Defying the commands of one's sovereign, father, or master was indeed considered high treason and profound unfiliality in the Great Han Dynasty. Wang Cailiang said helplessly, "How about you bring up my earlier suggestion to your esteemed master again?"
Chu Qiguang put on a deeply pensive, hesitant expression, only giving a reluctant nod after quite a while. "Brother Wang, though we haven't known each other long, we hit it off from the start like old friends. Besides, I promised to cure your condition before leaving; with the canine poison still not completely purged, I wouldn't feel at peace leaving now. I will do my best to plead our case for Yinglue Academy with my master."
Wang Cailiang felt a twinge of genuine emotion. *This Zhou Ergou really is loyal to a fault. Am I being a bit unprincipled, forcing him to stay like this...?*
Meanwhile, Chu Qiguang had already continued, "Also, regarding the three hundred taels you mentioned earlier to buy more Naobaijin... right now, word in the county seat is that war might break out soon. I'm afraid the Naobaijin might get requisitioned by the military garrison..."
Wang Cailiang immediately said with magnanimity, "Say no more, Brother Zhou. Insisting that you remain in Qingyang County already puts me in the wrong. If we can't get the Naobaijin, so be it."
Having said that, he couldn't help feeling a wave of regret. Had he known, he would have bought more last time. But securing Chu Qiguang's stay came first; the Naobaijin could be put on hold for now.
Chu Qiguang said, "No, what I mean is... buying it now will cost more silver. Even if I have to leave, I can still administer Naobaijin for you one more time before I go."
"Brother Zhou!" Wang Cailiang said, deeply moved. "You truly are a man of honor!"
***
"Father! Give me another hundred taels!"
"Your son is just this one hundred taels away from soaring to the heavens!"
"Father! Is this about money? This is about the future of our Wang family!"
"Brother Zhou already displeased his master just to stay behind for me, and you still want to haggle with him? I couldn't bear to do something so shameful."
"Father, I knew you loved me most. While you're at it, please arrange for both of us to enter Yinglue Academy together."
In the main hall, watching his son's cheerful retreating back, Wang Chengwang looked as if he had aged ten years in an instant.
"Four hundred taels spent on buying Naobaijin again, plus arranging for two people to enter Yinglue Academy, with greasing palms from top to bottom..."
"Adding it all together, I'm afraid it won't be less than a thousand taels."
Wang Chengwang lamented bitterly, "Did I father a son? I raised a money-swallowing beast!"
He recalled how painstakingly he had labored ever since inheriting the family estate, managing village affairs, buying up farmland, and issuing loans, finally managing to rally the villagers of Wang Family Village into productivity.
Yet after all these years, barely three to four thousand taels of silver had accumulated in his cellar.
Who could have guessed that in this single month alone, over a thousand taels would be poured out? His heart bled at the thought.
Then he recalled the Hao family in the county seat, who had always harbored ill intent toward them. He could only hope his son would mature quickly and learn to face the pressure.
***
Meanwhile, the moment Chu Qiguang returned home, he buried the four hundred taels of silver he had just secured. Not long after he finished, his little sister came bounding over behind him, asking with curious wide eyes, "Brother! What are you doing?"
Chu Qiguang shot her an annoyed glance and said flatly, "I'm burying a corpse."
His sister's eyes lit up. "Is it a bunny?"
Seeing her expression, Chu Qiguang genuinely feared she would start digging for rabbit meat on the spot.
Rolling his eyes, Chu Qiguang said, "It's a kitty. I stomped its head until it burst, and now I've buried it here. If you don't believe me, dig it up and see—the eyeballs are about to roll right out..."
"Waaah! Why did you stomp the kitty's head!"
Watching his sister flee in tears from fright, Chu Qiguang thought, *Now you definitely won't dig up my silver.*
Chu Qiguang planned to head into the county seat tomorrow to buy medicine. Going several days without proper medicinal support had left his entire body feeling out of sorts during cultivation.
"The Wang household truly is my timely rain. Four hundred taels can keep me going for another ten-odd days."
Chu Qiguang sighed with emotion. "Still, calculating based on the arable land, time, and population under their control, they probably won't be able to shoulder my medicinal expenses for the next five months. I'll need to find another generous, upstanding household."
Beside him, Qiao Zhi felt a chill run down his spine, as if he could already envision yet another family being bled dry until their fortunes were entirely ruined.
Qiao Zhi lamented internally, *To think I actually contemplated subduing Chu Qiguang before... Forget it, forget it. A guy with a heart this dirty, I could never outplay him.*
"Oh, right," Chu Qiguang added. "Master Qiao, write down a birth chart for me. Wang Cailiang asked for mine, probably at his father's behest."
Qiao Zhi asked in confusion, "Don't you know your own birth chart?"
Chu Qiguang said, "My birth chart is far too ordinary—completely that of a dirt-farming peasant. Write me a better one. Ideally, the kind where anyone who sees it gasps in awe, crying out that this boy's astrological chart is extraordinary beyond compare, and that he is destined to become the savior chancellor who rescues the realm in times of peril."
Qiao Zhi was rendered speechless, yet somehow felt that hearing such words from Chu Qiguang's mouth was completely in character. He asked again, "What does their family want your birth chart for?"
Chu Qiguang said, "I suspect old man Wang wants to marry off one of his daughters to me."
"Out of the question!" Qiao Zhi grew frantic the instant he heard this, hurrying to say, "You cannot marry his daughter."
"Nonsense," Chu Qiguang replied. "Why would I ever marry the daughter of a mere landlord?"
Qiao Zhi breathed a sigh of relief. "That's more like it..."
Chu Qiguang continued, "At most, I might take a daughter of theirs as a concubine. The position of my primary wife is reserved for the granddaughter of the Senior Grand Secretary, or the daughter of the Minister of Personnel. At the very least, she would have to be the daughter of the Censorate's Censor-in-Chief."
Qiao Zhi fumed, "You even want to take concubines? No, you cannot marry a wife, and you certainly cannot take concubines!"
Chu Qiguang asked curiously, "Why?"
Qiao Zhi did not answer. After sulking in silence for a while, he said, "In short, you just can't! Just remember this: if you do, you will definitely regret it for the rest of your life. When the time comes, your household will know no peace, bloody disasters will strike every single day, and you'll blame me for not stopping you."
Chu Qiguang eyed Qiao Zhi suspiciously, harboring strong doubts that this cat was concealing some major secret. But no matter how he tried to coax it out of him, the cat refused to disclose a single detail. In the end, Chu Qiguang could only give his tentative word that he would neither take a wife nor take a concubine.
*Not that I had any interest in the daughters of the Wang family anyway,* Chu Qiguang thought, rubbing his chin. *Now, if it were the daughter of our Lingzhou Provincial Governor—which is basically the equivalent of a provincial party secretary—I might just have to make the noble sacrifice.*
Over the days that followed, Chu Qiguang continued his daily regimen of medicinal nourishment, dietary supplements, meditation, and practicing the Yaksha King Fist, while treating Wang Cailiang and beating Chen Gang.
Just like that, another ten-odd days slipped by. Chu Qiguang had once again exhausted his supply of Hundred-Refined Ointment. Under Qiao Zhi's supervision, he maintained his martial state day and night, wholeheartedly nourishing his physical form. His martial arts advanced by leaps and bounds; he could now deliver over eighty consecutive punches with sonic cracks, bringing him ever closer to the three-hundred-punch peak of the physical body.
It was on this day that Wang Chengwang informed his son and Zhou Ergou that he had smoothed things over with the county authorities. In two days, Wang Cailiang and Ergou would be able to attend classes at Yinglue Academy in the county seat.
***
Chu Qiguang returned to the Zhou residence, intending to settle a few matters before departing for the county seat.
As he drew near, he spotted Chen Gang practicing punches in the clearing, executing none other than the Heavenly Spirit Body Tempering Fist.
This foundational fist technique of the Heavenly Master Sect was balanced and gentle; even someone cultivating it without the aid of any medicinal pills would suffer no harm to their body.
Moreover, after undergoing the Heavenly Demon Foundation Establishment, Chen Gang's physical constitution had transformed, granting him stamina far beyond his past self. Practicing this basic fist technique was more than within his capability.
The moment he saw Chu Qiguang appear, Chen Gang shuddered like a mouse spotting a cat. He snapped instantly to rigid attention and hollered, "Brother Gou!"
Over the past twenty-odd days, he had been slapped by Ergou every few days. From his initial rage, defiance, and bottled forbearance, to the sheer terror, dread, and numbness he suffered after experiencing demonization, he had been trained by Chu Qiguang into utter, unquestioning obedience.
Chapter 34