Chapter 399

North of Injury Zongyang Town stood a former country gentleman's secondary estate, still some distance from the Injury Zongyang market town. After the Tongcheng Civil Unrest, that gentleman relocated to Jiangnan, and the property eventually became an asset of the Garrison Battalion.

Beyond the original buildings, several more courtyards had been added to the estate. Its outer walls stood taller than those of ordinary households, and no residence plaque hung outside the gate. The neighbors had no idea which master lived within, only guessing it was some General Officer from the Anqing Garrison Battalion, since a military camp lay nearby housing over two hundred soldiers who drilled frequently in the open — though they called themselves a Water Camp, they rarely went out to sail.

In a courtyard on the north side, the largest main hall held no tables, chairs, or furniture. Two women grappled on the floor, and after a moment, one pinned her opponent's back and locked an arm around her neck. The other quickly slapped at her hand, and the woman released her grip at once. Both collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

After resting a moment, Mo Qiyun shifted and laid her head on Jiang Shou's lap. "Still no match for Jiang Jiejie."

Jiang Shou stroked her hair out of habit. "Your sister did farm work as a child — naturally I've got a bit more strength than you."

"But the master said this set of techniques was created by the Garrison Battalion and doesn't rely on strength. It must be that sister is cleverer and grasped it more clearly." Mo Qiyun lay on Jiang Shou's lap, staring absently at the light filtering through the gaps between the roof tiles. "I'm just slow."

Jiang Shou let out a puff of laughter. "And you call yourself slow? In that pinyin, shorthand, and rapid calculation nonsense, you're far better than your sister. That lock-picking technique the gentleman taught before noon — I'm still in a complete fog, but you've got it all down."

"What's the point of picking other people's locks — are we to become thieves? I don't want to be shut up in this courtyard learning this nonsense. Studying it fills me with dread." Mo Qiyun turned her head away, a few tears sliding from her eyes.

Jiang Shou sat up and wiped her tears dry, then sighed. "The lord says learn, so we learn. It's not up to us. He says we're all soldiers of the Covert Sentinel Battalion, drawing three taels of silver in monthly pay, with obedience to orders as our bounden duty. If he insists we learn and you refuse, that's disobeying orders — and then you won't even have a life left."

Mo Qiyun's eyes were still misty with tears. "Jiang Jiejie, what do you think we're learning all this for? Surely they don't mean for us to actually go into battle and kill people."

"Silly girl. If they wanted someone to go into battle and kill, why spend a fortune buying us from Yangzhou? Pick any two from the Canal Gang at the Anqing docks — who among them couldn't kill better than us two, and they wouldn't cost a single tael of silver to buy. Besides, look at what we're learning: that rapid calculation seems like something an account office clerk would use, the sort of thing a wealthy merchant household might need. But pinyin, shorthand — these things have nothing to do with killing either."

"Then what exactly does the Covert Sentinel Division want us for?"

Jiang Shou shook her head gently. "I don't know either. Perhaps only Lord Jiang knows."

Mo Qiyun was silent for a moment. She reached up and removed the golden hairpin from her hair, held it before her eyes and studied it carefully, then turned her head to look at Jiang Shou. "Young Master Jiang hasn't been seen for a long time. Perhaps he's forgotten us entirely. Maybe we'll never see him again, left to our own devices here."

Jiang Shou sighed but said nothing. Mo Qiyun looked up at her, then suddenly laughed again. "Jiejie, isn't it strange? We were Yangzhou Thoroughbreds — how, in the blink of an eye, did we become grunts in the army? I've never even heard of such a thing. If we told the Madam, she'd only think we were lost in a confused dream."

"Then treat it as a confused dream." Jiang Shou tweaked Mo Qiyun's nose. "When you wake, that Young Master Jiang will have carried you off to a grand residence in Jinling, with a whole flock of maids and old serving women attending you, and a whole host of household slaves — only he'd be afraid you couldn't remember all their names, so he taught you shorthand first."

Mo Qiyun giggled twice. "I'll certainly bring Jiejie along. I just don't know when I'll wake."

At that moment, the main door creaked open. The two scrambled up from the floor at once, stood shoulder to shoulder in solemn silence facing the door, and saw Academy Yuan Xuezheng already stepping into the room, accompanied by an elderly man with graying hair.

Academy Yuan Xuezheng said in a deep voice, "Covert Sentinel Division Training Order."

The two responded with practiced fluency: "We are officers and soldiers of the Anqing Covert Sentinel Battalion. We obey the commands of Lord Pang and the superior officers of the Covert Sentinel Division. We safeguard the peace and happiness of the common people under heaven. We shall fulfill our duties with utmost diligence, never betray our comrades, never divulge secrets, and spare not our lives to accomplish our military orders."

"Very good." Academy Yuan Xuezheng looked the two over, then produced a sheet of red paper. "Trainees Jiang Shou and Mo Qiyun: literacy and shorthand — qualified. Literary Course begins Intelligence Identification and Transmission coursework today. Martial Course formally begins tomorrow."

At the words "Martial Course," Mo Qiyun's throat made a gulping sound. Academy Yuan Xuezheng glanced at her. Mo Qiyun stood ramrod straight, not daring to make another sound.

"You two are the earliest female trainees of the Covert Sentinel Division. Today, new female trainees are arriving. You two must set a proper example."

The two answered in unison, "Yes, my lord."

Academy Yuan Xuezheng stepped closer and looked at Jiang Shou. "The female trainees now number seven in total. Jiang Shou, you are appointed Team Leader. Daily morning drill, hall lectures, field exercises, and examinations and evaluations — you will lead the roll call for all of them."

Jiang Shou gave an affirmative reply with no further reaction. Academy Yuan Xuezheng turned and gestured toward the elderly man. "This is your new instructor for the Martial Course. You will all address him as De Ten Prefectures."

Mo Qiyun stole a glance at the old man. His hair was already graying, his body slightly stooped. In outward appearance, he showed no sign of being able to teach assassination — even those Water Camp soldiers outside the gate looked more formidable than him.

"Starting tomorrow, all female trainees will first follow De Ten Prefectures. Only when De Ten Prefectures's evaluation deems you qualified may you leave the academy to carry out assignments. Jiang Shou, go meet the new trainees first, take them to settle into their quarters. Tonight, you must have them thoroughly memorize the academy's rules."

"Understood." Jiang Shou answered in a low voice, performed a woman's curtsy toward De Ten Prefectures, and led Mo Qiyun out of the main hall.

Academy Yuan Xuezheng walked two steps toward the doorway and watched them assemble the women in the courtyard. He said in a low voice to the old man beside him, "De Ten Prefectures, you observed them just now — how is the practice of these two women coming along?"

De Ten Prefectures stood at his side. "This technique makes considerable use of clever leverage and suits women's practice well enough. But it is not a convenient method for killing. In the end, for killing, the sword and the powder are still quicker."

"These women may not always have a sword at hand. De Ten Prefectures must still teach some unarmed techniques."

De Ten Prefectures waited a moment, then replied, "I do not know precisely what mold Lord Pang intends to cast these women into. If it is merely killing, men are still more convenient."

"There are always destinations men cannot go. Women have their uses as women. The primary task is gathering intelligence. The women of the Covert Sentinel Division are not trained solely to kill — but when a moment requiring killing arises, they must also be capable of handling it." Academy Yuan Xuezheng paused briefly. "Whether it's the Cavalry Camp or the Canal Gang, there is no shortage of people who fight and kill. But we have never before trained women, and Lord Pang is pressing urgently to establish this. De Ten Prefectures is an expert in the Da Hang and has trained many disciples — see what these women lack most."

"They lack killing technique, and even more, they lack killing intent. No matter how much skill they have in their hands, if, when the moment comes to kill, they tremble so badly they cannot even stand steady — that sort cannot be trained. If this old man were selecting disciples, I would absolutely not choose these two women. As for the new arrivals, I wonder if they are the same as these two."

"The women selected must each have their strengths. The new ones were recruited locally in Anqing. The primary requirement was a family guarantor, and each has one area of expertise. Beyond that, I know nothing. The matters ahead will trouble De Ten Prefectures."

"This old man will do his utmost. But I must state plainly to the Academy Director in advance: I have trained a few disciples, but I have never taught women. What the outcome will be, I dare not guarantee at present."

Academy Yuan Xuezheng nodded. "De Ten Prefectures need only teach. They will go to every direction in the future to carry out assignments. Whether they can handle their assignments well and preserve their lives will depend on their own fortune."

De Ten Prefectures turned his head to look at Academy Yuan Xuezheng. "Apart from the Great River, where else will the Covert Sentinel Division send them on assignment? This old man should make some preparations — there are certain accents and dialects that must also be taught."

"East, west, south, north — they will go to all of them."

……

"Lin Dengwan, you are a man of Daming Prefecture."

In a nunnery not far from the Imperial City in the Capital, Jiang Fan stood in the shade of a locust tree, calmly regarding the person before him — a man around twenty years of age, quite tall and thin, with fair, pale skin.

"This humble one is."

"Since you have studied as a licentiate candidate and can read and write, finding a livelihood should not be difficult. Why do you wish to undergo purification and enter the palace?"

Lin Dengwan raised his head and looked cautiously at Jiang Fan. "The family fortunes declined. We could not afford food and still owed silver to other households. All three brothers in the family could not afford to take wives. In our region, many undergo purification and enter the palace — I heard one family even attained wealth and rank. This humble one was frail from childhood, unable to do farm livelihood. No one even wanted me as a tenant farmer. I understand nothing of the trades in the markets and streets, and had nowhere to go to enlist. So I thought of entering the palace, to give the family some hope at least. The family had already drawn up the document for a knife craftsman to perform the purification, but we could not afford the rations and pay for the procedure. I came with others to wait inside the Capital, thinking perhaps some noble patron might offer aid."

Hearing the flattery, Jiang Fan's face showed no trace of a smile. He studied the man for a long while, then said, "For the sake of giving your brothers hope — that shows an understanding of sentiment and duty. It is good for a man to have bonds that tie him. And so you came to wait in this temple where eunuchs pass through."

"I was also waiting for someone to lift me up. I have some fellow townsmen serving as eunuchs in the palace who could put in a good word with the stewards and help me enter the palace sooner."

"Then why have you waited two years and still not entered?"

Lin Dengwan kept his head lowered. "They say the palace first employs those already purified — they can serve as soon as they enter. If the purification is done by the palace itself, it takes several months before one can carry out duties. Around the Imperial City, the Nameless White who have undergone purification number no less than ten thousand. Every family has fellow townsmen in the palace, so naturally it never came to this humble one's turn. I could only do odd jobs in this temple and barely scrape by on some congee."

"You have gone many times to beg at the doors of those knife craftsmen who perform purification, yet none were willing to let you owe silver for the procedure."

Lin Dengwan had no clear idea of this person's background, but the man's attire was exceptional, and he brought several attendants — he was the only hope before his eyes. "Those knife craftsmen thought this humble one was too old, that entering the palace would make it hard to secure a good future, and that the silver owed would likely never be repaid... Did the Master learn of this humble one from them?"

Jiang Fan did not answer. He continued his questioning. "Have you thought this through clearly? You must enter the palace. Once the purification is done, regret will come too late."

Lin Dengwan felt inside his robe and produced a sheet of paper. "This is the document drawn up by this humble one's family — voluntary purification, life or death not held to account. All we hope for is a way out for the family."

Jiang Fan tilted his head slightly. A person beside him reached out and took the document, scanned it briefly, then nodded to Jiang Fan.

"Since you regard me as a noble patron, I may as well tell you: I can send you into the palace. As for a way out for your brothers, I will provide that as well."

Lin Dengwan said with some agitation, "Then what does the Master require this humble one to do?"

"When the time comes, someone will tell you." Jiang Fan looked at Lin Dengwan for a moment. "Tomorrow, take no food. Go to the door of Yang Xiaodao and say that Master Jiang sent you. Follow his instructions in making preparations."