Caiqiu Calendar Year 299, October 18, Late Night
Hiss......
Zhang Qinggu, covered in dust and grime, with his entire body layered in rice powder, dragged his weary self back to his courtyard home. As soon as he returned, he immediately stripped off his clothes and jumped straight into the ice water barrel that had been prepared in advance.
His skin was a dark red, scorched and blackened, emanating a scorching toxic aura, and he looked like a giant burning piece of coal. As he jumped in, the ice bucket reacted violently, instantly filling the room with thick smoke.
"Survived another day, this rice harvesting is really inhuman work!"
After a long time, feeling the fire poison within him subside a bit, Zhang Qinggu slowly opened his eyes and couldn’t help but let out a heavy sigh.
"Those dog officials truly don’t consider us humans..."
Words like these could only be spoken within the safety of his own courtyard.
Zhang Qinggu sighed once more. Remembering something, his eyes showed a hint of excitement as he thought, "Zhu’er and Hong’er have started Reshaping Skin. Thankfully, I applied for leave for them back in August. If the people from the Subordinate Bureau found out, they’d also be dragged out to harvest rice. I must remind them not to go out..."
Knock knock knock...
"Grandfather!"
Just as he thought, the voice of his little granddaughter was heard from outside the door. Zhang Qinggu quickly rose, dressing while he asked, "What is it, Hong’er?"
"The master says he wants to ask you something."
"Alright, you go ahead. Grandpa will be right there."
Hearing that it was Hong Yu summoning him, Zhang Qinggu hastily dressed and quickly made his way to the main house.
Entering the main house, he noticed his two granddaughters were only waiting by the door and were not inside Xia Hong’s room. Disappointment showed in Zhang Qinggu’s eyes briefly before he posed himself, approaching the chamber door, bowing deeply as he said, "This old one greets the master!"
"e in."
Inside the main house, Xia Hong sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, still wearing the same blue Gai clothes. Seeing Zhang Qinggu with his head persistently lowered and appearing very reserved, Xia Hong smiled and said, "I’ve been staying at your place for two months now, no need to be so nervous."
"The master’s presence is like that of a dragon or phoenix; a crude person like me feels as insignificant as a firefly pared to the sun and moon, inevitably overwhelmed and disposed."
"Hahahahaha..."
Having lived many years, Zhang Qinggu indeed had a knack for flattery, making Xia Hong laugh a few times, shaking his head as he said, "I summoned you here to ask if you know about the Frost Ash Association?"
Frost Ash Association...
Hearing the name, Zhang Qinggu’s body shuddered, and he instinctively turned his head to look outside the door, then looked up at Xia Hong. With a face showing shock, he whispered, "Master, those three words should not be spoken casually."
Xia Hong raised an eyebrow and continued to ask, "It seems you do know. Tell me, what is the situation with this Frost Ash Association?"
After asking, Xia Hong reached into the nearby Yellow Mustard Bag, taking out a half-meter-long plant along with a silver box, carefully examining them.
The plant had a brown jade hue throughout, with only one main stem. At the top grew dozens of hand-sized leaves, cradling a flower bud that had yet to sprout. The bud emitted a rich fragrance, and once taken out, it immediately filled the room with its aroma.
After looking at the plant, Xia Hong opened the silver box, revealing five thumb-sized, blackish insects with sharp heads and thick tails inside.
The five insects were still alive. When the box was opened, they immediately raised their tails, all aiming toward Xia Hong’s face.
Ding......
Unfortunately, Xia Hong was too quick; he simply stretched out his hand and caught all five insects. He then opened his palm, and an immense energy of blood and Qi was unleashed, causing the five insects to writhe and struggle in apparent agony.
"Rice Seed, Black Firefly, Master you..."
Upon seeing the brown jade top-grade Rice Seed and the live Black Fireflies, Zhang Qinggu’s expression turned blank momentarily, but then he immediately realized that Xia Hong had visited the Rice Field and was well aware of the motion in the village over the last two months regarding rice collection.
Linking all this to Xia Hong’s inquiry about the Frost Ash Association, Zhang Qinggu suddenly deduced a theory, and after a moment of hesitation, he slowly began recounting to Xia Hong about the Frost Ash Association.
"It must be some loose-tongued person in the village spreading rumors for the master to hear about the Frost Ash Association..."
"You don’t need to be afraid, I’m not a Chen Cang person..."
Xia Hong immediately detected Zhang Qinggu’s concern and quickly gestured him to relax, continuing with a smile, "This Frost Ash Association is a rebel organization, aimed mainly at overthrowing the oppressive Chu Family regime and abolishing the Six-class System. I’m aware of these details, so just tell me what you know."
Finally somewhat relaxed, Zhang Qinggu still hesitated for a moment due to his cautious nature before slowly beginning to speak.
"The Frost Ash Association is a long-standing underground resistance organization in Chen Cang, existing for over twenty years now. It is rumored that they have headquarters in the Five Prefectures and Seven Cities, from which they establish branches in nearby slave villages to massively recruit members.
In the early years, they rallied together to cause several major events in various places, even alerting the Prefectural Governor. However, troops were swiftly dispatched to suppress them fiercely. As a result, the Five Prefectures and Two Cities hold deep-seated animosity towards the Frost Ash Association, killing their members on sight in a relentless crackdown. Under such high-pressure brutality, one would think that this organization should be unable to grow.
Yet, contrary to expectations, the scale of the Frost Ash Association seems to have grown larger in recent years, even..."
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