Fang Jie was very curious about what the little boy was holding, because the general whose neck the old cripple had been choking had immediately widened his eyes upon seeing it. His face, which had been a liverish color from difficulty breathing, flushed slightly with excitement.
Fang Jie could see a very sincere and deep respect in the general's eyes when he saw the token.
The old cripple released his grip, looked at the general Li Luo, and coldly snorted.
Li Luo gasped for breath for a while before recovering. Even as a sixth-rank expert, being choked was still uncomfortable. After his breathing had returned to normal, Li Luo did something that greatly surprised Fang Jie.
He straightened his battle robe, then knelt on one knee and solemnly performed a Sui Dynasty military salute.
This made Fang Jie even more interested in the object in the little boy's hand.
"No wonder you have such a master by your side. Forgive my poor eyesight, I didn't recognize you. This soldier is saluting the owner of this item. Although I don't know who currently possesses it, or how it came to be in your hands, as soldiers, we should salute upon seeing such a thing."
After saying this, Li Luo stood up and glanced at Fang Jie: "But I have a duty to perform. Fang Jie is a wanted criminal ordered by the Ministry of War. I dare not make things difficult for you because you have this item. But please don't make things difficult for me either. I must capture Fang Jie and take him away. I have military orders to follow. Please grant me this favor."
"Forgive my ass!"
Fang Jie couldn't help but curse from behind the old cripple: "Is this what the dignified Sui Dynasty soldiers are like?" "What despicable things did a fifth-rank military officer do? They have something you're afraid of, so your shout of 'kill them all' just vanished like a fart? I don't have anything to scare you, so you have to obey the Sui Dynasty's military orders?"
"Tell me, where did this military order come from? Who issued it? And the Ministry of War's official document—show it to me. If I see those two things, I'll slit my own throat; you don't need to lift a finger! I may be young and inexperienced, but I'm still a proud member of the Sui Dynasty's border army! In Fangu City, I achieved twenty-one military exploits and personally killed dozens of bandits! You think you can kill me with just a military order and a Ministry of War document?"
Li Luo's face flushed instantly.
He was a qualified Sui Dynasty soldier, so he couldn't disobey orders. But Fang Jie's words made him feel utterly ashamed. Precisely because he was a qualified soldier, he felt guilty. He knew the hardships of the border soldiers and what twenty-one military exploits represented. That was earned through countless life-or-death experiences; as a fellow soldier, how could he not understand?
Fang Jie took two steps forward, sword in hand, until he was a short distance from Li Luo. He slowly raised the sword to his own neck, extended his other hand, and roared, "Give me the Ministry of War's official document! I want to die knowing why!"
After this shout, a murmur immediately arose from among the Sui soldiers nearby. Li Luo couldn't help but glance back at his subordinates; the familiar faces were filled with confusion.
"I don't have the Ministry of War's official document."
Li Luo took a deep breath. "I'm acting according to military orders. Come with me. If you're truly innocent, no one will make things difficult for you. You should believe me; there's no room for favoritism or bending the law in the army."
"Believe you? If I believed you, my old man would have been a porcupine long ago!"
Fang Jie sneered, "You've disgraced the Sui army! You're unworthy of this armor! If you truly believe that the Sui army doesn't tolerate favoritism or bending the law, then what were you doing, recklessly ordering a volley of arrows? If you have a clear conscience, why didn't your troops raise the Sui battle flag?!"
The old cripple looked at Fang Jie and secretly gave him a thumbs up.
After saying this, Fang Jie fell silent, coldly staring at Li Luo. His sword was pressed against his neck; the sharp blade could easily slit his throat with a slight twist.
Li Luo's face was extremely grim. After a long silence, he suddenly turned and left: "Since you have his things, you certainly wouldn't do anything to betray the Sui Dynasty. I will naturally ask the general about it when I get back. If you have truly committed a capital crime, I will bring you back even if I have to chase you all the way to the capital."
"Don't worry!"
Fang Jie watched his retreating figure and said, "You can come find me at the Martial Arts Academy!"
Li Luo paused, but without turning around, said, "I also came from the Martial Arts Academy, so I hope you can go in. But you should know that the place in the world that is least tolerant of useless people and traitors is the Martial Arts Academy."
He quickened his pace, shouting "Back to camp!" as he walked. Five hundred elite Sui soldiers turned and left, their movements still swift and orderly. After the soldiers had gone far away, Fang Jie finally couldn't hold on any longer and sat down on the ground. Only then did he realize that his back was already soaked with sweat.
"Little Ding, what's that in your hand?"
Even though he was completely drained of strength, his first question was still what that thing was.
Little Ding rolled her eyes at him: "I thought you were really that brave, but you chickened out as soon as they left... What happened is none of your business, go find somewhere to catch your breath."
The little girl turned around, swinging her ponytail, and ran back to the carriage.
...
"Little fellow, I didn't expect you to actually have some courage."
The old cripple, sitting in Fang Jie's carriage, took a big gulp of strong liquor and chuckled, "That Li Luo is a straightforward fellow. The Sui army has never lacked people like that. What I admire most about the Sui soldiers is their straightforwardness; whether soldiers or generals, they're all endearingly straightforward. But precisely because he's so straightforward, he probably won't have a good ending when he gets back... He let you go without fulfilling his military orders; he'll be lucky to escape with his life."
"Get out!"
Fang Jie practically shouted this word with all his might, then pointed his finger at the old cripple's nose and cursed, "I never thought of you as a chivalrous hero, but I never expected you to be such a treacherous opportunist! Because of Sister Xiaoyao, and because you claim to be a ninth-rank expert, I still had some respect for you, but you're such a damn scoundrel... Get out! Get back to your own carriage!"
Unexpectedly, the old cripple didn't get angry.
He seemed to lack any of the demeanor of a true strongman.
He picked his nose and chuckled, saying, "You really think I'm afraid of those five hundred lackeys? Even if they were five hundred elite infantrymen from the Right Valiant Guard of the Great Sui Dynasty who could cultivate, would I, a ninth-rank master, be afraid of them? The elite infantry, heavy cavalry, are two tigers under Li Yuanshan's command. But I have the Dragon-Slaying Saber; would I be afraid of two little kittens?"
He paused, then nudged Fang Jie with his shoulder: "Think about it yourself, why did I, an old cripple, wait until after the arrows were released before making my move?"
"Because you're a coward!"
Fang Jie glared at him fiercely, then looked away. "Idiot!"
The old cripple cursed, "It's precisely because I'm a ninth-rank expert that I wouldn't do something as foolish as slaughtering five hundred elite soldiers in one go. It's not that I couldn't, but that I wouldn't... understand? The best choice is to achieve the greatest result with the least effort. You even call yourself a competent scout, with twenty-one battle merits... Bah! I deliberately let that kid order the arrows to be fired. The two people with you, while not experts, could easily block the arrows, right?"
"While they were firing their arrows, I suddenly struck while they were reloading, capturing the leader first... This requires not only superior cultivation but also extraordinary courage and wisdom. If you weren't so smart, I wouldn't bother explaining this to you!"
Fang Jie snorted coldly, remaining silent.
The old cripple, while drinking, asked, "I admire your courage in stepping forward and standing before that general."
Fang Jie curled his lip and said, "That's real courage!"
"Bullshit!"
The old cripple said, "You think I admire your courage? You call that courage? You stopped two and a half steps away from that general, just enough for his outstretched arm and the length of his sword. One inch more, and his sword could easily slit your throat..."
Fang Jie was startled and couldn't help but glance at the old cripple.
The old cripple chuckled and said, "Your eyesight, calculation, and intellect are all excellent. What a pity... If you could cultivate, I wouldn't mind taking you as a disciple. What a pity..."
"You son of a bitch, you're just here to mock my inability to cultivate?"
Fang Jie sat up abruptly and cursed, "Get lost!"
His curse was satisfying, but Da Quan and Mu Xiaoyao were terrified. Mu Xiaoyao gripped the red silk tightly, and Daquan put on gloves, fearing that the old cripple might tear Fang Jie to shreds in his anger. In the old cripple's eyes, Fang Jie was as easy to manipulate as a piece of paper. Tear him to shreds, crumple him into a ball, it didn't matter.
"Haha!"
The old cripple wasn't angry. He laughed a few times, jumped off the carriage, and vanished in a flash. When he reappeared, he was in the carriage of Hongxiuzhao ahead. He was leisurely drinking, legs crossed, humming a song of unknown tune.
"The northwest wind howls, sweeping across the sky
The frontier is ravaged by barbarian slaughter, smoke rises everywhere
A farewell song is sung to the end
...The bones of heroes have rotted, the blood of warriors has dried
..."
The rest of the lyrics were unclear; it was unclear whether he had composed the lyrics himself or if the melody actually existed. It wasn't melodious, the voice hoarse, but it carried a strange quality that made one feel uneasy.
"You really dare to curse..."
The big dog leaned closer, wiping the sweat from his brow and sighing, "Do you know that he could easily poke another anus into your forehead with a flick of his little finger?"
Fang Jie smiled, looking at the old cripple and whispering, "Don't compare him to Lu Xiaofeng, he's even more despicable... The more you curse him, the happier he is, believe it or not. If I curse him every day from now on, maybe in a few days he'll be crying and begging me to be his apprentice!"
"Who is Lu Xiaofeng?"
The carriage swayed slightly; the old cripple seemed to be asleep. The two women inside were playing chess, starting when Li Luo arrived and continuing until he left the group and traveled another fifteen li. The old fox was still shrewd, but even after playing for so long, she only won by one and a half points.
Ten years ago in the capital Chang'an, even a master chess player like Huai Qiugong, the Minister of Rites, could only manage a draw against her.
"You figured it out?"
Aunt Xia asked, tidying up the chess pieces.
Sitting opposite her, Xi Zhuxin didn't speak, only frowned slightly.
Outside the carriage, the old cripple chuckled and said two words in a strange tone: "Freak."
...
...
Meanwhile, in Chang'an, the capital of the Great Sui Dynasty.
The most magnificent building in Chang'an was undoubtedly the Taiji Palace, and the most important place within the Taiji Palace was undoubtedly... the Imperial Study.
A middle-aged man dressed in a black imperial robe embroidered with dragons suddenly stood up. His usually calm face was now filled with excitement. He quickly turned around from behind the dragon-patterned desk and urgently asked the imperial guard who had brought the message, "Say it again, where is it?"
A six-beam crown, a flying fish robe, and flowing cloud patterns embroidered on the cuffs—only two people in the Great Sui Dynasty could wear such attire. One was Luo Weiran, the commander of the Imperial Guard, and the other was Hou Wenji, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard and the commander of the Intelligence Bureau. "A message arrived by carrier pigeon; that person appeared in Fangu, the northwesternmost border town, but only stayed for a day before leaving."
"Who did he meet? What did he do? What did he say?"
"He first went to Hongxiuzhao, then sat at a dog meat shop drinking and playing drinking games with a border scout. It seemed like they had a special relationship. He lost the game and the scout slapped him on the butt… He left Fangu that night and then disappeared without a trace."
"Haha… Where did such an interesting border scout come from? Daring to slap his butt?"
The Emperor of the Great Sui Dynasty, the second most powerful man in the world yet always wanting to challenge the most powerful, had his eyes light up: "Send someone to bring that scout to the capital!"
"That scout seems to have accumulated twenty-one military merits and has already set off for the capital to participate in the martial arts academy's examination… He's not an ordinary person, only fifteen years old."
Hou Wenji, the Commander of the Qingya Garrison, whispered. "How could someone he's set his sights on be an ordinary person?"
The Emperor couldn't help but laugh, rubbing his hands together. "Twenty-one military merits at fifteen? He's got potential! Send someone to fetch him. Once he arrives in Chang'an, bring him directly to the palace. I want to see... what kind of young man he's taken a liking to. Wenji, go to Qingluan Mountain... and invite Dean Zhou here. I have something to discuss with him!"