Many children, many blessings: Stealing the offspring of powerful figures to cultivate immortality.

A crossbow bolt pierced through the window paper of the North Inn and embedded itself in the wooden pillar beside Jiang Yining, the arrow tail still wrapped with the million-blood-crystal bounty that had just been written.

Fan Chenxin raised his arm to shield her shoulder, but Jiang Yining pressed his hand down and used two vines to hold the arrow shaft: "The groove contains communication sand, not poison."

Lou Xiaotian took down the official document and, as he read to the end, the butt of his gun struck the floor tile: "A million will be rewarded for capturing you alive, and a hundred thousand will be rewarded for providing your whereabouts. Pei Henian is really willing to offer a price."

Pei Yunji was leaning against the medicine box, adjusting his breathing. Hearing this, he opened his eyes: "The ancestral hall just lost 30% of its blood pool. Pei Henian can't come up with a million blood crystals."

Chu Ling Shuang snatched the reward notice and pressed her fingertip against the payment terms: "It says that after verification, the reward will be sealed by the Tianhuang City Treasury. Han Que wants to use the city treasury as collateral for the Pei family."

Jiang Yining glanced at the three seals on the paper: "Pei family elder's private seal, North City defense seal, Chamber of Commerce payment seal, but the City Lord's Mansion general seal is missing."

"The Chamber of Commerce agreed too?"

Lou Xiaotian asked.

"The ink pad had just been applied, but the gaps in the ink mark were exactly the same as they were two years ago."

Jiang Yining used the wood to lift the imprint, "Someone used an old seal to make a rubbing and pressed it onto the new official document."

Chu Ling Shuang crumpled the official document, then slowly loosened her fingers: "Forging a merchant's seal is punishable by burning at the stake; Han Que surely knows that."

"The official document may not have been written by him."

Jiang Yining pulled out the crossbow bolt, and a brown dreg of medicine fell into the quiver. "Smell this first."

Chu Ling Shuang picked up the dregs of the medicine and twitched her nostrils twice: "The Blood-Dryness Pill. Han Que's only son suffers from the Ancestral Blood-Dryness Disease and receives medicine from the Pei Family's Medicine Hall every month."

Pei Yunji reached out for the dregs of the medicine, but Jiang Yining wrapped them in vine leaves before handing them over: "Do all the collateral branches of the Pei family use this medicine to prolong their lives?"

"When taken for the first time, it can stabilize the blood vessels, but after three years, one will be unable to live without the medicine supplied by the ancestral hall."

Pei Yunji crushed the dregs, revealing fine gray-white lines inside. "This pill came from Pei Henian's medicine hall."

Lou Xiaotian looked towards the city wall: "Han Que sealed the city for Pei Henian because of his son."

Chu Ling Shuang gripped the bounty, her knuckles leaving faint red marks: "He could have asked the City Lord's Mansion to send a pharmacist, why did it come to this?"

Did he ask for it?

Jiang Yining asked.

Chu Ling Shuang opened her mouth, and after a long while, she said, "Before I left the city to participate in the Hundred Cities Conference, he waited for my father outside the council hall. I was rushing to the martial arts competition, and I only heard the guard mention it once."

She tore the North City seal off the official document, picked up the hammer, and strode towards the door: "I'm going to see him."

The purple-gold magic vines wrapped around the hammer handle and dragged her back inside the door: "Han Que dared to post the bounty all over the city, which means he has already staked his escape route on Pei Henian. If you meet him alone, you will only become a second bargaining chip."

"Are you just going to stay here and watch him use the city treasury to buy your head?"

"Of course I want to see him."

Jiang Yining placed the dregs of medicine, old business seals, and the city lockdown paper on the table, "Let the whole city accompany us to see this."

Pei Yunji turned over the dregs of the medicine, revealing the interconnected withered patterns inside: "With each dose, these patterns deepen by one layer. After three more months of taking the medicine, the person taking it will become the living core of the ancestral hall's marrow extraction formation."

Chu Ling Shuang's hand slid down from the hammer handle: "What if Han Que Ruo won't listen?"

"Let his son stop taking the medication first."

Jiang Yining pushed the dregs of the medicine in front of her, "Only when a person is alive does he have the right to turn back."

Fan Chenxin examined the array patterns outside the window: "The city defense army has cut off the communication from the North Post Station, and the public notice array has also been sealed off. A direct confrontation would trigger the three-layer crossbow array."

Lou Xiaotian picked up his gun and stood up: "I'll go block the crossbow bolts."

The vines pressed down on his shoulder, pulling him back onto the bench: "Your wound has just healed, sit properly."

"I only use guns, I don't burn the source of the green wood."

"If you develop a fever, I will seal your pulse."

Lou Xiaotian looked at Fan Chenxin: "Even monks are injured, don't just focus on me."

Fan Chenxin placed the black knife on the table: "She didn't tell me to go out, so don't take my orders."

Jiang Yining turned to Pei Yunji: "Can the city's defensive formation be connected to the old post road from underground?"

Pei Yunji used his sword sheath to brush away the dust from the floor tiles: "The main defense line of the city follows the Red Copper Formation, which the Pei family's ancestral seal cannot penetrate. I need Chu Ling Shuang's deputy city lord's command to guide the way."

Chu Ling Shuang removed the red copper token: "The deputy can only open the outer array of the city lord's mansion."

"No need to open the door."

Pei Yunji placed the inner ancestral seal above the floor tiles. "The deputy commander can prove that the messenger came from the city lord's mansion."

Jiang Yining let the demonic vine burrow underground, and the wood energy extended dozens of feet along the abandoned water channel, where the tip of the vine touched a piece of rusty copper wire.

"The old postal relay line is still there, leading to the East Market stables, but it's broken in two places."

Chu Ling Shuang squatted down to examine the array diagram transmitted back by the vines: "This line has been abandoned for seven years, and there may not be anyone on the other end."

Two long and one short copper rings sounded outside the courtyard wall. An old courier called out from over the wall, "The stable is empty, the post bell is still there, and you can borrow the copper wire from the pharmacy on East Street. Hurry up."

Chu Ling Shuang recognized the voice: "Uncle Chen, why are you still staying at the North Post Station?"

"I'm slow on my feet and missed the bus before the lockdown."

The old courier coughed twice. "Young lady, don't come out. Deputy Commander Han has ordered crossbowmen to guard the door."

"Hide in the stable, and don't go near the courtyard wall."

Chu Ling Shuang pressed the city lord's deputy order into the dead end, "Don't peek out when the post bell rings."

The wooden cane dragged across the gravel, and the area outside the courtyard quickly became quiet.

Jiang Yining sent the two demonic vines into the ground, Lou Xiaotian used the remaining green wood energy in the gun to repair the first break, and Chu Ling Shuang embedded the deputy command into the second crack.

Pei Yunji carved the withered patterns of the elixir, while Fan Chenxin used Buddhist light to illuminate the controlled blood lines. The three images were sent along the old copper wire to the East Market Post Bell.

Lou Xiaotian stood guard by the window, when suddenly the tip of his spear flicked off a blood-infused incense stick that slid down from the eaves: "Someone used a blood-infused incense stick to check the rooms; the landing point is near April's residence."

Fan Chenxin had already stood up, the black sword still in its sheath: "I'm going to capture them."

"Do not reveal your Buddhist aura."

Jiang Yining handed him a thin, purple-gold vine. "Climb down the wall along the vine. Once you're on your way, make sure you don't damage your meridians. Have someone go back and deliver a message."

Fan Chenxin took the vine: "What are you giving me?"

"The Blood-Dry Pill contains a marrow-extracting and life-saving technique. If Han Que's son takes another pill tonight, the ancestral hall will extract one-tenth of his blood marrow tomorrow."

Fan Chenxin climbed onto the back window, his sleeve brushing against her shoulder. Jiang Yining raised her hand to press down his loosened sleeve: "Don't touch the wall with your left hand, the dressing was just changed."

He looked down at her hands, which were pressed against her sleeves. "I'll be back soon."

"I'm waiting for news, not for you to show off."

Fan Chenxin agreed and followed the purple-gold vine into the dark alley on the west side.

Jiang Siyue, holding the Fire Spirit Falcon, peeked out from the inner room: "Mother, will the people outside try to capture Siyue for the Blood Crystal?"

Jiang Yining carried her to the table and made the child see the word "kidnapping" on the official document: "Some people believe the notice, and some people only look at the reward. You don't need to distinguish. Don't leave your mother and Hammer Sister."

Uncle Fan has left.

"He went to deliver the message and returned quickly."

The Fire Spirit Falcon raised its head and cried out. Jiang Siyue stroked its tail, which was just beginning to grow downy feathers: "The Big Red Chicken can't go either. You'll be recognized as soon as you fly up."

The old post station bell finally rang, its metallic sound traveling across the canal to the East Market, and then relayed into the city by the message trays in front of pharmacies, carriage shops, and chambers of commerce.

Chu Ling Shuang addressed the deputy commander: "Everyone in Tianhuang City, listen carefully. The bounty issued by Han Que lacks the city lord's seal, the merchant guild's payment seal is taken from a discarded mold, and the city treasury has no authority to pay this reward."

The Chamber of Commerce manager responded from the East Market: "The old seal was invalidated two years ago. The million-dollar reward has nothing to do with our association. Anyone holding the reward warrant must first come to the council hall for verification."

Pei Yunji sent the image of the withered pattern into the copper wire: "The bounty arrow contains the residue of the Pei family's withered blood pill. The pill contains the marrow extraction and revitalization array. The collateral branches who are still taking the medicine can dissect the pill to verify it themselves."

The streets and alleys were quiet for a few moments, then the sound of a porcelain vase breaking could be heard.

"There are gray lines in my dantian too!"

"The ancestral hall says this is a meridian-continuing pattern, so why is it connected to the marrow-extraction array?"

"Test the drugs first, then talk about arresting people!"

The light from the North City array was lowered, and Han Que appeared on the high platform of the city tower, holding the city defense blood token in his hand: "The authenticity of the pills can be verified by the pharmacists in the city, but Jiang Yining's rebellion against the ancestral hall's blood pool has a projection of the main tomb as evidence."

Chu Ling Shuang stepped inside the courtyard gate: "Uncle Han, bring out the city lord's seal."

Han Que did not accept the title: "Miss, you have been deceived by outsiders. Please step aside to the side of the city defense troops."

"I'm asking you, where is it always printed?"

Han Que stopped holding the command token in front of his waist: "When the city lord is in seclusion, the deputy commander may close the city gates for two quarters of an hour if the city defenses are in danger."

"You have the right to block the road, but you don't have the right to use the city's treasury as collateral for the Pei family."

Chu Ling Shuang picked up the heavy hammer, "Disarm the formation, and I will ask the pharmacist to save your son."

"Only the Pei family's medicine hall can cure the ancestral blood deficiency disease."

Jiang Yining said through the courtyard wall, "If Pei Henian can really cure it, why have the withered lines already crept into the heart of the medicine?"

Gao Tai fell silent. Han Que pressed his hand against the medicine pouch at his waist, from which came the soft sound of porcelain bottles clinking together.

Fan Chenxin climbed back into the courtyard from the west wall, her left hand bandage still damp with fresh blood: "The person who delivered the incense has been released. After hearing the message, Han Que only asked if the living array pattern could be removed."

Jiang Yining retracted the vines: "How will you answer?"

"I said whether he can be saved depends on whether he's willing to stop taking his medication tonight."

Han Que looked towards the North Post Station from the city tower. He took the medicine pouch from his waist and put it back in its original place: "Jiang Yining is good at modifying array patterns. Her fellow Buddhist cultivators have also broken their vows. We will have the Buddhist Dharma Image verify this at noon tomorrow in the West City Square."

Chu Ling Shuang pointed her hammer at the high platform: "Stop using tomorrow as an excuse. Is your son even taking his medicine tonight?"

Han Que did not answer her, but only ordered the city defense army: "The crossbow formation at the North Post Station shall be preserved, the bounty shall be suspended, and the Blood-Drying Pill shall be sent to the City Lord's Pharmacy for inspection."

Suddenly, the old Buddhist beads in Fan Chenxin's sleeve became hot, and dark golden Buddhist light shone through the seams of the beads, pointing directly towards the west city.

He looked up at the golden patterns rising outside the city: "Han Que didn't wait until tomorrow; the people from the Great Thunderclap Temple have already arrived."