The Gathering Storm

Quliu Town. Yuan Qingyan was holding his routine administrative discussion when an official reported, "Lord Yuan, three porridge sheds have already been set up. The results will be evident in a few days." "Why three? Didn't we agree to open only one?" Yuan Qingyan asked with a frown. The official replied, "One truly isn't enough. In fact, near the commandery seat, where would one even find refugees? They could never make it this far. We can only recruit a few near the border of Bianning Commandery, and even then, they come in small bands. We had to set up multiple sheds to gather enough hands. Rest assured, my Lord: though three sheds were opened, grain consumption remains the same as for one—only a thousand jin per day." Yuan Qingyan's expression eased slightly. "Very well. I hold the empty title of Commandery Governor, yet have no populace to govern—a truly lamentable state. Once some refugees are recruited, we can begin opening up wasteland for farming." "For the initial phase, should we recruit... ten thousand?" Yuan Qingyan nodded. "Ten thousand is plenty. Only able-bodied men; take no elderly, weak, women, or children." The officials chorused in unison, "Rest assured, my Lord!" *** The four gates of the Bianning commandery city stood wide open. The garrison soldiers cowered inside the gate towers, watching squads of murderous-looking refugees carrying large and small bundles file out of the city in succession. A soldier atop the wall poked his head out to look and suddenly exclaimed, "Isn't that Captain Zhang?" In an instant, several heads popped out over the parapet, gazing downward. Mingled within the column leaving the city were squads of able-bodied men whose uniforms were neat and uniform, distinctly different from ordinary refugees. Among them were many who had attained great mastery in Body Casting, and even Dao Foundation cultivators—such as the captain who had just been recognized. These men all hung their heads despondently, marching alongside the refugees. Though they wore only their undergarments, the soldiers on the wall could tell at a glance that those were issued military innerwear. These soldiers were not bound, yet surprisingly, not one tried to run; they dutifully filed out of the city. Among the refugee column were also numerous large carriages. A few curtains were drawn aside to peer out, revealing beautiful female dependents inside. The garrison atop the tower found it a bizarre sight, but none dared venture down. The large mass of refugees showed no intention of attacking the gate tower either; they simply exited the city and headed west. Among the refugee column, voices kept calling out: "Up ahead are the porridge sheds set up by Lord Yuan, the Governor of Ningxi Commandery! Put your backs into it, everyone! Reach them before dark and there'll be food!" A burly man suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, "I'm not pretending anymore—I am an exalted Dao Foundation cultivator! Whoever wants to keep up with me, stand within ten zhang of me! Capped at three hundred! Then march to my cadence! First come, first fed!" With a whoosh, several hundred people clustered around him. The man immediately cast a Daoist technique, then began chanting cadence calls. The crowd marched in step. At first it was just a jog, but then they moved faster and faster; in the blink of an eye, the entire group was sprinting at full speed, feeling no fatigue whatsoever, and vanished in moments. The remaining refugees were astonished and clamored in excitement. More than a dozen Dao Foundation cultivators stepped forward to do the same, but after that, there were no more. The main body of refugees dared not delay a moment longer, picking up their pace for fear that the porridge would be gone if they arrived too late. By nightfall, the large mass of refugees finally reached the border. From far off, they saw a massive porridge shed—larger than several sheds in the Bianning commandery city combined! Above the shed stood a tall flag inscribed with the character "Yuan," over a zhang across! Hundreds of burly men maintained order, shouting continuously, "Don't jostle, queue up! Governor Yuan's boundless benevolence—there's plenty today! Fifty distribution points in all; everyone gets to eat!" Receiving their porridge, many refugees fell to their knees on the spot, kowtowing toward the distant Lord Yuan. A few figures among the refugees slipped away quietly, melting into the night. *** In the Governor's Manor in Quliu Town, as Yuan Qingyan was dining, he suddenly noticed that a rare orchid he had cultivated for a long time was in bloom! Delighted, he got up to take a closer look. With that movement, he felt completely refreshed, clear-headed and invigorated. His dharmic power seemed to have progressed, and even the chronic ailments in his body were mostly cured. On a whim, Yuan Qingyan glanced at the maid waiting on him—and his desire shrank by thirty percent. However, Quliu Town did not even have commoners; this maid was already the best that could be found nearby. With no other choice, Yuan Qingyan scooped her up in his arms and headed into the inner quarters. The maid blushed shyly and lightly thumped Yuan Qingyan's chest. Her dark, flushed, round face nearly caused the Lord Governor's chronic ailments to relapse on the spot. *** Meanwhile, Xu Xi had found some clothes to put on and relocated to the commandery yamen. Listening to the reports from several secret agents, he ground his teeth and slammed the table hard. "Yuan Qingyan, damn you!" *** In the Qingming Domain, Wei Yuan was leading his men in marking out a new area in the southeast of the domain, preparing to build a city. Half of this location was actually within Ningxi Commandery borders, but Wei Yuan naturally couldn't care less. The city was named Xin'an City. All admitted refugees would first be settled here, and then assigned to different tasks after their capabilities and potential were assessed. A preliminary screening of the newly arrived refugees would also be conducted here to ensure they were not enemy infiltrators. In truth, this screening was rather lenient, designed merely to prevent large, organized enemy units from slipping through. Taking advantage of the refugee turmoil in Bianning Commandery, Wei Yuan had taken in a full one hundred and fifty thousand refugees in one go. He was finally feeling a bit overstuffed, though it would take only two or three months to digest them. The domain now had nearly five hundred thousand people, consuming one million jin of grain daily, or thirty million jin a month. Fortunately, this season's crops were nearly ripe, bringing an influx of forty million jin soon. And in two more months, five hundred thousand mu of farmland would all enter the harvest period, at which point a single harvest would yield one hundred million jin. With grain as a foundation, Wei Yuan felt confident. Among the refugees from Bianning Commandery, there were also several thousand captured government soldiers. At first, they had been unable to escape: mingled among the refugees were the elite troops from Wei Yuan's two newly formed regiments—how could ordinary soldiers be a match for them? Later, upon hearing they were heading to the Qingming Domain, they gave up on escaping altogether. Serving as a soldier was serving as a soldier anywhere; serving under a Military Commissioner was far better. However, Wei Yuan had not expected his men to casually haul back Xu Xi's group of concubines as well. In truth, it was understandable. The situation had been chaotic at the time; after breaching the governor's manor, many refugees had seen red. Seeing that Xu Xi's concubines were about to come to harm, the Qingming men couldn't bear to watch and brought the women out under the pretense of presenting them to their leader, ultimately bringing them all the way back to Qingming. Wei Yuan was caught between laughter and tears. As matters stood, returning them was impossible, so he could only settle them in the city for now. Having acquired new people, he naturally had to continue expanding the army and preparing for war. In an emergency, this batch of new refugees could be deployed directly to the battlefield. A few months of training would turn them into regular troops, and one or two years of Body Casting would make them elites. Wei Yuan planned to transfer several thousand loyal veterans to command the newcomers at a ratio of one to fifty, ultimately aiming to organize a militia of one hundred and fifty thousand, with only a few thousand craftsmen exempt from the battlefield. This could no longer be described merely as militaristic overkill—it was practically walking down the path of madness. Yet what currently limited the army's size in the domain was not firearms, but ammunition. First, the reserve ammunition for the ten thousand elites could not be skimped on; second, the basic ammunition load for the twenty thousand regular troops could not be reduced; third, the reserve ammunition for the Xu family youths was equally non-negotiable—they had already proven themselves the best choice for wiping out iron cavalry. Consequently, ammunition in Qingming was far from sufficient; currently, guns outnumbered bullets. The core of ammunition was still gunpowder. Although the new gunpowder was much more expensive, its benefits were comprehensive and evident. Ammunition made with it was lighter, more powerful, and easier to store, and only the new ammunition allowed Body Casting cultivators to drastically increase their rate of fire. What Wei Yuan cared about most right now was how to expand production capacity and lower costs. Sun Yu was already racking his brains; producing new results would be difficult in the short term. Just as Wei Yuan was undertaking comprehensive military reorganizations and preparations for war, the shadow in the moon suddenly stirred, bestowing thirty strands of advanced karmic luck all at once! Wei Yuan was instantly shocked. A single thought echoed repeatedly in his mind: *To show uncalled-for courtesy means either treacherous schemes or theft!* Then, ten of the newly received strands of karmic luck vanished, making Wei Yuan wish he could slap himself in the face. Why did he always harbor thoughts he shouldn't? Karmic luck never appeared out of thin air. Receiving so much karmic luck all of a sudden meant something major had happened. Wei Yuan immediately ordered the entire domain into high alert: the two elite regiments and the regular army entered combat readiness, and border patrols were stepped up. After arranging all this, Wei Yuan remained uneasy. Staring at the sand table, he pondered where the danger might come from. Just then, a voice sounded behind him: "Are you guarding against me? Your spiritual perception is sharp indeed." Wei Yuan whirled around like the wind. Standing behind him, without him knowing when, was an elegant cultivator dressed in silver robes, as handsome as jade. He looked barely in his early thirties, yet his eyes held the wisdom of having seen through the mortal world. He stood right there, yet Wei Yuan had not sensed him at all; his divine sense swept through, finding only empty air. Had the man not spoken, Wei Yuan would have thought it an illusion conjured by some master. Wei Yuan bowed and asked, "May I ask which senior has come to visit?" The cultivator said, "Bao Manshan of the Bao family." Wei Yuan was taken aback. This man ranked among the foremost True Monarchs in the world—how could he suddenly appear here? Bao Manshan said, "You've built this place quite nicely; you're a capable lad. Still, while the Shattered Lands restrict the entry and exit of True Monarchs, they don't bar all of them. Aside from me, if other True Monarchs are willing to pay some price, they can come and go as well." Wei Yuan's heart tightened. Bao Manshan was clearly hinting at something, most likely referring to the Xu family. "I came this time merely to take a look at you. But a senior naturally shouldn't visit a junior empty-handed; this is for you." Bao Manshan handed over a tender-yellow fruit. Wei Yuan felt a sense of familiarity looking at it, but the moment it reached his hand, the fruit abruptly vanished. Then, the sapling on the Jade Mountain sprouted branches and unfolded leaves, growing a pale-yellow twig that seemed half-real, appearing and disappearing at times. Wei Yuan understood its function naturally: this was Bao Yun's ability of traceless concealment. Bao Manshan raised a hand to stop Wei Yuan from speaking, then took out a jade pendant, saying, "That just now was from the girl Bao Yun. This is my meeting gift. I originally intended to give you another item, but after seeing you, I realized you don't need it, so I substituted it with this Yin-Yang Reversal Pendant. This jade pendant can substitute for death once; it is for your teacher." Wei Yuan knew well how precious a life-substituting treasure was. He did not refuse, respectfully accepting it with a deep bow and committing the favor to memory. Then he asked, "Why does Senior show such generosity?" Bao Manshan gave a slight smile and said, "Xuan Yue cannot do anything to me. Keeping you alive means you can come seek vengeance for your ancestral master against me in the future! Haha, I'm off!" With a sweep of his sleeve, he vanished into thin air. Just as when he arrived, Wei Yuan had no idea how he left. Clasping the jade pendant, Wei Yuan dared not delay and went straight to Zhang Sheng. For Bao Manshan to suddenly present such a jade pendant, he had likely divined that Zhang Sheng faced a fatal calamity. Zhang Sheng was not one to make unnecessary fuss. Knowing that his dharmic physique was not exceptionally tough, he did not refuse, wearing the jade pendant close to his chest. He then remarked that kindness was kindness and enmity was enmity: the vengeance for their ancestral master could not be left unpaid; once this debt of gratitude was repaid, they would settle the score for the ambush against their ancestral master. Wei Yuan deeply agreed. At this very moment, Wei Yuan received word: unusual movements within the Xu family; a great army was marching out of the pass. At the same time, the Five-Clawed Dragon Blood Wood bore its first fruit. Dropping to the ground, it sprouted, and karmic luck surged forth like a torrent! Yet under the silent gazes of the three immortal plants, it felt it ought to linger a while longer.