Pureblood Wolf Cubs and Saker Falcons

At first, when Yellow Sand Town Camp had just been established, new recruits were still assigned there.

But later, after Yellow Sand Town Camp had truly become the "Troublemaker Camp," no new recruits were ever assigned there again.

Any recruit who went to the Troublemaker Camp either became another troublemaker himself or was tormented half to death by the troublemakers there, eventually running back in tears to complain.

In short, the vast majority of soldiers could not stand staying there.

Initially, many people had wanted to straighten out the Troublemaker Camp, but the problem was that all those troublemakers were clever and left no openings.

Even when they targeted someone, they stayed within the rules. They neither killed nor crippled anyone, merely toyed with them, leaving no grounds for punishment.

And so, as time passed, the Troublemaker Camp's infamy grew ever greater.

Qi Sheng's suggestion that he send Li Dao to Yellow Sand Town Camp clearly harbored ill intent.

Recalling Qi Sheng's reaction when he had heard Li Dao's name earlier, Zhang Ci could more or less guess what was going on.

A flicker of displeasure rose in Zhang Ci's heart.

The problem was that he could not lash out. After all, Qi Sheng had only made a verbal suggestion.

He could ignore it, but the consequence would be offending Qi Sheng.

On one side was a favorite of the Marquis of Suppressing the North, a young prodigy of extraordinary talent.

On the other was a recruit with no status or backing, possessed only of immense natural strength and unable to cultivate.

Anyone would know which to choose.

Zhang Ci was no exception. Although he did not want to do it, circumstances left him no choice but to drift with the current.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Ci nodded. "All right, I understand. Yellow Sand Town happens to need men, and I think he'd be quite suited to the place."

Hearing this, Qi Sheng smiled. "It seems Official Zhang and I see eye to eye. I'll be sure to tell General Shen how readily you listen to others' suggestions."

Zhang Ci could only smile along in agreement.

Qi Sheng then turned and left. Standing outside the tent, he thought about the recruit named Li Dao.

Who told you to insist on having that name? You can only blame your bad luck.

Two days later.

Li Dao sat in the hall at home, leafing through the Pagoda Art of War he had taken back out of the chest.

Although he had already committed its entire contents to memory, he felt that reading the actual book had more flavor.

Bang, bang, bang!

Suddenly, a series of knocks rang out at the door.

Li Dao set down his book.

Before he could rise, Jiu'er's voice sounded in the courtyard outside.

"Coming!"

Jiu'er opened the door and looked in puzzlement at the armored soldier outside. "Who are you?"

"Is this Li Dao's home?"

The soldier asked.

"Yes. What business do you have with our young master?"

"Li Dao has successfully enlisted. I'm here to deliver his reporting letter."

With that, the soldier handed over a yellow letter.

"Oh, I see."

Understanding dawned on Jiu'er's face, and she hurriedly accepted it.

After the soldier left, she closed the door. The moment she turned around, she saw that her young master was already standing in the courtyard.

"Young master, your reporting letter."

Jiu'er jogged over to Li Dao and handed him the envelope.

Patting Jiu'er's head, Li Dao took the letter and opened it.

"Yellow Sand Town Camp?"

Li Dao searched his memory. None of the camps he had learned about recently bore that name, but this was an official reporting letter, so there should be no problem.

He continued reading the rest.

The gist was that he had to report to Yellow Sand Town Camp within three days. He must not be late, or he would be treated as a deserter.

Hmm?

Just then, Li Dao noticed what seemed to be faint writing on the back of the letter.

Turning it over, he found a line of notes.

It read: If you cannot adjust, you may apply for discharge at the military camp north of the city after three days.

Li Dao frowned slightly. Since when had Great Qian's army become so considerate?

As far as he remembered, once someone enlisted, getting out was very difficult.

Armies in ancient times certainly did not preach humane management.

Discharge without a disabling injury was possible, but it required having words tattooed on one's face.

This place was unlike his previous life, where tattoos had become a fashion trend.

In Great Qian, unless the tattoo bore something uplifting such as "Serve the Country with Utmost Loyalty," things were different.

Otherwise, tattoos generally marked someone as an unsavory character or a criminal.

People with fierce tigers and the like tattooed on their bodies were mostly covering ugly branded words with new tattoos to make them look better. No ordinary person in his right mind would do such a thing otherwise.

That was why Li Dao found the note on the back so strange.

"Forget it. Maybe it's a new policy under the Marquis of Suppressing the North."

Li Dao did not take this little detail to heart.

He had adapted to the Death Row Camp. What could a proper military camp possibly throw at him?

If there really was a failure to adjust, it could only be the camp failing to adjust to him, not the other way around.

"Three days, huh..."

Li Dao glanced at Jiu'er beside him and suddenly remembered something. After letting her know, he quickly headed out.

Before long, he met up with someone.

"Sir, we meet again."

The person meeting Li Dao was none other than the pawnshop assistant who had shown him houses before.

Li Dao casually tossed him a piece of silver and asked directly, "Did you find what I asked you to look for?"

The assistant caught the silver, his smile widening. "I've kept your request firmly in mind, sir. I already found them for you. We can inspect the goods right now."

Li Dao was rather surprised. This assistant was quite capable: he had only mentioned it yesterday, and it was resolved today.

"All right, let's take a look."

With the assistant leading the way, Li Dao followed him into a secluded alley.

There was no one around, and it was quiet-a fine place for murder and robbery.

As though worried about unsettling his customer, the assistant deliberately explained, "Please don't take this the wrong way, sir. It's all legitimate business. We're only here because the rent is cheap."

Li Dao nodded without speaking.

Or rather, whether the other party was good or bad, he stood only to gain.

If they truly harbored wicked intentions, he would have no choice but to accept the attributes delivered to his doorstep.

Before long, the assistant reached a house.

Bang, bang, bang!

After a bout of knocking, a voice soon came from inside.

"Who is it?"

"It's me."

Recognizing the assistant's voice, the person inside opened the door, revealing a one-eyed man with a brutish face who looked far from respectable.

Seeing the assistant, the one-eyed man glanced at Li Dao out of the corner of his eye before asking, "Is this the customer?"

"Who else? Hurry up and move aside. Don't hold up the customer's inspection."

"All right."

The one-eyed man stepped aside. "Follow me, sir."

Soon, the three reached a door leading into the backyard.

The one-eyed man cautioned, "Sorry for the trouble, sir, but please stand back a little."

While Li Dao was still wondering why, the backyard door opened.

The next instant, a mass of dark shapes lunged at the one-eyed man.

Once he got a clear look, Li Dao paused. Those shapes were all sorts of animals.

There were cats and dogs, birds and horses-a jumble of everything.

The important thing was that these animals all shared one trait: each had some kind of defect, to a greater or lesser degree.

The animals crowded around the one-eyed man affectionately.

In contrast to his appearance, a gentle expression actually emerged on his brutish face. "All right, all right, move aside. Don't block our customer's path."

Then he turned back and scratched his head. "Sorry, sir. They don't mean any harm."

Li Dao nodded. "I can tell."

Beside him, the assistant explained, "Don't be fooled by his fearsome looks, sir. This fellow is famously softhearted. Raising these little creatures is his favorite thing. He even lost that eye rescuing a stray dog when it accidentally scratched him blind."

Then, with the one-eyed man continuing to lead them, the three entered a room.

There were two cages inside, and the moment Li Dao entered, their contents caught his attention.

One cage held two tiny wolf cubs.

One was pure black, the other pure white.

The white cub lay on the black cub's back. At the sight of visitors, the black cub's gaze instantly turned wary, but it did not snarl, behaving like a calm observer.

The other cage held two white-feathered young birds whose plumage had touches of black. Though still young, their eyes were exceptionally piercing.

"Are these... Saker Falcons?"

Li Dao spoke in some surprise.

"You have a keen eye, sir!"

Looking at the little creatures in the two cages, the one-eyed man explained, "Not long ago, while traveling for trade, I happened upon two wild wolves fighting two Saker Falcons."

"In the end, both sides fought to the death."

"I found these four little ones near where they'd fought, so I brought them back."

At this point, a trace of reluctance appeared on the one-eyed man's face, but he still said, "What do you think, sir? If you want them, you can take them right away."

Li Dao looked at him. "You don't seem to really want to sell them. Why not raise them yourself?"

The one-eyed man smiled bitterly. "I have no choice. I lost everything on my trading trip. Fond of them as I am, a man has to keep himself alive first, doesn't he?"

Li Dao nodded, examined the four little creatures' appearances, then nodded again in satisfaction.

"If you can bear to part with them, I'll take these."

Originally, Li Dao had planned to buy two wolfdogs to guard his home and conduct a few little experiments on the side.

He had also intended to buy two ordinary birds to see whether he could raise them into messenger hawks.

He had never expected to come across two pureblood wolf cubs and two Saker Falcons instead.

Judging by appearance alone, all four little creatures were extraordinary.

Especially the Saker Falcons, which were known as the gods of all hawks.

Everything was ready. The only thing left to consider was whether the Treasure Blood in his body would work on these four little creatures.

If it did not, he would have to tame and raise them slowly himself.

Hopefully, the Treasure Blood would prove more effective than he imagined.

Only after the experiment succeeded on these four little creatures could he consider his next step.

Money changed hands, and so did the goods.

Once the transaction was settled, Li Dao covered the two cages with black cloth and left under the one-eyed man's profoundly reluctant gaze.

Watching Li Dao's retreating figure, the assistant patted his friend. "I know what you're thinking. You're afraid this gentleman won't treat them well, aren't you?"

The one-eyed man remained silent, apparently acknowledging it.

The assistant smiled. "You trust my judgment, don't you?"

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

Looking toward the figure disappearing at the other end of the alley, the assistant sighed. "By my reckoning, this gentleman is definitely someone who'll one day soar straight into the heavens. Those four little ones won't lose out by following someone like him. It'll certainly be better than following you, running all over the place every day."

The one-eyed man snorted. "All you've got is a slick tongue."

"Believe it or not. Either way, I'm going to find a way to cling to this gentleman's thigh."

Leaving those words behind, the assistant turned and walked away.

"Cling to his thigh?"

The one-eyed man lowered his head to look at his own legs and muttered with a frown, "His thighs aren't even as thick as mine."

Before long, Li Dao returned home.

"Young master, what are those?"

The moment he arrived, Jiu'er ran out carrying Yuanbao.

"You'll find out in a moment."

With that, Li Dao took the two cages back to his room.

Removing the black cloth covering the cages, he drew the Black Iron Saber from the table.

The instant they saw the Black Iron Saber, the two wolf cubs and two Saker Falcons in the cages grew alert.

The wolf cubs crouched low, and the Saker Falcons spread their wings, all four pairs of eyes fixed on the Black Iron Saber.

"You're quite worked up."

Li Dao shook his head, then, under the four little creatures' stunned gazes, slashed his own arm.

The next instant, a bloody cut appeared.

He picked up the teacup on the table and held it beneath the wound.

Drop after drop of treasure blood dripped from the wound.

A dozen or so breaths later.

By the time the teacup was half full of treasure blood, the wound had healed.

This should be about enough, right?

Li Dao thought as he looked at the treasure blood in the teacup.

Back then, Yuanbao had reached his limit after swallowing just five drops of treasure blood.

The four little ones before him were still young, not much bigger than Yuanbao had been back then, so they probably would not need much either.

When Li Dao brought the cup of treasure blood close to the four little ones, the two wolf pups, with their keen sense of smell, noticed it first, and a gleam of longing instantly appeared in their eyes.

To Li Dao's surprise, the pure black wolf pup grew excited for a moment but did not charge straight over as Yuanbao had before. Instead, the pup quickly quieted down, wariness still lingering in those eyes.

The pure white wolf pup was a different story, yelping and trying to pounce over.

But the pure black wolf pup immediately pinned the white pup down.

"Quite a wary little one."

Judging by that alone, the pure black wolf pup seemed all the more extraordinary.

Meanwhile.

The two Saker Falcons belatedly caught the scent of treasure blood as well.

Both were utterly resolute, their eyes fixed unwaveringly on the teacup.