The Whole Team Came Along

On the way back, Pei Chuan stayed beside Lu Song.

He glanced at Lu Song, then at his own shoulder, as though there was still something he couldn't figure out.

"How did you get up there just now?"

"Xu Sheng carried me up," Lu Song said.

"I saw that. I'm asking how he managed to lift someone as big as you."

Lu Song pointed ahead at Xu Lizhi's retreating figure.

Pei Chuan followed his gaze and finally understood why Xu Sheng had brought a chubby little food-system Soul Master into the match.

So those buns weren't just for replenishing a little Soul Power.

But then he remembered something else.

"Then he ran so fast just now because he ate a bun too?"

"Mm."

Pei Chuan slapped his forehead.

He'd been worried about crashing into Xu Sheng, but Xu Sheng had already given himself a way to get away.

When they reached the courtyard gate, Lu Song rolled his shoulder, grimacing in pain.

Seeing that, Pei Chuan hurriedly said, "I'll bring the medicinal oil over in a bit."

Xu Sheng happened to overhear and turned around at once.

"You really have some?"

"Of course. Would I go back on my word?"

"Then sorry for the trouble. Give Old Lu's shoulder a few extra rubs."

Xu Sheng invited Pei Chuan inside and personally poured him a bowl of water, then pulled Lu Song's stool out of the wind.

He'd seen that collision clearly.

Lu Song had known he couldn't withstand it, but he'd only retreated with the force of the blow, managing to keep hold of that plaque. Without that, no matter how well the rest of the plan worked, there would have been nothing to deliver.

Xu Sheng lightly touched his shoulder.

"Does it hurt badly?"

Lu Song waved a hand. "I'll still be able to raise my shield tomorrow."

"I'm asking about now."

"...It hurts quite a bit."

Xu Sheng added a piece of meat to his bowl.

"Then why are you still putting on a brave face? Sit down and stop carrying things."

Lu Song chuckled and reached out to take the bowl.

This time, Cen Zhao was the one helping him move his stool.

The room grew lively again. Before the match, the two sides had still been somewhat polite with each other, but after the fight, they had something in common to talk about.

Ye Wanqing went straight to Cen Zhao and asked why his spear had suddenly come her way.

Cen Zhao puffed out his chest.

"Xu Sheng said your arrows were accurate, so I had to keep my eye on you."

"And then you just kept thrusting your spear in front of my bow?"

"What else? Wait for you to pin me to a tree?"

Ye Wanqing remembered those few steps she'd taken and couldn't help laughing.

Meng Xingzhou, meanwhile, sat down beside Xu Sheng and unrolled the rough map again.

This time, instead of assigning tasks first, he went over each of the stopping places.

Where there were old wells, where they could find lodging, which long stretches of road turned soft enough to bog down carts when it rained. They'd only learned all this by traveling the roads themselves; the map didn't show everything.

Xu Sheng listened closely, calling Uncle Qiao over with a brush from time to time to add the details.

He certainly hadn't gone to all that trouble to win the match just to hear someone call him captain.

They had five two-ring Soul Masters, knew the roads well, and had experience carrying out assignments. With partners like them joining forces, the range of things his team could do immediately grew.

That was exactly what he wanted.

As for whether they'd relied on buns, flight, or the coordination of several people just now, what was there to be embarrassed about?

He'd found the people himself, and they'd trained their abilities themselves.

Did they have to stand still and pit their heads against Purple Lightning Bamboo to see which was harder before their victory could count as skill?

Once Meng Xingzhou had finished talking about the roads, Xu Sheng rearranged the personnel from both sides.

Chen Che and Mo Yifan would take turns scouting, rather than sending everyone who could fly out at once; near water, they would send a rope across first and rig a rope crossing if there were many people; if an assignment required transporting the wounded, Xu Lizhi would conserve his Soul Power instead of stuffing everyone full in one go beforehand.

There was nothing particularly profound about these arrangements. What was remarkable was that several of them had actually been put to use in the match.

Lu Song knew how far he could be carried, Cen Zhao knew which side needed guarding when Xu Sheng came down, and Meng Xingzhou had seen with his own eyes that a shield Soul Master with only one ring wasn't necessarily limited to standing on the ground and taking hits.

Halfway through, Xu Sheng noticed that Ji Juechen was already standing beside Meng Xingzhou.

He had his sword in his hand.

Meng Xingzhou looked up and met his eyes for a moment, then smiled first.

"I haven't forgotten. Go now?"

Ji Juechen nodded.

The two went out together.

Xu Sheng chased them to the covered walkway and called out, "Stop before anyone gets hurt! We have important business tomorrow!"

Ji Juechen waved a hand, though it was hard to tell how much he'd taken in.

It was quite a while before the two returned.

Meng Xingzhou's right sleeve was torn at the cuff, while the tips of Ji Juechen's hair were slightly curled.

Xu Sheng looked at them and held back for a long moment, but finally asked, "Who won?"

"We didn't finish." Meng Xingzhou poured himself a cup of water.

"Why not?"

Ji Juechen looked at Xu Sheng.

"You said we had business tomorrow."

Xu Sheng was taken aback at first, then felt an inexplicable warmth in his heart.

So this guy really did hear me.

He pushed the last plate of meat over, still making sure to take advantage.

"Then save it for later. There'll be plenty of chances when we go out together in the future."

Meng Xingzhou paused in the middle of drinking his water.

They'd clearly only agreed to work together on this assignment. How had Xu Sheng managed to settle their future outings too?

But looking at Ji Juechen waiting beside him with his sword in his arms, he ultimately didn't object.

They could come back for another couple of bouts when they had time in the future.

After hearing the two teams' arrangements, Fang Zhan didn't make things difficult for them.

He explained the area where the two teams were to provide support on this joint assignment and put Xu Sheng in charge of directing them on the road as circumstances arose. If they encountered anything beyond their abilities along the way, they were to send word first, then look after anyone they could save. They weren't expected to hold every stretch of road with a dozen or so people.

The supplies issued for the assignment included ropes, medicine chests, cloth bandages, and several sets of rain gear.

Xu Sheng inspected each item and also picked out two sturdy stretchers.

While collecting the supplies, they happened to run into Deacon Chen, who was delivering account books.

Deacon Chen recognized Wen Zhao and had just smiled and asked whether he was getting used to his lodgings when Meng Xingzhou came over with four others.

"You're going with Xu Sheng too?"

"We're teaming up for this trip," Meng Xingzhou said.

Deacon Chen looked at Wen Zhao, then at Xu Sheng, the smile on his face growing increasingly suggestive.

"I only sent one person over a few days ago, and you've already brought his whole team along too?"

Xu Sheng hurried to explain. "We're all doing this for the hall."

"That's true enough."

Deacon Chen didn't tease him any further. He only reminded Wen Zhao that the old bridge to the north was hard to cross after rain, and that he shouldn't focus solely on taking shortcuts.

Wen Zhao took the warning to heart and, before leaving, pressed a small packet of freshly purchased tea into his hand.

Deacon Chen was taken aback. By the time he looked up, Wen Zhao had already gone after Xu Sheng.

The next day, fifteen people gathered in front of the Red Pine Courtyard.

Qiao Fu tucked several packets of travel rations into the group's bundles, then called Xu Lizhi aside and packed an extra-large portion of braised meat just for him.

The chubby boy accepted it carefully and wrapped it in two layers of cloth.

Xu Sheng saw this and pretended to be displeased.

"Uncle Qiao, where's my share?"

"Didn't you say to make sure Lizhi had enough first?"

"That doesn't mean you couldn't leave me any at all."

Qiao Fu smiled, lifted another packet from behind his back, and tucked it into Xu Sheng's arms.

"I packed yours long ago."

Only then was Xu Sheng satisfied. He handed the meat to Cen Zhao and waved his hand.

"Let's go!"

The gates of the Red Pine Courtyard slowly closed behind them.

After walking a few steps, Xu Sheng looked back. The newly replaced wooden plaque on the gate still had the pale color of fresh wood, and the leftover scraps from the repairs were no longer piled out front.

When he'd first arrived, he'd needed someone to lead him to his lodgings.

Now, as he headed out again, he had a whole group of people following him.

Xu Sheng felt content, and even his steps grew a little lighter.

Meng Xingzhou caught up and handed him his rolled-up route map.

"Which way first?"

Xu Sheng took the map and pointed ahead.

"First to the courier station. We'll ask about the people and the roads there before moving on."