Chapter 16: Departure

Chen Mo carried the gift and pushed open the door; He Maguan was inside, comfortably smoking his dry tobacco, and instinctively stood up to welcome Chen Mo when he saw him enter.

If this were before, he certainly would not have done so, but now Chen Mo was a Personal Soldier of Sun Jiangjun, and in terms of status and position, he was far higher than him.

Although Chen Mo still treated him with great respect, he dared not fail to take Chen Mo seriously.

"Master He, please just sit; I am not an outsider now that I've come," Chen Mo said, hurriedly gesturing for him to sit when he saw him stand up.

"I have relied on your care during my time in our barracks, and knowing you love sweets, I bought you some sugar pastries."

He placed the gifts he had brought onto the table one by one, finally untying the paper parcel containing a jin of tobacco leaves.

"I also bought you a jin of top-quality tobacco; I don't know much about quality, so please taste it and see how it is."

He Maguan nodded, tapped the ash out of his pipe, and packed another bowl for himself.

"The taste is not bad," he said, looking satisfied, though inwardly he felt a touch of regret.

No matter how he looked at Chen Mo, he thought well of him, with only one regret: he could not be his disciple.

"Once I leave this time, I reckon it will be hard to come back and see you. Actually, Ding Bao is quite good, it's just that his temperament is too straightforward, and he does things without thinking."

"Don't blame him for hiding the horse manure sales from you earlier; with his brain, he really couldn't have thought of that point," Chen Mo advised.

He could actually tell that ever since He Maguan learned that Ding Bao had colluded with Ma Cai to sell horse manure behind his back, he had been harboring some anger toward Ding Bao.

This was actually normal; Ma Cai hiding it from him was one thing, as Ma Cai hadn't been there long, but Ding Bao had been with him for over two years and still hid it—that was the point that made him angry.

Since he and Ma Cai were leaving, and Ding Bao had to stay behind to feed the horses, Chen Mo intended to persuade He Maguan not to keep taking it to heart, out of consideration for the fact that Ding Bao had helped him.

He Maguan took a long drag of his dry tobacco and did not say much.

He actually knew that what Chen Mo said was the truth; Ding Bao had a simple and honest temperament, and on his own, he would never have thought of selling horse manure.

"You should keep a closer eye on him in the future; he can't stir up any trouble on his own," Chen Mo advised.

"I know what you're saying; I will keep a closer eye on him from now on," He Maguan said after a long period of thought.

Originally, he had intended for Chen Mo to take over his position, but that was no longer possible.

He had seen the two new Soldiers who had arrived, and he knew what kind of people they were.

They were fine for doing manual labor and odd jobs, but counting on them to learn how to feed horses and provide for his old age was simply impossible.

Although Ding Bao had been wrong before, he had at least been with him for nearly three years, and he had managed to secretly learn some of his craft.

Furthermore, his character was decent; a straightforward temperament was better than a bad one.

"Ding Bao! Get in here!" He Maguan exhaled a puff of smoke, stood up by the window, and shouted toward the outside.

Ding Bao's footsteps were quick; he walked into the room with his head tucked in, like a startled quail.

"Today, out of consideration for Chen Mo pleading on your behalf, I will not pursue the matter of you and Ma Cai secretly selling horse manure behind my back," He Maguan said with a stern, aged face.

Ding Bao was full of confusion and doubt; hadn't this matter long since passed? Why was Master still lecturing him about it today?

"Kneel and kowtow; I am taking you as my disciple today!" He Maguan added.

Although Ding Bao didn't know why he was suddenly being scolded, he hurriedly knelt upon hearing this.

If he could truly become He Maguan's disciple, he would be able to learn his horse-tending craft and eventually become a Horse Official in the barracks.

Being a Horse Official was a cushy job with a very generous monthly income.

One could see this just from He Maguan's daily ration of a bowl of sugar water.

"You will act as a witness today; I am taking this disciple," He Maguan said, looking at Chen Mo.

The reason he wanted to suddenly take Ding Bao as a disciple was precisely for this point.

Chen Mo's conduct was excellent and he knew how to repay kindness; if he asked him to witness the apprenticeship, and his disciple were to be unfilial in the future, he could ask Chen Mo to help clean up the sect.

"Very well," Chen Mo nodded in agreement, not refusing the request.

The apprenticeship ceremony was not complicated; in front of Chen Mo, Ding Bao kowtowed and served tea to He Maguan, and He Maguan drank the tea, officially accepting him as a disciple.

"Go tidy up the horse brushes later; tomorrow I will teach you how to brush horses," He Maguan said; since he had accepted this disciple, he had to start passing on some real skills.

As for how to teach and how much to teach, that would depend on Ding Bao's performance from here on out.

"Yes!" Ding Bao's tone could not hide his excitement; he felt like jumping three feet high.

"Get out," He Maguan waved him away, feeling a sense of frustration that he wouldn't turn out as expected.

"I will also go back to pack some things," Chen Mo said as well.

After speaking, he walked out of the barracks and saw Ding Bao standing outside the door.

"Brother Mo, thank you so much this time, though I have nothing to help you with," Ding Bao said with sincere gratitude; he might not be very smart, but he wasn't stupid.

He knew that He Maguan's willingness to take him as a disciple must have had something to do with Chen Mo.

He truly wanted to thank Chen Mo, but he really had no way to do so; he simply couldn't come up with anything to thank Chen Mo with.

"If you want to thank me, buy a jin of pig's head meat and treat me to it later; also, don't forget to prepare an apprenticeship gift for your master," Chen Mo said with a smile, patting his shoulder.

"Alright, I'll go do that later," Ding Bao agreed, preparing to follow Chen Mo's instructions.

After giving him these instructions, Chen Mo walked back to his own barracks and began to pack briefly.

He didn't have many belongings; the bedding did not belong to him, and all he had to take were a few sets of clothes and some odds and ends.

By evening, Ma Cai had finally hurried back to the barracks.

Ding Bao, taking advantage of the time he was out selling manure, brought back two jin of pig's head meat for Chen Mo and an apprenticeship gift for He Maguan.

After accepting the apprenticeship gift, He Maguan looked at his newly accepted disciple with much more favor.

The size or value of the gift didn't matter; what he wanted was Ding Bao's heart.

After resting in the barracks for the night, Chen Mo woke up early the next day to wash up, walked out of the barracks, and began to stretch his muscles.

The sky was just beginning to brighten, barely the Hour of the Rabbit; converted to the time before his transmigration, it was probably around five o'clock.

But there was no entertainment at night at this time, so most people went to sleep very early and thus woke up very early as well.

Several Soldiers who had passed the selection were already waiting on the Drill Ground, and after another two or three quarters of an hour, the remaining Soldiers arrived one after another.

Since they were willing to go through the selection, they all wanted to escape their current situation to some extent, or at least had a desire for self-improvement, so they all viewed this matter as extremely important.

"Standing around like this won't solve anything; let's find a place to rest and wait," Chen Mo called out, then found a relatively clean spot to sit down himself.

After waiting for about an hour, as it neared the hour of the Dragon, one could see the dust kicked up by galloping horses from afar.

Mo Hu arrived first on horseback, and the two Personal Soldiers who had come with him initially were right behind him, leading the other Scholars to advance slowly.

"Fifth Brother," Chen Mo said, taking the initiative to greet him upon seeing him arrive.

"You turn back and come with me; the others will follow the troop behind," Mo Hu instructed as he dismounted.

(End of this chapter)