Chapter 43: Immortal Banishment
Although the new food in the grain warehouses had not been processed, with Cui Heng’s Dharmic powers, they could be stored directly or taken out to be eaten.
The next day, a large amount of food was sent to the town outside the city. Monk Hui Shi maintained order and distributed porridge to the refugees.
And the food was enough for everyone!
Three to four thousand refugees were holding large bowls of porridge and wolfing it down. Such a scene caused them to be extremely shocked.
The county magistrate of Juhe County was really a living deity. He was actually so kind as to give so much food to the refugees.
Zhao Goudan and his Third Uncle still lived in that dilapidated house, but eating warm porridge made them feel like they had returned home.
“Third Uncle, when Juhe County starts recruiting soldiers, I want to sign up.” After Zhao Goudan finished his porridge, he said with a firm gaze, “My life was given to me by the county magistrate. I want to work for him and guard the city to kill the Yan dogs!”
“When the time comes, I’ll sign up too!” Third Uncle looked in the direction of the county city and put down his bowl. “Our two cheap lives were given to us by the county magistrate. Even if we die, we should die for the county magistrate!”
Their thoughts were not in the minority among these refugees. Many people had similar thoughts.
If Juhe County started recruiting soldiers, they would probably immediately recruit more than a thousand soldiers from these refugees.
...
This level of relief shocked even the citizens in the city.
After all, the county office had only used official grain to distribute food to the refugees this time. They did not collect any food from the people at all. They did not even use the food they had seized from the Huang family.
Where did this food come from?
It was as if it had appeared out of thin air!
Fang Min’s emotions changed from confusion to disbelief, then back to more confusion.
In the past day, she had already learned most of the information about Juhe County. She also knew that there was almost no proper taxation in the county before Cui Heng took office. The official grain warehouse should be empty.
“Could this county magistrate really be an Immortal?” Fang Min muttered to herself as she tidied her clothes.
She was going to the county office for a banquet later. She had to have a proper appearance.
Moreover, this county magistrate had given her too many surprises. She was very curious and could not wait to meet him.
“Senior Sister, you hold that County Lord in very high esteem.” Zhou Caiwei sat on a chair and shook her legs. She smiled and said, “You’re dressed even more beautiful than usual.”
“Wretched girl, don’t spout nonsense. This is a courtesy when meeting people!” Fang Min emphasized.
“Hmph! Senior Sister, you’re thinking too much.” Zhou Caiwei curled her lips. “Unlike me, I only want to eat something delicious.”
Thud! Thud!
At this moment, there was a knock on the door.
“Ladies, Registrar Zhao is here.”
The person who came was a maidservant of this residence.
She was here for the convenience of the girls and to help the two of them handle some daily matters, as well as relay information.
At the same time, she was also a spy arranged by Zhao Guang to observe if there were any strange movements from these two outsiders.
“Okay, we’ll go over now.” Fang Min nodded and said.
...
Under Zhao Guang’s lead, Fang Min and Zhou Caiwei arrived at the backyard of the county office.
This was the residence of the county magistrate, so there was naturally a hall for entertaining guests. After walking down a long corridor, the two of them saw Cui Heng sitting in the hall.
He had a handsome face and wore a green robe. His temperament was ethereal, like an Immortal who had descended from the sky to the mortal world, giving off an indescribable feeling.
Fang Min was stunned on the spot as she looked at Cui Heng in shock.
She had never seen such an outstanding looking man.
Even a young lady like Zhou Caiwei, who was only focused on delicious food, looked at Cui Heng in a daze. Her bright eyes were wide open, and her red lips parted as she said in surprise, “County Lord, you’re really handsome!”
Although this girl was already 18 years old, she had grown up on the mountains and had almost no contact with outsiders. Her personality was straightforward.
Fang Min was woken up by her words, and her face immediately turned red. She hurriedly pulled Zhou Caiwei and bowed. “Disciple of the Yuhua Sword Pavilion, Fang Min, greets the County Lord.”
As she spoke, she even kicked Zhou Caiwei lightly.
“Oh, oh!” Zhou Caiwei hurriedly bowed as well. “Disciple of the Yuhua Sword Pavilion, Zhou Caiwei, greets the County Lord.”
“There’s no need for formalities.” Cui Heng held back his laughter and waved his hand lightly. “Please take a seat.”
The two of them hurriedly thanked him and sat down.
The banquet today was not too sumptuous, but the dishes were all specialty dishes from Juhe County.
There was golden braised chicken, pickled pork, sweet and sour carp, sour and spicy cabbage…
Zhou Caiwei’s eyes lit up when she saw the delicacies on the table.
She reached out to eat, but Fang Min gently patted her hand to stop her, making the little girl pout.
“Eat if you want.” Cui Heng smiled.
“Alright! County Lord, you’re too kind!” Zhou Caiwei immediately smiled. Then, she picked up her chopsticks and even glanced at her senior sister as if she was showing off.
“My junior sister rarely comes to the foot of the mountain. Please forgive her, County Lord.” Fang Min held her forehead lightly.
“It’s nothing. Food is meant to be eaten.” Cui Heng shook his head gently and smiled. “I heard that you came to defend the city. I wonder what you plan to do?”
He went straight to the point and talked about the core topic.
“I…” Fang Min was stunned for a moment, as if she did not expect Cui Heng to be so direct. However, this was exactly the situation she wanted. She hurriedly said,” County Lord knows that our Yuhua Sword Pavilion is in Lu County. We are on the same side as Juhe County.
“If King Yan’s army attacks Juhe County, they can easily take over Lu County in the future. At that time, our Yuhua Sword Pavilion will probably suffer a calamity. Therefore, I’m here on my master’s orders to persuade King Yan’s army to temporarily retreat in the name of my sect’s Sword Pavilion Master.”
The Sword Pavilion Master was the top expert of the Yuhua Sword Pavilion.
“You want to use the name of the Sword Pavilion Master to threaten to attack King Yan’s rear, forcing King Yan to delay his invasion?” Cui Heng had heard Monk Hui Shi mention this method before.
“That’s right.” Fang Min nodded and said, “Although King Yan’s army is large, they’re in a hurry to advance east. There shouldn’t be many troops holding the rear. With the strength of our Sword Pavilion Master, it’s enough to cause unbearable losses to their rear.
“That way, we can negotiate with King Yan’s army and force them to retreat. However, this method requires you to hold the city for a period of time to gain leverage for the negotiations.”
“It’s indeed a feasible path.” Cui Heng nodded at first, then shook his head and said, “But what if there’s also a top expert in King Yan’s army and they sent the top expert to defend the rear? After all, he has the support of the Grand Prosperity Monastery and Lotus Flower Monastery.”
“Rumor has it that there are no more top-notch experts in these two sects. Moreover, I’ve never heard of any new top-notch experts appearing in the past 50 years.” Fang Min frowned slightly before asking in surprise, “Did County Lord obtain any news?”
“I have reliable information. Lotus Flower Monastery still has two top-notch Inner World experts. I wonder how many there are in the Great Prosperity Monastery,” Cui Heng said seriously. This so-called reliable information was naturally obtained from Hui Shi.
Ever since this monk saw the small ball of flames that he had lit, he had become extremely loyal. He almost shook out the foundations of Lotus Flower Monastery to Cui Heng.
“What?!” Fang Min’s expression changed drastically as she said in shock, “County Lord, are you serious?”
“Absolutely.” Cui Heng nodded.
“This, this, what should we do?” Fang Min immediately panicked.
Her biggest bargaining chip was to attack the rear of King Yan’s army. If King Yan’s army also had a top-notch Inner World expert, this plan would be meaningless. She might even lose the Sword Pavilion Master of her sect for nothing.
“County Lord, you don’t seem to be panicking at all.” At this moment, Zhou Caiwei, who was focused on eating, suddenly raised her head. “Do you have a perfect way to defeat the enemy?”
“…” Fang Min was stunned when she heard this. She looked at her junior sister in surprise. Why did she feel that this girl had become much smarter after leaving the mountain?
“Make a guess?” Cui Heng chuckled.
“Oh, hehe, I can’t guess.” Zhou Caiwei wiped her oily mouth and said with a smile, “I just have a feeling.”
“Oh?” Cui Heng’s eyes narrowed slightly.
From his perspective, he saw a strong green light surging from Zhou Caiwei’s body.
This was the color of fear.
The smile on her face was actually hiding the extreme fear in her heart!