My Cultivation Techniques Upgrade Automatically

Chapter 78: Chapter 77: Balancing the Books with the Demon Corpse

”These Demon Corpses have devoured countless flesh and blood. They’re several times stronger than the ones I encountered on my way south from Qingzhou.”

”Their numbers are so vast that even I am powerless against them.”

”What do you plan to do? Move your entire family out of Fenglin County?”

Aboard his galloping horse, Lin Gaoyuan’s heart sank to rock bottom upon hearing such words from a powerful expert like Wu Chen.

WHOOSH—

Gazing at the walls of Fenglin County’s city drawing closer in the distance and recalling the horrifying scenes from the mountains, he first let out a deep sigh before speaking:

”Our ancestral roots are here. I’m afraid we can’t leave on such short notice.”

”By the time we’ve packed everything up, the Demon Corpses will probably already be at the city gates.”

Wu Chen nodded. He understood that for people whose families had lived in Fenglin County for generations, leaving wasn’t a simple matter that could be settled in a day or two.

Yet the Demon Corpses could attack at any moment.

Lin Gaoyuan rubbed his anguished face and continued:

”With such a vast number of these creatures, we of the younger generation will of course inform our elders. They will take the lead and report this to the city’s authorities.”

”Once the authorities learn of the situation, they will surely request aid from the City Lord’s Mansion in Cangwu City.”

”All that’s left to do then is seal the city gates and wait for reinforcements from Cangwu City.”

Wu Chen understood. For now, the best course of action was to seal the city gates, station troops to guard them, send for help by carrier pigeon, and then wait for reinforcements to arrive.

But would the Demon Corpses allow them time for reinforcements to arrive?

And what should be done about the three to four thousand refugees outside the city walls?

Although they had only passed through a few villages on their trip into the mountains, Wu Chen knew that most of the villages outside the city had probably been completely devoured by the Demon Corpses.

Perhaps in another night, or maybe just two or three days, the Demon Corpses would set their sights on Fenglin County.

Even though the walls of Fenglin County were over twenty feet high, enough to hold back even the stronger, mutated Demon Corpses, but...

Wu Chen looked up. Amid the thundering of hooves, Fenglin County was now just ahead.

The scene of more than three thousand refugees queuing for porridge beneath the city walls also came into view.

’If these thousands of people are devoured by the Demon Corpses, I can’t imagine how powerful they will become.’

The mere thought made Wu Chen’s scalp prickle. He turned to Lin Gaoyuan.

”Can the refugees outside the city be let in?”

With a bitter smile, Lin Gaoyuan shook his head and said:

”I’ll tell my family’s elders. They’ll speak to the County Magistrate, but as for the outcome... that’s impossible to know...”

Lin Gaoyuan trailed off, but Wu Chen knew it wouldn’t be that easy.

Letting three or four thousand refugees into the city was a major undertaking, and maintaining public order would be a huge problem.

However, Wu Chen had seen armored soldiers on patrol and was a little curious about Fenglin County’s military strength, so he asked:

”How many soldiers does Fenglin County have?”

Lin Gaoyuan thought for a moment. ”The official number is five hundred, but there are probably only two hundred.”

Wu Chen’s lip curled. That was some serious payroll padding.

It seemed these officials were no different from the Blood Slaughter Sect. For all he knew, they might even welcome the arrival of this Demon Corpse horde.

It was a perfect way to write off the missing men.

”So, five hundred soldiers on the books, eh.”

Wu Chen mused. That wasn’t an insignificant number.

He then asked, ”The soldiers must have a training ground and an Arsenal for their Martial Arts, right? Surely they haven’t sold all *that* off for silver to line their own pockets?”

Lin Gaoyuan shook his head. ”They wouldn’t do that. After all, they still have to keep up appearances for outsiders.”

”Besides, when regular soldiers and constables capture bandits and criminals, they have to be rewarded.”

Wu Chen nodded, understanding Lin Gaoyuan’s meaning.

They could always conscript some able-bodied men to fill the ranks temporarily.

But if a higher-up came to inspect and the Arsenal was empty, that would be impossible to explain away.

Even if the officials were selling Martial Arts to line their own pockets, they could simply sell copies.

’Looks like the Martial Arts in Fenglin County’s military Arsenal aren’t just intact...’

’But there might be quite a lot of them!’

’It seems the arrival of these Demon Corpses might just be the opportunity I’ve been looking for.’

Wu Chen’s eyes brightened as he made a decision:

Stay in Fenglin County!

With that, Wu Chen and the others returned to Fenglin County.

”Young Master Wu, we must be going now!”

Inside the city, the three young women cupped their fists at Wu Chen before quickly heading off toward their respective homes.

Watching their figures disappear down the street, Wu Chen glanced at Lin Gaoyuan beside him and said calmly:

”I’ll be staying in Fenglin County for the time being.”

Lin Gaoyuan’s heart leaped with joy. With an expert of this caliber present, holding out until the reinforcements from Cangwu City arrived should be no problem at all.

”We are in your debt, Young Master Wu!” Lin Gaoyuan said, cupping his fists.

Wu Chen gave a slight nod and, without another word, led his horse toward the inn.

He tied the date-red steed in the backyard stable, and an inn attendant immediately brought over fine fodder and poured it into the stone trough.

As he went upstairs, Wu Chen asked a waiter to bring some food to his room.

He settled in to eat and drink, though he would occasionally gaze out the window with a profound look in his eyes:

’Even after they discuss it, the major families in the city are unlikely to abandon it and flee. Their foundations are here, and they can’t possibly pack up in just a day or two. Besides, leaving the city would make them an even easier target for the Demon Corpses.’

’Cangwu City will certainly send reinforcements; it’s just a question of sooner or later. But we can’t just count on them...’

’Still, Fenglin County has about two hundred soldiers, and the prominent families in the city should be able to scrape together another three to five hundred men.’

’Plus, the older generation from these great families can’t be weak. Each family probably has two or three masters. They should be able to hold out against the Demon Corpse horde for a few hours without a problem.’

Wu Chen was mulling over the situation when, about four hours later, he heard hurried footsteps outside his room.

The next moment, Lin Gaoyuan pushed the door open and strode in.

”What did the Fenglin County officials have to say?” Wu Chen asked, looking at the frantic Lin Gaoyuan with curiosity.

”The County Magistrate doesn’t believe us. He said that we of the younger generation are probably exaggerating.”

Lin Gaoyuan looked utterly exasperated. ”He’s preparing to send two hundred soldiers into the mountains at once...”

”He says two hundred, but it’s probably only fifty soldiers.”

”He even said that if they don’t find any monsters in the mountains, he’ll hold us responsible.”

”And if there *are* monsters, they’ll be annihilated in the mountains. He’ll absolutely not allow them to take a single step into Fenglin County.”

”Tch!”

Wu Chen clicked his tongue, fighting the urge to curse that the Great Yun nation was doomed.

This wasn’t an extermination mission; they were just sending men to their deaths to write off the payroll deficit!

”What about the refugees outside the city?” he asked.

”The matter of the refugees has been resolved.”

Speaking of the refugees, Lin Gaoyuan’s expression brightened considerably:

”The major families in the city showed a rare moment of unity. They all offered to open up their vacant courtyards and repeatedly guaranteed there would be no trouble. Only then did the County Magistrate finally relent and agree to let the refugees in.”

After speaking, Lin Gaoyuan gave Wu Chen a peculiar look.

Back at the County Magistrate’s residence, the three major martial arts dojos had, for once, stood on the same side. It was hard to deny that Wu Chen’s presence hadn’t been an enormous, unspoken factor.

Wu Chen nodded and said approvingly, ”That is indeed good news.”

His expression also softened at this. If three thousand refugees were to cause the Demon Corpses to mutate again, he couldn’t imagine what a terrifying scene that would be.

”By the way, do you know what’s causing these mutated Demon Corpses in Qingzhou?”

Wu Chen asked the question that had been puzzling him for a long time.

These prominent families, with hundreds of Guards and servants under their command, also dealt with wanderers from the martial world. With so many eyes and ears, they were bound to know more.

”There are all sorts of speculations, but no definite answer.”

Lin Gaoyuan looked just as baffled; the idea of humans turning into monsters was simply too bizarre.

”Some say it’s the Northern Barbarians performing sacrifices to an Evil God, while others claim it’s a scheme by the Demon Race.”

”Some even say the Northern Barbarians and the Demon Race have joined forces to orchestrate both the drought in Qingzhou and this demonic transformation.”

”As for what’s really going on, no one knows.”

’Evil God... Demon Race...’ Wu Chen mulled over these new terms. He had never heard of anything like them before.

It seemed this world was home to more strange and treacherous things than he had ever imagined.

TRAMP! TRAMP! TRAMP!

As they spoke, the sound of rhythmic marching rose from the street just outside the inn, punctuated by loud shouts of ”Make way!”

Wu Chen glanced out the window. It was the fifty soldiers dispatched by the government, blades hanging at their waists, riding out of the city.

The sight of so many fully-armed soldiers flooding the streets sent whispers rippling through the city:

”So many soldiers are leaving the city. What’s happening?”

”I don’t know. Maybe they’re hunting down some Blood Evil fiends?”

”...”

Even after the sound of the soldiers’ marching faded away, the surrounding chatter continued, though no one could guess the real reason.

Lin Gaoyuan then rose to his feet and cupped his fists toward Wu Chen:

”Now that the soldiers have left the city, I imagine the disaster will soon be upon us.”

”I’ll take my leave for now! Once we’ve weathered this crisis, I’ll join you for a drink, Young Master Wu.”

Wu Chen nodded. He could see that Lin Gaoyuan was trembling slightly, putting on a brave face.

He listened as the other man quickly descended the stairs and then headed toward the city gates.

’He must be going to bring all the refugees from outside into the city.’