Chapter 183: Teaching Without Reservation
Chapter 183: Chapter 183: Teaching Without Reservation
It was a young attendant in green robes, his attitude respectful.
Evidently, the City Lord, Mr. Langhao, had detected Zhu Ge in advance with his Divine Sense.
"Let’s go," Zhu Ge nodded.
He followed the attendant inside and saw Mr. Langhao.
The City Lord was sitting by the window with a pot of tea and two cups on the table before him.
"Younger Brother Zhu, you’re here?" Mr. Langhao waved with a smile. "Sit, have some tea."
Zhu Ge didn’t stand on ceremony and sat down opposite him.
Liu Jianjian, meanwhile, stood obediently at the door and did not enter.
"How did it go? Was the recruitment successful?" Mr. Langhao asked as he poured the tea.
"It was," Zhu Ge said, picking up his cup and taking a sip. "Between Qingshi Village, Slaughtering Village, Dog Street, and a few other villages, I recruited a total of two thousand people."
"Two thousand?" A flash of surprise crossed Mr. Langhao’s eyes. "That many?"
"They all volunteered," Zhu Ge said. "In these chaotic times, what the common folk need most is a sense of security. My Six Paths Palace can provide that, so naturally, they’re willing to follow me."
Mr. Langhao was silent for a moment before letting out a sudden sigh.
"Younger Brother Zhu, you’re right. We’ve been sitting in this city for too long. We’ve forgotten how the people in the villages live."
He paused, then added, "I’ve thought carefully about what you said the other day about ’surrounding the city with the villages.’ It truly makes sense."
"Although Jianshui City has held, many of the surrounding villages have been slaughtered by Demon Beasts."
"If we had organized the villagers earlier, perhaps so many wouldn’t have died. This was a dereliction of my duty."
Zhu Ge said nothing, merely listening quietly.
"So..." Mr. Langhao looked up, his gaze fixed on Zhu Ge. "I’ve already spoken with the people from several Martial Arts Halls and academies in the city. They... are willing to work with you!"
Mr. Langhao’s eyes burned with intensity.
’Oh?’
’Willing to work with me?’
Zhu Ge raised an eyebrow. "How many people?"
"From the Martial Arts Halls, four are willing to contribute men. That’s a total of three hundred Martial Artists, with one hundred and twenty at the Anger Realm and one hundred and eighty below it."
"From the academies, three are willing to contribute. That’s a total of eighty Confucian Scholars, all at the Cultivation Realm."
"In addition, there are also some Loose Cultivators..."
Mr. Langhao listed them one by one.
Zhu Ge waited for Mr. Langhao to finish.
"...And Tongfu Restaurant is also willing to offer support. Regarding the Kitchen staff you mentioned, my daughter, Li Hao, is willing to dispatch people to accompany the army, on the condition that they don’t have to fight. You can discuss the specifics with her later."
After speaking, Mr. Langhao looked at Zhu Ge, his eyes filled with a smile.
Seeing this, Zhu Ge couldn’t help but show gratitude in his eyes. He smiled and said, "Brother Langhao, you’ve basically emptied out Jianshui City’s entire savings for me."
Mr. Langhao gave a wry smile. "I have no choice. There’s been no word from Yuan Yang City, and the situation in Red River Prefecture is getting worse and worse."
"If we don’t take the initiative and strike, Jianshui City won’t be able to hold out once the Demon Race recovers."
"It’s better to attack than to just sit here and wait for death."
"My previous insistence on defending only Jianshui City led to the devastation of the surrounding villages. The fault is all mine."
"If I didn’t have to stay and ensure the peace of Jianshui City, I would want to ride out with you myself."
Zhu Ge nodded solemnly. "Brother Langhao, you can rest assured and focus on defending Jianshui City. You don’t need to worry about the others."
"As long as they follow me, I won’t let them suffer any losses."
"Cultivation Techniques, martial skills, pills, Spiritual Artifacts—I will find a way to acquire them all."
"Once we reclaim the cities, the spoils of war will be distributed according to merit."
Mr. Langhao looked at Zhu Ge with satisfaction and laughed heartily. "Good! Good! Good!"
He said the word "good" three times, then stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open.
Moonlight streamed in, illuminating his face.
"Younger Brother Zhu, when you return, I too will be at your command!"
* * *
It was late in the night by the time they left the City Lord’s Mansion.
Liu Jianjian followed behind Zhu Ge and asked in a low voice, "Master, is that Mr. Langhao trustworthy?"
"He is, and he isn’t," Zhu Ge said. "But as long as our interests align, he’s trustworthy. You shouldn’t be so quick to judge a gentleman by your own petty standards."
Liu Jianjian nodded, only half-understanding. "So, where are we going now?"
"To Tongfu Restaurant."
"Again?" Liu Jianjian’s eyes went wide. "Master, you haven’t actually taken a fancy to that Li Hao, have you? Should... should I tell Sister Liusha about this?"
Liu Jianjian’s gaze was a little shifty.
She had always followed Hua Liusha’s lead.
But Zhu Ge was her master.
She didn’t know whether to support Hua Liusha or Zhu Ge if her master decided to take a concubine.
’But...’ Liu Jianjian’s eyes darted around.
She suddenly thought that if that proprietor Li Hao also joined them, many interesting things might happen around Zhu Ge.
’Watching Hua Liusha and Li Hao compete for his attention... might be pretty interesting, wouldn’t it?’
Zhu Ge didn’t know what Liu Jianjian was thinking. He just glanced at her and said, "I’m going to see Li Hao about the Kitchen staff and prep cooks. We have two thousand people to feed. We can’t have them chewing on Demon Beast Flesh every day, can we?"
"Hmph, fine," Liu Jianjian pouted and said no more.
’What a shame!’
* * *
「Tongfu Restaurant.」
The night was quiet, and the restaurant had already closed.
But just as Zhu Ge reached the entrance, the door opened.
"Young Master Zhu, the Shopkeeper has been waiting for you for a long time," a waiter greeted him eagerly.
It was the same waiter Zhu Ge had spoken with before.
The waiter led Zhu Ge to the backyard, where he saw Li Hao sitting in the courtyard, a table full of dishes before her.
"Young Master Zhu, you must be hungry. Come, have something to eat," Li Hao called out with a bewitching smile.
"Oh? A Spirit Meal?" Zhu Ge didn’t hold back, sitting down and immediately starting to eat.
"Whoa!" Liu Jianjian exclaimed.
Li Hao chuckled. "Liu Jianjian, Lord of the Demon Palace, please, join us."
"Mm-hm... Ahem, well, alright, here I come." Liu Jianjian put on a brief show of modesty before shuffling over, grabbing a chicken leg, and starting to gnaw on it.
’This is amazing!’
The aroma was so irresistible that not even Liu Jianjian, a hedgehog demon who could stomach raw insects, could refuse it, let alone a Martial Dao Martial Artist like Zhu Ge who was always hungry.
"Young Master Zhu, I hear you recruited two thousand people?" Li Hao asked as she poured him some wine.
"Yes," Zhu Ge nodded. "That’s why I came to ask for your help."
"Help with what?"
"Kitchen staff and prep cooks."
Li Hao paused for a moment, then smiled. "That’s not a favor. Our restaurant isn’t exactly short on brave and heroic men."
Zhu Ge stopped eating at her words and looked at Li Hao seriously. "To me, it is."
’It really is!’
’Others might be said to be doing it for fame and fortune.’
’But this is the Tongfu Restaurant!’
When Zhu Ge had come to Jianshui City to discuss cooperation before, he hadn’t invited the likes of Shihu Pavilion.
The reason was that the benefits Zhu Ge could offer them were completely insignificant in their eyes.
As major cross-regional powers, they were more concerned with gold and silver coins, or bartering for goods.
Things like conquering new territory were of no concern to them.
’As for the Martial Arts Halls and academies?’
In a border region like Red River Prefecture, there weren’t many major powers.
These Martial Arts Halls, academies, and Immortal Sects were basically all local, not cross-regional.
Therefore, conquering new territory and expanding their sphere of influence was actually very attractive to them.
’But the likes of Shihu Pavilion and Nine-Colored Hall?’
To put it bluntly, even if Yunjiang fell, let alone Red River Prefecture, these powers that exist solely to make money would probably only consider evacuating.
Tongfu Restaurant, in fact, could have done the same.
Even if she didn’t help Zhu Ge this time, Li Hao could just take her crew and open up shop in another city.
Yet, Li Hao still chose to help.
"In any case, I already owed you a favor. In the future, I’ll repay you with a Spiritual Object and teach you everything I know without holding anything back!"