Daoqi Huangcheng

Chapter 34. The Gentry
The "bait" was exhausted, the Yellow Springs closed, and Song Chen opened his eyes, his gaze deep and dark, with a lingering cold light.

He exited his cultivation state and looked back; the bandit stronghold was already in ruins.

Strangely, despite the thick layer of dust in the mountain village house, there wasn't even a single spider in the corner; and the area around where he was sitting was extremely quiet, like a graveyard, or even worse, since there wasn't even the sound of underground insects.

There are nine realms of Qi gathering.

The Four Realms is a minor bottleneck.

Before reaching the fourth realm, one can only cultivate low-level [supernatural abilities], but these low-level [supernatural abilities] can also become stronger as one's realm advances.

There are three kinds of low-level supernatural powers in the Yellow Springs Sutra.

1. [Mirror Image]

Second, [Water Control]

Third, [Ghost Claw]

Among them, [Illusion Mirror] and [Water Control] were the powers of the "Marrow-Eating Crane Demon" that Song Chen had experienced before. Now that he saw the name of this supernatural power, [Illusion Mirror], he truly felt that it was more reliable than illusion.

The "illusion mirror" is merely an image presented according to the thoughts of the other party; the caster has no idea what image is presented.

[Water Control] There's not much to say. Although the Yellow Springs Scripture is quite unique, it is still a water-based technique.

As for the [Ghost Claw], Song Chen had never seen it before.

This claw is designed to pierce through the flesh and strike directly at the soul. Once used, it springs from the ground, making it impossible to defend against. Unfortunately, when this technique is activated, there are noticeable underground disturbances. If an enemy of the same level focuses on dodging, they can dodge it.
But if you don't dodge, the ghostly claws will grip the ground tightly, leaving you unable to move until your soul is pulled out of your body.

Of course, you can use all your strength to fight back against the claw after being grabbed, but then you won't be able to face your opponent.

Song Chen took a moment to taste it.

Compared to methods like [Golden Edge] and [Sword Intent], which gather all power to slay an opponent face-to-face with a single sword strike, these three supernatural abilities in the "Yellow Springs Sutra" are actually of the "underhanded" type.

【Illusion Mirror】deceives, 【Water Control】is a ranged attack, and 【Ghost Claw】is suitable for sneak attacks.

"Comprehending supernatural powers doesn't require being deep in the mountains, and most of the wandering ghosts in this area have already been sent to the underworld. To use the [Exploring the Netherworld] secret technique again, one would need to go to a much farther place and require a new batch of human lives as 'bait.'"

"I've been away from Yongcui County for over three months. I came during the busy autumn farming season, but now it's freezing cold. I should go back and check on things."

Although Yongcui County is not very large, it is still a county, and it has quite a few neighborhoods.

When the Pei sisters and Song Chen chose their residences, they selected a neighborhood far away from Que He, so they rarely encountered each other.

All three names are pseudonyms.

Song Chen used his given name as his surname and called himself Master Chen.

The Pei sisters were respectively the master's first wife, Madam Chen, and second wife, Madam Chen.

So, who could have guessed the identities of these three people?

The mansion was marked with a plaque that read "Chen Mansion." Because it appeared wealthy, the local government sent people to investigate, firstly to find out if the man had money, and secondly to find out if he had the ability. The mansion had both, so the government offered their congratulations in a sincere manner. They also registered the young Mr. Chen as a local gentry, saying that "if there are any important matters, we should discuss them together."

Unfortunately, Master Chen of the Chen family was fond of traveling and was very mysterious. He disappeared after only a few days of establishing the mansion. The servants in the mansion did not dare to gossip, because Madam Chen's "martial prowess" was not low.

In the capital, Qingyue might be nothing more than an ant that would die at the slightest touch of a major event, but in this remote county, she is a top expert capable of absorbing the aura of others. Moreover, Song Chen gave her that "Golden Light Talisman" before he left.

She can keep everyone in the mansion in check, including the guards.

When Song Chen returned to Yongcui County, it was already evening, and by the time he arrived at his residence, it was already dark.

It started snowing outside.

The guard on duty was warming himself by a charcoal stove in a side hut when he suddenly spotted a figure. His brow furrowed, and his face darkened with anger, as if he were about to reprimand the man. But upon closer inspection, he swallowed his anger, quickly rose, put on a fawning smile, and rushed out of the hut. Looking at the mysterious and rather young-looking master, he bowed respectfully, then turned around with great joy, circled the screen wall, and waved and shouted joyfully along the path, "The master is back! The master is back!!"

The Chen residence suddenly became lively, with a group of servants bustling about, some boiling water, some cooking, and some shoveling snow. Song Chen recalled how he had been half-dead in the cannon fodder camp when he first arrived, being rinsed with cold water, and suddenly felt a sense of relief.

Life has settled down.

The dangers in the capital, please come slowly. Let me enjoy these good days a few more days.

After a hearty meal and a bath, washing away the dust and grime of the past three months, it was time to choose a house.

Are we going to the First Madam's room?
Or is it the second wife's?

There was really no choice.

Song Chen obediently went to the second wife's room.

However, when he pushed open the door, he found that the "first wife" was also there.

A red candle was lit on the round table, its light reflecting off the warm glow of the tea.

Madam Qianxue stood up and said, "Master, please sit opposite me and sit next to my sister."

Song Chen sat down and asked, "Is there any news from the capital?"

Lady Asahi shook her head solemnly.

Song Chen asked curiously, "Calm down?"

Madam Qianxue said, "I have two channels for gathering information. One is that the guards listen to the conversations on the streets when they stroll around, and the maids chat with the vegetable vendors when they buy groceries. The other is that one of the elites from your blacksmithing gang went back and then came back, but..."

She frowned her beautiful brows, shook her head, and said, "They are all ordinary people and can't get any information. Even if something really serious happened in the capital and people really died, the higher-ups would definitely not let the information leak out in order to appease the people. So, on the surface, everything looks calm and there's no difference from before."

As for the Wei family, they arrived at the He family residence, took away the demon dog belonging to their younger sister, and didn't say much else. They only instructed Chan'er that if her sister returned, she must report it immediately and have Chan'er go to the Wei family residence to explain the situation.

After saying that, she smiled and looked to the side, saying, "Qingyue probably knows more than I do; she's quite capable."

Qingyue said, "No way!", and then said, "The guards saw that my skills were good, so they asked me if I was a cultivator. I said no. Then they asked me if I was a master at gathering qi. I said no again. They were very impressed."

Those guards were hired by my sister at a lot of money. They were embroidered with tigers and leopards and were affiliated with various gangs and factions. They invited experts to spar with me.

What martial arts manuals haven't I read in the Wei family manor? Even without using internal energy or talismans, these outlaws are no match for me. After several encounters, those outlaws all developed great admiration for me.

I had no intention of befriending them, but thinking that my husband needed to know information, I pretended to enjoy listening to important events from all over the world.

Those roughnecks are all roaming around. I told the guards to fetch a jar of wine from the storeroom and the maids to cook a couple of side dishes, and they all started bragging.

Song Chen asked, "Did you gain anything?"

Qingyue said, "I did hear about it. Just a couple of days ago, a wandering swordsman got drunk and was bragging at the table that the concubine of the Ding family in the east of the capital had given birth to a mouse. His restaurant was right across from the Ding family's house, and he happened to see it that morning. As a result, people from the Wei family came and quickly took the concubine who had given birth to the mouse away."

Song Chen asked in confusion, "Give birth to rats?"

His voice trembled slightly as he looked up in surprise at the First Madam across from him.

Under the table, the audacious First Madam had already poked her slender little feet out and touched his thigh, then slowly moved forward, touching the left and the right.

His astonishment was not surprising.

Because the discovery of "live rats" is indeed quite shocking.

Madam Qianxue's expression was also normal, so normal that Pei Qingyue, who was standing next to her, could not notice it.

Just as Xiao Song was losing control, the First Madam put away her bound feet again, and a hint of apology appeared on her dignified face: "Look, I've forgotten the time. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Xiao Song, Qingyue, you should rest."

P.S.: Tomorrow's update time will be as usual, at 5 PM.

(End of this chapter)