Chapter 103 - 102: Fortuitous Encounter
Chapter 103: Chapter 102: Fortuitous Encounter
March.
In the fields of Lingxi, dozens of people bustled about.
The light frost melted away, revealing damp, brown soil. The air was filled with the earthy scent of freshly tilled land.
Chen Li squatted on a ridge between the fields, squinting as he watched dozens of long-term and short-term laborers drive oxen. The plows broke the earth, turning over waves of dark brown soil.
After Shouheng left home, Chen Li had begun preparations for the spring planting.
In previous years, it wouldn’t start until April, but this year they also had to cultivate the six hundred thirty mu of land left behind by Chen Yongxiao.
Added to their own eight hundred twenty mu, that was a total of one thousand four hundred fifty mu.
During the busy season, the number of workers needed might exceed three hundred.
If he didn’t stagger the work, finding enough people alone would be a headache for Chen Li.
’It would be even better if these six hundred thirty mu were our own.’
Chen Li mused with a sigh.
Unfortunately, there was nothing to be done about it for now.
After Chen Yongxiao died last year, Chen Li had sent Chen Pi to report it to the authorities. But at the time, the County Magistrate’s Office was in chaos because of Water Bandits and couldn’t be bothered.
They just registered it casually and sent Chen Pi back. No one ever came to reclaim the land.
This year, Chen Li had Liu Yuejin and his father quietly ask around and finally learned the reason.
It turned out that the constable and clerk responsible for registration at the time saw that both Chen Zhengping and Chen Zhengtong were still on the Chen Family’s household register. Since both of them had the right of inheritance, the officials just made a hasty note of it and let him go.
And so, those six hundred thirty mu of land were forgotten by the people at the Government Office.
As long as no one brought it up, the land wouldn’t be reclaimed by the Government Office.
The Chen Clan, or rather, Chen Li, could continue to occupy this farmland.
But since it wasn’t truly theirs, it remained a potential source of trouble.
Because rapeseed hadn’t been planted last winter, the fields had been left fallow for a season. As a result, the soil on Chen Yongxiao’s land was rather compact this year.
So, Chen Li had people start tilling the land and pressing in fertilizer early.
"Master, the soil looks quite fertile. This year’s harvest should be good. If we plant the master’s seeds, it looks like we could get around four shi per mu."
After plowing a plot of land, Chen Zhengfu, a long-term laborer who had been farming for Chen Li’s family for ten years, came over to Chen Li’s side.
Most of the long-term workers knew that Chen Li’s family had a higher grain yield per mu.
Especially in recent years, as the amount of farmland had greatly increased and Chen Li could no longer manage it all himself, tasks like composting fertilizer and selecting seeds were all assigned to the long-term laborers.
They had all learned these skills, and the grain yields of many of their own families had begun to gradually increase as well.
Chen Li didn’t make an issue of it, which made many of the laborers very grateful.
"Yes. Hurry up with the plowing, and get the fertilizer mixed in early."
Chen Li stood up and dusted the dirt from his hands. "Time waits for no one. If we miss the planting season, a whole year of hard work will be wasted."
Getting four shi on the first planting was already quite high.
After all, farming was a systematic process.
The weather, soil, water sources, and even the spacing between transplanted rice seedlings all required careful attention.
You can’t rush perfection.
"Don’t you worry, Master. We won’t fall behind!" Chen Zhengfu quickly assured him.
...
Just then, two figures hurried over. It was Shouye and Shouyue.
Chen Li’s brow furrowed. "What’s wrong?" he asked.
Shouyue’s pretty face was a little pale. She spoke first, "Father, a... a mad bull broke into the house!"
"A mad bull?" Chen Li’s heart skipped a beat. "What happened? Is anyone hurt?"
"No one’s hurt."
Shouye shook his head. "Third Sister and I were sparring in the training courtyard when the beast suddenly charged out of nowhere and smashed through the gate. It took a lot of effort to subdue it. It’s tied to a post in the corner of the back courtyard now."
Chen Li’s expression was calm, but he was deeply puzzled.
Many families in Lingxi Village raised oxen, but the animals were extremely valuable and everyone watched them closely. How could a mad bull just appear out of nowhere?
"Let’s go. We’ll head back and take a look."
Chen Li hurried home, with Shouye and Shouyue close behind.
When they returned to the residence, they saw that the training courtyard was in disarray. The gate was hanging askew, its panels shattered.
A large, old brown water buffalo was tied securely to a wooden post in the corner.
The bull was quite large, and a piece of its left horn was broken off. It seemed to have exhausted its strength, its head hanging low as it panted heavily, HUFF, HUFF. But its eyes still held an unnatural, bloodshot glow, and it occasionally pawed the ground in agitation.
Wang Da, the long-term worker in charge of the livestock, stood nearby, still shaken. He clutched half a lasso in his hand. Seeing Chen Li, he hurried forward. "Master! You’re back! This... this mad beast isn’t one of ours! I don’t know where it came from, but it’s crazy strong. I almost couldn’t hold it!"
Chen Li didn’t blame him, his gaze sweeping over the bull.
"Did you see which direction it came from?"
Wang Da shook his head. "I didn’t get a clear look. It just charged straight in from outside like it had gone crazy. Normally, the village livestock know their own homes, but this beast seemed to be making a beeline for our house."
Chen Li asked no more questions and walked closer to the bull.
The bull seemed to sense a threat and shifted its body uneasily.
Chen Li examined it carefully.
He noticed an unusual bulge on the bull’s abdomen. As it breathed, the rise and fall of its belly seemed unnaturally stiff.
His suspicion grew. "Shouye, go get a knife," he said immediately.
Although Chen Shouye didn’t understand why, he quickly ran to fetch a sharp dagger.
Chen Li took the dagger and gestured for Wang Da to hold the bull’s head steady.
He moved like lightning, making a light slice across the spot that looked like a healed wound.
Where the blade passed, the hide and flesh parted, but very little blood flowed out.
Beneath the skin was not flesh and blood, but a flat, rectangular object about the size of two palms, tightly wrapped in thick oilcloth.
"Wh... what is that?"
Wang Da’s eyes went wide with astonishment.
Shouye and Shouyue also gathered around, curiously looking at the thing taken from the bull’s belly.
Chen Li used the tip of his dagger to pry out the oilcloth package and tore through its layers.
Inside was a small, ancient-looking booklet with yellowed pages.
Three large words were written on the cover.
Swallowing Essence Technique.
"A Secret Manual?"
Chen Shouye was stunned for a moment, then a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. "Father, could this be the Inner Power Heart Method that caused such a stir in Jingshan County a while back, the one all the martial arts schools and Jianghu figures were fighting over?"
"Is this... what they call a fortunate encounter in the Jianghu?"
Shouyue also looked exceptionally surprised. She had been at home her whole life; she had never even left Lingxi, let alone been to Mirror Mountain.
Her knowledge of the Jianghu came solely from the rumors her two older brothers told her when they came home for festivals.
Chen Li frowned, his expression instantly turning grim as he quickly flipped through the booklet.
The more he read, the tighter his brow furrowed.
The booklet did indeed contain an Inner Qi Heart Method, but its contents were extremely bizarre. For Inner Qi Generation, it required no assistance from Medicinal Cuisine. Instead, it guided the Cultivator to directly devour the qi and blood of livestock... or even living beings, converting it for their own use.
"A fortunate encounter?"
Chen Li snorted coldly and closed the booklet, his gaze sweeping over his excited son and curious daughter. "There are no unearned fortunate encounters in this world, and no opportunities that just fall into your lap! What’s recorded in this booklet is an Evil Skill. Cultivating this skill may lead to rapid progress in the beginning, but your mind will be corrupted, and in the end, you will inevitably suffer a backlash and fall into the Demon Dao."
The excitement on Shouye’s face froze instantly, as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on him.
Shouyue’s mouth fell open, and she was rendered speechless.
Chen Li put away the Secret Manual. "This whole affair is far too suspicious. The bull, this book... their appearance is too much of a coincidence."
He turned to Wang Da and ordered, "Wang Da, take this bull and ask around the village houses. See if anyone knows who it belongs to."
"Yes, Master."
Wang Da immediately treated the bull’s wound and led it away.
「That evening.」
Wang Da returned and reported, "Master, I’ve asked many families, but no one knows. What should we do with the bull?"
Chen Li thought for a moment. "Feed it some hay, then take it over to the tree by the laundry washing stone and tie it there."
Wang Da acknowledged the order and left.
「That night, the moon was dark and the stars were few.」
The surrounding fields were silent, save for the occasional chirp of an insect.
In the dead of night, when all was still, a shadowy figure finally crept along a village path like a phantom.
He was gaunt but moved with considerable agility. He arrived at the tree by the laundry washing stone, looked around warily, and then carefully examined the wound on the bull’s abdomen.
Then, he quickly departed.