My Cultivation Starting from Archery

The county magistrate Xue watched him drink the wine, his mouth corners imperceptibly curling.

"Good wine!"

Chen Sansi inverted his wine cup to indicate he had finished drinking and suggested, "Magistrate Xue, with such good wine, won't you also have a taste?"

"That simply won't do."

Magistrate Xue stepped back half a step, "An imperial gift is not for outsiders to enjoy."

"Such a pity that I must enjoy this fine wine alone."

Chen Sansi drank another cup and asked, "I am a simple man, following the rules, must I drink it all up?"

"That's not necessary," Magistrate Xue shook his head, "Mr. Chen, you can take the rest to save as a treasure."

"If there's nothing else, may I take my leave?"

Chen Sansi prepared to leave.

"Wait a moment, Mr. Chen,"

Magistrate Xue stated, "I still have something to say."

He didn't speak before, preferring to wait until after the poisoned wine was drunk.

It seemed his guess was correct.

Drinking poisoned wine meant obedience and worth using.

Refusing to drink meant defiance, guaranteeing not immediate execution but an uncertain fate.

Chen Sansi, however, was eager to see what secret the old Emperor was so desperate to keep hidden.

"Mr. Chen."

Xue Yuping said in a low voice, "Do you know why we have come?"

Chen Sansi feigned confusion, "Naturally, you came to serve as magistrates."

"That, of course, but apart from that, I also bear another imperial mission,"

Xue Yuping looked worried, "During your time in the Households, did you ever hear of something called 'Immortal Treasure'?"

Chen Sansi shook his head blankly.

"It's quite normal for you not to know, given that you haven't been practicing martial arts for long,"

Xue Yuping explained, "My task is to find a treasure left by an Immortal before the war's end."

"You must be joking, Magistrate Xue,"

Chen Sansi said in surprise, "How could there be Immortals in this world?"

"There certainly are, isn't our current Emperor the Emperor Wan Shou Himself?"

Xue Yuping looked towards another guard and ordered in a stern voice, "Tang Ming, how is the investigation going? Speak freely, Household Officer Chen is one of us."

"Alright."

Tang Ming nodded, "The martial arts hall is definitely suspicious, especially the one surnamed Liang, he's been loitering outside the county government these past few days, looking sneaky and indecisive."

Liang Shengzhi?

Chen Sansi knew what he was trying to do.

It seemed the fire of the Immortal Treasure would soon reach Xiang Tingchun, and it can't be concealed forever; it'll come to light eventually.

"Use both kindness and severity, don't just force things, and make sure to interrogate thoroughly; any crimes can be discussed later,"

Xue Yuping changed the subject, "Any news on the Witch God Sect?"

"Intelligence says..."

Tang Ming's expression hardened, "A large group of experts beyond the Hua Jin stage is expected to arrive."

Beyond the Hua Jin stage?

Chen Sansi's guess was spot on.

He had always felt if they were really after the Immortal Treasure, why not send powerful masters...

What special merit does humble Po Yang have?

With the enemy army pressing their borders, and masters infiltrating...

Even so, it still didn't make sense why the enemy army was at their doorstep.

It was understandable for the Witch God Sect to seek the Immortal Treasure, but the encroaching army was baffling.

"We really don't have much time; we must get the item before the Witch God Sect arrives,"

Xue Yuping stood, "Mr. Chen, you must keep today's matters to yourself, and leak nothing. You also need to keep an eye out for the Immortal Treasure, to see if there's any connection with the army. If any discovery is made, it will constitute a real act of Heavenly Merit."

Chen Sansi nodded, "I will remember."

We don't have much time?

The magistrate Xue must know some secrets but wouldn't reveal them easily.

This poisoned wine, it really was right to drink it.

For in it, perhaps there was a sliver of life.

Because he drank the poisoned wine,

It meant that he was now the old Emperor's man.

The conversation ended.

Xue Yuping had Han Cheng see the guest out.

Once outside the prefect residence, Han Cheng whispered, "Mr. Chen, do whatever Magistrate Xue tells you next, avoid withholding any information, and do not defy. The Emperor's command is divine imperative."

Chen Sansi understood the implicit message.

A mere Sixth Rank official in the Bone Training Realm would find defiance to be a dead end.

Not just him, even Supervisor Sun's third son paid a heavy price for his youthful arrogance, didn't he?

Ultimately, it came down to insufficient personal strength.

"Thank you for the advice, Guard Han."

Chen Sansi gave a fist salute.

It was clear that Han Cheng was giving him a warning.

No matter the reason, pleasantries needed to be exchanged.

He probed, "Guard Han, is something significant about to happen?"

"I do not know,"

Han Cheng shook his head, "I'm merely following Supervisor's orders to look after you for a bit; the rest is still uncertain."

"I shall take my leave."

Chen Sansi didn't press further.

He mounted his White Swan Horse, and along with Wang Zhi, he set out on a scouting mission. Unlike the previous journey to the grasslands, they moved mostly solo to keep a low profile. Midway, he turned directly towards Tiger Head Mountain.

In the cave.

With the aid of the "Cure All Poison," Chen Sansi quickly concocted an antidote.

He also did not lack the necessary materials.

When he previously obtained medicine from the Liang Family, he had taken away all the medicinal ingredients from the storeroom, among which included several specific treasure medicines used for detoxification.

"Pfft——"

Accompanied by abdominal cramps, he violently spat out a mouthful of black blood, signifying the poison had been neutralized.

The Green Blood Poison Dew wasn't considered a world-class rare poison; its advantage lay in its colorless and odorless nature, making it difficult to detect.

Had it not been for Chen Sansi's ability to "Recognize Medicine," he might have truly believed it was the emperor's kind gesture of rewarding a meritorious official with fine wine, especially since no abnormalities would appear in the body shortly after ingestion.

Three months later, if he indeed became a confidant of the emperor, someone would secretly administer the antidote.

In this way, without anyone being any wiser, the relationship between monarch and subject would not suffer from any rift over this incident.

On the contrary, if he failed to become a confidant of the emperor, he would naturally succumb to the poison in an inexplicable manner, perhaps never knowing how he met his end.

What a cunning scheme!

"Very well, very well, I'll be your damn confidant!"

Chen Sansi took out the wooden box that had been awarded to him, and upon opening it, there lay five red medicine pills, which were presumably the so-called Bone Forging treasure medicine, and this time, they were not poisoned.

These pills were known as "Mysterious Primordial Bone Tempering Pills," each worth over five hundred taels of silver. The entire box added up to several thousand taels of silver.

Even if Chen Sansi could decipher how to make it, it would be difficult for him to gather all the necessary materials.

With them, he would quickly reach Bone Forging Perfection.

Without wasting any time, he packed up his belongings and descended the mountain, riding Little Xun around outside the city. He discovered that the barbarians had indeed breached the wall.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

That very evening.

The barbarians launched a new round of assaults.

It was still the same combination of catapults, volleys of arrows, and various other siege engines lavishly pummeling the walls; thankfully, the four Refining Internal experts each defended a side of the wall. Despite substantial losses, the situation was temporarily kept under control, albeit barely.

But this led to an even more dire situation.

Three days later, the night watch brought back intelligence.

The barbarian tribes were going to complete their second reinforcement in seven days.

By then, their military strength would increase to ten thousand, and the number of Refining Internal experts would rise to three!

"Has the Yuwen clan gone mad?!"

A civilian house near the north city gate had been requisitioned and turned into the Central Army's headquarters. Xiang Tingchun paced back and forth anxiously in the hall, his body and face covered in bloodstains. He too had not returned home once since the beginning of the battle and was basically on wall duty around the clock.

"Tell me, what exactly are they plotting? Even if they capture Po Yang County, what then? Could it be that they plan to bypass the Hutou Mountain Range and lay siege to An Ding Prefecture?!"

That was absolutely impossible.

Looking at the sand table.

An Ding Prefecture was located southeast of Po Yang County, with the Hutou Mountain Range in between. Even if Po Yang County was captured, it was not possible to cross the mountains and go directly to An Ding Prefecture, as it would be impossible to transport supplies and horses through there.

To reach An Ding Prefecture, one would have to take a detour to Hengkang Prefecture in the southwest of Po Yang and then capture Hengkang Prefecture to get to An Ding Prefecture. Such a roundabout route was utterly pointless and unnecessary.

Unless...

An Ding Prefecture's Great Wall had already fallen!

The barbarian army maneuvering around the city could then move to the rear of Hengkang Prefecture. Attacking Hengkang Prefecture from both front and rear in conjunction with the tribe at Xi River, they could capture Hengkang Prefecture in one fell swoop, thereby cutting off the surrounding prefectures and towns and isolating An Ding Prefecture. Once that was achieved, they could proceed with the siege. The risk was great, but this was the only logic that made sense.

And all of this depended on a prerequisite.

The breaching of An Ding Prefecture's Great Wall!

Connecting this to what County Magistrate Xue had implied about time being short...

"Households Commander Xiang!"

Having understood the situation, Chen Sansi quickly spoke, "Please send someone immediately to An Ding Prefecture to find out the state of the battle!"

"You mean to say An Ding Prefecture is in danger?!"

"If that's the case, won't Po Yang County city become like a turtle caught in a jar?"

Xiang Tingchun's expression was stern as he immediately ordered, "Zhao Kang, carry out Mr. Chen's instructions swiftly!"

"Yes!"

...

Another three days passed.

The Xi River tribe did not attack again, standing still, obviously waiting for reinforcements.

As a result, Po Yang County remained eerily quiet for several days.

Chen Sansi consumed the third Mysterious Primordial Bone Tempering Pill and cultivated using the efficacy of Spiritual Grain.

[Cultivation Technique: Undying Golden Snake Spear - Upper (small achievement)]

[Progress: 1559/2000]

It was only in the past few days.

Once he finished the pills, he would be able to reach Bone Forging Perfection.

Apart from that, he also continually practiced archery day and night.

[Skill: Archery (small achievement)]

[Progress: (808/1000)]

If another siege were to take place, he could even break through to Great Success!

On the fourth day.

Zhao Kang, the scout sent out to gather intelligence, finally returned.

"Sir!!"

Zhao Kang rushed in, covered in dust and dirt from his haste and fatigue, tripping and falling to the ground. He struggled to rise, "Sir! What Chen Sansi predicted is true!

"From the postal station, we've lost contact with An Ding Prefecture since six days ago.

"I traveled day and night non-stop. Halfway there, I encountered fleeing refugees. After questioning them, I learned that seven days prior, An Ding Prefecture's Great Wall had been breached, and fifty thousand of the barbarian Iron Cavalry had invaded.

"Currently, An Ding Prefecture has fallen back to defend the city walls of the Prefecture City, refusing to venture out.

"The barbarian forces have surrounded the city for a prolonged siege without success; it's very likely they'll divide their troops and make a stealth attack on the rear of Hengkang Prefecture. Once they capture Hengkang Prefecture, they could cut off An Ding Prefecture's food supply routes, and the entire Yunzhou might fall!"

Boom!

This information.

Struck everyone's hearts like thunder.

It meant.

That Po Yang County was hardly likely to receive any reinforcements or supplies, leaving nine hundred men to face a siege by tens of thousands of enemy forces!

"Are you certain?!"

Ji Guangxian found it hard to believe, "An Ding Prefecture is easy to defend and hard to attack; how could it fall so quickly!"