"Tong Yu."
Lin Zhao smiled, "Lord Xu Sheng intercepted the demon cavalry at the former site of Dongwu, just returning from a great battle. He and the soldiers need to rest. Isn't he learning to cook recently? I'll stir-fry some of his specialty dishes for Lord Xu Sheng to go with his wine later."
Tong Yu nodded repeatedly, "Brother Lin Zhao, I understand."
"Lin Zhao?"
Xu Sheng was startled and looked at Lin Zhao with some hesitation.
Lin Zhao was a bit embarrassed, "I'll explain in detail later."
With that, he ordered, "Chu Yu, take Lord Xu Sheng and the new brothers to rest. If there aren't enough tents, build more. In any case, we can't let everyone endure the wind and dew in the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake anymore."
"Yes, my lord!"
Chu Yu smiled and led Xu Sheng and the others to the camp.
Lin Zhao looked at Xu Zhi beside him and gestured to the group of Snow Domain cavalry behind him. "Let's go to Shanhai Pass to see Han Yetang. I need to ask if the heads of the demon cavalry can be exchanged for money."
"Mm!"
...
Not long after, Shanhai Pass.
Lin Zhao brought only over two hundred Snow Domain cavalry, but each rider carried many demon heads. From a distance, it looked like countless wind chimes hanging below their horse necks.
"..."
Han Yetang took a quick glance, her eyes full of astonishment. "I heard about the conflict in the northern region not long ago. How many demon cavalry did your Snow Domain Legion actually kill?"
"I haven't counted, but the total should be no less than 5,000."
Lin Zhao took a deep breath, "Yetang, I came here to ask if these demon cavalry heads count as proof for the bounty, and if we can receive the reward money from the Great Shang Dynasty."
"Yes, you can."
Han Yetang gave him a definite answer. "Each provincial city has officials dispatched by the Ministry of War to record demon heads and military merits. For ordinary cavalry, beheading one demon or beast grants the rank of Squad Leader, and beheading three demon heads qualifies one for the rank of Centurion. These are military merits, and the bounty is calculated separately."
"Alright."
Lin Zhao frowned and said, "Our Snow Domain Legion is not part of the Great Shang Dynasty's army. I'll hand over these demon heads to you, and the military merits will be given to your Shanhai Pass. However, you must give me the bounty in full, without any deductions. I'm truly penniless right now."
Han Yetang couldn't help but laugh, "I understand. Guards, collect all the demon cavalry heads, load them onto carriages, and transport them to Tianji City to claim the reward!"
"Yes, Commander!"
A group of Vermilion Bird cavalry happily began carrying the demon heads away.
Han Yetang's brows furrowed slightly. "According to the reports from the front, the demons dispatched at least 100,000 cavalry south this time. They engaged in an unprecedented bloody battle with the Lingnan Legion and the Border Garrison Legion north of Dongwu. The battle was extremely fierce. The commander of the Border Garrison Legion, Zhou Yan, was killed in action. The Lingnan Legion lost more than half of its forces. In the end, over 70,000 demon cavalry were slain. Afterward, the Border Garrison Legion grew dissatisfied, and a mutiny occurred within the army. Xu Sheng led his men to betray the Great Shang. Most of the mutinying soldiers from the Border Garrison Legion have been annihilated by the Lingnan Legion led by Wang Jingzhi. Now, the area around Dongwu is finally peaceful again."
"Do you really believe this battle report?"
Lin Zhao couldn't help but laugh.
Han Yetang frowned, "Although this battle report has many flaws, ... in the battlefield, there were only people from the Lingnan Legion and the Border Garrison Legion. Now that the Border Garrison Legion has been completely wiped out, and there is no other evidence, one has no choice but to believe it."
She looked at Lin Zhao, "What actually happened?"
"The demon cavalry force that marched south was actually only 50,000 strong."
Lin Zhao said, "Wang Jingzhi, eager for merit, led the Lingnan Legion overnight, coercing the Border Garrison Legion to pursue the demon cavalry north. They were routed by the demon cavalry in the snow. Both armies suffered over 100,000 casualties, while the demons likely lost less than 10,000. Wang Jingzhi, fearing that his defeat would be exposed, wanted to make Zhou Yan a scapegoat, which led to the mutiny of the Border Garrison Legion. Xu Sheng led several thousand cavalry to break through the encirclement, but he can by no means be considered a rebel."
"I see."
Han Yetang gritted her teeth, "That fool Wang Jingzhi is truly audacious!"
"Yetang."
Lin Zhao said, "I have something I need to ask you."
"Mm? Go ahead."
Lin Zhao took a deep breath and said seriously, "Xu Sheng is upright and resolute. I believe he is a capable general. Therefore, after Xu Sheng escaped Wang Jingzhi's pursuit, I incorporated his 3,000+ men. These men will now serve me incognito in the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake. However, their families are still within the Great Shang Dynasty's territory. Therefore, I hope... you can try your best to ensure that these soldiers' families are not implicated. Otherwise, it will be difficult for me to account for myself to them."
"I understand."
Han Yetang smiled and nodded, "During the Lanxi City military conference, I will raise doubts, arguing that Wang Jingzhi's one-sided account has flaws. Furthermore, I will use Zhou Yan's sacrifice in battle to argue that the Grand Overseer should not pursue the families of the Border Garrison Legion, and that they should not be harmed in any way."
"Mm."
Lin Zhao nodded, "The best outcome would be if it were believed that all these men perished under the demon cavalry's hooves. At least their families could receive some compensation."
"Good."
Han Yetang nodded with a smile, "Sit for a while. The reward money for the demon heads should arrive soon."
"Mm."
Lin Zhao and Xu Zhi sat in the commander's office, drinking tea. After a while, Han Yetang returned, holding a heavy bag in her hand. With a "swish," she placed it in front of Lin Zhao and said with a smile, "A total of 5,201 demon heads, including over 30 from the fifth realm. According to the Ministry of War's bounty regulations, that's a total of 42 Golden Mullet coins. Not bad."
"Forty-two?"
Lin Zhao was pleasantly surprised and hugged the money bag tightly. He said joyfully, "It seems I should interact more with them. Not only can I seize a lot of warhorses, weapons, and armor, but I can also earn money with heads."
Han Yetang smiled, "Do you plan to keep killing demons and beasts like this, living off the spoils of war?"
"What else?"
Lin Zhao scratched his head, "It's a last resort. This is the only way to seek fortune in danger."
"Mm!"
Han Yetang stood up, "The Ministry of War just sent a batch of warhorses to Shanhai Pass. I'm going to take a look. I won't be entertaining you further."
"I should be going too."
Lin Zhao stood up and clasped his fists, "Yetang, I still have to trouble you with the matter of Xu Sheng and the others' families. Please keep it in mind."
"Don't worry."
Han Yetang also clasped her fists and said with a smile, "At worst, I'll shed my dignity as Commander and argue with the officials at the Ministry of War. There shouldn't be any major problems. Rest assured."
"Mm!"
...
Lin Zhao had Xu Zhi return to the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake alone via the teleportation array. He then took out a town scroll and decided to return to the long-unseen Tianji City.
"Swish!"
He appeared in the east plaza of Tianji City, clad in shining golden equipment. He was a level 100 Sword Master, with dual sword spirits and dual flying swords – currently unique in the Huaxia server. As soon as Lin Zhao appeared, many people on the plaza cast astonished glances at him. Even a guild leader from the Seeking Immortals Guild looked at Lin Zhao, frowning. This guy hadn't shown up for many days, and now that he had, he seemed to be terrifyingly strong. This was not good news for Seeking Immortals.
Real time, 5:00 PM.
The teleportation array in the city flickered with light. Shen Xingchen, Chen Xue, Mo Chenxue, Lu Li, and Luo Mang returned from leveling. Shen Xingchen was already level 100, while the others were between levels 96 and 99, not far behind. Shen Xingchen looked up and saw Lin Zhao, unable to help but laugh, "Oh, the shopkeeper is back home?"
Lin Zhao was extremely embarrassed and scratched his head, "Xingchen, A'Xue, you're back? Come on, let's go sit in the Grand Hall for a bit. I have something for you."
"Oh?"
Chen Xue smiled, "Let's go!"
The group sat down on the benches in the Grand Hall. Lin Zhao began to sort through the military talismans in his inventory. He had been practicing drawing talismans every day to maintain his energy, so he had accumulated a great many, all written on rather expensive azure talisman paper. He pulled out a large pile. For each type of talisman, he took one and "swish, swish, swish," shared its attributes with the girls. "I have rediscovered the lost Thousand Cavalry Scroll Snow in the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake, so the Military Talisman system has been activated. These are finished products."
"..."
Shen Xingchen, Chen Xue, and the others' mouths hung open in astonishment. These talismans would directly make the game unbalanced.
Lin Zhao began to count the talismans one by one. He took out 600 Clarity Talismans and divided them in half. "Clarity Talisman, can temporarily reduce the chance of being controlled. Xingchen, A'Xue, you each get half, 300 each. Distribute them to the others as you see fit, use them sparingly, and only during large-scale battles or important PKs, as my energy is limited."
"Mm!"
Shen Xingchen and Chen Xue smiled and nodded together.
Next, Lin Zhao divided the Valiant Talismans, Swiftness Talismans, and Immobilization Talismans, distributing them equally to the two deputy guild leaders for them to hand out. These three types of talismans were potent PK weapons. As for the Sword Insight Talismans, he gave none initially, because the mechanism of Sword Insight Talismans was that they could not be used on players and were only useful in story quests. However, after thinking for a while, he still gave each of them 10 Sword Insight Talismans, and nagged them for a long time about the details of their usage, making Shen Xingchen and Chen Xue almost embarrassed to take them.
"Alright."
Chen Xue put away the talismans and said, "Dinner is at 5:30. Sister Juzi is making turtle soup today. Guild leader, your hard work has been great, have some more later."
Lin Zhao clenched his fist as if to hit her.
Chen Xue immediately dodged behind Luo Mang, who immediately spread his arms and puffed out his chest to shield Chen Xue in front of him. Lin Zhao glanced at him and said, "Flat," then fled. Luo Mang, wielding a newly acquired Flowing Gold sword, chased after him, hacking wildly, "Brother, have you eaten dinner? If not, eat my sword!"
...
Tianji City, Mo Family Shop, Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
A young girl in a green robe was leaning on the counter, her beautiful eyes narrowed as she watched the people coming and going on the street, almost dozing off. In the morning, a Mo Family True Return realm wanderer had visited the shop and spoken of what was happening in the northern region. This made Xu Qingyi's heart yearn, and now, she truly understood that the young sword cultivator was such a towering figure in the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake.
"Sigh..."
The girl sighed. He hadn't come for a long time.
As she was sighing, a figure suddenly flashed into the shop. Xu Qingyi even rubbed her eyes. Was she seeing things correctly? It really was him.