Chapter 334

“The warriors are back! The warriors are back!”

It was dinnertime. Smoke curled from every chimney, but the joyful cries of the children echoed through the stone building. The beastmen dropped their ladles and rushed out of their homes.

A hundred horned beastmen, laden with heavy packs and carrying sheep legs and ox ribs on their shoulders, stood proudly under the archway, waving vigorously to their families.

Most eye-catching of all was Lü Jiang, at the very front—he alone was dragging an entire sheep, easily five to six hundred catties in weight.

“Father, Mother, look! These are the rewards given to us by the city—so much meat and grain!”

“This was earned by me, heh heh.”

“Good, good…”

The warriors had departed with the city’s army at the end of autumn. Six months had passed, and now seeing their loved ones again, many could not hold back tears.

Zhong Lü, the priest, lived in the innermost part of the stone building. He hurried forward now, carefully inspecting each warrior before grabbing Lü Jiang’s hand.
“Are all of you back?”

Lü Jiang grinned, showing two rows of teeth.
“Don’t worry. Every one of our warriors is safe and sound—not a single one left behind.”

In truth, as the last group to join the army, the 200-plus horned beastmen from the five villages had mostly been assigned to logistics. They hadn’t even qualified for the front lines.

When this arrangement was first announced, many beastmen secretly felt relieved. But after only a few months, everyone’s attitude had turned completely around.

A horned beastman standing beside the priest and Lü Jiang now raised his voice:
“Too bad we didn’t get the chance to fight. Otherwise, we’d have earned more rewards like the Village Head.”

Everyone turned curiously. They had already noticed Lü Jiang’s rewards were different. What had happened?

The younger warriors grew excited, chattering and recounting Lü Jiang’s feats.

It turned out, when Chief Wo Er had led two Le Li leaders in a night raid on the Hei Yao camp, Lü Jiang had single-handedly captured one of the Le Li leaders alive.

Thanks to this achievement—and with Fox Qiao and Xi Zhou’s recommendations—Lü Jiang was promoted from logistics into the rear guard. During the decisive battle against the Le Li, he had always been at the very front, whether killing enemies or repelling attacks.

His performance was outstanding—even compared to Hei Yao’s seasoned warriors.

Zhong Lü glared at the bragging youngster:
“What do you know? Fighting alone isn’t everything.”

Lü Er’s father, Lü Yao, chuckled:
“Priest, this time it really mattered. Because of his merit, Jiang was appointed by the City Lord to be the… uh… what was it again?”

He trailed off, forgetting the term. His eldest son, Lü Da, supplied:
“Li Zhang (ward head).”

“Li Zhang?” Zhong Lü frowned. “What’s that?”

“I was just about to explain,” Lü Jiang said. Then he turned to the gathered crowd:
“Why are you all blocking the way? Aren’t you cold? Go back inside and warm up.”

One warrior hefted his fur sack and asked:
“Priest, where should we deliver these supplies?”

“These are your rewards. No need to turn them in—take them home,” Zhong Lü said with a smile. “Zhia, bring out the tofu skins and tofu I bought the other day and share them with everyone.”

“Alright! Home for meat!”

“Tofu too!”

On the staircase, Niu Xin nudged two companions.
“Us few will keep watch tonight. Go home and reunite with your families.”

The two thanked him gratefully. Guard duty at the village was always shared between the patrol squad and villagers. As patrol captain, Niu Xin was giving them leave.

The crowd escorted the warriors inside, leaving Niu Xin’s men standing awkwardly on the stairs.

Someone muttered sourly:
“Next time it’ll be our turn to fight.”

Ma Tian chuckled, clapping shoulders.
“Alright, enough staring. Back to work.”

Lü Jiang’s house was beside the main gate, right next to the patrol office and dormitory, and close to the stairs leading up to the watchtower—an ideal location to know everything happening inside and out.

When they opened the door, cold air rushed out. The long-empty house was even colder than outside.

Lü Er peeked inside, saw the firewood piled by the stove, and dashed off to borrow a flame from next door to light the hearth.

Meanwhile, Lü Jiang dumped his supplies at the stairway to the second floor and led Zhong Lü into the inner room.

The brick bed was dusty, but they sat on the edge without fuss.

“In two days, the migrant beastmen will be moving out. They’re going to settle near our five villages.”

“So many people—are they all coming here?”

Lü Jiang shook his head.

This time, twenty-five tribes were moving out—along with the three housed in the dormitory district—all of them having willingly submitted to Hei Yao.

Once their villages were built, there would be thirty in total outside Hei Yao City. For this, the city had introduced a new rule: every five villages would form a li, with one Li Zhang appointed to oversee them.

Normally, this position should be held by villagers themselves. But since none of the new villages were stable yet, city beastmen were temporarily appointed—except for one special case: Lü Jiang.

“Pfft.”

Zhong Lü burst out laughing, then couldn’t stop.

Why? Because the wards were drawn according to geography.

The new villages would spread east and west, with Hei Yao as the center. That meant Lü Jiang, as Li Zhang, would oversee Zhong Lü’s own village and Xu Hu’s as well. The Xu Hu priest would choke on this news!

Zhong Lü had always disliked having Xu Hu as neighbors. Now, he had no regrets at all about the lot they’d drawn. He could hardly wait to see Xu Hu’s priest’s expression.

But Lü Jiang said solemnly:
“The City Lord entrusted me with this role. If you make things difficult for Xu Hu out of old grudges, I’d rather not serve.”

“Ahem,” Zhong Lü coughed. “Nonsense. I wouldn’t do such a thing. You must hold this position firmly!”

He was only teasing Xu Hu in his heart. If Xu Hu really got the ward headship, who knew what trouble they’d stir.

“Wait,” Zhong Lü realized belatedly, “the City Lord and Great Priest brought back so many beastmen—why did so few leave the city?”

“Because the rest were originally Le Li. They’re all being kept in the city.”

“What? They were defeated enemies—why let them stay?”

“It doesn’t work that way.”

Lü Jiang had once asked the same question. After Fox Qiao and Xi Zhou explained, he understood.

“Remaining in the city doesn’t mean becoming citizens. Unlike us voluntary tribes who get land to build homes, the Le Li have to work in the city first. Hei Yao provides food and shelter, but everything they build belongs to the city. What they plant, the city takes. Only after strict evaluation can they be accepted as true citizens.”

In modern terms, Hei Yao had recruited a batch of “interns” from Yi Di. They had to pass probation before being hired. And since the city had paid dearly in resources to bring them here, it needed returns.

Outside, Lü Er had lit the stove. The damp brick bed smoked as it warmed. Zhong Lü waved the smoke from his face. Staying in the city—whether blessing or curse—was hard to say.

Those people might be in the city, but his own Zhong Lü villagers weren’t worse. Who would become true city folk was still undecided.

Satisfied that the priest had calmed, Lü Jiang asked:
“A few days ago the city told us to prepare wooden and stone troughs. How are the people doing with that?”

“Everyone’s been working whenever free. We’ve made many of all sizes,” Zhong Lü said, then asked, “But what are they for?”

Qi Bai had ordered troughs so that fresh vegetables could be grown through winter.

Based on the ever-later springs, this year’s planting would likely not begin until late April or early May—two months away. With troughs, they could grow some greens indoors, harvesting two or three crops before spring.

Qi Bai had never given up his greenhouse project. Each winter he experimented with different vegetables. Heat from walls and beds made the rooms warm enough, but most plants withered in darkness.

At last, he’d found some shade-tolerant species.

One resembled chives—it grew even without sunlight, though its color changed depending on exposure.

Another was a broad-leafed vegetable, like lettuce. It needed light, but only two hours a day. The rest of the time, any lit room sufficed for it to grow rapidly.

Both were easy to care for. Even a few pots could yield plenty.

Qi Bai instructed:
“The key is to give them as much sunlight as possible.”

The beastmen listened, baffled. They had thought water and fertilizer were complex enough. But plants dying just for lack of sun? How precious could they be?

“Take some seeds,” Qi Bai said. “Don’t worry about yield for the first crop. Just practice the steps.”

One asked: “Great Priest, what if we run into problems?”

“That’s fine,” Qi Bai smiled, pointing to Tu Ya at the door. “There’s a plantation north of the city. Go to Overseer Tu Ya with questions.”

As for himself, Qi Bai had no time to spare.

City folk had been farming for years. But the five outer villages had only just begun last year—they needed closer guidance. And with twenty-five new villages under construction, he and Lang Ze had to inspect progress.

Plenty of work awaited.

While Qi Bai promoted greenhouse farming, two other forces were slowly approaching Hei Yao.