“Leisurely indeed…”
For several consecutive days running down to the countryside, Wu Ming actually enjoyed a decadent life of a feudal landlord’s young master.
He practiced martial arts and physical exercises, and thus did not feel any fatigue.
Moreover, he personally appeared only in matters of grand righteousness, such as reducing rent and interest, naturally leaving the dirty work to his steward and other henchmen when it came to dealing with tenants who deliberately withheld rent or were stubborn troublemakers. This experience broadened his horizons.
Now back at his fortified manor, after a period of rest, he summoned two maids to give him a massage and help loosen his muscles and bones. These two maids were well-versed in the art of serving others, and both were eager to rise from humble beginnings to become phoenixes, naturally pulling out all the stops. Wu Ming felt four soft, boneless little hands working meticulously over his body, relaxing his muscles and bones to the point that his soul nearly left his body.
“A life of comfort, safety, and ease…”
Wu Ming’s eyes narrowed slightly as he thought to himself, “If it weren’t for the mission from the Main Temple still holding me back, I probably would have fallen into decadence long ago, right?”
It’s easy to move from frugality to luxury, but hard to go the other way. Even with lofty aspirations, such a comfortable life can indeed dull one’s ambitions.
“Come to think of it… It’s actually a good thing that there seems to be a little gap before the Main Temple’s mission starts! But… it probably won’t be long now!”
[Ding!]
Just as Wu Ming was considering whether to take the two maids and indulge in a little fun, the mighty voice of the Main Temple rang directly in his mind, instantly dispelling all such thoughts.
“You two, get out!”
He dismissed the two maids, who were young and delicate, still wearing expressions of reluctant disappointment. Wu Ming’s expression turned solemn as he focused on interpreting the message in his mind.
[Respected Apostle of the Main Temple! Reroller with ID Gengshen 69, your mission will commence precisely at midnight in three days. Please prepare accordingly!]
The voice of the Main Temple was flat, mechanical, yet carried immense authority.
“It’s finally here!”
Wu Ming clenched his palm tightly.
“View detailed mission information!”
The reason he had saved up a large amount of minor merits without spending them was precisely for this moment.
For ordinary rerollers, the Main Temple’s missions start off brutally and rudely, dragging them in without any preparation. They could only start cautiously arming themselves and trying to improve comprehensively from the beginning.
But Wu Ming was different!
With the privilege of knowing the information in advance, he could specifically redeem items and enhancements. At this point, a hundred minor merits could be as effective as a thousand for other rerollers!
[Reroller Gengshen 69, your instance will begin exactly at midnight in three days!]
[Scene Scale: Medium-sized replica!]
[Mission Difficulty: Hong!]
[Main Quest Description: …]
…
Wu Ming’s expression was solemn, not missing a single word.
After a long while, a faint smile finally appeared on his face: “Good thing… It seems that even as an Apostle of the Main Temple, the difficulty level won’t be increased to the point of trying to kill me…”
Regarding this difficulty level and the designation “Hong,” Wu Ming had a general understanding.
The hierarchy of the Main Temple’s mission levels should be arranged from highest to lowest in the order of Heaven, Earth, Xuan, Huang, Universe, and Primordial Chaos. The novice dungeon he experienced last time was the easiest level, “Huang,” and now it had only increased by one tier.
“Still… I can’t be certain exactly how much of a leap this difficulty represents. Matters concerning my life can’t be taken too seriously.”
A gleam of sharpness flashed in Wu Ming’s eyes as he fell into deep contemplation.
…
At the same time.
Two somewhat furtive shadows had also arrived outside the fortress.
“So this is the Wu family fortress? It does have a certain presence!”
One person was dressed in Taoist robes. Under the cover of night, his two eyes glowed like ghostly flames, making him appear fearsome: “But with such shallow roots, how can it support the rise of that true inheritor of the Dao? I just can’t figure it out!”
“Heh… He was born with a lucky fate, naturally blessed with great fortune and auspicious feng shui. What does that have to do with the geomancy of a residence?”
The other person sneered, though there was also a hint of concern: “If we go through with this, the consequences will be serious. We must be careful not to attempt to strike a snake and end up bitten instead…”
“This is no problem. There are others to deal with him… Otherwise, do you think our master would have agreed so readily, just for a mere spot in the Daoist academy?”
The Taoist, whose eyes glowed like ghostly flames, sneered.
“What?”
The other person was shocked: “There’s actually such a hidden reason?”
“Exactly. What is a mere wastrel worth? Even if he occupies a spot, it’s not enough for our master to quarrel with that Dao seed over it. After all, the third young master is not someone particularly promising either. If not this year, then there’s always next year.”
The Taoist shook his head: “We are merely coming to take this young man to break that person’s Dao heart, and then let others finish him off! So let me put it this way… Are you reassured now? As long as the task is completed, there will be people to cover our tracks!”
“No wonder I was wondering why my master was so bold this time, unafraid of retaliation. It turns out he found a patron!”
The first person suddenly understood, muttering to himself: “To suppress a Dao seed and a deeply rooted local gentry family probably requires pressure from the upper levels of the commandery. Although the Wu family may be somewhat domineering, they haven’t provoked the commandery yet, have they?”
“Heh… This is precisely the case of not provoking others, but others provoking you! Do you know what time it is now? Heaven has released its killing intent, and dragons and snakes rise from the earth. Heroes are rising everywhere, all competing for that one thread of opportunity. If you block someone else’s path, how can you blame them for trying to move you out of the way?”
“Opportunity? Dragons and snakes? Dragon…”
The first person’s eyes glazed over as he thought. In this time of impending chaos, all sorts of talents are rising, but the fortune of a commandery is limited, so there is a natural tendency for mutual conflict in the struggle for fate and opportunity. In a flash of insight, he immediately thought of something: “The struggle for the Dao lineage? The contest for the dragon’s fortune?”
After walking around for a couple of circles, his thoughts became increasingly clear: “Exactly! With the extraordinary talent of Wu Qing, who has been praised by the academy head as having the quality of a ‘true Dao seed,’ it is normal for her cultivation to progress rapidly. By the time of the Dragon Gate Gathering, she might well provide a counterbalance to that person, so she must be suppressed!”
“You understand well enough, just don’t speak too much, lest you create unnecessary complications!”
The Taoist shook his head and fell silent.
The other person, however, remained silent for a long time before sighing deeply: “The person behind the scenes has planned so thoroughly, it’s probably not just for the sake of a simple victory in the Dragon Gate competition… Our Chufeng Commandery will likely face many troubles from now on…”
“Heh… This is where you’re mistaken!”
The Taoist laughed proudly: “Looking at the current situation, the Great Zhou Dynasty is in decline, and stars are descending to earth. A struggle for supremacy is inevitable. But no matter who ends up ruling the land in the future, do you think they would dare mistreat our master? The same goes for the entire country and this commandery. Whether it’s the Great Zhou, the commandery governor, the Daoist academy, or whoever comes into power, they will inevitably need to appease scholars, martial artists, and gentry, or else they will face a situation of widespread public anger… So what do we have to fear?”
“Exactly! Exactly!”
The previous speaker nodded repeatedly: “This time, it seems we owe much to the Taoist master for successfully completing this mission!”
“We are colleagues after all, so there’s no need for such formalities!”
Although he said that, there was still a hint of pride in the Taoist’s eyes. Then, looking at the fortress, he became somewhat worried: “But if this young man hides inside and refuses to come out, it will indeed be a bit difficult!”
After all, the fortress’s defenses were very strong. After the incident with Lin Qi, Wu Ming had become somewhat paranoid and strengthened security. Moreover, due to Wu Qing’s presence, the armory was even more terrifying than the Great Green Village, with three suits of iron armor and two mounted crossbows capable of firing a thousand paces, truly powerful weapons. There were also local guards patrolling day and night.
This kind of setup would make anyone’s hair stand on end unless they launched a full-scale military assault.
“Don’t worry!”
The first person smiled: “If it were any other time, we really wouldn’t have a way with this kid, but since it’s harvest season, there will be plenty of opportunities!”
“This is indeed sound advice!”
The Taoist nodded with a smile, obviously believing that as long as the kid wasn’t inside the fortress, capturing a spoiled young master would be as simple as eating or drinking.
After all, even if they had heard rumors that this kid had reformed and was diligently practicing martial arts, martial arts were difficult, and how much progress could a spoiled brat make in just a few months?
The only real expert they had to worry about was Feng Han.
…
Three days passed quickly.
These two had not miscalculated much, except for one oversight!
In Wu Ming’s eyes, no matter how vast the sky or the earth, nothing was more important than his own life.
With the Main Temple mission approaching, he wouldn’t take a single step outside for something as trivial as a little land rent unless it caused heaven and earth to overturn.
Therefore, for three consecutive days, he remained secluded, meditating and adjusting his mindset, rendering all the preparations made by the two outside individuals useless.
“What should we do? Should we storm the fortress?”
The two outside were immediately at a loss, one of them lamenting, “Could it be that our plans have been discovered?”
“If he really had discovered us, he would have already sent out the village guards to arrest us. With so many hands against our two, how could we possibly escape?”
The Taoist, stroking his beard, said: “In my humble opinion, it’s either that this young master has fallen back into his old ways, or that circumstances have changed due to the shifting of energies… After all, the fortune of that true inheritor of the Dao is as solid as a rock and not easily broken!”
“Then what do we do?” the other asked anxiously.
“Just one word! Wait!”
The Taoist appeared confident, though he had other plans in mind.
Although he had pledged allegiance to his master, he was more of a guest advisor and certainly wouldn’t risk his life recklessly.
“My master treats me like a national scholar, so I should repay him as such… But the current employer merely treats me as a guest advisor, so I will do only what a guest advisor should do…”
The Taoist’s eyes seemed to flicker with ghostly flames as he continued to speak to the other: “However, waiting idly won’t do either. You go… do it this way… Do you understand?”
“Alright!”
The other person’s eyes showed admiration as he slowly retreated into the darkness.
…
The moon was bright, the stars were sparse, and the crows flew south.
Unconsciously, it had already reached midnight, and the hour of the rat was approaching.
Inside the fortress, Wu Ming had already instructed outsiders not to disturb him for a few days as he would be in retreat cultivating his energy, seeking a breakthrough. He then comfortably lay on his big bed and silently called upon the name of the Main Temple.
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