Progress (Two-in-One)

The appointment ceremony was held at noon in the Third Battalion.

Zhou Kui personally handed Li Jinshui the Squad Leader's token. The wooden plaque was much heavier than the one for a Five-Man Squad Leader. Six characters were carved into it—"Squad Leader Li Jinshui"—and its edges were wrapped in a thin layer of iron.

"Squad Leader: a monthly salary of fifty taels, eighty jin of meat, and three Blood-Qi Pills." Zhou Kui looked at him, the scar on his face glinting faintly in the sunlight. "From now on, you'll have ten men under you, not five. Lead them well."

Li Jinshui accepted the token and clasped his hands. "Thank you, Camp Commander."

Zhou Kui nodded and turned to leave.

Li Jinshui stood where he was, turning the token over twice before tucking it into the innermost pocket of his clothes—the same place where he'd stashed those ten taels of silver three months ago.

Three months ago, he'd still been hauling corpses for thirty copper coins apiece.

Three months later, he was a Squad Leader, with a monthly salary of fifty taels.

He lifted his head and looked toward the camp gates.

The outline of North-Rejecting City appeared and disappeared in the distance.

Now that he was a Squad Leader, he could freely enter and leave the camp. He could go into the city.

There were people he ought to see.

"Squad Leader Li!"

A booming voice came from behind him.

Li Jinshui turned and saw seven or eight people walking toward him. The one in front was a burly man with a square face, thick brows, and big eyes. It was Qin Lie, the man he'd beaten in the arena yesterday.

Behind Qin Lie were Zhao Tieniu, Zhou Tai, who wielded twin blades, and several unfamiliar faces. All of them were at the ninth level of Body Forging.

"Congratulations!" Qin Lie strode over and slapped him on the shoulder, nearly knocking him off balance with the force. "Yesterday, I thought that Squad Leader position was mine for sure. Never expected you to come out of nowhere and take it. But I admit defeat—you were incredible with that last slash!"

Zhao Tieniu crowded over too, grinning. "An eighth-level Body Forging fighter taking down a bunch of us ninth-level fighters—Squad Leader Li, you're the best the Third Battalion has!"

Zhou Tai nodded beside him, a rare smile on his lean face. "I've practiced with twin blades for ten years, and that was the first time someone forced me to the point where I couldn't even get my blades out. Squad Leader Li, I hope you'll teach me a thing or two from now on."

Li Jinshui looked at them, at a loss for words.

Yesterday, these men had been his opponents. Today, they were his comrades.

And there was no hostility in their eyes, no resentment—only admiration.

Even a little... warmth?

Qin Lie saw his bewilderment and burst out laughing. "Don't just stand there! Come on, let's celebrate your promotion! The best restaurant in North-Rejecting City—my treat!"

"Right! Let's get drinking!" Zhao Tieniu rubbed his hands together. "I heard that restaurant just got a new dancer. Supposedly, she's as pretty as a flower..."

Zhou Tai kicked him. "You never shut up, do you?"

The group laughed and jostled one another as they headed out through the camp gates.

Swept along with them, Li Jinshui went too.

After walking a dozen steps, he suddenly looked back.

At the barracks entrance, Er Gou stood watching him with eager, yearning eyes.

Li Jinshui nodded to him, then turned around and kept walking.

North-Rejecting City.

He had arrived.

By the time they entered the city, dusk was already falling.

The guards at the gate saw their group and were about to stop them. But when they noticed the words "Squad Leader" on the tokens, they immediately stepped aside with ingratiating smiles.

Qin Lie swaggered through the gate, then turned and winked at Li Jinshui. "See that? In this city, we're the lords."

Li Jinshui said nothing, only committing the scene to memory.

North-Rejecting City was livelier at night than he'd imagined.

Shops lined both sides of the street, with lanterns hanging everywhere, lighting it up as bright as day.

Food stalls steamed with heat, shops displayed a dazzling array of goods, and there were singers, storytellers, street performers, and all manner of people packed together, bustling like a market on fair day.

"Well? What do you think?" Qin Lie walked beside him, looking smug. "Better than our lousy barracks, right?"

Li Jinshui nodded.

It certainly was.

But his gaze fell on the passersby.

When they saw the uniforms and the tokens at the men's waists, they all moved aside on their own, lowering their heads and hugging the walls as if fleeing a plague.

An old man selling candied hawthorns was too slow to get out of the way. Zhao Tieniu bumped into him, nearly sending the straw pole in his hands flying. Zhao Tieniu glared at him, and the old man fell to his knees in fright, kowtowing several times.

Zhao Tieniu ignored him and kept walking.

Li Jinshui's steps faltered for a moment, then he followed.

"You'll get used to it," Qin Lie said in a low voice. "In this city, we're the lords. Those commoners have to get out of our way when they see us. Otherwise, if anything happens, there's nowhere for them to seek justice."

"No one keeps them in check?" Li Jinshui asked.

"Keeps them in check?" Qin Lie laughed. "Who would? The prefect? He'd like to, but he's only in the late stage of the Inner Strength Realm. Would he dare offend our commander? The commander is at the Pulse-Opening Realm. Who in North-Rejecting City can beat him?"

He paused, then continued. "Besides, the commander protects his own. A Camp Commander once killed someone in the city. The prefect sent people to arrest him. Guess what happened? The commander drove those constables out himself, then declared that whoever dared lay a hand on his men would lose their head."

Zhao Tieniu chimed in. "And then?"

"Then? Nothing happened to that Camp Commander. He kept his position, while the family of the person he'd killed never got justice."

"But the commander also ruled that from then on, only Squad Leaders or fighters at the ninth level of Body Forging could enter the city."

Qin Lie patted Li Jinshui on the shoulder. "So, in North-Rejecting City, we're the lords. Eat what you want, drink what you want, enjoy yourself however you want—as long as no one ends up dead, nothing will happen."

Li Jinshui nodded and said no more.

He thought back to three months ago, when two soldiers had dragged him out of his home like a dead dog and tossed him onto that rickety carriage.

Back then, he'd been one of those commoners too.

At the mercy of others, with nowhere to seek justice.

But now—

He glanced down at the token at his waist.

Now, he was a "lord" too.

This feeling was fucking great.

The best restaurant was called the Drunken Immortal Restaurant. It was three stories tall, with carved beams and painted rafters. Two rows of bright red lanterns hung outside, lighting up the whole street.

Before they even entered, the aroma of wine and meat washed over them, making their mouths water.

"Squad Leader Li, after you!" Qin Lie gestured for him to go inside.

The first-floor hall was packed with people, cups clinking as the place buzzed with activity. When the waiter saw them, his expression shifted slightly, but he immediately plastered on a smile and hurried over. "Sirs, upstairs, please! We have private rooms!"

The group followed the waiter up to the third floor and entered a spacious private room.

An Eight Immortals table stood in the room, already laden with hot and cold dishes. In the middle lay a whole roasted lamb, golden and glistening with oil, its aroma filling the air. Along the wall was a row of cushioned couches, where several singers sat holding their pipa. When the men entered, the women all stood and curtsied.

"Sit, sit!" Qin Lie called out. "Eat and drink your fill tonight. It's on me!"

Everyone took their seats. The wine cups were filled, and after a few rounds, the atmosphere grew warmer.

Li Jinshui sat quietly, saying little as he ate.

He hadn't eaten food like this in three months.

No—in his previous life, he'd never eaten anything this good either.

He picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in his mouth. It was rich but not greasy, melting as soon as he bit into it.

It was fucking delicious.

"Squad Leader Li!" Zhao Tieniu came over with his cup. "Come, let me toast you! I still remember those three slashes you made in the arena yesterday. They were so fast I couldn't even see them, and Zhou Tai had already lost!"

Zhou Tai rolled his eyes beside him. "Praise him if you want, but why bring me into it?"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Li Jinshui raised his cup, clinked it against Zhao Tieniu's, and drained it in one go.

The wine burned as it went down.

"Squad Leader Li, how old are you this year?" Qin Lie asked.

"Seventeen."

Everyone paused.

"Seventeen years old, at the eighth level of Body Forging, with mastery in both saber technique and footwork." Qin Lie counted them off on his fingers. "You're far more talented than we are. Train for a few more years, and you'll definitely reach the Inner Strength Realm. By then, you might even become a Camp Commander, or..."

He lowered his voice. "Or join the commander's Personal Guard Battalion."

"The commander's Personal Guard Battalion?" Li Jinshui looked at him.

"Right." Qin Lie nodded. "The commander's personal guards are all at least in the Inner Strength Realm. Their benefits are ten times better than ours, and they don't have to spend every day risking their lives on the city wall. If you can get in, you'll be set for life."

Li Jinshui said nothing, just picked up another bite of food.

The Inner Strength Realm.

He was at the eighth level of Body Forging, one level away from Inner Strength.

Soon.

After a few more rounds of wine and a good helping of food, Qin Lie suddenly clapped his hands. "Come on, let's have our dancer perform for us and open Squad Leader Li's eyes!"

The waiter went out at his call. Before long, the curtain lifted and a woman walked in.

She looked to be in her early twenties, dressed in a pale green gown with a silver sash around her waist. She moved with graceful, flowing steps. Holding a pipa in her hands, she lowered her eyes and curtsied to the group.

"Play your best piece!" Qin Lie called out.

The woman nodded, sat on a stool in the corner, and lightly plucked the strings. The pipa rang out.

Its notes were crisp and lilting, like a mountain stream or birdsong in the woods. As she played, she sang an unfamiliar song, her voice soft as a spring breeze in the third month.

The private room gradually fell silent.

Li Jinshui held his wine cup and watched the woman.

She was indeed beautiful, with features like a painting and skin as white as a peeled egg. Her slender waist swayed gently to the pipa, like a willow branch in the wind.

When the song ended, everyone cheered.

Qin Lie stood and walked over, slipping an arm around the woman's waist. "Squad Leader Li, what do you think? If you like her, I'll have her keep you company tonight."

Li Jinshui looked at her, his gaze sliding from her face to her waist and back again.

Then he smiled.

"Sure."

Qin Lie froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Good! You've got taste! Then it's her!"

The woman lowered her head, her eyelashes trembling slightly. It was hard to tell whether she was nervous or something else.

Li Jinshui lifted his cup and took another sip.

The wine was good, the food was good, and the woman was good too.

This life was fucking great.

"No need," Li Jinshui said with a smile. "She's here to perform, not sell herself."

Qin Lie froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. "All right! Then let's go somewhere else! We've finished the wine at the Drunken Immortal Restaurant. Time to head to the Gentle Haven!"

The Gentle Haven was the biggest brothel in North-Rejecting City.

The group stumbled out of the Drunken Immortal Restaurant and headed east along the street. When people saw them, they scattered from far away, like they were fleeing a flood of ferocious beasts.

Li Jinshui walked with the others. The night breeze blew some of the wine from his head, though he still felt warm all over. He looked up at the sky. The moon was huge and round, lighting the whole street.

"Squad Leader Li, you'd better enjoy yourself tonight!" Zhao Tieniu sidled up, his face twisted in a lecherous grin. "The girls at the Gentle Haven are the best in the whole city! The one I picked last time had such a tiny waist, and her skills..."

"All right, all right!" Zhou Tai smacked him on the back of the head. "Stop fucking embarrassing yourself!"

The group burst into laughter again.

Li Jinshui laughed along with them.

He realized he quite liked this feeling.

No need to think about fighting and killing, no need to think about the dead, no need to think about hatred.

Just drink wine, eat meat, and look at women.

Just be a lord for a month.

They arrived at the Gentle Haven.

It was a three-story building adorned with embroidery, its entrance hung with red lanterns covered in all sorts of suggestive designs. Several heavily made-up women stood at the door. The moment they saw the group, they hurried over with smiles.

"Sirs, please come in!"

"Well, if it isn't Master Qin! It's been so long since you last came!"

"This sir looks unfamiliar. Are you new here? Come, come, let me take good care of you..."

A woman in a red dress reached out to take Li Jinshui's hand. He went along with it and held hers. It was soft and smooth.

He looked down at her. She wasn't bad-looking, with arching brows and a lovely smile.

"Let's go," he said.

The woman's eyes lit up, and she pressed herself against him.

Inside, it was even livelier. More than a dozen tables filled the main hall, packed with men drinking, each accompanied by a heavily made-up woman. Laughter drifted down from upstairs, along with the wavering sound of songs.

"Come on, upstairs!" Qin Lie waved his hand. "The best private room!"

The group was ushered up to the third floor and into a large private room. Thick carpets covered the floor, and a row of cushioned couches lined the wall. Seven or eight women were already sitting there, their voices and laughter tinkling as their perfume filled the air.

"Squad Leader Li, sit here!" Qin Lie pushed him down onto the couch in the middle, then waved at the women. "Take good care of him! He's the rising star of the Third Battalion. Yesterday, he took all of us on by himself!"

The women's eyes lit up, and they crowded around at once. Some poured wine, some served food, and others leaned against him.

Li Jinshui sat among them with an arm around each woman, the smile never leaving his lips.

A woman in a pink dress leaned over, her soft body pressed against his arm. "Sir, you're so young. To become a Squad Leader at such a young age—you must be amazing..."

Li Jinshui turned to look at her.

She wore light makeup, and her features were quite regular. Her skin was fair and rosy. He reached out and pinched her cheek. It was soft and smooth.

"What's your name?"

"This humble girl is called Yun Niang." Her eyes curved into two crescent moons. "Will you remember me now, sir?"

Li Jinshui nodded, then lifted his cup and took a sip.

Yun Niang immediately refilled it, then picked up a bite of food and offered it to his mouth.

Li Jinshui opened his mouth and ate it.

Delicious.

Refreshing.

What a pleasure.

Qin Lie was already making a ruckus over there, wrapping his arms around two girls as they played drinking games, his voice loud enough to lift the roof. Zhao Tieniu was even more outrageous. He lay right down on a girl's lap and had her feed him grapes.

Li Jinshui looked at them, then at Yun Niang beside him, and suddenly thought—

It was good to be alive.

He remembered three months ago, curled up in the corner of that rickety carriage, cold and hungry, with only one thought in his mind: stay alive.

Now he was alive.

Not only alive, but sitting in the best brothel in North-Rejecting City, surrounded by pretty girls, drinking the finest wine and eating the best food.

He picked up his cup and drained it in one go.

"Now that's a fine capacity for drink, sir!" Yun Niang clapped and laughed.

Li Jinshui turned to look at her and suddenly asked, "How old are you?"

Yun Niang froze for a moment, then smiled. "I'm nineteen."

Nineteen.

Two years older than him.

And yet she had already spent who knew how many years in this brothel.

Li Jinshui looked at her. Something flickered in her eyes, then quickly hid itself away.

He reached out and pulled her into his arms.

"Pour me some wine."

Yun Niang obediently filled his cup.

After several rounds of drinks, the night grew deeper.

Gradually, fewer people remained in the private room. Some went next door with the girls in their arms, while others simply collapsed onto the couch and fell into a deep sleep.

Qin Lie came over and patted Li Jinshui on the shoulder. "Squad Leader Li, staying here tonight? I've already made arrangements for you. Yun Niang will keep you company."

Li Jinshui looked up at him, then at Yun Niang beside him.

She lowered her head, her cheeks faintly flushed.

He smiled.

"Sure."

Qin Lie burst out laughing and turned to leave.

Only Li Jinshui and Yun Niang remained in the private room.

The candlelight flickered, casting long shadows on the wall.

Yun Niang rose to her feet and said softly, "Sir, shall I take you to your room?"

Li Jinshui looked at her, then suddenly reached out and pulled her into his arms.

Yun Niang let out a soft gasp, but didn't struggle.

Li Jinshui lowered his head and murmured in her ear, "Tonight, take good care of me."

Yun Niang's face flushed crimson. She nodded gently.

Night had fallen deep.

In a room on the third floor of the Gentle Haven, the candle had gone out. Only moonlight streamed through the window lattice, laying a silvery frost across the floor.

Li Jinshui lay in bed, Yun Niang asleep beside him. She curled up in his arms, breathing evenly, fast asleep.

He wasn't asleep.

He lay with his eyes open, staring at the ceiling.

The joy, the pleasure, the indulgence of earlier had slowly settled, like a beach left behind by the receding tide.

He reached out and gently brushed Yun Niang's face.

Her skin was smooth, her features gentle. When she slept, she looked like a child.

He remembered how she had looked beneath him just now. Her eyes had held delight, dazed longing, and something else he couldn't understand.

Perhaps resignation.

Perhaps nothing at all.

He didn't know.

Nor did he need to know.

He only knew that tonight had been joyful.

That was enough.

He withdrew his hand and continued staring at the ceiling.

Tomorrow, he would eat at the Drunken Immortal Restaurant again, drink at the Gentle Haven again, and hold Yun Niang in his arms as he slept again.

He would enjoy all of it.

Enjoy being the master, enjoy being waited on, enjoy being able to do whatever he pleased.

Because he had earned it.

He had traded his life for it.

Three hundred Di People, one hundred and forty-two fallen brothers, and all those who had died beneath his blade—their blood had lifted him to where he was now.

If he didn't enjoy it, who would?

But he wouldn't lose himself in it.

Because he knew it was all temporary.

There were still Di People outside the city, enemies within it, and the Inner Strength Realm, Pulse-Opening Realm, Origin-Opening Realm, Mystic-Penetration Realm, and more ahead of him...

He still had a long road to travel.

He lowered his head and looked at Yun Niang, asleep in his arms.

Then he closed his eyes.

Tomorrow, he would enjoy himself again.

The day after, he would enjoy himself again.