Scripture of Days Past

After discussing the nine border military bases with Qiao Zhi, Chu Qiguang paid a visit to the blood pool to inspect the undying divine general.

At that moment, the undying divine general was floating in the blood pool, but its draconic head and half of its body were missing.

The blood pool housing the undying divine general had expanded significantly, to the point that it was beginning to encroach on the two neighboring blood pools.

Furthermore, its edges were still pulsing slightly, and it seemed that the blood pool would continue to expand.

”This blood pool seems to be feeding on the undying divine general,” Qiao Zhi said with resignation. ”It’s been expanding constantly ever since we placed the undying divine general inside, and it’s also becoming increasingly powerful. It can now replenish over a hundred planters or produce over a hundred bone tools a day.”

Chu Qiguang wasn’t surprised to hear this. The undying divine general was Layman Evergreen’s proudest creation. It was virtually invincible below the Dao Comprehension state, boasting the head of a dragon, the limbs of a wolf fiend, and the body of a mighty human martial artist.

In the past, the blood pool had been able to sustain itself on nothing more than poultry and pork. Now that it had been fed such a lavish feast, it was only natural that it would grow rapidly.

Chu Qiguang glanced at the lattice draped over the blood pool, then asked, ”Is this being used to monitor the size of the blood pool?”

”Yes,” Jin Ji hurriedly replied as he tentatively emerged from behind Qiao Zhi. ”I... I set it up.”

Chu Qiguang patted him on the head and said in a reassuring voice, ”There’s no need to be so timid around me. You’re the head of the department of agriculture now. If you have something to say, say it loud and clear.”

Over the past few months, Chu Qiguang had periodically returned to the village to implement various rules and policies.

Since being appointed head of the department of agriculture, Jin Ji had been immensely helpful to Chu Qiguang in areas such as farmland planning, planter work arrangements, and agricultural tool management.

Jin Ji had fled all the way from the Great Zhu Nation to the Great Han Empire, enduring countless grueling ordeals and close brushes with death along the way. As a result, he was immensely grateful to be able to live in a safe haven like Hidden Fiend Village.

Jin Ji couldn’t help but flinch slightly when Chu Qiguang placed a hand on his head. Last time, Chu Qiguang had given him a vicious beating for defecating in the street, so he knew not to be fooled by Chu Qiguang’s amicable and approachable demeanor.

”The planters lack the intelligence and autonomy to make adjustments based on the dimensions of their tools while working, so if the bone tools aren’t uniform in size, then their work in the fields becomes very inconsistent,” Jin Ji explained. ”That’s why I decided to set up this lattice. Each grid in this lattice is a three inch by three inch square, and the current standard length of a bone pickax produced by the blood pool is eighteen grids.”

”That’s a very clever idea, Jin Ji,” Chu Qiguang praised with a pleased smile. ”Appy this mindset to everything you do from now on. Whenever you produce something, think of ways to make it easy to produce in large quantities and on a larger scale.”

After praising Jin Ji, Chu Qiguang moved on to inspect the water-powered sawmill, blacksmith shop, and other facilities in the village, accompanied by Qiao Zhi, the head of the department of administration.

”Is this the latest number thirteen concrete? Is it still too brittle? Don’t just follow my formula. You have to learn to adjust the ratios and experiment, and make sure you record the outcome of every adjustment. How long have you been working on this spinning mule? I’ve already invested two thousand taels of silver into this project, yet you still have nothing to show for it! How much more money am I going to have to invest? Think! Put all that food you’re eating to good use!”

Chu Qiguang issued instructions everywhere he went, providing important guidance to all the facilities in Hidden Fiend Village.

By the time Wang Cailiang arrived at the village, Chu Qiguang was already standing behind the lectern on the stage of the newly-constructed school, delivering an address.

Upon spotting Wang Cailiang, Chu Qiguang concluded his address and stepped down from the stage.

As he made his way toward Wang Cailiang, he remarked, ”Fiends have a distinct advantage over humans when it comes to reproduction. Look over there. That’s Jin Ji’s child. He found a wife in the village, and she’s pregnant again despite only recently giving birth to triplets. If their children are born with decent intelligence, they can go straight to school. If the fiends in the village continue reproducing at this rate, the population will multiply within just a few years, even without any influx of fiends from outside the village,.”

”Now isn’t the time to be talking about how many children Jin Ji has in each litter, Brother Chu!” Wang Cailiang said urgently. ”Have you heard how bad things have gotten in Azure Sun County?”

”Are you referring to Wu Wei seizing our shares in the graveyard?” Chu Qiguang asked.

”That’s only just scratching the surface!” Wang Cailiang wailed. ”If we continue letting them do as they please in the county, everything we’ve worked so hard to build will be ruined!”

”It sounds like you’ve really had your hands full in my absence,” Chu Qiguang remarked with a smile.

”It’s definitely been hectic,” Wang Cailiang said with a sigh. ”I really wish I had some help, but there’s no one else in the village I can rely on.”

”How about I have Maiden Thirteen and her sister, Yiyi, help you?” Chu Qiguang proposed. ”As the village continues to expand, the burden on your shoulders will only grow heavier. You can’t keep doing everything on your own.”

Wang Cailiang’s eyes instantly lit up at the suggestion, and it was clear that this was a very appealing idea to him. ”You’re talking about that female fox fiend?”

Chu Qiguang nodded in confirmation.

”What do you think of Maiden Thirteen, Brother Chu?” Wang Cailiang asked with a hint of excitement in his eyes.

Chu Qiguang knew exactly what Wang Cailiang was thinking, but he didn’t like his chances. For one, Maiden Thirteen was a fifth-state martial artist, so she could easily crush Wang Cailiang like an ant.

Furthermore, she was clearly a prolific maneater and most likely wouldn’t even consider Wang Cailiang as a romantic interest.

”You can give it a try,” Chu Qiguang shrugged.

An embarrassed look appeared on his face at having his intentions exposed, and he stammered, ”I-I just feel like Maiden Thirteen is very intelligent, a-and she also has a great disposition... Besides, I feel a lot of sympathy for her, given her past experiences...”

”Yeah, right!” Qiao Zhi scoffed disdainfully. ”You just wanna sleep with her!”

”What the hell are you saying, you stupid cat?!” Wang Cailiang snapped furiously. ”My feelings for Maiden Thirteen are as pure as water from a spring! Someone as vulgar and disgusting as you would never understand!”

Chu Qiguang stepped in before the argument could escalate into a full blown altercation. He placed a hand on Wang Cailiang’s shoulder and said, ”Just promise me one thing. Don’t be a simp.”

”A simp?”

This was the first time that Wang Cailiang had ever heard the term, but for some reason, he was immediately able to roughly guess what it meant.

***

That night, the largest restaurant in Azure Sun County was packed to the rafters. Wu Wei was sitting in a booth upstairs, looking down at the main hall through the window.

A young man stood on the stage in the main hall, delivering an animated presentation.

Behind him was a series of enormous picture scrolls covered in all kinds of figures, diagrams, and statistics. It was clear that he had taken a leaf out of Chu Qiguang’s book.

”This Sun Bin is a very impressive young man,” Wu Wei praised with a pleased nod. ”He’s an even better speaker than Chu Qiguang! Not only has he learned all of Chu Qiguang’s tricks, but I’d say he’s already surpassed his predecessor. At this rate, he’s going to make me even more money than Chu Qiguang did!”