Chapter 1007

Licentiate Yuan stared at Chen Wushuang for two breaths, then let out a soft chuckle, quickly assumed a serious, earnest expression, firmly shook his head, and said, "I don't believe it!"

Named entities: Licentiate Yuan, Chen Wushuang. Also maybe 'two breaths' is not named. So list Licentiate Yuan, Chen Wushuang.

"Why don't you believe it?" Chen Wuji asked.

Named: Chen Wuji.

This place is completely abandoned; who would come here for tea?

No named entities.

Chen Wushuang insisted: "Licentiate Yuan, you're right, but he placed his tea stall at the crossroads where the ancient road meets Luoying Camp; caravans sometimes come through there."

Named: Chen Wushuang, Ancient Road, Luoying Camp. Also 'Licentiate' refers to Licentiate Yuan but it's a title; but it's not a named entity? It's a generic term of address but could be considered a rank? However glossary includes Licentiate Yuan, not just Licentiate. So we don't list Licentiate alone.

Licentiate Yuan said, "You also said 'occasionally', but this place is full of bandits; even the occasional caravan would be rare."

Named: Licentiate Yuan. Also 'bandits' is generic.

Chen Wushuang gasped, "That old man himself said there are hardly any people, just a few, but he can't do anything else—he just has to tough it out, setting up a stall only once every ten days or so."

Named: Chen Wushuang. Also 'old man' is generic.

Licentiate Yuan said: "So I don't believe it. If it were me, I'd rather just plant something random in the field; even if the harvest is small, it would at least fill my stomach a bit."

Named: Licentiate Yuan.

This place is completely deserted; there's probably nowhere nearby to buy anything. Even if he earns some silver at his age, it seems he couldn't exchange it for grain.

Named: Silver. Also 'he' is generic.

Chen Wushuang stood there, stammering for a moment, then stubbornly said: "He could trade money with neighbors for food; there are still a few households in the town."

Named: Chen Wushuang. Also 'money' is generic.

Chen Wuji slapped Chen Wushuang on the head: "Enough, stop talking; you've been going on for half a day and it's all nonsense—you're not even as good as a child!"

Named: Chen Wuji, Chen Wushuang.

All of you, run fifty laps around the camp while carrying a load, each write a five‑thousand‑character self‑critique, and turn it in to me tomorrow!

Named: Weight Load. Also 'camp ground' is not a proper name. Also 'self‑critique' is generic.

Self‑critique is Chen Wuji's proudest act of plagiarism so far.

Named: Chen Wuji.

It not only punishes people and makes them correct their mistakes, but also increases their knowledge—three birds with one stone.

No named.

A soldier on the right side whispered, "My lord, I'm illiterate."

Named: Soldier. Also 'my lord' is generic.

Chen Wuji shouted: "I don't care either way—you have to turn in five thousand characters tomorrow, or you'll get five hundred blows with the military cane. I'll beat the hell out of you lot of useless brats, even though you're supposed to be elite; to me you're just a bunch of clueless rabble!"

Named: Chen Wuji. Also 'military cane' is generic.

A group of people fell into this pit; just thinking about it makes his face burn with embarrassment.

No named.

Chen Wuji barked: "What are you standing around for? Do you want me to order you to run?"

Named: Chen Wuji.

Chen Wushuang quickly led the team to turn right and began running patrols around the camp.

Named: Chen Wushuang. Also 'camp ground' is not a named entity.

Kong Fang stepped forward and said, "My lord, this old man seems suspicious—he could be a spy for some faction. But he hasn't killed anyone, so I'm not sure what to make of this."

Named: Kong Fang. Also 'old man' is generic.

Chen Wuji snorted, "Just let him go and see what tricks he's up to. Maybe he's just trying to venture into the tiger's den to find out more, so I can counter him appropriately."

Named: Chen Wuji.

Handle this matter: go along with what he says. If he apologizes and begs for mercy, telling his story with tears and sobs, you'll feel moved, then slip him some silver money—don't give away the plan.

Named: Silver money (but it's generic; we already have Silver). Not a named entity.

Here!

No named.

Kong Fang obeyed, ordering men to bring the unconscious old man into his tent.

Named: Kong Fang, Camp Tent. Also 'old man' is generic.

Chen Wuji entered the large tent with a grim face and stood before the huge map.

Named: Chen Wuji, Big Tent.

Luoying Camp was once absolutely prosperous.

Named: Luoying Camp.

This ancient road, which stretches up from Lingnan and passes through Shenxian Ridge, has three very important nodes in Nanyue Commandery; Luoying Camp is one of them, and the only one involved in border trade.

Named: Lingnan, Shenxian Ridge, Ancient Road, Nanyue Commandery, Luoying Camp.

To its left lies the Horse‑Drinking Stream granted by Emperor Yu to the Uyghur people; straight ahead is Lingshouzhou. Though not a strategic chokepoint, for merchants traveling south and north this place is the throat.

Named: Da Yu, Emperor, Uyghur People, Horse‑Drinking Stream, Lingshouzhou.

Because anything related to border trade can make a lot of money.

No named.

This is probably also one of the reasons Luoying Camp was able to form in the first place.

Named: Luoying Camp.

Lu San Ye walked in, casually squatted at the entrance of the tent, puffing on a gold‑thread cigarette, and said, "Marquis, I inspected that old man's tea stall—food and supplies are decent, there's plenty of tea leaves; it looks like a proper tea stall, not as dire as he claimed."

Named: Lu San Ye, Camp Tent, Marquis. Also 'old man' is generic.

"That old thing is definitely suspicious!" Chen Wuji glanced at Lu San Ye, felt a craving, and wanted to bum a cigarette.

Named: Chen Wuji, Lu San Ye.

When his mind started working, he just wanted to hold that thing in his mouth.

No named.

He took a pre‑rolled cigarette from the box on the table, lit it with a match, and took a satisfied puff.

Named: Chen Wuji. Also 'match' is generic.

Licentiate Yuan's recently rolled cigarettes are quite stylish—thin and long, with barely visible paper seams, the tobacco packed tightly; one puff gives a rich, mellow flavor.

Named: Licentiate Yuan.

Chen Wuji blew a smoke ring, glanced sideways at the map, and said, "What kind of person has the nerve to target me? My force numbers over ten thousand, each soldier mounted on two horses; if they send scouts, they must surely know our strength."

Named: Chen Wuji, reconnaissance. Also 'map' is generic.

The nearest threats are just Cao Lin and that damn 'second master', but we still have Chen Wuyi's Wing Lodging Camp ahead—could they be coming by a detour?

Named: Cao Lin, Chen Wuyi, Wing Lodging Camp. Also 'second master' is generic.

Chen Wuji, having said that, suddenly fixed his gaze on the Horse‑Drinking Stream.

Named: Chen Wuji, Horse‑Drinking Stream.

Lu San Ye narrowed his eyes, tapped his pipe against his shoe sole, and said, "Marquis, you forgot we actually have a neighbor nearby."

Named: Marquis, Lu San Ye.

Chen Wuji nodded, "I just thought of that too."

Named: Chen Wuji.

Reconnaissance means they want to fight; wanting to fight means they've likely been eyeing us for a while and have already prepared. If they want to fight, they must be confident they can beat us… and here, the Horse‑Drinking Stream is actually close!

Named: reconnaissance, Horse‑Drinking Stream.

Lu San Ye opened the tobacco pouch hanging from his pipe, refilled it, and said, "Maybe they're targeting the Wing Lodging Camp. After all, our army just arrived today; they might not have us in their sights."

Named: Lu San Ye, Wing Lodging Camp.

Chen Wuji nodded, "Quite possible!"

Named: Chen Wuji.

The Uyghur servant troops from Yan Prefecture never could figure out who they're aligned with; it's unclear whether they're actually siding with the Wise Prince.

Named: Yan Zhou, Uyghur, Wise King. Also 'servant troops' is generic.

After all, the Yu clan's generosity is legendary—this fertile Horse‑Drinking Stream land is so rich that even the locals would give it away without blinking; the Wise Prince promising to hand over something like Nanyue Commandery wouldn't be surprising.

Named: Horse‑Drinking Stream, Wise King, Nanyue Commandery.

If this hypothesis holds, that'd be damn interesting—the Snake‑Staff Elder might really control Nanyue Commandery, giving us a huge advantage. Yan Prefecture is under attack from both inside and out, as is Lingshouzhou; Yang Ji has taken full advantage there, and that 'second master' we fought… what's his name again?

Named: Snake Staff Elder, Nanyue Commandery, Yan Zhou, Lingshouzhou, Yang Ji. Also 'second master' is generic.

You're the 'third master', but I keep calling that guy the 'second master'—this damn fellow seems to be taking advantage of me!

Named: third master refers to Lu San Ye? Actually it's a title; but not a named entity. second master is generic.

Lu San Ye chuckled, "Lin Zhaode—that's a name I happen to remember."

Named: Lu San Ye, Lin Zhaode.

Chen Wuji said, "Oh right, Lin Zhaode. If Lin Zhaode feigns defeat, running around Lingshouzhou with Yang Ji causing chaos, while the Uyghur troops divert Chen Wuyi, then stab Yang Ji in the back, Yang Ji probably won't win."

Named: Lin Zhaode, Lingshouzhou, Yang Ji, Uyghur People, Chen Wuyi.

If he can't win, the pressure on our army will only increase. Sure, it's a desperate 'dog‑jumps‑over‑wall, chicken‑flies‑dog‑jumps' situation, but instead I'll have to meet their allies head‑on.

No named entities (maybe 'our army' generic).

"Damn it, what grudge do I have with these foreigners for killing my father? Why do they keep eyeing me?"