"I … I've bought the herbs!"
As soon as Hua Kai stepped out of the yard, he saw Fourth Uncle rush in on his horse. It was more than 300 kilometers from Guang County to Linzi City. Even with Hua Zihuan's two horses, it still took him 10 hours to get there. When he arrived at Linzi, he went to the horse shop to change horses and bought the herbs before rushing back.
"Fourth Uncle, go back and rest. Leave Grandpa to me!"
Hua Kai took the herbs from Fourth Uncle and turned to walk back into the house. Hua Zihuan didn't listen to Hua Kai. He handed the horse to the Household Servant and limped in.
"Everyone, leave … Housekeeper, Second Uncle, Third Uncle, and Fourth Uncle can stay," Hua Kai said as he entered the house.
Only a few people were left in the house. Everyone looked at Hua Kai anxiously.
"Look after Grandpa. I'll be back soon." Hua Kai turned and walked to the small house. Hua Zihuan and the others didn't understand, but they didn't ask.
"Only the four of us know about what happened today. Don't mention it after we leave. Master will let us know when it's time for us to know."
Housekeeper Wal-mart, who was 100% loyal, reminded Wah Tzu Chi and the other two brothers when he saw how confused they were.
The three brothers sat down cross-legged and waited anxiously as they watched their father in pain on the bed.
Hua Kai entered the side room and went straight to the family's mystic realm. He found the Qi-Changing Pill he needed to refine and heard the system notification:
Qi-Changing Pill: First-grade Common Pill
"Ingredients required: 1 Qi-Changing Fruit as the main ingredient, 10g of Body Clear Grass, 5g of Black Snake Flower as the secondary ingredient, 2g of Thousand Gold Vine …"
"Ingredients checked. Do you want to refine? Family Luck Points required: 1. Do you want to refine?"
Hua Kai clicked "Yes" and saw an aura from the crystal pillar in the center of the mystic realm float into the alchemy room. A portion of the herbs in the room disappeared instantly. The furnace in the center of the room started to spin, and a red fire appeared under it. Hua Kai stored the remaining herbs on the shelf. It was the first time Hua Kai saw a shelf for herbs.
After a minute or so, the furnace stopped spinning, and the flames under the furnace also disappeared. When the furnace came to a stop, it automatically opened its lid, and a special fragrance filled the entire alchemy room. Hua Kai suddenly felt that the surrounding spiritual energy had increased by a lot. He didn't have time to slowly experience it, so he took out the medicinal pills.
This time, he had refined three "Qi Transformation Pills" in one go. Moreover, the surface of all the pills was smooth and full. When he held them in his hand, there was a unique fragrance of plants.
Needless to say, the pills were successfully refined.
.. Grandpa Grandpa's three uncles, Grandpa, Grandpa, and the other three uncles were looking at him with anticipation.
"The pills are successfully refined. Hurry up and give them to Grandpa."
Hua Kai took out a Qi-Changing Pill, and the uncles quickly lifted Grandpa's head and pried open his mouth!
Hua Kai put the Qi-Changing Pill into Grandpa's mouth, and the pill gradually became smaller. Wal-mart quickly closed Grandpa's mouth.
After waiting for more than ten minutes, the uncles could clearly feel that Grandpa's spasms had decreased, and the swelling on his body had also decreased. Grandpa's breathing gradually became smoother, and everyone was overjoyed to see this.
"It's effective. Grandpa's True Qi is slowly flowing, and the swelling on his body is slowly disappearing. This pill is really effective!" Butler Hua exclaimed.
"Dad doesn't seem to be in so much pain anymore. It's really the blessing of the ancestors!"
As the second uncle spoke, he heard Grandpa's snoring sound. It had been two days since the accident, and Hua Xing had been fighting against the chaotic True Qi. Both his body and spiritual power had reached their limits.
"Let's not spread Grandpa's matter. Everything will wait until he wakes up. For the next few days, don't let anyone come in contact with Grandpa. The five of us will take turns to take care of Grandpa. I'm worried that someone will know that Grandpa has a chance of recovery and can't help but attack him in advance."
Hua Kai had spent a lot of effort to buy the family six days of buffer time. If they knew that Hua Xing had a chance of recovery, they might take the risk and attack him. Grandpa hadn't woken up yet, so now was the most dangerous time.
"Leave this to me and Third Brother!
You still have to take care of the family matters. Fourth Brother needs to rest well. Third Brother and I won't show up for a few days. "
Hua Kai left Grandpa's main house. Yesterday, because of time, he didn't get to try the three trial spaces. Now that Grandpa had taken the Qi-Changing Pill, he could finally relax.
After eating dinner, Hua Kai locked himself in his room and entered the family's secret space. He found that there were some changes to the family name list on the crystal pillar.
Hua family: 100 people (full)
Qi Transformation Realm: 2 people
Natal Opening Realm: 7 people
Bone Refining Realm: 48 people
Qi Cultivation Realm: 43 people
Luck Points: 5 points
The system actually showed that the number of family members was full. Hua Kai checked and found that the system was ranked based on loyalty. The 100th place had 63 loyalty points. At night, the news of Grandpa taking the pill had already spread. Hua Kai saw that many people's loyalty points had increased.
Another thing was that he had used some luck points to refine the pill. Why did it show that his luck points had increased?
Hua Kai checked the system. So it was because Grandpa's injuries were under control and recovering. It seemed that he had to do more research on how to obtain luck points.
After leaving the central crystal pillar, Hua Kai arrived in front of the constitution training secret realm. Apart from the Heaven Seeking Stone Secret Realm, this was the only place that Hua Kai did not need to spend his family's Luck to enter, so he planned to explore it as soon as possible.
[Physique Training Secret Realm]: A secret realm that trains one's physique. The host can enter for free. Family members need to spend 1 family's luck points to enter.
Hua Kai chose [Yes] and entered the secret realm.
Different from the Heaven Seeking Stone, Hua Kai found himself in a desolate desert after entering the Physique Training Secret Realm. The surroundings were silent, and he could only hear the faint sound of the wind. Hua Kai walked in the desert for a long time, but he didn't know what was so special about this place.
As time passed, Hua Kai felt that the temperature around him was getting lower and lower. The wind blew past his ears. This was no different from a normal desert.
"Could it be that this is to train my resistance to the cold?" Hua Kai thought as he rubbed his hands.
At this moment, he suddenly felt a gust of wind. When he turned around, Hua Kai was shocked.
"F * ck …"
It turned out that there was a sandstorm behind him. Under the power of nature, humans looked so small. He didn't dare to think too much and hurriedly ran in the opposite direction of the sandstorm.
Hua Kai measured the speed of the sandstorm as he ran. The sandstorm wasn't very fast, about the same speed as Hua Kai.
Just as Hua Kai was feeling complacent, he found that the sandstorm was accelerating. Soon, it was only a hundred meters behind him.
Hua Kai tried his best, but he felt that his breathing was getting heavier and heavier. The sandstorm was gradually catching up with his footsteps. Hua Kai felt that he had reached his limit, so he silently thought to leave the secret realm.
Unfortunately, there was no response in his mind. Hua Kai was anxious.
If he couldn't leave, wouldn't he be dead?
Without thinking too much, Hua Kai tried his best to run away. He didn't expect that his sudden burst of speed would actually put some distance between him and the sandstorm. The howling of the wind behind him was getting louder and louder. Hua Kai couldn't care about anything else, he just wanted to escape the pursuit of the sandstorm.
As time passed, Hua Kai felt as if his lungs were on fire. The sandstorm behind him was gradually submerging his body. He felt as if his skin was being cut by tens of thousands of small knives. Hua Kai couldn't help but cry out in pain, but he ate a mouth full of idiocy.
"Trial ended. Result: 23 minutes 42 seconds. Result increased by 23 minutes 42 seconds. Reward: 2 points of physique."
Hua Kai suddenly heard the system prompt. He opened his eyes and found himself in his own room. His body didn't show any signs of injury, but he felt especially tired. He opened his control panel.
Hua Kai: Qi Cultivation Level 9
Aptitude: E-
Physique: 12
Strength: 9
Willpower: 17
Mental Cultivation Method: Meditation Heart Technique (Low Yellow Level Mental Cultivation Method) Large Success
Spear Technique: Space Splitter Spear (High Yellow Level Spear Technique) Small Success
Special Skill: Eye of Truth (Unable to level up)
His physique really did increase by 2 points. Hua Kai felt some changes in his body. He stood up and felt his body become much lighter. The muscles that weren't obvious before also seemed to have some shape.
"My physique really increased!" Hua Kai thought excitedly.
He entered the "Family Secret Realm Space" again. He wanted to try entering the secret realm. If he could continue to increase his physique like this, then even if he didn't break through to the Qi Cultivation Level, his strength would continue to increase.
"Your mental strength has not recovered to its peak. Unable to enter the secret realm."
The system prompt dispelled Hua Kai's thoughts of continuing to increase his physique. He clicked on the [Energy Training Secret Realm]. Currently, his energy was at 9 points. If he suddenly reached 10 points, he would naturally enter the Body Tempering Realm.
"Your mental strength has not recovered to its peak. Unable to enter the secret realm."
Unable to enter the [Energy Training Secret Realm], Hua Kai exited the secret realm space. He sat cross-legged on his bed and began to practice the [Meditation Mantra]. Today, the [Meditation Mantra] seemed to be operating faster than before.
When the rooster crowed in the morning, Hua Kai opened his eyes. Although he still hadn't broken through to the Body Tempering Realm, he felt his whole body relax.
After washing up, Hua Kai went to the training field before the sun rose. He found that his Fourth Uncle was already leading the family members to practice the [Sky Splitting Spear Technique].
After practicing a few sets of spear techniques, Hua Kai felt his whole body relax. The increase in his physique made his spear technique feel much smoother. He also took a look at the other members of the family who were training. Most of the people with good aptitudes were those who had made great progress. Those who were over 30 years old and still at the peak of the Qi Cultivation Level were all F grade aptitudes. It would be extremely difficult for them to break through to the Body Tempering Realm in this lifetime.
After finishing his morning practice, Hua Kai returned home. His mother had already prepared breakfast and was waiting for his second uncle and the others to return home to eat. His second uncle brought the four militiamen from Xihe Village to stay and eat at Hua Kai's house.
When he went to his grandfather's courtyard, his third uncle was by his grandfather's side. After a night, the swelling on his grandfather's body had disappeared. He looked a lot more normal, but he was still unconscious. Hua Kai tried to check his grandfather's stats.
Hua Xing: Qi Transformation Realm Level 9
Aptitude: B
Physique: 21 (37)
Energy: 39
Willpower: 46
Mental Cultivation Mantra: Meditation Mantra (Low Yellow Rank Mental Cultivation Mantra) Large Success
Spear Technique: Sky Splitting Spear Technique (High Yellow Rank Spear Technique) Large Perfection
Loyalty: * *
Heavily Injured, Unconscious!
His grandfather could not see his loyalty. His physique was only 21 points. The brackets at the back should be his physique after he recovered. However, the fact that his physique had reached 46 points was very shocking.
Hua Kai used to think that perfection was the highest level of his spear skills. He did not expect his grandfather to be at perfection.
After staying by his grandfather's side for a while, Grandpa Fu indicated that he had something to report to Hua Kai. Hua Kai quietly left his grandfather's room and followed him to the accounting room.
"Since you are already the head of the Hua family, then I should let you know about the family's situation. Although the old man is out of danger, it will not be easy for the Hua family to survive this crisis."
Butler Wal-mart said as he handed a sheepskin scroll to Hua Kai. Because there was no paper in this world, the accounts were all recorded on sheepskin scrolls.
Hua Kai opened the sheepskin scroll and found that the family's situation had far exceeded his expectations.
"There is not much money left in the family. The food we planted this year is not enough for the 329 people in the village. In the past, every time we came back from a business trip, we needed to go to Ju Country to buy food. This year, we do not even have the money to buy food.
Moreover, we need a lot of meat for cultivation. Our family needs a lot of meat every day. Without meat, our bodies will not be able to withstand cultivation. "
Butler Wal-mart said.
Hua Kai also knew that a family needed a lot of resources to maintain. A small Fort Wah Ka cost more than 30,000 bone coins a month, which was three taels of gold. This was unexpected. Looking at the family's income and expenditure in the past few years, Hua Kai frowned.
"Let's discuss this matter with my Second Uncle, Third Uncle, and Fourth Uncle!
At least until my father is buried, we can't easily leave Fort Wah Ka. "Hua Kai suddenly felt what it meant to have internal and external troubles.
The five of them discussed in the old man's side room. Everyone heard that the family was about to run out of food. Although they expected it, they still had a headache.
"We still have to hold on until father wakes up. When the time comes, we can borrow some food from Huang Jia and Geng Family. At least we can last until next year." Hua Zihuan spoke first.
"We can survive this year, but what about the future?" Third Uncle Hua Zijie was in charge of the family's logistics. He knew how difficult it was for a family to operate.
"Our family's annual income is nothing more than business, wine, weapons shop, and farming. Now that the wine business is gone, we can't count on business. Only the weapons shop and the family's land are left, but these are far from enough."
At this time, several people clearly felt where the family's crisis was. Without income, Fort Wah Ka might as well be disbanded early. But where was the family's future?
"Third Uncle, you have been in charge of the family's logistics. How do you think the family should solve this problem?" Hua Kai looked at Third Uncle Hua Zijie.
"It doesn't make much sense to expand the business of the weapons shop in Guang County. Guang County only buys so many weapons every year. Therefore, I feel that we should be like Huang Jia and open up the wasteland outside the village. This way, we can wait a few years for the land to mature. Fort Wah Ka will still be able to recover."
Hua Zijie's suggestion was the safest way. The spiritual energy in this world was abundant. One mu of land could easily grow thousands of catties of food. However, due to the attacks of various wild beasts, the land could only be planted within the city walls. If Fort Wah Ka wanted to expand the area of the village, they had to expand the area of the village.
This would increase the difficulty of the village's defense. This was also very risky.