Niu Youdao couldn't help but laugh.
Yuan Gang actually saw a sense of belonging in the bear demon's expression. It was a sense of belonging that everyone was a demon. He really wanted to punch the bear demon in the face. He asked calmly, "Do you know how the bear died?"
"Uh …" Yuan Fang was shocked and suspicious. He asked carefully, "How did it die?"
Yuan Gang pouted his lips at Niu Youdao. "He's a bull!"
"Bull …" Yuan Fang was stunned. He immediately widened his eyes and exclaimed, "Bull?"
Niu Youdao chuckled and left with his hands behind his back.
Yuan Gang also left Yuan Fang and followed. He caught up with Niu Youdao in a few steps and asked, "Daoye, this demon doesn't seem to be very smart. Do you really want to recruit him?"
In his previous life, Daoye had many brothers under him. It was common for him to recruit people he liked. It wasn't the first time Yuan Gang had seen this.
Niu Youdao chuckled. "You've misjudged him. He's someone who knows when to submit and when to stand tall. He's someone who pretends to be a pig to eat a tiger. It's just that he doesn't have much knowledge and lacks the experience of the Jianghu. That's why he fell into the hands of Song Yanqing. Song Yanqing is an arrogant person. Believe it or not, if Song Yanqing stays in Nanshan Temple for a little longer, once he lets down his guard, there's a high chance that he'll be killed by this demon without us having to do anything! "
Yuan Gang was surprised. "Why do you say that?"
Niu Youdao chuckled. "Think about it carefully. Let's not talk about anything else. Those twenty monks could have taken the opportunity to escape safely. However, they were still willing to take the risk to follow him under such circumstances … Previously, Song Yanqing and the others killed more than ten of them. The human heart is the most unpredictable. Moreover, it's a group of monks who dare to do evil to others. How can someone who can win the hearts of dozens of people be so simple? Just from this point alone, it's obvious! He's not as bad as you think. He has a good foundation. At most, his outlook on life and values are a little problematic. He's a talent that can be molded. To win the heart of such a person, just being nice to him was useless. Just one sentence was enough to convince him! You should take some time to train him. "
Yuan Gang fell silent and revealed a thoughtful expression. Then, he turned around and ran into Yuan Fang, who had just walked out of the room. Without saying a word, he kicked Yuan Fang fiercely.
Bang! Yuan Fang, who was kicked in the chest, was sent flying back.
Yuan Gang rushed in, punching, kicking, kneeing, elbowing, and beating!
In the room, Yuan Fang screamed and begged for mercy.
When the screams finally stopped, Yuan Gang walked out expressionlessly. Ignoring the surprised guards nearby, he straightened his clothes and strode away.
After a while, Yuan Fang limped out as well. His face was bruised and swollen as he wiped the blood from his nose. The pain made his face twitch. He didn't know why he was being beaten. He didn't even give an explanation and was beaten up for no reason …
In the governor's mansion, the garden was quiet. Feng Lingbo clasped her hands behind her back as she gazed at the bright moon in the night sky. Her expression was one of disappointment and frustration. Thinking about how she had to marry off her daughter like this, her emotions were complicated.
Peng Yulan walked over lightly and draped a cloak over his shoulders.
Although it was spring, the night air was still chilly. Her husband wasn't a cultivator and couldn't resist the cold. Not only her husband, but her three children also didn't have physiques suitable for cultivation. Otherwise, with her background, she could have been recommended to the Heavenly Jade Sect. This made her feel somewhat helpless. However, there was no other way. The structure of everyone's meridians was different. Only a few people were suitable for cultivation.
Feng Lingbo looked back and smiled.
Peng Yulan handed him a thin piece of paper. "My father sent a message. After internal discussion, the Heavenly Jade Sect agreed to this. They're worried that you won't have enough manpower after sending people to Cangwu County, so they've sent people here urgently."
Under normal circumstances, the Heavenly Jade Sect's manpower wouldn't be concentrated in Guang County. They had other areas of influence to take care of. A portion of the manpower that the Heavenly Jade Sect had planted here served as guards, while the rest were responsible for the daily collection of spiritual herbs. The spiritual herbs collected by the people in Guang County were handed over to these people in exchange for money and grain. After collecting the spiritual herbs, they would then send them to the Heavenly Jade Sect, who would then refine them into pills for cultivation or trade them in the cultivation world.
In fact, this was what all the major cultivation sects did after dividing up their territories. The world was vast, and things like spiritual herbs were not everywhere. If the disciples of the sects went all over the mountains and rivers to search for and collect them, the efficiency might not be high. Spiritual herbs were not something that could be found just by running fast. After all, the manpower in the sect was limited. Moreover, if the cultivators focused their energy on searching for spiritual herbs, it would delay their cultivation.
Of course, the so-called cultivation resources didn't just refer to the spiritual herbs that could be collected after dividing their areas of influence. There was also money and grain.
If one wanted to cultivate effectively, they couldn't be lacking in wealth, companions, techniques, and land. Without their own area of influence, how could they easily borrow things from someone else's territory?
Feng Lingbo took the paper. After reading it under the moonlight, he silently rolled the paper in his palm. The result was as he expected. After a long while, he sighed and said, "Go and persuade Ruonan again!"
"Mm!" Peng Yulan nodded slightly.
At this moment, the housekeeper Shounian strode over and bowed to the two.
Feng Lingbo asked, "How is it?"
Shounian said, "It's been settled. She should come over tomorrow to pay respects to Master."
Feng Lingbo nodded, indicating that he understood. Peng Yulan, however, asked with concern, "What does that Shang Chaozong look like?"
Shounian said, "His looks are dignified, and he has the spirit of a man!"
Peng Yulan made an "oh" sound, more or less relieved. However, another worry arose. Would someone with such a dignified appearance like her daughter? It wasn't that she was worried that Shang Chaozong wouldn't marry her daughter. She assumed that Shang Chaozong wouldn't dare. She was afraid that Shang Chaozong would treat her daughter coldly in the future, causing her to suffer unspeakable grievances. Sometimes, cold violence was more hurtful.
Not long after, Peng Yulan arrived at her daughter's courtyard and entered her daughter's room.
Inside the room, Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Chrysanthemum were ordered to keep an eye on Feng Ruonan to prevent any accidents. Feng Ruonan's armor was still on as she lay on the bed in a daze.
Peng Yulan waved her hand, indicating for the four girls to withdraw and sit by the bed.
Before she could speak, Feng Ruonan spoke first, "Mother, you don't have to persuade me anymore. I said I won't marry, so I won't marry. It's useless no matter who forces me!"
Peng Yulan was a little annoyed. "I also don't want to see you marry like this, but you're a general after all. Don't tell me you don't know what it means to look at the big picture on the battlefield?"
Feng Ruonan suddenly sat up and snapped, "What big picture is this? I'm looking after the big picture of Heavenly Jade School! Tell grandfather to come see me. I want to ask him if using his own granddaughter to form Heavenly Jade School is something a man should do. "
"Impudent!" Peng Yulan slapped Feng Ruonan's face and stood up abruptly. Pointing at her, she reprimanded, "If you ignore the big picture of Heavenly Jade School, how can Guangyi Prefecture be safe? Don't you know how many people want to take your father's life? The competition between the major sects is one that doesn't advance or fall behind. If you don't grow stronger, others will swallow you up when they do. Once Heavenly Jade School falls, will Guangyi Prefecture still be safe? Your father, your mother, and your brother will die without a burial place. Is this what you want to see? "
This was not a lie. Each sect had a mutual relationship with the secular forces in their own territory. If you wanted to have a bigger territory and plunder more cultivation resources, you would need someone to help you occupy the territory and take care of the secular affairs. No matter how many disciples there were in a sect, it was impossible to throw all of them into the secular world to take care of military and political affairs. How many disciples would be thrown out to manage such a large territory? This wasn't realistic. Putting aside the fact that the main focus of a cultivator was cultivation, the ability of a cultivator to deal with secular affairs might not be as good as that of a secular person. Therefore, they needed to support agents in the secular world. Supporting the elites and outstanding figures in the secular world was the best way to save the resources of the sect's disciples.
If they wanted more cultivation resources, they would need a bigger territory, and a bigger territory would require more disciples. It was impossible not to provide security for the agents and the backbones of the agents in the secular world. Otherwise, the agents and backbones of the agents would be easily killed by their competitors. This was the origin of the Sorcerers who followed them. As the territory expanded, the number of Sorcerers sent out by the sect would naturally increase as well. They would need to train more disciples, and in turn, they would need more cultivation resources to support them. This was the cause and effect.
Feng Ruonan covered her face and bit her lip. Tears welled up in her eyes. Of course, she didn't want her family to suffer, but she didn't want to be married in such a humiliating way.
"Ruonan, I'm begging you, okay?" Peng Yulan softened her tone and said in a sorrowful voice, "Can I kneel down for you?" As she said that, she walked in front of her daughter and bent her knees, about to kneel.
Feng Ruonan's hands quickly grabbed her arm and shook her head. How could she accept her mother's kowtow? With tears in her eyes, she said, "Mother, don't be like this. I'll marry him, okay?"
The mother and daughter immediately hugged each other and cried bitterly.
"Mother, I'm so wronged. That Shang Chaozong is too much of a bully …" Feng Ruonan choked in her mother's embrace.
Peng Yulan patted her daughter's back and gave a guarantee, "Don't worry. Mother has already planned it out. I will definitely avenge you. Your father has also tacitly agreed!"
The next morning, Niu Youdao was still sitting cross-legged in meditation in his room. Yuan Gang knocked on the door and entered. He went to the side and reminded him, "Master Dao, the three of them are outside asking to see you."
Niu Youdao slowly stopped his cultivation and let out a breath. He opened his eyes, of course he knew who those three were. Other than Shang Chaozong and the other two, who else could it be?
He stood up and walked outside. As expected, he saw those three at the bottom of the stairs. The three of them came over and cupped their hands in greeting. "Daoye!" Their tone was obviously much more respectful.
Niu Youdao didn't mind. Face was something that was earned by oneself. However, when he saw the two dark circles under Shang Chaozong's eyes, he couldn't help but chuckle. He guessed that this person didn't sleep well last night. Withdrawing his smile, he solemnly cupped his hands and asked, "May I know what instructions does the Prince have?"
Shang Chaozong smiled and said, "I'm just about to meet Feng Lingbo. I've invited Daoye to come along."
"About this, I won't be going. You guys can go." Niu Youdao laughed and waved his hands. He didn't do anything good and naturally felt a little guilty. He would let this person in front of him suffer. He casually asked, "How's the ten thousand gold coins coming along?"
Shang Chaozong helplessly shook his head. "I'm unfamiliar with this place. I really can't gather so much money in such a short time." He waved his hand and gestured to Lan Ruoting. "I can only let Mister be embarrassed. Later, I'll look for Feng Lingbo to discuss this. I'll temporarily owe her and think of a way to make up for it when we reach Cangwu County."
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