Chapter 1970: Tushan Release

Another person chuckled, "You were fortunate. A year ago, he would have been the one to take your life and steal your money, and I guarantee he would have been far more ruthless than these two guards."

Fan Shuang, unwilling to believe it, signaled her parents to return to their room. By then, other guests in the inn were also alarmed, and several ran out barefoot. The innkeeper also went upstairs, only for the lean, dark man to reveal his identity: he was part of the Black Armored Army!

"Oh, you... you're from the Black Armored Army! We're saved!" The innkeeper's eyes lit up. "I truly apologize for my disrespect this afternoon, and my nephew was very rude! Sir... where are the other officers? I'd like to offer you all free accommodation!"

"No need," the lean, dark man said with a smile. "The county has arranged lodging for us."

After that, everything settled down, and someone naturally took care of the bodies upstairs. Fan Shuang noticed that the two guards' pockets had been thoroughly emptied, not a single coin left behind.

How professional.

Fan Shuang invited the men downstairs to thank them with good food and wine.

All of them politely declined, stating they had a mission and could not linger, before quickly departing.

Mrs. Wang wondered, "They all had missions, yet they stayed in this inn until past midnight?"

The remark, though casually made, struck a chord with Fan Shuang. His heart stirred. Were they perhaps monitoring him just now? Otherwise, how could they have immediately discovered the two guards harming their employer?

At this point, the patrol officers arrived, took the Fan family back for questioning, and escorted the disloyal guard to prison.

Miancheng had also been taken over by the Black Armored Army about a month prior. However, judging by the efficiency of the patrol officers' response, the newly appointed local administration was functioning well.

Fan Shuang possessed the Silverwood Token, which was more effective than any mighty official's name. County Magistrate Huang treated him with the utmost respect. Upon learning that Fan Shuang's attempt to seek refuge with friends from the Yuanshan Guild had failed and he had nowhere else to go, he invited Fan Shuang and his father to stay in Miancheng and work for the local government.

Among the common people of the Golden Plains, fewer than two in a hundred were literate, and mere literacy was still a far cry from being truly educated. Fan Shuang's father had worked for the Imperial Records Bureau in Yaoting, and Fan Shuang himself had served as a foreign envoy. Both were proficient in paperwork, accounting, and various other skills, making them exactly the kind of talent the local government needed.

The father and son discussed it. Since there was indeed no better place for them to go, they agreed.

In such chaotic times, securing a proper job with government backing was exceptionally rare. Even if Lu Shuheng had not died, the Fan family would have received, at most, the same treatment in Huancheng.

So, they settled in Miancheng, working for the government in accounting and record-keeping.

As for the Fan family's saviors, especially the lean, dark man, Fan Shuang saw him several more times, even interacting with him at the government office.

This man was named Tu Shanfang, from Xike in the western Golden Plains. A year and a half ago, he voluntarily joined the Wuwei Guard and was then promoted to the Black Armored Army due to his bravery in combat!

Tu Shanfang spoke and acted with a rough, wild intensity, yet he was a man of strong character. After getting to know Fan Shuang better, he frequently inquired about the Nine Nether Emperor's deeds in Yaoguo, speaking of him with boundless admiration.

"If I could just be by the Great Emperor's side for three months, I'd willingly sacrifice ten years of my life!"

That's too much, Fan Shuang thought. Far too much.

"You're from Yao; you wouldn't understand," Tu Shanfang said, seeing through Fan Shuang's thoughts. "It's not just me; my brothers feel the same way. Without the Great Emperor, we wouldn't be where we are today."

"Have you ever met the Great Emperor?"

"Twice, once from afar and once up close," which was why he kept asking Fan Shuang what the Great Emperor looked like.

Fan Shuang had also become comfortable with him and spoke less reservedly than at first, so he asked, "I'm from Yao, how dare you employ me? Aren't you afraid I'm a spy sent by Guo Baiyu?"

"What spy would be foolish enough to declare their origin as soon as they enter an inn?" Tu Shanfang chuckled. "Besides, we thoroughly questioned Qian Ziwei, the guard who attacked you that night, and confirmed your background and identity."

The family was indeed impoverished gentry who had fled the countryside of Yaoguo; they were not spies. Otherwise, how would the Miancheng government dare to employ the father and son?

Fan Shuang was silent for a moment. "So, you were indeed monitoring me at the inn that night, weren't you?"

Tu Shanfang let out a dry laugh. "Better safe than sorry, right?"

Looking into Tu Shanfang's eyes, Fan Shuang knew that if he truly were a spy, his fate would likely have been miserable.

Time flew, and ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

The Fan family also temporarily settled in this small city. They received official courtesy, their neighbors were amiable, and the public order was much better than in the Yaoguo countryside.

Yet, whenever they thought of their former country, a sense of melancholy would wash over them. They were originally from Yao, and after fleeing their homeland, they found refuge under the Dragon God, surprisingly feeling that life was good.

Fate truly had a strange sense of humor.

As the three family members chatted, Mrs. Wang remarked, "I used to think the Golden Plains were full of destitution and rampant bandits, but surprisingly, Miancheng is quite stable. Public order is maintained, restaurants and markets are open as usual, and the prices of rice, flour, and meat are quite stable."

After fleeing Yaoguo, she was no longer a noblewoman who never lifted a finger for household chores. Even though Fan Shuang hired a helper to cook, Mrs. Wang insisted on going out to buy groceries herself.

Now, she was a city woman with a simple bun and plain clothes.

She perceived an indescribable vitality in the city, as if a stiff insect, after hibernating through winter, had suddenly awoken at the awakening of insects and begun to stir.

Fan Shuang immediately said, "That's because the people of Miancheng have significant work to do."

Mrs. Wang wondered, "What kind of significant work?"

"The official road from Miancheng to Wuzhou was dilapidated and had been blocked by landslides three years ago. After the new county magistrate took office, he announced plans to repair and widen this section of the road while clearing the blockages. Additionally, official roads and rural paths to four other places, including Yuncheng and Baixiang, are also to be constructed, one by one." Fan Shuang counted on his fingers for her, "Quarrying, logging, sand extraction, smelting, transportation, leveling, paving—which of these doesn't require people and labor? As long as one has all their limbs and isn't too old to walk, they can find work, and there's simply no end to it."

If there's work to do, there's wages to earn, and thus food to eat.

Mrs. Wang frowned, "I remember the old road from Tianshui City to Youhu Lake—the old path before He Xiao developed the Youhu Lodge—it took four or five years to repair."

"That was built using conscripted labor. Besides, you know very well what kind of efficiency Tianshui City's government operations have, and what kind of efficiency He Xiao's enterprises have. Can those really be compared?"

Mrs. Wang could only honestly reply, "No, they cannot."

Father Fan, without looking up, added, "If the Royal Court allocates a thousand taels for repairs, at most a hundred taels will actually reach the ground level."

The efficiency with which He Xiao managed the Youhu Lodge and assisted in the development of Tianshui New City truly astonished all the upper-class nobles of Yaoguo.

"The county repairing roads by only hiring people and not conscripting labor is still very new," Father Fan also said. "I heard from County Magistrate Li that all areas seized by the Dragon God are currently operating this way. Each city and county has at least one or two major projects, primarily road construction. Some places also need to build river dikes and dams, so they are desperately recruiting people and working intensely, with project durations starting at a minimum of two years."