Cultivation Begins with Skill Points-Chapter 43 Chaotic Army

The place on the street where government notices are posted was surrounded by passersby. A government official held a bronze gong, struck it heavily, and then shouted loudly.

"Gentlemen, come over here. The county magistrate has issued a decree. From today onwards, all citizens must purchase grain with household registration, with limited quantity and fixed price. Each household can buy at most two pounds of grain per day. Also, due to external rebel turmoil, to protect the city, the county magistrate has decided to conscript soldiers. Each household must provide one male, without fail."

Each time this official struck the gong, he would loudly repeat the contents of the notice.

Zhong Lin frowned slightly, "Conscription? Grain rationing? Has it become this tense outside already?"

For the people, food is paramount. When food starts becoming a problem, it usually means things have rotted to the most dangerous point.

Now, with both conscription and grain rationing in effect, it’s clear that the external natural disasters and military turmoil are beyond the magistrate’s control.

Simultaneously, he was thankful that he had already purchased enough grain in advance, otherwise, he would also be in trouble.

Ignoring the bustling street, Zhong Lin walked quickly towards the Xu’s Medical Hall.

Compared to the busyness of the previous days, Xu Le Wu was now sitting leisurely in a Taishi chair, sipping tea, with only one apprentice cleaning the floor nearby.

"Young Zhong is here."

Seeing Zhong Lin’s arrival, Xu Le Wu did not rise but merely placed the purple clay teapot down on the table.

"You old fellow seem quite at ease, while outside it’s chaotic enough to turn the world upside down," Zhong Lin laughed.

"Thanks to you, there’s enough grain at home to eat. As for conscription, surely they won’t send these old bones of mine to the battlefield?" Xu Le Wu replied nonchalantly.

Zhong Lin didn’t say much, directly tossing a black cloth bag over.

Xu Le Wu also weighed it with his hand, and his old face almost grinned like a blooming chrysanthemum.

"This is it for this month. Next month, you can prepare more other things, like Hemostatic Powder. Things are chaotic outside, and these items can just be sold."

Xu Le Wu nodded thoughtfully, "Makes sense, I’ll prepare some later, and next time you can take some to test the waters."

"Also, you can adjust your medicinal recipe. Replacing Dan Shen with Gorgon and Astragalus will not reduce the efficacy much and will save at least three coins of silver in costs," Zhong Lin continued.

"Gorgon, Astragalus..." Xu Le Wu stroked the beard on his chin, pondering, "Gorgon is known as the ginseng of the water, and pairing it with Astragalus indeed sounds good. I’ll try changing the ingredients to see how much is appropriate."

"Three coins of Gorgon, ten coins of Astragalus."

Hearing this, Xu Le Wu said irritably, "What do you know? Slight discrepancies in medicinal materials can lead to great mistakes. Sometimes, adding one extra coin of a good herb can turn it into poison. You... wait, how do you know my Eight Treasure Tonic contains Dan Shen?"

Suddenly realizing, Xu Le Wu looked at Zhong Li with full vigilance, as if his most cherished possession had been stolen.

"Angelica, Rehmannia, Poria, Cistanche, Rubus, Cuscuta chinensis, Chinese Privet, Yellow Jing... want me to keep going?" Zhong Lin smiled.

"You, you, you..."

Xu Le Wu could no longer sit still, looking at Zhong Lin with slight trepidation, and Zhong Lin’s hands were constantly trembling.

"It’s just a Qi and blood tonic recipe, not an Elixir Recipe, what’s the big deal, I’m leaving."

With that, he turned and left Xu’s Medical Hall without a backward glance, grabbing two medical books from Xu Le Wu’s table as he went, leaving a bewildered Xu Le Wu behind.

"What a curse! If I’d known, I would’ve treated him more kindly. Now my medicinal recipe’s been cracked by him; I wonder if he’ll still come for medicine here afterward."

Xu Le Wu fell into a state of dilemma.

...

"Outside, a formidable man named Guo Yanhuai emerged. He first gathered the Black Mountain Eighteen Villages for an alliance, and at the meeting, subdued all the bandit leaders from these villages. Then he attracted numerous refugees with the ruse of opening granaries, and through organization and management, he ended up establishing substantial momentum."

"Not long ago, the county magistrate led reserve troops from the city, but they were cut off from their food supply by him, and then experienced a nighttime attack from experts which burned the reserves’ grain. Amidst the panic, Guo Yanhuai made his move, leading to the reserve army’s major defeat. It was after this that the county magistrate issued the decree for conscription and grain rationing."

Old Zhou sighed and continued, "My nephew is a military leader in the reserve army. This information comes from him, so it’s not fake. This time it’s really troublesome."

Zhong Lin nodded; the reserve army had already suffered one defeat. If this conscription succeeds, things would be fine; if not, the rebel troops will likely push straight to the county city.

"Zhong Lin, the city is becoming more chaotic. These days, try not to go out. Don’t let your brother go to the academy either, let him stay home. In short, Black Mountain County is dangerous now," Old Zhou said with a solemn face.

"I understand. You also take care of your safety."

"Don’t worry, this is a government office after all. Unless a chaotic army breaks through the city gates, nobody dares to cause trouble here," Old Zhou said, waving his hand.

When leaving the county government, Zhong Lin’s expression was extremely solemn. He wasn’t pondering who would win between the county magistrate and Guo Yanhuai, but considering what measures to take to protect himself in case of actual chaos.

"Should I take Little Stone and escape to Lower River Village?"

"Impossible, it’s hard to carry food, and if we run into a chaotic army, it would be truly dangerous."

"On the contrary, the city still maintains basic order. With my Eighth Rank strength, as long as I don’t draw too much attention, I can protect myself easily, and safeguard Little Stone isn’t an issue either."

"The worst-case scenario is if Guo Yanhuai wins and breaches Black Mountain County, then it’ll be troublesome."

A hint of worry flickered in Zhong Lin’s eyes; the books and movies of his past life had illustrated the plight of civilians during times of war, especially when chaotic armies enter a city.

Burn, kill, loot, leaving countless dead and injured.

The sins you can imagine are likely to be born here.

"No rush, there’s still time, and these are only my speculations. The outcome is still unknown, who will win, who will lose. In troubled times, force prevails; right now, what I need to do is continue practicing martial arts. The Seventh Grade Bone Forging Realm grants immense strength and bones as hard as refined steel. If I can cultivate to the Seventh Grade, even if I encounter chaotic forces, I can easily protect Little Stone and leave."

Zhong Lin quickly pondered, and his heart gradually calmed.

...

Time passed, and the atmosphere throughout Black Mountain County became increasingly tense.

Lack of food, forced conscription, rampant gangs...

The entire Black Mountain County seemed like a powder keg, needing only a tiny spark to explode instantly.

These days, Zhong Lin went out less and less, staying home daily to practice martial arts, reading books when tired.

Little Stone was also kept at home by him, teaching him some basic boxing to lay the foundation. He is still young, and his bones haven’t fully developed, making him unsuitable for practicing martial arts, but he can train in some basic boxing.