59: Chapter 59 The Dragon and Phoenix Cry Again

Over the next few days, while inspecting the construction site and the military camp, Gao Feng began, intentionally or otherwise, to pay more attention to Luo Shu and Luo Hua.

Luo Shu, as her name suggested, was quiet, introverted, and even a bit timid.

She spent most of her time following her older sisters around, helping with clerical work and sewing, always keeping her head down, not daring to make eye contact with anyone.

Once, when Gao Feng passed by the Administration Hall, he saw her copying a population register.

Because she was nervous, a drop of ink accidentally fell onto the parchment, staining a large patch.

Her face turned pale with fright, tears were about to fall, and she stood there at a loss, like a child who had done something wrong.

The sisters around her were all busy, and for a moment, no one noticed her.

It was Gao Feng who walked over. Without scolding her, he simply picked up another clean sheet of paper and said gently, "It's fine. If you copied it wrong, just rewrite it."

"Keep your wrist steady in the future, and don't be so nervous."

His voice was calm, carrying a power that soothed the heart.

Luo Shu raised her head and saw Gao Feng's face right in front of her, devoid of any anger. Her little face flushed instantly, and her heart began to beat wildly and uncontrollably.

She stammered, "Th-thank you, Stockade Master... I... I didn't do it on purpose..."

"I know."

Gao Feng smiled, reached out, and gently wiped the smudge of ink from her cheek.

The warm touch of his fingertips made Luo Shu's body stiffen suddenly.

A strange current spread from her cheek throughout her entire body, leaving her mind blank, unable to even speak.

On the other hand, Luo Hua's personality was the exact opposite of Luo Shu's.

She was lively and curious, her large eyes always sparkling with a mischievous glint.

Gao Feng often saw her when he inspected the Divine Mechanism Battalion.

She was filled with intense curiosity about the complex new trebuchets and bed crossbows.

Unlike other girls who watched from afar, she boldly stepped forward, chirping like a little sparrow, asking the craftsmen and soldiers various questions.

"Why is this wheel made so big?"

"What is this lever used for?"

"Wow, this aiming scale is amazing! Did the Stockade Master think of this?"

Her questions were innocent and direct, yet they often hit the mark, leaving those burly men unable to handle them, only able to scratch their heads and laugh foolishly.

One afternoon, Gao Feng was personally testing a newly built bed crossbow.

Luo Hua scurried over, like a little butterfly.

"Stockade Master, Stockade Master, can this big guy really shoot such a thick spear so far away?"

She asked, blinking her curious large eyes.

"Do you want to try?" Gao Feng asked with a smile.

"Yes!" Luo Hua nodded without hesitation.

"Alright."

Gao Feng took her hand and led her to the massive bed crossbow, teaching her hand-in-hand how to string it, how to adjust the angle using the winch, and how to aim using the sight.

The maiden's hands were soft and delicate.

Gao Feng's broad, calloused hand enveloped her small hand, and a wave of hot, masculine aura filled with strength caused her little face to flush involuntarily.

"Take aim... now! Release!"

Under Gao Feng's instruction, Luo Hua pulled the trigger mechanism with force.

"Hum!" With a loud bang, the massive bolt shot out like black lightning, carrying terrifying power, and slammed into a giant target five hundred paces away!

The fletching was still vibrating violently!

"Wow!!" Luo Hua let out an excited shriek, jumping up in excitement, "I hit it! I hit it!"

She turned her head to look at Gao Feng, her bright eyes filled with unmasked admiration and adoration.

At that moment, the maiden's heart had unwittingly and quietly opened completely to this man who was like a god and a demon.

...

It was another late night.

Gao Feng finished handling the day's affairs and returned to his room, exhausted.

He pushed open the door and discovered that in the room, besides Su Yue, Luo Qin, and Luo Qi who were already waiting, Luo Shu and Luo Hua were also there.

The two maidens, dressed in clean robes, stood there prettily. Although their cheeks were flushed and they kept their heads down, not daring to look at him, they showed no intention of retreating.

It was arranged by Luo Qin; this intelligent woman had long since seen through Gao Feng's intentions.

She knew that in this home, in this stockade, Gao Feng was their only heaven, their only reliance.

His strength was the happiness of them all.

Gao Feng looked at the five peerless beauties before him, each with her own unique temperament and national beauty, and immediately felt stirred.

He sighed, walked forward, and gently pulled Luo Shu and Luo Hua, the two still somewhat shrinking maidens, into his embrace.

"From now on, follow me, and I won't let you suffer again."

That night, the Dragon and Phoenix called out again.

When Gao Feng entered the spirit spring space again, the entire space had undergone earth-shattering changes.

The area had expanded directly to the size of nearly a football field!

The spirit spring in the center had also gathered from the previous small pool into a lake with a diameter of over ten meters!

The spring eye in the center of the lake was constantly gushing out water from the spirit spring!

What surprised him most was that in the corner of the space, those few precious medicinal herbs he had planted casually, which had been seized from Dushan Stronghold, had now, under the nourishment of the dense Spiritual Qi, matured ahead of time and were emitting an alluring medicinal fragrance!

One of them was the main ingredient for refining the "Bone Forging Pill," which took decades to mature in the outside world—the Dragon Blood Ginseng!

"Great!" Gao Feng was ecstatic!

With this Dragon Blood Ginseng, plus Uncle Sun's medical skills, as long as he could find a suitable Pill Formula, he had a great hope of refining the Medicinal Pill and breaking through the Bottleneck in one go, stepping into the Fourth Order "Bone Refining" realm!

However, when he told Uncle Sun about this idea, the old doctor looked troubled and shook his head repeatedly.

"Stockade Master, the art of Alchemy has been lost for many years."

"I have only seen records in ancient books, knowing that Alchemy requires a specialized Pill Furnace, fire control techniques, and precise Pill Formula; none can be missing."

"We... we don't have anything right now."

This answer was like a basin of cold water poured onto Gao Feng's fiery heart.

That was true; having the medicinal herbs but no Pill Formula or Pill Furnace, what was the use?

Could it be that he was truly to be trapped at this Third Order Peak, unable to advance even an inch further?

Once again, he felt deep distress and confusion about the future.

The improvement of personal martial strength was still so difficult.

Just then, a scout responsible for communication rushed into his room with an excited expression and knelt on one knee.

"Report!" "Stockade Master! A letter from Mr. Liu!"

The scout took out a wax-sealed bamboo tube from his bosom and held it high above his head.

Gao Feng immediately took it and opened the bamboo tube.

On the letter paper, there was only a line of flamboyant handwriting.

"Everything is going smoothly, will return soon!"

Seeing this letter, the heavy stone in Gao Feng's heart finally fell to the ground.

Although he appeared unconcerned on the surface, he was still afraid that Liu Chengfeng might just run away, which would be a huge loss.

It was just that he had no one else available at the time, so he had to employ Liu Chengfeng and take the risk.

He handed the letter to Luo Qin, who was beside him, "It seems our Lieutenant of the Army has not disappointed us."

Luo Qin took the letter and looked at the confident handwriting on it, then sighed sincerely: "Mr. Liu truly has great talent."

Gao Feng nodded, his desire for talent becoming even more urgent.

Over the next few days, the entire Panshi Stockade was immersed in a strange atmosphere intertwined with anticipation and busyness.

On one hand, the bustling "Panshi City" construction plan, with the support of cement, that magical substance, was progressing by leaps and bounds.

The foundation for the inner city walls had been completely dug, and they had begun pouring concrete.

The planned area for the outer city had also been cleared, and rows of brand-new, neatly planned wooden house foundations, like a chessboard, appeared in the valley.

On the other hand, everyone was looking forward to the return of Liu Chengfeng.

They wanted to see with their own eyes just how astonishing the wealth that Dushan Stronghold—the behemoth that once sat on top of all the forces in Ghost Sees Sorrow—had accumulated over the years really was.

Time had quietly entered early autumn.

The heat in the valley gradually dissipated, and in the mornings and evenings, one could already feel a refreshing chill.

The leaves in the mountains and forests began to quietly take on a light yellow hue from their deep green.

The stream water became clearer and colder, and the air was filled with the fragrance of ripe wild fruits mixed with the scent of earth.

This was a season of harvest.

And Panshi Stockade was about to welcome their greatest "harvest" in history.

After waiting for five days.

That afternoon, the scout responsible for guarding the entrance to the valley finally sounded the three horn blasts representing "friendly forces returning."

Woo—woo—woo—! The loud and long horn sound spread throughout the entire valley.

The soldiers and farmers who were sweating on the construction site stopped their work one after another, looking excitedly towards the valley entrance.

Gao Feng also immediately took all key members, including Luo Qin, King Tiger, and Zhao Iron Pillar, up to the highest point of the beacon tower.

They saw a long procession on the distant post road, slowly winding its way towards Panshi Stockade.

Walking at the very front was Liu Chengfeng.

He had changed into a clean Confucian robe and was riding a spirited white horse. Although his face showed signs of travel, his expression was full of high spirits.

Behind him were more than two hundred dejected, but still orderly, original garrison troops of Dushan Stronghold.

They were the surrendered soldiers recruited by Liu Chengfeng this time.

In the center of the procession was the part that made everyone in Panshi Stockade envious and heart-pounding.

Those were dozens of creaking carts pulled by oxen and horses!

On the carts were piled mountain-like sacks, bulging and filled with grain and various supplies.

There were even a few carts covered with thick tarpaulins, appearing especially mysterious.

At the end of the procession followed a dense crowd of people; those were the families of Dushan Stronghold, craftsmen, and kidnapped farmers, numbering nearly a thousand!

How could this be a returning unit? This was clearly a massive migration!

"We're rich! We're really rich this time!" King Tiger was so excited that his face turned red, his mouth wide enough to fit an egg.

All the high-ranking members of Panshi Stockade, looking at this spectacular scene, were too shocked to speak.

They knew Dushan Stronghold was rich, but they didn't expect it to be rich to this extent!

When Liu Chengfeng's procession marched into the valley of Panshi Stockade, the entire stockade was completely boiling with excitement.

"Mr. Liu, you've worked hard!" Gao Feng personally went down to welcome him, smiling and patting Liu Chengfeng on the shoulder.

"To serve the Stockade Master, I would face ten thousand deaths without regret!"

Liu Chengfeng dismounted, bowed to salute, his posture extremely low. Then, he took out two thick registers from his bosom and respectfully handed them over.

"Stockade Master, this is the population register and material inventory of Dushan Stronghold. Please take a look!"

Gao Feng took the registers and flipped through them roughly, and the smile in his eyes could no longer be hidden.

Dushan Stronghold had been established for several years, and the wealth they had plundered was indeed substantial.

The gold and silver added up to nearly ten thousand taels.

Grain and cloth filled three newly built warehouses.

More importantly, the population; with this, the total population of Panshi Stockade broke through the three-thousand mark directly!

What truly made Gao Feng ecstatic was the attached list of dozens of "special talents" at the back of the population register!

Among them, not only were there more Advanced blacksmiths and carpenters, but there were even two "Medicine Apprentices" who knew how to refine medicinal herbs, and a lame "Formation Master" who was said to have escaped from a fallen sect!

These were the treasures that Panshi Stockade truly needed urgently!

"Good! Mr. Liu, you have performed a great service this time!" Gao Feng did not stint on his praise.

In front of everyone, he announced loudly: "Liu Chengfeng is promoted to 'Military Advisor' of Panshi Stockade, concurrently serving in the 'Administration Hall,' with a status equal to a Deputy Stockade Master! Rewarded with one hundred taels of gold and one hundred acres of fertile land!"

This appointment made Liu Chengfeng tremble all over, his eyes welling up with great surprise and emotion.

It also allowed all the newly surrendered people to see the hope that as long as they had merit, they could ascend to the heavens in one step at Panshi Stockade!

As the supplies brought back by Liu Chengfeng were opened and inventoried one by one, the cheers in the entire Panshi Stockade never stopped.

For Gao Feng, the biggest surprise came from those few mysterious carts covered with tarpaulins.

When the tarpaulins were uncovered, what was revealed was not gold or silver, but several book chests and large wooden boxes.

Inside were several sets of full-body armor and fine weapons, as well as various books and a dozen Cultivation Technique Secret Manuals plundered by Dushan Stronghold!

Under Liu Chengfeng's guidance, Gao Feng found the most precious few.

Most of them were First Order common goods like "Grass Flying" and "Iron Shirt."

Although common, for those refugee soldiers who couldn't even read, they were already dream treasures.

And among them, there were two Cultivation Techniques that Gao Feng couldn't take his eyes off of.

One had a yellowing cover, with countless elegant figures like willow catkins drawn on the pages, and four fluttering large characters written on the cover—"Following Wind Willow Catkin Movement Technique"!

"Stockade Master," Liu Chengfeng explained from the side, "This is a rare Third Order top-tier movement technique. When practiced to Major Achievement, one becomes as light as a swallow, leaving no footprints on snow. It is not only good for long-distance raids but even better for dodging and maneuvering within a small space to avoid attacks."

Gao Feng flipped through a few pages, only to find that the footwork and force-generating techniques were exquisite, far superior to the basic movement techniques he had learned!

This was exactly what he was lacking right now!

With this movement technique, when he faced masters of the same level again, he would occupy the absolute initiative!