Chapter 389: Picking Peaches

Wu Tie moved his wrists and ankles, twisted his neck and waist; all his important joints were smooth and unimpeded, without the slightest soreness or stiffness.

His life pool was intact, his magical cultivation intact, and his soul likewise intact.

There were no hidden injuries in his body, no traces left from poisoning.

Everything was fine.

It was as if that fierce battle on the Three Kingdoms battlefield, that bloody slaughter, had never existed.

Wu Tie exhaled, glanced at the two girls with bright eyes and lovely smiles; the two girls had been sitting on the soft stools beside the bed, and as soon as Wu Tie opened his eyes they rose, letting their hands hang naturally in front, slightly bowing and smiling at him.

"Sir, you've awakened?"

The two girls' voices were clear and sweet like silver bells; one naturally placed her hands on Wu Tie's shoulders, while the other took a thumb-sized golden pill from a jade bottle on the side table behind her and presented it to him with both hands.

"Please, sir, take one Heaven-Mending Pill; your injuries will surely improve greatly, leaving no lingering aftereffects."

The girl holding the pill smiled at Wu Tie.

"Hn." Wu Tie nodded, not letting the girl move, instead inhaling slightly and drawing the fragrant pill into his mouth, swallowing it.

Wu Tie had no fear that the pill might be problematic.

The room's furnishings were not luxurious or extravagant, yet every table and chair, all utensils, were made of superb materials; all the furniture was crafted by master hands, each thick, simple line exuding a unique quality called "foundation," giving a sense of tranquility, harmony, solemnity, and dignity.

The two girls were quite beautiful in appearance, but their bearing was simple and serene, like orchids in an empty valley, with no trace of frivolity about them.

They were clearly of the orthodox path, giving Wu Tie a very good impression and posing no threat.

Moreover, if they wished to do something harmful to Wu Tie, during his unconsciousness they had ample time to do so.

Thus, Wu Tie felt no psychological pressure taking that Heaven-Mending Pill.

Feeling a gentle pure yang energy arise within, slowly permeating his limbs and bones, a vigorous vitality quietly filling his body, Wu Tie said in a low voice: "Where am I? How did the Blood Flag Contention War go?"

The two girls simultaneously smiled, pursing their lips, and softly said: "This is the White Pear Courtyard of the Divine State Military Department; on the Three Kingdoms battlefield, this Blood Flag Contention War was won by our Great Jin."

One girl softly said: "The Left Minister and the senior officials joined forces, and the imperial household offerings poured out in full; Great Wei and Great Wu never expected our Great Jin to mobilize such strength—this battle they lost, and the Left Minister gained considerable spoils."

Wu Tie drooped his eyelids, listening to the girls' words.

The Blood Flag Contention War was ultimately won by the Great Jin Divine State, because no one expected that the Great Jin Divine State would not only have the Left Minister personally take action, but even the Right Minister, who usually had poor relations with the Left Minister and was often at odds in court, would also act.

Furthermore, the Great Jin Divine State's royal family, as well as the top-ten elite clans of the Great Jin Divine State, all had ancestral-level figures take action.

Moreover, the offerings within the Great Jin Imperial Household Offerings Institute were said to have gone all-out this time, even using three of the state's treasured artifacts, together with the Golden Dragon Bell, making four Heavenly Dao Divine Artifacts unleash their full power simultaneously.

Neither the Great Wei Divine State nor the Great Wu Divine State expected that the Great Jin Divine State would show such determination and mobilize so many forces.

They were defeated in a sorry state, and the loss was devastating.

Great Wei's Sun Buppo had his flesh shattered by the Left Minister's Golden Dragon Bell, and his soul was blasted to ashes.

Great Wu's Wu Three Yangs, with his formidable flesh, was smashed outright by the "Three Southern Heaven Elders" of the Great Jin Imperial Household, who wielded a Heavenly Dao Divine Artifact; his soul was also severely injured, and only after great difficulty did he manage to escape with a fragment of his soul.

Thus, the Blood Flag ultimately ended up in the hands of the Great Jin Divine State.

The two girls' voices were clear, sweet, and lovely, articulate; in just a few words they laid out the final result of the Blood Flag Contention War clearly and plainly.

In that battle, Wu Tie and the others were knocked unconscious by the aftershocks of the Left Minister Linghu Qingqing and company's fighting, but the Great Jin Imperial Household Offerings, having prepared beforehand, protected them with a secret treasure; after being stunned, they were directly transmitted out of the Three Kingdoms battlefield and sent straight back to the imperial capital of the Great Jin Divine State.

This is Anyang City, the imperial capital of the Great Jin.

This is the famed scenic spot "Eight-Thousand-Li Pear Flower Gully" outside Anyang City, and more specifically the White Pear Beach, the finest part of that gully, belonging to the Imperial Military Department, dedicated as the White Pear Courtyard for imperial generals to cultivate their minds, nurture their nature, and heal in seclusion.

The First Army and Sima Yan, among others who were also stunned, had formidable cultivation; they only fainted for a short while before waking, their injuries not serious, and they had already left the White Pear Courtyard to return to their respective troops to reorganize supplies.

Others such as Jiang Ping, Jiang Kuo, and Jiang Tianxing, whose families lived in Anyang City, had just been brought to the White Pear Courtyard and were immediately taken home by their families; those remaining in the White Pear Courtyard were people like Huo Xiong, who had been shaken to the point of five labors and seven injuries, long unconscious, and who had no connections or roots in Anyang City.

Seven days have passed since being sent to the White Pear Courtyard.

In other words, Wu Tie has been asleep for seven days.

"Seven days." Wu Tie nodded; at this moment his whole body brimmed with energy, without a trace of injury, he leapt up, walked between the two girls, and strode to the door.

He did not know whether the season was appropriate or not.

In any case, in Wu Tie's solitary courtyard, more than a dozen old pear trees as thick as water jars were covered in snow-white pear blossoms; a faint fragrance drifted to his nose, a few bees flitted among the flowers, two large orioles spread their beautiful wings on the tops of the big pear trees and lightly flapped them.

The courtyard had no wall, only a low bamboo fence.

At a glance, in every direction were large and small old pear trees, each big tree bursting with white blossoms.

Wu Tie's courtyard sits on a small mound, giving an excellent view; beyond a sea of white pear blossoms, a few li away lies an exceptionally clear green water winding through, its width several li covered in white petals, with golden fish darting beneath the blossoms, occasionally leaping up to send ripples of colored light across the water.

It is absolutely splendid scenery, giving a feeling of expansive joy and peaceful mind.

Moreover, the ley lines here have surely been refined by a formation master; standing at the doorway, Wu Tie can feel streams of extraordinarily pure heavenly-earthly energy constantly welling up from the ground, turning into visible misty vapor that drifts about.

The heavenly-earthly energy here is abundant to the extreme, containing all kinds of positive vital forces, with not a trace of yin evil or cold, nor any hint of murderous bloodiness.

This place truly is a retreat taken over by the Great Jin Divine State Military Department, a fine spot for senior officers to cultivate mind and nature, and to heal in seclusion.

"But how did I end up asleep for seven days?" Wu Tie moved his body slightly.

How could he have slept for seven days?

It shouldn't be, really shouldn't… Wu Tie knows his own bodily condition.

When Linghu Qingqing and the others erupted in their final clash, Wu Tie felt immense terror in his heart, so he awakened all his bodily strength and even drew upon a small portion of the power of the Tower of Rebirth to protect his vital points from within.

At that moment, Wu Tie even drew a thread of the power of the five-element essence blood in his heart to shield himself.

At that time, although Wu Tie was stunned by the battle's aftershocks, his true condition should have been "half-unconscious, ready to wake at any moment." Though his body was injured, those injuries were of his own design, self-inflicted.

For example, dozens of fractures, several internal organ contusions, etc.

These injuries look severe, but in reality they are of the sort that heal instantly with a thought.

The two little girls said Wu Tie had slept for seven days, yet in Wu Tie's own perception, during that time he had completely lost awareness of the outside world—this is wrong, very much so…

"It was the Divine Martial Hall Chief Sima Yan who personally ordered it, saying you had rendered great merit, so let you rest properly." One girl softly laughed: "Therefore we gave you a supreme-grade healing immortal pill, the Great Dragon-Tiger Golden Pill, and then had us use a censer of Black Sweet Incense to help you sleep."

The other girl smiled and explained: "The Black Sweet Incense prepared at the White Pear Courtyard is a tribute secretly made by the imperial household; even a supreme expert of the Embryonic Treasury realm can fall asleep quickly and enter the deepest sleep state, best for soothing and nourishing the soul… not only those who have rendered great merit are unqualified to enjoy it."

Wu Tie twitched the corner of his mouth.

That Great Dragon-Tiger Golden Pill is fine, but this so-called Black Sweet Incense is clearly problematic.

"Is it Commander Sima Yan who personally issued the order?" Wu Tie looked at the two girls with a face full of shock: "I only have bodily injuries; my soul and spirit are unharmed..."

One girl laughed and said: "It is Commander Sima Yan's order."

The two girls smiled at Wu Tie, their smiles pure and elegant, tranquil and light, harboring no malice, yet also carrying no other intention.

They are attendants meticulously trained by the White Pear Institute; in fact, they also belong to the elite troops of the Imperial Military Department. Their actions are all carried out under orders. Their smiles toward Wu Tie are standard and warm, but absolutely not intimate.

"Ladies, then, Commander Sima Yan, are there any orders left for me? And what about my brothers?" Wu Tie narrowed his eyes and asked the two ladies.

The two girls smiled and gently answered Wu Tie's question.

During the seven days Wu Tie lay unconscious, Jiang Ping, Jiang Kuo and the others were indeed taken back by their own people to recuperate; those who were sent to the White Pear Institute together with Wu Tie—the over three thousand who had broken through the Life Pool Realm in the fortress, received the blood banner tempering, making their talents extraordinary, and had also inherited the Six Revolutions Primordial Skill from Wu Tie—had already awakened in a steady stream three days prior.

After resting at the White Pear Institute for two days—that is, two days ago—Wu Tie's subordinates, under orders from the Military Department, had already left the White Pear Institute.

As for where they went, the two girls merely followed orders to attend to Wu Tie, giving him a healing pill each day and lighting a censer of black sweet incense so he slept like a dead pig... Military law is strict, and they did not inquire into matters unrelated to them.

In the army, gossiping is obviously not a good habit.

"So you also don't know where my brothers went?" Wu Tie stared intently at the two girls.

"That's right." The two girls continued to smile, pure and elegant, tranquil and composed.

Their smiles were beautiful, like the white pear blossoms, yet utterly devoid of intimacy, not the slightest bit intimate.

Wu Tie's face twitched: "Then, I..."

With a "ding," a small jade chime on the square table before the bed chimed crisply. The two girls laughed together: "It's the Military Department's order arriving."

The two girls walked to the table, pressed the jade chime, and a wisp of dim light rose, spreading left and right, as fine lines of text floated within the glow.

"Sir, having earned merit, the Examination Bureau of the Military Department requests your urgent presence." The two girls smiled: "Sir, here is the fifth-rank commandant's uniform tailor-made for you; please change quickly, lest you delay the order."

The two girls efficiently helped Wu Tie out of his sleepwear and into a full set of fifth-rank commandant's uniform.

Within the White Pear Institute lies a specially installed teleportation array; through it, Wu Tie swiftly arrived at the Military Department of the Great Jin Divine State—inside Anyang City, in a vast compound covering nearly ten thousand mu west of the Imperial City.

The Great Jin Military Department adjoins the Great Jin Imperial City; its eastern side is the high inner wall of the Imperial City, while the northern, western, and southern sides are also high walls, only these three walls are nine zhang shorter and three zhang narrower than the Imperial City's inner wall.

Unlike the extravagantly luxurious, radiant buildings of the Imperial City, all structures of the Great Jin Military Department are made of black stone, polished smooth and uniformly jet-black, reflecting no light whatsoever; walking among this blackened complex, one inexplicably feels an immense, oppressive pressure.

Upon exiting the teleportation array, two clerks from the Examination Bureau of the Great Jin Military Department were waiting outside; they called out the name "Huo Xiong" and led Wu Tie along a passageway into the Examination Bureau.

Inside the brightly lit hall of the Examination Bureau, a middle-aged man in a black robe, dignified in bearing, sat behind a large desk; behind him loomed a huge painted screen depicting an enormous dragon soaring into the sky, jaws open to swallow the red sun.

As Wu Tie stepped into the hall, the middle-aged man behind the desk spoke: "Commandant Huo Xiong? Over the years, you have achieved much, and very well... therefore, the Military Department has arranged an excellent posting for you."

A scroll flew straight from the desk before the middle-aged man, with a "swish," landing before Wu Tie.

"Here, appointment as a third-rank general of Jin: go to the newly opened Great Marsh Prefecture in the southwest of Great Jin, take sole command of a battalion, responsible for suppressing the prefecture... Congratulations, General Huo Xiong; from today onward, you are a grand general who independently commands a region—within Great Marsh Prefecture, all troops are at your mercy to spare or slay; congratulations, congratulations!"

The middle-aged man laughed brightly: "Why not take the military order at once, then... hurry to assume your post?"

Wu Tie stared up in astonishment at the middle-aged man.

He suddenly realized—he had been had, his peach plucked.