on the mountains. It was as if the heavens were placing a huge burden on the mortal world.

Chen Ping'an heaved a soft sigh. However, he felt slightly better after recalling the ringing of armor and courage in the Daoist enforcer temple that night.

Ma Duyi fared relatively okay during their journey north. She had been an official immortal before, and she had also been a vagrant cultivator in Bamboo Scroll Lake. It was inevitable that she felt sorrow due to what she witnessed, but she wasn't overly shocked by these tragic scenes. Zeng Ye had frequently shed tears in silence in the beginning, yet after witnessing the same living hell day after day and week after week, even he started to become slightly numb and desensitized.

During their journey, Zeng Ye was possessed by male yin entities again and again, with some managing to complete their final wishes and some being forced to contend with one final regret and disappointment. Their home nation and hometown were no longer the same as before.

Similarly, the female yin entities who were staying in the Fox Skin Beauty Talismans also left the world one after another, for example, Su Xinzhai. Afterward, other female yin entities would continue to take their place, borrowing the power of the talismans to walk in the living world. The Fox Skin Beauty Talismans were like inns and ferry stations, allowing yin entities to come and go as they experienced both joy and sorrow. There were farewells transcending the borders of yin and yang, and there were truths and concealments following the final wishes of the yin entities.

Chen Ping'an visited the prefectural overseer's office with Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye today, facing no obstruction or challenges as they made their way in.

The prefectural overseer was an obese old man whose eyes could barely be seen, and he liked to smile whenever he met with anyone on official business, causing his eyes to become even more hidden.

The old prefectural overseer's life had been anything but peaceful in the past year, what with war tearing through the nation and chaos taking place everywhere. Apart from spending an exorbitant amount of money to recruit an immortal from the nearest immortal abode to leave the mountains and guard the prefectural city, he also recruited two cultivators of unknown backgrounds in an act of desperation.

To put things bluntly, the old prefectural overseer had recruited two Lower Five Tier vagrant cultivators, people whom he had somewhat looked down on in the past. The official immortal who was also at the Lower Five Tier was loath to work with vagrant cultivators, so he had almost left in anger and directly returned to the mountains. After much persuasion from the prefectural city, he was offered an additional three snowflake coins a month to stay behind. Only then was the official immortal willing to work with the vagrant cultivator whom he detested.

The prefectural overseer felt extremely pained to part with more money, but he immediately felt much better about spending an additional three snowflake coins a month after Chen Ping'an came to visit. This was because the official immortal displayed why vagrant cultivators could never compare to official immortals like him. He immediately noticed the value of Chen Ping'an's jade tablet, and he could tell that it was definitely a genuine treasure. Simply put, he recognized the high-grade guest elder jade tablet from Cyan Gorge Island, something that was almost loftier than the heavens. He trembled in fear, and he almost fell to his knees to kowtow to the young immortal from Bamboo Scroll Lake.

What followed afterward was very easy to deal with. The esteemed guest elder who claimed to have the surname Chen said that he wanted to set up congee stalls and medicine shops in the prefectural city to help the civilians. He needed to trouble the prefectural overseer with providing the necessary power which he would of course pay for.

At this moment, Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye were finally able to see the old prefectural overseer's eyes. They were wide with astonishment, and they truly couldn't be regarded as small. He most likely found Chen Ping'an's proposal to be absurd, and the official immortal standing beside him fared no better. This was an incredibly kind person hailing from Bamboo Scroll Lake? Was this any different from a great demon constructing a manor and calling themself an esteemed immortal?

Meanwhile, the two vagrant cultivators who appeared respectful and timid exchanged a glance and didn't say anything.

Afterward, something even stranger happened, with the young Guest Elder Chen asking the old prefectural overseer to summon a group of officials and petty officials who were well versed in tax affairs, merchant affairs, and arithmetic.

Everyone sat down together and started to discuss the specifics of setting up the congee stalls and medicine shops, going over the current price of rice and medicine, the amount of rice in the official granaries, the approximate number of local residents and fleeing civilians, the possible locations for the stalls and shops, the number of people who could be mobilized to help without detrimentally affecting official matters, and so on and so forth. They carefully worked through every single detail, causing the group of officials to feel like they were battling against a huge enemy.

Following the conclusion of the meeting, the prefectural overseer immediately instructed his subordinates to work on the matter through the night. The officials and petty officials also left to carry out their tasks.

Chen Ping'an and his two companions stayed in the backyard of the prefectural overseer's office, and the two vagrant cultivators secretly paid them a visit when it was already very late at night. They weren't afraid of the so-called Guest Elder Chen from Cyan Gorge Island at all, and their attitude was in stark contrast to the respect and apprehension that they had shown during the day.

One of the vagrant cultivators rubbed his thumb and index finger together, smiling as he asked Chen Ping'an whether it was time for the "guest elder" to give them some hush money. As for what "Guest Elder Chen" was planning in the prefectural city — whether he wanted to obtain people, money, or immortal treasures — the two of them would turn a blind eye.

Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye stayed in Chen Ping'an's room and enjoyed a rare casual chat.

This was because the slightly slow Zeng Ye was unable to understand something. Mr. Chen was clearly doing what he wanted to do a little at a time, and even though there were some challenges and imperfect endings along the way as well as some small disappointments due to incomplete wishes, there were ultimately many ghosts and yin entities of the Stone Brush Nation who were able to complete their final wishes and leave with less disappointment, just like Miss Su.

Theoretically speaking, Mr. Chen's mental state should have become more and more relaxed.

However, this wasn't the case in reality.

Thus, under the condition that they didn't disturb Mr. Chen, Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye would accompany him, with Ma Duyi making random small talk most of the time. Chen Ping'an never found them annoying, but he wasn't especially fond of talking either. However, he would occasionally smile when he heard Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye arguing about trivial matters or speaking nonsense to pass time. Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye found this a little strange. They felt like Mr. Chen never smiled or reacted when they said something funny, so why was he smiling when they said something that wasn't funny at all?

With their feet on the small charcoal stove under the table as they snacked on roasted seeds, both the human and the ghost were extremely amused as they looked at the two vagrant cultivators acting smart in front of Mr. Chen.

Ma Duyi narrowed her eyes, very curious about how Bookkeeper Chen would handle the situation.

Chen Ping'an smiled and asked, "Then how many snowflake coins is a fair amount to give you as hush money?"

One of the vagrant cultivators had thought this through long ago, and he replied, "Little Brother, you were able to forge a guest elder jade tablet from Cyan Gorge Island, and you even managed to trick an official immortal into believing it was real. This points to a huge plot, and you further invested a significant amount of gold and silver into the matters regarding the congee stalls and medicine shops that we discussed tonight. With this in mind, the hush money should at least be... forty to fifty snowflake coins, right? What do you say, Little Brother? Are you willing to sacrifice a small amount of money to safely earn the big money?"

Chen Ping'an extended his hands and placed them on the shoulders of the two vagrant cultivators, saying, "Since I've been found out by my two seniors, it will be a better option to kill and silence you rather than pay you some hush money or whatnot. After all, what if you take my money and suddenly feel like it's not enough after returning home? What if I give an inch and you take a mile? Not only will that be troublesome, but you might even ruin my grand plans. That being the case, I might as well get on the front foot and kill you first. What do the two of you say?"

The two vagrant cultivators were in a state of absolute shock right now. The hand on their shoulders was surprisingly shaking their acupoints and obstructing their spiritual energy.

Before the two vagrant cultivators could open their mouths to beg for forgiveness, Chen Ping'an put on a stern expression and continued, "My plans are far-reaching, so perhaps the two of you can provide me with some minor help. If you want to leave the prefectural city alive, however, then pay up some money to buy your lives back. Even though you're only Lower Five Tier cultivators, the two of you should... at least have forty or fifty snowflake coins between you, right?"

The two vagrant cultivators weren't wealthy to begin with, and it was as if they had lost something extremely dear to them as they scraped together thirty-two snowflake coins and told Chen Ping'an that they genuinely had no more.

Chen Ping'an accepted the immortal coins and waved a hand, instructing, "The two of you should keep a low profile after returning. Wait for my instructions, and if you're smart enough and obedient enough, then I might throw you some scraps after I succeed. If you dare to try anything funny, however, then I'll directly rip out the bonded items from your acupoints, things that are genuinely worth some money. No one will be able to save you at that time, and you'll start to regret ever coming over to the prefectural overseer's office to threaten me."

The two vagrant cultivators managed to keep their clothes and their lives, so they were filled with surprise and delight as they left the prefectural overseer's office. Perhaps they could transform this misfortune into fortune? After returning home and discussing things further, the two vagrant cultivators had a nagging feeling that this was still unreliable and risky. However, they didn't dare to sneak away, and they were also feeling pained about losing the thirty or so snowflake coins that they had earned with blood, sweat, and tears. They couldn't help but sigh again and again as they worried about their gains and losses.

Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye chuckled in amusement.

"We'll return the snowflake coins to them when we leave the prefectural city," Chen Ping'an said as he sat beside the table.

He then turned to Zeng Ye and continued, "We might need to open more congee stalls when we travel to the cities further north. However, we need to consider the available opportunities and local conditions of each place before we set anything up. We'll push these matters aside for the moment, and there's no need for the two of you to ponder over them as I naturally have my own plans already.

"When we do set up any future congee stalls, however, Zeng Ye will be the one to organize and manage them. You'll be responsible for discussing the details with the local officials, and you don't need to worry about making mistakes in the process, nor do you need to worry about spending too many silver coins. These matters aren't very important. Also, even though I won't engage in the actual discussions, I'll still accompany you to help you watch over things."

Zeng Ye nodded earnestly first, following which a look of hesitation appeared on his face. It looked like he wanted to say something.

"Taking the first step is always the most difficult, but one eventually has to take that first step, right?" Chen Ping'an said.

Zeng Ye didn't say anything else, feeling both uneasy and happy at the same time.

Compared to cultivation, it seemed as if this responsibility made the young boy feel even happier and more comfortable.

"When you feel tired or annoyed with these matters, remember that it's not embarrassing to say so and to tell me honestly. After all, your main focus should still be cultivation," Chen Ping'an added.

Zeng Ye nodded vigorously and replied, "Rest assured, Mr. Chen, I definitely won't delay my cultivation."

Chen Ping'an smiled upon hearing this.

In reality, the young boy would most likely work even harder in the future.