Chapter 108: Receiving the Guest (Part 1)

At noon, in front of the main gate of White Horse Ferry Great Stronghold, a huge Transport Cloud slowly descended, and a squad of thirteen riders was the first to dismount from the cloud. At that moment the main gate of White Horse Ferry Great Stronghold was tightly shut, and only a few busy figures could be seen in a ceramic workshop far to the west.

"Young Marshal, wait a moment; allow me to go ahead and call for the gate," Jian Yu said, and rode his horse to the foot of the gate.

"Li Bucai, the Young Marshal has arrived; why don't you come out quickly to receive the escort?"

Jian Yu shouted toward the gate, and shortly after, a pretty face appeared on the gate. Jian Yu was startled; the person had two sharp little horns on her head. She glanced and snorted, "Who dares to shout and holler here." Seeing hundreds of people behind her, she thought, "Could they be newly arrived servants? No, I haven't heard the Lord recruiting newcomers."

Li Bucai did not convey the Young Marshal's arrival today to everyone; he only mentioned it to Yan Qiu, Wan'er, and Wu Zhuoyue, while the others remained unaware. The ones guarding the south gate were members of the Undead clan, and naturally they did not know why the Young Marshal was permitted to enter.

Seeing that the person on the gate was of a different race, Jian Yu, a bit worried about being in the wrong place, said in a calm tone, "May I ask, is this Li Bucai's Territory? Is your lord's surname Li?"

The person on the gate shouted, "How audacious! Our Lord's name is not something you can call at will."

Jian Yu, seeing that they were indeed Li Bucai's people, rode back to the Young Marshal and said, "Young Marshal, Li Bucai is being too presumptuous; he knew the Young Marshal would come today, and even if he didn't come to greet, sending people to block us at the gate is unacceptable."

The Young Marshal had witnessed the whole scene, flicked his horsewhip, gave the horse's tail a hard strike, and shouted, "A mere wooden stronghold dares to block me? If he doesn't dare to see me, then we will storm in and beat him until he begs for mercy."

"Young Marshal... but we have the Three Articles of Agreement..."

"Did I ever say I oppress the villagers? The people on the stronghold wall are clearly soldiers; just by looking at them they don't seem benevolent, they are disrespectful to me. I will seize them and discipline them for their own good— which clause or article of the agreement does that violate?"

Jingyi calmly replied, "The Young Marshal speaks politely; we have no intention of bullying the villagers. His servants lack etiquette and do not know discipline; we are disciplining them on his behalf."

The Young Marshal immediately raised his horsewhip, pointed at the people on the gate, and ordered the 500 Silver Armored Imperial Guard behind him, "Bring those soldiers on the wall to me, and see what Li Bucai has to say."

All 500 were cavalry; the Young Marshal herself is a daughter, and for convenience, this time her entourage consisted of carefully selected elite women: 200 heavy cavalry, 200 mounted archers, and 100 light cavalry.

Upon receiving the command, the 500 let out a crisp shout of obedience, spurred their horses, and charged. The 200 knights led the charge, and when they were less than fifty meters from the City walls, the front hooves of the first rank of heavy cavalry sank, causing both riders and horses to fall into a horse‑trap pit.

At that moment, a command rang from the gate; dozens of people there simultaneously pulled ropes, and on the flat ground behind the horse‑trap pit, as the gate people tugged the ropes, a row of wooden chevaux‑de‑frise sprang up from the mud, blocking the riverbank and preventing the cavalry behind them from advancing another step. The silhouettes on the gate shifted, and in an instant the number rose from forty‑fifty to over three hundred.

Outside the stronghold gate, less than two hundred meters away, lay the White Horse River. The Young Marshal had no siege troops, putting them at a severe disadvantage. Among those who suddenly appeared on the City wall, nearly half had drawn bows; once they release, retreating out of range is impossible. Although they outnumbered them, even a fiercely competitive Young Marshal can imagine that after the rain of arrows, while the enemy's formation is in chaos, a single cavalry squad breaking through the gate would be enough to drive them all into the river.

Trying to bypass this narrow passage, both sides were already blocked.

"Stop, everyone stop! Didn't I tell you that today honored guests will arrive? They are the Lord's esteemed guests," Wan'er's voice rang out amid the tense standoff, scolding the city‑guard official Meng Ji.

All of this was orchestrated by Li Bucai; if the first day's arrival allowed the Young Marshal to throw a princess‑like tantrum, what would happen thereafter?

Li Bucai had deliberately not mentioned this to Meng Ji and the others, and being rebuked by Wan'er now left him somewhat displeased. Though they belonged to the same faction, only Li Bucai could reprimand them, as he was their clan chief; having spent less than half a month with Wan'er's group, even though they owed him a life‑saving debt, he said in a resentful tone, "When did the Lord ever say honored guests were coming? Even if he told you, he never mentioned it to us, so how could we know?"

Her voice was not loud, but those outside the stronghold, not far away, heard it clearly.

Wan'er also did not argue, and with a smile said to the Young Marshal, "You see, these past few days our Territory was just raided by Tan Jiang. After our Lord repelled him, he bore a grudge and vowed revenge. To let the Young Marshal train here without disturbance, the Lord went yesterday to consult his friends about an alliance. If Tan Jiang disturbs again, we will not let him enter neighboring lands to trouble the Young Marshal. The Lord knew the Young Marshal would come today and said he would return last night, but he hasn't shown up yet—perhaps he met trouble on the road and cannot personally welcome the Young Marshal's arrival. Please, Young Marshal, do not take offense."

She ordered the soldiers on the wall to withdraw, opened the stronghold gate, and came down to greet, "This time the Lord only took a few, including Xianghong, to the Mirror Spirit mission, and hasn't returned yet. Wan'er has already instructed Zhuoyue to go meet the Lord; he will be back before nightfall. The people on the City walls are races the Lord rescued from the wilderness; the Lord, eager to return quickly to welcome the Young Marshal, probably forgot to tell them, and we were only busy arranging. So, Young Marshal, please be magnanimous, do not engage with them, and proceed into the stronghold first."

The Young Marshal snorted coldly, and, led by Wan'er, walked into the great stronghold.

"Has Lord Li arranged our lodging?"

"Reporting to the Young Marshal, it has already been arranged."

"We said beforehand we would not touch a single grain of your food, so we won't eat your lunch. Now, lead us to our quarters to look around." The wooden houses inside the stronghold were elegant, many vacant, apparently set aside for themselves.

"Very well." Wan'er replied, summoned the Qingwolf Mount, and the Qingwolf Beast arrived, letting out a roar at the newcomers that startled all the warhorses into a few steps backward. Wan'er gently patted its head, and it calmed.

Wan'er leapt onto the wolf's back and said apologetically, "It's called Thunder; it screams whenever it meets strangers. I told it you are the Lord's friends, and as long as one of our people is with you, it won't bother the warhorses again."

The Young Marshal's original enthusiasm was completely crushed, thinking inwardly: "Fine, Li Bucai, as soon as I arrive you give me a horse‑down warning. I've recorded all this. Wait, when the time comes I'll add several blows, and you'll be unable to live nor die— you'll have a good look at this."

"Hmph, you'd better keep your pet in check; if it trespasses my domain and becomes a ghost under the blade, don't come looking for me later. Lead the way."

Wan'er smiled sweetly, "This way, please."

Leading the group through the stronghold, the Young Marshal and companions followed behind, only to find the path not leading to the wooden houses but northward out of Weng City. After walking a stretch, a tiny outpost appeared ahead: the White Horse Beach Garrison. Wooden houses had already been built around the outpost; the Young Marshal had thought they would be stationed here. Though not as safe as the wooden houses in White Horse Ferry Great Stronghold, it looked fairly comfortable.

Just as they were about to proceed, Wan'er went straight past the outpost and turned toward the eastern forest.

"How much farther?" There was not even a path here; the terrain was hard for horses, and the Young Marshal said impatiently.

"It's right ahead."

In the forest they walked another two-plus li; Wan'er stopped in a dense thicket and dismounted from the wolf's back.

"This is the camp prepared for the Young Marshal. Because you are honored guests, the Lord specially ordered that you may fell any timber here without charge. The wood is abundant; cutting down trees will provide enough material for your people to build barracks, and the White Horse River is just ahead, making water easy to obtain."

Everyone stared in astonishment; this vast forest had no place to set up camp. Cutting down trees and then building a stronghold— they had not a single person skilled at construction. How long would it take to build? Would they have to sleep out in the wilderness?