“But he’s dead now. Even with his extraordinary talent, everything has come to naught.”
“Sigh…”
“Your name being on the Hanlin hunting list isn’t a big deal, but the reward of a drop of saint blood complicates things. Saint blood is extremely important to the Demon Clan. It can create a Demon Marquis equivalent to a Hanlin scholar, or even allow those Demon Marquis who have been practicing hard to take a step further and become a Demon King equivalent to a Grand Academician. You’re just an Accomplished Scholar, and killing you rewards a drop of saint blood. The Demon Kings may not care, but those Demon Marquis and Demon Generals might go crazy with excitement.” Feng Yuanjun’s eyes were filled with deeper worry.
“Yes, this is indeed a cause for concern.” Fang Yun nodded calmly.
“Many times, we are powerless. I came mainly to remind you to do everything you can to improve your strength. The main reason is that you are too outstanding, and you are not from a prominent family or a powerful clan, so your path is a hundred times more difficult than theirs.”
“So my achievements should be a hundred times theirs, otherwise it would be too unfair to those who obstruct me!” Fang Yun said firmly.
Feng Yuanjun was pleased and said, “Good! It’s great that you can think this way! I was afraid that you would be discouraged by the suppression from all sides and let your courage to write be covered in dust, fearing those Semi-Saint prominent families.”
“I know my limits.” Fang Yun said.
“That’s good! After becoming a Presented Scholar, I will follow you to Jing Kingdom. I want to see you outshine a state with your literary talent, and suppress a nation!”
“I appreciate your good words. However, with such a big commotion on the front page of ‘The Path of the Saints’, which is even more important than the Qixi Literary Meeting, why is there no reaction from the capital?”
Feng Yuanjun smiled helplessly, “Yes, the commotion is too big. Everyone doesn’t know what to do and is still considering. However, there is finally some good news.”
“What good news?” Fang Yun asked.
“Some neutral officials have clearly stated that they will stay away from the Left Chancellor, and some of the Left Chancellor’s faction are openly praising you. Even some imperial censors from the Supervisory Court are impeaching the Left Chancellor. It can be seen that the scholars of Jing Kingdom are clear in their hearts. Since your article has been on the front page of ‘The Path of the Saints’, it is a great feat to revitalize the literary path of our Jing Kingdom. If you oppose you again and again, you deserve to be scolded as a traitor. Therefore, the officials of the Left Chancellor’s faction are unusually silent, as if waiting for the Empress Dowager and the Minister of Culture to take action.”
“Well, then I’ll wait a bit longer.” Fang Yun said.
Fang Yun waited until the tenth day of August, and the court’s reward had not yet come. Today was the day Li Wenying took him to the City of Confucius at the foot of the Inverted Peak Mountain, and it was also the day when the second issue of the “Literary Report” was published each month.
Before breakfast, Fang Yun flipped through the “Literary Report” that Fang Danaiu had bought.
The war news in the “Literary Report” had increased compared to before. The Grass Savages, Sand Savages, and Forest Savages had attacked the human race several times. Except for the Grain Nation, which had offered tributes for peace and had no casualties, other nations had varying degrees of casualties.
Jing Kingdom lost another county, with 3,000 people killed in battle, and nearly 10,000 captives and wounded. However, there was also good news. Zhang Poyue led an army to raid a Wolf Savage tribe, killing 2,000 enemies and losing less than 300 of his own men. This was the best record of Jing Kingdom in the past two years.
“No wonder he is known as the Mad General of Jiangzhou, he really has some skills. However, as a dignified second-rank general, commanding an army of 100,000, how come he won by a surprise attack?” Fang Yun thought to himself, this was indeed Zhang Poyue’s usual style.
The “Literary Report” was not a large newspaper like in later generations, it was similar to a magazine like “The Path of the Saints”, but much thicker.
Fang Yun flipped further back, and the words “Fang Yun of Jing Kingdom ranks fourth on the Hanlin hunting list” appeared in large font before his eyes.
Fang Yun read carefully, the list announced the changes in the Demon Clan’s hunting list, and he saw several familiar names.
The Tyrant Meng Lintang, who was originally ranked outside the top thirty in the Grand Academician list, was now ranked eleventh in the Grand Academician list, and his bounty had increased to five drops of saint blood.
“The Tyrant is still only a Hanlin scholar, but his ranking is higher than hundreds of Grand Academicians from ten nations. The key is that he is younger than the four great talents of this generation. He majors in military strategy and has obtained ‘The Three Articles of Han Xin’. If he becomes a Grand Academician, he is likely to squeeze out the last of the four great talents, the Poetry King, and stage a good show in the Holy Academy. He is really lucky. If Han Xin hadn’t died back then, he would have definitely become a Semi-Saint, and ‘The Three Articles of Han Xin’ could have become the foundation of Han Xin’s Path of the Saints.”
Fang Yun found that Li Wenying had advanced another step, ranking second on the Grand Academician list. His bounty was as much as nine drops of saint blood, and among the top ten in the Grand Academician list, he was the only one who was not from a Semi-Saint prominent family.
After listing the changes in the Demon Clan’s hunting list, the “Literary Report” also conducted an analysis. The evaluation of Fang Yun was just one sentence.
“The Demon Clan overestimates this person, the added reward is likely the Flood Dragon’s revenge, no need to take it seriously.”
Fang Yun felt a sense of indifference from this sentence, and this comment was obviously in conflict with such a striking headline.
Fang Yun looked for some famous people in Jing Kingdom and found that the Left Chancellor, as the head of Jing Kingdom’s civil officials, ranked quite high, ranking forty-ninth in the Grand Academician list, but his bounty was only a mere drop of saint blood, while many people behind him had a bounty of two drops of saint blood.
Just then, the conversation between Yang Yuhuan and Jiang Popo and others came from the kitchen.
“Madam, this is the meat of the savage goat, which I stewed before going to bed last night.”
“Oh? I also heard about this thing a few days ago. I don’t know how it suddenly became famous. Now many people are buying it to eat, and ordinary mutton has become cheaper.”
“In fact, in terms of taste, goat meat is far inferior to mutton. But this savage goat meat is very magical. Those savages are so powerful, what do they rely on? Their vitality and blood. These goats eat the grass of the savages and grow up among the savages, absorbing some vitality and blood. The human race can absorb the power of that vitality and blood by eating the meat of the savage goat, so the savage goat suddenly became popular.””Really? Then from now on, Little Yun will eat barbarian goat meat every day at home. But how can I distinguish between ordinary goat meat and barbarian goat meat?”
“There’s no need to distinguish. This kind of goat is called ‘stubborn goat’. They are naturally fond of jumping and are very strong. The key is that they have a bad temper, and humans can’t raise them. But it’s different for the barbarians. They are half-human and half-beast, so the stubborn goats behave well in front of them and can be raised. Besides, other goats can’t absorb the vitality of the barbarians, so it’s useless to buy them.”
“I see, then I can rest assured.”
Old Lady Jiang whispered, “Madam, this is a great tonic. Let the master eat it all the time, and you will understand later.”
“Understand what?” Yang Yuhuan asked curiously.
“It’s to make a man powerful.”
“Where?”
“You’ll know when you enter the bridal chamber.”
“…”
A faint smile appeared on Fang Yun’s face. He didn’t expect the humans to act so quickly. The stubborn goats eat more than ordinary goats, and they even eat the roots of the grass, causing more damage to the grassland.
Fang Yun continued to read the “Literary Report” and found a piece of news about a county that mainly relies on animal husbandry. The growth of the pasture was not good, but after diverting water from distant rivers and lakes and opening up a large number of water channels, the pasture yield increased. The number of cattle, sheep, and horses that could be raised increased significantly, which was a lesson for others.
Seeing the strategies he discussed in Book Mountain being implemented one by one, Fang Yun felt an indescribable joy in his heart.
“I can finally do something practical for the human race. But this is just the beginning!”
After breakfast, Fang Yun began to pack up, constantly putting things into the Swallowed Lake Pearl.
The little fox on the side stared at the Swallowed Lake Pearl with curiosity in her eyes. After a while, she stretched out her paw and placed it on Fang Yun’s hand, looking up and whimpering, as if asking what was going on. Were the things eaten by the shell?
Fang Yun didn’t explain, and the little fox became more curious, constantly walking around the Swallowed Lake Pearl, her fluffy tail swaying all the time.
In the end, Fang Yun put the Shocking Gallbladder Guqin into the Swallowed Lake Pearl, and then put the Swallowed Lake Pearl on the table to do other things. The little fox immediately jumped onto the table, stretched out her little paw to gently touch the Swallowed Lake Pearl and quickly retracted it, fearing that her paw would disappear like those things.
After trying several times, the little fox found that the Swallowed Lake Pearl had no reaction. She touched it with her paw again and again, but she couldn’t figure it out.
“Alright, I’m leaving now,” Fang Yun said.
The little fox held the Swallowed Lake Pearl in her mouth and jumped into Fang Yun’s arms. When Fang Yun took the Swallowed Lake Pearl away, she looked at Fang Yun with questioning eyes.
“I don’t know when I’ll be back. Why don’t you come with me to the Holy Land?” Fang Yun asked.
The little fox immediately showed a wary look and shook her head vigorously.
“Are you afraid of the Holy Land?”
The little fox shook her head.
“Do you dislike it?”
The little fox nodded.
Fang Yun smiled and stroked her little head, saying, “Alright, then you don’t have to go.”
The little fox hesitated and lowered her head, not knowing what she was thinking.
Fang Yun held the little fox and walked out of the bedroom. Everyone in the house was in the yard.
Yang Yuhuan tried her best to hide her reluctance and worry. She walked up to Fang Yun and affectionately helped him straighten his clothes. “Be careful when you’re out. That place is the City of Confucius, under the Holy Academy, different from other places. Since you are the top Accomplished Scholar of the Ten Nations, you will surely bring back good things from the Holy Land. Maybe there will be longevity fruits.”
Fang Da Niu said, “Right! Anyway, I’m a hundred percent confident. It’s a pity that you can’t eat mooncakes and admire the moon with us during the Mid-Autumn Festival.”
Yang Yuhuan took a box of beautifully packaged mooncakes from a servant and said, “This is the old Yufeng mooncake from Yu Hai Prefecture. You can eat it on the road.”
“Okay.” Fang Yun took the mooncakes and carried them in his hand.
Yang Yuhuan gave a few more instructions, and with great reluctance, she said, “You should go now, don’t delay the time. Mr. Li is so busy, you can’t let him wait.”
Fang Yun looked at Yang Yuhuan’s familiar face and said softly, “Then I’ll go first. When I come back, I’ll bring you some gifts from the City of Confucius.”
“Mm.”
As Fang Yun walked out, Fang Da Niu said, “You forgot to take your luggage. I’ll go get it for you.”
“No need, I’ve got everything,” Fang Yun said.
“Huh?” Fang Da Niu looked at Fang Yun in confusion.
Fang Yun had to take out the Swallowed Lake Pearl and shake it before putting it back and walking out.
Fang Da Niu blinked and asked, “What does that mean? Is it a magic trick?”
Yang Yuhuan couldn’t help but say, “That’s the Swallowed Lake Pearl.”
The servants looked at each other, all of them were shocked. They didn’t expect Fang Yun to have the legendary treasure.
“Awesome! Even more awesome than me, Fang Da Niu! Such an awesome person insists on catching cicadas in the middle of the night, it’s really strange.” Fang Da Niu muttered.
“Don’t send me off, you guys go back. Little fox, goodbye.” Fang Yun said, handing the little fox to Yang Yuhuan.
The little fox suddenly whimpered, opened her mouth and bit off a tuft of fur from her body. The pain made her eyes well up with tears. Then she held the fur in her mouth and raised her head, indicating Fang Yun to stretch out his hand. (To be continued.)