bestfiction Chapter 32 Military Glory
Chapter 32 Military Glory
Zhong Ming was already pale from excessive blood loss. His entire back had been "fully massaged" by sharp pebbles, leaving it a bloody mess with almost no skin visible.
Yue Kaishan's condition was even worse. He had fractures all over his body. He looked better than Zhong Ming on the surface, but his internal injuries were very serious. His internal organs had been violently impacted. Even with the help of magical herbs, he would need to rest for at least a month.
The elderly Mr. Wang's usually expressionless face was so tense that layers of wrinkles appeared on his face.
I really hope that nothing bad happens to these two.
If these two encounter a mine tunnel collapse while mining, or get hit on the head by a rock, he won't have to take any responsibility. He can even make a few sarcastic remarks and leisurely cultivate on his own.
However, this time a monster appeared in the mine, which falls under the responsibility of the cleaning team. The mine is fully responsible, and the first person to be held accountable is this "security personnel".
The Chen Dynasty's power was overwhelming, and its military strength was unparalleled, making it able to control the situation. However, this also naturally caused the forces that served it to stand on the opposite side of the royal family.
They are natural allies.
If the official mines fail to take responsibility when something goes wrong, other families will inevitably complain. Although a bunch of mediocre people can't beat the royal family even if they unite, they can run away.
He ran to the neighboring state and served the dynasty there; perhaps he could even take advantage of the situation to start a war against the Chen family later.
The discovery of some monsters in the mine that caused injuries is a minor matter.
Once the matter is publicized, it becomes a big deal.
To cover it up, you either have to eliminate all those in the know, or...
"Kid, wake up, don't sleep, you absolutely can't sleep. Tell me something, what kind of Taoist temple do you have, what kind of master do you have?"
The elderly man tried his best to keep the injured person conscious, as it takes time for the medication to be absorbed.
"I....."
"Just say whatever comes to mind, just say whatever comes to mind."
“I miss my master. He went to great lengths to guide me onto the path of immortality, but I was defeated by a rat in a single encounter. I... I am sorry to my master.”
"No, no, no!" The old man became even more anxious. At this time, one cannot think of pessimistic things. "Think of good things, think of gifts, gifts."
"A gift, ah, yes, my second master gave me a gift. I haven't seen my second master in a long time."
Senior Wang pressed down on Zhong Ming's wound with both hands, while another "Senior Wang" was putting a stent on Yue Kaishan. It was unclear which was the paper doll and which was the real person.
"Yes, yes, a gift. Your second master must really like it."
The elderly man was experienced and knew how to evoke the wounded man's will to live. If he wanted to survive, then the treatment was already more than halfway successful.
Next, all you need to do is talk about how amazing your master is and how high his expectations are for you, and you'll most likely succeed.
You absolutely must live. If you die, I'll be punished, and I might lose this official position that I've worked so hard to secure. Do you know how many spirit stones I'll have to spend to smooth things over afterwards?
Thinking of this, Senior Wang decided to step up his efforts.
"Your second master must be a very powerful person."
"of course."
The old man saw Zhong Ming's eyes light up and couldn't help but feel happy.
"My second master is very powerful. He is several meters tall, with muscles all over his body. He can carry a huge stone tablet that is more than ten meters tall on his back and run around everywhere. He can walk on rivers and cliffs as if they were flat ground."
"Well....."
Now it was Senior Wang's turn to gasp in surprise; this sounded like a Golden Core cultivator starting out.
This is only the second master; must the first master be even more powerful?
We absolutely cannot offend them.
.....
The treatment was being carried out with great enthusiasm.
Before the wound was fully bandaged, the "reinforcements" they had called in had already returned.
The middle-aged man appeared suddenly, and no one noticed. Even though he was standing there, no one felt anything was amiss.
Until that hoarse voice rang out again, "This harvest is not bad. I didn't expect there to be a group of mining moles in this mine that has been in operation for almost a hundred years."
The old man immediately turned around, wanting to say something, but the man stopped him and asked the two wounded men in a warm tone, "You two are quite good. You were only at the early stage of Qi Refining and you actually survived an attack from a monster equivalent to the late stage of Qi Refining. You have great potential. What kind of reward do you want for your meritorious service this time? Military merit or spirit stones?"
Upon hearing the words "military merit," Yue Kaishan felt a jolt run through his body and almost jumped up. He instinctively exerted force, and the sharp pain mercilessly delivered another punch to him.
"Military...military merit, absolutely military merit." Yue Kaishan winced in pain, but forced himself to finish speaking.
Zhong Ming did not give a direct answer because he had no idea about prices in Yunzhou.
So let's start with a key question: "Approximately how much is it worth?"
"This time, these mining moles will definitely bring in three hundred mid-grade spirit stones. According to the rules, the person who finds and reports them will receive ten percent of the reward, and the rest will be given to the person who handles them and pays the taxes."
Senior Wang immediately chimed in, "Yes, yes, if it weren't for Senior Mo's intervention, who dealt with the entire swarm of mining moles in just a few moments, we might not have survived."
The implication is that the middle-aged man handled the monster incident alone; he wasn't the one who dealt with it and didn't receive any payment.
This is simply an attempt to curry favor with middle-aged men.
"It's alright, it's alright, it's my duty."
Seeing that the middle-aged man had agreed, the old man breathed a sigh of relief; his official position was safe.
Zhong Ming naturally followed the rules. If Senior Wang was showing goodwill to Senior Mo, then he would show goodwill to Senior Wang.
"What you say is absolutely right, senior. Thank you for handling the matter and for reporting it in a timely manner, senior Wang."
This statement effectively placed Senior Wang in the camp of those who discovered and reported the discovery, saving their lives. It's not an exaggeration to say that they deserve some credit.
However, Senior Mo's patience is not very good.
"And you? Do you want military merits or spirit stones?"
"Military merit, military merit." This is what Senior Wang said with a smile, and he secretly transmitted his voice to Zhong Ming, "Trust me, I'll explain what military merit is to you in a moment, and you definitely won't suffer any losses."
"Okay, I'll report it. You can fill out the information form and submit it later."
Senior Mo came and went like the wind; before his voice faded, he had vanished.
All three of them breathed a sigh of relief.
"Come, let me tell you what military merit is."
Senior Wang finally finished bandaging the wounded. Zhong Ming was wrapped up like a rice dumpling, his whole body was covered in bandages. Yue Kaishan was in an even worse state, looking like a kebab, unable to move at all.
"Military merit, as the name suggests, is a way of calculating merit within the army of the Chen family dynasty in Yunzhou. We don't have the concepts of immortal offerings or elders here; those are official positions in the north. The cultivators here are basically all enlisted in the army."
Senior Wang didn't mean there were no unaffiliated cultivators here, it's just that there are very few of them.
Cultivators can't avoid joining the army. That's a characteristic of dynastic rule: the government sets up exploration teams to find resources within its territory. Cultivators in the mountains and marshes simply can't find places rich in spiritual energy; they've all been occupied by the government.
There are no relics left by great cultivators. They all passed away in their own families. If they died in battle, their bodies were not in the hands of others. They were simply collected by their own army. There is no such thing as leaving behind a bunch of treasures and then finding a secluded place to die.
In addition, the free and widespread spiritual root testing system meant that almost every family hoped to produce a cultivator to earn military merit points.
"Generally speaking, one spirit stone is equivalent to one military merit point, but it is definitely much more cost-effective than exchanging spirit stones."
The black market here is extremely rare and expensive. The good stuff is all in the hands of the government. If you exchange your goods for spirit stones, you'll have to go to the black market in the north, risking robbery and theft, to get goods of equal value.”
"Then... does Yunzhou have an official market?"
Senior Wang looked at Zhong Ming as if he were a fool.
"Didn't I tell you? Military merits. Basically every cultivator has joined the army. The exchange of military merit points is the official market, the kind that has already paid taxes."
While the two were chatting, Yue Kaishan was already planning how to get Zhong Ming and his brother to join the army and be assigned to the same unit as him.