After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 189: Chapter 190: Enlisting

Opportunity favors the prepared.

Seeing how confident he was, the Monarch was even more pleased. He then began to ask how many troops and how much time he would need.

Hee Chunhua sighed. ”After I answered, His Majesty’s smile faded.”

Hee Lingchuan’s face filled with displeasure. ”Does His Majesty think we can just waltz up north and retake Xunzhou with little effort?”

”A swift and decisive war is likely the wish of every monarch,” Hee Yue said, shaking his head. ”The pressure of fighting on two fronts is too great. The Royal Court is already strained just fighting Dongg Haoming in the west. Now that the northern front is also tight, we can’t be short on troops, funds, or provisions.”

In the end, it all came down to cost.

What Hee Yue cared about was, ”Father, did His Majesty agree to the number of troops you requested?”

Hee Chunhua shook his head. ”The number I reported was unacceptable. His Majesty slashed it down to thirty percent.”

Hee Lingchuan asked in surprise, ”You can haggle over that?” ’Is the Royal Court no different from a vegetable market?’

Hee Chunhua let out a long sigh. ”When I brought it up, His Majesty lost his temper, saying we have no consideration for how hard-won the funds and provisions are, nor for the hardships of the common people. I had no choice but to lower the number again and again, while His Majesty pushed it down further and further.”

Hee Lingchuan sneered. ”Thirty percent? Heh. How are men and horses supposed to fight on empty stomachs?”

”He says thirty percent, but we’ll be lucky if fifteen percent actually reaches its destination,” Hee Chunhua said with a cold laugh. ”There’s still graft at every level to account for.” He knew this game all too well.

”Then can we even fight this war?”

”As the Governor of Xiazhou, I have to get things done once I’m there.” Hee Chunhua didn’t seem too disappointed. ”It’s fine. I anticipated His Majesty’s reaction, so the number I reported... was a little inflated.”

Hee Lingchuan raised his eyebrows. ’Dad’s still got it.’

”Besides, local troops will mostly have to be supported locally. We might even be able to use Demon Soldiers. The Royal Court’s subsidy is just icing on the cake. Hah. If the Governor of Xunzhou on the other side can manage it, so can I.”

As he spoke, Hee Chunhua took out a brocade pouch and handed it to Hee Lingchuan. ”To commend you for your valor in fending off the enemy, His Majesty has appointed you Youyun Cavalry Captain, a Junior Sixth Grade position.”

Madam Ying and Hee Yue gasped. Overjoyed, Hee Lingchuan took the pouch and tore it open, and a single yuan coin fell out.

He snatched it up, toyed with it for a moment, and tossed it into the air. ”From now on, I’m an official too!”

Hee Yue couldn’t help but correct him. ”Big Brother, it’s not a substantive position.”

Hee Lingchuan shot him a glare. ”Once I join the army, it’ll become one, won’t it?”

Hee Chunhua stood to the side, smiling silently.

Hee Lingchuan weighed the newly acquired yuan coin in his hand. ”Didn’t His Majesty bestow anything else? Gold, silver, or jewels would’ve been fine.”

”The National Treasury is empty, and it’s not like you performed a great service on the battlefield,” Hee Chunhua chided with a laugh. ”You should be glad you even got a title. You want a reward on top of that?”

”I saved Grand General Ke. Isn’t that more important than killing enemies on the battlefield?”

Hee Chunhua ignored his eldest son’s muttering and changed the subject. ”What happened here in Shihuan today?”

His two sons told him what had transpired.

When he heard that the chief of Songyang Prefecture’s Central Furnace would be temporarily accompanying the Supporting Army north, Hee Chunhua slapped his thigh and exclaimed, ”Good, good! We need to start forging weapons and stockpiling provisions as soon as we reach Xiazhou. Having such an expert to guide us would be for the best!”

Hee Lingchuan feigned concern. ”Father, you don’t blame me for handing over the Purple Gold Pestle, do you?”

Hee Chunhua was all smiles. ”The Treasure Pestle may be a Spiritual Artifact, but no one in our family can use it. Trading something useless to us for a Master Craftsman is the best deal we could ask for. Why would I blame you?”

Hee Lingchuan then relayed Li Fubo’s request. Hee Chunhua shook his head. ”A bamboo tube? There weren’t many of Sunx Fuping’s belongings, and there was definitely no bamboo tube among them.”

”Are you sure? Do you want to check again?”

”You don’t trust me?” Hee Chunhua gave a wry smile. ”Should I take everything out and let you inspect them one by one?”

Hee Lingchuan laughed dryly. ”No need for that. Father is much more meticulous than I am. If you say it’s not there, then it’s not there.”

”Big Brother, you just said the Walnut Boat... ah, the Jiezhi Boat, was borrowed from the Marquis Songyang by Sunx Fuping?” Hee Yue, ever the detail-oriented one, asked. ”Even now, this Master Li can openly say that his Lord is a friend of Sunx Fuping?”

For the past two months, hasn’t the bloody purge around the National Capital been the Monarch’s way of strictly rounding up and punishing the rebels’ ”accomplices”? Isn’t the Marquis Songyang afraid?

Hee Lingchuan quietly shoveled food into his mouth. ”How should I know?” He had never even heard of Songyang Prefecture before arriving in Shihuan.

Hee Chunhua thought for a moment. ”The Marquis Songyang holds a noble title and is also the head of a sect. He’s a special case in our Yuan Kingdom and cannot be judged by ordinary standards.”

He added, ”His Majesty’s face was full of malevolence. I fear nothing short of more executions will appease the Emperor’s wrath. I think the National Capital will see more turmoil in the coming days. It would be best for us to depart as soon as possible. Mmm, our business here is concluded. We’ll leave the day after tomorrow, lest people say I’m lingering in the Capital to form cliques.”

He knew very well that the Monarch’s late-night summons was, one, a show of his importance, and two, an encouragement for the newly appointed Governor of Xiazhou to do a good job and share the nation’s burdens. This was a shower of blessings. But if he were to suffer repeated defeats in the north or fail to produce results, what His Majesty would send down would be a thunderbolt.

’All of it is Celestial Grace.’

CREAK. Hu Min pushed the door open and walked in just in time to see Hee Lingchuan’s arrow hit the target.

”Hey, not bad! Huge improvement. You’re only—” He grinned and held up two fingers. ”—two inches from the bullseye.”

Hee Lingchuan’s expression fell.

A miss is as good as a mile, let alone two inches. To have that margin of error on a stationary target was ridiculous for an archer.

”It’s still good. I remember the first time you threw a Flying Blade a few days ago, you missed the target completely.”

Hee Lingchuan put away his bow and went inside to pour him a cup of water. ”What brings you here?”

Hu Min’s leg injury hadn’t fully healed, so he’d been recuperating at home. Usually, Hee Lingchuan would visit him, but today he had come over himself.

”I have some bad news.” Hu Min took the cup and gulped down some water. ”Your application to join the Great Wind Army was rejected. Mr. Xiao relayed the higher-ups’ decision. They want you to get more experience and accumulate military merits before trying again.”

Hee Lingchuan was a little disappointed, but he had expected this outcome.

Ever since he started entering the Panlong Dream Realm through the Broken Blade, he knew he was being watched. Otherwise, the Panlong Dream Realm wouldn’t adjust itself based on his real-life experiences. For example, when he encountered the once-in-decades fall of Emperor’s Liquid West of Woling Pass, the Panlong Dream Realm immediately featured a past event involving Emperor’s Liquid that very night. It was clearly meant to show him how to refine Emperor’s Flowing Powder without wasting the precious substance.

’Is the master of this Dream Realm perhaps the Grand Square Pot itself?’

After all, during the fierce battle against Sunx Fuping and his companion last year, he and Hee Chunhua had used the Grand Square Pot to weaken their opponents to their absolute minimum, seizing the opportunity to win.

’What if Zhong Shengguang, who had transformed into a Black Dragon, didn’t actually die?’

’What if the master will of the Grand Square Pot is someone else entirely?’

At the very least, Hee Lingchuan was sure of one thing: this will had a motive for summoning him into the dream again and again. The first time he entered the Dream Realm, he was killed by an arrow to the throat. The experience of his second death was still fresh in his mind. Judging from that initial show of force, the entity probably wouldn’t let him have an easy time in the Dream City.

Seeing his silence, Hu Min patted his shoulder comfortingly. ”Only those at the rank of Squad Commander or higher are qualified to apply for the Great Wind Army. This rule is actually a form of protection. After all, the Great Wind Army’s missions are always the most difficult and dangerous. Even experienced veterans can easily fall.”

A Squad Commander was a small team leader, in charge of fifty men.

In other words, Hee Lingchuan had to become the leader of fifty men before he was even eligible to apply to the Great Wind Army.

’Ridiculous.’

”It’s fine to start from the bottom. I have too much to learn anyway.” Hee Lingchuan adjusted his attitude. ”But without fighting wars and accumulating merits, I won’t even have ten men under my command.”

”All the able-bodied young men in Panlong City have to enlist. Ordinary Panlong City Army soldiers farm for half the year and serve in the army for the other half, taking turns.”

Hee Lingchuan shook his head. ”I’m not going to farm.” ’The opportunity to dream is too precious to waste on farming.’

”Me neither,” Hu Min said with a laugh. ”Then the only full-time military roles left are Patrol Guard, City Guard, and logistics. You can pick one of the three.”

”The Patrol Guards see the most frequent combat, right?”

”Of course,” Hu Min added. ”The Patrol Guards are divided into two types. The Chipa Patrol’s area of responsibility is the Chipa Plateau, while the Patrolling Guards mainly move through the Panlong Desert, watching over the outer borders of Panlong City. The two often switch roles.”

Hee Lingchuan didn’t hesitate. ”I want to join the Patrol Guards.”

He would soon be heading to Yuanbei with his father for a military campaign. Their opponent was the General of the Northern Expedition, Nian Zanli, and the Northern Demon Kingdom behind him.

Nian Zanli held a grudge against him for killing his son and would never let him and his father off easily. What Hee Lingchuan had to do was improve himself as quickly as possible in the limited time he had.

’Rely on a mountain, and it will crumble. Rely on a person, and they will run. You can only truly rely on yourself.’

Therefore, he needed to go to the front lines of battle and temper his Dao Heart and Battle Techniques with blood and fire.

Every experience in the Dream Realm would be a precious asset to him.

”Then come with me. I’ll take you to the Patrol Guard Bureau to sign up.” Hu Min turned to head out. Although he still walked with a limp, it was much better than when he was first injured. His crutch went TAP, TAP, TAP on the ground as he moved quickly.

In another seven or eight days, he would be as nimble as ever.

The two of them got on a donkey cart and headed for the Patrol Guard Bureau.

The trip went smoothly. After signing up, Hee Lingchuan took the on-site assessment, which tested his on-the-spot reactions and Martial Arts Body Technique. With his several life-and-death experiences, he passed with flying colors. Without any trouble, he became a proud Chipa Patrol guard.

After all, Panlong City had been at war for many years and always welcomed new recruits.

”Congratulations. From now on, you’ll be protecting our home and city.” Hu Min clapped for him. ”Just don’t ’croak’ before you get into the Great Wind Army.” The word ”croak” was a piece of slang he had picked up from Hee Lingchuan.

”We should go to Tianshuang Restaurant to celebrate, but Mr. Xiao is about to give a lecture at Wenxian Hall. Want to go show your support?”

Upon hearing this, Hee Lingchuan of course nodded.

”Let’s go!”

Although Wenxian Hall had a grand-sounding name, its location was rather unconventional. It wasn’t in some jade palace or a magnificent main hall, but in a Celestial Pit!

Hee Lingchuan had also been quite surprised the first time he entered Wenxian Hall.

A Celestial Pit was, as the name implied, like a giant hole gouged through a mountain by a celestial being. It was open to the bright sky above and connected to an underground river below. The pit was massive in diameter and irregular in shape.