Free Web NovelChapter 444: Chapter 246: Black-robed Steward
At the entrance of Tiantuan Village.
Li Lu had already dispatched men to guard the nine hundred shackled prisoners gathered at the entrance.
Zheng Tianhai was assisting nearby.
He had brought these people from another location, a journey that had taken more than ten days.
When Cheng Zongyang rode his horse to the village entrance, he saw a dense crowd gathered there.
When Li Lu, Zheng Tianhai, Cheng Yuanlan, Cheng Yuanfeng, Lu Wushuang, and the others saw Cheng Zongyang approaching on his horse, they immediately went forward to greet him.
"Boss."
After Cheng Zongyang stopped and dismounted, Li Lu and Lu Wushuang stepped forward and cupped their fists in a salute.
"Young Clan Leader." Cheng Yuanlan and Cheng Yuanfeng also cupped their fists in a salute.
Cheng Zongyang nodded slightly. His eyes swept over the prisoners before landing on Zheng Tianhai. He smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Zheng. If you’ll wait just a moment, I’ll make the arrangements and then we can hold a proper welcome for you."
But Zheng Tianhai waved him off. "That won’t be necessary. I still need to find Steward Chen to report a few things. Since you’re here, I’ll leave this in your hands. We can always drink together when you have some free time."
Seeing this, Cheng Zongyang didn’t insist. He smiled. "Alright then. Next time, it’ll be my treat. I’ll get Uncle Chen and we can all have a few drinks."
"Sounds good." Zheng Tianhai readily agreed this time.
After Zheng Tianhai left, Cheng Zongyang turned to Lu Wushuang, Cheng Yuanlan, and Cheng Yuanfeng. "Hall Master Lu, take some of your people and assist these two. Get all these prisoners into the village. I’ll come by later to deal with them personally. Yuanlan, Yuanfeng, lead the way and get them settled."
"Yes, Young Clan Leader." Neither Cheng Yuanlan nor Cheng Yuanfeng asked any questions. They acknowledged the order and, with the help of the personnel from Zhenwu Hall, led all nine hundred people into Tiantuan Village.
Li Lu knew Cheng Zongyang had requested people from the Commerce Association and had heard him say they would be sent elsewhere to reclaim wasteland. Lu Wushuang, however, was in the dark.
But Lu Wushuang didn’t ask any questions, either. She knew the Cheng Family had many secrets. She wasn’t stupid; she knew what to ask and what not to ask. Her job was simply to get things done.
Li Lu asked, "Boss, are you going to send these nine hundred people away personally?"
He had only learned from Cheng Zongyang that the underground passage led to an extremely secret rendezvous point. He had no idea it actually led to Cheng Family Village.
Cheng Zongyang nodded slightly. "That’s right. The other side needs laborers like these—people who were supposed to be executed anyway. For the price of some food and water, we save on wages. It’s much more cost-effective than hiring farmers."
Li Lu nodded in agreement.
Ever since full-scale construction began on the Commerce Association’s transit warehouse and shops, daily expenses had exceeded two hundred silver, and that didn’t even include food, drink, and materials.
Wages alone amounted to at least seven thousand silver a month.
So, sending these people over as free labor was certainly a bargain.
"How is the investigation on that matter coming along?" Cheng Zongyang then asked Li Lu. The latter shook his head.
"We’re still searching quietly. We’ve registered some local earth god temples and abandoned ancestral halls, but there aren’t many. We’re also trying to find some local elders to inquire about their history, but we haven’t found much of use. I’ll have my men organize what we have and send it to you."
Cheng Zongyang nodded, not pressing the issue. "Take your time. I’m going to go handle my business."
"Alright," Li Lu agreed.
Half an hour later, all nine hundred individuals were temporarily housed in the warehouse area.
He didn’t have enough Soul Crystal Stones at the moment, so Cheng Zongyang couldn’t process them yet, nor could he send them all into the Wilderness World to be sustained there.
Therefore, for the time being, he could only arrange for them to stay here, where their food and drink would be provided. However, they would be "sent away" in batches, according to the number of available Crystal Stones.
Having arranged this matter, Cheng Zongyang also stayed in Tiantuan Village. Now that there wasn’t much going on, it didn’t make much difference where he stayed.
However, on the very night he was staying in Tiantuan Village, Cheng Yuanlan suddenly came to report.
"Young Clan Leader, there’s someone looking for you. He says he’s a friend of yours named Li Xuejin." Cheng Zongyang was in his study, simultaneously researching the Acupoint-Sealing Hand and training his adaptive Talent by stretching his feet toward the brazier, when he heard Cheng Yuanlan’s voice from outside.
’My friend? Li Xuejin?’ Cheng Zongyang raised his head, looking toward the door in confusion.
He’d never heard the name before, much less considered the person a friend. After a moment’s thought, he said, "Show him to the front hall."
"Yes!"
Cheng Zongyang stored the manual in his Marketplace Hut and paid no mind to the brazier; with the doors and windows open, it wouldn’t cause any problems.
A moment later, Cheng Zongyang arrived in the main hall. He saw a young man in a long, black robe, dressed like a scholar. The man’s back was to him as he studied a map on the wall.
"And who might you be?" Cheng Zongyang asked as he walked toward the seat of honor.
Hearing the voice, the young man turned to look at Cheng Zongyang.
As their eyes met, Cheng Zongyang’s heart skipped a beat.
"It’s you!"
He hadn’t heard the man’s name, but he had seen him before.
The young man, on the other hand, had spent the last few days investigating Cheng Zongyang. He knew that this was the same man from the Cheng Family of farmers, the one on whom Chang Younian had once placed a bounty.
Therefore, he showed no surprise. Instead, he looked at Cheng Zongyang with a warm smile, cupped his fist, and said, "It seems Mr. Cheng recognizes me."
’The one thing he’d been curious about these past few days, the one question he couldn’t answer, was how Cheng Zongyang had managed to rise to power in just one short year and attain such a high level of Cultivation.’
’Even with a fortuitous encounter, such speed should be impossible. How could someone who was from a farming family just one year ago become a power on the level of a Noble Race, controlling an entire district!’
’The speed was just too fast!’
’Both his influence and his personal strength!’
Cheng Zongyang sat down, his expression calm. "Weren’t you with Lord Chang, headed for another region? Why have you appeared here?"
