Swallow Return

Within a quarter of an hour or two, Iori's body temperature began to gradually decrease, and her cold sweats also lessened considerably.

More than an hour later, it was estimated that the fever had entered the range of low fever.

Iori's face was no longer so uncomfortable, her complexion gradually improved, and she entered a peaceful sleep.

A lingering smile played on his lips.

He simply held Liu Yun's right hand tightly.

Like a drowning person grasping at a straw.

I only let go of his hand when he was sound asleep and accidentally turned over in his dream.

Liu Yunfang got up, tucked her in tightly, and quietly went out.

By then, it was already evening.

Several people were waiting anxiously in the lobby outside.

Liu Yun said, "Thanks to the Wan Jin Dan, I'm probably fine now."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Eguchi Sukezaemon still felt quite guilty, while Hayami Seibei seemed to feel a little proud.

Liu Yun bowed to Maeno Nagayasu and said, "Today I am truly indebted to Lord Kinoshita."

Maeno Nagayasu immediately returned the greeting with a smile: "It is an honor for Yokoyama Castle that we can be of assistance to Lord Sasaki, as Lord Kinoshita specifically instructed us to do so."

Liu Yun smiled without saying a word, but in his heart he felt that he had to remember this favor.

Regardless of gratitude or grudge, everything must be repaid before one can feel at ease.

……

After exchanging a few pleasantries with everyone, they dispersed.

Liu Yun came to the courtyard to relax, only to see two monsters, Kurotabo and Aotabo, sneaking around nearby.

Liu Yun frowned and asked, "What do you want to say?"

Kurotabo replied respectfully, "Lady Iori fell seriously ill today, but she is now out of danger. However, I feel there is something I must tell you. In fact, when Lady Iori's maternal grandfather, that 'yokai senior,' sent Ao and me to secretly protect her, he also gave her a tea cake."

"Tea cake?" Liu Yun couldn't help but repeat what the other person said, wondering if it was the same thing as the Ten Thousand Gold Pill?

“Yes,” Kurotabo continued, “This tea cake is useless to others; it’s just an ordinary drink. But if it’s brewed into a tea soup and given to Lady Iori, she will recover quickly from any illness, serious injury, or poison. However, the spell cast on her to hide her yokai bloodline will become ineffective.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Yun asked, "So, it means that traces of demon bloodline will be revealed?"

“Exactly!” Kurotabo nodded solemnly: “Lady Iori’s maternal grandfather was a very famous senior yokai, but he also made many enemies. If her yokai bloodline were exposed, it would probably bring disaster.”

Liu Yun pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "I understand. In that case, we'll use it only when absolutely necessary! This time, we probably won't need it."

Chapter Thirty-Six: Wen Bao's Heart Stirred

After taking the "Ten Thousand Gold Pill," Iori's physical condition quickly recovered.

Within an hour, the body temperature dropped from a high fever to a low fever, and then returned to normal the next day.

His complexion improved significantly, and his cold sweats were greatly relieved.

However, illness comes like a landslide, but recovery is like pulling silk from a cocoon.

Although Iori's condition had improved, she still looked haggard, felt weak in her limbs, was listless, and had a poor appetite for several days.

Moreover, he seemed to be in a strange mood. When he saw Liu Yun, he would subconsciously cover his face and lower his head to avoid her, and he was very sparing with his words, not daring to say anything even slightly longer.

It was a world of difference from the day she held hands tightly and pulled him into her arms when he had a high fever.

Liu Yun was slightly puzzled as to why a dignified and elegant woman would suddenly act like a shy and coquettish young girl.

But he didn't think about it much.

These past few days, Iori has been sick and unable to manage affairs, so Ryuun is once again trying to take over the administration of Sasaki Village.

Then I was discouraged again by a whole bunch of trivial matters.

The collection and registration of annual tributes were extremely troublesome.

Because the villagers lack effective channels to convert their goods into cash, the in-kind taxes they pay are a hodgepodge of all sorts of things: rice, grains, beans, salted fish, seafood, timber, furs, fruits and vegetables, sesame oil, and so on.

These items need to be appropriately graded according to their appearance and quality, their prices calculated, and a convincing annual tribute amount listed.

After collecting them, they need to be stored separately according to their categories, and we need to find ways to contact merchants to sell the unused goods at home in exchange for cash.

Correspondingly, items needed by the household but not produced in the village need to be purchased. These include cloth, clothing, seasonings, candles, lanterns, farm tools, weapons, and so on.

Not to mention that the temple was also under construction at the same time, which involved a complicated accounting of manpower and material expenditures.

Thanks to his 21st-century education, Liu Yun wasn't incapable of handling these matters. However, a rational analysis would reveal that focusing his energy on this would be extremely inefficient.

No matter how hard they tried and how poorly they managed to operate, they could only save a few dozen strings of cash each year; it was inefficient.

After trying it for a few days, Liu Yun decided to find some people to share the work.

After all, the business might get bigger and bigger in the future, and it's impossible for Iori to be the only woman managing the household forever; there has to be a team.

Eguchi Sukezaemon was loyal and experienced at the grassroots level, but his low level of education made him only suitable as a security captain patrolling around.

Hayami Seibei was ambitious but insightful, and it seemed he could entrust many political matters, including military service, litigation, and general petitions.

But the accounts needed to be overseen by a trustworthy and honest person. Fortunately, Uncle Xinghe had received his education at the temple, was literate, and could perform calculations, so he was the one.

Then, since Junior Brother Suifeng has been clever and active since childhood, he can follow Hayami as his assistant for now as an apprentice. It would be good if he could grow in the future.

The two yokai, Aotabo and Kurotabo, secretly took on the responsibility of protecting Iori, so they simply entrusted him with the task of serving as the family's guards, thus making it convenient for both their public and private lives.

Of course, they still have to accept Lady Iori's leadership and Ryuun's final decision-making power, but she, as a woman, doesn't need to worry too much about it.

Just as this decision was made, from Yokoyama Castle, the sallow-faced Maeno Nagayasu once again served as a diligent and dedicated tool, delivering a new letter of reassurance.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out that not far north of Sasaki Village, there was a family with the surname "Aota" that had been dismissed and exiled because of their lingering ties with the Asai clan and their poor performance in battle.

The three small villages, totaling less than six hundred people, comprised a territory valued at one thousand shi (a unit of dry measure), which was then transferred to Liuyun.

Perfect opportunity! Take this chance to build up your retainers and, taking advantage of the new territory, assign them their respective duties.

This also allows us to increase the salaries of our retainers.

Eguchi Sukezaemon was thrilled to receive a raise. After understanding the division of labor, he found two strong young men to be his assistants and set off to patrol the three villages he had just taken over, full of ambition.

Hayami Kiyobei ​​cared more about his duties than his salary, stating, "I am confident that I can handle a county or even a province. I will surely govern a few villages and a few thousand koku of land in an orderly manner."

Uncle Xinghe wasn't very enthusiastic, but he didn't refuse and took on the task of managing the accounts. As for the salary, he declined, saying, "Once the new temple is built, Liuyun, you can allocate some land for the temple."

When Junior Brother Suifeng heard that he would receive the credit for the Jutada (approximately 18 koku), he was very excited and patted his chest, declaring that he would definitely accumulate experience in governance.

Both Aotabo and Kurotabo received their stipends. The former was quite proud of his status as a "retainer of the Sasaki family," while the latter always wore an awkward smile.

In total, Jiangkou owned about 120 koku of land, Hayami 60-70 koku, the two yokai each received 50 koku, Suifeng received 15 koku, and with the temple property reserved for them, the total amount distributed was only 400 koku.

We can recruit more ronin as retainers in the future.

But there's no rush.

In addition to delivering the documents for the new territory, Maeno Nagayasu also specially invited a physician who had returned from visiting his family from Yokoyama Castle to come along, and brought a lot of medicinal herbs with him.

The doctor claimed to be a disciple of Mr. Kijima Michizo, which seemed quite plausible.

After a thorough investigation of Iori's condition, the doctor told Ryuyun, "Your wife's illness is likely not just a minor cold, but rather the result of years of overwork and excessive worry. She has probably been holding on by sheer willpower, but now it has collapsed. Since the fever has been brought down with the 'Ten Thousand Gold Pill,' she should rest and recuperate. It will take several months for her to recover."

Liu Yun was displeased upon hearing this, thinking that the longer the time dragged on, the more variables would arise, so he asked, "Would taking another Wan Jin Dan be effective?"

The doctor was taken aback, pondered for a moment, and said, "The Wan Jin Dan is only for treating critical illnesses; it doesn't really offer much help for recuperation, conditioning, or strengthening the body."

Liu Yun pressed further, "What could possibly be of assistance?"

The physician shook his head and chuckled, "That would be difficult. Rest and recuperation, strengthening the body, are far more challenging than prescribing the right medicine. The magical treasures that can achieve this are all highly prized possessions of noble families. For example, on the roof of the scripture hall at Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei, there's that white bottle. It's said that one can obtain a bottle of blessed water every day; drinking this blessed water will dispel fatigue and leave one radiant… My master once saw it from afar, and I've only heard him mention it, so I don't know if it's true or not. Such treasures are probably beyond our reach! We can only talk about them in vain. Who would dare to steal them?"

Liu Yun nodded and instructed his servant to take Maeno Nagayasu and the physician to rest and to entertain them.

Maeno Nagayasu, however, said he was too busy and didn't have the time.

Seeing this, Liuyun did not insist on keeping them and sent them away.

Before leaving, Maeno Nagayasu whispered to Ryuun, "Lord Kinoshita has adopted your suggestion and has begun to take strong countermeasures against the provocations of Enryaku-ji Temple in Hieyama within his territory. This has caused quite a stir among the upper echelons of the Oda clan, but Lord Danjo (Oda Nobunaga) has not yet expressed his opinion."

Liu Yun understood immediately and replied, "If there is anything I need to do, please feel free to ask."

Maeno Nagayasu chuckled and said, "There's nothing that requires your intervention right now, but I estimate that there should be soon."

Then he said goodbye.

After seeing off Maeno Nagayasu, the physician, and the guards, Ryuun returned home and went to check on the bedroom one last time.

The servants had all been sent away to do their jobs, and the servants were also busy with their own tasks, so the room was a bit empty at this time.

Iori, having somehow managed to climb out of bed, had donned a thick cloak. Seeing Ryuun enter, she immediately asked with considerable concern, "When the physician mentioned the treasures of Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei, Your Excellency… your reaction was a bit… you wouldn't be thinking of trying to steal them, would you? That would be far too dangerous! I'm almost fully recovered; there's really no need for you to rush things…"

At this moment, she was filled with worry and could no longer care about being shy and reserved.

Liu Yun smiled but said nothing, telling her to rest well and not to worry.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Finally, Mount Hiei is going to be burned.

Deep down, Liu Yun genuinely wanted to see the so-called White Bottle.

Firstly, through Iori's illness, it was discovered that the medical level of this era was far too worrying and unreliable, and that there must be some way to maintain health in order to be prepared for any eventuality.

Secondly, he already regarded Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei as an enemy. It was a place that Nobunaga would burn down sooner or later; wouldn't it be a waste to leave his sacred treasures to perish in the flames? It would be better to let them be used by someone destined to benefit from them.

Thirdly, the red jade pendant in his possession had backfired after a brief attempt a few days ago, making him hesitant to use it lightly. If the health-enhancing white bottle could counteract this backlash, that would be ideal.

The problem lies in the timing of departure.

Going there alone is definitely not an option. We should wait for Oda Nobunaga to make his move first, and then take advantage of the chaos to fish in troubled waters. That's the right way to go.

It can't be rushed.

However, it probably won't be long before we have to wait.

……

During this period, the new retainer group planned by Liuyun has been operating very well, and the process of accepting the new territories of the three villages in the north has been very smooth.

Although Eguchi Sukezaemon was a middle-aged illiterate man, he was diligent in his work and had social experience. He brought two henchmen with him and spent his days patrolling the area with swords on his back, at least on the surface, demonstrating the Sasaki family's attitude to the people of the new territory.

Entrusted with administrative duties, Hayami Kiyobei ​​encountered subtle resistance when attempting to investigate the household registrations and land ownership of three villages, discovering that some individuals were colluding to sabotage the operation. He wondered whether these individuals were nostalgic for their former master or had ulterior motives.