Chapter 373: The Wind Calms

“Girl, so this is Snow Sea Pass? It really is enormous.”

The old woman sat on an ox cart, gripping her daughter-in-law’s hand as she marveled at the sight.

The walls of Shengle City had already seemed like works of Heaven to her.

But Snow Sea Pass tsk, tsk.

Its walls actually joined the mountains on either side.

Just looking at them was frightening.

Liu Dahu, sitting on the same ox cart, immediately shouted:

“Of course, Grandma! Teacher said General Zheng relied on this very city back then. A hundred thousand savages attacked outside for an entire month, and he was too lazy even to blink!”

Children spoke without much regard for logic.

Even Liu Dahu himself probably did not know whether he was praising the terrifying height of Snow Sea Pass’s walls or the greatness of his family’s General Zheng.

Although His Majesty had already enfeoffed Zheng Fan as **Count Pingye**, the people of Shengle still habitually called him “General Zheng.”

Partly because they had grown used to it.

And partly because calling him that made them sound like veterans who had been following Count Zheng since long before he became a noble.

The old woman nodded repeatedly.

“Exactly. With walls this high, how could the savages possibly climb them?”

The woman had bought the ox cart with her own money.

With an old woman and a child in the family, walking such an enormous distance on foot simply was not realistic.

So she had gritted her teeth and taken part of the silver she had saved while working in the workshops to buy the cart.

The driver was a dull, taciturn man who had volunteered himself.

He said he also intended to travel to Snow Sea Pass, so he might as well drive them along the way.

There was no need to pay him.

He handled his own food too.

Occasionally, when the family invited him to share their dry rations, he never refused.

But before and after eating, he always thanked them several times.

Once the migrants arrived beneath Snow Sea Pass, they began to be divided and assigned.

Snow Sea Pass was enormous, and the inner city could naturally hold a substantial population.

But it was impossible to move every civilian inside the walls.

First priority went to military families.

After that came large households.

Then, it depended upon what you were willing to contribute.

“Contribution,” in this context, meant paying money to purchase a residential plot inside the city.

After all, every parcel of land inside Snow Sea Pass belonged to Count Zheng now.

He could sell it however he pleased.

At the same time, half of the city plots had to be reserved.

Once Snow Sea Pass developed and property values rose those plots could be sold later at a higher price.

Anyone who did not fit the earlier conditions would be settled in the designated areas outside the city.

There were empty villages.

Abandoned houses.

Once registered, families could move in.

Naturally, the assigned space would not be especially large.

The arrangement somewhat resembled the old Beijing courtyard houses of later generations, with several families sharing one compound.

Another option existed as well.

The General’s Residence could build a house for you.

But then you owed tax.

Each year, the household would repay the cost through either tax silver or compulsory labor.

For the moment the repayment period was set at thirty years.

The policy did not provoke much resistance or complaint.

Most people could accept it.

That was largely because of the age they lived in.

These commoners already had to pay taxes.

They were already liable to be conscripted into unpaid corvée labor.

Those were obligations everyone considered normal and customary.

In the past, you paid taxes and performed labor merely because you had to.

Now someone was giving you a house in return.

What exactly was there to complain about?

Of course, there was also a large group of people who had originally been lured here with promises of silver.

Those people were easy to handle too.

No silver?

Fine.

Give them land.

At the same time, to prevent land annexation, farmland was forbidden from being bought or sold.

Either settle here and cultivate it or turn around and walk all the way back where you came from.

Anyone willing to follow the column such a great distance was an ordinary commoner.

And usually one who had not been doing particularly well.

Forcing such people to spend several months walking back and forth without gaining anything would be almost the same as forcing them to starve.

So most accepted the General’s Residence’s arrangements and began registering their households.

Naturally, there were always a few hard cases who insisted on raising objections.

The objections were not resolved.

But the people raising them were immediately shot dead by patrolling cavalrymen nearby.

Afterward, the objections no longer existed.

On this matter, the General’s Residence acted with terrifying decisiveness.

There was no interest whatsoever in endless argument.

After all the blades and spears were in their hands.

The troops listened only to them.

How much trouble could anyone really cause?

Military families were all being moved inside Snow Sea Pass itself.

Why?

Was that not precisely one of the benefits of being attached to the army?

In short, as the migrants entered, the extensive preparations made beforehand and the detailed planning already in place allowed the work to proceed in an orderly fashion.

“Madam Wu of the Yu Household!

“One residence, Jia Ward, North Residence Street!”

A military clerk called the assignment from the household register.

Military families were easy to count.

Their housing had been arranged well in advance.

Once they arrived, they could move in immediately.

But when this particular assignment was called out, not only did many nearby military families freeze even the clerk himself and the armored soldiers maintaining order stared in surprise.

North Residence Street was the street running along Snow Sea Pass’s northern wall.

The General’s Residence or, more accurately now, the **Count Pingye Residence** was already under construction there.

Jia Ward was the residential ward closest to the Count’s Residence.

And Residence One stood practically against its wall.

In the language of later generations: lighting did not matter.

Transportation did not matter.

If you lived directly beside the Forbidden City itself what kind of experience was that?

The woman called “Madam Wu of the Yu Household” froze as well.

She did not know whether the location assigned to her family was good or bad.

What surprised her was the form of address.

Her maiden surname was Wu.

Her late husband’s surname had been Liu.

By the usual convention, she should have been called **Madam Liu-Wu**.

While she worked in the workshops, however, the people above had preferred more direct forms of address, and the workers below gradually followed the habit. Her foreman usually called her “Little Wu.”

But the surname **Yu** clearly meant the military-family register had directly entered her as **Yu Huaping’s wife**.

The sensation was rather like a couple not yet having held the wedding, with neither bride-price nor dowry prepared only for the government to go ahead and issue the marriage certificate first.

Regret?

Naturally, she had no intention of regretting anything.

If anything, the woman felt delighted by the title.

A faint happiness rose inside her.

Being formally acknowledged like this felt wonderful.

The old woman pursed her lips.

Clearly, she was not yet accustomed to hearing her daughter-in-law addressed under another man’s surname.

Instinctively, it made her uncomfortable.

But when she looked at her daughter-in-law’s face a helpless smile appeared on her own.

The old Liu family did not possess that blessing.

But they could hardly delay the rest of the woman’s life because of it.

The military clerk calling names immediately stood.

His posture was no longer as calm and businesslike as before.

*Damn it.*

*Which military lord’s family is this?*

*How the hell did they come here sitting on an ordinary ox cart?*

Every age possessed people who instinctively attached themselves to power.

That was simply part of human nature.

The Blind Man had once said that across thousands of years, one human tradition had never really changed:

People used the location and size of a house to measure the status and standing of the person living inside it.

Why did the Emperor live in the imperial palace?

Why were ministers’ residences built near the palace?

Why did high officials and nobles all squeeze into the inner city?

The answer was the same.

At Snow Sea Pass, Zheng Fan had once spoken of **“the Zheng Clan guarding the gate of the realm.”**

Because of that the Count Pingye Residence had been placed directly beside Snow Sea Pass’s northern wall.

And unless someone stood extremely close to Count Zheng, he could not live nearby.

Most residents of Jia Ward were families of mid- and high-ranking officers from the old Shengle Army.

Naturally, civilians outside the walls wanted to live inside.

Those inside wanted to live closer to the General’s Residence.

But Count Zheng himself did not particularly care.

The land belonged to him.

For him land carried practically no cost.

Even crippled was the Sword Saint worth this much face?

Was he worth it?

Absolutely.

Without question.

Count Zheng had always shown extraordinary tolerance toward people born with protagonist templates.

Besides even if *you* had no worldly desires, could you guarantee the same for your family?

Sometimes the breach in a fortress began with family.

If I treat you well and you refuse to acknowledge the favor then I will treat your family twice as well.

Eventually you will owe me whether you like it or not.

Three armored soldiers and the clerk carrying the register personally escorted the ox cart toward its assigned residence.

The old woman still did not understand why everyone had suddenly become so ceremonious.

If anything, it frightened her slightly and made her talk more.

Using an old woman’s accumulated “wisdom,” she tried to coax information from the clerk.

But how could the clerk dare say much?

He could only accompany her in harmless small talk.

When they reached the residence, the three armored soldiers at the front suddenly saw a short figure standing outside.

They immediately dropped to one knee.

“We pay respects to Mr. Xue!”

The Demon Kings technically all held positions under the General’s Residence.

They were members of its official establishment.

The Ministry of War even had records for them.

But back in Shengle City, aside from Liang Cheng, the other Demon Kings had preferred subordinates to call them “Mister.”

The title blurred their formal offices and made them appear more like General Zheng’s private retainers and advisers.

Paradoxically that made the people below even less willing to underestimate them.

The military clerk had been chatting with the old woman and knelt a beat too late.

In his haste, he even dropped the household register onto the ground.

Xue San waved a hand.

“You all go handle your work.”

“Yes, sir!”

“We obey!”

Once the soldiers departed, Xue San jumped onto the ox cart with a friendly smile and pointed toward the nearby residence.

“Everyone, this is where you’ll be settling.

“It is a little crude. I hope you won’t dislike it.

“The Sword—... ah, Little Yu is injured at the moment, but he has always been highly valued by our Count.

“Please take good care of him.”

Madam Wu quickly helped her mother-in-law and son down from the cart, preparing to salute Xue San.

Xue San sidestepped the gesture and smiled.

“I still have work to do.

“You can drive the ox cart inside yourselves.

“See you later.”

He had not directly revealed Yu Huaping’s identity.

But for the sake of giving the Sword Saint a good mood while recovering, Zheng Fan had still decided to send Xue San over.

If Madam Wu’s feelings toward the Sword Saint truly were deep enough that she had chosen her “golden tortoise husband” without hesitation, then wonderful.

That merely meant the Sword Saint was blessed.

If her resolve was not quite so firm then they could reveal a little more.

Help make it firmer.

Liu Dahu pushed open the gate.

Madam Wu looked inside.

Then her eyes lit up with surprise.

A man stood inside the courtyard.

Who else could it be?

The Sword Saint wore a brocade robe.

Before the gate opened, he had been leaning against a pillar.

Once he saw them, he shifted his body slightly forward and forced himself to stand upright.

During his recovery, he had spent nearly all his time lying down.

Naturally, he had gained some weight.

Now he looked faintly prosperous.

Combined with the clothes the Savage King had helped him select he did not look like a Sword Saint.

Nor did he look like a gate guard.

Instead he resembled a wealthy country gentleman.

The Sword Saint’s lips moved.

He hesitated for a long while.

Finally he said:

“You came.”

Madam Wu lifted her left hand and brushed the hair beside her face.

Standing at the threshold, she looked back at her mother-in-law.

Then she looked at the Sword Saint again.

At last, gathering her courage she smiled.

“Mm.

“I came.”

...

“You came?”

“Mm.

“You knew I was coming?”

“Heh.

“I could sense it.

“Count Zheng has an exceptionally formidable strategist beneath him.

“But that strategist was not here at Snow Sea Pass.

“I assumed— that must be you.”

The Savage King, sitting inside an iron cage, slowly raised his head and looked at the Blind Man seated before him peeling an orange.

The Blind Man nodded.

“More or less.”

When other people claimed they made their living with their brains, there was often some exaggeration involved.

The Blind Man genuinely did make his living with his brain.

Whether mental power or psychic force did those not both come from the mind?

“Haaah.”

The Savage King sighed somewhat desolately.

“Master said you love acting.

“Love pretending to be a pig so you can eat the tiger.

“What’s wrong?

“Now that I’m here, you’re done pretending?”

“I only recently took a sword through the heart from the Sword Saint.

“It still hurts.”

“The Sword Saint can still lift a sword?”

“In here.”

The Savage King tapped his own chest.

“Oh.”

The Blind Man did not care much.

“Looks like his realm advanced.

“Does that count as defeating form with formlessness?”

“Perhaps.

“By the way— that phrase you used.

“Pretending to be a pig so you can eat the tiger?

“I like it.”

“If you like it, you can have it.

“Orange?”

“I’ll eat.”

“Here.”

“It’s a little dry.”

“You’re lucky I found one at all.

“Stop being picky.”

The Blind Man pulled a silk handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped his hands.

Then he continued:

“Let us stop circling each other.

“Whether you live or die is now my responsibility.”

“Fine.”

“Tell me everything about the snowfields in detail.

“You know what I mean.

“Do not make me ask one question at a time while you answer one at a time.

“That will exhaust both of us.”

“Fine.”

“And while you explain, think about this:

If you were standing on the side of Snow Sea Pass on the side of Count Pingye’s Residence what benefits could you bring us?

“Give reasons.

“Give justification.

“If you cannot satisfy me today— you will not survive the night.”

“That direct?”

“There is too much work.

“Houses need building.

“Fortifications need repairing.

“Spring planting has already been delayed.

“There are far too many things waiting.

“To speak frankly—

I genuinely do not have much spare time to trade schemes and play games with you.”

“Understood.”

“Good.

“Then let us begin.”

“Fine.

“You don’t need paper and brush to record anything?”

“I’ll remember it in here.”

The Blind Man raised one finger and tapped his temple lightly.

“I have one small request.”

“You’ve already made me unhappy.”

The implication was obvious:

*I am not interested in negotiating conditions with you.*

“Has the Commandery Princess of the Marquis of Zhenbei’s Residence married the Crown Prince of Yan yet?”

“Oh?

“My displeasure has disappeared.

“In fact—

I’d very much like you to continue.”

“Heh heh.

“I have loved her for many years.”

“The Commandery Princess isn’t even that old, is she?

“You animal.”

“In the eyes of you Xia people, my Holy Race has always been little different from beasts.”

“You’ve wandered off topic.”

“Fine.

“My apologies.

“The tribes across the snowfields can roughly be divided into—”

“Tell me about you and the Commandery Princess.”

“...”

The Savage King.

“Hurry.

“This interests me.

“We can discuss all the miscellaneous business later.”

“Can we really... do this?”

“Why not?

“Oh, right.

“I can tell you this much.

“Because of the previous campaign, the Crown Prince’s marriage to the Commandery Princess was delayed.

“Then, because my Count led men in slaughtering every Chu soldier from Yupan City, the Yan–Chu alliance collapsed.

“In the short term, another major Yan–Chu war may break out.

“So the Crown Prince’s marriage will probably be delayed again.

“You can continue indulging your fantasy for a while.”

“No.

“You misunderstand.

“Whether the Commandery Princess marries or not will never change her place inside my heart.”

“Tsk.

“Then there’s no way to continue this conversation.

“Your taste has gone beyond the scope of the syllabus.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means we should return to serious business.”

“The first time I met the Commandery Princess was—”

“You don’t want to live, do you?

“I told you to discuss the snowfields and you’re feeding me this nonsense?

“Keep screwing around and believe me when I say I’ll grant you poisoned wine tonight and send you back into the embrace of the stars.”

The Savage King laughed.

The Blind Man laughed too.

At that moment, despite the iron bars separating them the two old schemers experienced the rare sensation of recognizing one of their own kind.

“Truthfully,” Gou Moli said, “when I first heard about General Zheng— no.

“Count Zheng—

I always assumed he was merely a particularly favored commander under that Marquis of the Jingnan Army.

“But gradually—

I realized he was not so simple.

“Especially after I saw the people beneath him.

“And now— after seeing you.

“One man being formidable is not actually so rare.

“The difficult thing is having an entire group of formidable people under your command.”

“From the sound of that— you’re tempted?”

“Standing among you would not exactly waste my talents.”

“Where’s your face?”

“See this scar on my face?

“Years ago, a little girl whipped me.”

“That little girl must have had impressive strength.”

“The scar you see now is one I made myself so I could hide my identity.”

“Oh.

“That explains it.”

“I can work for you.”

“We can try you on probation first.”

“You’re afraid of me?”

“It genuinely isn’t fear.

“You’re just annoying.

“If not for you, my Master would never have ended up garrisoning Snow Sea Pass or been enfeoffed as a Count.

“At the root of it— we should probably thank you.”

“Listen to that.

“Listen to the words coming out of your mouth.

“Would you dare say the same thing in front of that crippled Sword Saint?”

“Of course not.”

“I have a greeting gift.

“I can give it to you— no.

“To your Master.”

“Oh?

“Why didn’t you offer it earlier?”

“I was still hesitating.”

“What gift?

“Explain carefully.”

“Outside this pass, in the snowfields, the Situ Clan once built two cities.

“One is **Ping City**.

“The other is **Ye City**.

“Quite a coincidence, isn’t it?

“Put their names together— and they match your Master’s noble title.

“Ping.

“Ye.

“Those two cities.

“Snow Sea Pass alone can certainly block my Holy Race’s road south.

“But if you control Ping City and Ye City as well— you control the strategic initiative.

“My Holy Race is poor at siege warfare.

“And now the snowfields are even more fragmented than before.

“For either city, station two thousand armored soldiers and two thousand civilian laborers there, and it will be enough to hold until reinforcements arrive.

“I can write letters to the commanders of those two cities.

“They will surrender to you.”

The Blind Man smiled.

“They would still listen to you?”

“I would merely be giving them a step down.”

The Blind Man shook his head.

“To tell you the truth, Snow Sea Pass has indeed just absorbed a huge population.

“But we do not have enough troops.

“Even garrisoning Snow Sea Pass itself is barely manageable.

“Much less dividing troops to occupy two isolated cities in the snowfields.

“And why bother taking them that way?

“Once our troops are properly trained— we can simply conquer them ourselves.”

“Sieges kill a lot of people!”

“Are human lives really worth that much?”

The Savage King fell silent for a moment.

Then smiled.

“Truthfully— not much.”

“Exactly.

“As long as they die for something worthwhile.”

“We’ve circled around long enough.

“Let’s return to the real subject.

“You do not have much time.

“If I fail to receive an answer that satisfies me today— then the next time I see you...”

The Blind Man smiled faintly.

“It will only be inside my dreams.”

...

“The child had a nightmare?”

Zheng Fan looked worriedly at the Young Prince, who had awakened from his afternoon nap crying unusually hard.

He turned toward Madam Ke beside him.

“Replying to Count Pingye, this servant failed in her care.

“This servant is guilty.”

At that moment, Siniang walked over carrying an account book.

“This has nothing to do with you.

“Leave.

“From now on, aside from nursing him once in the morning and once at night, you do not need to come here.”

“Yes.

“This servant withdraws.”

Madam Ke immediately lowered her head and left.

In front of Siniang she did not dare harbor the slightest extra thought.

Only after Madam Ke had gone did Siniang speak to Zheng Fan, who remained beside the Young Prince.

“Ever since the night he met his father, he’s had nightmares every few days.

“He’ll be sleeping peacefully and suddenly wake crying.”

“Haaah.

“What a sin.”

Truthfully, the Young Prince was an extraordinarily easy child to raise.

Most days, he could entertain himself.

No one needed to coax him.

He was cheerful too.

Not remotely withdrawn.

Yet after meeting his biological father it was almost as though something had collided with his fate.

The nightmares began immediately.

One had to understand: this child had played with the Demon Child since infancy.

For months, his cradle had been sitting directly atop Sha Tuo Queshi’s coffin.

And none of that had caused him the slightest problem.

His fate was obviously hard enough to smash nails.

Yet even he could not withstand Old Tian’s **fatherly love as heavy as a mountain**.

Suddenly, Zheng Fan remembered something.

“I recall a kind of fate saying that goes something like this:

“Two dragons cannot meet.

“If they do, it harms both sides.

“It usually appears between father and son, so they have to be raised apart.

“Keeping them together will cause disaster.

“I can’t remember where I read that.”

Siniang answered:

“This servant remembers Master using exactly that idea in the comic before.”

“Really?”

“Yes.

“In one of the Demon Child’s past lives, that was the reason his father—”

“All right.

“You don’t need to remind me.”

“Yes.

“This servant misspoke.”

Zheng Fan turned and looked toward the cradle.

The stone sealing the Demon Child lay quietly atop the Young Prince’s tender little legs.

“All right.

“Let the Demon Child comfort him.

“Come outside with me.

“We’ll go through the accounts.”

“Yes, Master.”

After Zheng Fan and Siniang left the room, a cloud of black mist slowly spread from the stone.

It gathered into the shape of an infant.

The black infant crouched beside the Young Prince.

One hand gently stroked his back.

The Young Prince looked at the hollow-eyed infant.

Gradually he stopped crying.

Though occasional sobs still shook him.

A little while later, the Young Prince turned.

He pushed open the bundle he had always kept inside the cradle.

Then pointed toward the snacks inside and imitated the Demon Child’s way of speaking.

“Heh-heh...

“Heh-heh...

“Heh-heh...

“Achoo!”

Because he was still sniffling between sobs while making the sound, the Young Prince accidentally sneezed.

The black infant watched him.

Its mouth split into a grin.

Then it laughed too.

“Heh-heh-heh...”

[End of Chapter 373]