"What?"

Upon hearing this, the faces of the two women changed. Liang Xue began to panic while Ning Wan remained relatively calm and quickly said, "This is Longmen County. How could the rebel army have reached here? Isn't the master in Shiling County?"

"I... I don't know." The soldier had been stationed in Longmen County and rushed over to report as soon as he saw the city gate breached, having no idea what specifically transpired up front.

"Master, mistress, it's bad. A group of rebels is heading towards the county government office. We... we should run." A constable from the government office dashed in urgently and exclaimed in panic.

Upon hearing this, Ning Wan no longer kept calm. Her serene and gentle face couldn't conceal her panicked expression, revealing the fear and distress of a young woman facing calamity. Momentarily indecisive, she asked the constable, "Wh-... where do we run?"

"The back door, use the back door," the constable replied.

Ning Wan and Liang Xue both nodded, and the group rushed towards the back door.

However, the county government office had long been encircled by Chen Mo's men.

As soon as Ning Wan and the others opened the back door, a group of armored warriors rushed in, surrounding them. The constable and Yu State army soldiers promptly dropped their weapons and surrendered.

Liang Xue, as the legitimate daughter of Liang Song, was naturally not a weak girl who couldn't even hold a chicken. Yet she was already close to becoming a Seventh Grade martial artist, but at that moment, she was terrified, clutching onto Ning Wan's arm.

This was because the armored warriors surrounding them were wielding Divine Arm Crossbows.

"Quickly report to Marshal Chen. We've found two young ladies at the back door of the county government office. Judging by their attire, they should have notable identities," a team leader among the Divine Brave Guard said to his subordinates.

"Yes."

Soon, a commotion could be heard from a distance, and the noise grew louder. Liang Xue could hear the sound of armor leaves rubbing against each other right at her ear.

"Where are the people?" a clear voice rose.

"Marshal Chen, over here."

By now, the sky had turned somewhat dark, and there was already the glow of fire in the corridor. A squad of over ten people appeared before Ning Wan.

Wen Heng pointed at Ning Wan and Liang Xue, saying, "They are family members of Liang Song. One is his wife, and the other is his daughter."

Ning Wan and Liang Xue promptly lowered their heads, feeling the warm gaze scanning over them.

Their hearts were gripped with terror, having heard of the rebel army's methods. After breaking into cities, it's common for wives and daughters to be sullied.

Now that they had fallen into the rebels' hands, their fate could be imagined.

Chen Mo briefly scrutinized the two women: one was a young married woman dressed in a pink brocade dress. Whether from fear or heat, Chen Mo's perspective allowed him to see dense droplets of sweat on her graceful neck, flowing along her exquisite jade-like collarbone towards her soft, snow-white skin, soaking the edge of her inner clothing. It made one almost want to wipe the sweat for her.

Beside her was a young maiden with an elegant and captivating posture. Her gracefully contoured neck resembled a swan's, even with her head lowered, one could tell she was a beauty.

"Lift your head," Chen Mo commanded coldly.

The two women didn't know whom Chen Mo meant, so neither lifted their head.

"Thud..."

Chen Mo raised his Tang Blade, using the scabbard to lift Liang Xue's chin.

The young woman was of prime age, her face like a blooming flower, exuding charming allure. Her eyes flowed like autumn waters, carrying a hint of captivating temptation, but above all, unconcealable anxiety.

Liang Xue glanced at Chen Mo, her mind stirred. The young man's gaze was as piercing as two sharp arrows, the bloodstain on his face emanating an intimidating chill. His tall and robust figure, accentuated by his battle armor, was overwhelming.

Being a Liang Family Girl, whose father was the Prefect of Yuzhou, and living in the confines of her boudoir, the males she had encountered were all her father's subordinates, who, out of courtesy and respect, would never look intently at her.

But at that moment, she felt like a man-eating tiger was eyeing her, her heart racing, her breathing difficult, her alluring face turning pale, her legs uncontrollably trembling slightly. Frightened, she quickly dodged and lowered her head again.

"Take them away," Chen Mo gestured, and the Divine Brave Guards immediately moved forward to capture the two women.

Liang Xue thought the young man wanted her for ill intentions, her nerves tightly wound, she resisted immediately. Chen Mo showed no leniency, stepping forward and knocking her unconscious with a hand blade.

Ning Wan, who also intended to resist, saw this and turned pale, frantically saying, "What do you want to do? If you... act recklessly, the master won't let you go."

Ignoring her, Chen Mo instructed people to take the two women away for supervision.

"Marshal Chen, we've struck it rich, we've struck it rich." Just then, an elated soldier from the Divine Brave Guard ran over. Chen Mo recognized him; his name was Zhang Fusheng, a long-time military veteran.

Zhang Fusheng came before Chen Mo, appeared slightly excited and said, "Marshal Chen, we've found a room full of treasures in the backyard, a whole room full."

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow.

Led by Zhang Fusheng, Chen Mo arrived at that room.

Zhang Fusheng was not wrong, indeed it was a whole room because a pile of boxes filled the room completely, leaving no space to enter.

The outermost box had been pried open by the Divine Brave Guards, revealing pieces of dazzling gold coins inside.

The surrounding soldiers were wide-eyed with excitement. If not bound by strict military discipline, they might have already started looting.

"There will be rewards after this is over. Come, move these boxes out," Chen Mo ordered.

As each heavy box was moved out from the room, Chen Mo opened them one by one.

Besides gold coins, there were also gold ingots, silver ingots, Golden Tea Tubes, Silver Tea Tubes, Golden Teapots, Silver Teapots, Gold and Silver Basin...

Apart from gold and silver, there were over a thousand pieces of brocade, countless jade items, dragon and phoenix enameled plates, and famous calligraphy and paintings.

Most crucially, there was a box full of property and land deeds from West River.

Even though Chen Mo had seen quite a few grand scenes, he still couldn't help but swallow when he saw this.

After boxes in the back were opened to reveal sewing kits, jokey quilt, mandarin duck pillows, wedding basins, happy combs and other items.

Chen Mo was a bit astonished and said, "These can't be just the wedding dowry, right?"

"I heard that Liang Song's daughter, Liang Xue, has a royal engagement with the Crown Prince Chong and seems like she'll be getting married soon. Because of the war over in Hedong, it has been delayed," Wen Heng said beside him.

Realizing that these really were just the dowry, Chen Mo was dumbfounded.

This is too extravagant.

Even though they hadn't taken stock yet, Chen Mo guessed that, even if Lu Yonggang and Yang Minggui's family fortunes were combined, they wouldn't compare to the amount of these betrothal gifts.

"Marshal Chen, what is this?" A Divine Brave Guard soldier found a brocade box from a pile of brocade, opened it, and inside was a red ginseng root.

After Chen Mo looked at it, his heart surged with waves, and Wen Heng beside him couldn't help but speak up, "Blood Ginseng!"

That's right, this red ginseng root was Blood Ginseng. Chen Mo had once intercepted one from the Wang Family, and after consuming it, his cultivation technique experience directly increased by more than a thousand points.

And the Blood Ginseng in front of him, judging by its size, was several times bigger than the one from the Wang Family.

Chen Mo walked closer and took a sniff, instantly feeling the surge of blood qi in his body.

Chen Mo closed the brocade box and instructed, "Quick, search to see if there are more."

"Understood."

Afterwards, they found nine more Blood Ginsengs of the same size.

Chen Mo put away ten Blood Ginsengs by himself.

"Hurry up and take stock and store them."

Chen Mo instructed this and then went off with ten Blood Ginsengs.

He found an empty room, opened a brocade box, picked up the Blood Ginseng inside, and started munching.

With one bite, the slightly dry Blood Ginseng immediately oozed out blood-red juice.

[Number of blood food supplements +10, Purple Sun Transformation Skill experience +10.]

Chen Mo frowned slightly. If he remembered correctly, it seemed less than the experience gained from eating Blood Ginseng for the first time.

He took another bite, chewed it a few times, and then swallowed it.

[Number of blood food supplements +9, Purple Sun Transformation Skill experience +9.]

Chen Mo: "???"

He took another bite.

[Number of blood food supplements +8, Purple Sun Transformation Skill experience +8.]

Chen Mo was dumbfounded. How come the more he ate, the less experience he gained?

After finishing the whole Blood Ginseng, the experience only increased by about 300.

Just as he was puzzled, the voice of a Divine Brave Guard soldier came from outside: "Marshal Chen, Captain Xia is looking for you?"

Xia Zhining's military position was a squad leader.

Chen Mo's eyes flickered, and he said, "Let her come over."

"Understood."

Soon, Xia Zhining in light armor pushed open the door and came in, appearing decisive and swift, and said, "The families of the enemy have all been controlled."

Chen Mo nodded, waved Xia Zhining over, and then opened one of the brocade boxes, revealing the Blood Ginseng inside.

"Blood Ginseng!" Xia Zhining recognized it at a glance and exclaimed.

"That's right, all of these boxes are filled with Blood Ginseng," Chen Mo replied.

Xia Zhining looked surprised: "Where did so much Blood Ginseng come from?"

"Found in the Government Office. Wen Heng said it should be the dowry Liang Song prepared for his daughter. Now it's all mine. Zhi Ning, you should have seen it. The dowry filled an entire room. The boxes were packed with..." Chen Mo shared his joy with Xia Zhining.

"The Liang Family is one of the Seven Great Noble Families, and the person Liang Xue is marrying is also from the Imperial Family. It isn't surprising to have a dowry like this," Xia Zhining said calmly: "Since there is a dowry, there should be wedding gifts. Have you found the wedding gifts?"

"That's right."

Amidst his joy, Chen Mo had forgotten about this point, and since there was a dowry, there surely were betrothal gifts, and as the betrothal gifts of the Crown Prince Chong, they certainly wouldn't be shabby.

He called the Divine Brave Guard to search carefully.

"By the way, Zhi Ning, let me ask you something..." Chen Mo relayed his earlier experience with the Blood Ginseng to Xia Zhining, softly saying, "This time when I ate the Blood Ginseng, it didn't feel like it enhanced my blood qi as much as last time."

"That's normal. Blood Ginseng is a tonic, and it's used for martial artists to break through barriers. Except for the first time when its effect is great, the more you eat afterwards, the less improvement it brings. Therefore, martial artists, when acquiring Blood Ginseng, won't use it for regular cultivation. It's saved for breakthroughs. You, on the other hand, are being wasteful," Xia Zhining said, rolling her eyes at Chen Mo.

Chen Mo understood now, the Blood Ginseng has resistance build-up. It's not to be eaten casually but saved for critical breakthroughs.

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