General Sun

The kitchen had already set out several tables for the feast, and assorted cold dishes, stir-fries, and chicken, duck, and fish were being brought to the tables one after another.

A broad-shouldered, thick-waisted, middle-aged military commander with thick brows, wide eyes, and a fierce, valiant air had already taken his seat at the main table. He was none other than General Sun Shouren, the garrison commander of Xingyuan Prefecture!

"General!" Many guards entered the kitchen, and every one of them bowed and saluted.

General Sun responded with a smile and a nod. He had only just been transferred back to Xingyuan Prefecture, and far too many people—both in official circles and among his own acquaintances—wanted to visit him. He also needed to pay visits to some people.

Thus, most of his time over the past two months had been spent socializing or on the way to socialize, and he had rarely appeared at the military camp.

Many of the newly recruited guards were not even very familiar with him. That was a great taboo on the battlefield.

When a real battle began, he could only rely on his guards. If the soldiers did not know their commander, there would be no way to fight the battle.

His return this time had also been accompanied by a firm resolve to train the troops properly in the days ahead. After all, he was still young, being only forty-five.

As long as he trained his troops well, he could still go on campaigns and earn merit in the future.

"General." Chen Mo entered the kitchen and first bowed to General Sun in greeting, then prepared to find a place to sit.

He did not plan to sit at General Sun's table. Eating with the other man would inevitably make him somewhat ill at ease.

However, he had not expected General Sun, whose face radiated a fierce, murderous valor, to smile amiably and beckon him over.

"Chen Mo, right? Sit."

Sun Shouren still remembered this young man. He had only entered the Guard Camp two months ago, yet he had received an A-grade evaluation in both assessments. That was truly quite rare.

Moreover, Chen Mo was unlike the others, who either possessed inherited martial arts or had already apprenticed themselves to a martial master and begun practicing martial arts at home.

He had never practiced martial arts before. His A-grade evaluations were entirely due to his own talent and hard work.

That was why Sun Shouren could remember him. Otherwise, there were fifty or sixty guards who had joined the Guard Camp this time.

Quite a few of them were even members of his own clan. If Chen Mo had not possessed some ability, how could Sun Shouren have remembered him?

"Ah!" Chen Mo froze for a moment. But he could not disobey the general's orders, so he had no choice but to find a seat at the main table.

Mo Hu, on the other hand, was quite relaxed and natural. He sat directly beside General Sun and even grabbed a handful of peanuts to eat first.

"I say, you damned brat, watch yourself! The feast hasn't even started, and you're about to eat them all!" Sun Shouren narrowed his eyes and scolded him with feigned anger.

"Ah!" Mo Hu answered loudly, then reached out and grabbed another handful.

As the other new recruits who had passed the assessment arrived one after another, Sun Shouren rose and briefly praised the guards for their performance during this period before announcing that the feast was beginning.

Several cooks carried in one huge wine jar after another, and the many guards raised their coarse porcelain bowls and drank to their hearts' content.

Chen Mo was not very interested in alcohol. He focused wholeheartedly on the meat on the table, only raising his cup to drink when everyone occasionally clinked bowls.

The wine was not particularly strong. It was rice wine brewed in the kitchen. But precisely because it was not strong, people could unconsciously drink far too much.

For a time, everyone exchanged cups and bowls, and the atmosphere was exceptionally lively. Meanwhile, chicken and duck bones rapidly piled up in front of Chen Mo.

Sharing a table with General Sun made not only him nervous. Aside from Mo Hu and the veterans, all the other new recruits at their table were somewhat tense as well.

At first, they were all somewhat restrained. But after downing several bowls of rice wine, the atmosphere gradually grew livelier.

Only then did Chen Mo dare to loosen his belt and eat to his heart's content, enjoying this once-a-month feast.

As chunks of meat entered his stomach, strands of blood-and-qi energy were continuously converted.

"How come you haven't toasted me either, you brat?" General Sun's face was flushed, and he looked at Chen Mo with slightly unfocused eyes.

"This subordinate offers a toast to the general!" Chen Mo raised his wine bowl and drained it in one gulp.

Only then did General Sun laugh happily. He knew clearly that trying to draw close to these rough-and-tumble men by discussing literature, playing with ink, drinking tea, and reciting poetry would be like playing a lute to a cow.

Drinking together twice and getting dead drunk twice would produce the best effect.

As for getting them to serve and fight for him on the battlefield, to volunteer as vanguards and resist the enemy—

apart from making them trust him as their commander in their daily lives, he would also have to promise them benefits at the moment of battle, so that they would be willing to fight with all their might.

As for making them die for him, that was extremely difficult. Even he did not have many confidants like that.

As the feast drew to a close, the tables and floor were covered with guards who had collapsed. Some were drunk, yet still muttered incessantly.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Chen Mo got to work. His table was already a complete mess, but some dishes had remained relatively intact.

He hurriedly took some back as a midnight snack. That would let him accumulate blood and qi even faster.

Besides, he was not limited to taking food from his own table. He could conveniently take some from the neighboring tables as well.

Chen Mo was now sparing no means and no effort, doing everything possible to increase the speed at which he accumulated blood and qi.

First, it was so that he could undergo Mortal Transformation sooner and gain greater strength. Only then would he be able to rescue Zhao Yu.

Second, he did not know whether he would encounter the Gray Mist again. The sound of gongs might be able to disperse the Gray Mist, but had he not still fallen into it last time while in the military camp?

This proved that gongs and drums had the effect of dispersing the Gray Mist, but no one could claim that they guaranteed absolute safety.

Thus, wherever he was now, he vaguely felt a sense of insecurity within him.

And the only way to fight that unease was to improve his strength—to improve it faster.

As long as he was strong enough, even if he fell into the Gray Mist, he would still be able to ensure his own safety.

Therefore, he would seize every opportunity he could now to accelerate his accumulation of blood and qi, all for the sake of improving himself more quickly.

In truth, he had also wanted to inquire about the Gray Mist during this period. However, in the military camp, no one he could reach with his status knew anything about it.

As for reading ancient texts to investigate the matter, that was even more impossible. Books were incredibly precious in this era and could not be shown to others lightly.

When Chen Mo had been a young master's book attendant, he had secretly learned a few characters. Even that was considered quite good among the many soldiers.

Even in the Guard Camp, most of the guards were illiterate.

Thus, to this day, Chen Mo still understood the Gray Mist only superficially. The unknown represented danger, and that was why he had to exhaust every means to improve himself.

Taking the large sea bowls normally used to hold rice, Chen Mo easily made off with half a pork knuckle, a large bowl of braised mutton, a large bowl of braised pork, half a marinated goose, and most of a roast chicken.

These were some of the better-looking meat dishes on the tables. Chen Mo took them away one by one. Not only could he eat them tonight, he could have another meal tomorrow.

After carrying the several large bowls of meat back to his quarters one after another, Chen Mo returned to the kitchen and hoisted Mo Hu onto his back.

Mo Dao arrived at that moment as well. He and some of the guards had not attended today's feast, instead being responsible for patrols and security.

In truth, the guards responsible for patrolling and standing watch today were all outstanding among the guards—the elite of the elite.

Of course, they would receive rewards as well. Their reward feast, however, would have to wait until tomorrow, after someone had taken over their patrol and guard duties.

"You take Little Hu back. I'll take my foster father back." Mo Dao's tone was utterly flat, and he rarely spoke such a long sentence.

Chen Mo was already used to this. Mo Hu was right: Mo Dao was indeed cold on the outside but warm on the inside.

Mo Dao had often given him pointers on his archery stance. Without that, he might not have improved so quickly.

Mo Dao simply did not make much idle conversation and was not fond of communicating with others, but he never muddled through when it came to doing things.

After taking Mo Hu back to his room, Chen Mo washed up and then lay down to rest.

The next day, just as Chen Mo was preparing to train as usual, a messenger arrived with word that General Sun wanted to see him personally.