107: Manpower Arrives

Master Qing loves to drink ink tea!

The news spread:

Over thirty Fortified Manors immediately sent hundreds of inksticks, nearly a thousand in total.

Chu Qing remarked that the Fortified Manors still knew how to conduct themselves.

He had someone check the inksticks, and finding no issues, he had the maidservants grind the ink, and he drank the ink.

When Madam Jin heard this, she immediately wrote a letter saying:

"Drinking ink does not increase knowledge; you should read more."

Chu Qing... time flies:

Chu Qing's life became quite regular.

Every day, the first thing he did upon waking was to drink a large cup of ink.

Then, he would strip naked, have the maidservants apply nourishing medicinal paste, first Cultivate Toad Skill, then Black Water Bone Forging Method.

During this time, he also had the maidservants take turns reading to him.

By evening, he would Cultivate the Chain Spear, hoping to lower the requirements for the dragon tendon.

Unfortunately:

After Cultivating for seven or eight days continuously, the requirements for the Dragon Snake Chain Spear did not decrease.

Finally, he grew tired of Cultivating.

He instead devoted more time to the Black Water Bone Forging Method.

After Cultivating, the promotion requirements for the Black Water Bone Forging Method slowly decreased:

The first thing to decrease was the amount of water to drink.

Cultivating for one day could reduce the water intake by one hundred jin.

This made him much more relaxed.

After all, drinking too much water could also kill a person.

One hundred jin less water could make him much more comfortable.

At the same time:

He formally demanded the Secret medicine of the Bright Pearl as compensation from Cui Moyang and others.

Originally:

He had told Cui Moyang and others the secret of the Bright Pearl increasing Golden Tendons, and they had said they would repay him.

However, because the favor was too great, they didn't know how to repay it and kept delaying.

Now:

For the sake of the Black Water Bone Forging Method, Chu Qing decided to have them use nourishing medicinal paste and golden incense as compensation.

Cui Moyang and others immediately breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Although nourishing medicinal paste and golden incense were precious.

Compared to the Bright Pearl refining Golden Tendons, they were truly not worth mentioning.

Therefore, they directly transferred their daily quotas to Chu Qing.

At the same time, Chu Qing also asked Cui Moyang and others to search for black gold.

Black gold was also very precious, more precious than nourishing medicinal paste.

It was one of the Materials for forging Advanced weapons.

This item was a byproduct found in gold mines, and there was very little circulation of it on the market.

But, fortunately, Cui Moyang and others were capable.

They contacted their Family, and after paying some price and making some promises, the Families behind them sent people to the larger Zhou City to procure black gold.

If all went well, the black gold could be brought back in at most one month.

With hope for black gold, steady progress in drinking black water, and the thousands of Secret medicine, though numerous, obtainable within two or three months without much effort.

Thus, the conditions for entering the Black Water Bone Forging Method were all in sight.

Now, he activated the Black Water Bone Forging Method every day, first nourishing all his bones to reduce the difficulty of future bone forging.

He only waited for the Secret Inheritance to begin before officially starting bone forging.

More than ten days passed in a flash, Chu Qing diligently practiced his skills, occasionally going out with Cui Moyang and her companions to clear out rebels and earn some nourishing medicinal paste.

His small life was quite good.

This day:

As Chu Qing took a sip of ink and continued his practice, someone knocked on the door.

He hesitated, then said to the cold maidservant, "Tell the visitor that I am practicing; unless it's urgent, do not disturb me."

Not long after, the cold maidservant returned and said:

"Young Master, it's Cui Moyang and others."

"They said they have an urgent matter!"

Chu Qing said, "Have them wait in the living room; I'll go take a bath."

The Crowd remained silent.

However, shortly after, Ming Yue burst in, chattering:

"Qing Ge, good news... uh... why aren't you wearing clothes?"

"How embarrassing... we can't even look!"

Ming Yue spread her five fingers, covering her eyes, but still staring intently at Chu Qing.

These Twins were pure and bright, with excellent looks, physique, and temperament.

Standing before him now, they made Chu Qing's heart burn with anger.

He was furious, but helplessly said, "My dear ladies, I'm practicing."

Ming Yue giggled, "You continue, I'll wait!"

Chu Qing... "Qing Feng will be sad if he knows."

Ming Yue pouted, "Qing Feng is too stupid, like a little kid; he won't be sad at all."

"Besides, I'm just observing your practice, learning some experience."

Chu Qing was silent.

He always felt that the Twin, Ming Yue, was no longer so innocent.

After more than ten minutes:

The nourishing medicinal paste lost its effect.

Chu Qing exhaled a mouthful of turbid Qi, and the maidservants attended to his washing and changing.

When he came out, he found Cui Moyang and the others already there.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Cui Moyang said:

"Qing Ge... we've each called some people from our Families."

Chu Qing's eyes lit up.

During this period, when suppressing the rebels, the Wubao Disciples' enthusiasm wasn't very high.

Most of the time, it was just the nine of them acting alone.

Although they could kill enemies by relying on their strong abilities, it was ultimately inefficient.

Moreover, it was easy for some lucky ones to escape.

If their Families sent people to support, with more manpower, killing enemies would be easier.

And... with more manpower, he could execute an even crazier plan.

"Have the people arrived?"

"Not yet, they'll be here tomorrow morning."

Chu Qing thought for a moment and said, "Tell them not to enter the city; find a place outside to rest."

"At night... either enter the city or directly eliminate the targets."

Cui Moyang and others nodded.

These days, although they had been continuously clearing out rebels, the number of rebels had not decreased; instead, it had steadily increased.

With limited manpower, they were constantly busy.

Now, with their Family members arriving, they gritted their teeth and said, "This time, we must give them a harsh lesson."

...Outside Qinghe County, rebel camp:

Zheng Zhixiang was a bit depressed.

Because:

His subordinates kept reporting how many cannon fodder sent to Shiji County had died.

Zheng Zhixiang really wanted to say: if cannon fodder dies, they die; why care?

I even lost a nephew.

But the subordinates complained every day.

Today, they came again.

"General, the scouts and informants in Shiji County have been completely wiped out."

"The Fortified Manors claimed they were also unaware."

"Why don't we send troops to attack Shiji County!"

Zheng Zhixiang sighed inwardly and said in a deep voice:

"Our main objective is to attack Qinghe County, tie down the Prefecture City, and create conditions for our brothers in other places!"

"Attacking Shiji County is the next step."

"No rush!"

But the subordinates were unwilling.

Because the losses were too great, too many.

Zheng Zhixiang pondered for a moment and said:

"Since that's the case, you all take all non-elites to Shiji County."

"At that time, contact the Fortified Manor and have them help you."

Many subordinates excitedly said, "Yes, General!"

They hadn't expected the General to be so generous this time, giving them all the non-elites.

That was over ten thousand people.

They happily went out, preparing to use their power to overwhelm and encircle Chu Qing and others.

At this moment:

Zheng Zhixiang was silent.

Two days ago, he had already received a secret report.

The main army was gathering to launch a surprise attack on the somewhat empty Prefecture City.

His army, too, had to dispatch elites to participate in the battle for the Prefecture City.

Zheng Zhixiang, though not well-read.

But he always felt that attacking the Prefecture City was not the best strategy.

However, military orders were hard to disobey.

After delaying for a few days, urgent military reports came one after another.

"Taking down Qinghe County in one fell swoop to establish a base and a retreat route is the best strategy."

"Why the rush to attack the Prefecture City?"

After a long while, he stood up.

His massive physique was like a fierce tiger.

Inside the tent, the candlelight flickered:

"A'Da!"

"Here!"

"Gather the Tie Jia personal guards and elites, and head to the Prefecture City tonight!"

"General... what about Qinghe County?"

"What about the others?"

Zheng Zhixiang said coldly, "They are just a bunch of cannon fodder; don't worry about them!"

"Yes!"

"General, if we leave, what will happen to them?"

Zheng Zhixiang said carelessly, "Qinghe County has already been scared out of its wits."

"They won't dare to come out."

"Who knows, by the time we return, the cannon fodder might have already taken Qinghe County."

"Oh!"