’Thinking of the worst-case scenario, if two more groups like that arrive, it will be just about time for the summer harvest.’

Next, Cheng Zongyang placed the three Soul Crystal Stones he had acquired at Soul-Soothing Slope, the Jail, and the Chaotic Burial Mound, one at each location.

’The Soul Gathering Stele has probably absorbed almost everything from Soul-Soothing Slope. Placing all three Soul Crystal Stones there would just slow things down. It’s better to spread them out.’

When he returned to his residence in the County Town, Zhang Chuchu came to report.

"Young Master, Zhao the Seventh stopped by. As you instructed, I told him you went to the new village. He’s probably gone there to look for you."

Cheng Zongyang smiled. "It’s fine. If he comes again, just bring him to me."

"Yes, Young Master!" Zhang Chuchu said with a cupped-fist salute. "Second, the Medicinal Materials for the Inner Replenishing Pills have all been prepared. They’re in the warehouse now."

Cheng Zongyang said, "In that case, process the five grains as I instructed. Once they’re ready, send them to the warehouse as well."

"Yes. I’ll arrange it at once."

After Zhang Chuchu left, Cheng Zongyang returned to his study.

A maid immediately brewed a cup of tea and brought it to the study.

Half an hour later, Zhao the Seventh came looking for him again. It was nothing major; he was just reporting on the situation after the Outsiders had left.

Cheng Zongyang told Zhao the Seventh to find a dozen or so chefs and have them stand by at the warehouse.

Then, Cheng Zongyang began to make the Inner Replenishing Pills himself.

The process wasn’t difficult. As the dozen or so chefs gathered in the warehouse, Cheng Zongyang began to assign tasks.

Under his detailed instructions, the chefs got to work, starting the process as if they were kneading dough balls.

Making the Five Grains Inner Replenishing Pills required no special technique; anyone with nimble hands could do it.

Hiring chefs was for one reason, but the second was that they knew nothing about Medicine.

So, Cheng Zongyang prepared the formula and showed them how to make the pills before leaving the work to the chefs. He, meanwhile, went to check on the Soul Crystal Stones.

After nearly a full day, the progress bars for the three Soul Crystal Stones were full.

He immediately hurried into the Wilderness World to forge four new Soul Slaves, lest the bodies expire after a day.

After randomizing their faces, allocating their points, and copying their Skills, the four new Soul Slaves’ Attributes were complete.

——

Zhang Lan: Unyielding (Defense +20%), Archery Specialization;

Zhou Zhihua: Fist Mastery (Power of Fist-Based Martial Arts +30%), Archery Specialization;

Chen Ziming: Earth Phase (Feng Shui and Geomancy Art Specialization), Medicine;

Ding Xing: Outstanding Comprehension (20% Insight Bonus), Medicine;

——

Looking at the Talents of the four new arrivals, Cheng Zongyang didn’t quite know what to think.

’Three of them have decent Talents, but what the hell is Earth Phase?’

’Did I just create a Feng Shui Geomancer? What am I supposed to do, find auspicious burial sites?’

Cheng Zongyang was speechless. ’Even Zhang Lan’s Unyielding is useful—she could be the tank for the team.’

’Even Ding Xing could help me gain insight into things.’

But since the Soul Slaves were already created, Cheng Zongyang didn’t dwell on it. He just grumbled to himself for a moment before refocusing.

Next, Cheng Zongyang explained the Talents and Abilities of the four new arrivals to Luo Dingran, who was watching from the side. He concluded by saying:

"I’m leaving these four to you."

Luo Dingran gave a cupped-fist salute. "Rest assured, my lord. I will make the arrangements. As it happens, Zhang Jinquan mentioned needing one or two more people. Chen Ziming and Ding Xing can be assigned to him temporarily. We can make permanent arrangements later."

Cheng Zongyang nodded slightly and said no more.

With the urgent matter of the Soul Slaves settled, Cheng Zongyang returned to the outside world.

He then focused his attention on the Five Grains Inner Replenishing Pills.

As tray after tray of Inner Replenishing Pills were made and set out in the rooms to air-dry, the number of wooden racks in the warehouse storerooms grew steadily.

But to supply everyone in the County Town, the grain and the Five Grains Pills would have to be used together.

That evening, just as Cheng Zongyang was casually reading the Celestial Human Scroll at home, Zhao the Seventh appeared in a hurry.

"My lord, the people who left this morning are back! Something seems to have happened. I’ve settled them in the rear courtyard of the County Magistrate’s Office. Do you want to go have a look?"

Cheng Zongyang was surprised they were only just now returning. Feigning a look of astonishment, he said, "Let’s go have a look."

He already had a plan for those thirty people, so he wasn’t worried about any secrets being revealed.

He wasn’t one to kill wantonly. Besides, these people hadn’t seen him kill anyone. In fact, they had already fallen under an Illusion effect before he even finished off the first Outsider, so there was no way they could know anything.

In the rear courtyard of the County Magistrate’s Office, Li Xian and a few others were staring at the thirty who had returned. They too were extremely curious as to why these people had suddenly come back.

It wasn’t just them; almost everyone in the County Town had thought the group would never return.

"His lordship is here!" Zhao the Seventh shouted first.

Immediately, everyone turned toward the entrance, holding their torches high.

In the brightly-lit courtyard of the County Magistrate’s Office, a crowd had gathered. Seeing their panicked expressions, Cheng Zongyang began his questioning immediately.

After a series of questions, the answer Cheng Zongyang got from them was essentially the same: they had fallen unconscious in a bamboo forest, and when they awoke, the Outsiders were gone, so they came back.

The crowd’s suspicion was similar to Cheng Zongyang’s initial guess—everyone assumed the Outsiders had grown impatient with their slow pace, knocked them out, and left on their own.

But Cheng Zongyang had no interest in listening to such a flimsy story. He put on a grave expression and said to them:

"Your story doesn’t hold water. If they truly just left, that would be one thing. But if something else happened to them, and a new group of Outsiders arrives, you will be the first ones they seize for questioning."

Hearing this, the thirty people instantly panicked.

"My lord! That has nothing to do with us!"

"We were unconscious! We don’t know what happened! My lord, you have to save us!"

"N-no, it has nothing to do with me!"

"..."

Cheng Zongyang raised a hand, silencing them. "Don’t worry," he said. "If you want to survive this, you will listen to my arrangements. Otherwise, if you end up dead, you’ll have only yourselves to blame."

At once, they scrambled over each other to kneel and kowtow.

Cheng Zongyang had to stop them again before continuing.

"Tonight, you will all take your families and move into the village outside the city. Most of the houses there are finished. You will live there temporarily.

"Remember, don’t say anything else to your families. Just tell them that the Outsiders thought you were too slow, ate too much, and were too weak, so they sent you back. From now on, if anyone asks, that is your story. Do you understand?"

"We understand!"

"Yes, we understand."

"I’ll remember."

"..."

"One more thing," Cheng Zongyang added. "Until the summer harvest, none of you are to enter the city. If you need anything, just find one of the gang members to help. I will be sending more people to live out there later, so you won’t have to worry about being neglected. After the summer harvest, you can move back into the city if you wish."

"Yes, thank you, my lord!"

"That’s good, that’s good!"

"Thank you, my lord! Your lordship’s benevolence..."

"..."

Cheng Zongyang then turned to the four district Gang Leaders.

"The four of you will arrange for your men to help them move their things to Tiantuan Village tonight. Afterward, arrange for these families to move over together. Find a few of your boys to live there as well and help them out a bit."

"Yes, my lord!" the four said in unison, cupping their fists.

Once everyone had dispersed, Cheng Zongyang gave the matter no further thought.

To him, it was a trivial matter. Even if more Outsiders came in the future, he could just "illusion-kill" them as well!

The next day, production of the Inner Replenishing Pills continued. There were a lot of raw materials, so it would take several days to process everything. Plus, the pills needed time to air-dry, which would make them easier to store.

The chefs themselves were also eating the Inner Replenishing Pills.

When they tried them and discovered they didn’t need to eat for three days, their eyes lit up with excitement.

The stock of raw materials gradually dwindled as tray after tray of Inner Replenishing Pills filled the warehouse. In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the third month.

For the past week, the city had been peaceful.

Cheng Zongyang’s cultivation basically proceeded on its own, requiring no conscious effort from him.

As a result, his progress with his Meridian Passages wasn’t particularly fast. He maintained a steady pace, opening a new acupoint every two days.

He had now broken through the Chize, Tianfu, and Xiabai acupoints in succession. Including the Zhongfu acupoint, that made four in total.

Therefore, aside from studying the Celestial Human Health Cultivation Skill recorded in the Celestial Human Scroll, Cheng Zongyang spent the rest of his time dealing with the Inner Replenishing Pills.

He didn’t have to worry about the farmland outside the city or the construction of the new village.

As he sealed jar after jar of Inner Replenishing Pills and stored them in the Wilderness World, the last of the materials were finally used up.

On the very last day of the third month, Li Xian brought him a piece of news.

The scouting party sent north to Qingfeng County had returned!