In Debt

Most of the apprentice knights were assigned various duties. Twice, Wu Youren was nearly drafted to the front line, but Instructor Hong intervened both times. Hong Yan claimed that this student was skilled in construction and that sending him to the battlefield would be a waste. Her true concern was that if a hostage from Jin were treated as ordinary cannon fodder and suffered an untimely mishap, she would have no way to explain it. Whether the youth revealed his martial skills or kept a low profile and suffered casualties, either outcome could trigger significant unpredictability. Wu Youren took the opportunity to digest a batch of experience points. Yet to his amusement and exasperation, there was truly no shortage of experience points on the front line; no sooner did he finish absorbing them than new ones replenished his reserves. It was almost like... the heavens were chasing after him, practically force-feeding him! Fortunately, as the battle line pushed forward, the incoming experience points gradually tapered off. Otherwise, he would have had to seriously consider how to suppress his impending breakthrough. On this day, three more vehicles arrived. They belonged neither to the military nor to the martial academy, but the knight leading them possessed an imposing aura. He took out a portrait and asked everyone to identify whether they had seen the person. Wu Youren showed no reaction on his face, but inwardly he sighed: what was bound to come had finally arrived! The man in the portrait was none other than the knight who had barged into the cave that rainy night, the one whose life signs Wu Youren had tested with multiple daggers afterward. In short, the very fellow he had finished off. Wu Youren remained silent, and no one else was about to go looking for trouble—this group clearly wasn't to be trifled with, so why stick one's neck out? Even the military, which rarely minced words, gave a clear and definite reply: "Don't know him, haven't seen him." Unwilling to let the matter rest, the group organized people to head to Suotu Town while continuing their investigation on the ground. In the process, they also investigated Wu Youren, as he had been in the vicinity when the knight went missing. Soon, however, suspicion was largely cleared from him—the missing person was a full knight, accompanied by apprentice knights. A lone apprentice knight facing such a group could never have disposed of them without making a sound, much less emerged without a scratch. Instead, a lone grand knight took an interest in this information. "What exactly happened? Care to tell me?" "None of your business," the responding knight replied, bizarrely showing no deference even to a grand knight. Strictly speaking, an isolated grand knight wasn't truly terrifying. With proper coordination, it wasn't all that rare for knights to ambush and kill a grand knight. Still, saying so to his face was undeniably offensive. The grand knight grew irritated. "I was just wondering whose knights put on such grand airs... oh, forget it." He hailed from the Eastern Frontier. The eastern region of Great Liang was a bitterly cold and harsh land, tasked with suppressing the barbarian tribes along the borders. Martial artists from Eastern Liang were not only fierce, but because of their long-term exploitation of the barbarians, their equipment was also top-notch. They truly didn't think much of martial artists from Tianjing. Yet the moment he saw the token the man flashed, his temper evaporated instantly. As he turned to leave, unable to conceal his frustration, he swung a leg to kick an apprentice knight. "Get lost, don't block the way!" As luck would have it, the person pivoted and just barely dodged the kick. "You fucking dare dodge—" The Eastern Liang grand knight flared with rage, but then he paused slightly, taken aback. "Huh?" Catching sight of the youth's profile, he forced his fury down. "Who are you?" Wu Youren couldn't be bothered with him and quickened his pace to leave. Meek as a lamb before wolves, vicious as a wolf before sheep—why waste time on someone like that? The grand knight's brow furrowed, and just as he was about to unleash his temper, a raspy voice drifted over: "What, looking to run wild at Red Pine?" "Red Pine?" The man gave a scornful laugh. "Nothing more than a place nestled under Tianjing's skirts. Do you dare take a stroll in the Eastern Frontier?" "Keep your uncivilized air where it belongs," a figure flashed as Instructor Hong arrived. "Tianjing is the premier city of Liang." "Compared to Jin, Great Liang is uncivilized too," the grand knight continued to sneer. "Yet hasn't Jin been left completely at our mercy, ripe for the taking?" "What a wonderful analogy you've chosen," that raspy voice wavered slightly, as if on the verge of cracking. "That youth..." The grand knight looked at the receding figure in the misty rain. "Mhm, very handsome!" The corner of Instructor Hong's mouth twitched. "I suggest you look for someone else to target!" She knew all too well how desolate, feral, and depraved the Eastern Frontier was. Never mind a woman with a hint of beauty—even livestock that looked slightly appealing could hardly escape the clutches of those barbarians. A handsome youth... would be ideal, especially an apprentice knight who could endure longer torment. In the end, they might even violate him first and cook him up later—truly letting nothing go to waste. She had no interest in interfering with such bizarre appetites, not even interspecies fraternization, so long as it remained far from her. However, a hostage from Jin... definitely not. That would turn into an international scandal. "What are you thinking?" The grand knight glared at her in annoyance. "Have you ever thought about having him marry a princess?" "Yongning?" Instructor Hong laughed contemptuously. "Do you think it's your turn to present handsome youths?" Yongning's search for a consort had reached all the way to Hostage Manor—who in Great Liang didn't know? "Not just Yongning," the grand knight said solemnly. "More than one princess is getting married this year!" "Just like fruit trees having on-years and off-years, this year is... a bumper year for marrying off princesses!" "Holy crap..." In the distance, Wu Youren stumbled over his own feet, nearly tripping. *A bumper year for marrying princesses?* Instructor Hong couldn't help rolling her eyes. "He is a student of Red Pine. Do you think Red Pine can't arrange a princess marriage?" "I'll buy this boy," the grand knight said in earnest. "Five hundred silver dollars!" "Get lost!" Instructor Hong replied without hesitation. "I already told you, he's a student of my Red Pine!" Back in Hostage Manor, eighteen silver dollars were deducted from Wu Youren each month. Thirty months amounted to 540 silver dollars. And he had stayed in Hostage Manor for about eight years, which was easily ninety months. In fact, Red Pine's tuition was steep; five hundred silver dollars wouldn't even cover the basic fees. "A thousand," the grand knight immediately doubled the offer. The only response he received was a glare from Instructor Hong Yan. The man felt rather chagrined and shook his head, muttering under his breath, "That youth's agility... what kind of eyes do you people have?" Hearing this from afar, Wu Youren grew secretly anxious: *There are simply too many sharp-eyed people here.* Thus, the next day, he submitted a request to Instructor Hong to return to the Martial Academy; he had been out for quite a while now. Instructor Hong glanced at the saber and sword strapped to the boy's back, a peculiar expression crossing her face as she asked, "Sixty percent of your haul goes to me?" "Huh?" Wu Youren was taken aback. "You even know about that?" Back then, he had used that excuse to ward off exploitation by the Life-and-Death Knot. Having his family allowance docked had long since become routine, but he truly didn't want the money he earned through his own efforts to be extorted as well. "What do you think?" The raspy voice let out a soft snort. "Do you think my name is that easy to invoke?" How the Life-and-Death Knot dealt with others was none of her concern, but the matter of the Jin hostages fell under her liaison purview. "Then... I'll have to return to the Martial Academy before I can cash it in," Wu Youren hesitated for only a fraction of a second before making up his mind. This protection fee—he would pay it! His trust in Instructor Hong even surpassed that of his fellow hostages with whom he had lived for eight years. Whatever her motivations might be, whenever he ran into trouble, she truly stepped in to protect him. Though they were relatively small matters, having someone backing him up genuinely felt different. Just like yesterday: if Instructor Hong hadn't spoken up, that grand knight might really have seized him to go marry a princess. Meanwhile, the Hostage Manor guards and the Life-and-Death Knot people felt entitled to the protection fees they collected; as long as they didn't actively pick on him, they considered it an act of charity. So sixty percent it was. For this level of protection, he truly didn't mind paying. Crucially, he had already found his bearing regarding future cultivation, so the financial pressure didn't feel as overwhelming anymore. "Hand over three thousand silver dollars when you get back," Instructor Hong said placidly, "regardless of how much you gained this time." "I'm not hurting for that bit of money, but my name isn't something you can just borrow for free." "Understood." Wu Youren nodded cleanly. Aside from being somewhat expensive, he found her demand entirely reasonable. How could the banner of a grand knight be invoked so casually? Had it been the Life-and-Death Knot crowd, on top of paying up, he would have taken a beating! "Consider it a small lesson!" The raspy voice snorted again. "My warrant... hand it over!" Seeing him retrieve the warrant from close to his chest, Instructor Hong nodded in satisfaction and took it back. Then she produced a new warrant and dashed off a few strokes of her pen. Handing the new warrant to the youth, she said, "This one has a longer term, but you'd better be clear on what you can and cannot do!" The warrant she had confiscated was valid for three months; this time, she had granted him six months directly. Regardless of whether it was because she had three thousand coming in, her attitude alone made Wu Youren feel the money was well spent. Taking the warrant, he said with genuine sincerity, "Thank you, Hong Da. I will definitely use it with caution!" "Off you go," Instructor Hong waved a hand, speaking without expression. "Just don't make me regret issuing it to you." As an instructor at the Martial Academy, she harbored a certain appreciation for talent. Even so, she hoped this youth wouldn't grow too quickly. If circumstances ever forced her hand against him, ending his life... She shook her head. *What in the world am I worrying about?* With saber and sword at his side, Wu Youren departed. His first destination was once again Red Pine's outer quarantine station. Unsurprisingly, the knight-grade saber and sword he carried drew repeated questioning. After all, the battlefield was currently chaotic; what could an apprentice knight have done to acquire such weapons—and weapons that were already lightly used, at that? However, once they verified that he had been assigned to mountain patrol duty, they pressed no further. As the war dragged on, crowds flowed in and out of the quarantine station for processing, screening, medical treatment, and more... an utter chaotic mess. Unforeseen incidents were numerous as well. Under such conditions, no one paid any attention to his status as a hostage. Two days later, Wu Youren heard that Cynthia, who had been on mountain patrol with him, had returned to the Martial Academy to recuperate after completing her three-day quarantine. There was another piece of news: Naimu'er had lost contact entirely, almost certainly dead. Life and death were unpredictable; such was war...