"A brilliant insight, Master!" He Lingchuan cupped his hands. "I have learned much."
"Learned what? It was just idle talk. Hurry up and buy me dinner!"
So he whisked Master Sun off into Yuheng City to settle in and grabbed dinner along the way.
There was a visibly greater bustle in the streets now. Panlong City snacks were everywhere, and there was even fuling jelly.
Though Yuheng City was a frontier outpost, any merchandise brought up from Baisha Bay in the south destined for the kingdoms of Jintao and Xiluo had to pass through here. Handling the meat was bound to leave fat on one's fingers; He Lingchuan once again realized how vital Yuheng City's position was.
If the bandit menace in Longchuan was not stamped out, the southern trade route would face relentless disruption. If merchants refused to come, both Yuheng City and Panlong City would suffer.
That, in all likelihood, was precisely the intention of certain factions.
The small eateries in Yuheng City served their food with rough generosity—gargantuan portions with plenty of vegetables but little meat, plain and unadorned, prized solely for being cheap and filling. Accompanied by a beauty, exchanging soft smiles and quiet murmurs, He Lingchuan felt that even without fine delicacies, this was the life he truly wanted.
Thinking back to the perilous, breath-stealing days in Lingxu City, that time felt like another life entirely.
They lodged at an inn that night.
The inn had only recently been renovated, the contrast between the old and new timbers quite stark. As usual, He Lingchuan escorted her to her door.
Their eyes met.
Even in the dim light, Sun Fuling's gaze remained strikingly bright.
"Is there anything else?"
Everything that needed saying had already been said over dinner. He Lingchuan cleared his throat. "N-No, nothing. You must be tired after a long day. Get some sleep."
Their rooms were right next to each other. Just as he reached out to push open his door, Sun Fuling stepped close, seized him by the shoulders, and spun him back around.
Before he could react, she rose slightly onto her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips.
It was soft and fleeting, like a dragonfly skimming the surface of water.
He Lingchuan instinctively moved to embrace her, but the moment his fingertips twitched, she was already pulling away.
Her retreat was even swifter than her approach.
"I'm very glad you came!" With flushed cheeks, she dropped those abrupt parting words and shoved her door open behind her.
*Creak.*
He Lingchuan was left standing alone in the hallway.
Master Sun's lips were so soft! He stood dazed, his heart hammering several extra beats.
*Heh. Heheheh.*
Sure enough, there was only a reward if one survived.
The scent of timber and lacquer around him seemed to grow stronger. Two other guests came up the stairs and caught sight of him standing in the hallway, grinning foolishly at the closed door.
"Is this guy sick in the head?" What bad luck.
Hearing them, He Lingchuan's expression darkened, and he shot them a glare.
The razor-sharp look struck them with such fright that their whole bodies shuddered, and they scrambled into their room.
He Lingchuan exhaled slowly. Just as he managed to regain his composure, he suddenly realized he had been ambushed once again.
It seemed that whether Master Sun intended to kiss him or stab him, he was equally powerless to dodge.
*Ugh...* He sighed inwardly. *That really makes no sense at all.*
***
Early the next morning, He Lingchuan found Deputy General Chao Qian in the government offices, spinning about like a top from busyness.
Chao Qian was another veteran of the Gale Army. After General Red conquered Yuheng City, he had remained behind to hold the city. Serving previously as Commander Xiao's second-in-command in Yuheng City, he was intimately familiar with the local customs, populace, and civil and military affairs.
The moment the clerk introduced He Lingchuan, Chao Qian straightened his back at once and saluted with solemn respect.
He Lingchuan could tell at a glance that the man's deference came straight from the heart rather than mere formality. He could not help feeling a bit surprised, as he and Chao Qian had never met before.
He did not know that "Broken Saber" had already become a famed hero across Panlong City; not only within the army, but tales of his exploits had begun spreading across the wasteland as well.
"No need for formalities, it's a hassle." He Lingchuan waved a hand with a smile. "What are you busy with?"
"Oh, this is the recruitment roster from recent days." Chao Qian shook the register in his hands and slipped smoothly into a briefing. "Per orders from Panlong City, we are establishing the Yuheng Army. The first contingent finished reorganization two months ago and has begun training, but their numbers are small, so we are currently enlisting a second batch. The initial core and officers are drawn from a portion of the Gale Army and battle-tested Panlong patrol guards, while we recruit new soldiers en masse."
"Are there disturbances from across the river?"
"Yes. Over the past two months, Jintao men have crossed the Yin River illicitly five times to raid, loot, and commit arson in Yuheng City's outlying villages and towns. When we approached the other side to negotiate, Jintao claimed it was the work of rogue civilians and had nothing to do with them."
"Did you catch anyone?"
"Twice. They claimed to be displaced vagrants from Jintao driven across by their own soldiers. However, several were recognized as water bandits from Longchuan." It was a game of shifting blame back and forth. "The Panlong City garrison cannot remain stationed in Yuheng City forever. We must recruit as many men as possible and press ahead with winter drills; otherwise, by late second month, spring plowing will begin."
"How many have been recruited so far?"
"As of yesterday, eleven hundred men: seven hundred Xiluo people, and around four hundred Xiji—er, Changhou people," Chao Qian said. "Oh, right, there are also over a dozen demons who haven't been counted into the tally."
Upon hearing this, He Lingchuan remarked, "That's quite a lot. Were they all volunteers?"
"The applicants outnumbered that figure by more than three to one. Some Xiluo men traveled from remote villages and towns just to sign up, determined to join. We weeded out a great deal, including over three hundred Changhou men who applied of their own accord." Chao Qian smiled. "They all came drawn by the fame of the Gale Army. Since they couldn't get into the Gale Army, they settled for the next best thing."
"Did you screen them according to the standards of the Panlong patrol guards?"
"Yes." The recruitment standards of Panlong City had long been established, receiving only minor adjustments over the years.
"Too high," He Lingchuan said, shaking his head. "Lower them appropriately. In its early stages, the Yuheng Army doesn't need to be as strict as the Panlong Army. Quantity must come before quality."
"Understood." As the commander, He Lingchuan would face no dispute from Chao Qian over his directives.
"How were Yuheng City's original troops handled?"
"Per General Red's orders, they were broken up and distributed among various locations, armies, and units to be reorganized and retrained. Fewer than two hundred were left behind in Yuheng City."
Surrendered troops were typically treated this way to prevent them from banding together to cause trouble. As a result, Yuheng City's current security and stability relied mainly on reinforcements dispatched from Panlong City.
This was not a long-term solution. He Lingchuan had to build the Yuheng Army and get them into practical drills and combat as soon as possible.
They had to grow their own flesh upon their own bones.
"All right, proceed as planned." There were plenty of men below him to do the work; as commander, he only needed to give the orders. "Tell me about the Longchuan bandits. Have you clashed with them?"
While Wen Daolun oversaw the big picture, his understanding of Longchuan could hardly match that of the soldiers who actually hunted the brigands.
"Slippery. On the whole, far cleverer than the bandits on the Panlong Wasteland. They rarely face us head-on; at the slightest sign of trouble, they slip back into Longchuan. That place is a veritable rat's nest!" Chao Qian said. "We disguised ourselves as merchant caravans three times and reeled in two nests of bandits. Ever since then, they've grown even more cautious, never striking unless they're certain of success."
He Lingchuan zeroed in on the key point: "Where does their certainty come from?"
"They have scouts and lookouts in Yuheng City, Baisha Bay, and other hubs. They even have their own people planted inside merchant guilds and caravans."
Chapter 718