Translator: Myuu Editor: Myuu
A group of men lined the sides of the Hui Clan Gathering’s main entrance, wearing different expressions on their faces. They watched Yan Liqiang and the rest ride into the Hui Clan Gathering on their steeds with strange gazes.
Every single man was dressed in tatters and had an unkempt appearance. Yet there was a hint of fierceness in their expressions. Although the Hui Clan Gathering’s main entrance was opened to welcome them, these men were still holding weapons in their hands as they vigilantly watched Yan Liqiang and the rest.
“Greetings sirs. I am the chief of the Hui Clan Gathering, Chang Lu. ‘Chang’ from the word ‘frequently’ and ‘Lu’ from the word ‘fortune and prosperity’. Pardon my tardiness. What brings you all here? There are really too many bandits out there so we have no choice but to be more careful. Please forgive us…”
A rather wizened old man immediately came over with a smile on his face — he cupped his fist in greetings to everyone when he saw Yan Liqiang and the rest come in. Despite his graying hair and wrinkles like deep gorges in the wilderness etched across his face, he still had a pair of shrewd eyes.
The sight of this old man instantly reminded Yan Liqiang of those shedding old stray wolves he’d seen in the wilderness. Though they were physically weak, they were even more cunning and their fangs were just as sharp.
“I believe you have a posthouse here, right?” Liang Yijie asked.
“Yes, yes, yes, of course we do…” The chief named Chang Lu nodded hurriedly.
“Show us the way to the posthouse then!”
“Sure, sure, sure. Come, everyone. This way please…” The old man nodded, then glanced at the corpses of the guards on the backs of the rhinodrake steeds which had just entered the Hui Clan Gathering. His eyelids quivered and his body instantly hunched a little as he lowered the volume of his voice and asked, “Umm, did you all encounter some kind of trouble along your way here, sirs…?”
“We encountered about two hundred Blackwind Bandits on our way here just now.” Liang Yijie replied flatly.
As expected, the words ‘Blackwind Bandits’ really packed quite a punch. The moment Liang Yijie uttered those two words, the countenances of the old man and those other men standing at the entrance of the Hui Clan Gathering instantly contorted…
“…But we already killed the Blackwind Bandits we encountered! You all don’t need to worry!”
Yan Liqiang wasn’t sure if Liang Yijie’s words sounded like a truthful explanation or a warning. However, as soon as the old man, whose countenance had slightly contorted earlier, heard Liang Yijie’s second statement, a smile instantly returned to his face. “Glad to hear that. However, the Blackwind Bandits are not people to be trifled with. Those who are on duty at the Hui Clan Gathering tonight will have to stay alert…”
“Yes, we will arrange for some men to be on night duty with all of you too!”
“Well, well, please follow me sirs…” the old man said while he led everyone deeper inside the Hui Clan Gathering.
Yan Liqiang silently rode on his steed. He sensed someone watching him so he turned his head to the side. As soon as he did, he noticed a man wearing a gray cotton-padded jacket standing on top of the wall. He was keenly observing the bow bag Yan Liqiang was carrying on his back with the Horned Python Bow in it. Then he swept his glance across his face. A slightly doubtful and grave expression could be seen on his face too — this man was none other than the person whose bow was broken by Yan Liqiang earlier.
There was a distance of about two hundred meters between them then, and it was dark when Yan Liqiang had released the two shots from the crowd. If this man had no special abilities, an average individual wouldn’t be able to get a clear view of him across this distance. Therefore, this man was probably trying to figure out if he was the one who had released the two arrows earlier. The bow bag he was carrying with the Horned Python Bow inside was a lot larger in size compared to the other guards, and while it seemed to be unique, Yan Liqiang didn’t seem like someone who possessed such an ability for his age. Hence, the man had a dubious look on his face. He was probably still trying to figure out if it was indeed Yan Liqiang who was using the warbow inside the bow bag.
Yan Liqiang didn’t provide an explanation either. He just continued moving forward behind everyone else.
At times like this, perhaps it was not a bad idea to keep these people in the Hui Clan Gathering guessing so they would treat them with respect.
The houses inside the Hui Clan Gathering were short and low. All of them were made out of mud and were a little run down. Two-story buildings were rarely seen. Vestiges left from desertization were seen on the walls of nearly all buildings.
The arrival of Yan Liqiang and the others had caused quite a lot of people in the Hui Clan Gathering to come out from their houses. All of them stared at them in curiosity.
What made Yan Liqiang surprised was that there were actually brothels in the Hui Clan Gathering. When they passed by a junction, a few women dressed in vibrant colors came out from a low mud house and started waving passionately at the guards riding on their steeds with handkerchiefs in their hands. But of course, the appearance of those women was simply a spectacle too horrible to endure. Even Yan Liqiang really didn’t know how to describe it.
……
In just a flash, everyone arrived at the posthouse of the Hui Clan Gathering.
If it wasn’t for the wooden sign which read ‘Posthouse’ hanging by the entrance of this place, Yan Liqiang simply wouldn’t believe that this was indeed a posthouse.
Half of the mud wall had collapsed. There were three mud houses with broken doors and their roofs were also leaky. The medium-sized courtyard was pitch black with chicken dung all over the ground. Calling this place a haunted house would even be a commendation; at least a haunted house was still a house. Back in Liuhe Town, the pig pens of many residences might be in better condition than the houses here.
“This is the Hui Clan Gathering’s posthouse?” There was a hint of anger in Liang Yijie’s voice.
“That’s right!” The old man nodded, then sighed. “We haven’t received any silver for more than a decade, so this is the best we can do to maintain the posthouse. Even the chief of the posthouse couldn’t keep it going over all these years and escaped…”
“Are there any inns in the Hui Clan Gathering then?”
“Yes, yes, yes…” The old man immediately broke into a smile. “Everyone wants to stay at the inn? If you want to, you’ll have to pay for it though…”
“We will stay at the inn and pay for it. Just lead us there.”
“Sure, sure, sure, this way please, this way…”
Two minutes later, everyone finally arrived at a Hui Clan Gathering inn.
Although the inn was also quite run-down, it was still a lot better than the posthouse they saw earlier. There were two large and rather spacious courtyards at the inn. As soon as Yan Liqiang and the rest arrived, the old man immediately instructed the staff working at the inn to get busy. They started boiling water, slaughtering goats, preparing meals, and feeding the steeds…
Since the inn was understaffed, the old man even instructed a staff member to get more people from the town to help out.
It turned out that this old man was not only the chief of the Hui Clan Gathering, he was also the owner of the inn.
As soon as everyone settled down, they instantly heaved a sigh of relief.
Everyone was already travel worn and exhausted from the battle. Even so, many just clenched their teeth and carried on.
Yan Liqiang did the same too. His blood was racing during the battle so he didn’t really feel anything back then. Now that he was all loosened up, he realized just how famished he was. Not only that, there was burning pain in his arm muscles and back. The few major tendons in those areas were also painful and sore.
Shooting so many arrows with the Horned Python Bow within just a short span of time really pushed Yan Liqiang’s body to its limits. Although others probably could not tell, Yan Liqiang felt that his body had taken a huge toll and was very exhausted. If the Blackwind Bandits were to assault them here again while he was still recovering, running was probably the only option left for him.
Despite the fact that his body had already reached its limit, after dismounting at the inn and tying up Snowstorm Cloud in a stable, Yan Liqiang worked in silence just like the other guards. They unloaded the bodies of the guards who had died in the battle from the steeds.
Since they wouldn’t be able to travel with these corpses, they could only cremate them here and bring their ashes back to the Imperial Capital.
When they had just finished moving those corpses, Liang Yijie came to tell Yan Liqiang that Sun Bingchen wished to see him. Under the gazes of the guards, Yan Liqiang went to Sun Bingchen’s room.
Sun Bingchen was alone in his room, sitting upright on a chair. Liang Yijie didn’t follow him inside.
“Lord Sun, you were looking for me?” Yan Liqiang entered the room and bowed to Sun Bingchen.
Sun Bingchen cast a deep glance on him before he slowly nodded and pointed to the seat in front of him. “Have a seat!”
Yan Liqiang walked over and calmly sat down.
“We were lucky to have you today. If it wasn’t for you, Liqiang, I’m afraid not even half of the guards would have made it out alive today!” Sun Bingchen said ruefully.
“I merely did what I should have done!” Yan Liqiang replied, while secretly muttering in his heart if Sun Bingchen were to ask him about his cultivation in archery next. However, Sun Bingchen’s next statement was beyond Yan Liqiang’s expectation.
“Everyone has secrets that they don’t want to share with everyone. If anyone asks you anything in the future, just tell them I knew about your cultivation in archery before and that was the reason why I appointed you as my personal attendant. There’s no need to provide any further explanation. I’m guessing many guards, including Yijie, are probably wondering about it. If anyone is still curious about it, just direct them to me!”
Sun Bingchen’s words startled Yan Liqiang. He was initially thinking of making up some lame excuses to gloss over things so they could either take it or leave it. However, he could only smile wryly at Sun Bingchen’s words and tell him the truth. “Please forgive me, sir. I didn’t intend to hide my cultivation in archery from you on purpose. I just didn’t wish to attract too much unwanted attention. After all, a fifteen-year-old youth that has attained the Third Heavenly Layer in archery in a place like Pingxi City of Gan Province is a rather outrageous tale. I am still inexperienced and I am not from some powerful clan either. So to avoid inviting trouble back home, I’ve been keeping my cultivation in archery a secret all this time from everyone. Even my father doesn’t know anything about it!”
Sun Bingchen nodded, then stroked his beard as he looked at Yan Liqiang with an admirable gaze. “When did you discover that you were gifted in archery, Liqiang? Have you been guided by some famous master?”
“Ever since I first touched a bow, I realized that was different from everyone else. Others usually had to practice for a very long time to gain their accuracy. Yet, it was easy for me during my first try. The arrow I released seemed to be connected to me, and it was very easy to hit the targets. I’ve been training alone up until now without any guidance from some famous master…” Yan Liqiang didn’t mention the fact that he had only started learning archery half a year ago. He only offered a vague explanation. The first time he touched a bow could very well have been seven or ten years old. Yan Liqiang felt that by putting it this way, it was more believable. Otherwise, it would have sounded too absurd and that wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing for him.
Sun Bingchen let out another sigh. “Attaining the Third Heavenly Layer already just at the mere age of fifteen… Someone like Liqiang is not only an extremely rare prodigy gifted in archery from Gan Province, but also in the Imperial Capital. Furthermore, your prudence is also a rare quality to come by; you even to know when to conceal your strength and bide your time. It seems like I am indeed not mistaken. I will definitely make sure you will have a bright future for following me back to Imperial Capital this time!”
“Thank you, sir!”
“However, you were still a little too hasty during our encounter with the Blackwind Bandits earlier, and hence you put yourself in dangerous situations multiple times. Remember what I told you: you only need to focus on keeping yourself safe!”
“Understood!”
“That’s all, you may go now. Have a good rest tonight. You don’t need to go on night duty. I have already told Yijie to relay this…”
Yan Liqiang bowed to Sun Bingchen, stood up, and made his way toward the door. When he reached the door, he clenched his teeth and finally couldn’t restrain himself. He suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned his head around to ask Sun Bingchen a question. “Sir, so many guards have been sacrificed today just for the sake of escorting Ye Tiancheng, who should have been beheaded since long ago, to the Imperial Capital. Is this all worth it?”
Sun Bingchen was silent for two seconds. “The day those guards joined the military, they should have already been prepared to sacrifice themselves for the nation. And now, they have done just that. If there comes a day for me to dedicate to my nation by sacrificing my life, I won’t shrink away either!”
“I understand now!” Yan Liqiang sighed inwardly, then pushed open the door and walked out.
Sun Bingchen watched Yan Liqiang leave and sat quietly in the room with his eyes closed for a moment. He couldn’t help but touch the brocade pouch he had hidden in his chest with his hand again as he recalled the words on the note.
—’The youth of the Northwest daringly boasts to devour the heavens in two mouthfuls!’
Sun Bingchen still had some doubts back then. However, Yan Liqiang’s performance today further convinced him of the judgment he had made before — that person was none other than Yan Liqiang…
