Achieving physical sainthood starting from Hunyuan Gong

Chapter 15 Approaching

The wind howls, the snow falls thick.

Qian Huan led his servants to the river bend.

My heart remained heavy.

I had hoped to have a peaceful and uneventful time before my transfer, but as the saying goes, what you fear most is what happens. Since last night, there have been repeated reports of loopholes in various places.

Green Lake is a vast marshland composed of interconnected smaller bodies of water. The area occupied by the Cao family was formerly known as Reed Marsh, which is one of the largest bodies of water in Green Lake and has a very complex topography.

To prevent the fish from being stolen, water barriers were installed at each water outlet, and a large number of personnel were deployed to guard them.

But this place is well-connected, and there are plenty of ways to sneak in, especially now that the precious fish are selling for such high prices on the black market, there are many who would take the risk.

This was nothing short of a nightmare for the patrol team. As winter approached, the number of patrol personnel had been steadily increasing, but the vast expanse of the lake made it impossible to keep up with everyone's needs. It was time-consuming and exhausting. They would finish their patrols at night and it would be almost dawn by the time they finished. They still had many things to do during the day. If this continued, the martial artists' bodies would suffer.

Qian Huan said in a deep voice, "Shouldn't we redistribute the patrol personnel? I heard that the other teams are already divided into groups of three, each assigned to a different area."

This is indeed a time-saving method, but with three people per team, the chances of problems will increase significantly.

Whether they are river bandits or fish thieves, they are all vicious people, and if you encounter them, you may not be able to keep up with their strength.

Wei Dashu pondered for a moment and said, "Even if Boss Qian hadn't brought it up, I would have made the same suggestion. The other teams are three people per boat, so they don't have to be running around like we are. And if you're asking about the landlord, couldn't you send a few more people?"

Qian Huan frowned upon hearing this. He was about to be transferred and there was no need for him to join in the criticism, lest it be overheard and cause trouble. Therefore, he ignored Wei Dashu's words.

Wei Dashu was completely unaware of Qian Huan's change in attitude and continued to complain incessantly.

Qian Huan, displeased, suggested, "Ah Shen, your boatmanship is excellent. Why don't you join my team? The three of us will work the first half of the night, and Lao Wei can patrol the second half. How about that?"

Wei Dashu snapped out of his rambling and said hesitantly, "Brother Qian, I actually have something I wanted to ask you. How about we team up? Let the rest of the team handle the second half of the night."

Qian Huan waved his hand and said, "You're second only to me in martial arts cultivation in our team, so naturally you're in charge of a team. How can you not even understand that?"

Wei Dashu was stunned for a long time, then said in a low voice, "Brother Qian is right, I was being ignorant."

"Alright, Song Shen, Liu Shuisheng, you two come with me!"

Wei Dashu returned to the shore, his heart filled with doubt as he watched Qian Huan leave, gradually disappearing into the dark night. He couldn't help but feel uneasy.

After so many years of friendship, why has Qian Huan recently been keeping his distance from him?

The crux of the matter is that whenever I asked Qian Huan who he would recommend for the position of guard after his transfer, he would evade the question, which was really puzzling.

Qian Huan has been in the Cao family for so many years, and with such a meager level of cultivation, he was able to be promoted to a minor steward in the young master's residence, which is considered a leisurely service position. This is certainly because the head of the family remembers him for serving the family since he was a child, but haven't I also been in the Cao family for so many years?

Thinking about this, Wei Dashu became suspicious and began to ponder how to bypass Qian Huan and gather intelligence.

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Song Shen could tell from their conversation that there was some tension between the two, but he had no idea where it came from. He could only guess that it was about who Qian Huan would recommend after his transfer.

However, Qian Huan was only a third-class guard, and this matter was not something he could control, so why should Wei Dashu force it?

Filled with doubt, Song Shen followed Qian Huan onto the ship.

Liu Shuisheng followed closely behind, and the group sailed away in their boat.

Qian Huan remained silent, and Song Shen did not press further.

In the past, Song Shen would have kept quiet and wouldn't have harbored any ulterior motives to pry into others' affairs. But now he's really into it and has developed some interest in the position of guard.

No wonder he was so eager to get this small guard position. However, the monthly salary of a servant and a guard is completely different. Putting aside status and other things, just talking about money, Qian Huan earns almost twice as much as Song Shen every month.

With such a disparity, how could Song Shen not have designs on himself?

However, revealing one's thoughts too early can be harmful.

Although Song Shen was filled with suspicion, he acted as if it had nothing to do with him.

However, after patrolling for a while, Song Shen lost interest in these things.

Without him,

It's so cold!

After midnight, the temperature plummeted. Coincidentally, the wind shifted to the north that night, and a strong cold wave, accompanied by a drizzle, swept in, nearly causing the three people on the boat to fall into the water.

Liu Shuisheng cursed and said, "Brother Qian, I brought some wine with me tonight. Why don't we warm ourselves up a bit?"

Qian Huan frowned. He never drank alcohol during work hours; this had been his principle for decades, and he had always strictly forbidden his subordinates from doing so.

but,

The situation tonight...

"What kind of wine is that? Will it even work?"

Liu Shuisheng chuckled: "It's bear bile wine that my father-in-law sent me; it's absolutely effective."

Qian Huan chuckled upon hearing this, "Your father-in-law, who's a hunter in the countryside? Why would he give you this?"

Liu Shuisheng chuckled awkwardly, "Well, it's been over a year since my wife and I got married and she still hasn't gotten pregnant. My family is getting really anxious. My father-in-law even thought there was something wrong with me, so he brought me some bear bile wine from the countryside, saying it could restore my virility."

Qian Huan laughed so hard he almost cried. "Damn it, what will you do if you give us such precious wine?"

Liu Shuisheng chuckled and said, "Anyway, I, Old Liu, am a martial artist who has cultivated my qi and blood. How could I not succeed? My father-in-law is just blind and has mistaken me for someone else. I'll go back and cultivate more carefully. I refuse to believe that I can't grow anything."

As they spoke, the north wind grew stronger.

The cold was biting, almost piercing to the bone. Even the three martial artists found it hard to withstand. Qian Huan, with the highest cultivation level, had reached the peak of the Qi Refining stage and had the most abundant Qi and blood, but he was still quite old. Song Shen was next, having just entered the Qi Refining stage, while Liu Shuisheng was the lowest, having not even developed any internal strength, and was even less able to withstand it.

"Fine, this won't happen again!"

Qian Huan stopped arguing and the group simply poured themselves a drink and started drinking.

"Damn it, your father-in-law is a liar and a braggart. What kind of lousy liquor is this? It's not even strong!"

Qian Huan cursed loudly, and Song Shen also felt that the wine was meaningless, and that it tasted much like ordinary wine.

However, after a short while, the group exchanged glances.

"Getting into it."

A burning sensation began to rise from my abdomen and spread until my whole body felt warm, but the back of my head started to feel numb.

I was actually a little drunk.

Qian Huan's face turned red. Only then did Song Shen realize why the old man never drank a drop of alcohol; it turned out his alcohol tolerance was so poor.

After getting drunk, Qian Huan kept rambling on and on, driving Song Shen crazy. At first, Song Shen was willing to listen to him, but later he just started talking nonsense.

"You kid, you're just lucky. What I, an old man, struggled for so many years to achieve, you've already accomplished at your age."

Qian Huan suddenly said something out of the blue.

Song Shen's ears perked up at this moment, and he feigned ignorance, saying, "Brother Qian, you're an old hand at this, but your alcohol tolerance is too low. You've only had a little bit to drink before you're talking nonsense. Aren't I working just like you guys?"

Qian Huan was somewhat provoked by Song Shen's words.

Indeed, his drinking capacity was a major weakness, and he was immediately displeased by Song Shen's comment: "Let me teach you a lesson. I'm not young, but you can't insult my drinking capacity. What I said is true. I've already heard that after I leave, you'll soon be promoted to head guard. At that time, you, a teenager, will be leading a bunch of guys in their twenties and thirties."

"Such a thing is true!"

Song Shen was amazed. Could it be that Old Li had put in some effort?

Or……

Qian Huan, who had been cautious his whole life, finally got his head started working again.

"These are just drunken ramblings, you can just take them with a grain of salt. I'm just a lowly third-class guard, I don't know much else."

Liu Shuisheng quickly congratulated Song Shen, then added, "Brother Qian, what are you saying? We are all good people who keep our mouths shut. Who would dare to say anything more?"

Qian Huan glanced at Liu Shuisheng, a shadow falling over his eyes. "The world is a dangerous place, Xiao Song. You're still young and don't know how deep the waters run, especially the human heart. Today's friend may be tomorrow's enemy; today's smile may be tomorrow's enemy. You're so young, you must be careful!"

"I understand."

"That's good."

Qian Huan nodded.