Chapter Seventy-Eight

Within the military camp, aside from the patrolling soldiers, there were also many women—most likely those who could no longer survive outside and had been bought by the camp. As for their purpose, everyone understood without needing to say it aloud. These women all looked healthy, able to eat their fill most days. Compared to starving to death on the streets or being sold into brothels, their situation here was somewhat better. As for what would become of them in the future, it depended: when the soldiers departed, some would be left to the brothels or forced into prostitution, or perhaps fall into the hands of the rebels.

“They’re all vigorous men. If these women weren’t here, trouble would have broken out in the camp long ago.”

“If there weren’t women in the camp, decent women outside would be in danger. Besides, these women are all here of their own will, accepting their fate. General Zhang is a good leader,” Su Yang remarked.

“Alas... who knows how long this war will last,” the officer sighed deeply, his face filled with weariness and disgust for the conflict.

“Perhaps not much longer,” Su Yang offered a perfunctory comfort. The Great Qian Dynasty was beyond saving, rot and decay were everywhere. How long this war would drag on depended entirely on when the dynasty’s fate finally ran out and the new order emerged. When that day came, the land would welcome a new era of prosperity, only to decline again in a few centuries and fall into decay once more.

Inside a military tent, Su Yang met General Zhao—a burly man nearly two meters tall, eyes sharp as torches. He spoke, “I hear your success rate in preparing demon poison is sixty percent?”

“That’s right,” Su Yang replied with a nod.

“Bring ten rat demon corpses here. Let’s see your skills,” Zhao Mangong said, not doubting him at all, and ordered his men to haul in the bodies for Su Yang to work on.

Dozens of black-furred rat corpses were soon brought over—each the size of a wild dog, with sharp fangs and claws, and bloodthirsty, beady red eyes. Clearly, these were not harmless creatures.

Typically, preparing the poisonous tumors required opening up the corpse, and, relying on experience and touch, the master would search for the tumors, slicing them out one by one with a sharp knife. Some tumors were as large as a fist, others as small as a peanut.

Su Yang looked at the black-furred rat corpses in the tent. Suddenly, a panel appeared before his eyes.

Demon Corpse: Black-Furred Rat Demon
Tumors: Contains seven poisonous tumors, can be removed using incense power.
Incense required: 1 point.

Demon Corpse: Black-Furred Rat Demon
Tumors: Contains five poisonous tumors, can be removed using incense power.
Incense required: 1 point.

Each rat demon contained a different number of tumors, and the cost of 1 incense point per corpse was quite low. Now that Taohua and Meihua were both pregnant for a month, they provided him with 2 incense points each day.

However, at this moment, he had only 1 incense point—far from enough to purify all these rat demons. He spoke, “General Zhao, preparing the demon corpses takes time. For ten black-furred rat corpses, I’ll need three days. I’d like to take them home to work, and in three days, I’ll deliver six clean corpses to you personally.”

“Of course, so General Zhao has no worries, I’ll leave two grade-eight old medicines here as collateral. If I fail to return in three days, they’ll be yours.”

With that, Su Yang produced two portions of grade-eight old medicine from his robe and handed them over. These ten rat demon corpses were all of ninth-grade wild demon strength, and if he could process them all, they’d be worth as much as ten portions of ninth-grade medicine. But there was no such thing as a perfect success rate. Even the best corpse-preparers in Yanggu County could only manage five clean carcasses from ten, and they charged a ten percent fee.

The two portions of grade-eight medicine were worth far more than ten portions of ninth-grade medicine, so General Zhao accepted them with a smile, though he looked a bit displeased. “You’re too slow.”

“It’ll be slow at first, but in ten days to half a month, I’ll be able to prepare a dozen or more corpses each day,” Su Yang replied.

“Go, then,” Zhao Mangong said with a wave. Su Yang packed the rat demon corpses into a leather bag and carried them back to the Su household.

In three days, even if he did nothing but lie in bed, he would have six incense points, enough to prepare six demon corpses and fulfill his promise, opening the door for more work. The family’s progress was swift; soon he would earn a hundred incense points, needing only four more ninth-grade warriors. If only he had more mind-controlling worms—only one remained, and the next batch would be ready in two days—he would have already gone to recruit from the Feng and Wei families.

Silver Lotus had already shared his bed for two nights, and by the system’s rules, she was likely pregnant from the first night. In just eight days, he could confirm her pregnancy and assign her a maid, earning another twenty incense points.

Eight days later, Xichun would also reach her one-month mark, providing one incense point daily. Even if he did nothing, that would be three incense points a day—everything was on track.

He tossed the demon corpses into a room and began by using incense to remove the tumors from one black-furred rat demon. A yellow wisp drifted out and entered the rat’s body. Cutting open its belly, he let the entrails spill out, releasing a stench so foul it was hard to bear. Yet within the blood and flesh, the tumors had vanished, just as with the weasel demon the night before.

Normally, preparing the demon corpse would leave many wounds in the flesh, so his task was to use a dagger to create such marks, making it look as if the tumors had been removed by hand. He carved out a few chunks of meat—though not much, it still added up to a tidy profit. Su Yang was quite satisfied; specializing in demon corpse preparation seemed a fine trade indeed.

With nothing else to do that day, he sought out Silver Lotus, who was sipping tea in her room. Su Yang swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed, her gentleness melting against him, her eyes so tender he could not bear to be rough.

Night slowly fell.

Silver Lotus lay limp on the bed, her strength completely spent, unable to serve any longer.

Just then, Constable Hu Shi arrived late at night. Su Yang dressed and left the room, but not before planting a kiss on Pan Silver Lotus’s flushed, blissful face.

“Master, there’s a constable at the county office who has nowhere else to turn and wishes to join you. Would you be willing to take him under your command?” Hu Shi asked in the main hall, a hopeful look on his face.

“Nowhere else to turn? What’s the matter?” Su Yang inquired.

“His name is Hu Jiang—same surname as mine. His wife was assaulted by a passing rich man. My friend happened to come home and, in a fit of rage, killed the man.”

“But it turns out the rich man’s brother-in-law is another constable in the county office, one with eighth-grade strength, and the wealthy family behind the victim has three ninth-grade warriors. Knowing he’d be targeted for revenge, I thought I’d bring him to you, Master.”