It took a long time to wake me up since it was before dawn. By the time I was dressed and ready - still sleepy - aunt Yan bought the pouch with candies. I checked it and there was a lot. I could fill my room with them and it still would not be enough space. I was so excited that I woke up a little more. After using Li Yao, Li Bo and myself as quality testers, I thanked her and said goodbyes.
I chose to wear light green clothes. No gold or jade jewelries, just a wooden hair pin to match my bracelet. It was better to travel and work in a low key manner
Li Yao was coming with me while grandma Li would take care of the garden. There would be more servants helping her boost the plants. Lunch and snacks were made yesterday by grandma Li and safely stored in my ring.
Uncle Huai assigned me two bodyguards. I thought I would have to fight him over lowering the number as I was expecting ten of them so two guards was acceptable.
Teacher Hong was supposed to meet students Wong and Ang at school to give them a ride. I chose to meet them at the north exit of the city
There, I met the officials who were coming with us. As array makers, we do not deal with administrative tasks like who should get the array and who should not. This is why each of us were traveling with an official and a security crew.
At the exit, 5 security officers and 4 officials were waiting. My two bodyguards, with the same uniform as the other security officers, were not too conspicuous
We all left after teacher Hong and the two other students joined us. I invited students Wong and Ang to join me in my carriage to avoid disturbing the teacher during the ride. They looked as sleepy as me before the sugar boost (candy tasting).
I still fell asleep after I gave students Wong and Ang candies and woke up when the carriage stopped. We had arrived.
When I got out of the carriage I froze. The initial 7 guards turned to 20. The head of the guards came to greet me saying those were extra measures for the safety of ALL of us. Like I would believe you! Where is the promised low key!
The village chief was standing a bit farther and got closer when one of the officials called him over. There were a lot of children looking at us. Today’s schedule was already set. Teacher Hong showed us what to do by setting the array on the village chief’s courtyard. He set up 4 arrays, one on each side of the courtyard’s garden and two indoors. They were big enough to overlap with each other. The chief was 6th level of Qi condensation so he could turn on all of them - with a break in between -
He would need to use his own energy to keep them going but because those were level 1 arrays, the energy needed was minimal. During freezing winter he would need to only keep the indoor ones active. This was the privilege of the village chief who used points he already gained and borrowed the rest. Most other courtyards were much smaller and needed only one or two arrays.
Wood and coal would be the main heating source and those arrays would increase temperature by 10 degrees. Those ten degrees would not make them warm in the freezing winter but this difference could mean life or death for the villagers.
While teacher Hong was setting up the last two arrays, I distributed the candies to the curious children. The smiles they rewarded me with were priceless. None of them was scared of the uniformed guards after that and I saw no anxiety due to the upcoming freezing winter.
We could not put arrays on every household as there were families with no cultivators. Those households would be moving with others for safety. That was the job of the village chief to make sure everyone would be covered. This village was the closest to the city, its main income was from farming. Some of the villagers already had enough points to request extra arrays like their chief so we started with those.
We split up following an official each. The one assigned to me looked old but had a strong body. Switch uniforms with the guards and you would think he was one of them. He knocked on a door and a farmer that looked like in his mid thirties opened it. He requested 2 arrays. He sold food to the city and worked the day before for points. This was not enough for both arrays but there was a borrowing of the point system at this stage. He would repay the debt by selling the food and fire plant he planned to grow in his courtyard.
I checked the house and the garden, confirmed with him the range then made both arrays. It took about 30 minutes. He had 2 kids younger than me so I gave them candies while the farmer was trying to turn on the array at the official's request - this was the final test -
The farmer and his wife thanked us and we moved to another house.
This time it was a house full of ordinary people. The one who paid for the array was their eldest son who volunteered for point work in the city. He was 3rd level of Qi condensation and was planning to come back to turn it on when needed. They could only afford an array big enough for the main room and would all sleep there for safety. Their son was smart, a bigger range would have been harder to maintain with his level. The official was the one to test the array for them
We went to 5 other houses to make 7 more arrays. It took almost all day. I had my lunch at the chief’s residence - we brought our own food and we only needed to be indoors to eat. Grandma Li packed a lot of food so I shared it with my fellow students and teacher Hong. With 4 array makers, we finished all tasks for this village in one day. Teacher Hong made most arrays but it was expected as he had more spiritual energy and experience than us.
By the time I arrived at the city’s lord's residence I was tired and hungry. Some news was waiting for me
The poison expert of the city lord’s team came back with the information while I was away. With that information, he checked the couple's living area and found 3 other substances he missed before but putting them together would have increased the speed of the poisoning. Aunt Yan’s favorite incense, uncle Huai’s clothes - it was the soap used - and a wooden doll.
The doll was a gift from a long time friend. The incense and soap were all bought by the housekeeper. The investigation team was so fast that they found a link between all of them. The doll was bought from a dowry store owned by my former aunt Liu1The 1st aunt that Bai YuShin called 'My dear aunt'.
The soap and incense were bought outside the city but after the housekeeper's interrogation, they found out that he delegated the purchase to his son-in-law who was still being interrogated.
As for the food, the cook was following the recipes given to her by the previous cook before retirement. After checking the recipe book, the two types of leaves were always used one way or another. The security team were secretly looking for the retired cook.
Fullname82 Hello everyone!
I am sorry for the delay. I had a power outage for 52 hours (yep, I was counting). No electricity and no internet. Luckily, some restaurants could deliver food so I had warm meals while waiting.
As usual, due to the delay, expect 3 chapters in total instead of 2
It took a long time to wake me up since it was before dawn. By the time I was dressed and ready - still sleepy - aunt Yan bought the pouch with candies. I checked it and there was a lot. I could fill my room with them and it still would not be enough space. I was so excited that I woke up a little more. After using Li Yao, Li Bo and myself as quality testers, I thanked her and said goodbyes.
I chose to wear light green clothes. No gold or jade jewelries, just a wooden hair pin to match my bracelet. It was better to travel and work in a low key manner
Li Yao was coming with me while grandma Li would take care of the garden. There would be more servants helping her boost the plants. Lunch and snacks were made yesterday by grandma Li and safely stored in my ring.
Uncle Huai assigned me two bodyguards. I thought I would have to fight him over lowering the number as I was expecting ten of them so two guards was acceptable.
Teacher Hong was supposed to meet students Wong and Ang at school to give them a ride. I chose to meet them at the north exit of the city
There, I met the officials who were coming with us. As array makers, we do not deal with administrative tasks like who should get the array and who should not. This is why each of us were traveling with an official and a security crew.
At the exit, 5 security officers and 4 officials were waiting. My two bodyguards, with the same uniform as the other security officers, were not too conspicuous
We all left after teacher Hong and the two other students joined us. I invited students Wong and Ang to join me in my carriage to avoid disturbing the teacher during the ride. They looked as sleepy as me before the sugar boost (candy tasting).
I still fell asleep after I gave students Wong and Ang candies and woke up when the carriage stopped. We had arrived.
When I got out of the carriage I froze. The initial 7 guards turned to 20. The head of the guards came to greet me saying those were extra measures for the safety of ALL of us. Like I would believe you! Where is the promised low key!
The village chief was standing a bit farther and got closer when one of the officials called him over. There were a lot of children looking at us. Today’s schedule was already set. Teacher Hong showed us what to do by setting the array on the village chief’s courtyard. He set up 4 arrays, one on each side of the courtyard’s garden and two indoors. They were big enough to overlap with each other. The chief was 6th level of Qi condensation so he could turn on all of them - with a break in between -
He would need to use his own energy to keep them going but because those were level 1 arrays, the energy needed was minimal. During freezing winter he would need to only keep the indoor ones active. This was the privilege of the village chief who used points he already gained and borrowed the rest. Most other courtyards were much smaller and needed only one or two arrays.
Wood and coal would be the main heating source and those arrays would increase temperature by 10 degrees. Those ten degrees would not make them warm in the freezing winter but this difference could mean life or death for the villagers.
While teacher Hong was setting up the last two arrays, I distributed the candies to the curious children. The smiles they rewarded me with were priceless. None of them was scared of the uniformed guards after that and I saw no anxiety due to the upcoming freezing winter.
We could not put arrays on every household as there were families with no cultivators. Those households would be moving with others for safety. That was the job of the village chief to make sure everyone would be covered. This village was the closest to the city, its main income was from farming. Some of the villagers already had enough points to request extra arrays like their chief so we started with those.
We split up following an official each. The one assigned to me looked old but had a strong body. Switch uniforms with the guards and you would think he was one of them. He knocked on a door and a farmer that looked like in his mid thirties opened it. He requested 2 arrays. He sold food to the city and worked the day before for points. This was not enough for both arrays but there was a borrowing of the point system at this stage. He would repay the debt by selling the food and fire plant he planned to grow in his courtyard.
I checked the house and the garden, confirmed with him the range then made both arrays. It took about 30 minutes. He had 2 kids younger than me so I gave them candies while the farmer was trying to turn on the array at the official's request - this was the final test -
The farmer and his wife thanked us and we moved to another house.
This time it was a house full of ordinary people. The one who paid for the array was their eldest son who volunteered for point work in the city. He was 3rd level of Qi condensation and was planning to come back to turn it on when needed. They could only afford an array big enough for the main room and would all sleep there for safety. Their son was smart, a bigger range would have been harder to maintain with his level. The official was the one to test the array for them
We went to 5 other houses to make 7 more arrays. It took almost all day. I had my lunch at the chief’s residence - we brought our own food and we only needed to be indoors to eat. Grandma Li packed a lot of food so I shared it with my fellow students and teacher Hong. With 4 array makers, we finished all tasks for this village in one day. Teacher Hong made most arrays but it was expected as he had more spiritual energy and experience than us.
By the time I arrived at the city’s lord's residence I was tired and hungry. Some news was waiting for me
The poison expert of the city lord’s team came back with the information while I was away. With that information, he checked the couple's living area and found 3 other substances he missed before but putting them together would have increased the speed of the poisoning. Aunt Yan’s favorite incense, uncle Huai’s clothes - it was the soap used - and a wooden doll.
The doll was a gift from a long time friend. The incense and soap were all bought by the housekeeper. The investigation team was so fast that they found a link between all of them. The doll was bought from a dowry store owned by my former aunt Liu1The 1st aunt that Bai YuShin called 'My dear aunt'.
The soap and incense were bought outside the city but after the housekeeper's interrogation, they found out that he delegated the purchase to his son-in-law who was still being interrogated.
As for the food, the cook was following the recipes given to her by the previous cook before retirement. After checking the recipe book, the two types of leaves were always used one way or another. The security team were secretly looking for the retired cook.
Fullname82 Hello everyone!
I am sorry for the delay. I had a power outage for 52 hours (yep, I was counting). No electricity and no internet. Luckily, some restaurants could deliver food so I had warm meals while waiting.
As usual, due to the delay, expect 3 chapters in total instead of 2
