Tang Wen looked up at him and asked, "How is it? Am I doing a decent job raising them?"
Old Crow snapped out of his thoughts, clasped his hands behind his back, and snorted, "So-so! But still a bit worse than how I did back in the day."
After saying that, he quickly walked away, strolling around the courtyard.
As he wandered, he saw apprentices with their fingers pecked until they bled, apprentices who had been pooped on, and apprentices who were ignored by the aloof Blood Ravens despite feeding and watering them...
"Phew! I knew it! It couldn't be that simple!"
The old man felt a sense of balance in his heart.
He resumed his swaggering gait, pointing at the apprentices and scolding them.
"Stupid!"
"You might as well die from stupidity!"
"Out of all the students I've taught, you lot are the worst!"
"You, you, and you! Still feeding? You've already fed it seven worms! Are you trying to kill it? If your bird ate seven meals in one night, could you handle it?"
"Hahahaha!"
The other apprentices burst into laughter.
The "seven worms" apprentice turned red with embarrassment and shouted at the crowd, "Laugh all you want! Could you do any better?"
Everyone paused.
Someone shouted, "I could!"
"Who? You, Li Sanjin? You? Last time at the Pleasure House, you took off your clothes and bathed in one minute and thirty seconds! And you think you can do better?"
"Hahahaha!"
The courtyard erupted in even more laughter.
Li Sanjin, who had been called out, couldn't save face. He cursed and lunged forward, throwing a punch.
The two of them engaged in a passionate brawl.
Tang Wen couldn't help but chuckle.
These old perverts were too much—taking off clothes and bathing in one minute and thirty seconds.
Tsk tsk, that's really fast.
After making his rounds, Old Crow returned to Tang Wen's table, his face stern.
"The Blood Ravens are ready to learn to fly. Have them stand on a tree and drop down twenty times a day."
"What if they fly away?" Tang Wen frowned.
"Hmph! You know nothing! The Blood Ravens are already dependent on you. With good food and drink, why would they fly away?"
Old Crow went on to explain some precautions and techniques for letting the Blood Ravens forage on their own.
After the private lesson, Tang Wen's skill leveled up.
[Beast Taming Art, Beginner → Novice (1/1000)]
After all, imparting experience is an efficient way to learn.
Unlike martial arts, where there's a huge gap between learning and practical application, raising birds is something you can do as long as you know the methods.
Another day passed, and Tang Wen's Breathing Technique also leveled up.
[Breathing Technique, Proficient (1/1000)]
It gave him a measly 0.1 increase in both his physical and mental attributes.
Well, the Breathing Technique was just a common skill. It was already good enough that it could increase attributes.
"Master Tang Wen, the ice has been laid out completely."
Xiao Liu emerged from the basement, her cheeks flushed.
These days, besides buying groceries, cooking, making Meat Buns, and cleaning the house, Cuilian and the other two women had been busy making ice in the basement using Frost Stone.
They were so diligent, working even at night.
By the end of the day, their bodies ached all over, but they never complained or slacked off.
Now, every floor of the basement was covered with ice bricks, and the walls were also built with ice bricks.
"Good, I'll go take a look!"
As he approached the basement entrance, he immediately felt the chill.
"Master, let me get you a thick coat! It's very cold down there."
"No need, let's go."
In the basement, the kerosene lamp cast a cold white light on the neatly stacked ice bricks.
He reached out and touched them—icy cold, just below freezing. They still needed to make more ice.
Tang Wen smiled at the three women: "Well done. Starting today, I will teach you martial arts! But remember, without my permission, this cultivation method must not be shared with others!"
Tang Wen taught them a set of Eight Section Brocade.
Although they were maids, they ate the same food as Tang Wen, with meat at every meal, which was enough to support their work and training.
He didn't expect them to achieve anything extraordinary, just to have better figures—well, healthier bodies, greater strength, and more efficiency in their tasks.
The three women, coming from farming families, were accustomed to working in the fields and managing household chores.
They were immensely grateful to Tang Wen for teaching them martial arts.
The way they looked at Tang Wen—respect, admiration, and affection—was so intense it seemed to overflow from their eyes.
A few days later, Zhou Bing returned from outside and once again saw the thirteen-year-old Xiao Liu staring obsessively at Tang Wen as he practiced. Finally, she couldn't help but call her over.
The young girl's face turned pale, as if she had done something wrong, and she stood with her head bowed in front of Zhou Bing.
Ever since Tang Wen had personally taught her martial arts a few days ago, she had often been like this.
Such is the nature of a young girl's first crush.
Zhou Bing didn't scold her. Instead, she said, "If you have time, focus on practicing martial arts. If you can become a Martial Practitioner within three years, I'll let you become a concubine."
"Huh? Thank you, Lady Zhou Bing!" The girl suddenly looked up, grateful and about to kneel.
Zhou Bing reached out to stop her: "Just practice well."
"Yes, yes, I'll definitely practice hard."
"Lady Zhou Bing, I'll practice hard too!" Taohua, standing nearby, boldly expressed her feelings.
"Heh! Alright." Zhou Bing smiled. "Since that's the case, and you too, Cuilian—you're not too old either. It's not too late to practice martial arts. Once you become Martial Practitioners, I'll let you both become concubines."
"Ah, this, this?" Cuilian, holding her daughter, wanted to act reserved.
But she was afraid that if she refused, she would lose the opportunity completely.
So she just twisted her handkerchief in her hands and silently agreed.
"Mom, what's a concubine?" Xiao Taozi blinked her dark eyes, raising her innocent little face.
"Tsk! Don't ask such things, child." Cuilian's cheeks turned red, feeling embarrassed.
"Oh." Xiao Taozi timidly agreed.
In the evening, when it was time for martial arts practice, the three women practiced with exceptional seriousness.
Although they were still unfamiliar with the movements of the Vajra Skill, their attitude was incredibly focused.
Tang Wen was puzzled: "What's gotten into these girls? Why are they so serious today?"
Zhou Bing shot him an exasperated look, strode over with her long legs, and wrapped her arms around his waist, gazing at his handsome youthful face.
For a moment, she couldn't help but be captivated. Hmph, my man truly has the charm to make women fall for him.
Life passed peacefully.
Tang Wen spent most of his days practicing martial arts, even the management and training of the outer city's hunting camp were mostly done half-heartedly.
Occasionally, when he felt bored from training, he would take the hunting squad out of the city to hunt and cure meat.
Zhou Bing, lacking his monstrous physique, could only train for seven or eight hours a day—any more would strain her mind and body.
The training and daily management of the outer city's hunting camp fell on her shoulders.
The ice in the basement kept piling up, and the temperature dropped every day.
When water brought in turned into ice almost instantly, Tang Wen knew the temperature had dropped to below minus ten degrees Celsius—cold enough.
When Cuilian and the other two women went down to work, they would bundle up in thick winter clothes.
Otherwise, they couldn't stay inside for long.
At the same time, the first batch of smoked cured meat was ready.
Tang Wen set up bamboo racks in the basement and hung over a thousand pounds of cured meat on them. Although a thousand pounds of cured meat sounds like a lot, in reality, it didn't even fill a corner of the basement. His food storage plan had just begun. He needed more cured meat and foxtail millet.
As for vegetables, as long as the well didn't dry up, he could grow some in the courtyard. Vegetables grew quickly in the heat, much like spring chives in the fields—after being cut with a sickle, they would grow back in just a few days.
That morning, the General's residence held its routine meeting. This time, it was about rewarding merits. Everyone unanimously agreed that Tang Wen and Zhou Bing had made the greatest contributions. Without the two of them, no one would have even known where the enemy was, let alone captured ten of them.
However, when it came to actually rewarding them, General Zhao was at a loss. Unsure of what to give, he asked, "Do you two have any requests? As long as it's within our means, the camp will make it happen."
The two exchanged a glance, and Tang Wen smiled, "Then let's wait until I make another contribution, and we can settle it all together!"
Huh? The commanders shook their heads. In these times, was it really that easy to make contributions?
Under the curious gazes of the Queen and others, he pulled out two bags from behind him, one large and one small.
…
--Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/TLGod
Thanks!