The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 325- 327

Chapter 325: A Mole and a Map

Chief He felt a cold shiver of fear run through him, not daring make eye contact with Ling Zhang, head down, eyes roving nervously. Anybody could tell at a glance that he was keeping something back.

“Ah–!”

Qiu Bing quickly stuck the needle into one of Chief He’s acupoints, reducing the man to yelling in anguish.

“Answer the question right now or spend the rest of your life screaming in pain.”

Chief He looked at Qiu Bing’s sneering face as though he were looking at a devil. Deep panic in his eyes, face twisted with agony, he implored, “I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you! Please make it stop!”

Qiu Bing reached out his hand to grab Chief He’s chin and shoved a pill into his mouth, and with that Chief He gradually stopped the anguished cries and limply crumpled up, as though he’d just been pulled back from the gates to the underworld.

“On entering the city, Marshal Yuwen killed a couple of local hoodlums who were robbing people. I once murdered someone, and originally there was nothing that guy’s family could do to me, but after hearing about this matter, they decided to go to the Marshal and beseech him to help them get justice. I tried to stop them but failed. For fear of being arrested, I gathered my subordinates and we escaped from the city together.”

Chief He was trembling while speaking. He didn’t seem to be lying, and his words made sense.

“Please show me mercy, heroes. I’ve told you everything. Please give me a chance to turn over a new leaf. I’ll surrender myself to the yamen. Please don’t kill me!”

“Food supply of the yamen is limited. Why should they waste any of it on scum like you?” said Qiu Bing coldly, gazing at Chief He. Scared by these words, Chief He started begging for his life again.

Handing these people to the yamen was indeed an option. At least the yamen would be spared the necessity of hunting for these two gangs of bandits.

However…

“Young Master!” Wang Dashan suddenly walked out of one of the houses, holding a map in his hand.

Chief He twisted his head around and his countenance changed drastically at the sight of the map in Wang Dashan’s hand.

“I found a map of secret tunnels of that border city in Youzhou. It’s got annotations in Luohai language on it,” said Wang Dashan in a serious tone, handing the map to Ling Zhang, shooting a stern glance at Chief He.

It was a map of the secret tunnels of that border city in Youzhou, and it bore marks in Luohai language. The combination of these two facts made it unmistakable what this map was meant for.

On noticing the drastic change of Chief He’s countenance and the determined look that suddenly appeared on his face, Qiu Bing, who was quick of eye and deft of hand, rapidly stuck the needle into one of Chief He’s vital acupoints to temporarily paralyze him, gripped his chin, heavily dislocated his lower jaw and observed frostily, “You want to die? That’s not your decision to make any more.”

Ling Zhang had opened the map. After he read it carefully, his face grew grave. Icily eyeing Chief He who was drooling at the mouth like a dying dog, he instructed, “Put his jaw back in and have him tell the truth about his identity and origins. The others keep searching this place and see if there’s anything else suspicious.”

“Yes.”

Wang Dashan brought some men and went to scour the houses. Qiu Bing, with an evil grin, grabbed Chief He and pricked several acupoints of his, and with that Chief He started convulsing in pain, looking at Qiu Bing, a mixture of despair and horror in his eyes. What with his dislocated jaw and the extreme pain, he was totally unable to speak, meaningless grunts issuing from his throat.

“Like I said, if you don’t tell me the truth, things would get so nasty that death would be a relief for you.” Qiu Bing crouched down with three long thin needles clamped between his fingers and specially waved them in front of Chief He’s eyes. Chief He shook his head madly, looking at the three needles, extreme dread written all over his face.

“You should be thankful it’s me that you’re faced with. If my master is here, you would’ve known what it feels like to be in hell.” Qiu Bing stooped, bearing down on Chief He, his ferocious and sinister eyes boring into Chief He’s like a venomous snake staring at its prey.

Chief He started shaking his head even more hysterically, a beseeching expression in his eyes. “AAAAAARGH!”

Grinning grimly, Qiu Bing reached out a hand to put Chief He’s bottom jaw back in and then disgustedly rubbed his hand against Chief He’s clothes to get rid of the saliva. “Now be a peach and tell me who you really are. One more lie and I’ll flay you alive.”

After saying this, he swiftly slit the back of Chief He’s hand with the needle and then rapidly peeled away an entire patch of skin which didn’t have a shred of blood on it, revealing the flesh.

“AAAAAAARGH!” Chief He cried out in pain but was unable to move an inch, enduring the agony, vainly trying with all his might to flinch, eyes full of despair.

“Stop yelling and tell me the truth. Don’t try any clever tricks with me.” Qiu Bing gazed at him.

Chief He was dripping with cold sweat, veins standing out on his forehead with agony, but he still immediately stopped screaming and said, “Okay! Okay!”

“I come originally from the Luohai Kingdom. Five years ago I infiltrated into the Great Yue and disguised as a subject of this country, impersonating a local. Under the cover of my fake identity, I idled around but nobody ever suspected me. The task my superior assigned me was to take advantage of this opportunity to check out the lay of the land in that border city.

A year ago, I discovered a cold lake in a small village to the east of that border city. Water level in that lake rises during the rainy season, but in the dry season, the water level falls, revealing a natural cave that leads deep into a mountain, but the cave is very narrow, allowing only one man to walk in it bent-backed. What with the short length of the dry season and the many dark dank branch paths in it, I spent over a year making preparations and finally got to the end of it during my second attempt. It turns out the cave leads to a cavern inside Mount Qingyue to the north-east of the border city. Inside Mount Qingyue is an underground river that flows straight through the mountains behind Mount Qingyue. That area is in the Luohai Kingdom and has been desolate all along owing to the dangerous terrains, but it’s not far away from a border city in the Luohai Kingdom. With some excavation work, it could be used as a passage through which an elite unit could sneak into the border city in Youzhou in wartime.”

While Ling Zhang listened, his countenance remained unchanged all along. He asked, “You made this map on your own?”

“Yes.”

“Why haven’t you sent it to your superior? Has anybody in the Luohai Kingdom been informed of this? Has anybody infiltrated into that border city already?”

“The city declared martial law before I could find a chance to send this map back. The city gates were closed and I was unable to get out. It wasn’t the dry season and that cave was inaccessible, so I didn’t leave the border city right away, but afterward… What I said just now was the truth. It was indeed because someone reported my commission of murder to the North-western Army that I had to take my men and flee the city in haste.”

Chief He, scared out of his senses by Qiu Bing, didn’t dare lie to him.

“Young Master, we’ve searched this whole place. Nothing else suspicious was found.”

Wang Dashan and his men had finished scouring the houses. That map in Ling Zhang’s hand was the only suspect item that had been found so far.

“When does the water level in that lake normally fall?” Ling Zhang inquired of Chief He.

Chief He answered, “Typically in winter.”

There was still some time before winter, which meant that cave wasn’t any good at the moment.

Ling Zhang knitted his brows. This thing could be a threat to the Luohai Kingdom as well if utilized wisely.

“If there’s anything else you should tell us, spit it out immediately, or I’ll make you.” Qiu Bing threatened Chief He once again.

“I’ll tell you!” Frightened, Chief He hastily cried, “Wha–What else do you want to know? I’ll tell you everything!”

“When was the last time you made contact with the Luohai Kingdom? Do they know you’ve escaped from the border city?” Ling Zhang asked him.

Chief He immediately answered, “The last time I contacted them was when I tried to give them this map, but the city gates were suddenly closed and I didn’t have the time to wait for their reply. They probably have no knowledge of my fleeing the city, because it was a last-minute decision.”

“Are there any other spies from the Luohai Kingdom in that border city?” Ling Zhang asked another question.

“A cou–couple of.” Chief He glanced at Qiu Bing and then gave an honest answer right away.

“So the moment you left the city, they all found out about it, didn’t they?” said Ling Zhang.

“I don’t know whether or not they’ve found out about it. Our identities are different and we seldom contact each other. But even if they found out that I’d left the city, they wouldn’t know about my current whereabouts,” said Chief He.

Ling Zhang thoughtfully stared at him. After a while, he said, “Take him.”

Qiu Bing gave a grim smile at Chief He and mouthed, “It’s your lucky day.”

Chief He shuddered, averting his eyes from Qiu Bing in fear.

Thus, they ended this hunt for bandits, bringing back a spy. In order not to attract anybody’s attention, they put some disguise on Chief He by having him change into an outfit similar to theirs, altering his hair style and doing some little tricks with his face. Having him travel among them, they returned to the inn without rousing anybody’s suspicions.

At the sight of them coming back, Ling Zhaowu, who’d been waiting for them in the inn, flicked a glance at the others, paused briefly and then looked away from them and asked, “How did it go?”

That subtle, almost unnoticeable pause of Ling Zhaowu’s didn’t escape Ling Zhang’s notice. It’d been none other than Chief He that Ling Zhaowu’s eyes rested on. He’d spotted the suspicious part after a single glance, which showed how observant he was. In fact, Ling Zhang had all along been having this feeling that there was something inexplicable about Ling Zhaowu, and during these days when he was together with him, this feeling had gradually grown stronger. There had been several occasions when he’d been close to a flash of inspiration but failed to fathom anything out.

“Things went quite well. Those two gangs of bandits exterminated a couple of families living on that hill and took possession of their houses, planning to make a den out of that place. We killed them all. Their bodies are still on that hill,” Ling Zhang replied and then said to the innkeeper who were transfixed by these words of his, “I’d appreciate it if you would inform the yamen of this matter and have them send some men there to deal with those bodies.”

The innkeeper couldn’t believe that those two gangs of bandits had really been disposed of. “Childe, you–you really killed those bandits?”

“I did,” said Ling Zhang.

“Thank you, childe. You’re indeed the savior of this town!” The innkeeper came to himself and excitedly expressed his gratitude.

“Just report it to the yamen as soon as possible. By the way, before you go, tell the waiters to prepare some hot water for us. We could all use a bath. And we need some food, too,” said Wang Dashan.

The innkeeper said “Right away, sir!” several times in a row, instructed the two waiters to get to work and then ran to the local yamen.

“Who’s that?” Ling Zhaowu asked Ling Zhang after the innkeeper and the waiters left.

“A spy. He could be useful.” Ling Zhang gave a sketchy account of what had happened on that hill. “I figure maybe he’ll be useful to Yuwen Tong, so I let him live.”

Ling Zhaowu gave a bob of his head. “We should resume our journey after you take a bath and have something to eat.”

“But your physical condition–”

“I’m fine. I’ve made a remarkable recovery. Besides, during my stay in the capital city, your grandfather used his internal energy to help nurse me back to health, and those precious medicinal herbs of yours have been a huge help, too. Also, I’ve been practicing fist techniques on a daily basis lately, so my constitution is stronger than you give it credit for.”

Chapter 326: A Reunion

Ling Zhaowu affirmed that he was fine, so after having some rest, Ling Zhang and the others resumed their journey, bringing Chief He with them, but this time they were traveling at a slower speed.

When the innkeeper returned to the inn with some staff members of the local yamen only to find that Ling Zhang and the others had already left, a mood of melancholy descended on him and he sighed, “What an honorable man. He helps people but expects nothing in return.”

Ling Zhang, however, was totally unaware of that innkeeper’s sentimental opinions about him, feeling the tension in the air more distinctly as he got closer to the border city.

Along the way, they saw a lot of residents heading south, most of whom were in groups. Seeing as they were all richly dressed, they were probably from rich families in the city. With the city under attack, they feared that the Great Yue might lose the war, so they decided to temporarily leave the city. There were also some small towns and villages the entrances and exits of which were guarded by townsfolk or villagers. All of them were very vigilant and performing their duties in good order without any panic on their faces.

“The situation here seems not bad. This area is very near to the border city, and these people didn’t flee, which indicates that they’re pretty confident the Great Yue will win this war,” said Ling Zhaowu.

Ling Zhang inclined his head. His face was grave, but the corners of his mouth curled slightly in spite of himself. He believed that the reason why these people were confident was because the one directing operations in the border city was Yuwen Tong. Thinking about this, he couldn’t help but feel proud.

“Let’s keep moving. We’ll get there in another day.” Ling Zhaowu believed that he was pretty observant, and naturally he noticed the corners of his son’s mouth curl. He felt faintly jealous, for his son had a proud look on his face without even hearing anybody mention Yuwen Tong’s name, which showed how deep his affection for Yuwen Tong was. How could he not be jealous?

Ling Zhang was oblivious of his father’s subtle change of mood. He just gave a bob of the head and then spurred Snowflake the horse to continue progressing.

…

It was almost dusk and they could vaguely see the silhouette of the border city now. The huge city was standing ahead. The high ramparts built for defensive purposes seemed quite intimidating. There was no vegetation on the perimeter, and guards were densely posted along the ramparts, all of whom were keeping close watch on passers-by.

There were actually very few passers-by at this hour. Ling Zhang and the others were the only ones approaching the city gates at this moment. As they made a large group, the soldiers on the ramparts were instantly on the alert. The barricades at the city gates were put up, in front of which stood some soldiers with their spears pointing at Ling Zhang and the others.

“Identify yourselves!” yelled the one in charge, his eyes vigilantly appraising the approaching group.

“Dismount and come here to receive security check! One more step and we’ll shoot you!” bawled the officer again.

Ling Zhang raised his hand and motioned for those behind him to stop, slowly reined in Snowflake, twisted his head around and said, “Dismount.”

Then he got off his horse and all others followed suit. Ling Zhang and Ling Zhaowu were walking in front. Wang Dashan and the rest of them were keeping a weather eye on the archers on the gate tower, poised to immediately escort Ling Zhang and Ling Zhaowu away if anything unexpected happened.

The grim look in that officer’s eyes softened slightly as he saw Ling Zhang and the others dismount from their horses, but he didn’t give the order for the soldiers behind him to put away their spears, nor did he instruct the archers on the gate tower to unload their bows.

Leading Snowflake, Ling Zhang slowly approached. The officer asked, “Who are you people? Why did you come to this border city?”

Ling Zhang produced an ID plate from his sleeve to let the soldier see the words embossed on it and replied, “I’m here to look for someone.”

The officer was taken aback at the sight of the ID plate. With an expression of surprise and incredulity on his face, he sized up Ling Zhang. “Who are you exactly? And how did you come to get an ID plate of the Marshal’s?”

“My surname is Ling. I specially came here to see the Marshal. These gentlemen behind me are my bodyguards. They mean no harm. If you don’t believe me, you may search us or send someone back into the city to report it to the Marshal.” Ling Zhang was very polite.

The officer’s eyes widened as he heard Ling Zhang say his surname was Ling, and then, seeing Ling Zhang had a courteous manner and wasn’t putting on airs at all, he became much less wary of Ling Zhang and began to appraise Ling Zhang with a curious look in his eyes. “Are you really surnamed Ling?”

“Of course,” responded Ling Zhang, taking no offence. Although this officer’s eyes were roving on him, inside them was nothing more than curiosity.

The officer was a trifle hesitant, but his attitude was clearly very different from how it’d been just now. In a polite manner, he said to Ling Zhang, “Please wait a moment. I’ve sent someone back to report to the Marshal.”

Ling Zhang smiled, “Okay. Thanks.”

After hearing this, the officer seemed somewhat embarrassed, raising his hand to scratch his head. After a while, he involuntarily looked at Ling Zhang again and then shifted his gaze to Ling Zhaowu who was beside Ling Zhang and the others behind him, his eyes full of curiosity.

Naturally, Ling Zhang could tell from his bearing that he had guessed his identity, that he only needed a final confirmation.

“You… You’re from the capital city?” inquired the officer, the second “You” in honorific form.

Ling Zhang replied, “There’s no need for you to address me with an honorific title. I’m just an ordinary person. I’m indeed from the capital city. I specially came here to take a look because I’m worried about the situation in this border city. I don’t want to disturb anybody.”

The officer’s eyes gleamed slightly. He had got a shrewd idea of who Ling Zhang was and just found it hard to believe that he was actually seeing the Marshal’s partner-to-be in the flesh. It struck him that Ling Zhang was attractive, good-tempered, modest, smiled mildly and talked in a pleasant manner, that the Marshal’s would-be marriage partner was a much nicer person than he’d expected.

“You traveled all the way here? Is everything okay in the capital city? Did you tell the Marshal about it in advance?” The officer asked three questions in one breath.

Ling Zhang smiled, “I wrote him a letter before departure. Everything’s fine in the capital city.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I’m glad to hear that,” grinned the officer fatuously, looking at Ling Zhang, curiosity written all over his face. He had a lot of questions but was too embarrassed to ask any of them, so he just awkwardly smiling at Ling Zhang. After a few moments, he inquired, “Who are these gentlemen? They don’t strike me as bodyguards.”

Ling Zhang’s eyebrows slightly lifted. He had thought that this officer had guessed his identity and wouldn’t ask any questions of this kind, but unexpectedly, though seemingly uptight, the officer had actually noticed this part. Also, since this officer had asked about it, Ling Zhang felt obliged to answer it, for this officer was not a person to be trifled with.

“This is my father, and this couple of gentlemen here are my father’s friends. Those twenty-four men are guards working for my family,” Ling Zhang explained to him.

The officer’s face instantly took on an expression of dawning comprehension and he cast a hearty look at Ling Zhaowu. “So you’re the father-in-law?”

“??” Ling Zhang and the others were thrown into perplexity. What?

As though having realized he said the wrong thing, the officer immediately added, “Oh, I’m sorry. We’ve got used to it and it just slipped out. I mean, are you the Marshal’s father-in-law?”

Ling Zhaowu said with a smile, “It seems that you’re a well-informed man, officer. You even know about the Marshal’s father-in-law. I think it’s safe to say that you’re pretty close to the Marshal.”

On hearing this, the officer embarrassedly scratched his head. “I came to this city with our deputy commander, and so did all the others on duty at the city gates. Of all members of the North-western Army, the deputy commander is the one who enjoys gossiping about the Marshal the most, so we’ve all heard a lot of it.”

The corners of Ling Zhang’s mouth twitched unnoticeably. He ratted on his deputy commander just like this? Was this man slow or sly?

Even Ling Zhaowu pulled a wry face. “Whatever. It’s okay that this matter has come to the knowledge of you guys. I have nothing to hide.

Still, just now you said that you’d got used to it. What did you mean by that?”

Having never expected that Ling Zhaowu would ask about this, the officer uttered “Ah?” with a vacant face and then replied, “Well, we talked about it a lot in private and got used to it. In the North-western Army, the Marshal is like a god, and all of us care about him very much and would lay down our lives to guard him. Not long ago, the Marshal returned to the capital city and got engaged to someone, and after that we heard that the Marshal got a father-in-law. We’re all very happy for him and privately curious about what the person the Marshal is going to marry is like, and we confidentially asked our deputy commander a lot about it.”

Ling Zhang and Ling Zhaowu exchanged glances. This officer’s words contained an undertone. He was telling them that Yuwen Tong was their god, that the soldiers would guard him with their lives. In other words, under no circumstances would they let anything happen to Yuwen Tong, and even if he was Yuwen Tong’s betrothed, these people were also wary of him. This officer was, in a very roundabout way, warning him.

“That’s perfect. My son is the apple of my eye, and I would never let any harm come to him, not even a minor scratch. In my eyes, all precious treasures paled into insignificance beside my son. It seems that your marshal and my son are meant for each other,” observed Ling Zhaowu.

The officer’s face was slightly wooden for a moment but soon returned to normal. “Tell me about it. Given the great presence of your son, he must be an extraordinarily talented man. He and our marshal are a perfect match for each other. Their marriage is predestined.”

Ling Zhang inwardly snickered, feeling that this man was pretty quick-witted and might be a talent, for he’d come to know that the undertone of warning in his words was detected, and after hearing the riposte, he’d immediately extricated himself from the delicate situation without showing a shred of embarrassment on his face.

The quick clatter of horses’ hoofs issued from the city gates. Snowflake led by Ling Zhang reared and gave a long neigh and with that another neigh came from the city gates in response. It was North Wind, on the back of which was, naturally, Yuwen Tong. Behind him were a lot of others, all of whom were staring in this direction with glittering eyes.

Ling Zhang’s eyes lit up at the sight of Yuwen Tong, but as they alighted on the group of officers who were gazing at him with expectant eyes, Ling Zhang inexplicably took a step backward, having a hunch that he was soon going to be besieged by those people and appraised by their eyes.

Moreover, it was at this moment that he noticed that the city was very quiet, and this officer on duty at the city gates looked quite relaxed. It seemed that there was no military operation on this day.

North Wind was very fast and soon galloped up and came to a halt in front of the group.

Yuwen Tong dismounted and strode over to Ling Zhang, gazing at him fervently. Their eyes met and it seemed as though they were about to merge into each other.

But Yuwen Tong still had his self-restraint. After he and Ling Zhang holding each other’s gaze for a long moment, Yuwen Tong withdrew his eyes and paid his respect to Ling Zhaowu first. “It’s a great pleasure to meet you, father-in-law.”

Those officers behind him had all dismounted from their horses and were now looking unblinkingly in this direction. At the sight of Yuwen Tong bowing to Ling Zhaowu, their eyes brightened even further as though they were seeing some kind of pageant.

Chapter 327: Childe Ling Entering the City

Yuwen Tong made a bow to Ling Zhaowu with hands folded in front, and all the military officers behind him were watching this scene with glinting eyes. After lifting their eyebrows and winking at each other as signals for a few moments, they suddenly bowed in unison and chorused, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Master Ling.”

Ling Zhaowu and Ling Zhang were taken aback and hurriedly looked at them. “I’m not sure I deserve such a level of formality. Please rise, generals.”

“It’s what we should do. You’re the Marshal’s father-in-law, which means you’re an honored guest of the North-western Army.” Those officers straightened themselves, every one of them beaming, sneaking looks at Ling Zhang, ill-concealed curiosity gleaming in their searching eyes. “Marshal, I believe this is the part where you introduce this childe to us.”

Yuwen Tong tossed them a glance, but these men were not intimidated, still watching with smiling faces, they eyes roving on Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong.

Just now Ling Zhang had been startled by that sudden uniform act of theirs, but if truth be told, these people meant no harm and were all smiling. Though their expressions were curious and a trifle arch, they were all friendly and made him feel an upsurge of closeness to their owners.

“This is Ling Zhang, the one you guys have been looking forward to seeing. He’ll be as good as a second master of yours in the future. Now come here and pay your respects,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang was embarrassed at these words, feeling that it was an exaggeration to say that he’d be a second master of them. He was not that thick-skinned. “What are you talking about? Please don’t listen to him, gener–”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Childe Ling!” chorused the group of officers, hands folded in front, bowing to him in unison, interrupting him.

Unable to finish his sentence, Ling Zhang hastened to make a bow in response and said, “It’s an honor to meet you, too, generals.”

Yuwen Tong reached out his hand and raised him. With his hand on the small of Ling Zhang’s back, Yuwen Tong had him stand bolt upright and then said to the others, “You may rise.”

The others straightened themselves, their faces creasing into beams again. They each made a self-introduction and then one of them said, “There’s no need for you to be so polite to us, Childe Ling. Our marshal has been a bachelor for over twenty years. You’re doing us a great favor by accepting him. If there’s anything you need our help with, all you have to do is ask.”

Yuwen Tong’s face fell. Ling Zhang, however, hurriedly replied, “You have a great sense of humor, general.”

These people were very straightforward. So Yuwen Tong, who had been single for many years, had actually been an embarrassment to the troops? Ling Zhang found this quite amusing.

“Father-in-law,” said Yuwen Tong, looking at Ling Zhaowu, “a welcome reception has been prepared in the city. Let’s go inside right away.”

Ling Zhaowu inclined his head, pretending not to have noticed Yuwen Tong’s hand which was still on the small of Ling Zhang’s back. “Okay.”

As the group of them rode through the city gates, soldiers on duty seriously stood on the roadside, following them with their eyes. Naturally, their eyes were mostly appraising Ling Zhang, excitement and curiosity bubbling beneath their pretence of being grave.

After going through the broad high city gates, Ling Zhang was greeted by the inside of the border city.

Ling Zhang had never been to the north before in this incarnation of his or the last one, and he certainty had no idea what a border city looked like. During his journey to this place, he had seen a lot of northern customs and practices all of which couldn’t be found in the south. Now, being in a border city, he was experiencing first-hand the roughness and vastness of it. After entering the city, he first came in sight of a broad thoroughfare and the buildings on the two sides of it which were of a different style from that of buildings in other cities. These buildings were all very rugged and substantial in style, and many of them were built of stone. Anybody could tell at a glance that they were very sturdy.

Apart from the eateries, taverns and stores on both sides of the thoroughfare, Ling Zhang also saw some residents of this city who, unlike southerners, were dressed less exquisitely, with very few ornaments, but who struck him as very natural, casual and pleasantly exotic. In addition, residents here laughed in a very hearty way, and when they were impassive, there was an air of ruggedness and determination about them. The war was ongoing right outside the city, but there was no fear or panic whatsoever on their faces. Though a lot of people’s expressions were tinged with apprehension, Ling Zhang could still tell that they were very strong-willed.

Pedestrians aside, teams of soldiers on patrol were the only people that could be seen. Soldiers here were different from those in the capital city as well, appearing apathetic and tenacious, all emanating a menacing air. They were sure-footed and their eyes were penetrating, which made it unmistakable that they were no milksop.

Distantly, Ling Zhang was hearing more sounds, including the sound of troops drilling in unison and the footsteps of large groups of people walking around. The activities sounded busy but not noisy, and they struck him as orderly.

“Guys, look at that young childe on a white horse. He entered the city side by side with the Marshal. Who is he?”

As soon as Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong went into the city, people inside, soldiers and residents alike, started casting them searching and appraising looks from all sides. They made way for him and Yuwen Tong on their own account to let them through, standing on the roadside, staring squarely at them in an open and forthright way without the slightest inclination to conceal their curiosity.

“He’s pretty good-looking. I think he’s from a rich family in a place like the capital city, given his delicate skin and the aristocratic air about him.”

“Is he a son of some dignitary in the capital city, by any chance? What business could he possibly have in a border city at this point in time?”

“Oh, can’t you see that the Marshal’s attitude towards him is different? Although the Marshal stays in the border city in Shengzhou most of the time and seldom comes here, nobody has ever dared to ride side by side with the Marshal in this city, but this childe is not only riding abreast of the Marshal, the Marshal seems to care about him very much. You see? The Marshal just twisted his head aside to look at the childe again.”

“Now that you mention it, I think you’ve got a point. Is this person friends with the Marshal?”

“That white horse he’s riding is a rare, precious breed. It matches the Marshal’s black horse pretty well.”

“We’re all looking at the person, why are you looking at his horse? Surely you don’t think that horse could tell you who that childe is or the relations between him and the Marshal?”

“I’m just saying. What’s wrong with that? This childe is by no means a common person. I mean, he’s riding shoulder to shoulder with the Marshal, and the Marshal is paying special attention to him, and his horse is a rare and precious breed. Moreover, he’s escorted by a group of bodyguards. You see that? Considering the look in those bodyguards’ eyes, they must have serious kung fu skills. Oh, look at those ten guys in different robes. Tsk, tsk. They’re noticeably more apathetic. They’re acting like we didn’t even exist.”

…

People on both sides of the road were discussing constantly what they were seeing. Their voices were not loud, but Ling Zhang, whose sense of hearing was far sharper than before, naturally heard them distinctly.

He looked at Yuwen Tong and asked curiously, “Is it true that nobody has ever walked side by side with you before?”

Yuwen Tong replied, “In this city, no. None of them dares to walk with me.”

Ling Zhang lifted his eyebrows. “Judging from the curiosity on their faces, they seem to be unaware that you’re getting married.”

Yuwen Tong said, “Not me getting married – we’re getting married.”

It’d been a while since the last time they’d seen each other, and at this moment Yuwen Tong was itching to take Ling Zhang to his tent to spend some time alone with him. Unfortunately for him, Ling Zhaowu was present, so he had to follow the etiquette, which made him feel quite frustrated. As a result, he became unhappy when he heard Ling Zhang say “You’re” instead of “We’re”.

Ling Zhang, “…”

“Okay. I said the wrong thing and I apologize. We haven’t seen each other for such a long time. Are you really giving me that face? Did I make a mistake by coming a long way to this place to see you?”

Yuwen Tong, “…”

He immediately put on a different look and said, “I’ve been missing you since the moment I left the capital city. There isn’t a day that passes when I don’t want to finish these troublesome matters as soon as possible and then go back to the capital city to be with you. I’m very happy that you came here. If you say that again, you’d be breaking my heart.”

Ling Zhang quietly gazed at him for a while and then said, “You’re not mad at me?”

“For what?” Yuwen Tong asked a question instead of giving an answer.

Ling Zhang replied, “For coming to this border city to see you instead of staying in the capital city as you told me to.”

On hearing this remark, Yuwen Tong felt as though something had just lightly scratched his heart, giving him an itchy and numb sensation. “But from the moment I saw you, I couldn’t think of anything but you.

I did tell you to stay in the capital city, but now that you’ve come here, I don’t want you to go anywhere else. I just want you to stay by my side, so that the great emptiness of heart that has been troubling me for such a long time would finally ebb away. Previously I felt depressed all the time and I couldn’t stop thinking of you.”

Yuwen Tong had divided these words into two parts, and Ling Zhang blushed scarlet at these remarks, his heart fluttering contentedly, worried that somebody might have overheard them. “Wha–What are you talking about? There’re so many people here.”

“I’m telling the truth, and I’m being quite restrained.” Yuwen Tong believed he did nothing wrong.

Ling Zhaowu behind them gave an awkward cough, flicking a meaningful glance at Yuwen Tong.

Yuwen Tong hurriedly shut up and sat bolt upright, realizing that he had got carried away and forgotten about his father-in-law.

Ling Zhang, “…”

With a flush on his cheeks, Ling Zhang twisted his head aside and the two of them lapsed into silence.

The two groups of people in their wake – Ling Zhang’s bodyguards and Yuwen Tong’s subordinates – all appeared rather disappointed as though they wanted to hear more of it. Just now they had pricked up their ears and been keeping silent all along, listening hard to the conversation between the two people in front, exchanging sly glances from time to time, their eyes gleaming with gossipy excitement.

Seeing the two of them really fell silent, Jiang Xi rolled his eyes and then rode up to Ling Zhang. “Childe Ling, this is the first time you’ve been to a border city, I suppose?”

Ling Zhang twisted his head around to look at him and smiled, “Yeah. I’ve been meaning to come here all along but never got the chance. This is my first time being in a place like this.”

“Would you like to hear something about the local customs and practices in this border city? Although this place is not as prosperous as the capital city, and nor is it as beautiful as any of the southern cities, there are many interesting spots here,” said Jiang Xi quickly.

Naturally Ling Zhang wouldn’t decline such a kind offer. He said with a nod, “That’s very nice of you, General Jiang. Please go ahead.”

Jiang Xi gave a smug grin and began, “Do you know that this border city in Youzhou has three greatest features, Childe Ling?”

These words piqued Ling Zhang’s curiosity. “Three greatest features? What are they?”

Jiang Xi said, “Why don’t you take a guess? Use your imagination.”

Ling Zhang gave a smile. How was he supposed to guess it without any hints? But he nicely played along with Jiang Xi’s little game and replied, “I don’t know any of the three greatest features of this border city in Youzhou, but after I entered the city, I found that this place is indeed quite unique. I’ll summarize the features I saw. This city boasts the highest ramparts, the most conscientious soldiers, the most straightforward residents, the broadest streets as well as the most substantial houses. It strikes me as the safest place. The existence of this city is the very source of the stability of Youzhou and the Great Yue.”