Thank You, Passerby A

Zhu Yan wanted to return to her parents' home. Wei Mao had no objection, but asking him to take Lu Bei to the military camp was absolutely out of the question.

The military camp was a vital stronghold; idlers were forbidden entry.

As the County Lieutenant of Dasheng Pass, Wei Mao oversaw all military affairs. He had to lead by example, lest those below follow suit and corrupt the army's discipline.

So this was not a matter of whether he could or could not—it was a matter of principle.

Then he got thoroughly worked over.

Wei Mao led his troops to suppress a rebellion. When the two armies faced off, he was no match for the Zhu Clan's female general, and his defeated troops collapsed like a mountain sliding down.

He was utterly routed, unable to rise again.

A defeated general could not speak of courage. Matters of principle were no longer problems.

The next day, before leaving home, Wei Mao took Lu Bei's household registration papers and planned to issue him a temporary pass, so an outsider entering and leaving the military camp would at least somewhat comply with the rules.

Lu Bei had not had household registration papers before. Zhu Yan had them made up for him, cutting through the tangled mess with a swift blade and registering him directly at Sanqing Peak on Nine Bamboo Mountain, saving a whole pile of troublesome procedures.

When Lu Bei learned that Zhu Yan was returning to her parents' home while he himself would be staying in the military camp for half a month, he readily agreed. After grinding experience for an entire month, he truly needed a change of scenery and a proper rest.

It was different from playing games in his previous life. In games, alchemy had an automatic mode—you could just leave it running. Now, everything had to be done by hand from start to finish. The two were simply incomparable.

Whenever he thought of this, Lu Bei could not help but sigh. It was too real. If the Status Panel did not remind him from time to time, he would truly think he had transmigrated into a real world brimming with spiritual energy.

At roll call that afternoon, Lu Bei, having furiously ground ten thousand experience points, found Lin Bohai and requested half a month off.

"What happened? Are you unwell, or are you tired and need some rest?" Upon hearing this, Lin Bohai immediately began asking after his health.

"I am indeed a little tired. Besides, my cousin is going back to her parents' home for a period of time, so I might as well take some time off with her."

"Do you have anywhere to go these next two weeks? Want me to find a few nephews to accompany you around Dasheng Pass?"

Lin Bohai joked, "You know Yunshui Tower, right? You young men can have fun together. This old man is getting on in years—I can only think about it now!"

"Heh heh heh..." x2

Lu Bei smiled nostalgically. The familiar exchange made him think of his old office days. Every month, there would always be a day or two when they arranged to go out after work and mess around.

"Then it's settled?"

"No."

Lu Bei shook his head. At the very brink of disaster, he saved his image as an upright man and politely declined. "My cousin is afraid I'll go astray, so she told my brother-in-law to keep me under strict control. I'll be living in the military camp for the next half month—I'm afraid even getting out the door will be difficult."

"I see..."

Lin Bohai frankly said it was a pity. After arranging with Lu Bei to meet another day, he checked and counted the day's gains from the Alchemy Room, then relayed Lu Bei's eastern transmission at the fastest possible speed.

Something had happened!

Something huge had happened!

The secret agent sent from above was wrapping things up. Not only had he issued an ultimatum, he had also contacted the Dasheng Pass garrison. This was the rhythm of casting one net and catching them all.

Lin Bohai panicked like mad. After delivering the message, he slapped his right hand several times until the back of it turned red.

"Why are you so useless! Why couldn't you hold back! How could I..."

"How did I fail to control you!"

Wei Mao handled matters with thunderous speed, never dragging his feet. Once the pass was ready, he sent personal guards to pick up Lu Bei and bring him to the military camp that very night.

As the commandery seat and foremost county of Dongqi Commandery, Dasheng County's administration was overseen by the Commandery Governor, with a Commandery Lieutenant assisting him and controlling military affairs throughout the commandery, including Dasheng Pass.

In addition, there was a Commandery Inspector specifically responsible for supervising the administrative affairs of the Commandery Governor and others.

In other words, Wei Mao had quite a few superiors above him. Compared to County Lieutenants in other counties, he had less freedom in command and deployment.

Fortunately, the Commandery Lieutenant was responsible for military affairs across the entire commandery and was busy with official duties, so he had delegated the military camp at Dasheng Pass, along with the supervision of the pass's defenses.

The Commandery Lieutenant was generous, but Wei Mao could not simply accept it wholesale. He had always treated the military camp as his second home. Unless ordered by the Commandery Lieutenant, he never carried out his own duty of supervising the pass defenses.

One look told you he was very sensible—a fine prospect for officialdom.

Back to the point: two personal guards led Lu Bei to the military camp east of the county.

As they passed the drill grounds, Lu Bei saw soldiers training by lamplight. Hundreds of bare-chested men stood in neat square formations. At the sound of a signal, they began fighting in pairs. He only felt a wave of philos—no, a wave of fierce, valiant air assaulting his face.

Fist to flesh, every blow packed with force.

They were fighting for real.

Whenever a soldier was defeated, he would be dragged off the field. After taking Qi Gathering Pills and Blood Replenishing Pills, he would return to the field, repeating the cycle until he was utterly exhausted.

"No wonder the Alchemy Room has to deliver pills to the military camp every day. The consumption is truly extraordinary. Come to think of it, there's also a daily allotment of Hemostatic Pills. Could it be that they use real weapons in the camp?"

Puzzled, Lu Bei followed one of the personal guards to Wei Mao's residence in the military camp.

The good news was that, as the boss of the military camp, Wei Mao enjoyed the privilege of a private room. The bad news was that Wei Mao himself was nowhere to be seen. It seemed he intended to toss Lu Bei here and ignore him for half a month.

Bai Jin had never mentioned Lu Bei's cultivation aptitude to Zhu Yan. She had only said that the Feather Transformation Sect was undergoing repairs, leaving him without even a place to stay, making food, clothing, shelter, and travel inconvenient. She asked Zhu Yan to look after him for a period of time.

Other than repeatedly stressing, "The outside world is dangerous. Don't let Junior Disciple Brother go out—he'll learn bad habits," she had given no other instructions.

Over at the Alchemy Room, Lin Bohai had a guilty conscience and did not dare mention Lu Bei in front of Zhu Yan.

Thus, Zhu Yan did not know of Lu Bei's talent. She only assumed Bai Jin had returned to the Lingxiao Sword Sect to resolve lingering issues from the past and had entrusted Lu Bei to her family out of trust.

Zhu Yan did not know, and Wei Mao knew even less. He tossed Lu Bei into the residence and left him to do whatever he wanted, so long as he did not make mistakes or disappear.

Free-range upbringing.

Without seeing Wei Mao, Lu Bei assumed he never took off his armor and was a strict, self-disciplined officer. To spur himself on, he cultivated the Demon Slaying Scripture for ten minutes.

Demon Slaying Scripture Lv1 (12/5000)

His cultivation had made great progress, furiously increasing by two experience points.

Lu Bei nodded to himself. Numbers did not lie. He had furiously ground experience through alchemy for a month. Though mentally exhausted, he had never set aside cultivation of the Demon Slaying Scripture's mental method. Such tenacity of character deserved admiration.

One night passed, and Lu Bei still did not see Wei Mao. He did not take it seriously and expressed respect for his professional military discipline.

One day passed, and Lu Bei still did not see Wei Mao. He was greatly surprised and once again expressed his respect.

Three days passed, and Lu Bei still did not see Wei Mao. His face changed drastically. This was bad—Senior Disciple Brother Wei had taken advantage of Senior Sister Zhu returning to her parents' home to fool around outside.

Pushing open the door, Lu Bei saw the personal guard standing at the entrance like a javelin planted upright, giving him quite a headache.

Over these three days, he had finished reading all the military strategy books in the room. He had also spent 50 Skill Points to learn a basic military formation saber technique, raising it to level five as an attack skill.

Array Slaying Saber Technique Lv5 (10/12000)

[An saber technique widely used in Wu Zhou's armies, derived from basic saber techniques summarized by generals and soldiers. Suitable for battlefield formation combat; coordinated use by multiple people grants increased power.]

[+10% base attack, +2% critical hit]

Because learning the Array Slaying Saber Technique required 5 points of Strength, Lu Bei spent 3 Free Attribute Points, completely bidding farewell to his former 233333.

What bizarre base attributes. They were like a joke.

After pouring in experience, the Array Slaying Saber Technique rose to level five. Free Attribute Points +4, Strength +8, Speed +4, Skill Points...

Attributes: Strength 13, Speed 7, Spirit 10, Endurance 12, Charm 3, Luck 3

With experience stored up, Lu Bei's previously somewhat frail Strength and Speed immediately looked much better, while his base attack had also risen to 130 damage.

To give a vivid example, he could now kill his former self with one slash.

Outside the door, the personal guard stared fixedly at Lu Bei, saying nothing as he pointed at the room and told him to be sensible.

Lu Bei rolled his eyes. Had he known coming to the military camp meant being locked in Solitary Confinement in disguise, he might as well have stayed in the Alchemy Room grinding experience. At worst, he could have gone back to Zhu Yan's parents' home with her and met the other young ladies and married women of the Zhu family.

By bloodline, they were all Princesses.

"My good man, I'm General Wei's relative, not a prisoner. It's not too much to ask to go out for a walk, is it?"

"It's not too much, but the general said he'd feel more at ease if you stayed in the room."

"Understands. So I can go out."

Lu Bei let out a long sigh and said boredly, "Then tell me, where can I wander around? The drill grounds, or the warehouse area?"

"The warehouses are forbidden ground. Other than the Forge Room that repairs weapons and armor, you can't go anywhere."

"Then the Forge Room it is." Lu Bei shrugged, secretly making up his mind to find a corner and climb over the wall the moment he had a chance.

"What are you going to the Forge Room for? You don't know how to forge iron."

"I'll know once I watch."

"What a boast. If you're so capable, forge two steel sabers and let me see." The personal guard saw through his lie at a glance.

Lu Bei: "..."

He did not reply not because he could not talk back. With his aptitude, if he had books on forging and smithing, he could begin on the spot and use fine steel sabers to shut the personal guard's mouth. He kept quiet because of the notification—an extremely important notification.

You have received the quest: Forge a Hundred Refinements Blade

Quest Description: As stated in the title

Quest Reward: 500 experience

Accept?

Yes

Coming back to his senses, Lu Bei vaguely saw a huge exclamation mark above the personal guard's head. At that moment, the other man's less-than-handsome face looked incomparably handsome.

This was the first quest Lu Bei had ever received. Its significance was enormous.

He could! Accept! Quests!

Excited! Trembling!

Lu Bei raised his hands and pressed them onto the personal guard's shoulders. Unable to restrain the wild joy in his heart, he shouted the other man's name with gratitude, "Thank you, Passerby A!"

"..."

There was missing data on the Personal Panel yesterday. It has been corrected.