Lu Tu smiled faintly: "Because you don't deserve my trust."

"Is it really that simple? Even if it would earn you a lot of military merits, you wouldn't dare to take the gamble?"

Lu Tu became unusually serious and looked at him: "I dare not, and I cannot entrust the lives of hundreds and thousands of brothers to a fickle and treacherous person like you."

Nie Yun delivered an elbow strike to Han Wannian's abdomen, shouting, "Still trying to deceive your elder brother? I'll tear you to pieces!"

Soon, Han Wannian's screams came from outside. All the villagers present shrank back in fright, and only the bravest among them dared to look out.

A faint smell of blood wafted over, stimulating the nerves of all the villagers present. After this incident, although they felt a greater fear of Lü Tu, it was still better than their previous numbness.

Lu Tu looked at everyone and said loudly, "If anyone has any objections, they can raise them with me directly."

Everyone quickly shook their heads: "We have no objections, we will follow your orders."

Lu Tu nodded: "Then let's follow the old rules. Every family has to send someone to do the work. There will be someone to arrange work for you in logging and building houses. Each man will get 1 catty of millet a day, and each woman will get 7 liang of millet a day. Anyone who dares to slack off will be kicked out. Don't come begging me for mercy then. It won't work no matter who comes!"

"Yes, sir!" Everyone trembled in fear.

Just then, Xiao Zhong came over. As soon as Lü Tu looked at him, Xiao Zhong quickly said, "Sir, I just heard that. Leave it to me."

"How's the progress on the track?"

"With the current manpower, it will take another three days. If there were more people, it could be completed in two days."

Lu Tu was very satisfied with the result. Most importantly, he no longer had to personally intervene, which saved him a lot of trouble.

"Okay, you handle it."

He summoned Nie Yun again: "Take 100 men to the Gubeifeng Pass, dig another trench, and you will be stationed there from now on."

Nie Yun was overjoyed upon hearing this. The Wuhuan people could break in at any moment, which meant he would have more opportunities to earn military merits. For him, who was eager to make a name for himself, this was the best reward.

"Thank you, brother. I promise to dig it out as soon as possible!"

Lu Tu had his eye on this aspect of Nie Yun: he was very ambitious, or rather, driven. Lu Tu noticed this the first time he met him.

Ambition might be dangerous for others, but it doesn't matter to Lü Tu. What's the point of a man if he has no ambition? He's just like a salted fish.

Moreover, one only needs to be wary of someone with enough power to threaten them. But based on Lü Tu's understanding of Nie Yun and from Nie Yun's perspective, there is no reason for Lü Tu to be wary of him.

Lu Tu asked Zhao Liang to lend the villagers of Daozhuang an oxcart to help them move. Even so, it took half a day to move all the villagers of Daozhuang and Luzhuang.

As evening approached, Liu Yang and Liu Hu returned with their men, a dozen or so oxcarts piled high with grain.

When the grain convoy appeared at the village entrance, the villagers were overjoyed. As long as more grain was returning, they were filled with energy!

Upon seeing Lü Tu, Liu Yang rushed over, leaving Liu Hu behind to direct the others to store the grain in the warehouse.

"Big brother!"

Lu Tu's house was near the warehouse. He scooped a ladle of water from the well and handed it to him, asking, "Did things go smoothly?"

"Not going very smoothly."

Tell me about it.

Liu Yang first drank the water in the ladle in one gulp, breathed a sigh of relief, and then began to tell his story.

"We actually arrived at the house in Tieliu Lane quite early, but no one answered the door after we knocked for a long time. Just as we were about to take the head to the Commandant's Mansion to claim our reward, someone finally opened the door, and they were carrying a bloodstained knife!"

At this point, a hint of anger flashed in Liu Yang's eyes: "My other brothers and I definitely drew our knives on the spot, since I didn't know their background. Besides, after Hu Zi introduced himself, they actually told us to get lost, how could we tolerate that?"

Lu Tu nodded: "And then?"

"Of course a conflict broke out, but we also knew the rules that we couldn't fight with weapons in Wuchuan City, so we didn't use knives and fought them with our fists and feet. Soon their manager came out and stopped us."

"After learning why we came, they gave us this food a while later. Although I didn't go into the house, I could definitely hear women calling for help inside, and there was more than one. Judging from the bloodstained knives they were carrying, these guys are probably involved in murder, robbery, and trafficking. Brother, are we going to get involved if we do business with them?"

Lu Tu pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Don't worry about it. For now, let's just stay put. If he kills and robs, the captain will handle it. If the captain doesn't care, then it's none of our business."

Liu Yang nodded thoughtfully: "Then I'll head back now, brother."

"good."

Back home, Nangong Huiyu happened to be there as well. Lü Tu asked about Xu Jing again and recounted Liu Yang's discovery at the White Lotus Sect branch that day.

"Do you think it's possible that he kidnapped Wang Miaoling?"

Nangong Huiyu pouted and said, "No need to make a fuss, husband. Xu Jing is extremely lewd. Every time he goes to a branch, he has people kidnap many young girls for him to play with."

Lu Tu frowned as he listened: "If this bastard is so wicked, why did your master make you a saintess and even arrange for you to marry him?"

Nangong Huiyu sighed softly: "My master was not the only founder of the White Lotus Sect. Besides my master, there was a man and a woman, who were the previous Holy Emperor and Holy Maiden. They were Xu Jing's masters."

Lu Tu nodded knowingly: "It seems that you and your master have a very awkward position in the White Lotus Sect."

"Yes, so as long as I can remember, my master has been taking me on trips all over the country. Along the way, we've taken in more than a dozen junior brothers. If I weren't so reluctant to leave my husband, I would have gone and found all my junior brothers to help him. They've all been recognized by my master; they're definitely talented!"

Lu Tu pulled her into his arms and asked curiously, "Xiao Yu, we've been married for a while now, how come there's still no sign of pregnancy?"

Upon hearing this, Nangong Huiyu's pretty face flushed red instantly: "Husband, I shouldn't have kept it from you. Actually, I... I've been secretly taking medicine."

Lu Tu asked in surprise, "What medicine did you take?"

Nangong Huiyu looked like a child who had made a mistake, burying her head in her chest in shame: "It's a medicine to prevent pregnancy."

"How could you take that kind of medicine? It's so harmful to your health." Although Lu Tu didn't know what kind of medicine Nangong Huiyu used for contraception.

Even in the high-tech era of my previous life, birth control pills had side effects on the human body, let alone in this era where medical technology is not yet mature.

He was truly alarmed now, and said angrily, "How can you be so careless about your health?"

Nangong Huiyu's eyes were red: "I saw that my husband wanted it every day, and my sister was pregnant and couldn't take it anymore, so... so I... I'm sorry, my husband!"