CH 210

Chapter 210 – Rancher, Sheep, Dog, Pasture

The three giant golden suns shone in the skies, unabated throughout the millennia. The scorching rays of sunlight battered down on the mortals, but they toiled away in the fields growing the Golden Feather Flowers as if they didn’t feel a thing. Sweat poured down from their bodies in rivulets, but their enthusiasm for labor didn’t show any signs of letting up, nor did they reveal any signs of wishing to stop temporarily to take a break.

In his coarse, weathered hands, Old Man Gao was carrying a bucket of spirit-infused water from the Luo River. His hunchbacked figure was accentuated as he squatted down, and he began to water the Golden Feather Flower with utmost care, drop by drop. When Old Man Gao saw the golden flower bud showing signs sprouting, a smile inadvertently rose to his face. Even though his clothes were drenched with sweat, he didn’t seem to notice it at all.

A shadow suddenly covered his figure, blocking out the sunlight. In the unexpected shade, Old Man Gao suddenly felt a lot cooler, and set his bucket down. He wiped the sweat from his brow, then looked up.

There was a handsome, noble youth standing before him, wearing a robe interweaved in gold and white. His expression was cool and collected as he looked down at him.

There were a dozen or so men and women following the youth in a deferential manner. Their clothes were all overbearingly luxurious, and the material of their clothes wasn’t anything he could recognize. Old Man Gao took in their figures, trying to size them up, but was left speechless in the end.

“The fields around here all belong to you?” Xu Disheng asked the old man, flicking his sleeves to dispel the aura that Zhang Haobo, Yuan Qi, and the others were unconsciously releasing.

Old Man Gao instantly felt his body ease up a lot and he stood up. After using his sleeve to mop the sweat on his brow, he said nervously, “Did milord perhaps come from the Anxi provincial government? The fields within 1 square li of this area do belong to me. This old man has never violated any of the laws or orders of the provincial government. Please spare me, milord!”

It was clear in Old Man Gao’s eyes that only martial artists from the provincial government would be able to wear such luxurious garb and have such powerful auras.

Xu Disheng’s gaze remained lowered as he inspected the Golden Feather Flower that Old Man Gao had just watered. “In this 1 square li field, how much can you harvest in one year?”

“Milord, this old man has been growing Golden Feather Flowers for over 20 years, and even earned a reputation in the village for being meticulous. In one year, this old man can harvest over 200 Golden Feather Flowers!”

Once the topic was directed in an area he was proficient in, Old Man Gao’s chin lifted a little bit and a hint of pride leaked through in his tone.

Xu Disheng nodded, not inquiring any further. He flicked his sleeves as he turned around and left the fields.

“Soul Suppressor Sacred Son, the government of the Anxi Province is too disgraceful…!” Yuan Qi said resentfully, striding quickly to the front before they had gotten very far away.

“In what way are they disgraceful?” Xu Disheng said, his feet continuing the trek across the fields.

Yuan Qi looked off into the distance where the government of the Anxi Province was located. He gritted his teeth and said, “First, that old man’s fields are only 1 square li, but in one year, he can only harvest over 200 Golden Feather Flowers. With how large the Anxi Province is, how can 80% of their harvest over 10 years only be a little over 4,000 Golden Feather Flowers?”

Xu Disheng was also looking off into the distance in the direction of the Anxi Province government. “And second?”

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“Second is their crime of rebellion!” Yuan Qi said, drawing the gazes of Zhang Haobo, Chu Luo, Ming Ruoyun, and the others following behind Xu Disheng, who still hadn’t managed to think through all the details.

Only He Ziming seemed to catch wind of something, his gaze changing somewhat as he looked at Yuan Qi.

Yuan Qi turned around, looking pleased with himself as he surveyed the area. “That old man doesn’t even know about the existence of the Sacred Sect! …He even said these fields belonged to him!”

Behind him, Quan Hongyu, He Qiwen, and his other lackeys suddenly came to an understanding. Suspicion and resentment colored their expressions as they realized the contradictory nature of this matter!

All of the provincial governments and all of the fields, no matter how small or worthless they were, could only belong to the Shangqing Sacred Sect!

In the eyes of disciples like them, these mortals living in the Provinces were just tools to grow these low-grade spiritual herbs and fruits. For these mortals to blatantly declare these fields as their own was audacious beyond belief!

In the other Provinces, the mortals, and even the martial artists, were all aware of the existence of the Shangqing Sacred Sect, although they mostly knew them only by the name ‘ruling sect’.

However, the mortals of the Anxi Province were completely unaware of the existence of the ruling sect, and even claimed the Golden Feather Flower fields as their own private property. The conduct and deeds of the Anxi provincial government were shocking.

Ming Ruoyun was extremely smart, and had figured out the key details. She came forward and said, “Soul Suppressor Sacred Son, there must be some deeper meaning behind why the two envoys stationed here made an order to deceive the mortals over the last hundred years. It would be better for us to first go to the Anxi provincial government before coming to a final conclusion.”

Clearly, it wasn’t just Old Man Gao who thought the way he did. Over the influence of the last hundred or so years, the mortals in the Anxi Province had all forgotten the existence of the ruling sect. They even claimed the fields as their own, and the role of the Anxi provincial government in this couldn’t have been small.

Even the minister of the Anxi provincial government was just a puppet, without much authority at all. The appointment and dismissal of the provincial minister could be completely decided by a single word of the envoys stationed here.

Xu Disheng continued to walk through the vast fields, gradually entering the nearby town. On the way, practically all the mortals he had seen had ruddy complexions, wearing contented smiles; every household had abundant food and clothing and were in good health and harmony. Compared to the common civilians in a majority of the Provinces, who were always starving and miserable, it was like the difference between clouds and mud.

Over the course of the last half a day, they gradually found out that the Anxi provincial government wasn’t even collecting the Golden Feather Flowers as tribute, they were purchasing them at a high price!

They would exchange gold and silver taels, and if a large amount was being traded, they would even use spirit stones to settle the bill!

Seeing the situation, all of them, whether it was Yuan Qi, Quan Hongyu, or even Chu Luo and Ma Chen, were filled with rage.

As a part of the Shangqing Sacred Sect, they would always work to bring the most substantial benefit to the sect. They wouldn’t tolerate anyone infringing upon the interests of the sect!

This situation was analogous to an owner of a ranch raising several little lambs in a corner of their land and using a dog to herd them and keep them in check. And in this corner of the ranch, the grass was abundant and flourishing, growing and renewing as the sheep ate it up, making them fat and plump. When it came time and the owner remembered the sheep, the owner would come over and bring them away for the slaughter.

But one day, the ranch owner realized that not only was the dog not helping to herd the sheep and allowing them to graze in the pastures, but it was instead slaughtering them without reserve! With the help of the dog, the power dynamic was reversed, allowing the grass to feed on the blood of the sheep!

Under the nourishment, the grass in the pasture grew madly, becoming even more lush and abundant, unlike the grass in the other parts of the pasture that were waiting wave after wave to be grazed into nothingness.

Until the owner remembered the sheep, the dog would just send over a bit of the remaining bones and scraps of the sheep, playing the owner for a fool!

In this analogy, Xu Disheng and the other disciples with him were the ranch owner, while the civilians were the grass and the spiritual herbs and fruits were the sheep. The Dao Foundation stage envoys, Gou Lezhan and Qin Huamao, were the dog in this scenario!

In their fury, no one thought about why these two envoys had done this. Only Ming Ruoyun had caught onto something. Her expression was intrigued as she watched the ordinary commoners living in peace and working happily. Eventually, a hint of praise and approval appeared in the depths of her gaze.

Your TL, Crescent here. This marks the end of Volume 1 – Escaping Mortality. Thanks for all the incredible support so far, whether through Ko-Fi donations or comments. If you’re enjoying the story, please consider giving it a nice rating on NovelUpdates or sharing it with your friends, I would appreciate it a ton. Please stay tuned for the story to come in Volume 2 – Supreme!