Chapter 98: Set Off! The Soaring Path of Chief Steward He

Because he had practiced martial arts for many years, his movements were very steady.

But he shot several arrows, and his accuracy was very poor; twice, he even missed the target entirely.

So, that successful throwing knife rescue of his father in the Panlong Desert was truly just a stroke of blind luck.

No, it was He Chunhua who was lucky not to have his head blown off by his son’s knife first.

He Lingchuan was not discouraged; recalling how Hu Min shot arrows as if they were an extension of his own arm, he figured it was not something practiced in a single day.

After drawing the bow fifty times, He Lingchuan put down the heavy bow to first relax his aching shoulders and arms, then regulated his true qi and began to practice the blade.

This was something he had wanted to do ever since he woke up.

He closed his eyes and slowly recalled the desperate fighting from the previous night.

Every parry, every dodge, every injury, every head-on strike, and—

Every kill! In his dream, he had killed six enemies and wounded or assisted in taking down nineteen others.

Now, these images were clearly traced, frozen, and magnified in his mind, allowing him to calmly record every success and examine every mistake.

He even remembered Commander Xiao’s blade—crisp and clean, fierce and decisive, without a hint of hesitation.

And Meng Shan, whose ferocity and dominance in the face of a mountain of blades and a sea of fire were such that even Commander Xiao dared not meet his edge.

He Lingchuan felt as if he had returned to yesterday’s battlefield.

By the time he came to his senses, he had finished a set of blade practice; his blade intent was rounded and smooth, and many previously obscure points were suddenly clear.

Just then, an osmanthus flower fell, and He Lingchuan slashed out, the blade edge stopping about an inch from the petal.

The osmanthus flower seemed to pause slightly in the air before continuing to fall along its original trajectory.

Completely undamaged.

The servant standing in the corner of the courtyard could not bear to watch, but He Lingchuan seemed very satisfied, even revealing a faint smile.

Wielding a blade creates blade wind; the faster the blade, the stronger the wind.

The osmanthus flower was less than an inch from the blade edge, yet it was not disturbed by the blade wind—this was his progress.

He Lingchuan had actually cultivated a bit of blade qi, but controlling it at will was much harder than it sounded. From external release to internal containment, he still had a long road ahead.

However, when had his memory become this good, able to remember every detail from last night, replaying and savoring it frame by frame? Thinking back, it seemed both dreams were like this.

Perhaps this was the merit of the broken blade again?

Then he went back to drawing the bow, then practicing the blade, repeating this again and again.

Seeing the sun slowly slanting to the west, the servant had to remind him: "Young Master, do not forget Lady’s instructions."

What had Lady Ying instructed? He Lingchuan thought for a long while before remembering she wanted him to widely distribute invitations among the upper circles of Heishuicheng, inviting them to the He residence tomorrow night for a "tail-burning banquet."

When an official is promoted and colleagues and relatives come to congratulate them, the host must prepare a sumptuous banquet with music and dance, known as a "tail-burning banquet." He Chunhua had made a great contribution and been promoted several ranks this time, so the banquet naturally had to be held grandly.

Finish practice, bathe, get to work.

By the time He Lingchuan finished delivering the invitations and returned home, the bright moon had already risen.

He Lingchuan looked at the broken blade on the wall, feeling a little excited as he lay down to sleep, hoping to dream of returning to Panlong tonight.

He desperately wanted to know the outcome of the riverbed battle.

Unfortunately, he had no dreams all night.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

With the County Magistrate promoted, Heishuicheng was as lively as a festival. Even the servants of the He family enjoyed the pleasure of being the center of attention when they went out.

The He residence was bustling with visitors; those coming to congratulate and those bringing gifts nearly wore out the threshold.

These were mostly received by He Yue, because He Chunhua was busy finalizing the list for his personal guard.

There were over 1,300 soldiers in the Heishuicheng army; he could not empty it out and take them all, so after careful selection, he took 300.

These 300 elites were the foundation for his flourishing development in Xiazhou. In this regard, loyalty was more important than combat power.

Among them were three officers, including Ceng Fei.

He Lingchuan was surprised that this devoted son was actually willing to go north with them. Upon asking, he learned that Ceng Fei’s father had passed away suddenly five days ago, and having regained his senses before dying, father and son had finally had a good talk.

Ceng Fei had fulfilled his wish and seen his old father off. With no more attachments, he no longer felt nostalgic for Heishuicheng.

In fact, one of the criteria for He Chunhua’s selection of personal guards was young, strong bachelors, preferably unburdened by family. Otherwise, on a journey of ten thousand miles, if the guards had to bring their families, the marching speed would surely be unsatisfactory.

Besides this, He Chunhua also brought along several advisors.

Lady Ying was busy settling wages and dismissing the household servants. Except for the old steward, the He family only took one male and one female attendant on the road this time, both loyal servants of seven or eight years.

Everything on the road would be kept simple; they could recruit new people once they reached the new place.

Uncle Hao was also willing to go to Xiazhou, but he was assigned by He Chunhua to stay in Heishuicheng temporarily to assist in handling the He family’s properties, and would head north in about three to five months.

He Lingchuan also saw Situ Han; the sand bandits were not going.

"We can't go; our families are all here, and they all rely on us." By now, Situ Han and the other sand bandits had been incorporated into the city army, and with official rations to eat upon enrollment, everyone felt at ease and unwilling to travel thousands of miles to challenge the unknown of Xiazhou.

Who didn't know that going there meant fighting? If one could live a stable life, who would want to go to the front line? Situ Han pushed Mao Tao forward: "Only this kid insists on following you." No matter how they tried to persuade him, he wouldn't listen; this was called being reckless.

He Lingchuan asked curiously: "Isn't your woman in Heishuicheng?"

"We broke up yesterday, and she even slapped me twice." Mao Tao grinned, not taking it to heart at all. "I heard the girls in Xiazhou have bigger and more sparkling eyes, unlike the rough old women here. There are thousands of miles of fertile land there; why must I guard this one acre of poor soil?"

Counting the necessary family members and logistics, all in all, He Chunhua’s group ended up with over 430 people.

He Lingchuan did not expect that the first person he saw upon stepping out the door was Liu Baobao, who came up holding a box: "Young Master, this is the thing you asked me to get a few days ago; consider it a parting gift."

He Lingchuan was curious, took it, and opened it to see several bottles of medicinal powder, fine and white.

The bottles were also ridiculously large.

"Uh..." Why did this stuff look like contraband to him? "I would ask you to get this kind of thing?"

No, he didn't, how could he? He was a promising young man.

"Didn't you want a medicine that stops pain immediately without hindering movement?" Liu Baobao pointed to the powder in the bottle. "This is it; it's called Stone Buddha Powder."

He Lingchuan was relieved and happily accepted it.

Liu Baobao beamed and bowed in farewell: "When you achieve great success in the future, Young Master, do not forget that you still have an old friend in this border town."

"That is a certainty!" He Lingchuan promised immediately.

That morning, the He family led the 400-man personal guard to drink the pre-departure tea and bid farewell to the commoners, then left Heishuicheng amidst the cheering crowds and headed north.

(End of chapter)