Chapter 32 Linglong Jade Box

Military Camp.

Chen Sansi and his people had familiarized themselves with everything.

Starting tomorrow, they were to begin their official "work."

As for the job content.

Wang Zhi was not around, no one knew where he had gone, but Household Commander Liu came over and explained everything to him in great detail.

The ninety-some people under Hundred Households Wang were mainly responsible for the "Seven Parts Farming, Three Parts Garrison" aspect of garrison duty.

In the morning, they had to be at the military camp, practicing battle formations as a group. Military soldiers needed to participate in this before being promoted. In the afternoon, they would go to the Great Wall to keep watch and might also be sent to patrol the county town.

As for the garrison troops, they had half a day of practice and half a day of work.

Only military officers had more freedom.

Most of their time could be spent on cultivation.

"When the beacon fires rise, the horns sound."

Households Commander Liu pointed to the northern sky: "If you see black smoke rising, it means the barbarian tribes are invading, and everyone needs to assemble at the first notice. However, it's been many years since we've seen beacon smoke rise up in this place.

"Also, do you not have a place to live yet?"

Chen Sansi nodded: "When I joined the army, the manager told me there were no spare houses."

"There's no room for ordinary soldiers, but there are a few houses for military officers. Come with me."

Households Commander Liu led the way.

In the military settlement, the vast majority of houses were as simple as those in Yanbian Village, mainly made of mud bricks.

However, walking two miles west to where the military officers lived, everything suddenly looked new. All were standalone courtyards made of blue bricks and solid wood, large and small, divided according to rank.

"This is a house only a Hundred Households can live in, right?"

Stopping in front of a two-entry courtyard, Chen Sansi said: "It doesn't seem appropriate for a small flag like me, does it?"

"What's inappropriate? Who's to say you won't become a Hundred Households before long?"

Households Commander Liu said: "Besides, it's empty anyway, and Lord Thousand Households isn't going to care. Even if he finds out, he'll just turn a blind eye."

"Alright."

Chen Sansi understood it was a favor being given to him and didn't turn it down.

Firstly, running back and forth between the military camp and Yanbian Village every day was not only inconvenient but also a waste of precious time.

Secondly, his family's living conditions were truly humble, so moving to a better house would make life more comfortable for Sister Lan.

Using a cart borrowed from the military camp for transporting grain and fodder, Chen Sansi went back to Yanbian Village to move.

"Shitou, you really became an officer?!"

"For sure, he's even moving with a horse and cart."

"Once you climb up the ranks, you won't bother with us anymore!"

"What Lai Zi said this time might actually happen."

"…"

When Chen Sansi had just brought the cart into the village, the villagers were happy to watch the excitement, but gradually, the smiles disappeared from their faces.

Becoming an official.

It meant that from then on, they were no longer the same kind of people.

"Uncles and aunties are joking; I'm just a small flag without even a rank. How am I an official?"

Chen Sansi didn't know what else to say.

There wasn't much to move from his home, just a few quilts and some pots and pans, making the cart seem rather superfluous.

"This house is quite nice indeed."

Arriving at the new house, Gu Xinlan was also very pleased and busily started to tidy up.

Chen Sansi was not idle; after finishing the last two pounds of braised bear meat at home, he started practicing spear technique right there in the yard.

After bringing out the Qi-Blood.

The effect of the bear meat was nowhere near as great as before.

It was only equivalent to eating ordinary livestock before he had cultivated Qi-Blood.

[Cultivation Technique: Basic Spear Technique (Entry-Level)]

[Progress: (72/500)]

[Utility: Gun Movement Swift, Amazing Endurance]

An afternoon only increased the progress by twenty points.

"It looks like I still need to buy things like bear heart for proper nourishment."

"And medicinal soups!"

As a flag officer, Chen Sansi could receive a bowl of Blood Replenishing Soup every three days, but he didn't know how effective it would be.

He looked up at the sky and realized it was already dusk.

By this time, the people in the pharmacy should have stopped decocting medicines.

With nothing else to do, he sat down and flipped through a book for a while.

It was still the "Dasheng Book" from before.

Reading about the current Emperor's great grandfather, it mentioned that he was particularly fond of designing things and had invented numerous ingenious devices, including a wooden box specifically for the transmission of intelligence, named the Linglong Jade Box.

This box contained mechanisms and had to be opened with a special Jade Key. Otherwise, it would burn from the inside out, destroying the intelligence.

However, the box was lost after the Emperor died.

"Isn't this the box in my hands?"

Chen Sansi felt relieved that he hadn't destroyed it with brute force, otherwise he would have truly lost a treasure.

[Skill: Reading (small achievement)]

[Progress: (51/800)]

[Utility: Quick-witted, spirit refreshed, photographic memory]

…

The next day.

Chen Sansi finally didn't have to travel far. After breakfast, he took a leisurely walk to the barracks, first practicing archery for a while, then practicing spear technique.

When he estimated that the time was about right, he went to look for Xu Bin.

It was also a twist of fate that Xu Bin was under Wang Zhi's command as well, but after several rounds of searching, he didn't see him and had to ask other flag officers.

"Old Xu? Yesterday afternoon, I saw Hundred Households Wang beat him up, and then he disappeared."

"Hundred Households Wang?"

Chen Sansi was taken aback.

He realized something.

When the sparring happened yesterday, it was very possible that Hundred Households Wang chose Xu Bin hoping he would throw the match.

"There's no need for that," he said.

Chen Sansi was somewhat speechless.

If he truly had thrown the match, it would have been of no benefit to either of them.

He inquired about Xu Bin's residence and then went to find him.

…

"Bin, have you lost your mind?"

Today, Old Xu had come from the town to bring a stewing hen for his pregnant daughter-in-law, and as soon as he entered, he saw the huge palm print on his son's face.

Usually, Xu Bin would go to the barracks to practice Martial Arts early in the morning, but today he hadn't moved even though it was near noon.

He knew right away that something had happened.

After some pressing enquiries, he finally understood the whole story.

"Little Stone is our fellow villager, and if he makes a name for himself in the future, it would only benefit you! How could you hit him with all your might? You deserve to be beaten, deserve it indeed!"

Xu Bin kept his head down, saying nothing.

In fact, from the moment he was chosen for the assessment, he was stuck in a dilemma.

If he had thrown the match, wouldn't Lord Thousand Households have seen through it?

Not throwing the match would offend Hundred Households Wang.

The only good outcome was to be treated with respect by the Lord Thousand Households.

The result was obvious; he ended up with the worst possible outcome.

Afterwards, Wang Zhi found some pretext to slap him and demanded twenty taels of silver, threatening to beat him up every time he saw him if he didn't pay.

All of his military pay went into practicing Martial Arts, and with his daily expenses, he had nothing left. Where would he find twenty taels of silver?

"Go find Little Stone," urged Old Xu. "Hurry up, apologize to Little Stone, and ask him to smooth things over for you!"

"Dad, it's useless," Xu Bin said without any sense of hope.

During the sparring match, he had gone all out to the point of killing.

With swords and knives being blind, one could easily end up bleeding for real.

If the other party simply didn't make things difficult for him in the future, that would already be a mercy. How could he expect him to speak on his behalf?

"Bang bang bang—"

The sound of knocking interrupted the father and son's conversation.

Soon after, a warm and amiable voice could be heard.

"Is Brother Bin home? It's me, Chen Sansi."