Chapter 88 - 85: Drought and War
Chapter 88: Chapter 85: Drought and War
Da Liushu Village, Fang Residence.
It covered four to five mu, a typical courtyard-style compound with blue tiles, gray walls, and red lanterns hanging from the eaves.
In the western courtyard stood an ancient pine. Its needles were a vibrant green, its trunk thick, its gnarled branches exuding a sense of weathered strength.
Beside the ancient pine was a Martial Arts Arena.
On the Martial Arts Arena,
Fang Yue weaved and dodged across the grounds. His legs unleashed a flurry of kicks, the wind from his fists howled, and his punches left a blur of afterimages. As he executed a set of Tiger Form Fist, the astonishing power of a roaring tiger seemed to faintly manifest.
Every punch he threw created a concussive boom.
Just then, Fang Yue’s body bent like a drawn longbow. Then, with a sudden twist, he snapped forward like a powerful crossbow releasing its bolt.
The next moment, his fist slammed into a training dummy made of ironwood.
BANG!
The hard ironwood dummy, difficult to cleave even with a sword, shattered with a crash.
’Two years... I’ve nearly reached Great Success in the Bone Forging Pass. My strength should be around five thousand jin.’
Gazing at the shattered ironwood dummy, Fang Yue silently estimated the power of that last punch.
’My pure Physical Strength should be right around five thousand jin.’
Immediately, Fang Yue focused his mind.
Before his eyes, lines of text appeared.
[Cultivation Technique: White Tiger Fist (Bone Forging) (Proficient)]
[Talent: 1652 (One in a Thousand)]
[Talents: Advanced Boxing Mastery, Intermediate Copper Skin and Iron Bones]
Originally, based on his Talent Points, Fang Yue’s strength limit should have been just over three thousand jin. But when his Talent reached the "One in a Thousand" level, his strength limit directly increased by one thousand jin.
That was why his strength had now reached nearly five thousand jin.
At the same time, he had spent one hundred and fifty Talent Points to upgrade his Intermediate Boxing Mastery to Advanced, and another one hundred Talent Points to upgrade his Basic-level Copper Skin and Iron Bones to Intermediate.
His strength had multiplied several times over compared to two years ago. Although he hadn’t undergone Marrow Transformation, if he were to face a Martial Artist at the First Stage of Marrow Transformation like Wang Yuangang again, he could win within ten moves.
And yet, he was still some distance away from achieving Bone Forging Perfection.
At his current cultivation speed, it would take another three months to achieve Bone Forging Perfection.
At this thought, Fang Yue immediately began to slowly regulate his breathing.
He then struck a pose like a ferocious tiger. The Qi and blood in his body surged, emitting a vibrant hum like a tiger’s roar.
This was the Secret Technique of the White Tiger Fist: Tiger’s Roar.
Using vibrational power to forge the bones, it allowed a Martial Artist to increase the absorption efficiency of Secret Medicine by ten percent while cultivating.
Combined with the bonus from his own Boxing Mastery Talent, Fang Yue’s cultivation speed was nearly double that of an ordinary Martial Artist at the same realm.
That was why he was now close to completing Bone Forging—a process that should have taken nearly five years.
A long while later, as the sun climbed high in the sky and it was nearly noon, Fang Yue finally stopped his training. He was drenched in sweat, so he drew a bucket of water from the nearby well.
After a quick wash, he changed into a set of dry, fresh clothes.
"Zhi’Er, this is the plum soup your mother just brewed for you. It’s the best for quenching thirst, beating the heat, and stimulating the appetite. Come and have a taste."
Just then, Ms. Chen’s voice rang out. Whether she had timed it perfectly or not was a mystery, but she always seemed to arrive just as Fang Yue finished his martial practice.
"I even added a few extra pieces of rock sugar. It’s very sweet."
"Thank you, Mother. I can get these things myself; you don’t have to bring them to me personally." Fang Yue took the plum soup.
Well, the ingredients for plum soup were actually quite simple.
They could be found near Da Liushu Village; only the rock sugar was a bit expensive.
However, for the Fang Family now, it was nothing.
In the past two years, his family had accumulated a good deal of savings.
They were now on a similar footing with the Liu Family.
The courtyard had been renovated twice in two years, finally reaching its current size.
It covered nearly five mu of land and had more than thirty rooms, making them look just like countryside landlords.
They had over one hundred and fifty tenant families farming their land, more than ten hired hands at home, and even three kitchen helpers.
Chun’Er was the only maid in the household, and she was meant to serve Fang Yue.
Ms. Chen had specifically found her. Her intentions were obvious—it was all because Fang Yue kept refusing arranged marriages.
She couldn’t force him, so she simply found a maid to take care of his daily life.
However, Fang Yue had refused her service, so she became Ms. Chen’s maid instead, staying by her side to help manage the residence.
"How could that be? I only feel at ease when I do it myself. I don’t trust others to brew it."
"If you truly feel for your mother, then let Chun’Er serve you from now on," Ms. Chen said with a smile.
’Didn’t I find Chun’Er precisely to take care of Zhi’Er?’
’Even if Zhi’Er won’t get married, he can still take a concubine first. Isn’t that what all the young masters from prominent families do?’
’Marrying a wife, taking a concubine—it’s all to continue the family line.’
’Zhi’Er is already twenty-two. It’s time for him to get married.’
"I’d still prefer you to do it, Mother. Yours is fragrant and sweet. I can’t stomach what others make."
Fang Yue blinked. He really didn’t want Chun’Er to come over.
’This is an ancient setting. A personal maid has to help one dress and wash up.’
’How old is Chun’Er? She’ll just reach the age of hair-pinning after the New Year. She’s too young. It makes me feel like I’m committing a crime. I just can’t bring myself to do anything.’
Fang Yue was very firm in his opinions. Especially after he became a Martial Scholar, Ms. Chen found it even harder to persuade him. Besides, she couldn’t bear to be too harsh.
Seeing Fang Yue’s imperviousness, Ms. Chen was so exasperated she wanted to twist his ear.
’But now Zhi’Er’s skin is tough and his flesh is thick; I can’t even get a good grip.’
’He’s really not as obedient and cute as when he was little.’
"Oh, right. What are your thoughts on that matter your uncle mentioned yesterday?"
A while ago, Ms. Chen’s brother from her maiden family came to the Fang Residence to see her.
Seeing that Fang Yue had become a Martial Scholar, countless families in the surrounding villages wanted to follow his path.
His uncle’s family was no exception.
He said he wanted his son to take Fang Yue as a master and learn martial arts from him.
If his own son could become a Martial Scholar, wouldn’t he also be able to become a landlord and live a good life?
"Mother, it’s the same as I said before. I can only recommend he go to the fist technique school. I haven’t even graduated myself, so I can’t teach an apprentice," Fang Yue said with a faint smile.
’Teach an apprentice?’
’Of course that’s impossible.’
’I barely have enough time for my own cultivation. How could I possibly teach an apprentice on top of that?’
"Really not possible?" Ms. Chen pressed.
He was, after all, her brother from her maiden family, and this was the first time in many years he had asked her for a favor.
"It’s really not possible. I have to go to the Prefecture City next year, so I won’t have time to teach an apprentice. The masters at the fist technique school are much better at teaching than I am."
Fang Yue explained.
The reason he had been able to cultivate to his current level was firstly due to his Golden Finger, and secondly because of Fang Hu’s selfless instruction at the beginning.
Otherwise, even with a Golden Finger, the growth of his Talent was only one aspect; it couldn’t be directly converted into strength.
Without Secret Medicine and the resources for martial practice, even the best Talent would gradually be wasted.
’Besides, an ordinary person doesn’t have a Golden Finger.’
’Their own Talent will only slowly diminish over time.’
’What’s more, given my uncle’s financial situation, I’m afraid they can’t afford to support a Martial Artist.’
Fang Yue could help them out a little, but he wouldn’t take full responsibility for everything.
As for whether they succeeded or failed in the end, that was beyond his control.
"Fine. I’ll tell your uncle in a couple of days."
Seeing this, Ms. Chen didn’t insist. He was only her nephew; how could he be more important than her own Zhi’Er?
~~~~~~~
Time flew, and soon it was the sixth month. The weather this year was very unusual.
It was exceptionally hot. It hadn’t rained for two consecutive months, and the Xiahe River had dried up early.
The crops that were about to be harvested were suffering from the lack of water; the seedlings were listless, their stalks drooping.
The village elders all said that this year was looking to be a year of disaster.
Father Fang was benevolent, taking the initiative to reduce the tenants’ rent by twenty percent.
He also allowed them to owe the rest, to be paid back after a good harvest next year.
"Zhi! Zhi! There’s a letter for you!"
His older brother, Fang Cheng, came into Fang Yue’s courtyard with a hoe over his shoulder, looking as if he had just returned from the fields. He was clutching a letter in his hand.
"Brother, where have you been?" Fang Yue asked as he took the letter, unable to help but stare at Fang Cheng’s appearance.
The year he passed his first official martial exam, Father Fang and his older brother were still working the fields.
By the time he became a Martial Scholar and the family’s land had increased tenfold...
Fang Yue naturally didn’t let them work the fields anymore. He had hired a few people to help cultivate their own land.
"I’ve been leading everyone to dig wells and look for water these past few days. We’ve dug more than a dozen, but haven’t found any. If this keeps up, this year’s harvest will be a complete failure," Fang Cheng replied, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Is it that serious?"
Fang Yue was puzzled. In terms of actual temperature, the weather wasn’t that hot.
The "scorching summer sun" situation hadn’t occurred, and the air wasn’t dry, yet for some reason, it just wouldn’t rain.
This was the first time Fang Yue had ever seen such a situation.
It completely subverted the experience stored in his mind.
’The weather is too strange.’
’It’s as if an invisible hand is manipulating everything.’
"Tell me about it. We haven’t seen weather like this in decades," Fang Cheng said.
"Mm."
Fang Yue nodded and then opened the letter.
The letter was from Zhang Boyang. It said that due to the weather, this year’s tea harvest might be a total loss, and the business at the White Tiger Tea House was suffering greatly.
However, Fang Yue’s three hundred taels of silver would be unaffected.
It went on to say that the City Guard Army had launched another attack on the Mo Mountain Tribe. This time, they had taken over a hundred enemy heads and captured the Third Elder of the Mo Mountain Tribe.
This counted as their first major victory since the great defeat at the beginning of spring.
The County Magistrate planned to publicly execute this Third Elder of the Mo Mountain Tribe to intimidate them.
The rest was just some idle gossip, though it did mention that Zhang Shu was still unmarried...
Fang Yue folded the letter.
’Looks like this will be another eventful year.’
The Government Office had mobilized a large army to suppress the Mo Mountain Tribe, and even with the cooperation of Xiahe County, the campaign had already dragged on for two full years.
To this day, a victor had yet to be decided.
Both sides had their wins and losses. Many Martial Artists at the Skin Grinding, Bone Forging, and even Marrow Transformation stages had lost their lives.
Not to mention the ordinary soldiers.
The way this war had turned out was actually beyond Fang Yue’s expectations.
After all, Shanyang Prefecture was basically in the heartland of the Great Wei Dynasty.
Although the Great Wei Dynasty had been founded a long time ago, it showed no signs of an apocalyptic decline.
A mere Mo Mountain Tribe should have been crushed easily. Why had it taken so long without any major results?