Exquisite Jade Box

Military Camp.

Chen Sanshi familiarized himself with the men under his command.

Starting tomorrow, they would officially begin "working."

As for what the work entailed—

Wang Zhi was absent, off who knew where, but Commander Liu came by and explained everything to him with great care.

The ninety-odd men under Commander Wang were chiefly responsible for the defense portion of "seven parts farming, three parts defense."

In the mornings, they had to drill Battle Formations together at the Military Camp. Warrior Recruits still needed to participate before earning promotion. In the afternoons, they would keep watch atop the Great Wall, and might also be dispatched to patrol the County Town.

The garrison soldiers, meanwhile, spent half the day drilling and half the day working.

Only military officers had relatively more freedom.

Most of their time could be devoted to cultivation.

"When beacon smoke rises and the war horns sound."

Commander Liu pointed at the northern sky. "If you see black smoke rising, it means the barbarians are invading. Everyone must assemble at once. But around here, we haven't seen beacon smoke drifting up for many years.

"By the way, don't you still not have a place to live?"

Chen Sanshi nodded. "When I enlisted, the clerk told me there were no spare houses."

"There aren't any for ordinary soldiers, but there are still a few residences for military officers. Come with me."

Commander Liu led the way.

Within the Military Colony, most houses were as crude as those in Yanbian Village, mainly mud-and-tile dwellings.

But after heading two li west and reaching the area where the military officers lived, everything suddenly took on a new appearance. All the homes were standalone courtyards made of gray brick and solid wood, large and small, divided according to rank.

"These are houses only Hundred Household Commanders can live in, aren't they?"

Stopping before a two-courtyard residence, Chen Sanshi said, "I'm only a Squad Leader. Isn't this inappropriate?"

"What's inappropriate about it? Who knows, maybe before long you'll be a Hundred Household Commander yourself."

Commander Liu said, "Besides, it'll sit empty otherwise. Lord Thousand Households won't care. Even if he finds out, he'll just turn a blind eye."

"Alright."

Chen Sanshi understood that Commander Liu was doing him a favor, so he did not decline again.

For one thing, running back and forth between the Military Camp and Yanbian Village every day was not only troublesome, but also wasted precious time.

For another, his home environment was truly too shabby. Moving into a better house would also let Lan Jie'er live more comfortably.

He borrowed a horse cart used to haul grain and fodder from the Military Camp, then returned to Yanbian Village to move.

"Stone, you really became an official?!"

"Of course. He's even riding a horse to move house."

"Once you make it big as an official, you won't pay any attention to us anymore!"

"This time, Scabby Head might actually be right."

"..."

When Chen Sanshi first drove the cart into the village, the villagers happily gathered to watch the excitement. But gradually, the smiles vanished from their faces.

Becoming an official—

Also meant that from then on, he would no longer be one of their kind.

"Uncles and aunties, you're joking. I'm just a Squad Leader without even an official rank. How am I an official?"

Chen Sanshi did not know how to explain it.

There was not much in the house, only a few quilts, pots, bowls, ladles, and the like. The horse cart almost seemed excessive.

"This residence is quite nice."

Upon arriving at their new home, Gu Xinlan was also delighted, bustling about as she began tidying up.

Chen Sanshi did not idle around. After finishing the last two jin of braised bear meat at home, he began practicing his spear technique in the courtyard.

After cultivating his qi and blood—

The effects of bear meat had become far weaker than before.

It was only equivalent to eating ordinary livestock before he had cultivated qi and blood.

Technique: Basic Soldier Spear Technique (Beginner)

Progress: (72/500)

Effect: Spear force was swift and fierce, endurance astonishing

After an entire afternoon, his progress had only risen by twenty points.

"Looks like I still need to buy nourishing things like bear hearts."

"And medicinal soup!"

As a banner officer, Chen Sanshi could receive one bowl of Blood Replenishing Soup every three days. He did not know how effective it would be.

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

At this hour, the people at the pharmacy probably were no longer decocting medicine.

With nothing else to do, he sat down and read for a while.

It was still the Book of Great Sheng from before.

When he read about the current emperor's great-grandfather, it mentioned that the man had loved designing things and had invented quite a few ingenious contraptions. Among them was a wooden box specially used to transmit intelligence, called the Exquisite Jade Box.

The box contained mechanisms and could only be opened with a specific Jade Key. Otherwise, it would burn from the inside out and destroy the intelligence.

However, it had been lost after the emperor's death.

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

Chen Sanshi was glad he had not tried to smash it open with brute force. Otherwise, he truly would have lost a treasure.

Skill: Reading (Minor Accomplishment)

Progress: (51/800)

Effect: Seven Orifices Exquisite, Spirit Revitalized, Eidetic Memory

The next day.

Chen Sanshi finally no longer needed to travel such a long way. After breakfast, he strolled to the Military Camp, first practicing archery for a while, then practicing his spear for a while.

Once he figured the time was about right, he went to find Xu Bin.

It was quite a coincidence: Xu Bin was also under Wang Zhi's command. But Chen Sanshi made several rounds without seeing him, so he could only ask the other banner officers.

"Old Xu? Yesterday afternoon, I saw Commander Wang beat him up. After that, I never saw him again."

"Commander Wang?"

Chen Sanshi froze.

He understood.

The reason Commander Wang had chosen Xu Bin during yesterday's contest was most likely because he wanted Xu Bin to go easy on him.

"There was no need for that."

Chen Sanshi was somewhat speechless.

If Xu Bin had really gone easy on him, it would not have benefited either of them.

He asked for Xu Bin's address, then headed over.

"Bin, you fool!"

Old Xu had come from the city today to bring an old hen to his pregnant daughter-in-law. Yet the moment he entered, he saw a huge palm print on his son's face.

Normally, Xu Bin would head to the Military Camp early in the morning to train. But today, it was nearly noon, and he had not budged.

One glance was enough for Old Xu to know something had happened.

Only after pressing him did he learn the whole story.

"Little Stone is our fellow villager. If he makes a name for himself in the future, it can only benefit you!

"How could you strike with such deadly intent? You deserve a beating, you deserve it!"

Xu Bin lowered his head without speaking.

In truth, from the moment he had been chosen for the assessment, it had been a dilemma with no good answer.

If he had really gone easy on Chen Sanshi, would Lord Thousand Households not have seen through it?

But if he did not, he would offend Commander Wang.

The only favorable outcome would have been earning Lord Thousand Households' regard.

The result was obvious: he had ended up in the most miserable situation.

Afterward, Wang Zhi casually found an excuse to slap him, then said he had to hand over twenty taels of silver, or he would be beaten every time they met.

His pay had all gone toward martial training, and daily expenses had left him with nothing at all. Where could he possibly get twenty taels of silver?

"Go find Little Stone."

Old Xu urged, "Hurry up and apologize to Little Stone. Ask him to settle this for you!"

"Dad, it's useless."

How could Xu Bin have the face to do that?

During the contest, he had truly gone all out to kill.

Blades and swords had no eyes. If things had gone wrong, blood could really have been spilled.

It would already be good enough if Chen Sanshi did not make things difficult for him in the future. How could he possibly speak up for him?

Bang, bang, bang—

A knock interrupted the father and son's conversation.

Immediately afterward, a warm, gentle voice sounded.

"Brother Bin, are you home? It's me, Chen Sanshi."