The Demon Lords
Chapter 63 - 48 One Section is Stronger Than Six Sections_1

Chapter 63: Chapter 48 One Section is Stronger Than Six Sections_1

"Alright, that’s enough for today. Remember how you felt during today’s session; tomorrow, we’ll try to speed up the process," Ding Hao said to Zheng Fan with great satisfaction.

Everyone, deep down, harbors a desire to be a mentor. Many keyboard warriors on the internet in later generations have a similar mentality. They always feel they’ve grasped the ultimate truth and can dictate it to others. For Ding Hao, he didn’t feel he was a teacher to the previous six, including Blind Bei. They were, to put it bluntly, damned freaks! All they brought him was fear, unease, astonishment, and the subversion of his worldview! Rather than him teaching them martial arts, it was more like they were proving to him that he’d wasted the first half of his damn life. Thankfully, Ding Hao found solace in Zheng Fan. Setting aside those six damned freaks, Zheng Fan’s aptitude... Hah, it was truly top-tier! Moreover, his body naturally contained a strand of extremely potent qi and blood. It was like comparing two people who both want to drive a luxury car. One needs to strive, work hard, and earn money, hoping to one day afford that luxury car. The other just needs to get a driver’s license, and then they can drive the luxury car right out of their own garage. Zheng Fan was the latter. Indeed, encountering a talented student could make a teacher feel very gratified.

Zheng Fan, emerging from his meditation, slowly opened his eyes. A hint of fatigue touched his gaze as he asked, "Master, how much longer until I can make my power manifest?"

"Haste makes waste. We must build a solid foundation; then, the path ahead will be smoother. At your current pace, you should reach the Half-Step Ninth Rank in three days at most. Steady on, and it won’t take more than two months for you to truly enter the Ranks."

"I’d like to be even faster."

"That was my most conservative estimate. It should be much faster than I predicted."

"Thank you for your teachings, Master."

"It’s your own talent. I’m very curious, from which great noble family do you and your men hail?"

After much thought, Ding Hao still believed Zheng Fan and his group must be disciples from some major noble family.

Zheng Fan offered a polite smile. "That’s not something you need to trouble yourself with, Master."

"Oh, right, right. I misspoke, I misspoke."

"Master, please rest early. I will come again tomorrow afternoon."

He was coming in the afternoon because Zheng Fan still had to make an appearance at the government office in the morning. Compared to the leisurely government posts of later generations, Zheng Fan’s position as a civil servant in Hutou City of the Yan State was even more relaxed. He would go, show his face, and then could leave the government office to do as he pleased. No one monitored him, much less checked his attendance or docked his pay.

Firstly, Captains in the Yan State were as common as dogs. Secondly, the people at the government office preferred not to see Zheng Fan. He bore the mark of the Earl of North Border’s household, so no one was bored enough to risk provoking him by stepping on his toes. Simultaneously, due to the currently awkward situation of the Earl of North Border’s household, no one came to curry favor or build connections.

Exiting Ding Hao’s room, Zheng Fan had just crossed the courtyard when he saw Fanli crouching there, holding a lantern and shining it on something on the ground.

"What are you doing?" Zheng Fan asked.

Fanli looked up at Zheng Fan and grinned foolishly. "Watching ants fight," he said.

"Oh. Well, carry on."

"Yes, My Lord."

Zheng Fan continued towards the rear residence and noticed a line of carriages parked by the cellar entrance, all laden with goods. Xue Three sat alone atop a crate, his short legs dangling and swinging as he hummed a Kunqu opera tune.

Seeing Zheng Fan approach, Xue Three immediately hopped off the carriage, performed a quick salutation, and said, "Greetings, My Lord."

"Is this soap and perfume?"

"My Lord is astute. Indeed, this is the soap and perfume made recently. We’ve already set aside the amount for our own household’s use. To be honest, My Lord, these vampires are well-suited for concocting such things. Although they’re a bit arrogant, their pursuit of quality in life is truly top-notch. This soap A Ming made, it really reminds me of the feeling of Safeguard."

"Are you praising A Ming or insulting Safeguard?"

"Er..." Xue Three shook his head bashfully. "It’s whatever My Lord says it is."

"They’re loaded onto the carriages. Are you planning to sell them?"

"Yes, the men from the cartage guild are ready. We’ll have them come load up and transport them away shortly."

"Where are they going?"

"Blind Bei said to go to Tuman City. We don’t have our own supply channels, so we can only go through the major trading houses there. Let them take their cut; what matters is that we get our payment quickly."

Although they had subdued Hutou City’s cartage guild, those fellows were actually quite poor with meager savings. At most, they operated in the vicinity of Hutou City. The soap and perfume are intended to be sold as luxury goods, and Hutou City alone definitely can’t absorb it all.

"Where’s Blind Bei?"

"Oh, right, my apologies. Blind Bei said he’d wait for you at the rear residence after your lesson."

"Alright, I understand."

After bidding Xue Three farewell, Zheng Fan walked directly back to the rear residence.

On the steps outside his own room, Blind Bei sat with a red lantern before him. Something in his mouth glowed faintly, then dimmed.

Tsk... Before, when he didn’t have this thing, he hadn’t really thought much about it. But suddenly seeing that flickering glow, the craving instantly surged.

"My Lord, I have some here."

Blind Bei had, of course, sensed Zheng Fan’s arrival long ago. With him around, it was like having a radar station installed in the house.

Zheng Fan sat down beside Blind Bei, took the cigarette and the flint lighter, lit it, and took a drag.

COUGH! COUGH!

It was harsh, acrid, scraping his throat painfully, followed by uncontrollable dry heaves. But still, that familiar sensation returned.

"My Lord, there are some matters I need to report to you."

"Go ahead."

"Tomorrow, Xue Three and I will take the cartage crew to Tuman City. We’ll try to sell off all these goods and, ideally, also purchase what we need. After all, gold and silver are just inanimate objects. None of us here have any dragon lineage, so we don’t have much of a collector’s fetish for such things."

"Mm."

"Liang Cheng, Ah Li, and A Ming will set out for the desert again tomorrow. Their objective is to find the penal colony tribe Ah Li spoke of. Whether by force or by trickery, they’ll try to bring back three to four hundred people."

"Just the three of them?"

"Is My Lord concerned that’s too many people?"

"No, I mean, with just the three of them, won’t they be too outnumbered and outmatched?"

Zheng Fan had witnessed a true battlefield, especially the charge of the Earl of North Border’s army. Honestly, while dominating Causeway Bay might seem impressive on a normal day, once out in the vast world, one instantly felt insignificant.

"The three of them should be sufficient. I’ve estimated the time: traveling to the desert and finding the penal colony tribe will take at least half a month. Add to that gathering intelligence and preparing their approach—whether coercion or inducement—it will take a considerable amount of time. All told, about a month."

"I don’t quite understand what you mean by that."

Blind Bei chuckled. "It means, please rest assured, My Lord. I’ve instructed them not to take any reckless risks unless they are absolutely certain of success."

A month. If we wait that long, it will be enough time for you to enter the Ranks, My Lord. Once you’ve entered the Ranks, all of our strengths will recover further. The reason they’re to proceed slowly and gather information carefully is, in fact, to wait for you to complete your advancement first.

"It feels like last time, when everyone suddenly went their separate ways. It still feels a bit rushed," Zheng Fan mused.

Last time, Zheng Fan decided the route, and Blind Bei assigned tasks to everyone at the dinner table. Fanli journeyed to the desolate desert, Siniang hung out her shingle to receive clients...

"This is fate. Our fate. We were never meant for situations where all preparations are complete and we’re just waiting for the final signal."

"Why is that?"

"Because that would be far too lacking in thrill."

"Alright."

"My Lord, five of us will be leaving at once. Siniang will stay behind to protect you. Starting tomorrow night, Siniang will attend to you, staying by your side 24 hours a day."

"That... that might not be appropriate..."

Ah, the moon tonight seems to have suddenly become beautiful. No, the moon tomorrow night will be even more beautiful.

Yet, Zheng Fan maintained a calm facade, even showing a hint of reluctance.

"My Lord’s safety is paramount. During our absence, Siniang’s task is to protect you well. Of course, if you can enter the Ranks quickly, Siniang’s burden will be much lighter."

"I understand."

"Also... My Lord, please keep the stone that seals Mo Wan on your person from now on."

"He won’t come out."

"My Lord, if you were about to die, he would definitely come out," Blind Bei stated.

"You mean, he still cares about me?"

"No, I believe he probably wouldn’t be reconciled to dying without even showing his face once."

Zheng Fan was speechless.

"My Lord, please rest early. We depart tomorrow morning."

"Take care on your journey."

"Yes, My Lord."

Blind Bei bowed, left two packs of cigarettes, then departed with his lantern.

Truthfully, Blind Bei also found it somewhat difficult to fathom Mo Wan’s thoughts. It was as Xue Three had said a few days prior: when Zheng Fan had initially designed the character of Mo Wan, it was truly... unique. This wasn’t someone whose actions could be predicted using common sense or experience. But there was no helping it. Blind Bei could only hope in his heart that the killing intent that night was directed at them, a warning not to go too far with ’his daddy,’ rather than the creature being on the verge of losing control and wanting to become an ’orphan.’

It took quite some time to walk from the rear courtyard to the front courtyard. Coincidentally, he encountered Siniang, who was heading from the front courtyard to the rear.

Siniang carried a large sack. Upon seeing Blind Bei, she stomped her foot and said with feigned anger, "You all are too much! Five people, and each of you with twenty to thirty letters! How long do you expect me to be reading these?"

These letters had all been written in advance, expressing greetings, concern, and longing.

Fanli’s letters were the simplest: "My Lord, have you eaten breakfast today?" "My Lord, have you eaten lunch today?" "My Lord, have you eaten dinner today?"

Blind Bei gave a somewhat helpless smile. "There’s no help for it; this is just a precaution. Also, after we leave, don’t just read the letters. You must also speak well of us, put in plenty of good words for us in front of My Lord. Anyway, starting tomorrow night, none of us will be here. You can openly engage in pillow talk then; it’ll be very convenient."

"Aiyo, what sins did I commit in a past life for you all to treat me like this? How about we switch roles?"

"It’s already decided; it’s not easy to change now. Besides, apart from you, who else could get into My Lord’s bed?"

"Get lost! Why should you lot of grown men go out and have fun, leaving this old lady to guard the house and have to curry favor for six people’s worth? What do you take this old lady for?"

Blind Bei raised his lantern, looking up as if pretending he could appreciate the moonlight. Slowly, he said, "Nanfu batteries."

Siniang was left speechless.