The counties of Shui County, Dishui County, and Yongfeng had finally regained peace. After a year of recuperation, each household had managed to have a grain surplus—although it wasn’t wealth by any means, they wouldn’t easily suffer from catastrophe.
Until a few months ago, a Ninth Grade Martial Artist arrived in Dishui County.
He had quite a few underlings. Not counting the Evil Flood Dragon, their strength was even greater than that of the Green Flood Dragon Gang, which had already been wiped out.
Their behavior was just a little bit better than that of the Green Flood Dragon Gang; they didn’t randomly sacrifice people.
The household of each of the three counties had to give up more grain than they had under the rule of Wang Sheng, as well as a certain amount of gold and silver treasures.
If they didn’t, they would be made an example of like the proverbial chicken killed to scare the monkey.
The people of the three counties, who had just managed to save a little surplus grain, instantly became impoverished, even poorer than before. Those collecting the grain were truly scouring through everything.
They claimed to take only a portion of the grain, but in reality, it was practically all taken away.
And those collecting the grain were self-justifying.
“It is Master Cheng Jiang who protects you from harm now. With him here, you can live your lives in peace. Do you understand? You should be grateful!”
To put it simply, the subordinates of the Ninth Grade Martial Artist Cheng Jiang publicly proclaimed that the three counties were able to develop peacefully thanks to Cheng Jiang’s protection.
But in reality?
The three counties were able to develop smoothly for a year thanks to the remaining influence of Master Zhan Jiao.
These people were just taking advantage of the situation.
However, not many dared to speak out, because those who dared were dead.
When they say “no forbiddance or restraint,” they’re referring to themselves.
Not only that, but the surrounding counties had also been affected.
Yongfeng County, the county government offices.
The County Magistrate, originally planning to visit the three counties, stayed behind due to the appearance of Wang Sheng and was gathering iron ore everywhere, hoping to curry favor with him.
But he didn’t manage to win Wang Sheng’s favor. Instead, he received a notice, also from the underlings of the Ninth Grade Martial Artist.
“Master Cheng Jiang’s grand birthday celebration, one month later, demands a tribute of five stalks of Spiritual Medicine? What a huge appetite!”
The County Magistrate knew well what Spiritual Medicine was. Such a rarity could barely be seen, and now there was a demand for five stalks all at once.
However, as vexed as he was, he was also powerless to do anything.
The imperial power had declined, and these official organizations, mostly because so many Martial Artists had been called up and not returned, now had virtually no authority at all.
Even the slightly more capable Martial Artists paid them no heed.
It was said that a number of his colleagues had already been dealt with under the guise of carrying out justice on behalf of heaven.
Fortunately, he had been a just and clean official, so he was still able to stay in his position comfortably.
But with the arrival of this letter, even stability seemed to be an unreachable luxury.
Ninth Grade Martial Artists, those were almost at the Grandmaster level.
Even if the county government’s strength had not been impacted, they would still need to be treated with great care.
“County Magistrate, what should we do now?”
The adviser was aware of the previous incident and was steadfastly following the County Magistrate, wishing to cling to higher powers together.
Unfortunately, they were now in trouble.
“First, send someone to the mountains to search for some Spiritual Medicine, just as a gesture. I believe that man won’t last much longer!”
“County Magistrate, do you mean…” the adviser said, with dawning comprehension.
“Exactly, that Great Grandmaster. Why does Cheng Jiang dare to be so arrogant? Isn’t it because after repeated probes, he found that the Great Grandmaster did not appear? He assumes that the Great Grandmaster is no longer within the three counties!
But others may not be aware, aren’t we aware? The Great Grandmaster is definitely here, it’s just that he’s most likely in seclusion for now, hence he hasn’t received the news.
And that Great Grandmaster will definitely make an appearance. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have told us to prepare iron ore. The only thing we can do now is wait and stall for time!
Once the Great Grandmaster is willing to take action, then the people of the three counties will truly have no more worries.”
The County Magistrate saw through it all quite clearly.
Having the support of a Great Grandmaster, they wouldn’t care about the loss or gain of a few counties, especially since these counties were not of particular importance. What they valued more was the overall situation.
Because the powers that be knew very well that as long as they had control over the overall situation, the smaller, chaotic forces would naturally pledge loyalty to them.
Even those at the Grandmaster Level were no exception.
So no matter how chaotic things got below, as long as it didn’t affect their overall plans, they typically wouldn’t intervene.
This was also a significant factor contributing to the emergence of speculators like Cheng Jiang.
The overall situation was in disarray, and so the various local powers were even more chaotic.
Speculators were very dangerous in such situations.
“Just don’t know when this official will return!”
The County Magistrate could only hope it would be sooner rather than later.
Five stalks of Spiritual Medicine, he still had no idea where to find them.
If they didn’t show up within a month, and if he didn’t find the Spiritual Medicine, he was going to flee.
No matter how important “thigh-hugging” was, it was not as crucial as preserving one’s own life.
…
Meanwhile in Dishui County, which could be considered a place plagued with repeated misfortunes.
Previously, the headquarters of the Green Flood Dragon Gang was here, and now Cheng Jiang was here as well.
Ultimately, it was because this county town was the most prosperous and well-developed.
The county government office was the finest property in Dishui County, and Cheng Jiang took up residence there, where he also received daily reports from his subordinates.
“Sir, we have already collected several hundred thousand catties of grain and are still collecting more. We have also gathered quite a bit of Spiritual Medicine. For some reason, there is an unusually large amount of Spiritual Medicine around here. We found eleven different kinds within a month.”
Hearing of the Spiritual Medicine, a smile appeared on Cheng Jiang’s face.
More than ten kinds of Spiritual Medicine. Indeed, it was right to follow the forces at the Grandmaster Level.
Shuzhou really did have great opportunities.
“Continue to collect Spiritual Medicine, we can have less grain, but we cannot have less Spiritual Medicine, understand?”
Spiritual Medicine had wide applications and was very useful even to Grandmasters. This time he wanted to make a big profit, and then he could sell himself for another round of earnings.
“Yes, sir. We have already written to the officials requesting assistance in finding more, and we should be able to obtain quite a bit of Spiritual Medicine.”
“Well done, anything else?”
The reporting individual nodded and said, “There’s something else, sir. Because of the grain collection and the matter with the Spiritual Medicine, quite a number of people are discontent, leading to significant public grievances. Some say that the Grandmaster who killed the Evil Flood Dragon will certainly seek retaliation against you.”
He was a trusted confidant of Cheng Jiang, so he dared to speak of matters others were afraid to mention. What Cheng Jiang liked most about him was that he never sugarcoated the intelligence.
“Don’t worry about it, they’re just a bunch of ordinary people without much power. So what if they hold a grudge? They can’t do anything to me. Let a few more of them die, and they’ll quiet down. As for that Grandmaster, if he comes, what can he do to me?”
The subordinate said no more, well aware of his boss’s strength.
He was not merely a Ninth Grade Martial Artist, but an actual Grandmaster Level figure!
Even if the one who slew the Flood Dragon came, he could still leave without harm.
Cheng Jiang thought the same; he had inquired about the slaying of the Evil Flood Dragon. The Grandmaster who had killed the Evil Flood Dragon did so by catching it off guard, otherwise, it could not have been so easily defeated.
The man’s strength might be considerable but probably not as exaggerated as the rumors suggested.
With preparations in place, even if he couldn’t defeat him, escaping with his life wouldn’t be too difficult.
And it might not even come to the point of being defeated!
Having reached Grandmaster status, he was quite confident in his own strength.
At the same time, a youth carrying a long spear appeared on the road, a sparrow on his shoulder, wearing an iron mask.
On this day, one man in the government residence took lives and seized control, arbitrarily determining the fates of ordinary people, while another man, with spear in hand, stepped into the boundaries of Dishui County…