That evening, Ian Song returned to Songjia Village with Chloe Cao.
Likewise, news that Ian Song had been appointed as a fifth-rank vice-prefect had already reached Songjia Village, so when he returned, the entire village came out to greet him.
Soon after, his butcher father-in-law and his brother-in-law Chris Chen also hurried over.
After dinner, Ian gathered everyone together and said, "Father-in-law, I plan to take Yoyo to Frostmarch. Since I'm now an official there, it's hard for me to come back, so I wanted to ask your opinion—would you like to come with me?"
"This... ?"
Hearing Ian’s words, the butcher father-in-law looked hesitant. He was getting on in years and felt deeply attached to his homeland; moving thousands of miles away to Frostmarch was certainly not as comfortable as staying in Huangshan County.
At that moment, Chris Chen’s wife’s eyes lit up with eagerness. She had asked around before and knew that a vice-prefect was the highest official after the prefect, and even county magistrates had to show respect.
If they could have Ian’s protection, their family’s future would surely be bright. And if he could arrange a position for her husband, that would be even better.
After months of hard cultivation, Chris Chen had already reached mid-level Martial Master. He’d made a name for himself in the county and earned the magistrate’s favor, getting promoted to head constable.
Ian added, "Father-in-law, if you want to stay in Huangshan County, I’ll speak with the magistrate. With my reputation, he’ll look after you. But if you come with me to Frostmarch, I’ll set up a business for you, and I’ll arrange for Chris to work in the prefectural office or the garrison—getting an official rank won’t be a problem!"
Hearing this, Chris Chen’s wife grew even more eager and couldn’t help but say, "Dad, just agree! If my husband can get an official rank, that would really bring honor to our family!"
Chris was tempted too. Though he was the head constable of Huangshan County, he wasn’t really an official—he had no formal rank, since the magistrate was only ninth-rank.
The main reason Ian wanted his father-in-law’s family to come to Frostmarch was because the Valeguard Kingdom was about to change drastically. From his talks with the Prince of Yan, he knew that the northwest was suffering severe drought and famine, with starving people everywhere and even cases of parents eating their children. Although the court had sent disaster relief, most of the grain and silver was embezzled, and very little actually reached the victims. Within three months, uprisings were sure to break out.
The Valeguard Kingdom was like a leaky sieve—once someone started a rebellion, it would spread like wildfire.
As for the military, it was rotten to the core. Officers were universally corrupt, skimming pay and padding the rosters with ghost soldiers. According to reports from the Prince of Yan Residence, the most extreme case was a garrison that officially had five thousand men, but the general kept only a hundred in the camp so he could pocket the rest of the pay.
If an uprising broke out locally, what would they use to suppress it?
Send those pampered officials to fight?
"Dad, you’ve worked hard your whole life. You should go with your son-in-law and enjoy some comfort!" At Ian’s prompting, Yoyo joined in to persuade him.
"Yeah, Dad, let’s all go with Ian!"
Chris Chen chimed in as well.
Seeing that both his son-in-law and daughter wanted to move to Frostmarch, Darren Chen, the burly village butcher, could only agree, though his expression showed a trace of melancholy.
"Uncle Darren, we'll set out in three days. For now, you should take the time to visit your old friends!"
Ian Song said.
After settling the Chen family's affairs, Ian planned to take Chloe Cao to visit their master at Cloudwater Sword Sect.
Although Yoyo Chen hadn’t taught him for long, Ian still felt deep gratitude toward her.
The next day.
Ian set out with Chloe, flying swiftly toward the sect.
In less than an hour, the two arrived at the foot of Cloudwater Sword Sect’s mountain.
Everything at the sect was as usual; nothing unexpected had happened.
Soon after, Ian and Chloe arrived hand-in-hand at Yvonne Chen’s courtyard.
"Master, Chloe and I have come to see you!"
Chloe Cao called out, her face bright with joy.
A shadow flickered—Yvonne Chen appeared. When she saw Ian and Chloe holding hands, she couldn’t help but smile warmly. "Good, good, this is truly wonderful!"
Under Yvonne’s gaze, Chloe blushed deeply, quickly let go of Ian’s hand, and buried herself in her master’s embrace. "Master, I missed you so much!"
Ian and Chloe spent one night at Cloudwater Sword Sect. Before leaving, Ian handed Yvonne the revised Green Emperor Art, now perfected to safely reach late-Grandmaster stage.
Originally, Ian had copied this technique from the sect master, but after his corrections, its power was much greater. Since Yvonne was already late Innate, cultivating this art could push her into the Grandmaster realm.
With chaos and demonic beasts looming, if Yvonne can reach Grandmaster, her ability to protect herself will be far stronger.
Three days passed in a flash.
Ian left Songjia Village with his extended family and wives in a simple caravan. The entire village came out to see them off.
As for their house, Ian entrusted it to the village chief for safekeeping.
Once they’d traveled some distance, Ian revealed his Golden Core-level Daoist cultivation, enveloping everyone in his power and lifting them into the sky for high-speed flight.
Flying with several people didn’t slow him down at all, so in less than half a day, they arrived at Frostmarch Prefectural City.
He bought a residence in the city and settled Darren Chen’s family inside.
Originally, he’d arranged for two servants and two maidservants, but Darren Chen stubbornly refused to accept them.
Among Ian’s three women, Yoyo Chen was the youngest, but held the status of main wife. Thus, Chloe Cao and Sylvia Cai respectfully addressed her as 'elder sister,' making the shy Yoyo blush bright red.
Unconsciously, a month passed after Ian returned to Frostmarch.
Under his steady but low-key methods, he not only gained complete control over the prefectural yamen, but also brought the Frostmarch Garrison Town’s five thousand troops under his command.
Although he now held real power, Ian still showed Bruce Summers the proper respect due his formal superior.
One day.
Bruce’s adviser urgently summoned him.
"Sir, has something happened?"
Ian asked.
"Sigh, just take a look at this and you’ll understand!"
Bruce Summers handed Ian an internal gazette—a confidential newspaper circulated among officials.
According to the report, uprisings had erupted in many places across the northwest. The court had dispatched troops to suppress them, but the forces were poorly trained and hollowed out by ghost-soldier fraud.
In less than twenty days, nine county seats in the northwest had already fallen, and the rebel armies had swelled to nearly two hundred thousand men.
To crush a force of two hundred thousand rebels, at least fifty thousand real soldiers would be needed.
But the northwest had no usable troops left, so the court could only order reinforcements from other provinces.
Yet the entire Valeguard Kingdom was in similar decay—drawing real troops from neighboring provinces was simply unrealistic. Only Frostmarch, on the barbarian frontier, still maintained a full-strength garrison of five thousand, kept so to deter northern tribes.
"Ian, if my prediction is right, it won’t be long before the court orders Frostmarch’s garrison to reinforce the northwest!" Bruce said, his face full of worry.
If Frostmarch’s five thousand troops are transferred away, Frostmarch County will be left defenseless. Relying on the three hundred city guards to stop a barbarian incursion is simply impossible.