Human Martial Venerable: Starting from the Synthesis Technique

Chapter 32 Arrival

After arriving at the underground canal camp in Dendrobium Village, it was already afternoon, and the carriage finally stopped after a long, bumpy ride.

The compound is very large, but it was built entirely using local materials such as stones and trees.

Upon arrival, several skilled bricklayers were seen bending over, painting something on a gray stone wall.

At the entrance of the compound, two burly, elite men paused for a moment, then quickly stepped forward.

"Greetings, young master," they said respectfully in unison.

Seeing this, another person led the coachman to the backyard to help pack the luggage; he had a sharp eye.

The carriage carrying the eldest son was deeply embedded in the ground, suggesting it was carrying some kind of heavy object.

Feng Xiu nodded. "What about Xiang Geng?"

"Master Xiang led his men to patrol ahead and hasn't returned yet," one of the men replied.

He then led Feng Xiu into the courtyard, across the threshold, where the ground was slightly uneven.

Some trimmed weeds grew on the brown ground, and eighteen conical granaries stood on the left and right sides near the courtyard wall.

In addition, there were some rolled mats, crossbeams, and five or six women dressed in coarse linen clothes on the open ground.

She was helping her husband, who was a carpenter, to roll up the mat into a cylindrical shape, secure it with a horizontal beam, and tie it with a thick rope.

Several lean men swung iron hammers, smashing them against the wooden wedges. Under the scorching sun, their dark faces were covered in sweat.

"Young Master Feng is here!"

Upon seeing Feng Xiu enter, a slightly plump woman's face lit up with joy, and she hurriedly tugged at the dull-witted man who only knew how to keep his head down and work.

"Young Master Feng, what brings you here today?"

Among the crowd, a somewhat clever farmer rubbed his hands together, a smile spreading across his wrinkled face.

Just as they were about to step forward, they hesitated, fearing that their dirty clothes would offend Feng Xiu's eyes.

"Auntie, I've come to see you. How are you doing? The seedlings are sprouting quite well, aren't they?"

Feng Xiu noticed everyone's embarrassment and stepped forward, smiling as he spoke.

Dendrobium Village was the first farm to be exempted from rent during the feudal era, and I had met it once with the fat aunt.

In fact, in many cases, the female tenants on farms all have basically the same body shape.

It's not that they eat particularly well, but rather that they are overweight due to irregular and long-term labor.

"Thanks to you, 80% of the seedlings on my dozens of acres of land have turned into gold. I was free, so I brought my husband over to help."

The plump old woman's voice had the loud, booming quality typical of rural women.

"That's great! If you have any broken farm tools, pots, pans, or dishes at home tomorrow, just bring them here."

"I've had someone fix all of yours," Feng Xiu said with a smile.

The men all laughed, some with grateful expressions, rubbing their hands together, unsure of what to say.

"Alright then, I thank Young Master Feng. Old man, get to work!"

Seeing everyone's reaction, the old woman was even happier. Just as she was about to say something to express her gratitude, she saw a group of about twenty people walking up behind Feng Xiu.

She then chuckled and glared at her husband.

"Young Master."

A deep voice rang out; Feng Xiu had already heard the commotion behind him.

Upon hearing the sound, he turned his head.

The visitor was Xiang Geng, the biological son of Xiang Yuan, one of the five chief stewards of the family.

Like Zheng Bo, Xiang Yuan was extremely senior, having been a clan elder and village head from Dendrobium Village. After retiring, he specially introduced Xiang Geng to the village.

Xiang Geng is a highly skilled individual cultivated by the family's talent pool, and he reached the peak of the Body Refinement Realm before he was even forty.

"They're here. Come on, let's go to the inner room."

The grain depot compound is not a standard three-courtyard complex; the main difference is that the central grain depot is very large.

Besides that, there were only the inner room, the main room, the main house, the kitchen, and the dormitories for the stationed personnel.

Upon entering the inner room, Feng Xiu sat in the main seat, with Xiang Geng sitting to his lower left. A man poured them some coarse tea, closed the door, and withdrew.

Feng Xiu took a small sip, the bitter taste of the tea lingering on his lips and teeth.

Having grown accustomed to delicacies and medicinal cuisine, Feng Xiu found it quite unusual to suddenly drink this.

"Young master, the transportation of supplies here is quite difficult. Please forgive any shortcomings in our hospitality."

Noticing that Feng Xiu frowned slightly, Xiang Geng stood up, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Feng Xiu, and said apologetically.

"It's alright, I'm not a pampered person."

Although Xiang Geng was physically imposing, his eyes were exceptionally sharp. Upon hearing this, he nodded slightly.

I had heard that the eldest young master had started practicing martial arts these days, but I thought it was just a rich family's playful activity and that he would give up after only a couple of days.

Unexpectedly, the rumors spread among the guards in great detail.

Upon seeing him today, Feng Xiu's breathing was deep and his face was as dirty as a drum, clearly a sign of his body refinement reaching its peak. Even I almost didn't recognize him.

"Tell me, is there anything unusual happening in the underground channel?" Feng Xiu asked.

Xiang Geng thought for a moment, "There haven't been any unusual movements, but in the past two days, the underground canal suddenly overflowed again, and our people caught quite a few fish."

Feng Xiu was taken aback. "Fish?"

"Yes, they are all standard silver carp, but they are quite large."

These words instantly reminded Feng Xiu of the strange fish from before, and his brows furrowed slightly. "Just how big was it?"

"About this long."

He opened his arms to Geng, indicating a length of about one meter.

"It's quite rare to see a silver carp this long, which has been stored in the pond for a year," Xiang Geng added.

Feng Xiu nodded, then pressed on, "Is the mouth of the Jihe River large? Are there any other unusual features?"

Xiang Geng shook his head, a hint of doubt creeping into his heart, but he still replied.

"Not much, my men leveled it yesterday."

From Feng Ao to Master Zheng and Feng Xiu, the three of them have made very strange decisions recently.

First, they said they would set up granaries in various farms. You should know that in previous years, tenant farmers would deliver their grain by donkey cart or by renting a horse-drawn carriage to Qingyan City.

While building the granary certainly made things easier for the tenants, the Feng family still had to send people to the granary to fetch grain afterward.

As a result, the losses from transporting grain, as well as the food and supplies for the people and horses, fell solely on the Feng family's shoulders.

He understands this principle, and so do the clan elders and village heads of each village. Why would they needlessly harm their family's interests?

If it were truly Feng Xiu's soft heart and kindness, unable to bear seeing the people suffer, that would be one thing, but this was clearly Feng Ao's decision.

And yet, each of the granaries was built near a hidden canal and patrolled daily, which makes it hard not to think of other things.

"What about the fish?"

At this moment, Feng Xiu noticed Xiang Geng's hesitation and asked.

Perhaps these silver carp are strange fish that have not yet taken human form?

"Please forgive me, young master. My men are not very honest. They couldn't resist eating all the fish after catching them."

Feng Xiu seemed to care a lot about this issue, and Xiang Geng's heart tightened. He quickly added, "I'm sorry."

"I ate it!" Feng Xiu's voice rose, and he suddenly stood up.

When Feng Xiu carried the strange fish home, Feng Ao and Zheng Bo considered it carefully, fearing that the strange fish might carry some kind of disease.

They burned it to ashes in one go, and not only that, even Feng Xiu was not spared.

First, she took three consecutive baths, and then used various spicy and pungent herbs, as well as other precious medicinal materials, to remove the odor from her body.

After all that, Feng Xiu was almost skinned alive.

"Hmm." Xiang Geng chuckled awkwardly and scratched his head.

How much is left?

Even with his formidable strength, Xiang Geng still felt a chill run down his spine when faced with Feng Xiu's interrogation, and cautiously extended one finger.

"One?"

"Cough, no, it's not one left," Xiang Geng said, forcing himself to speak.

Feng Xiu looked helpless; this guy must have some nerve.

However, considering that Xiang Geng was also unaware of the situation, he wasn't criticized too harshly.

Seeing that Feng Xiu's expression had softened slightly, Xiang Geng breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "Young Master, it's quite a coincidence, but after our men ate those silver carp, they felt incredibly hot all over and their strength increased significantly."

Some people even reached the level of "blood-resistance," where nosebleeds were unstoppable.

Feng Xiu looked surprised. "Is that so?"

Having practiced martial arts for over a month, he naturally knew what level of "tough blood" was.

"Resilient blood" refers to the unconscious breathing that accelerates the circulation of qi and blood after one senses the flow of qi and blood, making the skin firmer.

Basically, after the Blood Refinement stage, barring any unforeseen circumstances, one can achieve a high level of Body Refinement.

This fish has this kind of effect?

"Yes, I also found it strange and couldn't help but try some. The essence and blood contained in these fish are no less than those of a hundred-year-old fish."

Xiang Geng sighed and then said.

Feng Xiu remained silent, but the blue carp, which had not yet taken human form, already possessed this effect. If that strange fish hadn't been dealt with...

It is estimated that after taking it, the effect will not be worse than that of the Blood-Returning Pill.

Of course, these are just thoughts; if he could really go back to the beginning, Feng Xiu wouldn't regret his actions.

Under the circumstances at the time, no one could have imagined this.

Even if it were truly edible, Feng Xiu would still consider other parasites, the possibility of being possessed, and other such associations.

"Okay, that's settled for now. I'll go with you tomorrow. You'll have to work hard for a while."

Feng Xiu's expression turned serious, and he calmly gave the order.

Xiang Geng hesitated, his doubts growing stronger, but he dared not ask anything at this moment.

There must be a reason why Feng Xiu did this.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind: Could there be something else in the culvert?

Thinking of this, Xiang Geng shook his head violently, making up his mind to go to the culvert again to reinforce the river mouth where the water was flowing.

"Your subordinate obeys."

A short while later, Xiang Geng arranged for two guards to carry the luggage into a small room.

"This place is simple and humble, I apologize for the inconvenience, young master."

After placing the wooden box in the corner of the room, he bowed to Geng and said politely.

This was originally his residence, but now that Feng Xiu has arrived, he has no choice but to squeeze in with the guards.

Feng Xiu looked around the room. There was a bed, a wooden table, and two bamboo chairs. The furnishings were quite simple.

"Thank you for your hard work," Feng Xiu said with a gentle smile.

"You're too kind. It's really kind of you to come all this way in this sweltering heat to inquire about the grain depot's affairs."

Xiang Geng smiled, his eyebrows twitching, his eyes revealing a hint of probing.

Feng Xiu didn't reveal it. The "Pond Reservoir Dragon" was a trump card of the Feng family. Since it was a trump card, the fewer people who knew about it, the better.

Even subordinates like Xiang Geng, who were often praised by Feng Ao.

"Oh, and also find me a large tub for medicinal baths, and a secluded place to practice martial arts."

Feng Xiu took the initiative to change the subject, which made Xiang Geng feel somewhat disappointed, and he looked troubled.

"Young Master, this medicinal bath tub is easy to solve; we just need a secluded place."

There's an old bamboo grove about three miles west of the compound; it's a serene and elegant place. Do you think that's suitable?

Feng Xiu nodded. "That works too."