That terrifyingly fearsome Demon Suppression Department?
Where were they sending her?
She was finished!
Unfortunately, her delicate arms were no match for the brute force of the guards. No matter how unwilling she was, no matter how much she screamed, she was still dragged away.
The scene before him finally quieted down.
Liu Xingyuan also steadied his mind. He led the Liu clan in handing over all matters, big and small, to Zhang Shi, and they worked until evening.
Just as he walked out of the mansion, he saw A Xin being escorted by soldiers to be sent back along the same path.
At this moment, A Xin’s face was full of despair. The moment she saw him, she fell to her knees with a thud, facing him.
“Xingyuan, save me, save me!”
“I was wrong, I was wrong.”
“I shouldn’t have been so difficult. I shouldn’t have believed that anyone else would want to marry me besides you. I shouldn’t have kept pestering you for a divorce and angering you.”
“Let’s get back together, okay?”
“I promise, I’ll put away my stubbornness from now on. I’ll be good.”
The secret satisfaction that had stirred in Liu Xingyuan’s heart during the day surged again. So this was the right way to open the door to love.
As long as he didn’t treat love as the most important thing, he could get the love he wanted.
But when he had made love his top priority, he was as humble as a licking dog, and ended up with nothing.
Thinking this, Liu Xingyuan’s mind, which had already opened wide, became clearer than a mirror.
His approval of Lord Duke soared instantly.
His loyalty to Zhang Shi grew deeper as well.
He turned and walked away directly. Behind him came A Xin’s even more heart-wrenching cries: “Husband, husband, I was wrong, I was wrong. Let’s get back together. If not, I’m willing to be your concubine. I’ll be your concubine from now on, okay?”
Liu Xingyuan walked farther and farther away. At the place where the army was stationed, he found Zhang Shi.
Zhang Shi was just then discussing with Lu Shuang and Gu Qing how to capture the remaining grain-producing area, known as Luofeng Slope.
Regarding Luofeng Slope, Liu Xingyuan knew far more than Zhang Shi, Lu Shuang, and Gu Qing. He stepped forward, bowed, and said, “General Zhang Shi, two ladies, Luofeng Slope is actually somewhat different from our Qingchou Plain.”
“Our Qingchou Plain is where generations of farmers have gathered. The Liu clan fully handles the distribution of farming tasks, forming a sweet potato production area.”
“Luofeng Slope, on the other hand, consists of migrant refugees from various places who have settled there. In name, it is a garrison farmland assigned by the capital Yun Jing and directly governed by Pukou City. In essence, it’s Pukou City’s sweet potato base. A garrison farming commissioner has been set up there to manage everything.”
“That garrison farming commissioner is named Xie Liu. I’ve met him a few times.”
Zhang Shi nodded.
What Liu Xingyuan said matched the reports from Gu Qing and even Lu Shuang, though it was more detailed. He asked, “So you mean, as long as we can win over this Xie Liu, Luofeng Slope will belong to our imperial court?”
“Soldiers from Pukou City are stationed at Luofeng Slope year-round. It’s not entirely up to Xie Liu,” Liu Xingyuan said. “But what you said, General, is mostly correct.”
“If Xie Liu can be sincerely devoted to our cause, with his influence over Luofeng Slope and your swift cavalry, capturing the slope won’t take much effort.”
Zhang Shi nodded again.
Then he raised a crucial question.
“Does this Xie Liu have any love stories?”
Lu Shuang turned to look at Zhang Shi in surprise.
In just a short time apart, General Zhang Shi had changed!
Was this what they meant—watch out, for times change?
“This…” Liu Xingyuan was also stunned by the question. Then he shook his head and said, “I don’t really know. I only know that Xie Liu is over forty and has been married to his wife for twenty years. Although they have no children, I’ve never heard of any troubles.”
“Oh, right…” Liu Xingyuan recalled something. “I have a feeling that Xie Liu is quite poor. He lives rather tightly and dresses in… shabby clothes.”
“But, thinking carefully, he’s a garrison commissioner dispatched by Yun Jing and appointed by Pukou City. He draws a fixed salary every month. If he doesn’t embezzle, he really wouldn’t have much. That might be the reason.”
Zhang Shi nodded.
Then he felt nodding wasn’t enough.
This was like hearing nothing at all.
It was just a bit of stinginess—nothing to do with love.
“No way, I just tasted a little sweetness, and now I can’t use it anymore? Do I have to go back to swift-strike tactics?”
“Not a chance. Who uses swift-strike tactics these days, be normal?”
Zhang Shi was a bit frustrated.
But Lu Shuang’s next words reignited his hope.
“General Zhang Shi, I’ve investigated and found that Xie Liu indeed only takes his salary. Although it’s not too much, it’s twenty taels of silver a month. Normally, he shouldn’t be this poor. But I’ve dug up some information and started to see some clues.”
“His wife spends a lot.”
“That leaves their household in debt.”
Zhang Shi kept nodding.
But his mind was already getting foggy.
He tried to stay alert, yet he couldn’t piece together the answer he wanted from these clues. He couldn’t make sense of it.
“Fine, fine. If I can’t sort it out, so be it.”
“I’ll still write a letter and send someone to Xie Liu. Let him know how good it is working under Lord Duke. Let’s see how it goes.”
…
At Luofeng Slope.
Soldiers from Pukou City had already arrived. After counting each sack of sweet potatoes that had been prepared, they got ready to load them. When all was gathered the next day, they would transport them to Pukou City to meet Zhou Xiong’s military grain needs.
Throughout this process, Xie Liu, the garrison farming commissioner of Luofeng Slope, kept busy. He was either checking accounts or supervising, sweating all over.
This quite satisfied the personal guards from Pukou City.
If the Liu clan of Qingchou Plain had been like this, then the grain that Zhou Xiong had been worrying about day and night would no longer be a problem.
Pleased with Xie Liu’s efforts, one of the personal guards came over and smiled, saying, “Old Xie, you’re really on top of things. When I get back, I’ll definitely report this to General Zhou Xiong.”
“Knowing General Zhou Xiong’s temper, once this is over, he’ll surely plead for a reward for you. I can’t say whether you’ll get a promotion, but at least you’ll be given a handsome sum of money.”
At the words “handsome sum of money,” Xie Liu’s eyes lit up instantly: “Really? Will they give money? How much?”
But before the soldier could answer, he slumped again: “Ah, never mind. Even if they give money, it won’t fall into my hands.”
Seemingly unwilling to dwell on the topic, Xie Liu said, “Sir soldier, these sweet potatoes have been counted. The rest, I’ll urge them to load into the carts over the next two days.”
...
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
