Wu Youren was very satisfied with this outcome: four jars of liquor in exchange for the legitimate right to farm.
So he gave another two jars of liquor to the administrator for free, indicating that future liquor could only be sold—mostly because it was hard to come by.
Crucially, he quoted an extremely low price, so low that it seemed he was selling at a loss.
The administrator didn't take his liquor for nothing either, turning around to send over some vegetable seedlings; courtesy demanded reciprocity.
When the youth expanded the vegetable patch to about a hundred square meters, the man simply turned a blind eye... each was getting what they needed.
Wu Youren had expanded the plot both to test the man's temperament and to show that his currying of favor had a purpose.
Otherwise, gifting six whole jars of liquor would have felt a bit too ulterior.
He had little farming experience, but his knack wasn't bad. In the blink of an eye, the entire vegetable patch was lush and green, bursting with vitality.
The man from the Life-and-Death Knot paid another visit. "A fine apprentice knight, actually farming—are you trying to make an explicit show of giving up on yourself?"
Wu Youren answered in all seriousness, "It can sell for money!"
"Bah!" Caught between laughter and tears, the man spat and turned to leave. On such a tiny scrap of land, how much money could whatever vegetables he grew possibly fetch?
Still, from his perspective, though the kid wouldn't listen to reason and couldn't be won over for now, he didn't seem to harbor any grand ambitions either.
The income from farming wasn't high, yet the energy demanded was by no means small.
Tending such a small plot required every bit of the same care; compared to farming a larger one, it wouldn't save much effort at all.
Two days later, Grand Knight Hong Yan unexpectedly arrived. After that rainy night, Wu Youren had not seen her again.
Instructor Hong had received a report alleging that a martial artist was neglecting proper pursuits and farming inside the academy.
For an esteemed grand knight, such a trivial matter was beneath her attention; someone had likely reported it to her knowing she held a grudge against the people of Jin.
Hong Yan hadn't intended to deal with it either, but upon seeing that the one farming was a new arrival and from Jin, checking the registration date jogged her memory.
Then she grew a bit curious: a hostage from Jin... growing vegetables?
When she arrived and saw Wu Youren, she finally matched the face to the name. Truly, being handsome was a gift from the heavens.
"You're the one farming?" She was somewhat astonished. "Giving up on yourself like this?"
Even their verdicts... were so uniformly aligned? Wu Youren put on an apologetic smile and replied, "I'm under the protection of the Life-and-Death Knot right now, and I'm short on cash."
Since she already knew his identity, he wasn't afraid to speak the truth, confident that Instructor Hong would understand.
"The Life-and-Death Knot..." Hong Yan muttered, then gave a snort. "How much money can you make off this scrap of land?"
"Better than nothing," Wu Youren answered cautiously. "I often wake up hungry in the middle of the night... and it beautifies the surroundings too."
Instructor Hong found this fellow rather interesting; he seemed faintly inclined to drive a wedge between the academy and the guards, though it wasn't yet overt.
Still, for a proper hostage to lower himself to grow vegetables was truly rare.
In the end, handsome looks rarely provoked distaste in women.
She gave a slight nod. "Since you like farming, I'll get you a large plot. You can just focus on planting."
She sensed that what he was doing might not be as simple as it appeared on the surface.
In that case, better to put him under her own nose and see what actually transpired.
For her, procuring a plot of land in the academy to grow vegetables couldn't be easier... Go on, how many tens of thousands of square meters do you want?
Yet that was the last thing Wu Youren wanted. He shook his head hastily. "Thank you, Instructor Hong, but I still want to push for knight as soon as possible."
"So you do know you're neglecting your proper pursuits?" Instructor Hong found the fellow increasingly suspicious. "No, objection denied!"
The administrator had already hurried over upon hearing the news; hearing this exchange, he could only tremble in fear.
The two jars of liquor each month... Forget it, no time to think about that now—how did this young master know this god of slaughter?
"I also want to find time to kill Guizu," Wu Youren blurted out in desperation. How could he dare loiter under this she-devil's nose?
"Helping Instructor Hong tend the fields isn't out of the question, but when you go kill Guizu, could you take me along?"
"Kill Guizu?" Hong Yan cast him a thoughtful glance. "Why?"
"I don't have much interest in sparring with martial artists in the academy," Wu Youren answered solemnly. "I want to grow through the process of killing Guizu."
Taken literally, that meant... he hated combat between humans.
Such a mentality was not unusual among hostages; many wished that the war between Jin and Liang had never happened.
Still, she felt something was off... A grand knight's perception was truly not to be trifled with.
Instructor Hong pondered for a moment before speaking. "If you want to kill Guizu, you shouldn't have come to Red Pine. You should have gone to a lower martial academy."
Red Pine Martial Academy was in the capital's environs, whereas lower martial academies were scattered across all of Great Liang.
Wu Youren could only smile wryly, unable to utter a word—had she forgotten who he was?
Fortunately, Hong Yan also realized the issue and moved straight to the next topic. "Do you have any concrete plans?"
Hearing this, Wu Youren steeled his resolve. "Could I borrow your motorcycle?"
If she was willing to grant a massive plot of land, a mere motorcycle ought to be a small matter, right?
He genuinely didn't want to stay too close to her... Her entire family had died at the hands of Jin people; the mere thought made his head ache.
Sometimes being too handsome wasn't necessarily a blessing. Alas, beauty has suffered a harsh fate since ancient times.
"What are you saying?" The administrator panicked at his words. "Instructor Hong's motorcycle—do you have any idea how much it's worth?"
"At least thirty thousand... thirty thousand silver dollars!"
That was a thousand times the monthly pay of a hostage guard at Hostage Manor! And those were guards in the Tianjing region!
Fifteen hundred times my monthly allowance! Wu Youren was stunned. "That expensive?"
"At least!" the administrator emphasized. "It can charge through Guizu battle lines! Do you understand?"
Yet that was merely one month of the Seventeenth Prince's expenses! Wu Youren nodded. "Understood. Poverty has limited my imagination."
"It had a few modifications, nothing expensive," Instructor Hong said offhandedly. "Given your background, it shouldn't be beyond your comprehension."
"Shouldn't be?" The administrator's eyes went wide as saucers... No wonder the kid hadn't felt the slightest pang parting with several jars of strong liquor!
Instructor Hong continued, "I wouldn't mind lending it to you. How do you intend to use it?"
What long legs... no, what a thick thigh to cling to. Wu Youren glanced at the stern instructor and suddenly found even the scar at the corner of her mouth far more pleasing to the eye.
He answered without hesitation, "I just want to try my luck and see if I run into them again."
He couldn't speak openly about the rainy night, but he trusted she would make the connection.
"Practically impossible," Instructor Hong said, shaking her head briskly. "I thought you had other information."
She was visibly losing interest. "To borrow my bike, you have to offer something in return, don't you?"
Wu Youren replied candidly, "You know a bit about my situation. All I can promise is that I'm going to kill Guizu."
If he truly had a target, discussing a price wouldn't be out of the question, but right now, not even the first stroke of a character had been written; he couldn't afford to court disaster.
"Then I can't lend it to you," Instructor Hong stated bluntly. Then she asked, "Do you even know how to ride a motorcycle?"
A motorcycle in this world... Wu Youren hesitated, then replied, "I can learn."
Martial artists placed great emphasis on physical coordination and reaction speed; with the cultivation of an apprentice knight, learning to ride a motorcycle shouldn't be difficult.
The trouble was that he had entered Hostage Manor before turning eight and had never had contact with motorcycles at all; the guards had them, but he couldn't get near them.
"You can't learn it," Instructor Hong answered bluntly. "My motorcycle cannot be ridden by anyone below grand knight."
Then why the hell did you ask! Wu Youren nodded calmly. "It was presumptuous of me. Please forgive my offense, Instructor."
Recalling how she had tried to force him into farming, he felt like he had outsmarted himself.
At this point, he could only bite the bullet and ask, "Instructor Hong, may I... go on foot?"
From Red Pine to the Rust Belt was only an hour's ride by minibus.
The real issue was the sheer span of the Rust Belt; an hour's drive probably wouldn't even cross it.
The roads weren't particularly good either. On that rainy night, the minibus had probably traveled around sixty kilometers per hour.
Wu Youren estimated that with his cultivation and stamina, he should be able to cover the distance in four hours while still maintaining some combat effectiveness.
The biggest problem now was that this academy... was not easy to leave!
Ordinary martial artists had their identities verified whenever entering or leaving the academy, to say nothing of a hostage like him.
"You, going there?" Instructor Hong murmured thoughtfully. She was well aware of how sensitive his identity was.
Yet she did not hesitate for long before nodding decisively. "I can support it. Just remember to keep your communications open."
It wasn't that she had much trust in a Jin person, but rather that she had developed a touch of curiosity about this youth.
Martial artists whose sole focus was killing Guizu were few; most did it to make serious money.
Naturally, her interest was only that slight—like seeing a little sprout poke out of the soil by her doorstep and casually splashing a bit of water on it.
Whatever the sprout might grow into, she had no great expectations; if it grew, fine, and if it withered and died, that was fine too.
As for the hostage fleeing? She could easily bear that level of responsibility—he was merely an attendant, after all.
In her view, anyone with half a brain wouldn't be so foolish.
A hostage who was merely an apprentice knight trying to flee Liang? Even if he could somehow manage it, he would probably be carried back horizontal, hard-pressed to leave an intact corpse behind.
If it truly became hard to explain, she wouldn't mind making a trip to Jin to drag a few more hostages back.
Upon hearing this, Wu Youren's eyes lit up, and he nodded frantically. "Rest assured, I will definitely keep communications open."
"Hm?" Hearing this, Hong Yan looked at him again. "You really don't want a plot of land?"
She acted very whimsically; just a moment ago she had forbidden him to refuse, yet the instant she found something more interesting, she changed her mind immediately.
Mainly, it was because the whole matter was simply too trivial.
Wu Youren hesitated, then nodded. "Yes. Tending a massive plot would take up too much time from cultivation."
"Boring." Instructor Hong turned to leave. "I'll have someone send a pass over later."
With his status, he wasn't qualified to seek an audience with her in person!
After walking some distance away, a question suddenly occurred to her: "Wait, can the little fellow even kill Guizu?"
Forget it, no point thinking about it; it was hardly worth a second thought anyway.
At the same time, the administrator was asking the youth the exact same question. "You're only an apprentice knight, aren't you?"
Wu Youren didn't have much confidence either. "If I can't beat them, I'll try running away. But without going to see for myself, I just won't be able to let it rest."
Living as a hostage in a foreign land, one had to find ways to save oneself.
Chapter 18