「March 20th, afternoon.」

Li Lu once again led his men from the County Town, preparing to head south. He took the same group of men as before.

Their mission was, once again, to gather Medicinal Materials.

Two days prior, after speaking with Li Lu at his home, Cheng Zongyang had pretended to send for a formula.

Thus, the "reply" arrived this morning, providing the pretext for Li Lu’s early departure to gather Medicinal Materials.

Cheng Zongyang, meanwhile, needed to use the existing Medicinal Materials and grains to produce the first batch of Inner Replenishing Pills.

The ingredients for the Inner Replenishing Pills were neither particularly scarce nor valuable.

The County Town’s existing reserves, combined with the Medicinal Materials Li Lu had previously brought back, were enough to produce a sizable amount.

But to last until the summer harvest, they would need far more Medicinal Materials.

It was nearly the end of the third month, with the harvest only two or three months away.

To Cheng Zongyang’s surprise, on the very afternoon Li Lu departed, more people arrived from the north.

Twelve men appeared this time! Each was mounted on a tall, swift horse. They streamed through the north gate and reined to a halt on the main street of the northern district.

The middle-aged man in the lead glanced at his surroundings before spurring his horse onward toward the County Magistrate’s Office.

The twelve men’s aggressive arrival left the surrounding townsfolk feeling alarmed.

Among the crowd, several Gang members saw this, immediately peeling off to report back.

Cheng Zongyang was in the warehouse, arranging for the Doctors to grind medicinal powders. By the time he learned of the situation, Zhao the Seventh, Li Xian, Xiao Bing, and Chen Eryun had already been summoned to the County Magistrate’s Office.

Cheng Zongyang’s expression turned grim. He did not act rashly, instead instructing the Gang members to provide constant updates.

To make communication easier, he went directly to a private residence near the County Magistrate’s Office to wait.

As for the men preparing the medicine, Cheng Zongyang told them to carry on with their work and not to worry.

Events unfolded much as Cheng Zongyang and the others had anticipated.

When Zhao the Seventh and the others were summoned to the rear courtyard of the County Magistrate’s Office for questioning, they answered with ease, having prepared beforehand. All four men claimed that the three individuals in question had been seen leaving toward the east side of the city that morning—a fact many townsfolk could corroborate.

Afterward, just as expected, the newcomers sent out four of their men, one toward each of the city’s four main districts, to make inquiries.

When Cheng Zongyang received the latest report from his underling, he began to mull things over.

’The actions of these twelve men are basically all within my expectations. The next issue is the grain.’

Around seven or eight in the evening, Zhao the Seventh and his men were finally released, but not without being given a direct order.

At the entrance of the County Magistrate’s Office, an underling saw the four leaders emerge and quickly approached them, whispering:

"Lord Cheng wants to see Gang Leader Zhao. The other three Gang Leaders should return to their posts to avoid arousing suspicion."

After hearing this, the four men silently cupped their fists to one another before dispersing back to their respective districts.

Zhao the Seventh followed the underling to a house in the eastern district, near the County Magistrate’s Office.

In the main hall of the house, Cheng Zongyang saw Zhao the Seventh’s pale face and chuckled. "Are those men really that terrifying? You look like you’ve seen a ghost."

Zhao the Seventh’s face was a mask of misery. "Their presence is just too overpowering. The atmosphere was so tense, it felt like they were about to flay us alive. It was so oppressive we didn’t dare move, afraid our heads would roll the very next second."

"But thankfully, everything went as planned. After they sent men out to make inquiries, they all returned and confirmed our story. Lord, if not for your arrangements, we would’ve lost our lives tonight!"

Cheng Zongyang shook his head, paying no mind to Zhao the Seventh’s last words. He simply asked, "Tell me the details. What are they like, and what are they planning to do?"

Zhao the Seventh, still shaken, replied, "The oldest of them is in his forties, and the youngest is probably in his early thirties."

"Every one of them is tall and powerfully built, with looks that could kill. They’re more ferocious than actual murderers."

Cheng Zongyang was a bit speechless at this description, but he didn’t interrupt, letting him continue.

"...Then they ordered me—us—to collect no less than ten thousand catties of grain. But I told them if they took all the grain, everyone in the County Town would starve to death. I begged them to leave half behind, letting us pay only five thousand. In the end, they agreed."

Cheng Zongyang was rather surprised. "They were that reasonable?"

Zhao the Seventh shook his head. "No, it’s not that. They sent men to check the warehouses and heard about the County Town’s grain situation from the townsfolk."

"Thankfully, they didn’t ask about anything happening outside the County Town. Lord, I was so worried they would ask the townsfolk about what’s going on out there and that someone would let it slip."

Cheng Zongyang replied, "That’s unavoidable. With so many people, you can’t make them all keep quiet. Not everyone is benevolent; there will always be some with malicious intent."

"But their questioning is random, and they only speak to a fraction of the population, not everyone. The odds are low."

In truth, he had already anticipated this. ’With so many people farming outside West City and building a new village, any attempt at secrecy is a joke.’

But after his last conversation with Li Lu, he had come to a new decision. ’It doesn’t matter if these Outsiders find out.’

Zhao the Seventh grew anxious. "Lord, giving up five thousand catties of grain is a major blow to us. It’s basically all the grain that Lord Li brought back last time."

Cheng Zongyang waved a dismissive hand. "Give it to them. We have the Inner Replenishing Pills as a substitute now, so we don’t need to worry about grain. The priority is to send them on their way. They probably won’t come back after this."

Seeing Cheng Zongyang’s smiling, unconcerned expression, Zhao the Seventh felt a seed of doubt sprout in his heart.

But out of his awe for Cheng Zongyang, despite his suspicions, he didn’t dare to voice his questions.