Martial Arts: Starting with Upgrading the Dilapidated Temple

Chapter 159 Letter

Four bamboo tubes were wrapped in oiled paper.

The bamboo tubes were sealed with wax, and numbers were engraved on the surface: one, two, three, four, arranged in order.

Each bamboo tube represents three months.

Ji Sanjin would come to Kushui Town once a quarter to leave a letter for the lame man.

Xu Hao unsealed the wax seal on the first bamboo tube and pulled out a roll of thin paper.

The first letter reads: "On the very night you left, the Mu family found Jishetang."

"Twelve people have arrived. The leader is a steward from the second branch of the Mu family, who is accompanied by eight Bone Forging Realm thugs and three remnants of the Enforcement Hall."

They ransacked the entire backyard, dismantled the medicine cabinet, and took everything from the hidden compartments.

"I ran half an hour early."

"After delivering the keys, Mu Yunchuan turned and left, followed by people from the Surveillance Bureau. They were keeping an eye on Jishetang. I reckon that old bastard Mu Chenyuan was playing along from the beginning. He let Mu Yunchuan deliver the keys so that he could expose your contact point to Chief Steward Li of the Surveillance Bureau. Killing two birds with one stone."

"The shopkeeper was arrested. I didn't have time to take him with me."

Xu Hao's finger paused for a moment on the words "the shopkeeper was arrested".

He continued watching.

"Chief Steward Li chased you into the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest that night, and emerged from the edge of the forest the next morning. He didn't catch you, but he wasn't angry either. He left six sentries to watch the forest's exit, and then..." "He treated everyone to dinner."

"Mu Chenyuan, Qin Wang'an, and Gu Xiangtian, three old foxes from Yongzhou, were invited by him to have a meal at Juxianlou, the largest restaurant in the city."

"The meal lasted all day. No one knows what was said during the meal. But the next day, the three families jointly issued a notice, which was posted all over the towns of Yongzhou."

The notice contained only one sentence: Effective immediately, all medicinal fields, mines, and trade routes of the Mu, Qin, and Gu families shall be placed under the unified jurisdiction of the newly established "Indigo Sparrow Hall." The armed forces of the three families shall be incorporated into the Indigo Sparrow Hall's guard force and shall be subject to its command.

"There was no bargaining, no buffer period, not even a transitional plan. In one day, the decades-long entanglement between the three families in Yongzhou was severed in one fell swoop."

"The head of the Indigo Sparrow Hall was brought from the capital by Steward Li. No one has ever seen his true face, and no one knows his real name. They only know him by his nickname, 'Medicine Falcon.'"

"I investigated the Dragon Roar Guard's undercover agents in the capital. There are only two records about 'Medicine Falcon': First, this person does not exist in any files; second, Chief Steward Li's attitude towards this person is not like that of a superior and subordinate, but more like that of a collaborator."

"Old Xu, the more I think about it, the more I feel that Chief Steward Li came to Yongzhou not just to investigate Eunuch Wei's death. It's like he's here to take over the mess. He wants to start over with a new team after Eunuch Wei messed things up."

"The three companies handing over their resources is an entry fee. An entry fee for survival."

"After Mu Yunchuan was discovered to have betrayed Mu Chenyuan, he was originally going to kill him that very night. The news was leaked from the Qin family. Qin Wang'an's steward wasn't tight-lipped and mentioned while drinking with the Gu family that the eldest young master of the Mu family had been locked in the woodshed by his father."

"But Mu Yunchuan didn't die."

"Three days after the dinner, Yao Jun went to the Mu family in person to pick up the person. I don't know what he said to Mu Chenyuan, but Mu Chenyuan released Mu Yunchuan that same day. When Mu Yunchuan walked out of the Mu family's gate, he was wearing the standard uniform of the Indigo Sparrow Hall."

"Mu Yunchuan is now a 'steward' of the Indigo Sparrow Hall, wielding far more power than when he was the eldest son of the Mu family."

"As for Mu Chenyuan, he is 'seriously ill' and stays indoors. Whether he lives or dies, no one cares."

Finished reading the first letter.

Xu Hao folded the paper and stuffed it back into the bamboo tube.

Mu Yunchuan is more troublesome than he expected.

Locked in the woodshed by his father to die, he somehow managed to get involved with the medicine falcon and pull himself back from the brink of death.

Xu Hao pulled open the second bamboo tube.

The second letter: "Indigo Sparrow Hall has stood firm."

"Yao Jun's methods are more ruthless than I imagined. He doesn't follow the old-fashioned ways of Mu Chenyuan's aristocratic families. He directly disbanded and reorganized the middle-level martial artists of the three families, dividing them into 'banners' according to the military organization: ten people in a small banner, fifty people in a large banner, and three hundred people in a general banner. The flag leader of each banner is a person brought from the capital by the Indigo Sparrow Hall."

"The elders of the three families were dissatisfied? All those who were dissatisfied disappeared. Not killed, but transferred. Transferred to mining at a toxic mine on the border of Zezhou. The miasma there was so thick it could rot rocks; no one who went in ever came back alive."

"Within a month, everyone in Yongzhou who had a knife in their hands became obedient."

"The output of the medicinal herb fields has doubled. It's not that we planted more, it's that we squeezed them too hard. Before, the three families were under their own control, and there were a lot of losses and embezzlement in between. Indigo Sparrow Hall directly cut off all the intermediate links, from harvesting herbs to processing to shipping, it runs a straight line from start to finish. If any link goes wrong, everyone on the line is implicated."

"Efficiency has increased, but the people below are going crazy."

"In the past few months, the number of herb farmers fleeing Yongzhou is more than in the previous three years combined. Many who couldn't escape had invested tens of thousands..."

Poisonous Forest Sea. He'd rather be eaten by a monster than be worked to death in a mine.

"There's one more thing."

"In the fifth month, a force emerged in the eastern part of Yongzhou, near the border of Chenzhou."

"They are not a gang, not bandits, but an organized, disciplined armed force with maritime transport capabilities. Their flag is pure black with a silver-blue mountain embroidered on it. They have no name, no origin, and no one even knows what the mountain on the flag represents."

"They did three things as soon as they arrived. First, at the two ferry crossings at the easternmost tip of Yongzhou, Linjiang Ferry and Duanyuji, they directly drove away the garrison troops that the Indigo Sparrow Hall had just sent. Their tactics were swift and decisive; there was no negotiation, they just took action. The leader used naval warfare tactics, with fast boats blocking the river, crossbows raining down, and foot soldiers reaping the rewards. The Bone Forging Realm thugs were wiped out in a single encounter."

"Secondly, three watchtowers were erected overnight on the coastline between the two ferry crossings. They were wooden structures, but covered with sheet metal, and crossbows were mounted on the watchtowers. The construction speed was not like on-site construction, but more like prefabricated parts being directly assembled."

"Third, they opened a market."

"Yes, the market. Right at the riverside ferry crossing. The things they sell drive everyone crazy: sea salt, dried fish, dried sea animal meat, and a small amount of deep-sea specialties. The prices are 30% cheaper than the official prices at the Indigo Sparrow Hall."

"After the news spread, herbalists and small vendors from five nearby towns all rushed to Linjiang Ferry. A leader of the Indigo Sparrow Hall led fifty men to enforce the law," but they were ambushed three miles outside the ferry. All fifty men were wiped out, and the leader was tied to a wooden stake and thrown into the river.

He stood by the official road, a salted fish stuffed in his mouth.

"Those who survived were released, each with a note attached to their body that simply read, 'No further interaction.'"

"The Indigo Sparrow Hall was in an uproar. Yao Falcon dispatched a captain with three hundred men, all elites at or above the Yi Jin realm, to set off for Duan Yu Ji overnight."

"As a result, these three hundred people were cut off from their retreat halfway there. The enemy did not kill them all, but killed the two leaders who were at the peak of the Yi Jin Realm. The rest of them had their weapons and rations confiscated and walked back shirtless."

"Since then, the Indigo Sparrow Hall has temporarily refrained from making any moves eastward. It's not that they don't want to, but they can't afford to—the poison mine on the border of Zezhou has run into trouble. A strange beast that suddenly appeared out of nowhere overturned the mine, killing more than seventy laborers. Yao Falcon personally went to handle it."

"Old Xu, this Black Flag force comes from the sea, has a stable supply of goods, and operates like a military, but not the Daheng military. I suspect they're from Shengzhou. Among the three alliances and twelve bandits of Shengzhou, several have this kind of long-distance shipping capability. But we can't find out which one it is right now. They're too tight-lipped."

"If you're still alive, be careful of this black flag after you get out. Anyone who can stand under the nose of the Indigo Sparrow Hall is no pushover."

I've finished reading the second letter.

Xu Hao raised his head and glanced at the cripple.

The lame man was picking at his bones with his head down, showing no intention of looking up.

Xu Hao disassembled the third bamboo tube.

The third letter: "The Black Flag Men have expanded."

"Within three months, they expanded from two ferry crossings to the entire eastern coastline of Yongzhou, stretching 180 miles from Duanyuji in the north to Aobeijiao in the south. None of the fishing villages and towns along the coast put up a resistance. They were not subdued by beatings, but rather fed."

"They provided fish, salt, and basic deworming medicine to the people along the coast. They didn't use silver to pay for their services, but rather as payment for their labor."

Helping them repair the docks, move goods, patrol, and farm will earn them food rations and medicinal herbs.

"The herb farmers in the heart of Yongzhou, who are being exploited to the point of exhaustion by the Indigo Sparrow Hall, are running eastward every day. The Indigo Sparrow Hall has set up three checkpoints in the middle to stop some of them, but the coastline is too long to be blocked at all."

"I can't find the exact number of Black Flag members. But judging from their ability to control 180 miles of coastline at the same time, they must have at least two thousand people. Moreover, they have a clear internal hierarchy, with each stronghold having fixed patrol times and a shift change system."

Unlike a hastily assembled band of pirates, they resembled a well-trained garrison.

"The falcon's attitude towards this force changed. In the eighth month, he no longer sent troops, but instead sent a merchant envoy to Linjiangdu to negotiate."

The merchant envoy was received politely and treated to good food and drink for three days, then politely sent back. He brought back only...

The phrase "May each place be at peace, and may we not interfere with each other" is used to describe a peaceful coexistence between the mountains and seas.

"It is said that the falcon laughed. This is the first time he has laughed since he came to Yongzhou."

"Nobody knows what he's laughing about."

"And another thing. Mu Yunchuan has been promoted. He's now the Zhennan Steward of the Indigo Sparrow Hall," meaning he's no longer just in charge of resource allocation, but the defense of the entire southern part of Yongzhou. He has a captain under his command who reports directly to him."

"This kid's methods for rising to power were dirty. The former Zhennan Steward of the Indigo Sparrow Hall was surnamed Liu, a man Yao Falcon brought from the capital, at the early stage of the Inner Strength Realm. Three months ago, this Steward Liu led a team to patrol the border of Zezhou, and accidentally fell into a sinkhole at a toxic mine, breaking three ribs and his right leg."

"Mu Yunchuan happened to be passing by and organized men to rescue Deacon Liu, sending him back to Yongzhou City for treatment. Yao Jun commended Mu Yunchuan, appointing him as the temporary deacon of Zhennan. This "temporary" appointment has lasted ninety days, and he hasn't been replaced."

"As for why Deacon Liu fell into the sinkhole unexpectedly, there were traces of chiseling on the rocks at the edge of the sinkhole, but no one bothered to investigate."

"Mu Yunchuan's influence within the Indigo Sparrow Hall is growing stronger, but I can't guarantee whether he'll still listen to you. This kind of person will side with whoever offers him the greatest benefits. Right now, the Indigo Sparrow Hall is probably offering him far more than you can."

"Old Xu, let me be blunt. If you really die in the woods, then consider all this I wrote as wasted. If you're still alive, Mu Yunchuan's move might no longer be in your hands."

Finished reading the third letter.

Xu Hao's expression remained unchanged.

He stuffed the letter back into the bamboo tube and opened the last one.