Strongest Lord by Opening Blind Boxes

Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Feces Hall Master

”What? Pearls? You want me to handle them?”

Yang Wanli thought, ’I’m just a country bumpkin, how am I supposed to handle this?’ Yet, he puffed out his chest and agreed, ”Alright, alright, alright! Boss, just leave the pearls to me. You can rest easy!”

Wang Yi nodded and sighed. ”The territory is new, and there’s so much to build. We’re in desperate need of people. Minister Yang, if you encounter any talented individuals on your travels, try to recruit them. You can also recruit the good people from Gourd Village and Pottery Village.”

”Okay, no problem!”

Yang Wanli readily agreed again.

But after he agreed and took the half-full bag of pearls, the old man started to feel nervous.

The pearls in the cloth bag were each the size of a quail’s egg. They were smooth and bright, glowing faintly. They might as well have been Luminous Pearls. Even if Yang Wanli wasn’t worldly, he knew treasures like this had to be priceless. ’I have to handle them myself, exchange them for money... but where do I go? How do I even exchange them?’

’Hiding out in this backwater hole, no one bothers me. But if I go out with this bag of treasure and get robbed by mountain bandits, can I take responsibility for that?’

Yang Wanli wondered why he had gotten so hot-headed and accepted such an errand. ’Do I have a death wish or something?’

Wang Yi gave a slight smile. He could guess at Yang Wanli’s anxieties and said, ”Don’t worry. I’ll have Big Head go with you. You’ll ride the Rock Giant Scorpions. Make it a quick trip!”

Yang Wanli breathed a sigh of relief and asked, ”Isn’t the Big Head Guard supposed to be tackling the General’s Tomb?”

”Jelena can cover for him for a few days!”

”Jelena? But she’s so young. How can she go to the General’s Tomb? It’s incredibly dangerous in there.”

”She’ll be fine.”

Wang Yi waved his hand dismissively. He then discussed some of the details of the trip into the city with Yang Wanli. In reality, more than just exchanging the pearls for money, Wang Yi hoped that Yang Wanli could bring back some master craftsmen or other talented people.

’There’s a chance of getting moneybags from the Chaos Blind Boxes. Just like with Enhanced Chaos Crystal Stones, if I open an Enhanced moneybag, I won’t be short on cash. The real problem is the lack of people...’

Wang Yi mused to himself. The main reason he had made Yang Wanli the minister of the Foreign Affairs Department was to have him go out and recruit refugees.

The next morning, Yang Wanli and Man Datou set out. Both of them rode Rock Giant Scorpions, wore General Armor, and carried Iron-Clad Bows on their backs.

Of course, Yang Wanli had borrowed his gear from his son, Yang Qingniu.

Wang Yi watched them ride off into the distance. With a wave of his hand, Qin Mo silently appeared beside him.

”Protect them from the shadows. If it all goes smoothly, wonderful. If not... well, making an unexpected score wouldn’t be a bad thing either.”

”Understood.”

Qin Mo bowed in assent, then took a step. His body seemed to merge with the space around him, vanishing strangely from sight a moment later.

A moment later, a shout came from behind Wang Yi.

”Report, Boss! Another giant scorpion just spawned at Chaotic Stone Slope!”

Wang Yi turned and saw it was Hu Fenqiu who had come to report.

”Finally, another one’s spawned! Quick, gather everyone! We’re capturing it alive!”

Delighted, Wang Yi quickly started the Crossbow Machine Carriage and sped toward Chaotic Stone Slope.

「Meanwhile, at Black Mountain Stronghold.」

Inside Unity Hall, the Big Boss, ”Rolling Python” Luo Jiu, sat sprawled on a tiger-skin chair. Seated below him were the various Hall Masters. The hall was packed with a hundred or so men, their boisterous laughter and curses creating a deafening racket.

”Silence!”

Rolling Python bellowed. ”There have been many strange occurrences lately. I’m sure you’ve all heard the rumors. I’ve called you all here today to hear what you think. Old Fifth, you start!”

”Old Fifth” was the Wind Hall Master, Yuan Hei. He nodded and said, ”There have indeed been many strange happenings recently. I’ve heard of people rising from the dead, falling from the sky, and a place where countless fat little pigs appeared overnight. With such constant omens, I believe it’s a sign that an age of chaos is about to begin!”

”An age of chaos?”

Rolling Python Luo Jiu turned to a tall man wearing a demonic mask. ”Old Third, what do you think?”

The tall man was the Fire Hall Master, Lei Liao. His voice was a low rumble. ”Why should I care about any of that? What will be, will be. I’m still gonna drink my fill and eat my fill. When I’m out of money, I’ll go robbing. When I want a woman, I’ll go sleep with one. Heh heh.”

”Third Master Lei, I’m afraid you don’t know yet. King Dongsheng’s Prince Mansion has dispatched a bandit-extermination army called the Red Tiger Camp. I hear they’re about to enter the territory of Kaiyuan County.”

The speaker was dressed like a Daoist master and had a red, bulbous nose. It was Xu Lei, the man known as their ”Master.” Squinting with a crafty expression, he continued, ”Our Black Mountain Stronghold, with its four halls and six divisions, controls the Official Canal. We are bound to be the Red Tiger Camp’s primary target!”

Lei Liao spat in disdain. ”Extermination camp? What’s there to be surprised about? It’s not like we haven’t seen them before. They’re just putting on a show. You think they’d actually dare to attack us on our mountain? Even if they did, we just have to toss them some money to send them packing! Without us, there’d be no them. Those officials know the score!”

”Send them packing? I’m afraid it won’t be that easy this time!” said Xu Lei. ”I’ve heard that the Red Tiger Camp’s commander is sending men out to conscript soldiers. If he wasn’t planning something big, why go to all this trouble?”

But now, Rolling Python Luo Jiu asked, ”Right, what about the men we sent to scout that deserted village in the river valley the other day? Have we heard back from them?”

Yuan Hei replied, ”Reporting to the Big Boss, no, we haven’t. Perhaps the journey is long, and they just haven’t made it back yet.”

Lei Liao laughed at that. ”Boss, you can’t be telling me you actually believed that dung-hauler, did you? What’s there to investigate in a forgotten hole like that? You really think Second Sister could have died in a place like that?”

”TEE HEE HEE HEE...”

A sudden laugh, like the tinkling of silver bells, rang out. It was the Water Hall Master, Liao Siniang. ”Speaking of those dung-haulers,” she said, ”they’re actually quite interesting. They have no martial arts to speak of, but they’re full of strange and wonderful ideas. That one called Ma Changgui is especially something else. He’s written me all these proposals. Here, look...”

As she spoke, Liao Siniang pulled a few rolled-up papers from her sleeve. ”You all should take a look at these. This one is titled ’I Know How to Make a Toilet.’ This one is ’A Proposal to Overhaul the Stronghold’s Latrines.’ And then there’s this one: ’A Joint Petition: Ten Reasons to Found a Feces Hall’...”

”A Feces Hall!” Yuan Hei roared with laughter. ”As everyone knows, our Black Mountain Stronghold has four halls: Wind, Horse, Water, and Fire. And those dung-haulers want to establish a Feces Hall? I suppose we should pick a Feces Hall Master for them, then?”

Liao Siniang, however, said, ”You know, I’ve seen the toilet he made. It’s actually quite clever. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to make that Ma Changgui the Feces Hall Master. We could put him in charge of cleaning the cesspits and producing toilets. Big Boss, what do you think?”

”Feces Hall Master?” Luo Jiu burst out laughing. ”I approve!”

The hall masters chatted and laughed. A moment later, all the Players who had accepted the ”Exterminate Black Mountain Stronghold” quest received a system notification.

The list of key leaders in Black Mountain Stronghold had been updated. A new name was added: ”Feces Hall Master, Ma Changgui!”

At that very moment, Ma Changgui was hauling buckets of dung.

His duties were grueling. He had to collect and empty most of the chamber pots in the stronghold, and that was just his morning chore. He was also in charge of a large dry latrine. If he didn’t work, he was beaten. If he dared to resist, he was dunked in the cesspit.

Just then, Ma Changgui also received a system notification: ”DING! Due to your outstanding performance, you have been appointed Feces Hall Master of Black Mountain Stronghold, granting you a BOSS title for the duration of this bandit-extermination quest!”

”What the fuck!”

Ma Changgui felt like he was about to explode with rage.

’Fucking system, are you playing with me?! Feces Hall Master? You think I give a shit about that title?!’

As he was cursing, Ma Changgui received another system notification: ”DING! To match your new BOSS status, a skill lottery has been enabled. You may draw two Martial Art-type skills. Do you wish to draw immediately?”

”Draw!”

Ma Changgui’s anger instantly turned to joy. ’Fucking hell,’ he thought. ’Opportunities really are everywhere!’