One more blacksmith would make the roster look that much better.
As for whether the kid would get his head chopped off at the front because he couldn't swing a hammer?
What did that have to do with him?
"Fine."
The old officer dipped his pen in the ink bottle and scrawled two characters on the wrinkled registration form: blacksmith.
"Take your tag and go sit over there." The old officer tossed him a piece of shabby wood carved with a number. "Don't think about running. There's a ring of alchemical mines buried around this training ground. If you don't want to end up in pieces, behave yourself."
Su Li reached out and caught the wooden tag.
Number 1111.
"Thank you for the warning, sir."
Su Li hung the tag from his belt, picked up his little bundle, and turned toward the "recruit camp" enclosed by a fence.
It was called a recruit camp, but it was really just an oversized animal shed.
Half the roof over what had once been a market had been torn away, exposing a patch of gloomy gray sky.
Moldy straw covered the ground. Hundreds of people were crammed together like sardines in a tin.
The stench of sweat and feet mingled with the fermented smell of some kind of excrement. It was even more overpowering than Old Buck's socks after ten years of wear.
The moment Su Li stepped inside, the noisy crowd fell briefly silent.
Countless eyes turned toward him.
Some were numb, some curious, and a few openly hostile gazes roamed over Su Li, sizing up how much they could squeeze out of this "fat sheep."
Su Li ignored them.
He found a relatively clean corner of the wall—though the only difference was that it had two fewer unidentifiable black stains—tossed his bundle to the ground, and sat down.
The Sword Spirit Root was still circulating tirelessly.
The filthy air around him flowed into his body. After passing through that wondrous cycle of filtration, it turned into wisps of coolness that refreshed him to the core.
The conditions were harsh, but Su Li's physical constitution had long since made such things irrelevant.
Compared with the days he'd spent hauling heavy loads at the docks in his previous life, this was nothing.
"Hey, kid."
Su Li had barely settled in before trouble came looking for him.
A burly man with a bare chest and hair as thick as a black bear's strode over. Two shifty-eyed lackeys followed behind him. At a glance, they were clearly the camp's temporary "kingpins."
The burly man stopped in front of Su Li, his huge shadow falling over him.
"New here?" He grinned, baring yellow-black teeth, and toyed with a sharp-edged stone in his hand. "Know the rules?"
Su Li looked up at the "black bear."
"No." Su Li shook his head honestly. "My family was poor. I never went to school."
A few muffled chuckles came from the crowd.
The burly man clearly thought he was being mocked. The folds of fat on his face twitched.
"Don't play dumb with me!" He kicked Su Li's bundle. "This place belongs to me—the ground and the air, too. If you want to stay here, hand over all your money! And those clothes—take them off! I could use a rag to wipe my feet!"
Su Li sighed.
Why was there always some fool like this wherever he went?
Did he really look that much like a pushover?
"Big brother." Su Li leaned back against the wall in a more comfortable position. "I really don't have any money. The bearded soldier took it all when I entered the city. If you want it, you'll have to ask him."
At the words "bearded soldier," the burly man's eyelid twitched. That was the patrol leader, infamous for his ruthlessness.
But he obviously didn't want to lose face in front of his underlings.
"No money?" The burly man leered and reached for Su Li's collar. "Then you can pay with yourself! I haven't had a taste of someone this soft and pretty..."
His hand hadn't even touched Su Li's collar.
"Smack!"
A sharp crack rang out.
No one saw what had happened.
They only saw the previously swaggering burly man as if he'd been rammed by an invisible bull. He spun around three times, then fell to his knees with a thud.
Clutching his face, the man watched as one cheek swelled before their eyes, five clear finger marks standing out across it.
He was stunned.
His head buzzed as if countless flies were holding a meeting inside it.
"You..." The burly man pointed at Su Li, about to curse, but then a bloody tooth fell out of his mouth.
Su Li hadn't changed position. He hadn't even shifted his backside.
He leisurely dusted off his hands, though there wasn't a speck of dust on them, and spoke in a tone as mild as if he were discussing the weather.
"I don't like people touching my clothes."
Su Li looked at the burly man kneeling on the ground. His handsome eyes held no emotion, as if he were looking at a stone by the roadside.
"Also, I'm not into men. If you're short a man, that gap-toothed old guy over there looks pretty sturdy. You could try him."
Those who'd been ready to watch a show all tucked their heads back in, afraid the menace would notice them.
Who would've thought?
This frail scholar, who looked like some young master out slumming, could be so vicious when he threw a punch.
The burly man was the kind of bully who preyed on the weak. That slap had knocked some sense into him, and he knew he'd picked a fight with the wrong person.
Clutching his face, he didn't even dare to threaten Su Li. He scrambled to his feet and slunk off into the crowd with his two lackeys.
At last, it was peaceful.
Su Li closed his eyes and continued to doze.
The night was far from peaceful.
More unlucky souls were thrown in from time to time, their cries for their mothers and fathers making his head ache.
A few mice with no sense tried to sneak off with his bundle while he slept. Without opening his eyes, Su Li flicked a pebble at each of them, sending them squealing.
Just as dawn was breaking, a shrill clang of a gong jolted everyone awake.
"Get up! All of you!"
"Look at the time!"
The bearded man from the day before rode Su Li's black horse into the camp, waving a whip. He lashed out at everyone, whether they were still sleeping or not.
"Form up! Get your rations! Then we move out!"
Su Li stood and rolled his stiff neck.
Breakfast was black bread.
Su Li didn't complain.
After eating, the hundreds of people were herded into a long line.
No armor. No weapons.
These so-called "recruits" hadn't even been given proper uniforms.
Dressed in their own ragged clothes, they shuffled out of the city gate like livestock being led to the slaughterhouse.
Su Li blended in with the middle of the line.
After leaving Grey Gull Port, the group headed north.
The landscape grew even more desolate along the way.
The once-fertile fields had turned into wasteland covered in weeds. Here and there, corpses lay by the roadside, mangled by wild dogs. Crows circled overhead, cawing in a way that made people uneasy.
"Have you heard?"
The skinny young man walking beside Su Li looked about seventeen or eighteen and had the face of a chatterbox.
Perhaps Su Li looked friendly, because he sidled up to him and struck up a conversation.
"We're headed to Blackstone Fortress."
The young man lowered his voice and spoke in a hushed, secretive tone. "I heard the fighting's fierce over there. The Baris people's magic cannons are terrifying. One shot can take out half a city wall. We're just going there to fill in the holes."
Su Li glanced at him.
"Someone has to fill the holes," Su Li said mildly. "Otherwise, you won't be able to escape when the shells come flying."
"True." The young man sighed and raked a hand through his messy hair. "I'm Pete. I used to empty the nightsoil in the city. They grabbed me while I was working last night. Can you believe it? I hadn't even finished emptying my bucket. I wonder if it's going to stink up half the street."
Su Li's mouth twitched.
Now that was a story with a certain stink to it.
"Su Li," he said, giving his name.
"Brother Su, you're clearly a trained fighter." Pete edged closer to Su Li. "I saw what you did last night. That slap was something else! When we get there, could you... could you look out for me a little? I'm not good for much, but I've got a sharp nose. I can sniff out food anywhere."
Su Li said nothing.
Look out for him?
In this meat grinder, who could look out for whom?
He was barely keeping his own head above water.
"We'll see," Su Li replied vaguely.
Before you continue