Chapter 288: City Guard

Fan Li stood with his hands on his hips.

The Little Sword Attendant sat on his shoulders.

Beneath the moonlight, they stood there for a long time.

Every so often, the Little Sword Attendant lowered her head and looked at the big fool beneath her, catching the trace of tenderness in his eyes.

That tenderness was meant for the city wall.

The walls of Shengle City had finally been completed.

To meet the deadline, several hundred savage slaves had literally been worked to death.

Many people could not understand it.

Even quite a few people inside the city could not understand why they had been in such a hurry.

Savage slaves might not have been worth much, but they could still be sold for money. Even if they were sent to workshops, they could continue being put to use.

Even if one treated savages as livestock, there was no reason to waste livestock like this.

But recently, as report after report arrived from the State of Dacheng, the grumbling gradually disappeared.

The newly established State of Dacheng had not even existed for a year, yet already looked ready to collapse.

If Dacheng truly fell, then Shengle City—sitting close to the Tianduan Mountains and at the easternmost edge of Yan-controlled territory—would unquestionably become one of the savages’ first targets.

A city.

A strong city.

The value it could provide was impossible to underestimate.

The Yan people might be famous throughout the realm for the strength of their iron cavalry, but under Shengle City’s jurisdiction, actual Yan natives were only a small minority.

And with a city at their backs, the initiative over grain transport, military supplies, troop rest, and strategic maneuvering would truly remain in their own hands.

Taking ten thousand steps back, even if one considered only the city’s ability to stabilize morale and restrain the nearby Jin magnates, its importance could not be ignored.

Quite a few nearby fortified-estate lords and local magnates had recently taken the initiative to send their women and children into Shengle City to settle.

They knew their own situation better than anyone.

Their fortified estates and stockades were more than enough to stop bandits and roving outlaws.

But if a savage army came, they would not even be worth looking at.

At the same time, things were very different from the earlier war between the Wenren Clan, the Helian Clan, and the State of Yan.

Back then, the fortified-estate lords and local magnates had still possessed the relaxed mentality of fence-sitters.

Truthfully, they had not been all that frightened.

At worst, one king’s banner would be replaced by another atop the city wall.

The court would change.

But locally, they would still be the ones calling the shots.

They had not believed the Yan people would raise the butcher’s knife.

And the Yan people truly had not.

They had merely exterminated the Wenren and Helian clans specifically, using the destruction of those two houses to vent their fury over the clans’ unauthorized attack on Yan.

This time was different.

If the savages came, how would they treat them?

The conflict between Yan and Jin had been a contest between states, a clash between two political powers.

The conflict with the savages was a slaughter between different peoples.

Especially around Shengle City, where the savage-slave trade had flourished wildly for more than a century.

Whose hands here were not stained with savage blood debts?

Precisely because they knew exactly how they themselves had treated the savages, none of them harbored any fantasies that the savages would somehow “treat them kindly” in return.

And the reports coming from Dacheng had already confirmed as much.

The savages’ brutality and viciousness were indeed terrifying.

So regardless of what broader impact the savage uprising might have on the politics of the State of Yan, for Shengle City, at least, it had already produced one positive effect: internal contradictions were breaking down, and control over the local powers was strengthening.

These days, Feng Siniang slept only two hours a day.

Every day was spent reviewing documents and handling endless regulations.

At the same time, she had to personally receive the visiting fortified-estate lords and magnates.

Those who needed promises received promises.

Those who needed beating down received a beating.

Before Feng Siniang, these magnates and fortified-estate lords were like the brothel madams she had once managed under her kneaded, divided, sorted, and arranged by her again and again.

Everything remained more or less orderly.

Liang Cheng concerned himself only with training troops.

And because many sons of local fortified estates had recently come to defend their homes—either volunteering themselves or being sent by their elders—Shengle City had absorbed another wave of recruits.

Liang Cheng had to organize all of them.

He was far too busy to split himself in two.

The Blind Man, who normally could have taken some of the work from Feng Siniang’s shoulders, still had not returned.

Xue San and Fan Li each had their own assignments.

One had gone to the smithies to oversee the forging of weapons and armor.

The other had been responsible for building the city.

So Feng Siniang had no choice but to shoulder everything herself.

Fortunately, Master was not at home.

With no daily needlework to worry about, she could just barely endure the workload.

The moonlight was gentle.

Fan Li reached out and stroked the bricks of the city wall, like an artist admiring a work he had only just completed.

“Hey, big fool. The city’s pretty good, sure, but compared with the truly great cities beneath Heaven, it’s still a long way off.

“Have a little ambition, will you?

“Wait until you build something on the level of Shangjing someday, then you can grin like this.”

The Little Sword Attendant spoke with the air of someone who had seen the world.

And to a certain extent, she had.

She had once traveled north and south with Yuan Zhenxing.

She had suffered no small amount along the way, but she had indeed visited many places.

Fan Li shook his head.

He said nothing.

Most of the time, unless someone directly asked him a question that absolutely demanded a “yes” or “no,” Fan Li would probably choose silence.

Of course, there were exceptions.

Sometimes Fan Li would suddenly blurt out a sentence.

But whenever he did, that sentence was almost guaranteed to make you furious.

The Little Sword Attendant patted Fan Li on the head, then slid down from his broad shoulder.

She drew her little wooden sword and began practicing.

Fan Li had once dealt her a severe blow to her confidence when it came to swordsmanship.

But her mentality was strong enough that neither her enthusiasm nor her initiative toward practicing the sword had diminished.

Fan Li continued admiring the city wall.

The Little Sword Attendant practiced by herself.

One large.

One small.

Beneath the cover of night, the two formed a strangely harmonious picture.

“Hm?”

A soft sound of surprise drifted over.

Fan Li turned his head.

Then he walked in front of the Little Sword Attendant and looked ahead.

A middle-aged man had stepped out before them.

The man completely ignored Fan Li’s enormous bulk.

His gaze remained fixed on the Little Sword Attendant.

“Come on.

“Show Uncle a couple more moves.”

“Don’t scare the child.”

The Blind Man’s voice came from behind him.

Fan Li took two steps back.

Since this was someone the Blind Man had brought home, he lowered his guard.

The Little Sword Attendant looked curiously at the Sword Saint.

The Sword Saint looked just as curiously at her.

At the same time, he asked the Blind Man, “You said there was a gift waiting for me in this city.

“Is this it?”

The Little Sword Attendant glared angrily at the Blind Man.

The Blind Man, naturally, was completely immune to all visual threats.

“Do you like it?” the Blind Man asked.

The Sword Saint nodded.

“Very much.”

The conversation between the two men sounded disturbingly like some immoral, shameless, underhanded transaction.

The whole thing radiated a nauseating air.

“She’s only practicing forms, yet she can already bring out sword rhythm.

“Remarkable.

“Truly remarkable.

“Even when my master chose me as a child, I doubt my aptitude was as good as hers is now.”

A natural sword embryo.

For a great master of the sword, how could he possibly not like her?

An emperor wanted to pass down his realm.

A noble wanted to pass down his wealth and honor.

And a great figure of the jianghu wanted to pass down his skills and mantle.

How could the Little Sword Attendant fail to understand the meaning behind their words?

She was clever.

And precisely because she understood, she became furious.

In these people’s eyes, was she ultimately nothing more than a fairly high-quality gift?

“I already have a master!

“My master’s name is Yuan Zhenxing!”

“Yuan Zhenxing?”

The Sword Saint rubbed his chin.

“Sounds vaguely familiar.”

“My master was the second-best sword in the State of Qian!”

“Oh.

“Him.”

The Sword Saint remembered.

A trace of regret appeared on his face.

If she already had a master, then things became troublesome.

Even though, in the Sword Saint’s eyes, that particular master was hardly worth much.

The Blind Man added the finishing blow.

“Yuan Zhenxing is already dead.”

“That works.”

The Sword Saint was very satisfied.

The master was dead.

That meant the treasure had no owner.

The Little Sword Attendant tightened her grip around her wooden sword.

She no longer resisted or refused.

Instead, she said, “I can acknowledge you as my master.

“But you...”

A faint smile appeared at the corner of the Blind Man’s mouth.

But the words that followed surprised even him somewhat.

“But you have to stay in this city!”

The Sword Saint’s mouth opened slightly.

Then he chuckled twice.

Looking toward the Blind Man beside him, he said, “If you had not been in front of me this entire journey, I would almost suspect you arranged this in advance.

“Looks like Shengle truly has something of a land blessed with outstanding people.

“Even the gifts know how to speak on behalf of their original owners.”

“You flatter us, Lord Sword Saint.”

“Hahahaha.”

The Sword Saint laughed loudly.

He reached out and rubbed the Little Sword Attendant’s head.

“Listen.

“From now on, you do not need to study the sword of some ‘second-best sword in Qian.’

“Follow me.

“Learn the number-one sword of the age.”

The Little Sword Attendant drew a deep breath.

Then she dropped the wooden sword from her hand.

She knelt before the Sword Saint and said, “Disciple greets Second Master!”

“Hm?

“How did I become Second Master?”

“Yuan Zhenxing is my First Master.”

“But he is already dead.”

“He still taught me.

“He traveled with me.

“He raised me.”

“Heh.

“You want me to sit beneath Yuan Zhenxing?”

“Yes.”

“You think I would agree to that?”

“This is Disciple’s bottom line.”

“Then do you know my bottom line?

“Even that Hundred-Li Sword from the State of Qian has never truly entered my eyes.”

“Please grant this.”

“And if I refuse, you won’t learn the sword from me?”

“Yes.”

“If Yuan Zhenxing knew you were being this stubborn and throwing away such an opportunity, what do you think he would say?”

“If my master knew he got to sit above Lord Sword Saint, he might laugh himself awake inside his coffin.”

“Cough...”

The Sword Saint coughed.

“Come see me tomorrow.

“I’ll instruct you.”

“Many thanks, Second Master.

“Many thanks, Master.”

“Why thank me twice?”

“Reporting to Master: the first thanks confirms that you are my Second Master.

“But from now on, I’ll simply call you Master.

“If I’m going to learn your skills, I can’t spend every day calling you Second Master this and Second Master that just to make you uncomfortable.”

“Most people who practice the sword have rather solitary temperaments.

“That Baili Sword fellow is like that.

“Li Liangshen is like that.

“The one from Chu is even worse.

“Even I am somewhat the same.

“And yet you, little imp, somehow grew yourself a mouth that knows how to speak.”

“Many thanks for Master’s praise.”

“All right, all right.

“Then it’s settled.”

The Blind Man stepped forward.

“In that case, shall I arrange a formal disciple-acceptance ceremony tomorrow?”

The Sword Saint looked at the Blind Man curiously.

“You have nothing better to do?”

Now that they had already reached Shengle City, the Sword Saint assumed the Blind Man should have countless matters waiting for him.

“What could I possibly be doing that matters more than the biggest thing right in front of me?”

“Heh.

“No need for a ceremony.

“She already had a First Master.

“And I’m a man of a fallen state.

“What would be the point of putting on some grand spectacle?

“It would only invite ridicule.”

“Other people laughing is their business.

“We only need to live our own lives.

“We are not living them on behalf of outsiders.

“Now that you have come to Shengle, we should at least extend proper hospitality as hosts.”

“No.

“No.

“However many favors you accept from others, you eventually have to repay.

“I will not accept your benefits.

“I am only responsible for waiting here—waiting for the savages to come.”

“Then at the very least, we should arrange an official post for you.

“An official post determines your rations and treatment.

“We do not need to announce it publicly.

“It is simply that everything in Shengle City is currently being allocated according to wartime regulations, including grain and supplies, so...”

“Do not think I cannot tell what schemes are running through that blind head of yours.”

“You are wise, naturally. Nothing escapes you.”

“Fine.

“You want me to hold an official post under you?

“I can agree to that.

“This is the east gate, yes?

“As long as you people recover Longyuan for me, what would it matter if I became nothing more than a city guard at your east gate?”

[End of Chapter 288]