New and dark light years

Chapter 368 Harvesting Spirit Rice
Li Lin took some time to harvest the rice from the thirteen culture media, packed it into a small bag, and took it home.

He also hired a wooden oxcart, placed Li Yanjing's altar on it, and took her home with him.

Li Yanjing was especially happy at this moment.

She revealed herself, rode alongside Li Lin, nestled in the man's arms, and kept talking.

It feels like being 'married' again by a man.

This feeling is something that others don't understand, and only you can truly comprehend it.

But this is the sense of security that many women are looking for.

Upon returning home, Li Yanjing was warmly welcomed by Huang Qing and Hongluan, who even held a special welcome dinner for her, which deeply moved Li Yanjing.

"No matter what happens in the future, I want to die in this house." Li Yanjing threw herself into Huang Qing's arms and cried uncontrollably.

This is a woman who lacks love and family affection.

Li Lin returned to his study, divided the spirit rice into two portions, one for refining pills and the other for Hongluan to cook into porridge.

It has to be said that using spirit rice to make porridge seems like a waste, but... it tastes really good.

The Lingmi porridge has a sweet taste, which doesn't just affect the taste buds, but also has a more spiritual effect.

Your body instinctively needs this, so drinking it will make you feel very comfortable.

After finishing his porridge, Li Lin went to refine a pill, the Foundation Establishment Pill.

The difficulty of refining this elixir is extremely high.

The main reason is that Li Lin's strength is insufficient; the Foundation Establishment Pill requires spirit rice as a medicinal ingredient, which is one reason.

In addition, excellent refining techniques are required.

The timing of the cooking and the addition of spiritual energy must be balanced to an extreme degree.

Indeed, Li Lin has reached the level of a grandmaster in alchemy, but... a grandmaster is ultimately just a mortal.

The success rate of refining Foundation Establishment Pills is higher only if one reaches a higher level of attainment, such as the 'Transcendental' level.

However, Li Lin was not worried. As long as he refined pills more, his skill level would definitely improve.

Then came two rounds of alchemy, which took him a day and a night.

But both attempts failed.

All the medicinal herbs had turned into a dark, murky mass.

Although it was a failure, there were also important gains.

Firstly, his control over fire has become stronger, and secondly, he has come to understand the medicinal properties of spirit rice.

He estimated that if he did it a dozen more times, he would be able to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Unfortunately, there's no more Lingmi (spiritual rice).

Li Lin walked out of the alchemy room, where Huang Qing and two other women were waiting for him in the hall.

Upon seeing him, the three of them didn't ask whether it was successful or not. One of them washed Li Lin's face and hands with warm water, another helped him change his clothes, and Li Yanjing massaged his shoulders and back.

After the three of them finished their work, Li Lin sat down in a chair and let out a long sigh of relief.

Refining for a whole day and night is actually quite mentally taxing.

The thoughtfulness of the three women greatly relieved his mental distress.

Huang Qing said gently, "My lord, you should go and rest first. We will take care of things at home. We will wake you up if we can't handle them."

"Row."

Li Lin then got up and went to sleep.

Because of the strain on his heart, he slept for a whole day and night.

By the time I got up, it was almost noon the next day.

He stretched and went to the main hall, where he saw that only Li Yanjing was there.

On the table, there was already food, still warm.

"Where are Qing'er and Hongluan?" Li Lin asked as he sat down.

"I've gone to discuss the marriage arrangements in northern Jiangsu with Lady Su."

Li Lin remembered that a few more days had passed, and Su Bei's wedding was approaching.

He sat down at the table and began to eat. He hadn't eaten for two days and two nights, and he was indeed very hungry.

Hongluan's cooking is delicious. It's not the kind of elaborate or fancy dishes, just simple home-style fare, but it gives you a very warm feeling when you eat it.

When Li Lin had almost finished eating, he was about to go to the county government office to see if there were any new cases to process when, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly saw a 'black line' rising in the sky.

It is the smoke of war.

That direction... Bobai Military Town.

There were already some screams coming from the street outside the house.

The entire county of Yulin seemed somewhat panicked.

Li Lin wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he slowly finished his meal and waited for a while before seeing Huang Qing and Hong Luan rushing back.

Huang Qing came from a respectable family and was very particular about her posture and etiquette. Even in this hurried state, she walked very fast, and the gold hairpin on her head only swayed slightly, unlike some women with poor figures who would swing their hairpins wildly.

"My lord." Upon seeing Li Lin, Huang Qing's panic vanished instantly. She slowed her pace and approached, asking, "Has the Southern Barbarians invaded?"

"Probably not."

"That is?"

Li Lin laughed and said, "It's possible that the Tang army is plotting a rebellion."

Huang Qing sighed, "Without the Tang family, our Southern Frontier will be in danger."

"It's alright... The Southern Barbarians are also in a state of near death right now."

Li Lin stood up: "The local militia have probably already assembled at the city gate. I'll go check on them; it might take a few days before I return."

Huang Qing was somewhat worried, but she still smiled and said, "I wish you, sir, to be invincible in martial arts and never be defeated in battle."

"Yes, I will," Li Lin replied softly, then said to Li Yanjing, "Protect the family."

Li Yanjing nodded vigorously. Li Lin continued to Huang Qing, "During this period, try not to go out, and don't even leave the area of ​​the 'Home Security Formation,' understand?"

Huang Qing nodded slightly.

Feeling that he had nothing more to say, Li Lin walked out.

Riding his steed, Li Lin quickly arrived at the city gate. Along the way, the number of pedestrians on the street decreased, as almost everyone had gone home.

Those who remained on the street were also in a hurry.

Upon seeing Li Lin, the gatekeeper hurriedly asked, "County Commandant Li, should we close the city gates of Yulin County?"

“Not for now,” Li Lin said. “The enemy is still outside the military town. We’ll wait until there are more beacon fires or until we see the enemy troops.”

"As ordered."

As Li Lin exited the city gate, he saw five hundred local militiamen already lined up in formation, ready to depart.

Upon seeing Li Lin emerge, a captain stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Reporting to the county magistrate, the total number of Yulin Township Army soldiers is five hundred, and five hundred are present today. Please verify."

Li Lin glanced at it, didn't count it carefully, and felt that the number of people was about right.

"Don't delay, let's go."

The local militia immediately began a forced march.

At this time, the local militia also attracted Li Lin's attention.

Their food, drink, supplies, and training intensity were exactly the same as those of the government troops.

It can be seen as a replica of the Fujun (府军).

Because the local militia marched very quickly, they arrived at Bobai Military Town in just two days instead of the usual three days.

The fortresses of Bobai military town were already visible, but before the soldiers could even rejoice, they saw that the beacon fires had changed from one to two side by side.

This means the enemy has already begun their siege of the city.

Li Lin immediately led the local militia forward, and about half an hour later, they arrived at the foot of the city wall.

This is the rear city gate. There are fewer soldiers guarding it than before; they've probably all gone to the front city gate to defend against the enemy.

Seeing reinforcements arriving from the rear, the soldiers on top were overjoyed and asked loudly, "May I ask which general is this?"

At this time, Li Lin did not raise his own banner.

"The County Magistrate of Yulin!"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers above cheered immediately. Several opened the door for Li Lin, while another went to inform the garrison commander.

When the city wall was halfway open, Gui Yalei arrived. He saw Li Lin on the city wall and his eyes immediately lit up with joy.

"Open the door quickly, open the door quickly," Gui Yalei kept urging.

The city gates opened even faster.

Soon, Li Lin led his men into the military town.

Gui Yalei quickly ran down from the city wall, then came to Li Lin and bowed respectfully: "Your humble servant Gui Yalei greets Commander Li."

Li Lin looked Gui Yalei over; there were very noticeable bloodstains on his bright armor, patches of them.

"How is the situation?" Li Lin asked.

"We just repelled an enemy attack." Gui Yalei looked somewhat pleased, but then said, "Unfortunately, we also suffered heavy losses. One enemy attack on the city cost us more than a hundred soldiers."

The number of soldiers in Bobai military town was no more than five hundred, which means that they lost one-fifth of their fighting strength at once.

Li Lin nodded and said, "Captain Qi, immediately lead your men to the city wall to assist the Bobai military town in its defense."

"Yes!" Captain Qi clasped his hands in a fist salute and immediately gave a loud order, dividing the local militia into four groups, all of whom went up to the city wall.

Li Lin looked at Gui Yalei's dark eyelids; it was clear that the other person hadn't slept for some time.

I estimate he hasn't dared to sleep for the past three days.

Who is attacking us?

Gui Yalei said, "The other side did not display any banners, but it is clear that they are wearing the armor of our Great Qi army."

“That must be Tang’s army,” Li Lin said with a smile. “It seems they’re getting anxious after losing four of their inside men.”

Gui Yalei took a deep breath, his eyes filled with admiration: "The Grand Commander already has a plan?"

"Let's go up to the city wall and take a look."

"Commander-in-Chief, there are many stray arrows on the front lines, and swords have no eyes. It would be bad if you were accidentally injured."

Li Lin laughed and said, "It's nothing, I'm just taking a look."

Gui Yalei stopped trying to persuade him and led Li Lin to the city wall.

At this moment, there was a strong smell of blood above the city wall, and there were still many dried bloodstains on the ground.

When the soldiers saw Li Lin personally at the front line, they all instinctively raised their heads and stood tall.

Li Lin arrived at the arrow emplacement and looked into the distance.

The enemy had retreated a mile away, just as Gui Yalei had said, and no flags had been raised in the camp.

But Li Lin knew that it must be Tang's army.

"What do you think of their strength?" Li Lin asked.

Gui Yalei hesitated for a moment before saying, "They are very strong. We have the advantage of terrain, but they still managed to launch a strong attack and forced us to suffer more than a hundred casualties."

"How long do you think we can hold out?"

"At most ten days or so," Gui Yalei said worriedly.

Li Lin said, "That's enough. The 3,000 troops from the prefecture will arrive in two or three days. The Tang family army is testing us to see if we are a good point of breakthrough. If we defend well, then their attention should be focused on Gui County, and they will change their target."

Gui Yalei breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Lin's next words made his heart pound again.

"What do you think about us trying to annihilate all of Tang's soldiers?"

Gui Yalei said with a wry smile, "How is that possible!"

(End of this chapter)