Chapter 333: Commander, Mountain Chief, and Instructor

After leaving the Gaoyuan Marquis's place, Tang Zhao went on to pay a visit to the Jian Di Si Commander, his nominal direct superior.

This time he went alone, without bringing any fellow disciples, both to pay respects to his superior as a subordinate of the Jian Di Si and to handle the paperwork.

The Jian Di Si headquarters was right next to the Dudu Mansion, consisting of a large compound. From the outside, it did not look magnificent; the walls and main gate were quite low-key, and there was not even a plaque hanging up. However, it occupied a considerable area, containing at least two large drill grounds and five or six courtyards. In the center, there were also several high-rise buildings with strict security.

Tang Zhao presented his identity at the door, and a military officer soon came out to receive him, leading him directly to see the Commander.

The Jian Di Si Commander had the compound surname Gongsun. He was a trusted confidant heavily relied upon by the Gaoyuan Marquis and one of the six great Sword Heroes of the Yunzhou Dudu Mansion. Known as the famous "Qilin Sword," he was likewise a top-tier Sword Hero.

Commander Gongsun was over forty, with a square face, a purplish-bronze complexion, a tall stature, and great majesty. His momentum, at least in appearance, did not lose to the Gaoyuan Marquis. After all, the Gaoyuan Marquis always had a kindly expression, while this Commander was a man who rarely smiled.

Of course, he was only serious by nature and did not like to laugh or talk, but he was quite cordial to Tang Zhao. He said, "I have long heard of Xiao Tang; you are indeed young and promising. You want to go to the Training Camp to be an Instructor? Not bad. How could a person from the Jian Di Si not take a trip to the Training Camp? I heard you are a Scholar who has read books and are the talent the Jian Di Si needs. Why not stay at the Training Camp to teach students? In the future, you might even serve a term as Mountain Chief."

Tang Zhao laughed and said, "The Commander flatters me. How could my meager learning qualify me to be a Mountain Chief? I am still a student myself. The Marquis told me to take the post, but it was just an excuse for me to continue learning. I heard that the Mountain Chief is also a Deputy Commander?"

Commander Gongsun said, "That is Deputy Commander Nan. He is my senior. His cultivation goes without saying, and he is even more virtuous, respected, talented, and wise. However, he is old and retired to the second line long ago; serving as Mountain Chief is just him using his remaining heat. Normally, I shouldn't disturb him, but Yunzhou has been busy these past few days, and manpower is tight. Even I cannot look after my own home, so I had to ask him to return to headquarters to hold the fort. He can no longer look after the Training Camp."

He pressed his hand on Tang Zhao's shoulder and said, "So you came at just the right time. Nowadays, every place needs manpower. The strength of the Training Camp has also been drawn down quite a bit. Right now, only Xingyu is there. I fear she alone will be stretched thin managing the Training Camp, so I could only assign her a few students from last year to assist. Your arrival is perfect to help her share the burden. Especially those half-grown boys; they are not easy to manage. I was afraid that because she is young and soft-hearted, she wouldn't be able to intimidate them. You are also young, but you must not be thin-skinned. You must bring out the momentum of a Teacher to suppress those brats and not let them cause trouble. The Training Camp is in your hands for these two months."

Tang Zhao felt a bit numb. It turned out there wasn't a single person with prestige in the Training Camp right now. It was just Xingyu Sword—according to the rules, the Commander calling her Xingyu didn't mean her name was Xingyu, but that she was the Xingyu Sword—and since she was young, she was likely a new Sword Guest. A new Sword Guest was managing things with a few old students. He wasn't going there to hang his name and read books; he was going there to be the boss and hold the fort?

It wasn't impossible. After all, he was already a Sword Guest, and his strength was worlds apart from the students. Simply suppressing them to prevent them from causing trouble would certainly be fine. But he had no experience in teaching. He had intended to enter the Training Camp to ask other old Teachers for advice, but it turned out he was already the second oldest?

Commander Gongsun said, "You don't need to worry about how to teach. We are a Training Camp, not a school. It's not a master leading young pupils, and certainly not an old nanny leading a YoungMaster. There is no need to feed them one by one. We are training the younger generation and selecting talent. The training plan is right there; follow the plan, strictly control the standards, and those who can keep up with the training are talents worth molding. Those who can't will be eliminated. Don't be afraid of wasting talent. What the Jian Di Si wants is the best of the best; missing one or two is no pity. The key is not to let trouble arise, let people find loopholes, or become a laughingstock."

Fearing Tang Zhao didn't know the stakes, he pointed out, "External enemies are one thing; we will naturally block them for you. How could we let people invade our heartland? However, the Prison Suppression Department is nearby. They have also opened a Training Camp and have their own Teachers. They might stir up trouble. Do not let the prestige of the Jian Di Si fall."

Tang Zhao suddenly understood. The Jian Di Si and the Prison Suppression Department were both related to the Yin Calamity Demon Cave. Their relationship used to be fine, but ever since Xing Ji caused trouble, the relationship had taken a sharp turn for the worse and was now very antagonistic. This time, the manpower draw might have been heavier on the Jian Di Si, leaving the Training Camp even more empty. The Commander was afraid of being taken advantage of and bullied, which was why he asked Tang Zhao to help hold the fort.

This kind of thing is really...

Tang Zhao was not afraid. Seeing that Commander Gongsun showed no impatience, he asked again, "Commander, I understand the matter of enemies. When water comes, earth covers it; I will never let the prestige and spirit of the Jian Di Si fall. Can you pass on a few secrets for managing children?"

Commander Gongsun was in a good mood and said, "It doesn't count as a secret. Young people like the strong; once they admire someone, they are loyal to the end. Just remember not to be afraid to show your skills. It's best to reveal your unique techniques right away to suppress them. You can be casual in daily life and care more about these boys who have been away from home for years. Use both kindness and severity. Also, there are female students in the Training Camp, you..."

He glanced at Tang Zhao's appearance, paused, and said, "You must keep a distance in front of them. Don't give them good looks, and don't get too close. Leave the daily life matters to Xingyu."

Tang Zhao nodded in agreement. Commander Gongsun chatted with him a few more times about internal matters of the Jian Di Si, issued him the sixth-rank Jian Di Si Seal Ribbon and the Training Camp Waist Token, and then had someone lead him out.

Tang Zhao then went to pay a visit to his current direct superior, Deputy Commander Nan. The old man was very old, with white hair. Unlike the spirited Gaoyuan Marquis, he looked very listless, as if he had truly aged and reached his twilight years. However, he really did look like an old scholar; he spoke slowly, and his demeanor was refined and very elegant. Tang Zhao also unconsciously revealed the literary talent of a failed Scholar, and the two chatted happily, trading literary phrases back and forth.

After chatting for a while, Deputy Commander Nan said, "With YoungMaster Tang here, I am at ease. Xingyu is noble in nature and has eyes that see nothing of the mundane, leading to her being aloof and unsociable. YoungMaster must be sure to accommodate her."

Tang Zhao said, "I wouldn't dare. As a student and a junior, I should follow the lead of Instructor Xingyu."

Deputy Commander Nan finally gifted him a set of Four Treasures of the Study and pointed out the locations of precious classics in the library, and the two parted reluctantly.

Two Jian Di Si Sword Guests each giving a set of brush and ink—the two of them could be considered to have set a precedent.

After taking a large tour of the Jian Di Si headquarters and meeting everyone he should, Tang Zhao came out to reunite with Xue Yeyu.

The Jieya Sword was currently in the Sword Inspection Bureau. Xue Yeyu had an appointment to pick up the sword today.

Tang Zhao had just finished handling the paperwork for Xue Yeyu, and the two were able to pass through layers of corridors to reach the Inner Treasury.

The Inner Treasury was in the innermost part of the Jian Di Si headquarters, with two floors above ground and three floors underground. It was said to have towering walls and strict defenses, with a guard every ten steps and a sentry every five, such that even a fly could not fly over.

Perhaps it was because Tang Zhao had heard too many stories, but he always felt that if a place was like this, it was even more likely to be stolen from.

Or be flattened and robbed. Or infiltrated... the kind where not a single person is seen.

Of course, this was all his illusion.

He heard that the newly built Sword Casting Pavilion was set up next to the Sword Treasury, a new pavilion larger and more exquisite than the Inner Treasury. His master would come to hold the fort there whenever he had nothing to do. It would be better if the headquarters remained peaceful forever; otherwise, wouldn't it all be wiped out in one go?

After passing through three locked heavy doors in a row, the two entered a small room.

The Jieya Sword was placed on the table.

The room was very ordinary, with only a table, and the sword was nothing special. A sword without a Sword Guest would never look very good. No matter how dazzling and brilliant it was in its "previous life," once it dimmed, it always looked pitch black, as if it were raw iron.

This sword had not gone through the Sword Washing at Zhuoyu Villa, but it looked as if it had already been washed. The Jian Di Si could find other Talisman Sword Masters to wash the sword, or perhaps they had people within their own ranks who knew how to wash swords.

This Jieya Sword involved the Sword Inspection Bureau and the Prison Suppression Department, and the stakes were very high. It was a public case, and there were still some loose ends. Staying in the Sword Inspection Bureau for one day meant trouble for one day. The Sword Inspection Bureau was also happy to hand this sword over to an outsider in exchange for a clean, new sword, just like how Zhuoyu Villa couldn't wait to move the source of disaster that was the Treasure Sword to the Sword Inspection Bureau.

This transaction was a true win-win.

When she saw this sword, Xue Yeyu's breathing stopped for an instant.

When she heard she could get the sword, she was only focused on the excitement, looking forward to it day and night like a child, but in reality, there was always a trace of unreality. But when she truly saw a Sleep Sword before her eyes, waiting for her to reach out and pick it up, it was as if she had woken from a dream in an instant, and the sense of reality surged in like a tide.

Accompanying the sense of reality, besides excitement and anticipation, was a trace of timidity.

The so-called anxiety of gain and loss.

Is this... really my sword?

On what grounds can I say it is my sword?

What if it isn't?

But...

Does it really seem to be my sword?

Her tension and hesitation fell into Tang Zhao's eyes. Tang Zhao wanted to step forward to offer a word of encouragement, but Xue Yeyu no longer hesitated and stepped forward to grasp the hilt.

Tang Zhao did not know how long Xue Yeyu's inner realization had lasted, but from the perspective of an onlooker, the result came in an instant.

Chi—

With a soft sound, the sword was unsheathed by three inches.

It matched!

Tang Zhao was overjoyed and couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief—this opportunity was something he had insisted on, without any prior testing, based only on a vague feeling. To put it bluntly, it was a guess. In fact, he was also very nervous, fearing that he would let his senior sister have her hopes dashed for nothing. Although there would still be opportunities to look for other sword artifacts if it didn't match, it was best to succeed in one go and not have to look for a needle in a haystack again.

Just as he was about to say a few words of congratulations, he heard applause.

It turned out to be the School Officer who had brought them there clapping. It wasn't just him; the guards who were on alert in the distance and the laborers moving things in the Inner Treasury also followed suit. In the enclosed warehouse, the applause of a few people sounded like raindrops.

Xue Yeyu had already sobered up by this time. She did not linger in a trance for a long time like Tang Zhao, but like all other Sword Students, she quickly sobered up. Before she could even get excited, she was bewildered by the tidal wave of applause around her.

After the School Officer clapped, he said, "This is a tradition of our Jian Di Si. Whenever a new Sword Guest is born, everyone must clap to celebrate."

Tang Zhao suddenly understood and, a beat behind, added a few claps.

Xue Yeyu was a little embarrassed, and coupled with the excitement, she said incoherently, "Sword Guest... not yet. Just a Sword Student."

The School Officer said, "It's only a matter of time. In this world today, every additional Sword Guest means an additional bit of strength; the birth of every Sword Guest is a fortunate event. Congratulations to the new Sword Guest."

Tang Zhao said thoughtfully, "Indeed, the more Sword Guests, the better. Why do I feel like several Sword Guests have been born recently? It seems the world is going to get better and better."