Wu Youren felt somewhat gratified; this saber suited him far too well.
Right now, he had two long weapons and was only lacking something mid-sized.
He had no need to fight on an open battlefield; as far as long weapons went, a greatsword was essentially enough.
Though the sword was considered the sovereign of all weapons, it fell a bit short in raw battlefield lethality, and maneuvering with it in tight quarters was inferior to a saber.
So this curved saber was definitely coming with him. Even if he were merely selling it for cash, he wouldn't let it go for under six thousand.
All things considered, he had still come out ahead. But why did he still feel somewhat unsatisfied?
The next moment, an unexpected surprise arrived: a massive wave of warmth surged through his entire body.
This surge of experience points didn't feel like merely slaying a knight at all—it was more than twice what he had gained from the dead archer just moments ago!
"This fortune... is a bit intoxicating." Wu Youren shook his head. What was going on here?
Was it because torturing the man to death brought greater benefit to Jin's national fortune, or had this person... committed too much evil in the past?
He couldn't be sure, but it didn't matter. He could test it out slowly in the future.
Thinking this over, he buried this one as well, chopping the corpse into numerous pieces to cover up the traces of his attacks.
He had already tortured the man to death anyway, so being a bit more ruthless made no difference.
After the delays along the road, dusk had already fallen by the time he returned to the foot of the mountain.
He intentionally waited until late at night before scaling the ridge with his various bundles, quietly organizing his supplies.
Yet around midnight, just as he finished sorting everything, a figure drifted over, silent and soundless.
It was the military knight. "What did you bring back?"
Wu Youren had sensed him somewhat earlier. Hearing this, he sighed inwardly. *Why bother showing yourself?*
*This whole arrangement obviously can't see the light of day. Making it awkward for everyone—what's the point?*
"My lord, some things are best seen and left unsaid; spelling them out ruins the fun."
The soldier's nose twitched as he remarked faintly, "Food and water. Just how little do you trust the Intelligence Bureau?"
Wu Youren had no retort and could only make up an excuse. "I might be staying in longer this time."
"If you don't have enough, you can just ask me," the soldier said seriously. "Would I be short on food and water?"
If there was another crystal, it would belong to him, so this minor down payment was nothing.
*The problem is, your food isn't safe either!* Wu Youren sighed. "The military rations... well, it's a long story."
"Heh heh, so you're just a picky eater?" The soldier chuckled, amused.
Since they first made contact, a smile had almost never appeared on his face; this was truly rare.
At the same time, however, both knew this was merely banter; taking it seriously would be a mistake.
Wu Youren thought about it and felt there was no point in beating around the bush. "I don't trust the Intelligence Bureau. Do you?"
"Oh? Why wouldn't you?" A playful glint entered the soldier's eyes.
His expressions today were far richer than usual, which was clearly out of the ordinary.
Wu Youren didn't want to court more trouble, so he said solemnly, "As long as you know, my lord, there's no need to mention it to anyone else."
The amusement in the soldier's eyes deepened. "Are you giving me orders?"
"How would I dare?" Wu Youren shook his head hastily. "I'm not worthy!"
"Then you're negotiating with me," the soldier continued with a smile. "So why should I agree?"
"If you won't agree, then forget it," Wu Youren pondered for a moment and made his decision.
The man clearly intended to set some conditions, but he didn't want to hear them.
Thinking carefully, even if the Intelligence Bureau found out he was on guard against them... was that really such a grave mistake?
Rifts would certainly form, and relations would be tense for a while, but had their relationship ever been good before?
At first, he hadn't wanted others to see his wariness, as such a personality profile would be disadvantageous to his long-term future.
Yet compared to whatever demands the military might make, exposing his true intentions seemed to carry more manageable consequences.
Besides, there might still be room for negotiation.
Having reasoned it out, Wu Youren didn't forget to add, "Mainly, I'm just not used to pre-made meals... er, march rations."
"No need to explain." The soldier shook his head. *You already asked if I trusted the Intelligence Bureau; isn't this purely redundant?*
He pondered briefly before saying, "I can keep it quiet, but you'll have to join the army... There are plenty of benefits."
"Join the army?" Wu Youren was genuinely stunned. "With my status?"
The soldier shook his head and snorted dismissively. "What about your status? Aren't you just the grandson of a lord?"
"And he's already dead, isn't he?"
Because resentment crystals were involved, he had specifically investigated what was up with this Jin hostage.
As a military man, he previously hadn't wanted to get tangled in trouble involving hostages, but finding out was trivial if he truly wanted to ask around.
Calling the grandson of a lord a hostage was practically an insult to the word!
Still, the group of a hundred hostages was real enough, designed to exert strong leverage over Jin's nobility.
A dispensable seventeenth prince alone truly wouldn't have been enough.
*He even dug that up?* Wu Youren was slightly surprised. *Wonder if you found out about my nominal father's death too?*
Pursing his lips, he licked them and said with feigned difficulty, "This might anger Jin, and the Intelligence Bureau won't be pleased either."
"You aren't as important as you think," the soldier stated bluntly. "As long as you join the military, the Intelligence Bureau won't be able to touch you!"
"We can even wipe your records. Only the military has the power to whitewash a hostage's identity—no one else can!"
"You like killing Guizu? We can arrange that too, assigning you to an area with frequent Guizu encounters."
This felt... Wu Youren was completely bewildered. The mighty military was actually inviting a foreign hostage to enlist, and with such enthusiasm?
No matter how wild someone's imagination was, they couldn't have dreamed up such a bizarre move, could they?
*Wait, haven't I seen this episode somewhere before?*
He fell silent for a dozen seconds before answering in a low voice, "Something harmful to friendship between our two nations... I think I'll pass..."
"My lord, I really just want to be an ordinary person."
"Heh." The soldier sneered. He had little patience, and failing to persuade the youth was already making him irritable.
"As long as you still have the status of a hostage... you think you deserve to be an ordinary person?"
"I really don't," Wu Youren replied, unbothered. The man was merely speaking the truth.
He nodded. "But if I enter the military, I'll completely lose control of my own fate. My apologies, my lord."
Putting aside that sense of déjà vu, he harbored deep suspicions about the military's true motives.
And the military's integrity... heh, better not even mention it.
The soldier knight's face darkened inch by inch.
In the end, however, he said stiffly, "I suggest you consider it carefully."
"For someone with your status, once you miss an opportunity like this, there won't be a second chance."
It was evident he was forcibly suppressing his anger, and his final words carried a faint threat.
*Pass on the military's invitation, and he might take out his anger on me—or even intentionally sabotage any other opportunities?* Wu Youren understood loud and clear.
Even so, he simply nodded woodenly. "Understood, I will consider it. Right now, I need to rest up so I can hunt for crystals."
At the word "crystals," the soldier's mouth twitched, and miraculously, his expression softened somewhat.
His voice grew slightly gentler. "All right. Think it over carefully. If you need anything, let me know."
The youth's words reminded him: if he pushed too hard, whether he would receive any crystals at all would be up in the air.
Taking a step back, if he applied more pressure and the youth managed to harvest multiple crystals, would he hand over the high-quality ones or the inferior ones?
Capable people, even relatively weak ones, were best not offended lightly.
Seeing the youth nod and turn toward the cave, he couldn't help asking, "The saber at your waist?"
"Picked it up on the road," Wu Youren answered casually, walking into the cave without looking back.
He had already drawn the man's attention; keeping a proper distance was essential.
The soldier watched him enter, shaking his head only after a long silence before flickering out of sight.
In the night breeze, only a faint, indistinct sigh drifted away.
Two days later, fully recharged, Wu Youren entered the white mist once more.
Three days later, a convoy appeared. Unusually, rather than entering from outside the mountains, it was withdrawing from the valley.
The convoy numbered over a dozen vehicles traveling along the main road. On some of the open-topped trucks, boxes could be seen—urns of ashes.
Liang had no custom of cremation, but in battles against Guizu, whenever conditions permitted, the dead were burned to ashes.
These were all martial artists who had fought Guizu for a long time, and among them was Instructor Keli!
Wu Youren had entered the mountains and didn't receive the news, but everyone from Red Pine knew: their meritorious instructor was back.
Over the following days, several more convoys pulled out in succession, though with fewer, more scattered vehicles.
Two days later, convoys of military vehicles appeared, along with high-end off-road vehicles.
Personnel arrived to coordinate and take over the garrison duties across various sectors.
However, the knight who had been in contact with Wu Youren stated that his squad was very familiar with this area and experienced in handling things here.
If he could earn a bit more merit, he was willing to keep leading his squad to hold the line.
For the military, this was a good thing; blockade duties were different from combat duties.
Troops stationed long-term understood the terrain and various anomalies far better.
They even recognized quite a few of the human martial artists who frequently appeared in the vicinity.
There might be something fishy going on, but the military had no interest in looking into it closely, merely stating that merit wouldn't be increased by much since a major battle was looming.
"Running a blockade here may seem like you get no rest and no rotation, but you won't be sent to the front lines later either."
"If you don't accept that, you can head back to rest and reorganize right now!"
Six days later, Wu Youren finally emerged from the white mist, looking in good spirits.
He had deliberately chosen to emerge at night, never expecting that after just a few steps, the soldier knight appeared.
He looked the youth up and down, then glanced at the medium curved saber. "Back, are you? This saber... you really picked it up?"
Chapter 107