Even Lord Thousand Households Ming was being hunted down.
"Hmm?"
Zhang Mingrui's eyes flickered as he flipped over the courtyard wall, lifted a pile of broken wood, and looked down at the armor-clad person, barely clinging to life.
Households Commander Ming...
How did he end up here?
But the condition of Commander Ming was evidently dire, his breaths more outgoing than incoming, and his chest heaved less noticeably by the mont.
It seed,
he could die at any mont.
"Hmm!"
Almost sensing soone approaching, the unconscious Commander Ming's wrist trembled slightly, gripping the giant sword, but was powerless to move.
"So badly injured?"
Fang Zheng knelt down, gently pressing Ming's wrist, his brows furrowed.
Such a weak pulse would've been fatal for ordinary people long ago, and even a martial artist might not survive.
"Search!"
"He's nearby!"
"There's a hefty reward for finding him!"
The calls ca from the surroundings, causing Fang Zheng's face to tense, instinctively rising to his feet.
He glanced down at the fallen Commander Ming, and after a mont of consideration, sighed helplessly, bending to support him up.
"Let's get out of here first."
Using his familiarity with the local terrain, Fang Zheng silently evaded the searchers, taking Commander Ming to a deserted courtyard.
"Water..."
"Water!"
Commander Ming lay on a bed, murmuring unconsciously.
"Wait a mont."
Fang Zheng glanced around and found a water jar. Without considering if the water was clean, he scooped so into a cup and brought it to Commander Ming's lips.
Reaching out, he removed the mask.
"Hmm..."
The sight that t his eyes made him press his lips together, then he picked up the cup and slowly allowed the water to flow into Ming's mouth.
"dicine!"
With the water's hydration, Commander Ming's awareness seed to settle slightly, still unable to open his eyes or lift his hand, yet capable of faint speech.
"Waist... pocket... dicine..."
"Alright."
Fang Zheng understood and, with effort, undid the armor on Ming, found a pouch, and fed him a pill mixed with water.
After the dication, Commander Ming's breathing evened out noticeably.
At least,
his life seed secure for the mont.
"Wealth and honor are determined by fate, life and death by destiny. I've done my utmost; now it depends on your fortune, Lord Thousand Households."
Gazing at the unconscious Commander Ming, Fang Zheng muttered quietly, then concealed him in an inconspicuous spot before slipping out of the room.
Before long.
"Over there!"
"Don't let him escape!"
"Quick, chase!"
The commotion outside caused Commander Ming's fingers to tremble, his eyes barely opening a sliver. Only when the sounds faded into the distance did he heave a deep sigh.
*
*
*
The backyard of Fang Mansion.
Here, the quiet serenity starkly contrasted with the city's chaos.
Wu Hai and others were repairing the wooden fence when they saw Fang Zheng return, eagerly taking the grains from him, exclaiming 'Master' repeatedly with delight.
"Spring is approaching, and the Anxi Army will soon dispatch its forces here. Then, the city's chaos will settle, and life will beco stable."
"Hmm."
Fang Zheng nodded, looking toward the corridor connecting the back and front courtyards, saying:
"What's this about?"
Unbeknownst to him, soone had completely sealed the corridor with bricks, leaving no gap and cutting off the front and back courtyards.
"It was Hundred Households Commander Kong who had it done."
Old Liu said:
"I'm not sure why, but a lot of won ca to the front courtyard yesterday, creating quite a lively scene. Perhaps Commander Kong found it improper."
"Or..."
"Didn't want people running around?"
"Oh!" Fang Zheng raised an eyebrow but didn't intend to delve deeper:
"Let him be!"
Hundred Households Commander Kong fancied Miss Jin Shu and would visit the backyard whenever he had the opportunity, so blocking off the corridor seed sowhat strange.
"Master."
Old Liu nodded and added:
"There's also the child you brought back; we don't know his family na. Should he follow your surna?"
"Follow my surna?" Fang Zheng shook his head:
"I have no intention of adopting a son."
"Adopting?" Old Liu looked surprised, then quickly said:
"That's not what I ant. A household slave can also take on the master's surna; Master can raise him as a household slave, especially as we know his background."
Household slave,
Children born to household servants usually serve the master's family as they grow up, which is common in wealthy households.
Even.
So slaves of the noble families, because they grew up with the family's children, have such close relationships that their status surpasses that of concubines.
"That was so long ago."
Fang Zheng shook his head:
"But the surna Fang doesn't really matter, let's call him Qu Ji then. This child is too weak, I hope he can get rid of illnesses and beco strong in the future."
"Understood."
Old Liu responded.
At the doorway.
The wet nurse and Xiao Ru each held a child in their arms, and when they saw Fang Zheng looking over, they both curtsied, almost kneeling to the ground.
"You all go about your business."
Fang Zheng waved his hand:
"No need to mind ."
When he was present, the atmosphere beca restrained, so he simply returned to his room to assess the gains from this trip.
......
In the underground dark room.
The light of the oil lamp flickered.
Fang Zheng put down the book in his hand, lost in thought.
"That Daoist turned out to be a registered Daoist of the Dragon Gate Sect, which is one of the seven branches of the Celestial Master Dao with a complete heritage."
"He dared to attack the Imperial Court's Households Commander, clearly having no intention of letting Commander Ming live."
Though the Dragon Gate Sect is a large sect, it couldn't possibly protect a criminal who killed an official of the court, and would most likely assist in his capture.
Based on Fang Zheng's understanding of the Otherworld over the past two years, the Celestial Master Dao is the most top-tier Daoist tradition of the current era.
It's proclaid as the orthodox Daoist Sect!
Since its establishnt, it has persisted for thousands of years, enduring changes of dynasties with unbroken heritage, naturally having unparalleled strengths.
Yet today, Emperor Taizong rose to power by leveraging the strength of the Profound Celestial Dao.
Thus, the court supported the Profound Celestial Dao and suppressed the Celestial Master Dao, causing the decline of the Celestial Master Dao, while the status of Profound Celestial Dao increased steadily.
It is said.
mbers of the Imperial Family, generation after generation, have Princes and royal descendants who join the Profound Celestial Dao, and even the current Daoist Lord of the Profound Celestial Dao has significant connections with the Wei Dynasty's Imperial Family.
Moreover,
The Fangxian Dao is on par with the Profound Celestial Dao and Celestial Master Dao.
These are the Three Daos.
Beneath the Three Daos are the Four Sects: Yama Sect, Zen Sect, Luofu Immortal Sect, and Dragon Tiger Sect.
Among them, the Zen Sect mainly consists of monks and nuns, with many internal branches, and its influence is not at all inferior to the Three Daoist Traditions.
The Luofu Immortal Sect is the most mysterious, said to have a heritage from Ancient Immortals. Though it has few disciples, each is exceptional, mainly located on overseas islands.
The Dragon Tiger Sect once stood alongside the Three Daos, but for unknown reasons, it later declined.
As for the Yama Sect…
This sect is reputedly an Evil Dao, not part of the righteous path, and is said to be the leader of the Six Paths of Demon Heaven, with the White Lotus Sect as one of its branches.
Of course,
The truth is hard to discern.
"This has nothing to do with ."
"I just didn't expect that I would one day be able to co into contact with such elevated beings, even having killed a Daoist of the Dragon Gate Sect."
Fang Zheng shook his head, lowered his gaze to the book.
"Profound Fire Twelve True Chapters"
This is a secret manual recording various Fire Elent Magic, containing the Thirteen Spirit Talismans, Nine Schools of Magic, Three Array Paths, and One Line of Pill Formulas.
The Pill Formula is the Profound Fire Treasure Refining Technique.
Arrays include the Fire Crow Array, Fire Separation Array, and Eight Trigrams Fire Dragon Array.
Spells include the Purifying Fire Spell, Separation Fire Technique…
All in all, the Profound Fire Twelve True Chapters is an extrely comprehensive magic secret manual, worthy of being a disciple of a grand sect, far superior to penny-pinching Zhang Mingrui.
Other people's Daoists are probably wealthier than your Mage.
The Black-Skinned Gourd is also a Magical Artifact, called the Fire Refining Gourd, containing dozens of Raven Essences, refined with Fla through magic.
Thus refined into Fire Crows, which can be unleashed against foes.
If you are a Mage, you can even have the Fire Crows form a Fire Crow Array, whereupon dozens of crows will cover an area of over a dozen ters, capable of killing hundreds with a single strike.
This can be called…
Terrifying!
Far superior to the Five Ghosts' Pouch by more than one magnitude.
Understanding the effects of the Black-Skinned Gourd, Fang Zheng felt a pang of regret, gazing at the knife marks on the gourd, as if they were cuts on his own body.
"I wonder if it can still be used."
"If it can't be used…"
"It would be a huge loss!"
"I should have used less force."
As for that leg bone, it was sothing the Daoist had just acquired recently, of unknown origin, but after refinent, its power was terrifying, capable of seriously injuring the armored Households Commander Ming with a single strike.
The so-called refinent.
Is to link a Magical Artifact with one's own aura, enabling control as if it were part of one's body.
If a Warlock wants to refine a Magical Artifact, they need to water it daily with their own blood, and connect auras through Secret Techniques, refining it bit by bit.
A Mage doesn't need to go through such trouble.
They can just operate Mana and use Secret Techniques to refine it.
The key is…
Where to get Secret Techniques?
Fang Zheng didn't have any before, but now he does. The Profound Fire Treasure Refining Technique from the Profound Fire Twelve True Chapters can refine both pills and Magical Artifacts.
"What a good man!"
Fang Zheng sighed again:
"If only I hadn't let the Resentful Soul devour your body, I should have built a tomb for you to repay your generous gift."
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