From bone collectors to the supreme ruler of humanity

Chapter 43 Incorporation

"Understood."

Wang Tiezhu straightened his one arm and stood in a military posture that was no longer quite standard.

"Old Lu and Carpenter Chen, you two are responsible for rebuilding the hidden sentries and traps on the cliff."

"Dr. Meng, you are in charge of the medicine storehouse and the wounded."

"Xiong Kuo, you take your men and put them on guard."

Xiong Kuo responded, "And what about you?"

"I need to go out for a bit." Lin Yan took out the black jade token from his pocket and looked at it. "Since we want to win over the old members of the Mountain Battalion, just waiting for them to come to us isn't enough. I have to go find them."

He was gone for half a month.

In the past two weeks, he traveled to more than a dozen villages and towns in northwestern Qingzhou. Along the way, he would stop whenever he saw a stone with three vertical lines carved on it and inquire about the whereabouts of the former members of the Mountain Battalion.

He also took care of several small bandit gangs that were causing trouble during the war, and his reputation gradually spread.

The day I turned back.

He stopped to rest at an abandoned post station in the north of Qingping County and ran into an acquaintance.

Ye Qingxue pushed the door open and saw him, her steps faltering for a moment.

What are you doing here?

Lin Yan put down the knife. "Just passing by. Weren't you going to the front lines?"

"There's no fighting at the front lines yet, I'm going back to town to take care of some things." Ye Qingxue sat down opposite him, placing her sword on the table. "I heard Iron Coffin Cliff has been quite lively lately."

"The news spread so fast?"

"The Northern Territory isn't that big, but there are spies everywhere." Ye Qingxue poured herself a bowl of water. "The military government has already filed a record of your efforts to gather the old troops of the Mountain Battalion."

Lin Yan did not respond.

"Don't be nervous." Ye Qingxue took a sip of water. "The Mountain Battalion was wronged by the imperial court back then. The old folks in the Northern Border all know this. Now that someone has put the sign back up, the military is turning a blind eye."

"Are you here to relay a message from the military?"

"no."

Ye Qingxue took his bowl and poured him a bowl of water. "I'm here to tell you to be careful of Qingzhou."

"How so?"

"Qingzhou Magistrate Wu Wenmao has learned about your efforts to gather the old troops of the Mountain Battalion."

Ye Qingxue put down her bowl. "He has a close relationship with Qing Fengxiang in the south. Your killing of Zhao Yuanlang, your occupation of Tieguan Cliff, and your recruitment of defeated soldiers—all these things combined will make him restless."

The two exchanged a glance. A gust of wind blew in from outside the inn, making the door rattle.

"Okay, thank you," Lin Yan said.

When Lin Yan returned to Iron Coffin Cliff, the cliff had changed.

Carpenter Chen erected a chevaux-de-frise on the slope, and installed seven or eight hidden holes for shooting arrows on the cliff walls on both sides.

Lu Laonian had buried tripwires and traps at the bottom of the slope, so that every three steps up the slope, one could step on a trapdoor.

Wang Tiezhu arranged the several stone caves very neatly.

The warehouse was piled with grain and medicinal herbs that had been stored up for half a month.

Chen and several other women from the village lived in a large, cleaned-up stone cave. The cave was lined with dry straw mats, and oil lamps hung on the walls.

Lin Xiu learned to recognize road signs and codes from Lu Laonian every day, and Chen the carpenter whittled a small slingshot for her.

She even gave each of her uncles nicknames: Zhang Dabiao was called Uncle Da Niu, Wang Tiezhu was called Uncle Tiezhuzi, and Lü Laonian was called Old Immortal.

As soon as Lin Yan entered the cliff, Xiong Kuo pulled him aside.

Xiong Kuo lowered his voice: "There's some movement in Qingzhou."

"What did the scout say?"

"Wu Wenmao transferred people yesterday, selecting dozens of constables from the county government's staff, plus a few unofficial instructors." Xiong Kuo paused for a moment, "The one leading the team is Zhou Yan, the head of the criminal investigation department, who I heard has reached the peak of body tempering."

How many people?

"Thirty or forty people, they'll set off this afternoon and should arrive at the foot of the cliff by noon tomorrow."

Lin Yan hummed in agreement. Looking at the brothers coming and going on the slope, he turned to Xiong Kuo and said, "Let everyone get a good rest tonight."

No one slept soundly on Iron Coffin Cliff that night.

Wang Tiezhu took out all the knives and guns stored in the warehouse and wiped them clean. Zhang Dabiao squatted at the edge of the cliff and counted the stars in the sky. Lu Laonian sat next to the hidden hole and filled the quiver with arrowheads.

The next day at noon, the sun was blazing.

A series of hurried footsteps came from the bottom of the slope.

Zhou Yan arrived quite quickly.

Thirty or forty constables lined up in two rows, all dressed in black short-sleeved shirts with standard-issue sabers at their waists, followed by several mounted instructors.

Their steps were fairly even, showing more spirit than those of ordinary laborers.

Zhou Yan stood on his horse at the top of the slope, looked up at the cliff for a few moments, and squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth: "Listen up, those above! By order of Lord Wu of Qingzhou County, apprehend the ringleader of the bandits, Lin Yan! Hand over the ringleader, and the rest of the gang will be treated leniently!"

No one answered from the cliff top.

Zhou Yan gripped the riding whip tightly in his hand, then gestured with his hand.

The constables behind them drew their swords in unison, the blades flashing white in the sunlight.

Just then, a small cloud of dust rose from the mountain road on the side of the slope.

A fast horse emerged from the mountainside, riding a man in his early twenties dressed in a gray cloth jacket and shorts. His face was tanned dark, and he wore a standard belt from the Northern Army.

He reined in his horse, positioning it between Zhouyan and the slope, and pulled a token from his pocket, holding it in his hand.

"Wang Xiaoyi, under the command of Ye Qingxue, Left Battalion Commander of the Zhenbei Army." The token swayed in the sunlight. "By order of Commander Ye, Lin Yan of Tieguanya and all his subordinates have been incorporated into the Zhenbei Army's reserve supply unit. To move against them is to move against the people of the military headquarters."

Zhou Yan's expression changed immediately.

He stared at the token for a full ten breaths, his lips twitched twice, and then suddenly pulled on the reins.

"Turn around. Go back!"

Before the constables could react, Zhou Yan had already spurred his horse and galloped back.

On the cliff, Lin Yan put down the knife in his hand.

Xiong Kuo, who was standing next to him, had his mouth agape. Lu Laonian peeked out from behind the hidden hole, while Wang Tiezhu stood there dumbfounded, holding a bundle of arrows.

Lin Yan walked down the slope, clasped his hands in a fist salute to the gray-clad man on horseback, and said, "Please thank Commandant Ye for me."

The man smiled, revealing a set of white teeth. "The captain said she's been to Iron Coffin Cliff once, so she's practically one of us. Our affairs are our affairs."

After he finished speaking, he turned his horse around and galloped away along the way he had come.

That evening, a large bonfire was lit on Iron Coffin Cliff.

Wang Tiezhu cut up a piece of cured meat that he had stored for half a month and stewed it into soup. Carpenter Chen repaired a three-legged table. Lin Xiu shot down two birds with a slingshot. Lu Laonian made an exception and drank three bowls of wine.

Xiong Kuo sat on the ground leaning against the stone wall. "Do we count as having military rations now?"

"The supply reserve is not a regular army, but at least it has the name of a military government," Lin Yan said.

Xiong Kuo smiled as he looked at the campfire. "Better than being a bandit."

Chen sat by the fire combing Lin Xiu's hair, a smile on the old woman's lips, the campfire reflecting on her face.

She hadn't laughed like that in a long time.

She saw that girl too; she was truly beautiful, almost as beautiful as the noble ladies she had seen in the city when she was young.

If only my son could marry that girl and have her as his daughter-in-law.

I'd probably laugh myself awake even in my dreams...

Chen leaned against the bedside, thinking about this matter, and then fell into a deep sleep.