A crystalline, clear night, a crescent moon hanging leisurely in the sky, the Milky Way like a ribbon. Looking up through the gaps in the trees, the night sky resembled a blue sea.

"...And so, the story of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils comes to an end..."

In the clearing in front of the ruined temple, a bonfire crackled. Ning Yi slowly finished the last part of the story, then shrugged and smiled, "I timed that perfectly."

Lu Hongti, who was beside him poking at the fire with a branch, remained silent for a long time. "What happened to the Song Dynasty afterwards?"

Ning Yi thought about it and rolled his eyes. "How would I know...?"

"...A truly uninteresting story."

Silence descended. It was already the evening of June 23rd, approaching midnight, about to become June 24th. In the nearly twenty days they'd spent together, they'd said pretty much everything that needed to be said. Lu Hongti had taught him a useful internal energy cultivation method, which would yield results with gradual practice, and Ning Yi had drawn up a series of development plans for Lu Hongti's small bandit stronghold in the Lüliang Mountains. This was something he had always been good at, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Of course, these plans and teachings touched on everything from organizational division of labor to combat assignments, alliances, and even scheming and infighting, but they weren't exactly pure corporate models or the Three Main Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention. The people in the Lüliang Mountains mostly operated in village or family-style arrangements, so it was impossible to impose mechanical rules and regulations. He could only make some subtle adjustments imperceptibly.

A relatively healthy and stable structure would inherently possess great vitality and developmental power. Truly skilled controllers would often see the chain reaction that a small action could trigger. However, Ning Yi couldn't personally go to the Lüliang Mountains, so he could only design a few key nodes for her. Once certain goals were achieved, they could easily change the social structure of her subordinates to some extent and then smoothly introduce the next step. Lu Hongti had only about a hundred people under her command. Ning Yi could predict many of the changes that would occur after a simple division of labor. As long as Lu Hongti could establish a few basic rules, she could lead the development of this small organization more healthily and smoothly. Situations like everyone clamoring to kill Song Xian, ultimately forcing her to step in herself, shouldn't happen again.

It was too difficult to explain a management course that could be actively applied in a matter of days or weeks. This kind of thing had no set rules, so Ning Yi could only explain a few key principles and then hope that Lu Hongti's own wisdom would allow her to use them effectively. She wasn't stupid, and she possessed high-level martial arts skills. People with high-level martial arts skills often possessed great personal charisma in such places, so there shouldn't be a problem.

Organizational fundamentals accounted for half of it, and the other half was how to deal with passing merchants and the other heroes of the Lüliang Mountains, expand their living space, increase their unity and cohesion, and some ideas and strategies for dealing with the Liao people, and so on.

This part of the plan and opinions was also quite complex, and Ning Yi had considered it for a long time. For example, providing some protection to merchants passing through their territory, earning fixed resources. When the influence was slightly greater, they could contact and negotiate with the bosses of some surrounding mountains regarding this matter. Of course, how to collect, distribute, supervise these resources, and how to ensure fairness were the most important things. Ning Yi also gave some principled clauses and supervision methods, which were copied into a small booklet with a brush and taken back by Lu Hongti. If Lu Hongti could propose these things and they proved effective, their influence would naturally increase.

For example, forming three or four elite five-person teams, a special forces-style training method with extremely strong purpose. Some hunters or bandits in the mountains had outstanding individual abilities, but in terms of division of labor and cooperation, targeted training was impossible in the mountains. Lu Hongti would train these people in as ruthless a manner as possible, giving them good treatment, and incidentally dividing the small collective into a privileged class. Of course, there must be positive principles to restrain them, otherwise privilege would probably only bring negative effects, but if it could be guided correctly, this privilege could also stimulate the enthusiasm of the others.

For example, letting the old people who could tell stories talk more about the tyranny of the Liao people, tell a story or two about heroes, resisting the Hu and resisting the Liao, serving the country with utmost loyalty, and trying to say as little as possible about mountain spirits and wild monsters. You could even specifically find someone with this kind of talent. There was no need to be deliberate, as long as Lu Hongti simply said a few words, the other person would naturally talk about these things at night. Simple public opinion control and agitation might seem simple at first glance, but with deliberate control, over the long term, it would better increase cohesion and centripetal force.

Everything he could think of, some future developments, were mostly written down in a small notebook. Originally, Ning Yi didn't want to do this out of confidentiality concerns. Lu Hongti didn't know many characters, but according to her, there was a good and knowledgeable "Grandpa Liang" in the寨zi (zhai zi, mountain village). She used to ask him for advice on many things, and now she had to take the notebook back for him to read before she could do anything. However, this reason was probably only one aspect. On the other hand, Ning Yi discovered that she probably regarded this kind of thing as a military strategy book tailored for Lüliang, and was preparing to take it back to Lüliang. He had seen her looking at the booklet very preciously several times.

Well, well, with her abilities, she shouldn't lose something that involved him. And in more than ten days, it was indeed difficult to integrate everything that was said. If she could take a textbook back with her and have someone she truly trusted to assist her, these things wouldn't fail. So he made two rules with her.

"First, this thing has nothing to do with me, you haven't been entertained by the Blood Handed Man Butcher; second, it must be a truly selfless person, someone you trust, before you can let him see it and let him guide you. If that Grandpa Liang you mentioned is really seventy or eighty years old, has no children, no power, no selfish desires, then it should be fine. Of course, if you pick the wrong person, I want to say that it doesn't have much to do with me either, it's just that your position might be gone soon, you might be schemed against. At this time, I only hope... you can save your life, don't force anything, keep your life, run away quickly..."

"You scholar knows a lot..." After finishing the story, Lu Hongti probably savored and felt sad for a while, "To be honest, I didn't think that way at first, but now I suddenly think... shouldn't I just rob you back to Lüliang?"

Ning Yi laughed over there, "I only know some crooked ways, you think too highly of me. To be honest, I don't even know if these things will be useful."

"Not crooked ways, I can tell the difference." This time Lu Hongti shook her head, and after a while, she said, "Will you go to be an official in the future?"

"Someone who has married into a family isn't suitable to be an official, and these investigations of things that I study are probably just the crooked ways that others talk about."

"By the way, tell me about A Chinese Ghost Story from that day, that day... I didn't get to hear the ending."

"No." Beside the bonfire, Ning Yi refused decisively. Lu Hongti was stunned for a long time, "Why?"

"Don't die, if we can meet again next time, I'll tell you."

Lu Hongti thought for a while, first smiled, then turned her head and snorted coldly, "I'm going to sleep." With a thud, she lay down on the grass behind her.

Ning Yi slightly smoked the mosquitoes with burning leaves, then also lay down, with a view of the starry sky above. Lu Hongti opened her eyes and looked at the sky for a while, "Hey, what are you thinking about?"

"Mosquito coils," Ning Yi said, "I've almost been smoked to death these past few nights. When I was in the Su family, the smell of mosquito coils wasn't good either. There's a small amount of arsenic in the current mosquito coils, which is probably harmful to the human body. I'm thinking if there's a better mosquito coil formula. This should be relatively simple, but it's a pity that I haven't dabbled in it before, it's very painful, without good mosquito coils, MSG is also difficult to make..."

Ning Yi babbled on and on as usual about his words related to the investigation of things, some of which she could understand and some of which she couldn't. Lu Hongti lay there smiling, just listening, listening, and not knowing how long it had been, she finally fell into a deep sleep.

In any case, she was leaving tomorrow.

When they woke up the next morning, they greeted each other, washed their faces, and cooked porridge as usual. When Lu Hongti went to fetch water, she felt that her face was a bit wooden, so she adjusted it slightly by the water. She went back and practiced a simple set of boxing with Ning Yi, and then the two of them had breakfast. They sat on the steps in front of the ruined temple for a while without speaking. The morning gradually passed. At a certain moment, Lu Hongti finally stood up, went into the ruined temple, took the package, and put it on her back. She walked out of the temple gate.

"I'm going back to Lüliang," she said with a smile, "I still have something to tell you."

"Hmm?"

In Ning Yi's confusion, Lu Hongti smiled with a mischievous smugness, "Although you like martial arts very much, you can't become a top-tier master, at most you can only be a second-rate master."

She had said this several times before, and Ning Yi scoffed, "I've said it before, haven't I? I just like being a second-rate master, I'm satisfied, I don't plan on being a top-tier master, I don't even want to be a top-tier master."

"This is because you wouldn't tell me the story of A Chinese Ghost Story last night that I told you this." Lu Hongti smiled and walked forward, stopping in front of a big tree. The trunk of that big tree was about as thick as a bucket. The sunlight shone from over there, and Lu Hongti turned her head, "Do you know what a top-tier master can do?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Ning Yi saw her eyes focus, and her clothes fluttered up. Her figure was like a tense slingshot, and she shot forward with a bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three loud impact sounds rang out in a row. Then, Ning Yi saw her turn around and look back. Her skirt swayed in a circle in the air. At this moment, she was simply like walking on air, taking small steps, with the rear, with the sound of "crackling," the entire trunk of that big tree had been broken, and the crown of the tree began to tilt and fall. The branches and leaves danced wildly, and the wind pressure spread in all directions. The morning sunlight shone from over there, bathing her in the sunlight.

"You're doing it wrong..."

Looking at the spectacular scene, Ning Yi was stunned for a long time before murmuring, shaking his head. Lu Hongti seemed to smile happily in the light dust, "I'm leaving."

"Wait."

"Hmm?"

She was stunned over there, and Ning Yi let out a breath, "I consider you a friend."

"..." Lu Hongti looked at him, waiting for what he would say next.

"So... I won't go to the Lüliang Mountains with you, but if you have trouble, you can come find me... So if something happens, remember not to die."

She was silent for a long time before nodding, "I'll wait for the day I eat that roast chicken in the Lüliang Mountains. You also have to remember to let your friend open a shop over there. Take care."

"Take care."

He watched that figure turn around and go down the mountain, gradually disappearing in the light, no longer visible, before stretching lazily. He looked back at the ruined temple behind him. The mountain breeze blew over. After a long time, he took out a booklet from his arms and flipped through it casually. It recorded the internal energy cultivation method that Lu Hongti had left him.

"In the end, I still got it..."

When he said this, he might not have been very smug. He patted the booklet, sighed, then put the booklet back in his arms and walked down the mountain.

His left hand was still bandaged, but after twenty days of rest and internal energy training, he was in very good spirits. Before long, he turned out of the small path and onto the main road. When Jiangning was in sight, he realized something. There were many more ragged, traveling families of outsiders on the road. Thinking about it, perhaps the tide of refugees that Qin Lao and Kang Lao had mentioned was coming this way.

This situation wasn't too serious yet. After entering the city, the feeling was slightly less intense. He walked all the way towards the Su mansion, looking at his bandaged left hand, wondering how he should explain it to Chan'er and the others. As he passed a street corner, a carriage drove past him. Suddenly, Su Tan'er's head popped out in front, looking back at him, shouting, "Stop, stop, stop..."

The carriage drove more than ten meters and stopped. Su Tan'er clearly saw his bandaged left hand, bit her lower lip, and then her head disappeared back into the carriage for a moment, seemingly saying, "Liheng is back." She jumped out of the carriage, and on the other side, Chan'er, Juan'er, and Xing'er also jumped out of the carriage one after another.

Su Tan'er jogged a few steps, slowing down only after Chan'er and Juan'er ran past her. Looking at Ning Yi's left hand, she frowned slightly. Before long, the three maids surrounded Ning Yi, anxiously discussing his left hand. Ning Yi looked at Su Tan'er approaching, and smiled helplessly. Su Tan'er let out a slightly complicated breath, "You're back?"

"It's alright now." On the streets of Jiangning, in the bright morning sunlight, Ning Yi spoke, saying so.

***************

While writing tonight, the thumb of my left hand has been throbbing, as if the blood is flowing too fast. I don't know if it's related to blood pressure or something. My schedule has indeed been very chaotic these days. I won't stay up all night to write tomorrow morning's chapter. Tomorrow's first chapter will probably be out around noon or afternoon. Well, I'll try to adjust my schedule like this as much as possible in the future.

For this desperate state of writing, continue to ask for monthly votes. Please don't stop supporting me ^_^