She jumped to her feet. "Brothers, I’m sleepy. I’m leaving now!" She shouted, her voice echoing across the field, and then she turned and ran at the speed of a dog. Zhenzhu barely took a few steps before the back of her collar was grabbed. "Why leaving so soon?” "Ah, I’m really sleepy, Brother Hao." She turned to give him a sheepish smile. "Yes," she nodded vigorously. The soldiers could only pray silently for her. "All soldiers, run laps around the camp without stopping until I give permission to rest. Move!" "Brother Hao, do I have to run too?" The girl lightly poked his arm, looking dejected. Seeing her face and eyes red from the alcohol, the tall man felt pity. Fine, he would be lenient about this for a while. "Go to bed. Come see me at the observation tower early tomorrow morning." "You won’t throw me to the dogs, will you?" The forest near the mountains was full of wild dogs. "Throwing you to the tigers will suffice," Yong Saiweihao said flatly. "Go to bed, you little drunkard." "Alright." She walked away with her head hanging low. The next morning, Zhenzhu sat slumped in the observation tower, a large man with a stern expression sitting in front of her. The atmosphere was as gloomy as if a thunderstorm was about to break. Yang zhuang and the other guards had tactfully retreated, knowing better than to stick around. "Brother Hao, don’t make that face. Look at you, your handsome features will age faster," Zhenzhu said. "Brother Hao, would you like some cold water? I can ask the maid to bring some." "Brother Hao, you can’t blame me. They’ve been working so hard; they deserve some relaxation." "Brother Hao..." She felt like she was in an icy field. "Ah, Brother Hao, are you hot? Come, come here, let me fan you," Zhenzhu grabbed a fan and fanning him attentively. She fetched water, cleaned the table and chairs, and did everything she could to please the Young General. "Brother Hao, is your body ache? Let me give you a massage." "No need," the cold voice finally spoke up. "You finally spoke? I thought I would have to talk alone forever. Brother Hao, would you like to try the Putao liquor from my house? It’s very good. All the soldiers love its taste. This fermented liquor is actually called ’wine,’ but I call it Putao liquor. I brewed it last year and it sold very well. Brother Hao should try it. If you like it, you can buy it and sell it for a profit. I’ll sell it to you cheaply." No matter the situation, even when waiting for punishment, she could always seamlessly pitch her products. The reason she brought the Putao liquor for the soldiers to taste was to thank them for their hard work and to make her liquor famous. Besides the Putao liquor, she also brought Yuchong liquor for each soldier to have a few sips as a reward. This made the soldiers very happy. Yuchong liquor was not easy to come by, but with Lady He around, they got to taste things they had never tasted before. They liked Lady He very much. Yong Saiweihao wondered if her little head was filled only with thoughts of money. "The guards must all be punished." "Hey! Brother Hao, please don’t punish them. It was me who threatened them," she quickly cried out, feeling sorry for them since she had been the one to threaten them not to tell Brother Hao. Yong Saiweihao let out a heavy sigh. Dealing with this girl was truly exhausting. "I sent the soldiers to help with the work. Why did you get them drunk? Is that acceptable?" Yong Saiweihao asked seriously. "W... Well, we only drank after work. They worked hard all day; they deserved some relaxation," she lowered her head slightly, feeling guilty. "N... No, it’s not an excuse. I... I..." She stammered for half a day but couldn’t come up with anything because she just wanted to pitch her Putao liquor. Yong Saiweihao sighed deeply, feeling exasperated. He wanted to give her a good spanking. "From now on, this must never happen again. Otherwise, there will be military punishment for everyone involved, including you." "I’m not a soldier!" Her eyes widened. She had heard that the military rules of the Yan Region’s army were extremely harsh. No way! She wanted nothing to do with those military rules! "You’re in charge of the work, so you must take responsibility too." Finally, Yong Saiweihao set many rules to be implemented in the vegetable and rice fields, much to the dismay of the young girl. She couldn’t argue back, fearing she would be punished, and had to reluctantly accept it. After receiving a good scolding, she asked to return to the fields, her workplace. Who would want to stay with the stern general? Sure, he was handsome, but he was very strict. She wished she could borrow him to watch over the rice fields for two months. "Wait a moment," she had barely stepped out of the room when the tall man called her back. "Take this to drink," he handed her a bamboo water container. "Something to drink, to refresh yourself," he replied before returning to the pile of papers in front of him. Zhenzhu smiled with satisfaction and leaned in to take the place of the papers he seemed so engrossed in. "Someone here can be kind, so why do you always have to look so stern?" She grinned at him. Thump! The kind person knocked her gently on her little head. "Ouch!" The girl rubbed her head lightly. "Alright, goodbye then," Zhenzhu said, hugging the bamboo container to her chest before leaving the room with a cheerful smile. The person inside glanced at the door once she had walked out, a small smile forming on his lips. Then there was a strange feeling he didn’t notice. Zhenzhu left the observation tower and rode her horse back to the fields. The soldiers were diligently planting rice. Zhenzhu looked at the gradually greening rice fields with joy. She always felt good when she saw the plants she had planted grow. In another month, this field would turn golden with ripe rice, ready for harvest. Meanwhile, in Heyan City, not far from the Yan Region’s military camp, there was a manor situated in a secluded alley away from the community. The manor, not old yet not new, was covered with large trees, looking gloomy. Vines climbed up the walls, and moss covered the damp corners, giving it a green hue. A tall, middle-aged man sat in his old house, which smelled musty and pungent, but he didn’t seem to mind. Today, a high-status guest had come from afar, but he did not bring out tea or snacks as one should. The guest was a young man of about 20-21 years old, tall and sturdy, with sharp features and dark eyes. Everything was perfect. He was one of the distinguished handsome men. The deep blue attire he wore contrasted with his pale skin, making him even more striking. "Master Luan Chun, why is there no news of the Yan Region soldiers dying? Shouldn’t they have fallen by the tens of thousands by now?" Yunyang asked. "They have managed to remove the character." "What!?" How could they have removed the dark character? For hundreds of years, no one could remove the dark characters. Were the inscription masters in the Yan Region that skilled? “Yes, that must be it,” Luan Chun said in a flat tone, though a strong competitive spirit surged within him. Yunyang’s expression grew increasingly tense. He had set this pawn in motion over four years, so how could the Yan Region so easily capture the significant pawn of his? Was the dark character really as effective as Luan Chun claimed? In this time of war, he had risked traveling to the Yan Region to destroy their water supply and provisions. Unfortunately, the dark character hadn’t worked. However, luck was still on his side, as he had managed to steal supplies and burn them down. Now it was time for a real battle of strength and skill. All that should be done was done. They would see if the Tang Region’s army, under the command of a power-hungry general, could strike at the now famine-stricken Yan Region who lacked supply. Get full chapters from 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✦𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✦𝓷𝓮𝓽 “In that case, let’s return to the Tang Region. Shi Wenlang must be searching the land for you by now.” “I can’t go back yet.” “Why not? They won’t let you lay another character. Staying here will only be dangerous.” Luan Chun smiled. Who could harm him? But he couldn’t rest until he had taught a lesson to the one who had deciphered his character. He was the most skilled dark inscription master in the land and had never been so humiliated. He had to find out who dared to decipher his character pattern and eliminate them. “I need to do one thing before returning. It won’t take long, and I’ll catch up with you.” “Alright, but be careful.” He didn’t want to lose such a talented inscription master. This person could not only ensure victory for the Tang Region but also give him a significant advantage in seizing the throne. He couldn’t let Wenlang capture such a talented individual like him. “Understood,” Luan Chun nodded and then closed his eyes, signaling the guest to leave. Seeing this, Yunyang left. Once his esteemed guest had departed, Luan Chun’s rough hand reached into a cloth bag beside him and pulled out a talisman. With a flick of his wrist, the faint power of the character emerged. This was a remnant of power of the character from that visitor, which he managed to collect it. It would guide him to find that inscription master. However, this power was peculiar, as if it belonged to two people. Regardless, he would hunt them both down. Zhenzhu, unaware that she was being targeted by the most skilled dark inscription master in the land. For the past several days, she had been diligently working and refrained from inviting the soldiers to drink again. This earned her several words of praise from Yong Saiweihao. At this moment, she and Baihu were lying under a large tree at noon, resting after a morning of work in the rice fields. Yong Saiweihao’s bamboo herbal water container lay quietly by her side. This was a token of Brother Hao’s kindness, more precious than gold. Yong Saiweihao wasn’t someone who would easily give the water bottle to someone. “The bottle is now empty, just throw it away. Aren’t you tired of carrying it around while beaming for days? There’s cold water in the barrel, so why keep carrying that container?” “Hey! How could I throw it away? Brother Hao went out of his way to give it to me,” she hugged the water container tightly to her chest. "Miss, the commander has asked me to find out if you would like to accompany him to purchase agricultural tools in Heyan City today," a worker respectfully inquired. "Is Heyan City far?" She had been living in a military camp for a long time, a little trip into the city would be nice. "Not far at all, miss. It’s only an hour ride by horse." "Oh, tell the commander to wait a moment. I’ll go too." Zhenzhu traveled to Heyan City with a group of guards and soldiers. They needed to buy agricultural tools that had broken, and there were some tools that they brought here for the repair. "Commander, you go about your business. I’ll take a walk around." "Please be careful, miss." "Don’t worry, there are plenty of guards with me." Yong Saiweihao had sent a new group of bodyguards to keep a close watch on her. They were all skilled in martial arts and possessed a high tier of spirit energy. This new set of guards strictly obeyed Yong Saiweihao’s orders, no matter how much she tried to coerce them. Eventually, she had to give up. "In that case, we will meet back here in four hours," the commander said. Once the commander had left, Zhenzhu instructed the guards to spread out at a distance, allowing her to explore the city more freely. Zhenzhu looked around curiously. The city had fewer people, possibly because most had migrated north. However, some remained, either lacking the means to travel or trusting that the Yan army would repel the invaders. Zhenzhu noticed that people in the south had slightly different features compared to those in the north. They seemed to have larger frames and taller builds Even their accents sounded different. "Grandpa, what are these snacks made of? They look delicious," she stopped before an old man’s snack stall. She had never seen such snacks before; they must be a local snack in the south. "These are made from lotus seeds. We sweeten the seeds, season them, and then roast them. They’re very tasty. Would you like to buy some to taste, miss?" "I’ll take a pack, please." The old man scooped some snacks into a packet for her. After paying, she walked on, munching on the lotus seeds. Hmm, it is as delicious as the old man had claimed. She thought of buying more to send home along with the replicated fish scale for Xin Xi, since it was almost time. Zhenzhu turned around to buy more lotus seed snacks for her family. "Ouch!" Once she turned, she bumped into a tall, burly man. Looking up, her eyes widened, and her hair stood on end. He was someone she had met years ago in Fengfu City, at a teahouse by the roadside. At that time, he exuded the power of the character, but now she couldn’t sense it. Had she imagined it all? Perhaps he was just an ordinary passerby who had happened to be in Fengfu City. "Miss, are you alright? I’m sorry for not paying attention," he asked. "It’s nothing, Uncle. I apologize as well for not being careful.” After the man left, Zhenzhu could only watch him with suspicion. Meanwhile, as Luan Chun walked away, a murderous glint flashed through his otherwise calm eyes. He could never forget the faint power of the character from that young girl. It’s her! However, it was unfortunate that he couldn’t deal with her immediately. He had noticed that high-tier spirit energy cultivators were hidden in the area. Even though the girl was an important figure, this encounter revealed who had deciphered his character pattern and removed the dark character he had been planning for years. Meanwhile, Zhenzhu returned to buy all the lotus seed snacks from the stall. She intended to send them to Xin Xi, He Yu, her parents, and the servants at home. They might enjoy the treats as much as she did. After buying the lotus seed snacks to her satisfaction, she wandered around. Once she saw a unique item, she bought it. She hadn’t expected the southern city to have so many interesting things. However, no matter how much she enjoyed herself, she couldn’t shake the thought of that man from her mind. Could he be the dark inscription master causing chaos in the Yan Region? But why couldn’t she sense any power of the character from him now? Back when she met him in Fengfu City, how could she feel the power of the character? What is true, and what is false? No matter how much she pondered, she couldn’t find an answer. She lost interest in exploring further and went to the meeting spot. Soon, the commander and his subordinates returned, and they traveled back to the military camp. Upon arrival, Zhenzhu went straight to Yong Saiweihao’s office. "Miss, please wait a moment. The Young General is in a meeting.” Zhenzhu nodded and sat down to wait. Yong Saiweihao’s meeting dragged on for four hours, and Zhenzhu fell asleep while waiting. When Yong Saiweihao finished his meeting, he walked out to see the young girl curled up and asleep in front of the room. "Ugh, go away, Baihu, let me sleep a bit more," the girl mumbled, not wanting to wake up. "Baihu, Baihu, tell Brother Hao that I want to drink a jar of liquor," she continued to talk in her sleep. “Heh-heh.” He chuckled at her words. You little drunkard. Yong Saiweihao gently scooped her up and carried her to her residence. As soon as he laid her on the bed, she talked again, "I met a man." "A man at the market. A big one." "He’s... he’s..." She trailed off and turned over, one leg draped over the pile of blankets beside her. Her sleeping posture was utterly ungraceful. Yong Saiweihao could only shake his head as he watched her. She was a woman who slept in such a weird posture, yet it was so adorable. The young man gently pulled the blanket over her. Well, I’ll ask her tomorrow. He left her residence quietly. Read ‘Rebirth: This Farmgirl Has Spirit Fish Scales’ before anyone else with more Chapters at https://www.jinovel.com/en