"D*mn it!"
Fang Jie cursed fiercely, then drew the standard-issue Sui Dynasty sword from behind his back. This was the only memento he intended to take from Fangu. His Sui Dynasty border army uniform was left in the backyard of Jin Yuan Fang; only this sword remained.
He had 3,927 taels of silver on him, 3,800 of which were in silver notes and 127 taels in cash. Logically, this silver was also a memory of Fangu; seeing it in Chang'an would remind him of Fangu. But without a doubt, silver was meant to be spent. A man of Fang Jie's temperament would never hesitate to spend it in Chang'an just because it was earned in Fangu.
Silver, besides buying what he wanted, had no other use.
At least not for reminiscing.
The sword was different; it bore Fang Jie's name and the name of his unit. "Fanbian Jiazi Team Fang..." These six characters are the memories. If nothing unexpected happens, Fang Jie will hang this horizontal sword in his study in his new residence in Chang'an. Every time he sees it, it will remind him of the familiar faces in Fan Gu City, and the memorable events of the past.
This horizontal sword is the unbreakable connection between him and Fan Gu City.
But now he has drawn the sword, intending to sever that connection.
Because of the horn.
If nothing unexpected happens, within ten minutes of the horn sounding, the well-trained Sui border army will arrive. Mu Xiaoyao and Shang Guohen might not care about the six flying fish robes, but they definitely can't stop eight hundred border soldiers. Mu Xiaoyao only has the strength of a fifth-rank upper-level expert, and Shang Guohen a fifth-rank lower-level expert. Even if they were both eighth-rank masters, they still couldn't stop eight hundred border soldiers. The combat power displayed by eight hundred border soldiers is far more than just eight hundred men.
Because the border army is skilled in battle and well-equipped.
The border troops possessed repeating crossbows, powerful bows, and even the explosive cannons developed by the Sui Dynasty's Ministry of War just last year. These explosive cannons were essentially bombs, though far less powerful than the bombs Fang Jie remembered. However, it was undeniable that even an eighth-rank expert might not be able to dodge hundreds of these explosive cannons. Even if they didn't kill, wouldn't they at least be injured? With dense arrows and sharp explosive cannons, it wasn't a pipe dream for eight hundred border troops to trap and kill an eighth-rank expert.
Faced with overwhelming military force, even the strongest individual strength would likely be insufficient to make a decisive difference.
Therefore, Fang Jie drew his sword, knowing he only had ten minutes.
The guards at the city gate were his comrades from the C-rank squad. It would take about five minutes for those on the city wall to run down; the twenty border soldiers at the gate were the link Fang Jie had to sever.
"Go help Mu Xiaoyao!"
He hissed, then charged forward. Perhaps he felt a pang of bitterness as he drew his sword, for those border soldiers were his friends. But he wouldn't hesitate for a moment, because tonight these friends could very well cost him his life.
The Sui army's discipline was absolute; the border troops couldn't disobey orders.
Fang Jie couldn't possibly risk his life, even if it meant killing someone.
Da Quan didn't hesitate either, leaping forward, not to help Mu Xiaoyao, but towards the border soldiers guarding the gate. Fang Jie paused for a moment, but quickly accelerated to catch up. He knew Da Quan's choice was the most correct, and his decision undeniably contained a laughable touch of womanly compassion.
If he rushed in, he would injure if possible, but not kill.
Da Quan rushed in, killing if possible, but not injuring.
Fang Jie smiled bitterly to himself, mocking his own naiveté. Da Quan wouldn't take long to kill those twenty elite but uncultivated border soldiers, at least faster than him. And after Da Quan killed those twenty border soldiers, he estimated that Mu Xiaoyao would have dealt with the remaining five Flying Fish Robe soldiers.
This was the most rational choice.
Fang Jie's hand gripping the sword trembled slightly.
"Stay calm," he told himself, "stay calm." Just as he took a deep breath, a standard-issue Sui Dynasty broadsword came slashing towards him. The one who struck was the captain who had blown the horn: "Fang Jie! No matter what you've done, don't do this! Just stay, and I'll plead for you before the general."
The captain swung four times, uttering one sentence.
He couldn't land the fifth blow, because Fang Jie's broadsword had severed his right arm, the one holding the sword. This was Fang Jie's first time injuring someone, but he seemed to show no mercy. He practiced this kind of swordsmanship, injuring or killing, diligently every day. With each strike during practice, he seemed to see the enemy in his eyes.
The standard-issue Sui Dynasty broadsword was very sharp; severing an arm was as easy as cutting through tofu.
The captain froze, then let out a piercing wail.
The big dog glanced back, a hint of admiration flashing in its eyes. As he turned, a horizontal blade slashed towards his head. His eyes remained fixed on Fang Jie, but his hand gripped the blade perfectly. He wore gloves with steel spikes, and the blade couldn't penetrate them.
The next second, Da Quan's other hand had already ripped open the heart of the border soldier. Like a wolf's claw, his right hand plunged deep into the soldier's chest, and when he withdrew it, half a bloody, mangled heart lay in his hand. He withdrew his gaze, and with a leap, charged towards another soldier.
Three minutes.
Of the twenty border soldiers guarding the gate, seventeen were dead and three were wounded. Seventeen were killed by Da Quan, and three were wounded by Fang Jie. At the same time, Mu Xiaoyao killed the third Flying Fish Robe soldier, with three more surrounding her. But it was clear that the three Flying Fish Robe soldiers had lost their will to fight.
"Do you think... they'll show you any mercy?"
Da Quan asked.
Fang Jie looked at the three border soldiers lying on the ground, groaning, and remained silent.
The big dog didn't say anything more, and quickly rushed towards Mu Xiaoyao: "Go open the city gate, get out first, you can't shake off the two of us!"
Fang Jie nodded, then saw that the border soldiers on the city wall were almost at the foot of the city. He rushed towards the city gate, and suddenly found two more people in front of it.
"Interesting, I didn't expect that little Fan Gu would be so full of hidden talents, two fifth-rank... and this one..."
Mu Da shook his head, curling his lip in disdain: "No class?"
"You're the one without class!"
Fang Jie leaped high, slashing at Mu Da's head with his sword. This slash was the fastest and most ferocious strike he had ever made in all these years of arduous practice.
...
...
The wind only stopped after dark, but the snow had stopped in the afternoon. Right after that piercing wail from the row of wooden houses in the border army training ground, the dark clouds seemed to be startled and turned to flee. Qiu Xiaoshu was dead. From the moment Wu Peisheng made him the first person to interrogate, his death was already sealed.
Those who followed might have a chance to live, but since he was the first, whether he signed the papers or not, he would die. The difference was that if he signed, he would die a little later; if he didn't, he would die immediately.
Hearing this wail, Li Xiaozong, a border general, silently turned and walked out of the camp. His footsteps crunched on the snow. He knew that by doing this, he would lose the support of the eight hundred border soldiers of Fan Gu. This support was hard-won, earned over three years. But after today, the soldiers would hate him, and hatred came easily.
He didn't regret his decision at all, because he knew his future couldn't be ruined in this remote, cold little place.
Life is like a play; everyone is acting.
How could someone who graduated from the Sui Dynasty Martial Arts Academy with excellent grades, and came from a prestigious family, possibly limit his vision to this small border town?
"Three years...that's enough."
He muttered to himself, turning and walking out of the camp without looking back. These three years in the border city were his capital for promotion. With these three years, the Ministry of War could promote him without giving anyone in the court an excuse to object. Once he returned to the capital, with his abilities, he would at least be promoted to a fourth-rank general, not the lower-ranking "Guoyi," but the full fourth-rank "Yingyang."
Reaching the rank of Yingyang general meant he could establish his own government office.
A man so young who had already reached the fourth-rank Yingyang general would be sought after by every powerful family in the court. His future was limitless; barring any major mistakes, he might indeed become a governor-general by the age of thirty, as Dean Zhou of the Martial Arts Academy predicted. A second-rank regional official, bringing glory to his family.
This was the real reason why General Li Yuanshan of the Right Valiant Guard was helping him. As for kinship, to hell with that.
Li Yuanshan was investing heavily in winning over Li Xiaozong precisely because he saw his bright future. They were all members of the Li family, after all; at the very least, Li Xiaozong couldn't be allowed to side with someone else. The court was a treacherous place, and if he couldn't even see through such a small trick, there was no point in Li Xiaozong returning to the capital.
Even without Wu Peisheng, Li Yuanshan, or the imperial censors sent by the court—even without anything… he might still kill Fang Jie before returning to the capital, because he wouldn't allow any stain on his record. Since people had come from the capital, why not go with the flow?
Returning to the capital required networking. Networking required money.
His decision to abandon the attack on Nirvana City wasn't due to Fang Jie's persuasion. It was because he realized it was indeed a lucrative opportunity; he needed money. Attacking Nirvana City was to ensure His Majesty would still remember him. It was a well-known fact that His Majesty favored passionate young generals, and even if attacking Nirvana City caused trouble, the pride of the Sui Emperor would prevent him from succumbing to the pressure from the Mongol Empire.
But this was a risk, and Fang Jie's suggestion of making money pleased him even more.
With enough money, he could bribe several powerful officials back in the capital, which would be more effective than conquering Nirvana City. A single word of praise from the prime minister was worth more than the merit of killing tens of thousands of enemies.
He felt that Fang Jie was a gift from heaven, but now, that gift… was worthless.
As he left the camp, he couldn't help but recall the first time he met Fang Jie—that dirty young man who had blocked his warhorse and arrogantly asked, "General, do you want to get rich?"
He remembered that what made him decide to talk to this young man wasn't the question "Do you want to get rich?" but rather the three words preceding it that pleased him greatly.
"General."
Only a fool would call him, a mere fifth-rank military officer, "General." Of course, this was a fool who made him feel good. Later, he realized that Fang Jie wasn't a fool.
These three years in Fan Gu were remarkable.
This was how Emperor Li Xiaozong defined his three years in Fan Gu. He walked along the widest street in Fangu City for fifteen minutes until he reached a shop that was already closed. He knocked on the door, speaking politely.
"Excuse me, are you still doing business today?"
The door opened, and a beautiful young woman with a good figure appeared before Li Xiaozong. She wore a simple blue floral cotton coat with an apron tied around her waist. Her hands and face were covered in flour, indicating she had been cooking.
"It's General Li. I'm so sorry, my husband has gone on a long trip, and we won't be doing business until he returns."
"Then can I talk to you? There's something very important that I think you should hear."
Li Xiaozong said with a smile.
The young woman paused for a moment, then nodded.
She stepped aside, but didn't close the door. After entering, Li Xiaozong sat down by the fireplace, sniffed the wine, and couldn't help but exclaim, "The most fragrant wine in Fangu City is in your house. I remember the name is quite elegant... Pear Blossom Wine?"
The young woman took a pot of Pear Blossom Wine from the counter and placed it in front of Li Xiaozong. "You've come at the right time. There's only one pot left. If you had come any later, I would have drunk it myself tonight. But since it's the last pot, I'll charge a bit more."
Li Xiaozong hummed in agreement but didn't drink. "Although I don't know where you two come from or why you've come, and I didn't want to disturb you, I had no choice but to come today. You can keep it from everyone in Fangu City, but you can't keep it from me." "...However, as long as you don't act recklessly tonight, I'll just stay for a bit and then leave, as if I'd never been here. Visiting a master like this, yet being so abrupt, makes me feel quite uneasy..."
"It's our husband and I who should be uneasy about General Li personally coming to our door."
The young woman smiled, picked up her wine jug, and downed it in one gulp: "My husband and I dislike meddling in other people's business, and with the husband not home, I, a woman, naturally avoid trouble whenever possible. If it weren't for our cowardice, do you think we would have come to this remote place to run a small business?"
"Not meddling in other people's business is a virtue."
Li Xiaozong smiled, his expression softening.
"But... the person you're going to kill still owes me something. If you don't mind, you can pay it back for me. Otherwise, who will I ask for it after he's dead?"
"How much?"
Li Xiaozong hadn't expected the reclusive master to be so mercenary.
"One."
The young woman replied.
"One what?"
Li Xiaozong was puzzled. "A life."
The young woman took off her apron, carefully folded it, and placed it on the table. "I wasted half a pot of ten-year-old pear blossom wine on him to get his worthless life back. You think you can just take it away like that? It's not that easy! I can endure anything in my life, except two things: first, I can't tolerate being cuckolded by that Su Tu Gou; second, I can't tolerate losing money in business!"