Chapter 377: Chapter 216: Arrangements; Returning to the Village
"Xu Dong."
In the study, Cheng Zongyang began by giving him his instructions.
"I’ll be returning to the family in the next couple of days. I’ve already handed over matters here in the County Town to Zhou Zhendong. From now on, he will be the second-in-command and will be in charge.
While I’m away, you will work under him. Don’t worry about resources for your Martial Arts Cultivation; I’ve already made arrangements, and he will see to it. Don’t neglect your own training, either."
Xu Dong heard this and asked no further questions. He cupped his hands and said, "Yes, sir. I understand."
Cheng Zongyang nodded slightly. "Of course, if you don’t wish to stay, you can tell him. You were a Darts Master before, and the Celestial Break Gang could also use Darts Masters for its Escort Agency. The choice is yours."
Without hesitation, Xu Dong quickly replied, "I’ll stay and work under him. When you return, my lord, I will resume my service with you."
Cheng Zongyang smiled. "As long as you’ve made your choice."
"Yes, sir. Then I will take my leave." Xu Dong cupped his hands and left happily. ’To him, it didn’t matter who he followed temporarily, as long as he could follow his true master again in the future.’
After Xu Dong had gone, Cheng Zongyang turned to Ma Yue.
Cheng Zongyang said to Ma Yue, "The next task will require you to be away for a long time. It’s the same as before. Are you willing?"
Ma Yue cupped his hands. "I will follow your orders, my lord."
Cheng Zongyang pointed to a cubic wooden box, about thirty centimeters to a side, next to the desk and said:
"Inside is what I’ve prepared for you. There are Elixirs to aid your Cultivation, medicine for both external and Internal Injuries, a Geomagnetic Stone, silver taels, Five Grains Inner Replenishing Pills, and three Crystal Stones, among other things. You can look through it all later.
Same as before, I need you to take the Stone Stele to various places. This time, however, I will also give you an Elf Bird feather. I’ll use the Elf Birds to send you more Crystal Stones from time to time.
Once you’ve collected enough Crystal Stones, send them back using an Elf Bird. Also, the Elixirs I’ve provided are enough for one or two months of Cultivation. When you run out, write back, and I’ll send more with the next delivery. Do you understand all this?"
Ma Yue said, "I understand. I’ve done this before, so I know the procedure."
Cheng Zongyang nodded. "Good. You can set out tomorrow. Don’t worry about your family. If you run into any trouble on the road that you can’t handle, just send a message back. If you’re in danger and incapacitated, have the Elf Bird fly back empty, and I’ll know you’re in trouble. Most importantly, you must keep that feather on your person at all times. It’s the only way I can find you."
"Yes, sir." Ma Yue committed this to memory. He then took the wooden box, opened it, and looked inside.
After inspecting each item, Ma Yue left with the wooden box in his arms.
Cheng Zongyang leaned back slowly in his chair. He was returning to the village this time to deal with the matter concerning Chen Kaishan. Aside from that, if nothing major came up, he planned to stay in the village for a while and take the opportunity to explore the Wilderness World.
Therefore, he needed Ma Yue to travel to various places and continue gathering souls to upgrade the Soul Gathering Stele, preparing it for the village’s future Defense.
The recent three-year drought, combined with the wars raging in various regions, had resulted in countless deaths. This would provide the Soul Gathering Stele with plenty of souls to absorb.
He was very curious to see what level the Soul Gathering Stele would reach after absorbing so many souls from all over the land.
With these three matters arranged, Cheng Zongyang had very few personal tasks left. He spent the remaining time handling other minor details, like ensuring a sufficient supply of medicine and preparing various defensive measures.
He also left an Elf Bird with Zhou Zhendong so they could stay in contact at all times.
As time passed into June, on the first day of the new month, Li Xian brought Cheng Zongyang some good news.
Having finished handling her father’s funeral affairs, Lu Wushuang had agreed to join the Celestial Break Gang, take over Zhenwu Hall, and become its Hall Master.
Although Cheng Zongyang was pleased, this was also within his expectations.
It was simple: Lu Wushuang was an intelligent woman. After Li Xian had explained the pros and cons, as long as she wasn’t a fool, she would weigh her options and know where she would be better off.
He had told Li Lu to offer Lu Wushuang significant benefits. Not only would she receive Cultivation Resources, but the former members of the Lu Family would also be placed under her management. She would also be allowed to re-establish the Lu Family’s presence in West City. However, this new Lu Family would just be a minor family, a far cry from what it once was.
Cheng Zongyang met with Lu Wushuang personally. She didn’t say much, only that she would win over the people of Zhenwu Hall with her actions and that he didn’t need to intervene.
Cheng Zongyang was even more supportive of this.
And so, that very day, a sixteen-year-old girl took on all challengers, using her Ninth Grade Martial Arts Cultivation to beat the members of Zhenwu Hall into submission.
Of course, this was also due to the difference in their training time. After all, the original members of Zhenwu Hall had only recently broken through and hadn’t practiced their Martial Arts for long. They were naturally no match for Lu Wushuang.
But since everyone was convinced, Li Lu seized the opportunity to announce the decision. Lu Wushuang officially became the Hall Master of Zhenwu Hall.
「The next day, at the sunning grounds of Tiantuan Village.」
With his affairs basically handed over and all instructions given, Cheng Zongyang prepared to return through the underground passage.
Li Lu and the others in the Celestial Break Gang knew about the passage. However, they didn’t know it led to Cheng Family Village; they only knew it was a transit tunnel to another location.
This was firstly to ensure secrecy in trade, and secondly to facilitate the movement of goods in and out.
When Li Lu learned from Cheng Zongyang which faction had dug the tunnel, he was naturally shocked. But he was also sensible enough not to ask any further questions about it.
All he knew was that in the future, when goods needed to be transported, they would be brought to this warehouse, and the gang’s disciples would be responsible for moving them to the central transit area.
