Three days later.
Outside the city of Huanwen County, a large group had assembled.
Three horse-drawn carriages stood in front, followed by hundreds of armed escorts. The formation stretched far, the air thick with the sound of hooves and armor clinking.
"Stop right there! What are you doing?"
"We're subordinates of Lord Chen!"
"I know that. So why are you following us?"
"Can't we come along?"
"No."
At the city gate, several hundred soldiers stood awkwardly, glancing at each other in hesitation.
For Zhao Kang, Wang Li, Zhu Tong, and the others, after so many battles and bloodshed, Chen Sanshi had long become their pillar of strength. If they were left behind now, none of them knew what they'd even do with themselves.
But the escorting officer, Thousand-Household Li, didn't hesitate in his reply. "No means no."
"Thousand-Household Li, can't you make an exception?"
Chen Sanshi personally stepped forward to reason with him. "I'm heading to Liangzhou to participate in the Elite Selection for the Eight Northern Garrisons. Even if I don't rank high, I'll still become a low-ranking officer and will definitely need capable men under my command. When that happens, I can continue using them—without taking manpower from the Liangzhou garrison."
"Lord Chen," Thousand-Household Li said helplessly, "it's not that I don't want to help, but these are the rules. All these men belong to the Anding Prefecture Command Office. Now that the war is over, they must return to await orders. They can't just walk away as they please. If everyone did that, the army would be in chaos."
"Thousand-Household Li," said Sun Li as she approached, her voice clear and calm, "I heard that the Liangzhou Garrison still has open positions. Why not just transfer them there?"
"My young lady…" Li smiled bitterly. "You too? Even if we wanted to transfer them, that would still need to go through the proper channels."
Chen Sanshi sighed quietly.
He understood. The man wasn't being difficult—it really was against regulations.
Still, he couldn't bear to part with these men.
They were his first group of soldiers, all bearing the Blood Oath of the Battlefield—men who had followed him through fire and death. To leave them behind now felt like tearing away a piece of himself.
"How about this," Chen Sanshi finally said, turning to his men. "You go back to Poyang first and wait for me. I'll do my best to get a good result at the selection. Once I secure a position, I'll find a way to transfer you over. Give me at most six months—I promise I'll bring you all to Liangzhou."
"..."
The soldiers looked at one another in silence. None of them wanted to separate, but orders were orders.
"Let them come along."
A calm, gentle voice interrupted.
Everyone turned their heads as a servant slowly wheeled a wooden wheelchair forward.
Seated upon it was a middle-aged scholar dressed in a blue robe, a book resting across his knees. His face carried the faint, serene expression of a man used to both battle and wisdom.
"General Fang!"
"Greetings, General Fang!"
Even though he appeared to be a crippled scholar, Thousand-Household Li and the rest all bowed deeply with genuine respect.
"Fourth Senior Brother!"
Sun Buqi's eyes lit up as he ran forward. "You—you're here?"
Fang Qingyun smiled faintly. "Of course. I came to bring you and Junior Sister Li home."
"Where's my father?"
Sun Buqi looked around eagerly. "Did he come too?"
"He did," Fang Qingyun said evenly, "but he already left. The old man's busy. Still, this time… he said he was impressed by you."
"He saw me fight?" Sun Buqi's face flushed with excitement. "What did he say about me?"
Fang Qingyun chuckled. "Master said, 'Though that boy's still useless, at least he's got some fire in his blood.'"
"That's it?"
Sun Buqi blinked, half-sulking. "Still called me useless…"
"General Fang," said Thousand-Household Li, still puzzled, "you just said you'd take them along. Isn't that… against regulations?"
"I submitted the paperwork seven days ago," Fang Qingyun replied, taking a document from his sleeve. "The approval arrived just this morning. Take a look."
It was an official transfer order.
"From this day forth, these men are officially part of the Eight Northern Garrisons. For now, they'll serve under the Azure Dragon Battalion as logistics personnel until further arrangements are made."
"The Eight Garrisons… Azure Dragon Battalion?"
Feng Yong and Zhao Kang exchanged glances, eyes wide with disbelief.
They had only hoped to follow Chen Sanshi into the Liangzhou Garrison, but now—they were entering the Eight Northern Garrisons themselves?
They'd all heard the rumors.
Even a logistics soldier in the Eight Garrisons received better treatment than most officers in local forces—medicinal supplements, food, weapons—all provided in full.
They had really struck gold.
"Thank you, General Fang!"
Chen Sanshi bowed deeply. "I'll never forget this favor."
The man had said he wrote the petition seven days ago—meaning he had been planning this since the day they crossed the river.
"No need for such formality, Junior Brother."
Fang Qingyun returned the bow with a gentle smile. "My name is Fang Qingyun. If you don't mind, just call me Senior Brother Fang from now on."
Chen Sanshi nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Senior Brother Fang!"
"Lord Fang is the famed 'Phoenix Chick'?"
From behind the crowd, Xu Wencai suddenly rushed forward, his old eyes gleaming. "I am Xu Wencai, courtesy name Wolong! I've long admired your name!"
"?"
Everyone turned toward him, baffled.
"This shameless old man!"
Xu Bin widened his eyes. "You gave yourself that nickname! It's not the same as when someone else actually earns theirs!"
Liu Jinkui quickly tugged at his sleeve. "Old fool, get back here before you ruin this for us!"
They had just secured a miracle chance to join Liangzhou's forces—if Xu Wencai offended General Fang now, one word could send them all packing.
"Oh?" Fang Qingyun looked at the shabby scholar before him, clearly older than himself. Yet instead of being insulted, his eyes sparkled with amusement. "You are Wolong, and I am the Phoenix Chick. Then our meeting here today must surely be fate."
"Master Fang!" Xu Wencai said solemnly, for once dropping his playful tone. "I may call myself Wolong, but I know my limits. I still have much to learn from you."
"Excellent." Fang Qingyun laughed lightly. "When we depart, come ride in my carriage. Who knows—perhaps it'll be I who learns something from Master Xu." He then turned to Chen Sanshi. "Junior Brother Chen, is everyone accounted for?"
"Still missing one," Chen Sanshi said, glancing toward the rear of the group.
"Old Sixth," he called, raising his voice. "Quit hiding and get over here."
Fang Qingyun shook his head lightly. "Come out."
From behind the crowd, Wang Zhi, his injuries still fresh, stepped forward with his head lowered, his expression uneasy. "I… I can go too?"
"Why couldn't you?" Fang Qingyun asked back, smiling faintly. "Do you think you survived those injuries on your own?"
"Was it… the Master?"
Wang Zhi's body trembled, almost collapsing to his knees. "He's… he's not angry at me anymore?"
"Of course he's still angry." Fang Qingyun sighed. "You led the entire Xuanwu Battalion into that city assault back then—all because of so-called loyalty. Do you have any idea how many men died for that mistake?"
He shook his head again. "But he hasn't cut you off completely. For now, stay with Junior Brother Sanshi. When the old man's mood improves, I'll speak to him on your behalf."
"Fourth Senior Brother… your legs…"
Wang Zhi's voice grew low. "Where did you go during the 57th year of the Longqing Era? I didn't see you for an entire year. Everyone said you were about to break through to Martial Saint… so how did you end up like this? You even gave up martial training to become a scholar—and let them call you that stupid name, Phoenix Chick."
"The past doesn't need to be mentioned again."
Fang Qingyun's smile softened, a hint of sorrow flickering behind it. "Everyone's here. Let's move out."
"Move out!"
Thousand-Household Li raised his hand and gave the order.
The column of more than a thousand men set off like a wave of steel.
They bore the banners of the Eight Northern Garrisons—none in the northwest dared to provoke them. The three prefectures they passed through were all silent before their march. The journey was smooth, not a single obstacle in sight.
Chen Sanshi didn't take a carriage.
He gave his seat to Xu Bin's wife and Lan jie'er. After giving birth and surviving months of exhaustion, she was still frail—and needed to nurse the newborn. Traveling on foot with the main group would have been too harsh.
Speaking of which, Xu Bin's newborn daughter was actually quite adorable.
Xu Wencai had given her the name Xu Yuhuan. The name sounded oddly familiar…
And to top it off, out of gratitude, Xu Bin insisted that Chen Sanshi become the girl's godfather.
"Xu Bin, you're as shameless as that fat Wang Zhi!" Zhao Kang yelled immediately. "You call this gratitude? You're trying to take advantage of Lord Chen! What if he becomes a Grand Commander someday? You'd be riding his coattails for life!"
"Exactly," added Xiong Qiu'an, his body still wrapped in bandages. "No shame at all. Guess it makes sense—you were trained by Wang Zhi."
Wang Zhi snapped, "You bastards, if you want to insult someone, fine—but why drag me into it?!"
Xu Bin's face flushed red as laughter rippled through the group.
"Alright, Binzi."
Chen Sanshi finally broke in with a chuckle. "I'll do it. I'll be little Yuhuan's godfather."
"This…"
Xu Bin stammered, embarrassed. "My lord, maybe we should forget it—"
"I've already agreed," Chen Sanshi said with mock sternness. "If you go back on it now, are you trying to make fun of me?"
He grinned. "It's settled. Guess I've got myself a daughter now."
"Good, good!" Xu Bin beamed from ear to ear. "When Yuhuan learns to talk, I'll teach her to call you godfather! Without you, my wife and daughter would've been corpses long ago!"
And just like that, the godfather bond was made.
Everyone else immediately grew jealous.
"Lord Chen!" shouted Feng Yong. "I've got a daughter too!"
"Get lost!" yelled Liu Jinkui. "Your daughter's practically grown. She'd be more suited to be Lord Chen's concubine than his goddaughter!"
"Roll, roll, roll!"
"Ahahaha!"
The men burst into laughter, filling the cold mountain air with warmth.
They had no idea how many days passed on the road.
Every day, Xu Wencai would climb onto Fang Qingyun's carriage at the same hour, chatting for hours inside. From his bright expression afterward, it was clear he'd gained much.
That was a good thing.
The old scholar was talented, yes, but his limited background meant there were many things he simply couldn't access. With someone from the Eight Northern Garrisons to guide him, his insights would only deepen.
Fang Qingyun, for his part, showed not a trace of arrogance.
Like Sun Li and Sun Buqi, he was one of Grand Commander Sun Xiangzong's direct disciples—none of whom ever acted with haughty pride.
"Wang Zhi," Chen Sanshi asked one evening as they rode together, "you said earlier that Senior Brother Fang almost became a Martial Saint?"
"Yes." Wang Zhi nodded. "Among our brothers, he was the first to reach the threshold. But in the 57th year of the Longqing Era, when the Nanxu Kingdom invaded, he vanished. When he returned, his legs were crippled, and he had already given up martial cultivation. A real pity.
"As of now, only our eldest senior brother has reached Martial Saint. There's another junior who's recently touched that level as well…"
Chen Sanshi frowned. "How many Martial Saints are there in the world?"
"Fifteen years ago?" Wang Zhi thought carefully. "Not many—only about three to five in total. But after I left the Eight Garrisons, something changed. It was like a floodgate opened. Now, they say there are over a dozen Martial Saints in the world.
"And not just within the Imperial Court. Several great sects across the realm have them too."
He paused before continuing. "Of course, those above the Martial Saint realm are still rare—countable on one hand.
"But among them, my master… is the strongest."
"An increase like that?" Chen Sanshi murmured, eyes narrowing.
He couldn't yet comprehend such lofty realms, but even he knew—when something defied reason, there was always a cause behind it.
The 57th year of the Longqing Era.
Fang Qingyun crippled.
That same year, Grand Commander Sun Xiangzong broke through beyond Martial Saint.
And across the world—Martial Saints began to appear in droves.
That year… besides the total annihilation of the Xuanwu Battalion, there must have been something else. Something enormous.