"At last, these days had given him something to hope for."
Jiang Che took a string of raw pork from the old soldier in standard-issue cotton clothes and sighed inwardly. Then he swept his gaze around, and when no one was watching, hurriedly tucked the meat into his clothes.
This was his stepping stone to advancement!
Jiang Che had crossed over more than half a month ago. From a fine young man on Blue Star steeped in every vice, he had awakened as a lowly auxiliary soldier in another world, with his life hanging by a thread.
Not only did he do the filthiest, hardest work in the military camp, where anyone could come up and trample him, but after a little over a month of training, he would also be sent to the border to escort provisions.
From his memories and what those around him had told him, Jiang Che had basically learned that among auxiliary soldiers sent to the border, even one-third surviving their two years of service was exceedingly rare.
Fortunately, Jiang Che possessed a transmigrator's boon.
The Sacrifice Heavenly Stele.
Equivalent sacrifice.
So long as he could pay a sufficient price in sacrifice, he could theoretically set any goal he wished.
But that was only in theory.
Because once he failed to complete a sacrifice, he would not be able to perform another one.
Thus, based on his own circumstances and abilities, Jiang Che had set the most basic goal.
Sacrifice goal: Strengthen physique.
Sacrifice price: Two jin of blood, ten jin of bones, twenty jin of meat.
Though he had some silver from selling off his family property, he had no way to buy anything. The auxiliary soldiers undergoing training were forbidden from leaving camp, lest they flee.
At first, he had still harbored a sliver of luck. But after personally witnessing an auxiliary soldier stripped naked and hung from the camp gate, frozen to death in the bitter winter cold the very next day, he gave up on the notion of sneaking out.
Later, after making inquiries, he had connected with a squad leader in the Kitchen Camp. At thirty percent above market price, he gradually traded silver with the man for sacrificial offerings.
Compared to other kinds of meat, pork was the easiest to get and relatively cheap.
Besides, the Sacrifice Heavenly Stele had not specified what sort of meat had to be used. After careful consideration,
he had settled on pork.
Today's purchase was the final two jin of pork. His sacrifice price was about to be complete.
As for using that auxiliary soldier's corpse as a sacrifice... he had not even had the chance to touch it.
"How many jin tomorrow?"
The old soldier in a black cotton robe, Gou Buyi, lifted his chin and asked.
"Brother Gou, the brothers in camp are out of money. Let's put this on hold for a few days. Once they start craving it again, I'll think of something." Jiang Che answered quietly.
He was no fool. Naturally, he could not tell the truth. He could only do his best to dispel some of the other man's suspicions. Otherwise, an auxiliary soldier constantly buying meat would inevitably arouse both suspicion and greed.
But he truly had no choice. In a few more days, the Auxiliary Barracks would be heading to the border to die. He had to seize every moment to bolster his strength as much as possible.
Because on the road, acquiring meat would be even more difficult.
Besides, the silver in his possession was running out. It was no longer enough to buy meat from the man.
"Fine, no problem. If you want to buy meat later, come find me. The border is bitterly hard. If you don't figure out a way to get a few bites of meat now, it'll be even harder then."
Gou Buyi did not care in the slightest. Smiling, he patted Jiang Che on the shoulder and left.
Watching his gradually receding back, Jiang Che quickly lowered his head and returned to the gathering area to continue working.
He had met Gou Buyi during a break from work. People were watching nearby, so even though he was impatient to try the sacrifice, he could find no opportunity. He could only wait until nightfall.
Chopping firewood, carrying water, washing clothes.
Most of the auxiliary soldiers around him worked with numb expressions. No one paid attention to what Jiang Che had done or whom he had met. They only knew one thing: exhaustion.
Morning drills, chopping firewood at noon, carrying water at night. Every day, they had only one solid meal and one thin gruel meal, while also facing the dangers of the border that awaited them soon. Their bodies were tired, and so were their hearts.
"Dong, dong, dong!"
With three beats of the gong, a flicker of life finally lit up in the numb auxiliary soldiers' eyes.
Food was served!
After standing in a long line to receive a bowl of coarse grain rice that was hard to swallow, Jiang Che ate expressionlessly like everyone else. Suddenly, as though he had sensed something, he looked up and saw several men in military robes walking straight in this direction.
They seemed to be coming for him.
Sure enough, the next moment, the Scarface leading them sized him up a few times and said blandly:
"Jiang Che, right? Come with me."
Jiang Che did not move. Quite a few auxiliary soldiers around him turned to look, though most wore either curious or gloating expressions. The exhausting life of an auxiliary soldier made them eager for this rare bit of entertainment.
"What, I can't invite you?" Seeing Jiang Che remain still, Scarface's face darkened. His fierce gaze bored into Jiang Che like knives.
"What does the military master want with me?"
Jiang Che was no fool. One glance told him these men had come with ill intent. Who knew what might happen if he went with them? With so many people watching, they would at least be somewhat restrained.
Scarface stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Jiang Che's shoulders. In a low voice, he said, "If you don't want the meat you're hiding on you to be exposed, then come with me obediently. I guarantee your life will be safe. Otherwise..."
As he spoke, the men behind him also prepared to step forward and restrain Jiang Che.
"What are you doing? What are you doing?"
Jiang Che struggled free with force and shouted continuously.
Sure enough, the commotion swiftly drew a crowd. At the same time, the soldiers specifically assigned to watch over the auxiliary soldiers quickly shoved their way through the crowd and shouted:
"Those who gather to cause trouble will be killed without mercy!"
When Jiang Che's cries drew the soldiers over, Scarface shot him a vicious glare.
"Wu Da Bala, stop!"
The commander overseeing the Auxiliary Barracks clearly knew Scarface and called out his name directly.
After wrenching himself free, Jiang Che immediately retreated several steps to put distance between them.
"What crime has this man committed? Why are you arresting him?"
Scarface forced out a smile and cupped his hands.
"Deputy Commander Liu, it's like this. Thieves have been appearing in the Kitchen Camp lately, stealing quite a bit of pork. My brothers and I watched for several days before catching this brat. We were just about to take him back for interrogation."
The moment he heard this, Jiang Che finally understood why they had come and who had sent them.
Gou Buyi!
"Is that so?"
Commander Liu looked Jiang Che over skeptically. No matter how he looked at him, he could not see how this thin, fairly handsome young man had the nerve to steal meat in the military camp.
"No, absolutely not. Commander Liu, they're framing me."
"Do you have evidence?"
Commander Liu turned his gaze back to Scarface.
"Yes. This brat has meat on him right now, tucked inside his clothes." Wu Da Bala pointed at Jiang Che.
"Do you?"
"No."
Jiang Che shook his head firmly.
"One search will tell!"
Wu Da Bala barked.
"You think you can search him just because you say so? Wu Da Bala, do you think this military camp is your home?" Commander Liu's expression darkened. Ordinarily, a mere auxiliary soldier was not worth his speaking up to help.
But Wu Da Bala truly had no sense. He kept calling him Deputy Commander Liu, yet without so much as a word, he had come to Commander Liu's camp to arrest and search a man—one of Commander Liu's own men.
This was simply a slap to his face!
"Deputy Commander Liu... I... I really did see this brat hiding meat." The smile on Wu Da Bala's face froze. He had not expected Deputy Commander Liu to suddenly speak up for Jiang Che.
"What if he isn't hiding any?"
"Then I'll apologize and make amends. Would that do?" At this point, he was riding a tiger and could not get off. Scarface could only steel himself and press on, otherwise things would become even harder to resolve.
"What's your name?"
Commander Liu turned to Jiang Che again.
"Reporting to Commander, this lowly one is Jiang Che."
"You say you aren't hiding any. He says you are. Do you dare take off your clothes and confront him?"
Jiang Che nodded.
"I dare!"
Commander Liu had not asked whether he could, but whether he dared. And the man had spoken up largely because of his status as deputy commander of the Auxiliary Barracks. Jiang Che had no right to refuse.
As he spoke, Jiang Che swiftly removed his outer garment and shook it out. Though he had only just put it on, the cold wind pouring over his body still raised a layer of goosebumps.
Across from him, Scarface's eyes had already widened in disbelief. He muttered under his breath:
"Impossible... impossible."
He even wanted to step forward and inspect Jiang Che himself.
But this time, Commander Liu directly blocked his path and stared him down.
"What else do you have to say?"
"I... I..."
Unable to offer any excuse, Wu Da Bala shot Jiang Che another vicious glare. He could not understand where Jiang Che had hidden the meat. It should clearly have been tucked in his clothes, and there was no way he could hide several jin of meat below the waist.
"I was mistaken. Deputy Commander Liu, my apologies."
After coming back to his senses, Scarface lowered his head and cupped his hands.
"Before tomorrow night, send over two jars of Shao Daozi as an apology."
"Yes."
After saying that, Wu Da Bala turned and left with his men, his face ugly. Deputy Commander Liu merely glanced at Jiang Che before turning away without a care. Neither side paid much attention to the feelings of a mere auxiliary soldier.
That year, Jiang Che was nineteen, standing there like a lackey!