Chapter 75: Official, this is my daughter-in-law.
Devastating outbreaks occur, and only the cultivation techniques of immortal sects can eliminate wandering spirits. Therefore, cultivators hold supreme status in this world, and many women with excellent conditions aspire to marry only immortal elders.
Thus, when Huang Qi entered the HongHua Sect at the age of nine, his greatest goal was not to become an immortal, but to marry and have children! Unfortunately, after nearly twenty years, he still hadn’t obtained that small immortal elder’s waist token! Who would have thought that after being expelled from the sect for several years, he would finally have hope of achieving his wish today!
Reaching the first level of the Juling Realm involves three steps. The first step is naturally to gather enough True Qi; the second step is to clear the meridians connected to the Guanyuan acupoint, which allows for the maximum mobilization of True Qi for impact; the third step is, of course, to impact the Guanyuan acupoint.
Since Huang Qi had already completed the second step when he was in the HongHua Sect, he only needed to complete the final step at this moment.
Huang Qi controlled the True Qi in his Qi Sea to impact the Guanyuan acupoint through the meridians. This process had to be done with extreme caution. If it was too forceful, it could damage his veins, rendering him crippled. If it was too gentle, it would not provide enough power, and even depleting all his True Qi would not be enough to break through the acupoint, thus also rendering him crippled. Many cultivators died at this step.
Fortunately, Huang Qi possessed nearly twenty years of cultivation experience, so mobilizing True Qi was second nature to him. As time passed, his True Qi continuously impacted the bottleneck of the Guanyuan acupoint like a gentle stream, without haste or panic.
He didn’t know how long it had been. When the water-element True Qi in Huang Qi’s Qi Sea was almost depleted, the invisible membrane finally showed a crack, collapsing like a dam under high pressure.
“Crackle!”
Huang Qi vaguely heard a crisp sound, then felt a coolness in his lower abdomen, as if his clothes had a hole. Immediately, external water-element spiritual energy poured in, quickly replenishing the water-element True Qi he had consumed. Moreover, a faint coolness quickly spread throughout his entire body, like a cool breeze suddenly arriving on a hot summer day.
When the coolness dissipated, Huang Qi opened his eyes, feeling that his senses were sharp and his vision clear, as if he had woken from a dream once more.
“Is this the first level of the Juling Realm?”
Huang Qi curiously observed his surroundings, finding that his senses were much stronger than before. His strength also seemed to have increased significantly; at least, he no longer felt strained supporting the two large burdens on his chest with his waist.
“Haha, you didn’t expect this, did you? I, this so-called immortal cultivation holdout, can actually become an immortal elder one day!”
Huang Qi recalled the ridicule of his fellow disciples when he was in the HongHua Sect, feeling a strange sense of satisfaction.
“Master! Fellow villagers! I haven’t disappointed your expectations!”
Huang Qi then remembered those who had placed their hopes on him, and the guilt in his heart lessened considerably.
After a moment of excitement, Huang Qi’s mind quickly calmed down. After all, he had only reached the first level of the Juling Realm and hadn’t completely escaped trouble.
“According to those immortal elders, those in the Juling Realm can go without sleep for up to seven days. This means I have seven days to find a way to stop this Feminization Mask!”
Huang Qi pondered, but quickly became discouraged, as he had no clues at all. Let alone seven days, even seven years or seventy years would be useless.
“Alas! Must I resign myself to fate? But I don’t want to be a woman!”
Huang Qi thought unwillingly, recalling the feminization of his chest before, and shivered all over, developing a psychological shadow.
“Forget it, I’ll go out and see if Father has returned!”
Huang Qi thought of his father who had gone to the county town, and couldn’t worry about anything else for the moment. After tidying his appearance, he quickly left the room.
When Huang Qi reached the courtyard, he found his father had already returned and was moving sacks of rice and flour from the ox cart into the house.
Without a word, Huang Qi went up and picked up a sack of rice. Fifty to sixty catties would indeed be quite a burden for an ordinary girl, but he wasn’t a girl, and now that he was a cultivator, his strength had increased considerably.
Huang Kairong and his wife tried to stop him, but they were too slow.
“Daughter-in-law, I didn’t expect you to look so delicate yet be so strong.”
Li Fen couldn’t help but compliment her “daughter-in-law” as she lifted the sack with apparent ease.
“Am I delicate? Dad…”
Huang Qi was somewhat uncertain, as he didn’t feel that way himself.
After moving the rice and flour, before the family could rest, they suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves.
Huang Qi followed his family out to watch. They saw several fast horses galloping towards them, carrying four or five civil officials in uniform.
The civil officials went straight to the Huang family’s yard without delay, kicking up a gust of dust that blew towards them.
Seeing this commotion, the surrounding villagers gathered nearby to watch, and the Huang Kaiyou family was no exception. The two future daughters-in-law were not present, presumably having returned home.
“Is this Huang Qi’s house?”
The leading middle-aged civil official asked after dismounting, while the other officials gathered around.
“Yes, sir!”
Huang Kairong replied respectfully. He showed no fear because he understood his son’s character and behavior.
Huang Xinghu and Li Fen were the same. Huang Qi himself was neither humble nor overbearing, as he had always conducted himself in accordance with the law and had no reason to be subservient.
“The dynasty has issued a new conscription system. Any man who reaches the age of twenty-eight without a partner must enlist by the end of the month. Your son should be twenty-eight years old, right? Have him report to the Prefectural Governor’s Office of Records as soon as possible!”
The middle-aged official gave the order in a dispassionate tone.
Upon hearing this, not only the Huang family but all the surrounding villagers were stunned.
Huang Qi trembled all over. He knew that he was already twenty-eight years old this year. Didn’t that mean he would be going to the battlefield soon?
“What? Have to enlist at twenty-eight? Isn’t it thirty?”
Huang Kairong instinctively asked.
“The front line is in dire need of soldiers due to intensified warfare, so the court has temporarily revised the law.”
The middle-aged official explained.
“So, single men must enlist if they are twenty-eight?”
“If that’s the case, what will happen to my son? He’s already twenty-six. Two years… can he find a partner in two years?”
“Why is this happening? The law can be changed just like that. I only have one son.”
…
This news was a bolt from the blue for the villagers, especially for those like He Chao and Liu Keqian who were approaching twenty-eight.
Huang Qi’s heart was completely in turmoil. Although he hadn’t been to the battlefield, he had heard that the fighting on the front lines was extremely fierce, and very few who enlisted ever returned alive.
“Sir, my son is indeed twenty-eight years old, but he has already found a partner.”
Huang Kairong quickly reported and, turning around, gestured to the “daughter-in-law” behind him, adding, “This is my future daughter-in-law.”
“Daughter-in-law?”
Upon hearing this address, Huang Qi’s mind suddenly reacted: “That’s right! What am I afraid of? I’m not Huang Qi now, but the Huang family’s daughter-in-law. With this appearance, I probably wouldn’t even be able to enlist, and would even be charged with impersonation!”
Thinking of this, Huang Qi felt much more at ease.
The middle-aged official looked at Huang Qi, a flicker of astonishment finally appearing on his face. However, due to the large number of people present, he couldn’t be too obvious. He straightened his expression and said, “Since you have found a partner, report to the yamen as soon as possible. Otherwise, if the deadline is missed, he will be treated as a single man.”
“Yes, thank you for the reminder, sir.”
Huang Kairong thanked him politely and then added with some embarrassment, “It’s just that my son is currently out of town and may not be able to return in a short time.”
The middle-aged official’s expression turned cold, but after glancing at Huang Qi, he surprisingly did not get angry. He merely said impatiently, “He doesn’t have to come, but you, as parents, must be present, and of course… his partner!”
“Yes!”
Huang Kairong quickly acknowledged.
“Everyone in Huatian Village, listen carefully. The dynasty’s conscription age has been advanced to twenty-eight. All single men of that age must report to the Prefectural Governor’s Office of Records.”
The middle-aged official reminded them loudly, then sternly warned, “Anyone who dares to evade military service or use impersonation will be killed without mercy!”
After saying this, the officials spurred their horses and left.
The officials were gone, but Huatian Village was no longer peaceful. Those with sons at home began to complain.
“Fortunately, our Huang Qi is promising, otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to avoid this this time.”
Huang Kairong also sighed with lingering fear, as he only had this one son.
“What do you mean Huang Qi is promising? We should thank our daughter-in-law. If she hadn’t been discerning, we would have lost our only son this time.”
Li Fen immediately corrected him.
“Ah, yes, yes, yes! It’s my fault for being slow. No matter how capable Huang Qi is, he still needs our daughter-in-law to favor him!”
Huang Kairong realized and immediately corrected his statement.
“How about this, it’s better to act sooner than later. We’ll report to the county office tomorrow.”
Li Fen turned to seek the “daughter-in-law’s” opinion.
“County office?”
Huang Qi hesitated for a moment. She had no idea what the situation was with the HongHua Sect and was trying her best to avoid going to the county town.
“What’s wrong?”
Li Fen asked doubtfully.
“Alright… alright!”
Huang Qi agreed with a stiff upper lip, as there was no way to brush this off.
“Forget it, I’ll wear a veil then. Even if the truth comes out, no one should recognize me, right?”
Huang Qi comforted herself in her heart.
