reinforcements

Ji Wang pushed open the window with a refreshed feeling, and the fresh air mixed with the unique scent of grass and trees in the valley rushed in, invigorating him.

He gently woke Bu Jiu up, thinking that he should first check on the morning lessons of his fellow disciples, and then inspect the outer defense points that he had reinforced after discussing with Bu Jiu the night before.

As soon as I stepped into the main hall, which served as a meeting place and a venue for daily activities, I saw Huaiqing sitting alone in the corner chair, with her back to the door and facing the rising sun outside the window, motionless, as if lost in thought.

This demeanor was quite different from his usual morning routine of tending to herbs or gently urging the little demons to work.

"Huaiqing?" Ji Wang was somewhat surprised. "Why are you sitting here?"

He took a few steps closer and saw that Huaiqing's profile was expressionless, but her eyes were somewhat vacant, and her fingers were unconsciously twirling a withered leaf that she had picked from somewhere.

"..." Huaiqing slowly turned her head, her gaze falling on Ji Wang's face.

The smile that used to grace his eyes was gone, replaced by an overflowing melancholy. He stared at Ji Wang silently for two seconds, his lips moved but no sound came out, then he turned back to gaze out the window.

Ji Wang felt inexplicably uneasy under his gaze, completely bewildered: "...?"

Huaiqing sighed softly, her sigh filled with the hardships of a snake's life, as if stating a despairing fact: "I'm thinking about how to triple the stock of all the spiritual herbs in the medicine warehouse that can replenish qi, heal wounds, calm the mind, or even just clear the heart and reduce internal heat within a single day. No, perhaps five times would be more prudent."

Ji Wang was even more confused: "What do you mean? Is someone injured in the valley? Or..."

His heart tightened, thinking something unexpected had happened.

Huaiqing finally looked at him again, this time with the same look she had given him as if he were the “culprit” who was completely unaware of the impending storm and thought the weather was fine.

He didn't answer, but simply raised his hand and, with an infinite weariness, pointed to the open door of the main hall with the finger that was holding a withered leaf.

"What do you mean?" Huai Qing repeated Ji Wang's question, her tone even more profound. "Sect Leader Ji, you'll know once you go out and take a look for yourself."

His eyes and tone conveyed the message: "After reading this, you'll understand why I want medicinal herbs to multiply out of thin air, and I might even want to grow a medicinal field overnight."

Ji Wang became increasingly flustered by Huai Qing's unprecedented reaction. He strode towards the palace gate, casually glancing up at the crowd—"So many people??"

The area near the palace gate, which had seemed empty yesterday, was now neatly furnished with several large tents. At a glance, there were probably no fewer than thirty or forty people.

There were many figures, all dressed in the attire of different sects.

The Wuyi Sect disciples in moon-white Taoist robes are working together to build a temporary, simple altar, while the Changfeng Sect members in turquoise outfits move nimbly, exploring the surrounding terrain.

Looking further to the side, the cultivators of the Zongtian Pavilion, dressed in light blue robes, were gathered in small groups, discussing something in hushed tones, their hands occasionally drawing simple array diagrams with spiritual energy.

Another group of exceptionally skilled cultivators, carrying various oddly shaped tools and materials, were working with several disciples of the Bu Nian Temple, hammering and tinkering, clearly working to strengthen the valley's basic defenses. Although there were many people, it was not noisy or disruptive; everyone was focused on their assigned tasks.

Ji Wang was momentarily dazed. He knew that Xun Jing and his team were efficient, but he hadn't expected them to be this efficient.

Before he could even process his shock, he caught a glimpse of Xiao He, the deer demon in charge of the meals, carrying two bamboo baskets filled with fresh mountain mushrooms as she emerged from the back mountain path.

Xiao He was humming a tuneless folk song in a good mood, but when she looked up and saw a dark mass of people suddenly appearing at the entrance of the valley, her relaxed expression froze instantly.

She blinked her round, doe-like eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. The next second, she gasped, almost dropping the bamboo basket from her hands.

"My goodness... this... this will eat an entire mountain dry!!" Xiao He murmured in disbelief, then her face changed drastically. Forgetting to greet Ji Wang, she turned back into her original form and with a "whoosh," dashed towards the back of the mountain, still wailing, "Rice! Noodles! Meat! Not enough! Absolutely not enough—!"

That hurried, fleeing figure perfectly illustrates what it means for "plans to fall short of changes" and the deep fear in the face of a sudden increase in the number of diners.

Ji Wang was watching Xiao He's departing figure, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, when another familiar voice rang out beside him: "My goodness... so many people?"

Shi Jian, carrying his heavy stone hammer that he never parted with, strode over after completing his morning patrol of the mountain.

He originally wanted to greet Xiao He, but his gaze was first firmly captured by the scene before him.

His thick eyebrows furrowed into a knot: "Good heavens... weren't there only a few guests yesterday? How did such a large number appear overnight?"

He scratched his head, looking worriedly at the limited number of houses in the valley. "Are there enough houses? So many people crammed together won't do; there might not even be a place to meditate..."

He became increasingly anxious as he spoke, and no longer bothered to give Ji a detailed report on the patrol. He slung the stone hammer off his shoulder, slammed it heavily on the ground, and strode towards the open space where stones and timber were piled up, muttering to himself, "No, no! I have to hurry up and cut down some more timber to build a few more houses!... This work is urgent!"

Seeing Shi Jian's mountain-like back also hurriedly getting into the zone, Ji Wang finally understood what Huai Qing meant. The reinforcements arrived quickly and fiercely, and the logistical pressure instantly exploded.

He straightened his robes and was about to step forward to formally greet and make arrangements as the host when he saw Huaiqing stroll out of the main hall at some point and lean against the door with his arms crossed.

The resentful expression on her face had disappeared, replaced by a half-smile, a look of watching a good show, as she raised her chin at him from afar.

Ji Wang understood that look: See, what did I tell you?

He smiled helplessly at Huaiqing, then strode resolutely toward the suddenly vibrant open space. His clear voice rang out: "Fellow Daoists, you have come a long way! I am Ji Wang, and I apologize for not welcoming you properly! I invite the leaders of each team to come and have a chat!"

Bu Jiu had silently appeared beside Huai Qing at some point, looking down at the crowd with him: "Thank you for your hard work."

These words seemed to come out of nowhere, but Huaiqing understood them.

This refers not only to the arrangements for food and lodging for the suddenly added dozens of people, and the stockpiling of medicine. It also refers to the fact that over the past few months, he has been constantly on the move, from Xuanming Temple to the cave dwelling, and then to this valley, taking care of the wounded, managing trivial matters, and always being on high alert to guard against pursuers. Most of these complicated and crucial rear affairs have fallen on his shoulders.

Huaiqing replied almost without hesitation, "I deserve it."

Who told him to insist on going back with those two back then, and to follow them all the way to now? He jumped into the pit willingly, so he has to clean it up, no, he has to do it even if he has to crawl on his knees.

Bu Jiu didn't say anything more. He turned his gaze back to Ji Wang, who was already talking with several leading fellow Daoists.

After a moment of thought, he flicked his fingers, and a wisp of demonic power, imperceptible to ordinary people, quietly spread out, enveloping the entire valley more subtly.

Seeing the subtle movement in Bu Jiu's fingertips, Huai Qing completely resigned himself to his fate. Fine, one of them would be in the lead, the other would be the pillar of stability in the shadows, and he... he would just continue to be the one responsible for keeping everyone from starving to death and from falling ill.

However, this did not prevent him from taking advantage of the busy time inside the temple and the fact that no one was paying attention to him to make a reasonable complaint to the Ghost King beside him.

He lowered his voice: "I said, Lord Bujiu. You should also tone it down a bit at night and stop causing trouble. Look, for the past few days, he's been getting up later and later each day. This morning, if I hadn't held things up first, would the leaders of all the sects have been waiting to see our Sect Leader Ji come out bleary-eyed to meet people?"

He added the most crucial sentence: "In the end, won't all these trivial matters of welcoming and seeing off guests, and arranging and scheduling, fall on my shoulders first?"

"..." Bu Jiu's gaze, which had been fixed on Ji Wang in the distance, suddenly turned back to Huai Qing. He did not reply, but simply pursed his lips.

“…Meddlesome.” After a long pause, he managed to squeeze out two cold, hard words, his voice tinged with embarrassment.

Looking at his "I'm hiding something here" look, Huaiqing felt that the slight resentment she had felt from the early morning rush and pressure dissipated, and she even felt like laughing.

He knew when to stop and didn't pursue the topic further. He just sighed and muttered as he walked into the house, "Sigh, it's not easy being a head of the household. You have to worry about everything."

Ji Wang and the other leaders quickly finalized the plan. After seeing everyone off, he stood alone, rubbing his temples. The lingering worry between his brows wasn't about external affairs, but rather…

He spotted the familiar figure under the eaves with his sharp eyes, immediately adjusted his expression, and put on a look that was a mixture of ingratiation and pitifulness as he moved over step by step.

Only when they were very close did he look up and speak in a soft tone, only the two of them could hear: "Sweetheart... if I ask you for something, you'll give it to me, right?"

Bu Jiu met those eyes that seemed to say, "I have a request," and without much hesitation, replied, "Yes."

Ji Wang's eyes lit up, and he immediately pressed his advantage: "Then give me some money, or... anything that can be exchanged for money will do."

He pointed to the busy crowd in the valley: "So many people have come all at once. Rice, oil, salt, daily necessities, occasional purchases... everything costs money. What you gave me before... is really not enough."

He spoke softer and softer, his ears turning slightly red. Thinking back on his past and present lives, when had he ever been so overwhelmed by such mundane matters?

"Oh," Bu Jiu responded, then said, "Then sell me off."

Ji Wang: "...?"

He leaned closer, almost touching Bu Jiu's ear, and whispered with a wry smile, "Have we fallen so low that we have to sell people to make a living?"

“No.” Bu Jiu turned his head away, answering almost stubbornly, “It’s just that I don’t want to give it.”

Those were all sparkling, beautiful things that he had collected over a long time. He could almost picture his treasure trove, with its piles of spirit stones, rare minerals, and exquisite fragments of magical artifacts... each piece gleaming with a pleasing luster.

He was never stingy with Ji Wang's expenses on a daily basis, but when he thought about taking out large quantities of rice, flour, meat and vegetables to exchange for them, he felt that the brilliance of those treasures would be dimmed.

Ji Wang looked at his face, which was slightly turned away, and at the stubborn look that was clearly expressionless but still conveyed a sense of "reluctance". He was first stunned, and then suddenly realized.

How could he forget that Bu Jiu also possessed an almost instinctive urge to collect and possess shiny, beautiful things? Asking him to pull out his "collection" to cover worldly expenses would probably be more unbearable than asking him to take a direct hit from the Reverse Scale Shuttle.

Ji Wang couldn't help but chuckle. He wrapped his arms around Bu Jiu's waist and buried his face in his shoulder: "Alright, alright, I won't sell you, and I don't want your sparkly things anymore. I'll think of a way. We can't let Lord Bu Jiu's treasure trove be empty."

Bu Jiu let him hold her, remained silent for a moment, and then awkwardly compromised, "I can give it to you, but you have to make it up to me later. Double."

He couldn't bear to let Ji Wang worry about such mundane things.

After hearing this, Ji Wang quickly pecked Bu Jiu on the lips, then smiled and agreed, "Okay, it's a deal. I promise to make up for it, make it full. If I can't make up for it, you can put me in to fill your treasure vault, how about that?"