Scripture of Days Past

”I... I have,” Maiden Thirteen replied hesitantly.

She had indeed learned maths, but she didn’t consider it worth her time, so she had only learned basic addition and subtraction to meet the minimum requirement for completing the labor reform program.

Chu Qiguang gave Maiden Thirteen a few primary-school-level maths problems, but she was only able to answer about half of them in a rather unconvincing fashion.

In contrast, her sister answered every question correctly and had even memorized the times tables.

”What’s your name?” Chu Qiguang asked.

”Yiyi,” Maiden Thirteen’s sister replied, lowering her head timidly.

”Yiyi, from now on, you and your sister will work under Wang Cailiang,” Chu Qiguang said. ”If you do well, I’ll send you out of the village on procurement assignments.”

Maiden Thirteen and her sister were both quite attractive. Not only were they accomplished martial artists, but they were also very familiar with human society. If Yiyi proved herself to be a capable accountant, then she could take over from Wang Cailiang as the village’s procurement officer.

After encouraging the two fox fiends to continue their studies, Chu Qiguang promptly departed.

Maiden Thirteen watched him leave with a perplexed expression as she mused, ”Could it be that he’s really not into women?”

”I think his ambitions go far beyond the conquest of any single woman,” Yiyi said quietly. ”Over the past year, this village has gone from strength to strength. By next year’s harvest, there should be enough wheat to feed an army of ten thousand troops for several months. On top of that, there’s a very sound system of rules, regulations, reward, and punishment in place, allowing him to keep the villagers in line without using excessive force or exploitation.

”Take Qiao Zhi for example. He’s so meticulous with his accounts that he knows the entire village’s finances like the back of his paw, down to every last copper coin. The village has already gathered an extremely formidable group of fiends. If they were all armed with weapons, they’d make a very impressive army. Then there are the giant living corpses.

”They’re far stronger than the average person, and the number of orders they can follow is constantly increasing. I’ve been keeping a rough count, and there are probably close to a thousand of them now.”

”That many?!” Maiden Thirteen exclaimed.

Yiyi nodded in confirmation.

”That army of living corpse army alone would be enough to conquer the nearby Azure Sun County. I also heard from some of the native fiends that Master Omniscient has ties with the northern wolf fiends and several affluent clans of the Great Han Empire. It’s pretty clear to me that his aspirations lie far beyond just running this village. It’s no wonder that someone with such lofty ambitions isn’t swayed by lust.

”If we want to please him, then I think the best way is to follow his rules and make ourselves useful to him. That should earn us far more favor than trying to seduce him.”

”You’re right,” Maiden Thirteen agreed with a thoughtful nod.

***

After parting ways with Maiden Thirteen and Yiyi, Chu Qiguang set off to inspect the granary, the sawmill, the blacksmith shop, and other important establishments in the village. However, he hadn’t gone far before he encountered Qiao Zhi and a group of his underlings.

”Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?” Qiao Zhi complained. ”I wouldn’t have known if the other cat fiends in the village hadn’t told me.”

”I only came back to take a look,” Chu Qiguang replied with a smile. ”Is something wrong?”

”The nine border military are beginning to revolt,” Qiao Zhi said with a sigh.

”The nine border military bases?” Chu Qiguang asked in surprise. ”Didn’t you tell me that Grand Secretary Wu would deal with them next year?”

”That was what was supposed to happen, but things have changed this time around,” Qiao Zhi replied. ”I received news from Yi Siman that the northwestern wolf race and the northeastern eagle race are currently collaborating with the nine border military bases. Yi Siman also told me that the nine border military bases have agreed to grant the fiends free passage to facilitate their invasion of the Great Han Empire.

”It sounds utterly absurd, but I can’t be certain that his claims are entirely baseless. In recent years, the nine border military bases have become increasingly corrupt and unwilling to follow orders. They know the imperial court is planning to make a move against them, and they don’t want to sit back and wait for their inevitable demise. As a result, they’ve begun resorting to desperate measures, even going so far as to work with fiends.”

”They must really feel backed into a corner if they’re resorting to such desperate measures,” Chu Qiguang said. ”Why are things suddenly so different from last time?”

”A lot of circumstances have changed,” Qiao Zhi explained. ”Last time, the Heavenly Master Religion’s Dragon Serpent Mountain was closed to the public for an entire year, but this time, it reopened after only three months. The Heavenly Master Religion has always supported taking action against the nine border military bases. The additional pressure exerted upon the border military bases by the Heavenly Master Religion makes them feel like they have no choice but to strike first.

”Last time, the attack on Jade Face Mountain was an inexplicable event, and no one really knew the circumstances surrounding it. This time however, the Immortal Dao has publicly taken responsibility for the attack, dealing a heavy blow to the authority of the Great Han Empire. Furthermore, Yi Siman was in Yong Province around this time last time, dealing with the Imperial Heavenly Dao. This time, he’s in Spirit Province, rallying fiends to bolster his forces...”

”It may not feel like it, but it seems our actions have already significantly altered the course of history,” Chu Qiguang sighed. ”In light of all of these changes, the two Dao Comprehension-state martial gods of the nine border military bases most likely made different choices as well.”

”Yi Siman has repeatedly requested to see you,” Qiao Zhi said. ”He wants you to join the northern fiends when they invade the Great Han Empire.”

Azure Sun County was not far from the border. If a fiendish invasion were truly imminent, Hidden Fiend Village would not remain a safe haven for long.

With that in mind, a sense of urgency welled up in Chu Qiguang’s heart.

”How did all of this happen?” Qiao Zhi said with a sigh. ”We’ve been helping the Great Han Empire this entire time, trying to prop it up so that it can remain standing a little longer, but everything we’ve done seems to have had the opposite effect.”

”Are you saying this has something to do with fortune?” Chu Qiguang asked.

”I’m not well-versed in the ways of feng shui, and to be honest, I didn’t really believe in that sort of thing in the past. However, given how things have played out, I can’t help but feel that some kind of supernatural force akin to fate at work,” Qiao Zhi said.

”Don’t overthink it,” Chu Qiguang consoled. ”At the very least, the nine border military bases haven’t actually risen in rebellion yet, right? We have to take Yi Siman’s words with a grain of salt. I don’t think the situation is as dire as he makes it out to be. That said, we do need to make preparations. In times of war and unrest, the strong stand to benefit, while the weak will be crushed.”