Chapter 222: I, Old Li, Keep My Word

"Li my lord."

In the courtyard, Dao Mo and Xu Wen saw Li Rui leading a column of Anning Guard soldiers into the Trade Office.

Their eyes lit up.

"So just how many men did he bring?"

Just as Dao Mo's hopes rose, he noticed the number was far fewer than he'd expected, and his expression gradually stiffened.

Moments later.

All the Anning Guard soldiers had assembled in the courtyard of the Trade Office.

Twelve men per row.

Ten rows in total.

That meant the Anning Guard had deployed exactly one hundred and twenty men.

Dao Mo's gaze dimmed.

Though twenty more than the original hundred, it was still far short of the two hundred he'd envisioned.

"Never mind."

Dao Mo lifted his spirits again.

The matter was settled; better to rely on oneself than beg others—now he'd just have to be extra cautious during the escort.

He was about to speak.

Then Li Rui said: "Apologies—just spent extra time directing those brats out of the city."

"Those brats?"

Dao Mo and Xu Wen froze.

Li Rui smiled and explained: "Two hundred men would be too obvious, so I sent eighty soldiers ahead to sneak out and lie in wait in the woods beside the road, to scout ahead."

'It's two hundred after all!'

Dao Mo's face brightened with joy.

He hadn't expected Li Rui had actually secured two hundred soldiers from the Anning Guard.

That's four full battalions.

Even a Garrison Commander doesn't command that many.

He drew a deep breath and bowed to Li Rui: "Li my lord, thank you."

Li Rui sidestepped to avoid the bow. "It's merely my duty."

But Dao Mo didn't see it that way.

Sending troops was the Anning Guard's duty—but sending twenty or two hundred? That's a different matter entirely.

The Anning Guard agreed to deploy two hundred men only because the Trade Office Commandant is Li Rui.

He saw it clearly.

His regard for Li Rui surged instantly.

The other Wu Kingdom men also softened their gaze toward Li Rui.

Xu Wen stared at Li Rui in disbelief: "Li my lord, you really mobilized two hundred men?"

Li Rui nodded. "It was troublesome, but I got it done."

Xu Wen sucked in a sharp breath.

Unlike the Wu Kingdom men, he understood the Anning Guard's protocols better—mobilizing two hundred soldiers required more than just Jiang Lin and Cao Wei's approval; it demanded reporting to Annan Town.

The entire process was excruciatingly complex.

And both senior officers of the Anning Guard would bear responsibility.

Just imagining it made it clear how difficult it was.

So when Dao Mo requested two hundred men, Xu Wen never expected Li Rui to succeed.

Yet Li Rui had done it anyway.

"Impressive."

Xu Wen spoke sincerely—he knew he couldn't have pulled it off himself.

Li Rui smiled faintly.

For this matter,

he'd certainly worried plenty—but worrying alone wasn't enough. The key was Jiang Lin's prior debt to him.

Otherwise, how could he possibly command two hundred men in one go?

The reason he went to such lengths

wasn't just because of Dao Mo's request—more importantly, it was the mist inside his Insight Eye.

Almost two days after Dao Mo spoke, the mist turned deep red.

Li Rui understood: escorting the trade caravan wouldn't be as simple as it seemed; trouble was likely, possibly an ambush.

And as Trade Office Commandant, he had no choice but to go—it was his duty.

Change the timing of the trade fair—or cancel it temporarily?

Impossible.

The date was set by the Emperor's decree; the Son of Heaven does not jest. Even the Emperor himself couldn't alter it lightly.

Any change would bring punishment—demotion at best, dismissal at worst.

What about stationing stronger experts?

Sounds good, but hard to execute.

Someone stronger than Li Rui would be on Jiang Lin or Cao Wei's level—the Anning Guard's top officers. To summon them, you'd need a compelling reason.

Could Li Rui say he had an Insight Eye that showed danger?

Officialdom always treats small matters as big, big matters as small.

The trade fair between nations is an imperial affair. Li Rui has done his utmost. If disaster strikes, he won't bear the blame—but if his Insight Eye is exposed and targeted by schemers, he'll bear it all alone.

Of course, all this assumes the mist hasn't yet turned fully black-red—still within his capacity to handle.

He isn't some reclusive hermit untouched by karmic ties; he can't flee every time trouble arises.

Li Rui spoke:

"Dao my lord, Xu my lord, time waits for no one—shall we depart?"

It was the sixth month.

Willow trees lined the road, lush and vibrant.

Along the road, besides this trade caravan and its Anning Guard escort, no other merchant parties were visible.

This was because the county office had already sealed off the road.

Heavy-laden carts rolled forward, their wooden wheels groaning under the weight.

Clearly, the cargo was immense.

The convoy moved slowly.

There was no need to ride—walking was enough to keep pace.

From time to time, footsteps echoed from the nearby woods—hidden Anning Guard soldiers.

Dao Mo watched the occasional heads bobbing in the distance.

He smiled in satisfaction. "Li my lord, I owe you a favor."

He said this, riding beside Li Rui.

"Then I won't be polite."

Li Rui laughed heartily.

He'd spent one of Jiang Lin's favors—and gained a fifth-rank favor in return. It was a loss, but not as much as before.

Dao Mo was a fifth-rank Sea-Viewing cultivator, with a beast companion—his strength was formidable.

Thinking of it,

Li Rui glanced at Dao Mo's nine-horned silver lizard.

He'd once killed one—but this one was nothing like it.

Rumor had it Wu Kingdom warriors trained with beasts to fight in perfect tandem, multiplying their combat effectiveness.

"Li my lord seems quite interested in beasts."

=9+shu_ba

Dao Mo smiled.

He'd noticed Li Rui's gaze linger repeatedly on his nine-horned silver lizard.

Of course.

Taming beasts was rare in Yu Kingdom.

Li Rui nodded. "Beasts are fierce. To be this docile is uncommon."

"It's our tribe's beast-taming art."

"Beast-taming art?"

Dao Mo nodded:

"It's not as mystical as outsiders think—just specific techniques combined with medicinal herbs. But some herbs are unique to the Southern Wastes, so only Wu Kingdom has many beast-taming specialists; elsewhere, they're rare."

Li Rui found this fascinating.

Not just him—even the Anning Guard soldiers walking beside them and the Trade Office officials had all leaned in, listening intently.

It's because the Wuhuo have so little information about them, and they're so mysterious.

Dao Mo didn't mind.

He was merely explaining basic knowledge of taming beasts—no different from the foundational teachings of Wu Gong in Yu State; there was no need to hide it. It was only because the people of Yu State knew so little about Wuhuo that they found it strange.

Besides, sharing common knowledge helps build rapport with Li Rui—why not?

In Qinghe County, officials like Li Rui who are willing to do good are hard to find.

"Wuhuo martial arts differ from Yu State's. Practitioners typically visualize beast forms to strengthen their bodies, with no fixed techniques. Usually, they rely on their bonded beasts."

Bonded beasts?

Li Rui's interest deepened.

"At birth, we usually give a drop of fingertip blood to feed a young beast with secret methods; our bloodlines become linked, forming a bonded beast."

"Typically, martial artists mimic their bonded beasts to strengthen their bodies and gain power."

Li Rui exclaimed he had never seen anything like it.

He hadn't imagined Wuhuo had forged a path in martial cultivation entirely unlike anything he'd ever considered.

Dao Mo continued:

"Some great shamans can even merge with their bonded beasts, becoming Great Beast-Men—immensely powerful, capable of striking with millions of jin of force, breaking through human limits."

"Great Beast-Men?"

Li Rui's mind suddenly recalled the Evil God Art.

The two seemed strangely similar.

Both turned practitioners into beings neither fully human nor fully beast.

"It seems the Evil God Art of Xuan State and the Beast-Taming Art both originated from Wuhuo techniques."

"One reveres nature and emphasizes cultivation."

"The other seeks to harness natural forces for personal gain—turning a true path into a heretical one."

Li Rui mentally assessed.

Yet neither the Evil God Art of Xuan State nor the Beast-Taming Art of Wuhuo was superior—their paths simply diverged.

Both paths had led some to great heights.

"Perhaps I should find a copy of the Beast-Taming Art—might offer some inspiration."

The border between Wuhuo and Yu State was a boundless, desolate forest sea.

Local mountain folk called it the Ten Thousand Mountains.

It meant the mountains were deep, dense, and teeming with beasts.

A human no-man's-land.

Even the most experienced mountain dwellers dared not venture deep into the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Among the mountains lay a winding path.

It was the route from Wuhuo to Yu State.

There were only five such paths, all naturally formed, later widened and paved into roads—soon becoming the five major trade routes connecting Wuhuo and Yu State.

Two towering castles stood facing each other, dividing the road.

These were the border checkpoints.

At this moment,

dozens of li beyond the checkpoint, deep in the forest, Qi Yu still wore a wide-brimmed hat and black robes, as did seven others beside him.

They were all descendants of Xuan State people who had migrated south to Wuhuo.

Even after a thousand years in Wuhuo, they still wore Xuan State attire.

They were unused to wearing beast hides.

In truth, not everyone in Wuhuo wore furs and drank raw blood.

Qi Yu handed a sheet covered in tiny script to the man beside him:

"This is the Anning Guard's deployment map. In three days, the Yu State caravan will arrive—prepare the ambush."

Qi Ze had finally given him the deployment map.

"Yes!"

The man took the map.

His eyes gleamed with delight.

With this map, they could avoid the most heavily guarded areas and strike where the enemy was weak.

After all, their target this time wasn't the Anning Guard soldiers.

Killing all the Wuhuo merchants would complete the mission—if the first caravan of traders died, who would dare trade again?

As the men plotted,

faint footsteps sounded nearby in the woods.

The next instant,

a languid woman's voice spoke:

"I truly dislike fighting and killing."

(End of Chapter)