I Am Immortal in Great Yu

In other words, after every breakthrough, Fang Rui’s body stored a large amount of Primordial Qi.

This was also the reason why, despite his poor diet and the extremely basic medicinal meals—far from sufficient for someone of his Realm—he could still maintain his cultivation level and guarantee his combat strength.

"Oh, right. Because my body is in a state of super-abundance, it also has a big impact on... certain unspeakable areas..."

For instance, being a "seven-times-a-night man" was no fantasy for Fang Rui. The problem was, Third Sister couldn’t handle it.

"Ahem!"

Fang Rui shook his head, reining in his thoughts. ’Relying on the Primordial Qi stored in my body isn’t a long-term solution. I have to come up with a plan!’

He could buy some scarce supplies through Jiang Ping’an’s channels, but not much.

In truth, for a Fifth Grade Martial Artist like him, ordinary food was of little use anymore. He needed to eat medicinal meals.

’It’s true I’ve stockpiled a batch of medicinal herbs, but they aren’t old enough. Even if I brew them into medicinal meals, the effect would be mediocre—barely better than nothing...’

’Ideally, I need to use Old Medicine over fifty years old, or even hundred-year-old Great Medicine!’

The saying "poverty for scholars, wealth for warriors" was no joke. Practicing martial arts was truly a money pit, a bottomless abyss!

And this was with Fang Rui’s advantage of using Tribulation Points to advance, meaning he didn’t need external resources for breakthroughs—only to maintain his Realm afterward.

One could only imagine the immense resources others needed to rely on their own power for breakthroughs.

’The Taiping Bandits’ actions are probably also an indirect way of forcing the city’s unaffiliated Martial Artists to join them!’

Fang Rui vaguely understood.

In fact, it wasn’t that he had no way to deal with the situation.

A tree dies when moved, but a person thrives. If he couldn’t afford to provoke them, couldn’t he just leave?!

There was already news of a merchant caravan leaving Changshan County Town. If he weren’t waiting for Fang Baicao, Fang Rui would have already left with Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family, Fang Ling, Third Sister, and Nannan.

Besides the issue of resources, what was more important was...

’Don’t be fooled by the current calm in Changshan City. The Great Yu Court isn’t finished yet. Once they react, Government Soldiers, and even State Soldiers, will be dispatched to begin a drawn-out war with the Taiping Bandits...’

This tribulation of the people had only reached a temporary pause; it was far from over!

’If it were just me, I wouldn’t be afraid. I could even get involved, operate from the shadows, and seize some Tribulation... But there’s still Mom, Ling’Er, Third Sister, and Nannan...’

’Forget it. For now, the true nature of this world is still like looking at flowers in a fog—hazy and unclear... Acting rashly would be a good way to get myself killed!’

’I have infinite longevity, so there’s no need to rush... Once Dad gets back, I should take them and leave this quagmire as soon as possible!’

Fang Rui made up his mind.

...

「It was afternoon.」

Outside the window, light and shadow were a dappled, hazy dance.

Pondering his situation, Fang Rui paced to the window, about to stretch.

Suddenly, he saw some familiar faces he hadn’t seen in a long time.

...

’Uncle Zao Hua, Xiang Lin’s wife, and Ah Huai... They made it back safely?!’

Fang Rui watched the three travel-worn figures outside, their faces etched with weariness and hardship, and a thought stirred in his mind. ’That’s right. I once suspected they were captured by the Rebel Army after leaving the city and forced into the human-wave attacks... But that was just speculation, not a certainty. Among the neighbors, there must have been some who slipped through the net and survived...’

"Uncle Zao Hua! Xiang Lin’s wife! Ah Huai!"

Fang Rui went outside and greeted them one by one, his voice filled with delight. "You’re back from outside the city! Are you all okay?!"

The feeling of reuniting with old acquaintances after such a great calamity was something that couldn’t be described unless personally experienced.

"Brother Rui?!"

Uncle Zao Hua’s voice was also filled with excitement. "Yes, we’re back! My family is fine. We were really lucky. Oh, and it’s all thanks to you, Brother Rui. Back then, because of your warning, my family was among the first to leave the city... The ones who left later, like the Fu Quan Family and the White Stone Family, I heard they were all captured by the bandits... I mean, the Rebel Army..."

"What about Sister-in-law Cai Gen, Er Dan, and the others? They didn’t come back after the city fell?" he asked.

"No."

Fang Rui shook his head with a bitter smile.

He knew full well what happened to those captured by the Taiping Bandits. The men, whether young or old, were all forced into human-wave attacks on the city walls... As for the women, their fate went without saying.

By the time the city fell, most of them had already been expended... Even among the few who might have survived, none were heard from again. The result was clear.

After all, those people harbored deep hatred for the Taiping Bandits and were all considered unstable elements.

"Then they’re most likely gone," Uncle Zao Hua said, naturally having thought of this as well.

"Yes!"

Fang Rui sighed, filled with sorrow.

He’d had some minor disagreements with Sister-in-law Cai Gen’s family. When they had borrowed grain, they had sided with Song Dashan’s family against his. But that was all trivial. After he got the grain back, he no longer held much of a grudge.

Now, confirming that they had met with disaster, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of melancholy.

"Let’s not talk about that. It’s good you’re back, really good! Uncle Zao Hua, wait a moment..."

Fang Rui went back into his house, brought out ten catties of wheat bran, and pushed it into his hands. "Uncle Zao Hua, take this. And like I said before, just consider it a loan."

Reuniting with an old acquaintance, coupled with the fact that Zao Hua’s family had spoken up for his in the past, made them worthy of his help.

As for his own family’s grain supply?

They really weren’t lacking.

The Fang Family already had several hundred catties of wheat bran stored away that they hadn’t eaten, and with the relief grain distributed by the Taiping Bandits, they had even more.

...

「Evening.」

Someone from the Tiger Gang came to deliver a notice: starting today, for any household without a member serving in the army, the relief grain distributed by the Rebel Army would be cut in half.

Originally, the Taiping Bandits’ conscription wasn’t mandatory, but now, this was tantamount to forcing people to enlist.

This had little effect on the Fang Family—Fang Baicao counted as one serving in the army, so the Taiping Bandits still gave their family the full amount of relief grain.

Even without this relief grain, it meant little to the Fang Family.

In the backyard cellar, Fang Rui still had a large amount of grain he had stockpiled earlier. Besides six to seven hundred catties of wheat bran, there were also three to four hundred catties of Sorghum Flour and about a hundred catties of corn flour, totaling over a thousand catties.

Of course, this was just the Fang Family’s situation. For the many remaining neighbors in Willow Alley, the impact was significant, and it sent them into a chorus of sighs.

"I don’t have any men left in my family! With the relief grain cut in half, life’s going to be so hard!"

"My family’s fine. My eldest is in the Rebel Army, so ours won’t be cut..."

"I thought they were coming to collect the protection fee... As long as it’s not that, it’s fine, it’s fine!"

"You don’t get it. Why would the Tiger Gang even bother with poor schlubs like us anymore? For the past two days, they’ve been helping the Rebel Army raid the wealthy families. They’ve long since been feasting and getting rich..."

"That’s right. The Tiger Gang and those other gangs are backed by the Xia Family, and the Xia Family was the one who surrendered the city to the Rebel Army... And now, even the gang members have become arrogant these past two days, walking around all puffed up like crabs..."

...

’The Tiger Gang?!’

Standing by the window and listening to the discussions outside, Fang Rui’s eyes narrowed slightly. ’It seems I’ve found a source for the Great Medicine I was worrying about!’

"Ah, the Tiger Gang... you’ve eaten my family’s protection money for so many years. It’s time to spit it all back out, with interest! Just wait for tonight..." he murmured, his voice trailing off until it was inaudible.

At that moment, the last rays of the setting sun fell upon the land, dyeing half of Changshan City the color of blood.

...