Scripture of Days Past

Maiden Thirteen was strongly opposed to being placed in the labor reform program, and she hurriedly said, ”Master Omniscient, you... I... your martial arts cultivation base and leadership skills are beyond anything I’ve ever seen, and I truly wish to serve you. I can see that you’re lacking capable subordinates.

“I have some influence in the south, and I can summon a large number of fiends to come here and serve you alongside me. I also have connections with pirates from the East Sea, and they can import weapons, armor, pills, and food for you. If you’re in need of maidservants, my sister and I can fill that role as well.”

She instinctively channeled her seductive abilities as she spoke. Her cheeks flushed bright red as she peered up at Chu Qiguang through her large, watery eyes and continued, ”My sister and I can even warm your bed for you if you desire.”

Maiden Thirteen’s sister immediately blushed furiously at the suggestion, but under Maiden Thirteen’s forceful gaze, she could only pledge her service to Chu Qiguang despite her embarrassment.

”You think a fifth-state martial artist needs someone to warm his bed?” Chu Qiguang sneered. ”If we slept together, would the two of you be warming the bed for me, or would it be the other way around? Besides, with my Dao arts cultivation base, I don’t need to sleep at all, so what use would I have for a pair of bed-warmers?”

Maiden Thirteen was rendered completely speechless.

Chu Qiguang knew that Maiden Thirteen could prove very useful to him, but she was far too cunning for her own good, so she had to be put through the reform program first.

Thus, despite her pleading, Chu Qiguang still decided to place both her and her sister in the labor reform program.

From that day onward, they would have to perform manual labor and attend lessons like the other fugitives. They would only be released from the program once Chu Qiguang deemed them fit to serve him.

However, Chu Qiguang could see a tentacle extending out of Maiden Thirteen’s shadow, indicating that she was a fifth-state martial artist. He was concerned that she might cause trouble if she were locked up with all of the other fugitives, so he decided to lock her up separately with her sister and the rest of her clansmen.

On top of that, he instructed Qiao Zhi and the two Chongming Birds to keep a close eye on them. If even one fox fiend escaped, all the others would be killed.

However, Chu Qiguang knew that he couldn’t push them too far into a corner. During the earlier public trial, he had learned about the history of the Huang Clan, so he decided to give them a glimmer of hope.

”As long as all of you undergo the necessary reform and serve me diligently in the future, I can help you exact vengeance on those who wronged you,” he promised.

”Are you being serious?” Maiden Thirteen asked, and Chu Qiguang could see a vast ocean of fury and resentment in her eyes.

The Huang Clan had once consisted of over three hundred fox fiends, yet only twelve of them had made it to Hidden Fiend Village. As a result, the Heavenly Master Religion of the East Sea Province had become a sworn enemy of Maiden Thirteen and her clansmen.

If an ordinary fiend had made her such a promise, she wouldn’t even have batted an eyelid. The grand abbot of the East Sea Province was such a powerful figure that she simply couldn’t see any realistic hope of taking vengeance.

However, she strongly suspected that Master Omniscient was a Dao Comprehension-state cultivator. As a result, his promise naturally carried more weight.

”The Heavenly Master Religion regards fiends as sworn enemies, and fiends feel the same way about them,” Chu Qiguang said with a smile. ”There’s no possibility of reconciliation between fiends and the Heavenly Master Religion. If Hidden Fiend Village and I continue to grow stronger, we’ll eventually have to face the Heavenly Master Religion in direct conflict. In other words, your current enemy is bound to become my future enemy.”

Maiden Thirteen considered his words for a moment before nodding. ”In that case, our Huang Clan is willing to remain here and serve you sincerely.”

Judging from her expression and demeanor, Chu Qiguang could tell that she was being sincere, and that she wouldn’t cause any more trouble, at least not anytime soon.

He ordered the cat fiends to lock up the fugitives separately, and with that, the rebellion was swiftly quelled.

On the way back to the courtyard, Qiao Zhi looked very glum, and he asked, ”I’m really stupid, aren’t I?”

”No, you’re just too kind,” Chu Qiguang replied as he petted Qiao Zhi on the head. ”That’s why you’re always so quick to trust others.”

After returning to the courtyard, Chu Qiguang found a place to sit, then pulled out a small book.

Qiao Zhi jumped onto his lap with a curious expression, only to discover that the book was filled with unfamiliar writing.

”What’s this?” he asked.

”These are extremely powerful incantations written in an ancient language,” Chu Qiguang replied.

In reality, the first page of the book contained kindergarten-level mathematics written in Chinese.

The rest of the book contained various types of knowledge related to mathematics, English, Chinese, as well as some of the information Chu Qiguang had gathered from his reading in the archive building. At the very end, there were even a few excerpts from the Elixir of Undying.

The knowledge recorded in the book was relatively harmless at the beginning, but it became increasingly dangerous toward the end.

If anyone else could understand the contents and read the book from beginning to end, they would certainly undergo demonification. That was why Chu Qiguang had chosen to record everything in Chinese as a safety precaution.

To him, the book was essentially an encyclopedia.

In battle, he could use his Ring of Ignorance to release different types of knowledge depending on how formidable his opponent was. Afterward, all he had to do was read the book to relearn the knowledge he had lost.

By the time he had relearned kindergarten-level maths, Wang Cailiang had already arrived in Hidden Fiend Village. Chu Qiguang greeted him with a smile, then led him out of the courtyard for a walk.

”How have things been over the past month?” he asked.

”There have been some ups and downs, but overall, everything in the village has been improving,” Wang Cailiang replied.

During Chu Qiguang’s absence, Qiao Zhi had been the highest authority in the village, but Wang Cailiang was actually the one most familiar with the state of the village.

Essentially, Qiao Zhi was like Chu Qiguang’s right-hand man or second-in-command, while Wang Cailiang was like his chief advisor.

According to Wang Cailiang, all the rules, regulations, and punishment and reward systems put in place by Chu Qiguang ensured that the village continued to operate smoothly even in his absence. The fiends gradually became accustomed to the working lifestyle.

Of course, some fiends inevitably tried to slack off or find ways to avoid work, but the constant punishments quickly discouraged them. Over time, they were also influenced by the hardworking fiends around them and gradually fell in line.

Wang Cailiang was utterly amazed by how effective all of Chu Qiguang’s policies had been. In his eyes, they were nothing short of another masterstroke, much like the shares that he had issued in Azure Sun County.

Now that Chu Qiguang had subdued the troublemaking outsider fiends, Wang Cailiang believed that it was only a matter of time before they were reformed and put to work as well.

Chu Qiguang was very pleased with his report and asked, ”How is the search for skilled workers coming along?”

”I’ve found some unemployed carpenters and blacksmiths who have nowhere to go, but is it really a good idea to bring them into Hidden Fiend Village? What can they even do?” Wang Cailiang asked.

”They can do a lot of things,” Chu Qiguang replied with a smile.

Thanks to his Dao arts cultivation base, he was able to recall all kinds of memories and details from his past life with incredible clarity. He soon realized that some of the most useful knowledge he possessed came from subjects such as chemistry, physics, and history, which he had studied in middle school and high school.

He was by no means an expert in any of those fields, but with his extraordinary memory, he was confident that he could produce useful results through repeated experimentation, just as he had done when developing water-powered looms and spinning machines.

In the past, Chu Qiguang had never been able to put much of the knowledge from his previous life to good use because he lacked the time, facilities, and personnel. Now that he had Hidden Fiend Village, it was finally time to recruit skilled workers and turn his visions into reality.