Chapter 79: Can He Refuse the Reward?

The soldiers held their prizes, beaming with joy.

Xiao Dabao was grinning from ear to ear; he had lugged a sack of military tallies and traded them for over a dozen boxes of Ham Sausage, enough to eat his fill.

Qin Zhan's team, having gone upstream to blow up the dam ahead of time and thus not participating in the killing of the enemy, was each rewarded with two hundred taels of silver and thirty catties of white rice.

The Archer Squad led by Han Guiying consisted entirely of female soldiers; although they were valiant in killing the enemy, they had no opportunity to collect military tallies.

Xiao Moting issued their rewards according to the highest standard.

Each female soldier was rewarded with three hundred taels of silver and forty catties of white rice!

The female soldiers were extremely excited.

Many of the female soldiers were even moved to tears on the spot.

Among them were orphans of war and female refugees who had lost both parents...

Before joining the Archer Squad, they had never imagined they would one day be able to go to the front lines to kill the enemy, let alone receive military merit rewards!

If they had not come to Beijiang, their fates would all have been the same: marrying and bearing children, serving their husbands and parents-in-law, locked away in deep courtyards for their entire lives, never having the chance to hold their heads high until the day they died.

Xiao Moting raised his head and called out in a deep voice.

"Xiao Liujin, step forward!"

Xiao Liujin walked out from the crowd.

Under the glow of the firelight, his gaze was as sharp as a sword.

"Xiao Liujin, you slew the enemy general Chishu and assassinated over two hundred enemy soldiers!"

"Your military achievements are illustrious; you are hereby promoted to Squad Leader of the Assault Team, commanding fifty men!"

Xiao Liujin was slightly stunned, then immediately cupped his hands.

"Thank you, Prince!"

The surrounding crowd cast looks of envy one after another.

Now that Xiao Liujin had been promoted to Squad Leader, the fifty assassins under his command were all older than him.

The young boy stood straight, his eyes showing a calmness beyond his years, unswayed by favor or humiliation.

"Oh my, Liujin, you've been promoted," Xiao Dabao said, beaming with joy. "Big Brother will be counting on you from now on."

"Dabao, don't just focus on eating; try to show some ambition too," Qin Zhan said, patting his shoulder.

Xiao Moting took out a bag. "Xiao Liujin, this is a reward specifically for you from Shennü Daren."

A flash of excitement immediately appeared in Xiao Liujin's cold eyes.

He was so happy!

Shennü Daren had sent him a reward too!

Xiao Liujin immediately took the bag, opened it, and his expression instantly stiffened.

"Prince, this is..."

Inside the bag was a set of test papers—"Huanggang Elementary School 100-Point Sprint Papers."

Xiao Moting said, "Shennü Daren wants you to complete one paper every day, to be checked by Li Junshi! You must copy your mistakes into a Mistake Notebook!"

Thirteen-year-old Xiao Liujin could no longer smile.

He would rather kill the enemy!

Than do homework!

This reward... could he refuse it?

A depressed Xiao Liujin couldn't even finish the victory banquet; he took his test papers and returned to camp to sleep.

Qingshan Village.

The room was filled with the aroma of Roast Chicken.

Bai Wei had roasted the rooster brought by her aunt and shared half of it with Xiao Moting.

After washing the dishes, she opened the long box Xiao Moting had sent.

Suddenly!

A golden light filled her vision!

"A Golden Sword?"

Bai Wei reached out in surprise and took the sword out.

The sword was so heavy that she had to hold the hilt with both hands, lifting it with a wobble.

It had a hilt made of pure gold, a bronze blade, and was engraved with archaic patterns.

It was clearly a treasure.

Bai Wei didn't know much about antiques, so she casually took a photo.

She seemed to have seen somewhere that there was a national treasure lost to the London Museum that Huaxia had tried every means to recover but had failed; that lost national treasure was a golden sword hilt.

Xiao Moting had resolved his first death tribulation, won a great victory, and cured the malaria.

Bai Wei planned to go find Zhou Yuchuan in two days to ask where Xiao Moting's second death tribulation would be.

She had heard Zhou Yuchuan mention it during their last chat.

Xiao Moting's three death tribulations were each more perilous than the last.

This first death tribulation had already been fraught with danger.

She had to prepare in advance.

She would also have Zhou Yuchuan look at the photo to see what this Golden Sword actually was and if it was valuable.

The next morning.

The chirping of birds outside the window woke Bai Wei up.

She stretched, walked out of the room, and planned to go to town.

Two months ago, she had ordered two sets of ancient-style clothing for Xiao Moting at a Hanfu shop in town, and the shopkeeper sent a text message last night saying the clothes were ready.

As the noble Fourth Prince, Xiao Moting did not lack food or clothing, yet he was exceptionally frugal.

He wore the Flying Fish Suit she had given him every other day.

Bai Wei had thought he liked it, but after sneaking a look, she discovered that there were only two or three pieces of clothing in his wardrobe, and they were all old.

Even Xiao Dabao had more clothes than he did.

This wouldn't do; as the "Young Northern Frontier War God," how could he not have a proper outfit!

Just as Bai Wei was about to leave, she smelled a faint medicinal fragrance.

She looked up and was so surprised that she held her breath.

In the wardrobe, a small, exquisite wood carving sat quietly, carved in the shape of a Scent Sachet.

The waves of medicinal fragrance were emanating from the wood carving.

On the wardrobe was a note from Xiao Moting.

"Shennü Daren, last night I used agarwood to carve a Wooden Sachet; the medicinal herbs inside have a calming and sleep-aiding effect. I do not know if you will like it."

"Xiao Moting, you really did send me a Scent Sachet?"

Bai Wei was extremely surprised and held the Scent Sachet in her hand.

She had only ever seen it on television—women giving men Scent Sachets—and had never seen a man give one to a woman.

The hollowed-out agarwood Scent Sachet was carved very delicately, with a pattern of a small horse engraved on it; it was filled with medicinal herbs, and the fragrance was refreshing and invigorating.

Bai Wei couldn't put it down; she had thought Xiao Moting only knew how to fight, but she hadn't expected his hands to be so skillful.

She hung it on her keychain.

Then, she drove to town.

Bai Wei walked into the Hanfu shop.

The two sets of clothes were already finished, one black and one moon-white; both were modified martial arts outfits, convenient for Xiao Moting to practice martial arts in his daily life.

After taking the clothes, Bai Wei thought for a moment.

"Boss, do you have materials for making a Scent Sachet here?"

That wooden Scent Sachet was crafted with such ingenuity; Xiao Moting must not have slept all night to be able to send her the carved Scent Sachet first thing in the morning.

Since he was so sincere, she could not fail to return the favor.

"We do." The boss took the pattern and teased with a smile, "Making a Scent Sachet for your sweetheart?"

Speaking of which, he suddenly noticed the Wooden Sachet hanging on Bai Wei's keychain and was shocked.

"I've only ever seen this kind of ancient-style Wooden Sachet in a book on ancient culture! Where did you buy it?"

"Someone gave it to me."

"Is that so?" The boss smiled and gave Bai Wei a meaningful look, "It was a boy who gave it to you, right?"

Bai Wei was surprised, "How did you know?"

"In ancient times in our country, this kind of Wooden Sachet was a token of affection given by a man to a woman," the boss said with a chuckle, "It represents admiration and concern for the woman, and also carries the wish for her to be safe and auspicious."

"In ancient times, there was a distinction between the status of men and women, and few men were willing to carve a Wooden Sachet for a young lady by hand; it is time-consuming and laborious."

Bai Wei blushed.

She immediately shook her head.

It definitely couldn't represent admiration.

Xiao Moting hadn't even seen her; he didn't know what she looked like.

Besides, he was only twenty-two, his personality was cold, and he was single-mindedly focused on conquering the world; he had no time to think about matters between men and women.

Under the boss's guidance, Bai Wei finally managed to sew a Scent Sachet.

Bai Wei frowned.

She had never done embroidery, and the Scent Sachet she made was wrinkled and crumpled; compared to the exquisite Wooden Sachet Xiao Moting had carved, it was far inferior.

Bai Wei hesitated.

Should she give this Scent Sachet to Xiao Moting or not?