Chapter 41: The Tuanzhang Who Studied Hard

“There will come a time when the wind breaks the waves, and I’ll hoist my sail straight across the sea…”

In a mansion within Yuannan City, the sun shone upon the courtyard.

A teacher in a long robe, short hair, and a goatee held a bound book in his hand, swaying his head as he recited the text.

In the courtyard stood a long table and a high-backed armchair.

A tall, burly bald man, dressed in a shirt and military trousers, sat beside the table, practicing calligraphy from a model.

“Wait!”

He suddenly looked up, his brow bones prominent, eyes slanting sideways as he glared, black stubble stretching from ear to chin.

“Read that last line again!”

The teacher instantly stopped swaying, hurriedly glanced at the page, and hesitantly said, “The wind breaks the waves… there will come a time…”

“Hey! You actually read it?!”

Xu Tuanzhang threw down his brush, splattering a large ink blot across the white paper, then gripped his bald head with a scowl.

“Don’t you know I’ve recently ordered strict inspections of all river crossings—small ones sealed off, boats smashed, yet still patrolled—to hunt down a major fugitive?”

“I’m guarding against that top criminal crossing the river, and you’re reciting ‘the wind breaks the waves’ here?”

The teacher quickly replied, “It’s a poem by Li Bai.”

Xu Tuanzhang’s eyebrows nearly stood on end: “So Li Bai gets a pass? Even if he were Li Black or Li Yellow, he can’t disrupt me now!”

The teacher dropped to his knees, crying out, “Commander, you’re wise! Though some lines in this poem are unpleasant, its title is auspicious—it’s called ‘The Hard Road!’”

“Oh?”

Xu Tuanzhang’s expression softened. “‘The Hard Road’ means the path is blocked?”

The teacher smiled nervously. “Yes, yes—not only is the poem’s title about a blocked path, but Li Bai himself was once noble and honored in youth, yet never received proper promotion afterward.”

“In his later years, he was exiled; just when amnesty came, he died before even returning to Chang’an!”

Xu Tuanzhang’s face brightened.

The teacher didn’t know who the fugitive was, only vaguely suspecting he might have once been an official who later fell from grace.

But Xu Tuanzhang, hearing this, mentally matched Li Bai to the fugitive—and felt an inexplicable comfort.

A good omen. Very auspicious.

“Hahaha! Good! Here’s twenty silver dollars. You may go.”

The teacher bowed deeply in thanks and hurried off to collect his reward.

As he stepped out, Deputy Commander Zhou happened to enter and glanced at him, noticing the imprint on his forehead.

“Big Brother, you’ve never liked these pedantic scholars—why keep them around to annoy you?”

Xu Tuanzhang laughed. “Didn’t the President’s telegram tell me to read more books?”

Xu Tuanzhang had long wanted to connect with the President, but could only reach his inner circle.

Until recently, the President himself sent a special envoy to visit in person—back then, Deputy Commander Zhou was still in the small town.

But after Zhou returned, he met the envoy too.

He also knew that, through the envoy’s introduction, Xu Tuanzhang had exchanged multiple telegrams with the President.

The telegrams were written personally by the President, warm and encouraging, full of high expectations.

Xu Tuanzhang had little formal education; he preferred listening to storytellers recounting tales of heroes—“A true man listens to Water Margin, a hero listens to Three Kingdoms.”

Somehow, the President’s envoy reported this, and the President himself mentioned it.

He used the story of Wu Xia A Meng from Three Kingdoms to urge Xu Tuanzhang to read more, so he could gain prestige and fully realize his talents.

Deputy Commander Zhou snorted. “In the end, they just want to use us as knives—just like what I did in the small town.”

“Not the same. Those fools in the small town refused to submit even after I made my stance clear. But we’ve submitted to the President smoothly.”

Xu Tuanzhang chuckled. “Don’t fear being used—being used is good. As long as you seize the right moment, the more you’re used, the more you gain.”

“When we were young and came to Jingcheng to make our fortune, if we hadn’t seized the chance to serve our adoptive father, done his dirty work, and won his favor, how would we have gained these skills?”

“When we returned to Yizhou, we recruited soldiers, switched allegiances, and climbed to the rank of Tuanzhang—all thanks to what we built in Jingcheng.”

As he spoke, Xu Tuanzhang’s face darkened.

“Thinking of it makes me sad. We were sensible. He wasn’t. If he’d just died a year or two earlier—or if he’d accepted his place and obeyed—we wouldn’t have had to plot against him.”

“Alas, it’s all his fault—he made me betray my own father.”

Deputy Commander Zhou said again: “Getting real rewards from the President is far harder than getting them from Eunuch Chen.”

“Great wealth demands great risk. We’ve walked through mountains of corpses and seas of fire—what’s a few more trips?”

Xu Tuanzhang’s expression grew calm. “But if we’re to fight, we need real support. That envoy hasn’t stopped arranging things—hasn’t he said more reinforcements and skilled fighters are coming?”

As if summoned, a soldier’s voice rang out at the gate.

A middle-aged man in a suit and tie entered.

He had a square face, clean-shaven, but clearly old—deep forehead and neck wrinkles. Though dressed in a suit, he carried a birdcage covered in red cloth.

This man was Meng Daizong, the President’s special envoy.

More precisely, he had originally been one of the leaders sent by the President to hunt down Cai Shanjun.

Along the way, he wandered overseas, crossed Jiaozhi, and lost most of his men.

Only his group reached Yizhou, where he made contact with Xu Tuanzhang.

“Brother Xu, Brother Zhou, why haven’t you checked the river crossings yet?”

Meng Daizong entered without ceremony. “Small crossings can be destroyed, but the big ones you still need—so you must inspect them often!”

Near Yuannan City, this great river had many swift currents, hidden reefs, and treacherous shallows. Some spots looked safe, but midstream, deadly whirlpools would swallow you whole.

To cross, you needed either a specially sturdy boat or a route known to local ferrymen.

Deputy Commander Zhou smiled. “Each major crossing has hundreds of our loyal men guarding it, commanded by our own officers. Besides, your elite fighters are already stationed there—no one can slip past.”

“If anything happens, we can reinforce from here just as easily—why keep running back and forth?”

Meng Daizong frowned. “According to my estimate, that man should have tried crossing days ago—yet he’s done nothing. It’s unnerving.”

“He’s Cai Shanjun—we must be extra cautious!”

Xu Tuanzhang said, “Aren’t you saying he’s been poisoned, his cultivation blocked, and only two sickly followers left?”

Meng Daizong nodded. “That poison is no ordinary thing.”

“Made from the most toxic substances: snake whiskers, scorpion fangs, toad claws, centipede hairs, a man’s black heart, and a widow’s blue tail needle.”

“Even with all his cultivation, he can only suppress the poison—he can’t recover.”

Those ingredients sounded bizarre, but sometimes alchemists didn’t use physical matter—they drew from formless poisons.

That was a true deadly poison, a fierce and inescapable toxin.

Xu Tuanzhang said, “He can’t recover, but his companions might be resting—perhaps giving them more time.”

“Makes sense.”

Meng Daizong smiled. “If so, he’s delirious, facing death. What could he possibly wait for?”

“But we’re waiting for real reinforcements.”

Xu Tuanzhang listened, patted his bald head, picked up a brush, and said, “The reinforcements we’re waiting for… are you?”

As he said “you,” Xu Tuanzhang’s wrist flicked—the brush vanished.

The red-lacquered corridor pillar was instantly scored by the brush, leaving a deep groove.

The figure hidden in the shadow behind the pillar slammed both palms together.

CRACK!

The brush shaft shattered between his palms—but the soft brush tip kept flying, striking his forehead.

The black-clad man stiffened, feeling the brush rest on his forehead for one or two seconds before falling.

He was dressed entirely in black, wearing a black hood and face covering.

Normally, such attire would be glaring in broad daylight.

Yet he’d infiltrated undetected by the guards.

“Good! Good!”

Meng Daizong praised. “Commander Xu, your force is truly direct and powerful.”

It wasn’t refined internal energy channeled into the tip—it was pure, unyielding force that made even the soft bristles carry the impact and strike the man’s forehead.

Meng Daizong gestured. “This man is one of our reinforcements.”

Xu Tuanzhang grunted. “Looks like one of those ninja you brought before—only ruder.”

When President Yuan was young, he rose to prominence on the Korean Peninsula, often dealing with the Japanese, recruiting masters from the Iga ninja clan to train death-sentinels.

By the time he became President, he secretly commanded a large force of Iga ninja.

Meng Daizong hurried to explain: “Don’t misunderstand—he didn’t sneak in to threaten. These men were once given by the President to Liu Zhixiang, the Great Governor of Bashu. Now, though we’ve recalled them, they bring a personal letter from Liu Zhixiang!”

The ninja bowed to Xu Tuanzhang, then presented the letter.

Xu Tuanzhang unrolled it—and his face broke into a smile.

Liu Zhixiang was President Yuan’s trusted confidant; Bashu bordered Yizhou. This letter, delivered physically, felt far more intimate than a telegram.

It didn’t just repeat empty promises—it laid out concrete plans.

Once Cai Shanjun was eliminated, Liu Zhixiang would immediately mobilize troops to pressure Yizhou, giving Xu Tuanzhang real, tangible support to grow stronger.

This act would transform what might have been an internal rebellion into a loyal service to the President.

Yizhou had its turncoats—when the time came, Xu Tuanzhang’s position would shift from peril to safety, bright and secure.

Only then would true wealth be won from the jaws of danger!

“Hahaha!”

Director Xu could no longer suppress his smile, “The President changed my name to Youjiang in the telegram—he truly intended for me to one day hold a territory of my own.”

“If that is so, how could I possibly fail to lay down my life for the President!”

He burst into loud laughter and waved his large hand.

“Patrol—I must patrol. Bring out my car.”

“From today until the day Cai Shanjun dies, I will patrol daily between the major ferry crossings—no slack, no oversight allowed!!”

(End of Chapter)