Chu Dingjiang patted her head, “Do well.”
“But why are there only one thousand spots? Two thousand wouldn’t be too many either!” Despite her excitement, An Jiu couldn’t help but feel a little dissatisfied.
Chu Dingjiang smiled slightly, “You think the special exception was only for Hexi County? Huarong doesn’t have that much influence yet.” He continued, “The entire Hebei Road might need self-defense forces now – each county will have a thousand people, and the prefectures may reach three thousand, which is no small number when added up. If there were even more, it would be hard to ensure they wouldn’t be used for rebellion.”
These were all war-torn areas, so the imperial court couldn’t possibly give special privileges to any single county, or the others would surely cause trouble.
“Okay, even if it’s just a thousand people, my troops will be the best of the lot.” An Jiu started pondering where she should recruit some extra people.
“As long as you can support them, there’s no problem with quietly recruiting a few more.” Chu Dingjiang walked to the window, took a stalk of grass, and started playing with his beloved eagle. He casually remarked, “I recruited a few on my way here, you can go take a look and see if they’re any good.”
“Which ones?” An Jiu remembered the escort team had at least 80-90 people.
“All of them,” Chu Dingjiang replied.
An Jiu exclaimed happily, “Really! The old saying is truly right – an elderly family member is like a treasure!”
Snap.
The grass stalk was bitten in two by the eagle.
Chu Dingjiang shook his head with a smile and used the remaining half to continue playing with the eagle. “For every ten words, there are a hundred that aren’t good.”
An Jiu asked, “Why a hundred?”
“Your face is written all over with unpleasant words.” Seriousness often has more impact than sarcasm, and An Jiu was the type of person who was exceptionally earnest in everything she did.
“Hehe.” An Jiu rubbed her nose, then suddenly remembered something else. “In a few days, we’ll be moving out of the city to live in tents. I promised Wei Yuezhi that I’d avoid him.”
Chu Dingjiang smoothed the eagle’s feathers, “It’s good that he’s come to his senses. Just avoid him, since we owe him a life anyway.”
An Jiu looked up at his profile.
“Chu Dingjiang, has your cultivation dropped again?” Since his arrival in Hexi County, she had always been able to sense his presence. It seemed he could no longer conceal his aura from her…
“Mm.” Chu Dingjiang was used to her jumping from topic to topic, so he simply went along with it. “A little drop is enough for my needs.”
An Jiu hesitated, “That’s what you say… but you won’t keep dropping forever, will you?”
Sensing her concern, Chu Dingjiang stopped tending to the eagle and instead embraced her, quietly reassuring her. “When I first chose to cultivate this overbearing technique, I never imagined the situation I’d find myself in today. I’ll continue to decline. But once I break through the bottleneck and start anew, I’m currently at a critical juncture.”
He had always planned for everything, but he had never imagined that he would one day come to care for a woman, and for her sake, be willing to give up the cultivation peak that was within his reach.
An Jiu exclaimed, “You’ve already declined to the Transformation State?!”
As the saying goes, a dying camel is bigger than a horse – even though they were both at the Ninth State, Chu Dingjiang’s inner strength was much more refined and profound than an average Ninth State cultivator. The boundary between his spiritual power and Transformation State was very blurred, so An Jiu couldn’t accurately judge his level.
An Jiu pushed him away and asked, “What are your chances of recovering to your former state?”
“Staying here for a period has its benefits, waiting for the right moment.” Chu Dingjiang replied.
“Nonsense.” An Jiu couldn’t tell if he was telling the truth or not, but her instinct told her it wasn’t that simple. Since he didn’t want to be honest, she didn’t pursue the matter further. “It doesn’t matter if you decline, I’ll protect you even if you lose everything.”
“Good.” Chu Dingjiang smiled, “Thank you, my Lady.”
The way he so smoothly called her “my Lady” made it sound as if he had been addressing her that way for a long time. It caused An Jiu’s heart to skip a beat.
It was neither rejection nor joy, but nervousness. Just those two words made the once cold-blooded killer nervous enough to sweat in the palms of her hands.
“Ha, ha.” An Jiu laughed dryly, feeling embarrassed and unsure how to respond.
The bright sunlight outlined Chu Dingjiang’s sharp features, and he gazed at her quietly, his eyes filled with a gentle smile that dissolved her embarrassment completely.
An Jiu felt as if she could see peaceful contentment and tranquil beauty in his eyes, a longing for time to forever remain in this moment, and without realizing it, she too began to smile.
“Go and take care of your business.” Chu Dingjiang said softly.
“Mm.” An Jiu sprinted out like a rabbit following orders.
Chu Dingjiang walked to the desk to search for the account books, planning to take stock of their belongings so they could move out of the city tomorrow.
As soon as he picked up the account book, he saw An Jiu rushing back in, her face flushed, and she pounced on him, planting a kiss on his cheek, then with a stiff neck, she called out, “My lord.”
Chu Dingjiang was taken aback, and she scurried back out as if being chased.
Watching her hurried figure disappear, Chu Dingjiang couldn’t help but smile, his expression serene and radiant, like spring returning to the earth. His beard covered half his face, but it couldn’t conceal his captivating elegance.
Perhaps it was time to prepare for something else, he thought.
“Hey, what good news are you so gleefully laughing about!” Mo Sigui strode in and immediately noticed Chu Dingjiang’s cheerful expression.
Chu Dingjiang was usually like a deep pool, cold and mysterious, so Mo Sigui found it quite difficult to accept seeing him in such a mood.
Feeling generous, Chu Dingjiang didn’t argue with him. “Have a seat.”
Although he had suppressed his smile, his attitude towards Mo Sigui was much warmer than before.
Mo Sigui felt uneasy, “Don’t be like this, it’s a bit creepy, I always feel like you’re scheming something.”
Chu Dingjiang’s expression turned cold, “What is it?”
Ah, this was more normal! Mo Sigui relaxed, taking a puff of his pipe to calm his nerves, then got to the point. “I’ve examined the corpses An Jiu brought back, and I’m not sure if it’s an abnormal transformation or something else, because they seem to have been affected by a certain kind of poison, but I couldn’t find any trace of the poison in their bodies. Normally, when the host dies, the poison should die or go dormant. I came to ask if you have any idea what kind of poison could be passed down through bloodlines?”
“Don’t you have a know-it-all there?” Chu Dingjiang asked.
Mo Sigui said, “Wei Yuezhi doesn’t know either. If more people think about it, maybe we’ll find a clue.”
“I’ll think about it,” Chu Dingjiang replied.
Mo Sigui waved his hand to disperse the smoke, carefully observing Chu Dingjiang. “Something has happened to you… your aura has weakened.”
Before, Chu Dingjiang’s fierce aura would surround his body, making it difficult to approach him. Now, that feeling had noticeably diminished.
His aura suddenly flared up, swirling around his body, then dispersed just as quickly. Chu Dingjiang calmly said, “As you can see, I intend to be more approachable.”
“Haha, haha.” Mo Sigui laughed dryly, “Very good, very good.”
“Anything else?” Chu Dingjiang asked.
Seeing Chu Dingjiang’s clear “get lost” expression, Mo Sigui angrily thought, what happened to being more approachable?
“Speak.”
Mo Sigui cleared his throat, “If you have time, could you go catch two more people for me – one from the Liao who has had their cultivation forced, and one assassin who has been poisoned.”
“Don’t you already have one?” Chu Dingjiang asked.
“Uh, well…” Mo Sigui shifted uncomfortably, “I accidentally broke that one.”
“Insane.” Chu Dingjiang commented.
Mo Sigui complained, “Hey! How can you say that when you’re the one who kills people left and right!”
“I’ve never dismembered corpses.” Chu Dingjiang said, “And why should I help you with this?”
“Just consider it repaying a favor, okay?” Mo Sigui pleaded.
“These two types are not easy to find.” Chu Dingjiang leaned against the desk, resting his face on one hand.
“If they were easy to find, would I come to you?” Mo Sigui thought for a moment, then held up three fingers, “Consider it three favors owed.”
Chu Dingjiang was satisfied with this, “Deal.”
Mo Sigui asked, “Can you get them soon?”
“You can find those kinds of people in Xijin Prefecture right now.” Chu Dingjiang said casually, “Ning Yanli is currently close with Ye Liezhi, and he has many assassins who have had their cultivation forced under his command. The ones poisoned by the Poison Crane Technique will be summoned to Xijin Prefecture. If you change your mind and want to capture them yourself, consider it one favor owed to me.”
“Creepy bastards, the lot of them.” Mo Sigui was already used to this, “I don’t like owing favors, but two is two, three is three – the debt keeps piling up. It’s better if you just catch them yourself.”
“I’ll go in a few days,” Chu Dingjiang said.
“Why a few days?” Mo Sigui was very curious and eager to find out.
“I need to settle An Jiu first.” Chu Dingjiang replied.
“Don’t worry, I’ll help settle her!” Mo Sigui offered.
Chu Dingjiang gave him a sidelong glance, “I don’t trust you to.”
Mo Sigui slammed the table, “What’s the big deal about moving a household? How could that be untrustworthy?”
Chu Dingjiang lowered his eyes back to the account book, speaking softly, “Our An Jiu can’t live the same chaotic life as you.”
“What do you mean, my life is chaotic?” Mo Sigui huffed indignantly.
Chu Dingjiang sat up straight, jotting down a few words in the account book, then ignored him.
Feeling that the conversation had become boring, Mo Sigui waved dismissively, “Fine, go whenever you want, I’ll find something more interesting to do first.”
“Safe travels.” Chu Dingjiang didn’t even look up.
“Hmph!” Mo Sigui stuffed his anger and left.
At this time, outside the county yamen, several horse-drawn carriages had stopped.
A small servant descended from one of the carriages and inquired of the old gatekeeper, “Good sir, is the Madame of the Mei family here?”
The old gatekeeper, seeing the distinguished appearance of the group, politely asked, “And which family are you from?”
The servant replied, “My master is the Dowager Madame of the Mei family.”
The old gatekeeper, hearing that they were from the Mei family, warmly said, “They have a big household, living in the western manor. During the day they’re all out working, not at home. But the Fourteenth Young Miss is inside the yamen.”
The servant bowed, “Then may I trouble you to please inform her.”
“Not at all, not at all.” The old gatekeeper went back into the courtyard and told the gatekeeper woman at the second gate.
That woman quickly found An Jiu, who was assembling the people Chu Dingjiang had brought. “Fourteenth Miss, your family’s Dowager Madame has arrived and is waiting outside the gate.”
“The Dowager Madame?” For a moment, An Jiu couldn’t even remember which Dowager Madame it was!
“Ah.” An Jiu suddenly recalled – the Mei family had two Dowager Madames. The Second Dowager Madame had fallen gravely ill when the Mei family was exterminated and had been bedridden since then. This time, she had urgently come to Hexi County to seek Mo Sigui’s help in resolving the poison transformation issue but was unable to bring her along, so she had left a few loyal servants to care for her, waiting for the situation to improve before making further plans. As for the First Dowager Madame, she had gone missing on that day and her body was never found, nor had she reappeared since then. How could she suddenly show up now?
An Jiu turned to the group she had just assembled and said, “I’ll go take a look, you all continue with your work.”