Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 387 His Highness's New Friend, Settling in the Inner City, Accelerating Cultivation, and His Fifth Birthday Celebration

The moment the child removed the black mask, revealing his true face.

Not only Han Feng, but Tan Rou, who was standing next to him, was also stunned.

Beneath the mask was a delicately sculpted, adorable little face.

The child's skin was so fair and delicate that it was impossible to find a trace of it being exposed to wind and frost. In her more than 30 years of life, Tan Rou had never seen such good skin before, and she was stunned for a moment.

Although he was taller than his peers, judging from his appearance, he was at most five or six years old.

The black silk velvet hat on the child's head was hollow, and his half-length black hair was neatly tied up on top of his head and then secured with an exquisite silver crown and three silver hairpins.

The three silver hairpins gleamed and were engraved with exquisite glass patterns. The ends were even carved into the shapes of three different small cold beasts. Although the diameter of the three small cold beasts was no more than three centimeters, their eyes, foreheads, bodies, limbs, and even the fur on their bodies were all clearly visible, making them extremely lifelike.

If the three silver hairpins used to tie the hair were so exquisite, then the silver crown on the child's head was even more so. Except for the bottom ring, which was hard and only had one layer of patterns engraved, the rest of the crown was woven from silver wires one by one. Moreover, it was decorated with a golden bead the size of a thumbnail on top, making it extremely exquisite and beautiful.

Looking at the child's black robe, the innermost lining shimmered with gold, and the custom-made black clothes he wore on the outside were made of extremely high-quality material, as could be seen with the naked eye just from the faint glow emanating from the black clothes, not to mention the gold and silver double-colored lines interspersed in the black clothes.

The children wore all sorts of ornaments on their necks, waists, wrists, and even the brims of their hats on their foreheads.

No, it can't be called an ornament.

That should be a treasure, right?
The child's hat brim was pulled down unusually low for some reason, but even so, the bright, confident, and spirited eyes under the brim were still incredibly eye-catching.

Tan Rou was already in her thirties and considered herself quite worldly-wise, but after looking at the child in front of her, she still felt a strong sense of inferiority. Seeing her two sons standing so close to the other person, she even had an urge to go up and pull her sons back to her side.

It sounds like a long time, but it actually happens in the blink of an eye.

“Your Highness, you’ve revealed your secret again. We agreed that we couldn’t do this once we reached the outer city. You’ve broken your promise, so I’m going back to tell Madam.”

Xia Yusheng had made two new friends today. He had just lifted the mask and was feeling quite smug when he heard Han Shuang's voice from behind.

Upon hearing Han Shuang say that she would tell her mother, Xia Yusheng quickly put the hood back on and turned around to plead, "Aunt Shuang, I was wrong. I will never take off the hood again. Please don't tell my mother!"

Han Shuang, who had already walked over from behind, first reached out to help Xia Yusheng adjust his black feather shield, then pretended to think and said softly, "It's almost dawn. If Your Highness promises me that you will obediently return to the Star-Picking Palace, I won't tell Madam, okay?"

"Okay, okay, I'll go back right away..."

Xia Yusheng agreed without hesitation.

Tomorrow is his and his two older sisters' fifth birthday. His mother, Li Xuanling, will definitely come out of seclusion. If Han Shuang really tells his mother, Li Xuanling, about how he removed the protective barrier in the outer city, he probably won't be able to leave the inner city for the next year.

A real man should be able to bend and stretch!

After Xia Yusheng agreed, he remembered something, turned to look at the two friends he had just met, and said in a pretentious manner, "Since you two are Aunt Shuang's nephews, then you will be my friends from now on. Aunt Shuang told me that you will be living in the inner city from now on, and I will come to visit you again."

"Okay, we'll wait for you."

Children are different from adults. Tan Rou could tell from Xia Yusheng's attire and demeanor that he was no ordinary person, but Han Ming and Han Rui could not. Although they could also sense that Xia Yusheng was somewhat different from themselves, they did not feel inferior and immediately nodded in agreement.

Xia Yusheng then turned around with satisfaction and walked towards the inner city.

"Nongying, Qiuru, take His Highness back to Zhaixing Palace. I'll be there shortly!"

Han Shuang didn't leave. She instructed the other maids to hurry up and follow. After watching Xia Yusheng and his party walk away, she turned back to look at Han Feng's family and said with a smile, "Brother, sister-in-law, you've finally arrived!"

She came out of the outer city tonight specifically to pick up her brother Han Feng's family. Under normal circumstances, no matter how much Xia Yusheng caused trouble, she would never dare to bring him to the outer city.

Xia Yusheng was lucky today, as Lord Xia Hong happened to be returning from outside.

This kid is cunning. Knowing that Han Shuang wouldn't dare to take him out on his own, he immediately went to ask Xia Hong for help. Xia Hong wasn't as strict as Li Xuanling. Seeing his son pleading so earnestly, he quickly relented.

Of course, Xia Hong also asked Han Shuang why she came out of the outer city. When he learned that she had come to pick up her brother Han Feng's family, he immediately waved his hand and agreed to Xia Yusheng's request to go to the outer city.

That's why the scene just now happened.

Hearing his sister call his name, Han Feng's face immediately lit up with a smile, but then he seemed to remember something and leaned forward to ask in a low voice, "Shuang'er, that young prince just now, could he be...?"

Han Shuang nodded directly and said softly, "That is the lord's eldest son, His Highness Yu Sheng, who just turned five this year."

Sure enough!

Han Feng's face lit up with understanding. He looked down at his two sons, his eyes suddenly brightening as he laughed, "You two are luckier than your father. You've only just arrived in Xia City and you've already met a benefactor, hahaha..."

After laughing, he remembered something and continued, "Quickly call her aunt. This is Father's sister, your little aunt."

"Hanming greets his aunt!"

"Han Rui greets his aunt!"

Seeing her two nephews bow to her, Han Shuang felt a surge of warmth in her heart. She smiled and stepped forward to touch the two children's foreheads. Then she took out two pieces of silver-black jade from her bosom and gave one to each of them.

"I heard about you two little ones at the end of last year. Today I finally meet you in person. This is a gift from your aunt."

Seeing that her brother was about to decline the gift she was giving to her nephew, Han Shuang immediately shook her head and said softly, "Brother, these are all material possessions. With your abilities, you can easily obtain them in the future. Let me do my two nephews a favor first!"

Knowing his younger sister's temperament well, Han Feng could only smile helplessly upon hearing this.

But as Han Shuang said, he had the strength to rely on, and now that he had come to Great Xia, he would definitely be able to obtain these things in the future. Thinking of this, a sense of confidence welled up in his heart, and he said no more.

Later, I'll repay my sister a thousandfold or a hundredfold.

“Brother, sister-in-law, come with me. Over the years, my sister and I have accumulated quite a bit of wealth in Xia City. There happens to be a house in the inner city. My sister and I usually live in the Zhaixing Palace, so we don’t need it ourselves. We’ll let you and your family stay here for now!”

Having had this thought, Han Feng naturally wouldn't refuse his sister anymore. He nodded and, along with his wife and two sons, followed his sister toward the inner city.

After walking for a while, he remembered something and whispered to his sister, "Shuang'er, after I returned to Gutan Village at the end of last year, I went to Jinshan City several times and found out a lot of useful information. Could you find a way to let me see the lord? This information should be useful to the Great Xia!"

Hearing this, Han Shuang shook her head without thinking and looked at Han Feng with a strange expression, saying, "Brother, what do you take your sister for? I am just a maid adjutant of the Star-Picking Palace. Not to mention me, even I, as your sister, cannot casually bring people to see the lord. Lu Shouzhen has already arranged everything for you. I will take you to your residence first. After dawn, Xu Ning, the deputy director of the Garrison Department, will summon you to the main hall of the Garrison Department in the inner city. At that time, you can tell him anything that happens. If it is really important, he will relay it to the lord."

Upon hearing this, Han Feng immediately realized what was happening and nodded with a wry smile.

The Great Xia is not the same Great Xia that just invaded Longyou. His strength of 17 manes might be considered good in other places, but in Great Xia, it is definitely not enough.

Lord Xia Hong is now a renowned overlord of the Xianyang level, famous throughout the Nine Towns. Some have even given him the title of the strongest person in the southern foothills of Mo'ao.

How could I possibly see someone whenever I want!
Han Feng took a deep breath, quickly calmed himself down, and then a fighting spirit rose again in his eyes. He thought to himself, "Just because I can't see him now doesn't mean I won't see him in the future. I will most likely be sent back to Jinshan Town to lie low. As long as I can gather more useful intelligence about Jinshan City for Great Xia, one day I will be able to gain the Lord's attention."

Of course, cultivation level is the most important.

If you are strong enough, you will naturally attract attention.

………………

The fifth day of the eighth month in the eighth year of the Great Xia Dynasty

The usually quiet Star-Picking Palace is bustling again today.

The reason is simple: three children are celebrating their birthdays today.

As soon as night fell, the three siblings, Xia Yuning, Xia Yuyao, and Xia Yusheng, dressed beautifully, took their seats at the round table in the main hall of the Zhaixing Palace.

Of course, the eldest son, Xia Yuzong, was not left out either.

A group of maids were setting out dishes and wine at the table. When they saw the three little ones, who had changed their usual mischievous ways and were now sitting upright with their hands on the table, their backs straight and their eyes fixed straight ahead, their posture so proper, they couldn't help but cover their mouths and chuckle.

Xia Yuzong, who was usually calm and upright, was the most normal one among the three of them at this moment.

These three little guys are usually fearless, and the only one who could make them show this attitude is the one on the Star-Picking Platform.

All the maids couldn't help but turn their heads and glance at the entrance to the Star-Picking Platform.

"Madam has been in seclusion for quite some time this time, hasn't she?"

“Since the end of April, the lady has basically not left the Star-Picking Platform, except for three times when she went out of seclusion to visit the two princes.”

"Three months has passed, that's quite a long time indeed. Madam is very diligent in her cultivation!"

"I've heard rumors that the lady's strength is second only to the lord in our Great Xia Town. Do you think that's true or not?"

"It must be true! I went to Longshan with my wife last year and saw it with my own eyes. She can kill a high-level cold beast all by herself. Her strength is terrifying."

………………

As the maids below were discussing, Li Xuanling quietly opened her eyes on the Star-Picking Platform and met Xia Hong's gaze, who was staring at her.

Xia Hong was less than half a meter away from her, almost touching her face.

The two had been married for nearly six years, which was quite a long time, but Li Xuanling still couldn't help but blush slightly when Xia Hong stared at her so closely. She said angrily, "What are you staring at?"

"Fifty-six hairs, more than two hairs in three months, your cultivation speed is starting to increase again."

Xia Hong smiled. He remembered clearly that when he broke through to the Xianyang stage last September, Li Xuanling had 51 hairs. When he went to Qinghepu on business in late April, she had a strength of over 53 hairs. She had only increased her hairs by a little over two hairs in eight months. Li Xuanling's improvement speed had indeed slowed down considerably as she progressed. If she continued at this pace, roughly the same as her estimate last September, it would take her at least three years to raise her strength to 68 hairs and break through to the peak of the Cold Resistance stage.

However, in the past three months, Li Xuanling's strength has increased by more than two levels during this seclusion, and her cultivation speed has obviously increased again.

"Thanks to the Twelve Blood Scripture Techniques you brought back from Muyin City, my cultivation speed is now about the same as when I was in the mid-stage of the Cold Control Realm. As long as the supply of Blood Ginseng Pills continues, I estimate that I will be able to break through to the peak of the Cold Control Realm by the end of next year at the earliest, and then I can try to reach the Manifest Yang Realm!"

When the topic of attempting to reach the Manifestation Yang level came up, Li Xuanling's eyes lit up with anticipation.

Xia Hong smiled upon hearing this and nodded, saying, "Don't worry about the Blood Ginseng Pill. Muyin Town can sell 50 pills to Great Xia every month, which can supply about five people for cultivation."

The Twelve Blood Meridians Technique of Muyin Town can enhance the body's absorption of medicinal power by increasing the speed of blood and qi circulation in the twelve meridians. This is the reason why Li Xuanling's cultivation speed has increased in the past three months.

Unfortunately, the conditions for cultivating the Twelve Blood Scripture Technique are extremely demanding.

First, it has extremely high requirements for the cultivator's meridians. Even those with the best-quality battle physique cannot cultivate it. Xia Hong roughly estimated that the basic strength must be at least five-mane or higher to meet its cultivation conditions when breaking through to the Cold Resistance level.

Based solely on these selection criteria, currently only the couple, Xia Chuan, and Yuwen Tao in the Great Xia Dynasty are capable of cultivation. Xu Ning's situation is still unknown, but we can try later.
Secondly, the principle of this exercise is to continuously flush out impurities in the meridians through special medicinal power, thereby increasing the speed of blood and qi circulation. This special medicinal power comes from the unique secret medicine of Muyin Town, Blood Ginseng Pill.

According to the description of the cultivation method, a person can take about one Blood Ginseng Pill every three days, which is 10 pills a month. Muyin Town sells 50 pills every month, which is just enough to supply five people to cultivate.

"No wonder Murong Chui was so generous, showing me the cultivation technique directly. It turns out that seeing the technique is just the first step. Whether this technique can be practiced is another question. Even if it can be practiced, we still need to buy Blood Ginseng Pills from Muyin Town later. He's treating us like suckers."

"Expensive?"

Upon hearing the word "sucker," Li Xuanling immediately asked with curiosity.

"18 taels per coin, do you think that's expensive or not?"

Each coin costs 18 taels, so 50 coins would cost 900 million taels, equivalent to 90 catties of silver.

The key point is that this is a month's worth of supplies. In that case, Muyin Town can earn 1080 million catties of silver from Daxia every year just from this Blood Ginseng Pill.

Not just expensive, it's outrageously expensive!
Li Xuanling immediately shook his head repeatedly and said, "Then let Chengfeng lead the logging department to research the formula for this Blood Ginseng Pill as soon as possible!"

Xia Hong smiled and shook his head, saying, "It's not that simple. Many of the ingredients in this pill come from Mount Mo'ao, and there are probably some special drugs that are unique to the Muyin section. The other eight towns haven't been able to develop them for so long. We've only been here a short time, so it's impossible for us to be able to do it so quickly."

The primary function of the alchemy workshop is identification. It records all identified drug types and then automatically synthesizes various elixir formulas based on the properties of these different drugs.

Currently, it's essentially a database with automatic integration capabilities. The only way to maximize its potential is to continuously introduce various new spiritual plants into it, making its database grow larger and eventually producing more and more formulas.

Analyzing the ingredients of the new elixir can currently only be done by the pharmacists trained in the alchemy workshop, so the efficiency is destined to be not very high.

Qing Shi Wan, Rong Huo Wan, Chan Jin Fen, Zhen Kong Wan, Yuan Hun Dan... A number of new pills were obtained from Da Jue Temple some time ago, and they are still in the research and development stage.

Li Xuanling naturally understood this principle and nodded, saying, "The function of the alchemy workshop will become stronger and stronger as the territory expands. Why didn't you seize the Baisong camp at the Hongmen Banquet at the end of April?"

The benefits of marrying a smart wife are now becoming apparent.

Li Xuanling not only pointed out the key functions of the alchemy workshop, but also asked about Xia Hong's failure to occupy the Baisong camp, which shows his keen insight.

The Baisong Camp is located on the east side of Bashang territory, right next to Mo'ao Mountain. Occupying this place would give Daxia a passage to and from Mo'ao Mountain, which would obviously be more beneficial to the future development of the camp.

Xia Hong smiled and said, "Isn't the Nine-Bend Camp important?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xuanling immediately realized what was going on.

At the Feast at Hongmen, Xia Hong occupied two places: Ba Shang City and Jiuqu Camp.

Leaving aside Ba Shang City and its population, this town-level city is undoubtedly the most valuable asset of the Nine Towns, without exception.

The Jiuqu Camp was also important; it was not only the gateway to Ba Shang City, but also the key to controlling the Ba Shang waterway.

Ba Shang is located on the east bank of the Xing River. Only 15 kilometers of the water area has been developed, and these 15 kilometers happen to be within the territory of Jiuqu Daying.

Compared to the current overall territory of the Great Xia Dynasty, the value of resources produced in water areas is indeed much higher than that of land areas. It is understandable that Xia Hong would not want Baisong and instead occupy Jiuqu.

"Moreover, I want the water, and I want the land too!"

A domineering glint flashed across Xia Hong's face as he continued, "I already reached an agreement with Xiahou Zhang last month. Jiangxia Town will cede Heyin Village, the southernmost part of Baisong Camp, to us, including the area east of Heyin Village and a 20-kilometer stretch along Mo'ao Mountain. From now on, this will be the entrance to the Great Xia!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xuanling immediately realized that Xia Hong had deliberately delayed telling her until now. Seeing his smug attitude, she couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.

The Mo'ao Mountains run in a northwest-southeast direction. Jiuzhen is located on its southern slope. Just like Hongmuling back then, the nine towns have long since divided up the more than 800 kilometers along the mountain.

Ba Shang was not particularly strong among the nine towns, previously only occupying a range of over sixty kilometers. With the entire territory of Baisong being transferred to Jiangxia, this sixty-kilometer area naturally also came under the jurisdiction of Jiangxia Town.

"They gave us the entire 20-kilometer entrance to the mountain pass. That's like giving us a third of it. Xiahou Zhang, you're really generous!"

Hearing Li Xuanling's sigh, Xia Hong smiled and said, "Jiangxia Town is now relying on us to survive. We can't afford not to be generous."

Considering Xia Hong's current prestige in Jiuzhen, Li Xuanling had no choice but to nod in agreement, tacitly acknowledging his words. Then, as if remembering something, she asked curiously, "Who do you plan to give those two organs, Yanlong and Jingang, to?"

"Of the existing superior combat units in the camp, 1000 million contribution points will be given to whoever can contribute them."

"That must be Lu Yang and Yuan Cheng."

Upon hearing the 1000 million contribution points, Li Xuanling immediately understood.

She had been in charge of Xia City for a period of time at the beginning of the year, so she knew very well that there were only four people in Great Xia who could contribute more than 10 million contribution points. Xia Chuan and Yuwen Tao were both top-grade battle bodies, so they definitely didn't need them. That left only Lu Yang and Yuan Cheng.

"That's a pity for Qiu Peng. I remember his contribution value was over nine million."

Xia Hong laughed and said, "There are too many monks and not enough porridge, so there's nothing we can do about it. However, Qiu Peng is in charge of the supply department and doesn't usually go out much. He's not as eager to improve his strength as Yuan Cheng and Lu Yang. Let's wait and see! It's good for him to save up his contribution points. If there are any good things next time, it will be his turn."

Li Xuanling nodded, released his mental energy to sense the activity in the main hall of the Star-Picking Hall, and immediately frowned slightly, saying, "Alright, go down! Those three little ones are getting restless."

Xia Hong smiled and led her down to the foot of the Star-Picking Platform.

The main hall of the Star-Picking Palace was now in complete chaos.

"I want to go out and play! I want to go out and play! It's past mealtime, and my mother definitely won't come out of the gate. My father promised me that I can go to the outer city to play when I turn five."

"Your Highness, please sit for a while longer. Your Majesty will be down soon."

"No, no, no, I'm already full, I want to go out."

"Your Highness, it's only been a short time since night fell, and the city is at its busiest. We can't just wander around aimlessly."

"I only want to go out because there are so many people. I want to go out, I want to go out, I want to go out!"

"I want to go out too."

"I want it too, I want it too!"

.........

Xia Yuyao sat upright for more than ten minutes, but still did not see her mother Li Xuanling emerge from seclusion. Finally, she began to reveal her true colors.

At first, only she was making a fuss, and the maids like Han Yue and Han Shuang could barely persuade her. But when Xia Yusheng and Xia Yuning were also infected by her and started clamoring to go out and play, all the maids were immediately at their wits' end.

"cough………"

"Big brother, why are you coughing? Don't you want to go out and have some fun?"

Hearing her elder brother Xia Yuzong cough, Xia Yuyao immediately turned her head and found him winking at her from behind. She immediately sensed something and secretly turned her head to peek behind her.

Upon that glance, her pretty little face immediately tensed up.

The father, Xia Hongzheng, stood at the exit of the Star-Picking Platform, looking at them with a wicked grin, while the mother, Li Xuanling, stood behind him with a stern expression.

"Mom, I was wrong..."

"Hahaha, only your mother can keep you in check!"

Xia Hong laughed heartily, stepped forward and picked up his little niece Xia Yuning. After sitting down, he gently pinched her little nose and asked softly, "Ning'er, your parents are busy at Hongmen. How about your uncle celebrates your birthday this year?"

"it is good……"

Xia Yuning was initially startled by her aunt's sudden appearance, but after being hugged by Xia Hong, she immediately lost her fear and gave a crisp "okay."

"Alright, let's begin the feast!"

The Hongmen Port opened in early May and was only announced in July to be open to everyone within the eight towns. They are currently extremely busy, and Qiu Peng alone cannot handle it, so Xia Chuan also stayed there. Half a month ago, Xiao Ning and Xiao Yu also went there to help.

This time, to celebrate the birthdays of the three little ones, none of them could come back.

Xia Hong announced the start of the banquet. The family of six, consisting of two adults and four children, happily began their meal.

　I have some things to do at the beginning of the month, so I might drop the ball a bit. Sorry. After these few days, it will be as explosive as last month. I'm still asking for votes. I'm aiming for 5000 votes this month!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)