Recruitment

After swallowing that medicinal pill, Li Jinshui fell into a deep sleep for three full days.

During those three days, he alternated between burning as if scorched by fire and freezing as if plunged into an ice cellar.

Monkey stayed by the bedside, changing his cloth, feeding him water, and wiping his sweat over and over, until his eye sockets were sunken and his lips were cracked.

On the morning of the fourth day, he opened his eyes.

Sunlight shone through the lattice window, landing on the floor in front of the bed, golden and bright.

Li Jinshui moved his fingers, then his toes. It hurt, but it was no longer that heart-piercing agony; it was the soreness, swelling, and itching of wounds knitting together.

He tried to sit up.

"Oh, my ancestor!" Monkey lunged over from the side. "Don't move! You have three broken ribs, a cracked shoulder bone, and a back wound so deep the bone was visible—what are you moving for!"

Li Jinshui was pressed back down, lying flat, staring at the ceiling.

"How long have I been lying here?"

"Three days." Monkey wiped his sweat. "Three whole days! You nearly scared me to death!"

Li Jinshui didn't speak, merely sensing the condition inside his body.

After the Evergreen Art reached Great Success, the self-healing ability was truly terrifying. With injuries this severe, anyone else would have been bedridden for at least half a month, yet he already felt capable of getting out of bed.

"Help me up to walk around."

"Are you crazy?"

"Help me."

Monkey couldn't win against him, so he had no choice but to carefully assist him up, supporting him as he took a few slow steps.

His legs were a bit weak, but he could walk.

His internal organs still ached, but it was bearable.

He walked a few laps before lying back down and pulling up his panel for a look.

[Realm: Inner Strength Realm (Late Stage)]
[Evergreen Art (Great Success 0/800)]
[Rock Body (Minor Success 60/200)]

And that Di People Pulse-Opening Realm warrior who had chased him down—he remembered that face.

Once he reached the Pulse-Opening Realm, he would be the first one he killed.

By the fifth day, Li Jinshui was already able to stroll around the barracks.

On the seventh day, he began walking out to the camp gates.

His injuries were sixty or seventy percent healed; although he couldn't fight at full strength yet, ordinary movement was no longer a hindrance.

It was also during these few days that bad news arrived one after another.

First, regarding the General of the North-Suppressing.

After a great victory in the initial battle, the Di People feigned a retreat and set an ambush.

The General of the North-Suppressing pursued too deeply and fell into the trap; his army of thirty thousand was wiped out, and the General himself was severely wounded, forced to retreat to Yanmen Pass to hold the line.

When the news arrived, the entire North-Rejecting City fell into a deathly silence.

Thirty thousand lives.

Gone just like that.

Immediately following that came news from the south.

The Southern Barbarian Dynasty, taking advantage of the Great Zhou moving its main forces north, suddenly launched an offensive, breaking through three cities in succession, their spearheads pointing directly at the southern stronghold of Jiangling. The Imperial Court was furious and urgently dispatched an army of one hundred and fifty thousand south to intercept; the commander was said to be an old prince, a master of the Mystic-Penetration Realm.

In an instant, Great Zhou was at war in both the north and south, with the flames of conflict rising everywhere.

The atmosphere in North-Rejecting City became even more oppressive.

The arrogance on the faces of the regular troops from the capital faded, replaced by a sense of gravity. After all, their main force had suffered heavy losses at Yanmen Pass, and the south was crying for help; no one knew what would happen next.

The Di People's offensive, however, did not stop. They still sent a few thousand men to attack in waves every day, retreating whenever they couldn't win, as if it were a routine chore.

On the ninth day, Li Jinshui returned to the battlefield.

He didn't charge too deep, merely roaming near his own side's formation, killing any straggling Di soldiers he saw and retreating whenever he spotted a large troop. After his Inch Step reached Great Success, his footwork became even more agile, allowing him to advance and retreat with ease.

[+2]

[+3]

[+1...]

His points slowly climbed upward.

He wasn't greedy; he would kill a few and then pull back, never giving the enemy's Pulse-Opening Realm experts a chance to lock onto him.

The Di People Pulse-Opening Realm warrior who had been hunting him was still around; every time he saw Li Jinshui, he would give chase, but Li Jinshui always fled in advance, never giving him a chance.

On the evening of the eleventh day, Li Jinshui returned from the battlefield and was about to head back to the barracks when he was stopped by a personal guard.

"Li Jinshui? Miss Yun requests your presence."

Miss Yun.

Yun Ruoxi.

Li Jinshui paused his steps and followed the guard toward the General's Mansion.

In the side hall of the General's Mansion, Yun Ruoxi sat at the head of the table, dressed in purple with her hair styled in a high bun, still maintaining that aloof and superior air.

There was no one else in the hall, save for a maidservant attending to her.

After entering, Li Jinshui cupped his hands in a salute: "Greetings, Miss Yun."

Yun Ruoxi raised her eyelids, looked him up and down, and the corners of her mouth curled slightly.

"Have your wounds healed?"

"Sixty or seventy percent."

Yun Ruoxi nodded, picked up her teacup to take a sip, and spoke unhurriedly:

"Do you know of the Yun Family?"

Li Jinshui shook his head: "I do not."

A flash of disdain crossed Yun Ruoxi's eyes, but she quickly suppressed it and said indifferently: "The Yun Family of Yun Province is one of the six great noble houses of the Great Zhou. Our clan has a Mystic-Penetration Realm ancestor presiding over it, over a dozen Origin-Opening Realm experts, and dozens in the Pulse-Opening Realm. When our Yun Family stomps our feet in the Great Zhou, half the imperial court trembles."

Li Jinshui listened without a single expression on his face.

Yun Ruoxi continued: "I saw your performance on the battlefield. Late-stage Internal Strengthening, decent blade techniques, passable footwork, and you can even escape from a Pulse-Opening Realm expert. You can be considered a talent worth molding."

She paused, set down her teacup, and fixed her gaze on Li Jinshui's face:

"My Yun Family is currently recruiting guest retainers. With your aptitude, if you receive the cultivation of my Yun Family, you have the hope of reaching the Pulse-Opening Realm within ten years."

Li Jinshui still did not speak.

The smile at the corners of Yun Ruoxi's mouth deepened, as if she could already see Li Jinshui kneeling in gratitude and thanking her for her kindness.

"If you are willing, you can join my Yun Family as a guest retainer. The Yun Family will provide the cultivation techniques, medicinal pills, and resources you need. You only need to serve the Yun Family when the need arises."

She paused for a moment, her tone carrying a hint of condescension:

"Furthermore, I have a younger cousin, eighteen years of age, with decent aptitude and a fair appearance. If you perform well, I can make the decision to have you marry into the Yun Family and take her as your wife. From then on, you will be a member of the Yun Family, enjoying endless wealth and glory."

After speaking, she leaned back into her chair, picked up her teacup, and waited for Li Jinshui's reaction.

In her view, this was a heaven-sent favor.

For a lowly soldier born of mud-legged stock to climb the high branch of the Yun Family was a blessing earned over several lifetimes. Anyone else would be moved to tears and kneeling in gratitude.

But Li Jinshui simply stood there, silent for two breaths.

Then he spoke, his tone as flat as if he were commenting on the weather:

"Many thanks for your favor, Miss Yun. However, I do not wish to join the Yun Family."

Yun Ruoxi's teacup froze in mid-air.

She raised her head to look at Li Jinshui, disbelief flashing in her eyes.

"What did you say?"

Li Jinshui repeated himself: "I said, I will not go."

Yun Ruoxi's expression changed.

She stared at Li Jinshui, her gaze as cold as winter ice.

"Do you know what you are saying?"

Li Jinshui nodded: "I do."

Yun Ruoxi sneered: "Do you know how many people want to enter the Yun Family but cannot? Do you know how sought-after the guest retainer spots in my Yun Family are? Do you know how many noble scions have begged to marry my cousin?"

Li Jinshui did not speak.

Yun Ruoxi stood up, walked over to him, and looked down at him from her superior position.

"You, a mud-legged soldier from North-Rejecting City, with no background and no backing, have only survived until now by luck. My Yun Family looks upon you with favor and offers you a path to the clouds, yet you dare to refuse?"

Li Jinshui raised his head to meet her gaze.

Those eyes were as calm as a winter lake, with no bottom to be seen.

"Miss Yun," he said, "I am indeed a mud-legged soldier, and I have not seen much of the world. But I know one thing—there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. If I take the Yun Family's things, I must sell my life for the Yun Family. I do not wish to sell my life to anyone."

Yun Ruoxi stared at him for a long time.

Then she laughed.

It was a laugh so cold it chilled the heart.

"Good, very good." She stepped back. "Since you do not wish to, then so be it. But let me warn you—you have refused me today; should you ever wish to beg the Yun Family for something in the future, it will not be so easy."

Li Jinshui cupped his hands in a salute: "Many thanks for the warning, Miss Yun. If there is nothing else, I shall take my leave."

He turned and strode toward the exit.

As he reached the doorway, Yun Ruoxi's cold voice drifted from behind him:

"Li Jinshui, you will regret this."

Li Jinshui's footsteps faltered for a moment, but he did not turn back, continuing on his way.

Stepping out of the General's Mansion, the sky outside had already darkened.

He walked along the road back to the camp, his pace steady, his face devoid of any expression.

Yet, inside his heart, he was cursing up a storm:

Regret? Regret your mother's head.

Your Yun Family is impressive, so what does that have to do with me?

Once I reach the Pulse-Opening Realm, once I push the Evergreen Art further, once I master the Rock Body and the White Tiger Blade Technique to perfection—what will your Yun Family even be worth then?

The corners of his mouth curled into a slight arc.

The smile was faint, nearly invisible in the night.

Returning to the barracks, Monkey hurried over: "Jinshui, what did that woman want with you?"

Li Jinshui sat down, poured a bowl of water, and took a sip.

"Nothing much, she wanted to recruit me as a guest retainer."

Monkey's eyes widened: "A guest retainer? Isn't that a good thing? Did you agree?"

Li Jinshui shook his head.

Monkey was stunned: "Why didn't you agree? That's the Yun Family!"

Li Jinshui set down the bowl and looked at him.

"Monkey, remember this one thing."

"What?"

"Relying on others is never as good as relying on yourself."

He lay down and closed his eyes.

Monkey stood to the side, looking as if he only half-understood.

Outside the window, the night deepened.

In the distant Di Camp, bonfires flickered like countless eyes.

Li Jinshui kept his eyes closed, the arc at the corner of his mouth still lingering.

Regret?

He had never known the meaning of the word.

If anyone was going to regret anything, it would be others.