Cooperation

The next day, the Mount Hua Sect's large party set out. Yue Lingshan and Lin Pingzhi had originally wanted to travel with Wang Jingyuan, but he figured the two useless lackeys wouldn't be any help and would only get in his way. So he insisted that Yue Buqun take them along.

Wang Jingyuan returned to Huiyan Tower and ordered a table of food, then had the waiter deliver it to Centurion Chen's residence. He'd said to bring only aged wine and a fat chicken, but Wang Jingyuan wasn't exactly short on money these days. If he could win NPC favor with a few material goods, why not?

When Wang Jingyuan arrived at Centurion Chen's mansion with the waiter from Huiyan Tower, he saw that aside from himself, there were only two old servants in the residence. No one else was there.

After the waiter nervously set out the food and wine and left, Wang Jingyuan made himself at home, sat down at the table, and asked, "Old Chen, where's your wife and kids? Call them out to eat with us!"

Centurion Chen shook his head. "I'm not married and have no children."

"Got it. No marriage, no kids, and no worries." Wang Jingyuan shook his head thoughtfully. "Wait, that doesn't sound right. Women these days are pretty reliable. Why aren't you getting married?"

Centurion Chen shot Wang Jingyuan an annoyed look. "I'm already engaged. I'm just waiting for my term of service here to end. Once I return to Yanshan Left Guard and take over my father's position as deputy centurion, I'll get married."

Wang Jingyuan filled Centurion Chen's cup with wine, then poured himself some tea. "All right. Since there's no one else around, let's talk business. Tell me, how do you plan to invest in me, angel investor?"

Centurion Chen swirled the wine in his bowl, releasing its rich aroma. He could tell at once that it was the most expensive wine at Huiyan Tower. "I may be an Imperial Guard, but I don't deserve to be called an angel. Besides, I'm not much of a drinker. This jug is more than enough for the two of us."

Wang Jingyuan waved a hand. "I just don't like drinking. Back when I was out drumming up business, those bastards couldn't hold their liquor, and I had to drink for all of them. I've had more than enough. If I had the choice, I wouldn't touch a drop."

Seeing that Wang Jingyuan had a chicken leg in one hand and a pig's trotter in the other, and didn't seem inclined to stand on ceremony, Centurion Chen stopped urging him to drink and asked, "What kind of support do you need?"

Wang Jingyuan ventured, "Since you're a centurion, you must have dozens of men under your command, right?"

Centurion Chen shook his head. "My family has served at Yanshan for generations. The men under my command aren't my own family's people, and with so many mouths and ears around, I can't use them lightly."

Wang Jingyuan nodded. "All right. Your greatest advantages are your official position and your men. If you can't use your men, can you support me through your position?"

Centurion Chen shook his head again. "I serve in the emperor's personal guard. I can't give anyone grounds to criticize me, so there's not much I can do for you. I spent all last night thinking about it. At the moment, I'm afraid there's only one thing I can provide."

"What?"

"Fire oil."

People had discovered this substance as far back as the Song dynasty, but it hadn't been very useful then. At most, it was used for heating and lighting, or people collected the ash left after burning it and used it as ink.

It wasn't until later that people began using it as a weapon. Many of the Ming Dynasty's firearms, for instance, made use of fire oil.

"Not bad. It isn't as tightly controlled as crossbows and armor, but it's not something you can get your hands on easily, either. How did you manage it? And how much can you get?"

Centurion Chen continued, "The people responsible for collecting and storing fire oil for the Ming are old family acquaintances. It's important, but it's also not that important. Besides, there's always some loss in transporting and storing it, so getting hold of a little fire oil is easy enough. I can get enough to supply your attack on Blackwood Cliff."

Wang Jingyuan slapped his hands together. "That's great. But your family is from the Imperial Guard. How do you know people in that line of work?"

Centurion Chen glanced at Wang Jingyuan. "My ancestor, Chen Qi, served as deputy centurion of Yanshan Left Guard during the Hongwu reign."

Wang Jingyuan pressed on. "You've told me that before. What does it have to do with this?"

Centurion Chen stared at Wang Jingyuan for a long moment. "Before my ancestor followed the founding emperor, he was a captain in the Blazing Fire Banner of the Ming Cult."

Wang Jingyuan understood. The Blazing Fire Banner of the Ming Cult specialized in fire attacks. The original story of The Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre mentioned that fire oil was abundant around the Ming Cult's headquarters at Bright Summit. Oil spurted from the rocks day and night, and caught fire as soon as it touched a flame. Every member of the Blazing Fire Banner carried an iron box full of fire oil on their back. They sprayed it out and set it alight, and no one could withstand it.

"So the descendants of the Five Elements Banners kept doing the same work even after the new dynasty was established?"

"Exactly."

"Works for me. Honestly, fire oil will be very useful to me. Can you get gunpowder, too?"

Centurion Chen paused. "I can, but it's watched more closely. I won't be able to get much."

"That'll do. How should I contact you from now on?"

"I'll be stationed in Hengyang City. Whenever you need it, I can take you to the storehouse at night. If I return to Yanshan, I'll write to the Mount Hua Sect and let you know.

"But since we've started working together, there's something I need you to take care of soon."

Wang Jingyuan thought it over, then guessed, "The forged imperial edict?"

Centurion Chen nodded. "Some matters can be made as big or as small as you like. Every year, some idle villager claims to be the true Son of Heaven and sets up his own 'court' in the village.

"But even if something like that reaches the emperor's ears, he'll just laugh it off. Today's business went a little too far, though. And it happened to be witnessed, so we can't just ignore it."

Wang Jingyuan replied at once, "Fei Bin of the Songshan Sect did it."

"I'd already guessed as much when they used such a clumsy method to silence witnesses today. But I need evidence."

Centurion Chen's words left Wang Jingyuan puzzled. "The Imperial Guard needs evidence to investigate a case? Just go to the Mount Tai Sect and arrest that Songshan bastard. Under torture, what could he possibly refuse to confess?"

Centurion Chen gave Wang Jingyuan a meaningful look. "The Songshan Sect is a major sect. If we provoke them into retaliating, my men won't be enough to handle it."

"But you could... Oh, you want to keep the whole thing for yourself? I get it, I get it. A meal tastes best when you don't have to share. I'd planned to take advantage of the situation and kill a few of those Songshan people, but I guess I'll have to hold off. Crippling the Songshan Sect is already part of my plan. When the time comes, I'll leave Fei Bin for you."

Centurion Chen picked up his cup and took a sip, then studied Wang Jingyuan closely. "I can tell you're a man with a few tricks up your sleeve, so I want to try backing you. But I'm curious. Why are you so confident you can pull off all those things?"

"Because I'm a player, and I've got cheats."

"What?"

"You don't get it? Fine, I'll put it another way. My moral bottom line is lower than that of almost anyone else in this world. To beat your enemies, you have to be more despicable than they are. It'd be hard to find anyone more despicable than me."

"..." Centurion Chen was at a loss for words.

After eating and drinking his fill at Centurion Chen's residence, Wang Jingyuan headed out to take care of some business. But a disciple of the Hengshan Sect came looking for him, saying that Liu Zhengfeng wanted to see him before he left.