Cooperation

The Merit Pavilion was located in one of the North City Defense Bureau's courtyards. When Lu Yuan and the others entered, quite a few people were already inside. Clearly, people came here every day to accept missions.

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After all, aside from large-scale clashes, Great Yong and the Northern Barbarians fought small battles year-round along the border. The higher-ups knew perfectly well about this situation; not only did they not put a stop to it, they actively encouraged it.

Though the losses were greater, it also served to train the troops.

With so many frontier cities and so many men stationed there, mere defense was not Great Yong's goal.

The Northern Barbarians raided Great Yong's people, and Great Yong in turn raided the Northern Barbarians. The two sides had long since forged a blood feud.

They had barely entered when they ran into an acquaintance—Zhou He. He wore a suit of armor and was clearly there to accept a mission as well. The moment he spotted Lu Yuan, his eyes lit up, and he immediately walked over.

"Heading out of the city?"

"Yeah. My pockets are empty, so I have to find a way to make some silver."

Lu Yuan spoke softly.

Wei Yong and Zhang Gun stood meekly to one side. They knew Zhou He was from a branch of the Zhou Family and the nephew of a Centurion. A figure like that was not someone they could afford to offend.

The last time they had seen him drinking with Lu Yuan, they had assumed the two had only just met. Lu Yuan had been currying favor with Zhou He, which was why he had treated him to drinks. They had not thought the two were particularly close.

After all, everyone knew Lu Yuan had only recently arrived.

It was impossible for him to know anyone important. Yet now, the two seemed rather familiar with each other.

Wei Yong could not help but laugh bitterly to himself. Had he known this, he would not have played the thorn in the side. Now look at him—he had not only been beaten up, but had also handed Lu Yuan leverage over him.

"How about we work together? I just took a liking to a mission: deal with a group of Northern Barbarian scouts raiding within our territory. My squad alone might not be able to handle it, and I was just looking for a partner. Want to join us?"

"You're not short of silver, are you?" Lu Yuan asked doubtfully.

"Heh heh, I'm not short of silver, but I lack merit. To become a Centurion, I need one hundred merit points. I've already saved up more than fifty. If I just keep at it a little longer, I can get myself a Centurion's post too," Zhou He said with a grin.

His cultivation had already reached minor success in the Bone Forging Realm. He was only waiting to temper himself to major success before making a breakthrough.

To rise through the ranks, both merit and cultivation were indispensable.

Lu Yuan looked at Wei Yong and Zhang Gun. "Have you ever taken missions against the Northern Barbarians before?"

Naturally, he wanted to accept this mission as well. Merit could also be exchanged for cultivation resources, and merit spent in exchange for supplies did not count against merit used for promotion.

For example, if he had one hundred merit points and exchanged them all for supplies, he would need new merit to exchange for anything else afterward. But if he sought promotion, those one hundred merit points would still count.

Thus, merit was considered hard currency in the army.

And Lu Yuan knew that twenty merit points could be exchanged for a bottle of Body-Tempering Pills.

It could be said that in Great Yong's Northern Frontier, as long as one had strength, there was no need to worry about lacking supplies.

"Sir, we've never accepted this kind of mission before, but we'll follow your lead," Wei Yong hurriedly replied.

In truth, he had been looking forward to earning merit as well.

It was just that their former Squad Leader had not been strong enough and lacked the courage, so they could only target bandits. Whenever they encountered Northern Barbarian scouts, they would avoid them.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Yuan said, "Alright. We'll move together."

Since even Zhou He, the Centurion's nephew, dared to take it, there should not be much danger.

"Don't worry, it's not like I'd lead you into a pit. This group of Northern Barbarian scouts has around fifteen men. More than twenty of us will be leaving the city, so there shouldn't be any major problem." As Zhou He spoke, he pulled Lu Yuan into the crowd.

A moment later, the person in charge of the Merit Pavilion brought out a military order listing the target of this mission. Zhou He filled in his rank and name, then pressed his handprint onto it.

Lu Yuan did the same.

There were three copies. Once Lu Yuan tucked the military order into his robes,

Zhou He said with a broad grin, "That settles it. When are we heading out of the city?"

"Tomorrow. We didn't rest at all last night, and I'm afraid my men won't be able to hold up. Besides, I need to prepare some things, like travel rations for leaving the city," Lu Yuan said softly.

"Fine, then we'll set off tomorrow. You don't have warhorses, do you? Tomorrow, I'll borrow some from the armory. We can return them once we get back.

Our Northern Frontier may be bitterly cold, but it has its advantages too. We lack neither military supplies nor opportunities for merit—provided you have the skill for them." Zhou He chuckled.

"Alright, it's settled, then. We'll meet at the city gate tomorrow morning," Lu Yuan replied.

"Sure thing." Zhou He left after saying that.

Wei Yong moved closer. "Sir, Squad Leader Zhou manages the military supplies. There's plenty of profit to be skimmed there. And he's related to a Centurion too. Since you're on good terms with him, there'll be plenty of benefits in the future."

"As long as you obey orders, I'll never shortchange my men. Go notify the other brothers. We leave at dawn tomorrow." Lu Yuan finished speaking.

Wei Yong and Zhang Gun answered in acknowledgment and left as well.

As for Lu Yuan, he lingered in the Merit Pavilion for a while, learned the rules, and then returned.

On the way, he deliberately bought some dried meat, strong liquor, cooked food, and a sack of fine flour.

Cultivators could not neglect their stomachs. Without medicinal pills, if they could not even eat meat, their bodies would collapse before long.

Altogether, those things cost one tael of silver.

Including what he had earned today, Lu Yuan had ten taels left.

Food was the main expense.

The moment he returned to the alley, he saw Xiao Hua emerging from someone's house with a basket on her arm, her cheeks frozen red.

"Brother Yuan, are you off duty?" the girl greeted him with a smile.

"Mm, I just got back. What were you doing out so early?" Lu Yuan asked.

"My mother's illness acted up again today. I brought some embroidery over to see if anyone wanted it," Xiao Hua said quietly.

Lu Yuan frowned. He knew about her mother's illness. Her lungs had likely been injured. It was not a serious illness, but every winter, the coughing became severe. Without medicine to ease it, it simply would not stop.

"Did anyone buy it?"

"No." Xiao Hua shook her head.

Lu Yuan took out three taels of loose silver and held them out. "Do me a favor. Borrow this silver."

Xiao Hua pressed her lips together and did not refuse. Taking the silver, she asked, "What do you want me to do, Brother Yuan?"

Yet her eyes had turned somewhat cold, with a faint trace of disappointment. When she lowered her head, however, she concealed it well.

"I'm preparing to travel far tomorrow and need to pack some rations. Help me make some steamed flatbreads from this sack of flour so I can eat them on the road," Lu Yuan said slowly.

"Alright. I'll definitely have them ready before tomorrow. Thank you, Brother Yuan." Xiao Hua was startled at first, then lifted her head and smiled brightly. At the same time, she breathed a sigh of relief.

In times like these, no one was willing to lend money—especially to a widowed mother and daughter like them. Even when someone did lend it, they usually harbored ill intentions. Lu Yuan was willing to give her silver without making any excessive demands.

That alone already counted as helping her and her mother.

Since childhood, this was the first time, apart from her mother, that she had felt someone was willing to help her.

Just now, she had thought Lu Yuan would make an excessive demand. After all, she had always been confident in her looks.

"Why be so polite with me? Hurry and buy the medicine. At noon, I'll treat you and Auntie to a meal." As Lu Yuan spoke, he raised the wine and meat in his hands.

Then he pushed open his door and returned home.

After putting down his things, he began practicing. He would be leaving the city tomorrow, so today he had to perfect his saber technique.

That way, he would have a better chance against the Northern Barbarians.