I Can Strengthen Infinitely-Chapter 67 - 62: The Ten Attendant Eunuchs

"Is there someone... anyone..."

The person heard Qin Yuesheng’s question and immediately started shouting, but for some reason, his voice was very weak, as if he had been fasting for several days.

"Who are you?" Qin Yuesheng asked again.

"Peng Fei... resident of Pengqiao Village..."

"Were you locked in here by Village Chief Peng?"

"Yes..."

Qin Yuesheng reached out and grabbed the handle, then let the bucket down.

He then grabbed the rope and leaped down, landing steadily at the bottom of the well.

Being closer, Qin Yuesheng discovered that this person was not only bound by iron locks but also had two iron spikes pierced through his shoulders, nailing his body firmly to the well wall.

Such injuries would be unbearable even for an external martial artist; if not treated promptly, there would be no chance of survival.

Looking at the two festering wounds on Peng Fei’s shoulders, Qin Yuesheng’s expression was very grave.

The iron spikes had been in his shoulders for a long time without any medication, and the infection and inflammation were quite severe.

Seeing Peng Fei’s face pale and his eyes lifeless, Qin Yuesheng, even without medical knowledge, could sense that he wouldn’t live much longer.

"Why did they lock you up here?" Qin Yuesheng stepped forward and used the Evil-Subduing Saber to cut off the iron spikes behind Peng Fei, then cut off the iron locks one by one.

"Those two thieves wanted to infiltrate Pengqiao Village; one of them is skilled in disguise. They killed Village Chief Peng, intending to take his place, and forced me to explain the various affairs in Pengqiao Village to make it easier not to be discovered by other villagers."

"I see." Qin Yuesheng understood.

Helping Peng Fei up from the ground, Qin Yuesheng placed two fingers on his wrist, feeling his weak pulse, fearing he wouldn’t last much longer.

"Young hero, I know my situation. I’m not afraid of dying, but there’s one thing I can’t get over in my heart. Could you please ask the villagers outside if Xie Lan is still alive?"

Supported by Qin Yuesheng, Peng Fei said with all his remaining strength.

"Who is this Xie Lan?"

"She is my betrothed wife. Those two thieves came to Pengqiao Village for unknown reasons, but I once overheard them discussing needing some women as sacrifices. There are no other villages within a hundred miles around Pengqiao Village, so I’m worried about Xie Lan..."

Peng Fei’s voice was becoming increasingly faint, and seeing his gaze begin to scatter, Qin Yuesheng nodded: "Alright, I will ask for you, but now I will take you out."

"No need, young hero. This place is my ancestral home. After I die, if you find out that Xie Lan is safe, please ask her to come and bury my corpse in the backyard of the house. If she has met an untimely end, then seal this well completely and let me rest here forever."

In Qin Yuesheng’s gaze, Peng Fei looked up at the night sky above the well for the last time, his eyes gradually sinking into stillness.

"Thank you, young hero."

After that brief revival, his life extinguished like a candle in the wind.

"Alas." Qin Yuesheng gently placed Peng Fei’s corpse on the ground and climbed back up to the surface.

Regarding Peng Fei’s situation, he could only feel slightly regretful, thinking if he had discovered him a day or two earlier, perhaps the outcome would have been different.

Running out of the peach blossom forest, Qin Yuesheng found the corpse of ’Village Chief Peng’ and promptly dismembered it.

Destroying the evidence once and for all.

The fortunate thing was, after dismembering ’Village Chief Peng,’ a light orb finally dropped.

Qin Yuesheng immediately crushed it, gaining a skill named ’disguise.’

"Good stuff." Qin Yuesheng nodded with satisfaction, knowing he could use the All-Purpose Essence to enhance this ability in the future, which would be a great help for actions requiring disguise.

"Go deal with those two Corpse Ghost bodies too, so no one will know what happened tonight." Qin Yuesheng thought to himself as he slipped into the night.

...

The next day.

After getting up, Qin Yuesheng went out and found a villager to inquire about Peng Fei and Xie Lan.

"Peng Fei, that kid is a martial arts fanatic; he’s considered Pengqiao Village’s top martial artist. But unfortunately, for some reason, he suddenly went mad, and nobody knows where he ran off to.

His betrothed wife is from outside. Some time ago, Village Chief Peng knew a silk shopkeeper from Yangzhou Prefecture, who said they were recruiting female workers and embroiderers with a monthly wage of one tael of silver. Xie Lan went over, along with many other girls from our village, all taken there by Village Chief Peng."

The villager holding a hoe chatted to Qin Yuesheng without noticing his somber expression.

Whatever that embroidery workshop is recruiting for, it’s likely that all those girls have already been sent into the spider’s mouth to satisfy its hunger.

"Where is Village Chief Peng now? Since the matters of your village have been resolved, I should leave as well. I’d like to say goodbye to him before I go."

"The village chief?" A villager scratched his head. "I don’t know, but let me help you find out, Young Master Qin."

"Hmm, thank you."

After the villager left, Qin Yuesheng quickly made his way to the courtyard nestled within the peach blossom grove.

Looking at the dry well that concealed Peng Fei’s corpse.

Qin Yuesheng silently thought, "Your wife is most likely no longer here. I will fulfill your last wish, may you rest in peace."

Then, with one strike, he shattered the edge of the well, causing a large amount of mud and stones to collapse downward. Under Qin Yuesheng’s destruction, the area was quickly leveled, leaving no trace of a well ever having existed.

...

Outside Pengqiao Village.

"Pardon the inadequate hospitality, Young Master Qin. The village chief is probably not in the village, and we don’t know where he’s gone. He often goes out without notice, and we’ve all gotten used to it."

Several villagers accompanied Qin Yuesheng outside the high walls, deeply grateful for his help in resolving the spider issue that had plagued their village.

So, before Qin Yuesheng left, they insisted on giving him various local specialties: farm eggs, old ducks, smoked bacon, pickled vegetables, and the like.

But Qin Yuesheng declined them all.

"No need, I still have to report the details of these findings. I bid you farewell for now, and hope we’ll meet again."

Hoisting the sack containing the upper half of the Beauty Spider onto his shoulder, Qin Yuesheng clasped his hands in a respectful gesture to the crowd, then turned and left Pengqiao Village.

Watching Qin Yuesheng’s departing figure, the villagers all sighed and said, "What a responsible and honorable man."

...

While coming, due to the chaotic mountains and ridges, the exact location of Pengqiao Village was unknown, necessitating a guide. But returning was far less cumbersome; Cyan Yang City was a massive target, and Qin Yuesheng only needed to find the direction to exit Meteor Mountain without worrying about missing Cyan Yang City.

Upon returning to Cyan Yang City, Qin Yuesheng immediately headed to the yamen, handing over the items he brought back from Pengqiao Village for Bai Hao to examine.

He recounted all the events he experienced within Pengqiao Village to him.

Upon hearing Qin Yuesheng’s account, Bai Hao immediately frowned, his face darkened: "A mere steward of the Gold and Silver Pavilion would commit such a heinous act just to curry favor with the eunuchs."

"Lord Bai, I have a question. Shouldn’t the eunuchs remain in Chang’an City handling palace affairs? Why is there a eunuch serving in Yangzhou Prefecture?" Qin Yuesheng asked in confusion.

"It’s a complicated matter." Bai Hao rubbed his temples, rested his chin on his hand, and spoke:

"In his youth, the current emperor, His Majesty, was once a wise ruler, advised by virtuous ministers Lian Xiangru and Lin Po, ensuring the people lived in peace without suffering from war for over twenty years,

but ever since His Majesty reached his seventies, he began indulging in pleasure, becoming increasingly trapped in it, obsessed daily with debauchery and excessive construction projects,

even going so far as to conscript 200,000 young men over four years to build a Golden City, featuring a jewelled garden with flora and trees carved from jade and gems, and a Beauty Palace where over a thousand beautiful maidens awaited his favor.

Among them, the most famous is the wine lake and meat forest. In a pool paved with icy jade, it can accommodate over a hundred people bathing, and when filled with fine wine, the fragrance quickly spreads throughout the Golden City,

while in the meat forest, hundreds of imperial chefs cook all kinds of livestock throughout the year, hanging their works on iron tree branches for guests to pick and enjoy.

Literati often say, ’The rich fragrance of wine intoxicates, the gourmet feast satiety provides,’ but it barely describes a tenth of the heavenly life inside the Golden City,

because of such indulgence, neglecting state affairs, the eunuchs’ power quietly rose in the palace, entrenching themselves throughout the court, to the point now of manipulating governance from behind the scenes, with many being sent from Chang’an to various places across Great Tang to serve as officials."

Qin Yuesheng couldn’t help but exclaim, "There’s such a situation, then Lord Bai, what about those two virtuous ministers you mentioned? With the emperor so decadent, did they not dare to risk death to advise him?"

"Alas." Bai Hao sighed deeply: "Lian Xiangru passed away during the minor heat period last year, now it’s up to Lord Lin Po alone to hold the fort in court, but His Majesty refuses to see him. If one day even Lord Lin Po leaves, Great Tang truly faces a dire threat.

Don’t be fooled by the current submission of the three northern kingdoms Liao, Jin, and West Xia to Great Tang, offering annual tribute. Should there be any trouble within Great Tang, they will quickly turn into wolves preying southward, taking bites of flesh from Great Tang.

By then, the people’s lives would truly be miserable."

"And the emperor, doesn’t he care at all about this? It is, after all, the empire and legacy passed down from his ancestors."

"With that group of eunuchs shielding His Majesty from the external circumstances, how could he know the true state of Great Tang today? The ’credit’ for this entirely goes to those ten neither-male-nor-female eunuchs."

Qin Yuesheng said, "Ten eunuchs?"

"Yes, ten eunuchs wielding power over the court, taking turns attending His Majesty day and night, they are the ancestors of all eunuchs in Great Tang, and are referred to by nobility and ministers alike as... the Ten Regular Attendants."