Chapter 41: Non-refundable

Whether it was Jian Liang's grudge or that piece of kraft paper, Ling Hanjun was determined to find that person and kill him.

"Disguise techniques? That might be a bit troublesome."

Zhao Chengji thought for a moment and said, "However, I can introduce someone to Brother Ling. He has extensive research into disguise techniques; perhaps he can be of some help to you."

"Oh? Who is it?" Ling Hanjun expressed some interest.

"The former head constable of Pingyin County, Xing Wenxiang," Zhao Chengji said with a smile.

The Zhao family's banquet ended quickly, and everyone departed.

There were no changes in the positions within the North City Medical Clinic; Chen Fei remained the deputy manager. It seemed the Zhao family had no suitable person to manage it, so they might as well keep things as they were.

In the eyes of the Zhao family, under the current circumstances, no one would dare to play tricks—the consequences faced by the Zhang family served as a warning.

As days passed, contrary to everyone's expectations, the rebels did not leave Pingyin County after securing enough supplies; instead, they stayed.

The county magistrate's office had become a mere formality; the true rulers of Pingyin County were now the rebels.

Some of the various aristocratic families in Pingyin County were in a bind. They had originally assumed the rebels would leave after a while, since the rebels in Pingyin County were just one military unit and the main force was elsewhere.

This group of rebels seemed more interested in looting supplies to hand back to the main army. After all, if the imperial court recovered its strength elsewhere, suppressing a rebellion of Pingyin County's scale would be quite easy.

But unexpectedly, the rebels stayed and began to take control of everything in Pingyin County.

The city gates opened, and supplies began to circulate in a limited capacity. The shops in Pingyin County also reopened, making everything seem largely unchanged from before.

But everyone knew that everything had changed.

Incidents of burning, killing, and looting had indeed decreased compared to the previous few days. However, they still occurred occasionally, and the perpetrators were the rebels themselves.

Although Tan Zhen'an imposed restrictions on his subordinates, the composition of the rebel army was inherently complex, making strict discipline impossible to achieve. Furthermore, even if a rebel soldier committed a crime, the one executing the punishment was a fellow rebel.

It would be a miracle if such judgments were fair.

As for others who dared to burn, kill, or loot, they were beaten to death on the spot.

All medicinal pills within Pingyin County, especially those used for cultivation, were subject to requisition. A sufficient quota of pills had to be handed over every month, with only the surplus left for the aristocratic families.

Other resources, while not as extreme as the pills, also had to be supplied to the rebels as a priority.

The rebels gave a symbolic amount of silver, but that was all.

The members of the various aristocratic families were bewildered; they had never imagined this would be the outcome. They were being effectively penned in, forced to work as laborers for the rebels.

No one had anticipated this result, and because they had already weakened themselves by absorbing other families, the current strength of Pingyin County was even more depleted. Resistance, naturally, was out of the question.

Move the entire family out of Pingyin County?

No family dared to do so. It was like a slave in a household trying to escape—if caught, they would be beaten to death. If an aristocratic family dared to leave Pingyin County now, the consequences of being caught would be the same.

The guards at the four city gates had all been replaced by rebel soldiers. Within Pingyin County, anyone with a specialized skill was forbidden from leaving.

Only ordinary people with no particular skills were allowed to enter and exit the county.

The rebels seemed to be treating Pingyin County as a logistics hub or an experimental site. After all, to grow stronger, one could not rely solely on destruction forever.

The Zhao family began stationing personnel in the medical clinic to urge the provision of pills. Chen Fei's workload was scheduled heavily, but the pay provided was no longer the previous profit-sharing model; he received only a basic wage.

Since the aristocratic families' own incomes had decreased, how could they afford to give more to others? As the rebels squeezed them, they squeezed others.

Chen Fei did not resist and cooperated fully in refining pills. Every time someone from the Zhao family visited and saw him, Chen Fei appeared to be in a state of total exhaustion.

His face was pale, and his steps were unsteady, looking as if he might collapse at any moment. Crucially, Chen Fei delivered the full quota of pills every day without excuse.

The Zhao family felt a flicker of compassion, but it was primarily out of fear that Chen Fei might actually collapse. If he did, there would be a deficit in the monthly pill quota, and they would be the ones to suffer the consequences.

They began to give him more money and provided him with good food and drink, hoping he could endure this intensity of pill refining.

They also allowed Chen Fei to refine pills in his own courtyard instead of at the clinic, sending medicinal ingredients and collecting the finished pills daily.

At night, Chen Fei wearily saw off the Zhao family members. As soon as he closed his door, his back straightened normally, and the fatigue on his face vanished completely.

To the outside world, Chen Fei presented himself as having only an "Expert" level in refining Grass Return Pills, with an average yield. Consequently, he only spent about an hour to complete his daily task, then kept the remaining medicinal ingredients for himself.

Mass-producing Grass Return Pills had raised his proficiency with Light Spirit Pills to the "Consummate" level; he estimated that with a bit more time, he could break through to the "Great Consummate" level.

This kind of life seemed not so bad?

However, Chen Fei was still searching for a way to leave Pingyin County and head to other cities.

Recently, the "Bone-Deep Malice" in his arm had begun to become very active. This situation had occurred once before while pursuing Sun Shu, indicating that something eerie was nearby.

Chen Fei had been staying within Pingyin County lately, and there were no eerie entities around, yet the Bone-Deep Malice was acting up, which made him feel uneasy.

He had even considered changing his appearance to infiltrate the rebels and escape Pingyin County. He hadn't expected the rebels to stay, which completely disrupted his plans.

"Have the eerie entities outside the city increased lately?" In the black market, Chen Fei asked Chi Defeng.

"Yes, things have been a bit off lately."

Chi Defeng nodded. He could no longer even hire refugees to go outside the city. Aside from those who were paid more by the aristocratic families, many people simply didn't dare go to Pingyin Mountain anymore.

The rebels had organized troops to enter Pingyin Mountain several times, but they had gained nothing.

"If this continues, something will happen, won't it?" Chen Fei said in a heavy voice.

"People are organizing to leave Pingyin County recently. If you want to go, I'll notify you when the time comes!" Chi Defeng said after a moment's thought.

"What's the price?"

"It certainly won't be cheap. You'll likely get fleeced when you pay on the spot, so be prepared!"

"Fine!"

Chen Fei nodded, feeling a slight sense of relief. As long as he could leave, he could manage. As for the money, he didn't dare say how much he had, but he should be able to afford the travel expenses.

Chen Fei had accumulated a large stock of Grass Return Pills and planned to sell them in the black market. According to current market trends, the price of pills had reached a relative high, so Chen Fei didn't need to wait any longer.

Furthermore, Chen Fei had recently discovered a peculiar function on his panel: he could deposit real money into it, but once deposited, it could not be withdrawn. Once topped up, it was non-refundable and could only be used to simplify consumption.

It truly was a way to create happiness using one's hard-earned wages!