Raising an army is an extremely expensive affair. Vincent Su prided himself on his ability to make money—across the Nine Provinces Realm, only the Young Clan could rival him in wealth and business acumen.
Every year, the Su Clan’s income surpassed that of most great noble houses. Yet, no matter how much he had, even Vincent couldn’t afford to feed hundreds of thousands—or a million—troops. The grain he stockpiled in a year could only feed those men for a single day.
Most importantly, all the grain in the Nine Provinces Realm was monopolized by the imperial granary, the nine cities, and the great clans. Hoarding grain was nearly impossible—ordinary people barely had enough to eat, so how could they sell any to you? Sometimes, even with money, grain simply couldn’t be bought.
“The grain problem must be solved. No matter what, we can’t let the soldiers go hungry. By the way, how are they doing with the new fields they’ve cultivated?” General Warren Yu had accepted Serena Feng’s advice and ordered his troops to take turns farming, but there was no way to reap a harvest in such a short time. Even if there was some yield, it was just a drop in the bucket.
“Not great. Newly cultivated land isn’t fertile—the yield is only half that of good fields. For the next three to five years, we won’t see much improvement. Besides, we’re short on both manpower and seeds.”
Finding enough to eat was a constant struggle. After General Warren Yu took command in Northlyn, he had to compete with the locals for food, routinely sending troops into the deep mountains to hunt under the guise of training or border patrol. In reality, it was all because of the grain shortage—they had no choice but to seize what they could.
“How long can your grain feed how many?” In times of war, an emperor can’t afford to have starving soldiers. If he couldn’t even provide food, how could those men be expected to obey orders and risk their lives for him?
The troops under General Warren Yu were the strongest force at his command. He’d spent years building them up bit by bit, but no matter how he schemed, he could never gather enough men and horses. These soldiers were his lifeblood—he couldn’t give them up, no matter what.
“Enough to feed five hundred thousand for half a year.” Vincent Su’s grain reserves were already considerable—at least as much as the imperial granary. But with so many mouths to feed, it was never enough.
“Half a year. So by spring, we’ll be out of grain.” Lance Quinn’s anxiety was palpable—feeding five hundred thousand was no small feat, and it couldn’t be solved with just a few wagonloads of food.
Spring planting, autumn harvest—early spring was precisely when the entire realm was short on grain. Trying to secure more at that time would be even harder.
“At best, we can only last until spring. If only we could find the Nine-Provinces Dragon-Vein Map—if we got our hands on the Former Dynasty’s treasure, we wouldn’t have to worry about grain anymore.” Vincent Su had learned from Lance Quinn that the Former Dynasty had stockpiled vast amounts of grain, preserved by special methods so it wouldn’t spoil for a hundred years.
If they could claim the Former Dynasty’s treasure, all their struggles would be over.
“There are still eight pieces left. Whether we can collect them all in half a year is a huge question. Tomorrow, go see Serena Feng and take on the job of rebuilding Feng Manor for her. While you’re at it, mention the grain shortage—given how much she cares about General Warren Yu, maybe she’ll have an idea.” Lance Quinn had always known Serena was hiding something. Beyond her Phoenixfield secret, there was another mystery about her that even he hadn’t uncovered.
“You think Serena Feng can come up with a solution?” Vincent wasn’t looking down on her—it was just that…
Serena Feng was just a powerless woman—how could she possibly know about these things? Sending General Warren Yu to them was his own maneuver; it had nothing to do with Serena herself. Even her suggestion to have soldiers open up new fields was just a small-scale effort.
Lance Quinn didn’t insist, only said, “It’s worth a try. Serena Feng always manages to pull off things we’d never expect—she’s good at creating miracles. We don’t have any better ideas right now, so we might as well probe her for suggestions.”
“Alright, I’ll try tomorrow.” Vincent Su wasn’t optimistic, but he understood Lance’s thinking—the more useful Serena was to them, the higher her status would be in the future.
He finally understood just how much Quinn cared about Serena Feng. Luckily, he’d already given up both his feelings for her and any intention of killing her—otherwise, Quinn would never have forgiven him.
Next, Lance Quinn and Vincent Su analyzed which parts of Feng Manor might hide map fragments. Lance also gave instructions for redeploying assets in the nine cities. By dawn, Quinn finally got up to leave—and from start to finish, he hadn’t said a single word to Storm Cloud Bu.
Storm Cloud Bu’s heart was in turmoil. He wanted to confess his failure, but couldn’t find the chance—Lance Quinn treated him like air. On top of that, Bu still hoped Quinn might spare a moment to visit Bella Qin, who’d been waiting for him all day.
Finally, when Quinn finished his talk with Vincent Su, Storm Cloud Bu hurried over—but before he could speak, Quinn was already heading out.
“Quinn, wait—I have something to tell you…” Seeing Quinn about to leave, Bu panicked and rushed to block his way.
Quinn paused, sweeping a cold, emotionless glance over Storm Cloud Bu—his eyes were like cold stars, utterly devoid of feeling. Bu quickly lowered his head, ready to be beaten or scolded, but Quinn had no intention of doing either. He simply brushed Bu aside with his sword sheath and kept walking.
Ignored—completely and utterly ignored!
By the time Storm Cloud Bu snapped out of it, Quinn had already vanished.
“Vincent, what do you think Quinn meant by that? Is he blaming me, or not?” Storm Cloud Bu was rattled by Quinn’s reaction. He’d failed missions before—usually Quinn would clean up the mess, then either beat or scold him. But today…
Honestly, he almost wished Quinn would just beat him and leave him here—at least then he’d know where he stood. This was unbearable!
“Brother, do what you must.” Vincent Su clapped Bu on the shoulder, full of sympathy.
Sometimes, not being punished for a mistake is the harshest penalty of all. Vincent could imagine how miserable Bu’s next few days would be.
The next day, just as Imperial Physician Sun had predicted, Serena Feng woke up—radiant and lively, showing no sign of injury. She knew exactly how badly she’d been hurt: her injuries were so severe that even in modern times, recovery would take at least a month or two. Yet under Sun Zhengdao’s miraculous care, she was healed in a single day.
It was nothing short of a miracle. Serena could hardly believe it was real, but Simon Sun kept confirming it—she had no choice but to accept.
“I was really just a frog in a well. Compared to Imperial Physician Sun, my medical skills are nothing—no wonder the Emperor values him so highly.” Showing off her own skills in front of Sun Zhengdao was pure folly. Judging by her recovery, he knew far more than she ever could.
Still, Serena was curious—how had Imperial Physician Sun managed to heal her so quickly?
Was traditional Chinese medicine really this miraculous? She’d never heard of anything like it in the modern world—could it be some kind of secret technique?
Serena knew that China was full of ancient, mysterious practices—like the Miao healers, Miao gu sorcerers, and certain Daoist lineages. She’d once met a descendant of Celestial Master Zhang on Dragon Tiger Mountain.
To be safe, Serena activated her Smart Med-Pack and ran a full-body scan. The results stunned her—her body was actually better than before. Old hidden injuries had vanished, and her hands were more agile than ever.
It truly was a miracle!