Chapter 888

When did you guys escape?" Chen Wuji asked.

"It's the sixth day today!" Fan Yang's answer was extremely quick, without thinking, he blurted out.

Chen Wuji chuckled lightly, "You remember it quite clearly."

Fan Yang seemed to have held in a breath, gritting his teeth as he said: "Military Governor, anyone who's been hungry for half a month will deeply remember the first bite of food."

Before becoming deserters, according to our assigned mission, my unit's soldiers were responsible for mopping up—that is, scouting for information outside the mountains and dealing with any scouts that might appear under the Military Governor's command.

After the rations were cut off, I repeatedly requested to send a portion of the troops to find food locally, but all were rejected by superiors. Our Training Officer strictly ordered my unit to carry out the original orders, not to act arbitrarily, and said he would send people to handle the food matter—but… heh, his so-called sending people to solve it merely meant sending people to fill his own belly and that of his direct subordinates; he couldn't care less about the life or death of us.

Chen Wuji found this slightly surprising and couldn't quite understand: "Why would he obstruct you from trying to find food on your own? That doesn't make sense."

I didn't understand at first either, but after escaping, I figured it out." Fan Yang said resentfully, "Because our army has kept marching, the soldiers couldn't stay away from the formation for long; at most they could spend half a day looking for food.

What can you accomplish in half a day? Basically just wandering nearby to pick some edible wild greens, and if lucky, snag a few small game. With such a limited area, there's only so much edible stuff; if too many people go out, everyone might end up with nothing.

Chen Wuji gave a slight nod, "So your Training Officer forced the rest of you to starve to guarantee his own belly and that of his direct subordinates?"

Yes!

You didn't kill someone like that?

He's dead!

Not bad, he still has some backbone.

Fan Yang stared, his expression extremely surprised.

He thought someone like Chen Wuji wouldn't like his insubordinate behavior.

Even if his actions were understandable, rules are rules.

Can you eat your fill now?" Chen Wuji asked.

Fan Yang shook his head. "Still not enough, but at least we can scrounge something each day. Many things in the mountains we don't recognize, so we dare not try them randomly, and game is hard to catch.

Trash!

???

What are you looking at? You still seem a bit unwilling? I'll tell you, this mountain is a treasure trove; anyone with a little courage and eyesight absolutely couldn't starve to death here." Chen Wuji said solemnly, "Send all your people out; by sunset, those who can bring back game will be incorporated into my troops, while those who return empty-handed get lost to go farm—they're not fit to be soldiers!"

Fan Yang's expression changed to astonishment, "Commander Chen, aren't you afraid my subordinate deserters will run again?"

Let them run if they want; it doesn't matter, I'm too lazy to want a bunch of trash." Chen Wuji said.

But you'd better have the ability to run; reaching Shenxian Ling is my home turf. In this mountain, I've fought more than just a battle or two. If your subordinates are confident they can escape my deployment, go ahead and run.

Since you've brought it up, I'll add a stake: anyone who wants to test their abilities can give it a try. If caught, they'll be drawn and quartered; but if they truly make it to the entrance of Gu Zhandao alive, I won't hold their deserter status against them—they'll be promoted one rank, awarded a hundred taels of silver, and granted five mu of land, all on top of their current base.

Such rewards made Fan Yang's heart clench, instantly sparking an urge to give it a shot.

But thinking of his current near-death body, that fire died down unwillingly; he clearly knew Chen Wuji's confidence wasn't baseless—in this vast mountain where even standing on the peak you can't see the end, for Chen Wuji to say such things so calmly, he must have made ample preparations.

The rewards for escaping are indeed tempting, but the consequences of failing are equally dire.

After pondering for a while, Fan Yang suddenly lifted his head, eyes flashing with a mad light as he asked: "Please forgive my boldness, Military Governor. Though your rewards are generous, mere words aren't proof. What if my men actually make it to the Gu Zhandao entrance, but your troops don't recognize it—what then?"

I wouldn't have guessed, but your ambition is indeed not small. Go count the heads; I'll personally write you a note." Chen Wuji said.

Yes!

Fan Yang returned to his temporary Lìng with a grim face, gathering several of his battalion commanders together.

Outside are the elite troops of the Southern Command Governor's personal guard, rumored to be the strongest unit of Nan Jun; we have no power to resist them, which isn't disgraceful." Fan Yang looked over each familiar face, then spoke solemnly.

The crowd instantly erupted.

Chen Wuji actually came in person? No wonder!

Using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken—yet we, this bunch, might one day get to match Chen Wuji's personal troops; that's already a face-saver. Everyone, being alive is quite an honor!

That's the enemy army—stop blowing your own trumpets so shamelessly, okay?

The enemy army counts only before the fight; now it doesn't matter.

Blowing? Who's boasting about the enemy? Hell, isn't that a fact? Their achievements sit right there; what's wrong with us saying that? We can't ignore their accomplishments just because we're opposed.

……

Fan Yang raised his head, "All right, settle down. Chen Wuji has given us four options. First path to survival: each fights individually; those who bring back game before sunset will be incorporated into the troops. I've heard the Southern Command troops' rewards are tempting—you can consider that.

Those who can't get game will go back to farm. However, I doubt they'll let us return to our hometowns; perhaps they'll assign us somewhere to work the fields, losing our freedom.

Third option: escape; if you successfully reach the entrance of this Gu Zhandao, you'll be promoted one rank, awarded a hundred taels of silver, and granted five mu of land on top of your current standing. But if you're caught before reaching the Gu Zhandao entrance, it's drawing and quartering—no leniency.

Think it over yourselves; since Chen Wuji dares to state such terms, there are probably his eyes everywhere in this mountain.

As soon as his words fell, a battalion commander in the crowd asked: "Marshal, what are you planning to do?"

I want to give it a gamble!" After much deliberation, Fan Yang still decided to gamble; he was attracted by Chen Wuji's rewards and also wanted to prove his abilities to Chen Wuji to secure a future.

He knew that given his current physical condition, this path was tough, but it wasn't without opportunity.

But this time, I won't bring anyone. If you choose to gamble, you'd better act alone; once numbers go up, the chance of being discovered spikes dramatically, and death won't be far off.