The Yulin Shadow Guard

Wang Qi's question left both Commandant Lin and Xu Ping at a loss for how to answer... Could he refuse?

In theory, he really could!

Xu Ping glanced in frustration at Commandant Lin, who apparently thought wearing a mask could keep anyone from seeing his bewilderment, then had no choice but to speak himself. "Wang Qi, I now formally invite you to join the organization I belong to... Rest assured, it is also an official organization under Great Peng. But we can only tell you the details once you have confirmed that you'll join."

Wang Qi nodded without betraying anything, then asked, "May I know what benefits I'll get from joining you?"

Xu Ping immediately turned to look at Commandant Lin... Had he even glared at him?

Commandant Lin hurriedly said, "You may choose any five techniques from a catalog to learn."

Wang Qi merely gave a slight nod, showing no sign of being tempted. He asked again, "Then what price do I have to pay?"

This time, Xu Ping answered. "The price is that everything you have gained in this army camp will become meaningless... You will be assigned to another unit with its own independent promotion system, and your information will not be known to outsiders."

That was the price: becoming a member of a secret unit... Yet hearing it actually tempted Wang Qi.

His origins were a secret too, but what was the best way to conceal a secret? Cover it with another secret, of course!

"That isn't much of a problem." Wang Qi seemed to consider it for a while before saying this... Inwardly, he had already decided to join this unit.

But before that, he needed to ask a few more questions.

"So there's another purpose behind this expedition south to suppress the mountain bandits?" He wanted to establish how dangerous this operation would be.

His leap in thinking left both Commandant Lin and Xu Ping momentarily stunned, but afterward, they were even more pleased with him.

Commandant Lin simply answered, "This is a highly classified mission. Even if you join, we can only tell you the details when they become necessary."

After hearing that, Wang Qi stopped asking about it. Instead, he asked, "Then what will happen to me after this mission is completed, and what will happen to the Divine Archer Battalion?"

Commandant Lin hesitated briefly, then said, "The Divine Archer Battalion will be reorganized into a mobile bandit-suppression force directly under Chang'an, primarily fighting mountain bandits in the Jiangnan region."

"And if you join us, you will return to Chang'an with us."

Chang'an... For Wang Qi, this was a place he was destined never to evade.

He had no intention of avoiding it, though. He even thought this arrangement seemed rather good.

So he said, "All right. I agree to join."

Commandant Lin perked up a little at that... Naturally, he was eager to bring such a promising talent as Wang Qi under his command.

So he said, "Very good. Mr. Zhao Ji will take you to revise your identification card shortly, but you will only be formally entered into the records after you return to Chang'an with me."

"And now I will tell you who I am, and just what sort of organization you will belong to..."

Wang Qi nodded earnestly. Since he had decided to use a secret to conceal the secret of his origins, he would make the most of this new secret identity as well.

Then Commandant Lin said, "My real name is Lin Chu, and I am one of the Yulin Orphans... Have you ever heard the words: 'Wings of the nation, flourishing as a forest'?"

Wang Qi asked in surprise, "The emperor's personal guards, the Yulin Army?"

He was baffled. Wasn't this just the Yulin Army? Why make it so mysterious?

Commandant Lin nodded and said, "Because the Hu People raided our borders, countless men of earlier generations joined the army, one after another, and died in service. Their descendants were left as orphans, with widowed mothers and no one to depend upon... His Majesty, in his benevolence, provided for them, and we Yulin Orphans are willing to serve him unto death."

Wang Qi nodded. How could he not know the origins of the Yulin Army...? It simply did not strike him as any sort of benevolence.

This was squeezing every last drop of value from those who had sacrificed their lives for their country!

They had risked life and limb for their families and country, asking only that the loved ones they left behind could enjoy peace... Yet the emperor had used so-called favors and hatred to win the loyalty of these heroes' descendants, holding them in his hands and honing them into an army that became his most trusted armed force.

Of course, he could not show what he really thought, so Wang Qi tried his best to look deeply impressed, satisfying Commandant Lin Chu's vanity.

Sure enough, Lin Chu nodded in satisfaction and continued, "His Majesty selected the strong and valiant among the Yulin Orphans to form the army everyone knows as the Yulin Army. But the Yulin Shadow Guard was established alongside it."

"The Secret Guard is responsible for monitoring the realm, as well as handling matters beyond the reach of ordinary people... Of course, its most important duty is still to serve His Majesty."

"Thus, the Yulin's overt guard gathers the finest martial arts in the realm, while the Secret Guard has people from all three teachings and nine walks of life."

"As long as you are willing to put in sincere effort within the Secret Guard, you will naturally be able to obtain everything you desire."

This was also a hint to Wang Qi about the benefits.

Indeed, what appealed most to a "wild-grown" genius like Wang Qi was a path to improving himself... If the Secret Guard could provide everything he wanted...

He was tempted. Without a doubt, he was tempted.

But he still had one final request to make, so he said, "I have one more request."

Both Commandant Lin and Xu Ping frowned slightly. They felt Wang Qi was going a little too far... Although the Secret Guard did offer generous terms when recruiting talent, people generally accepted whatever their superiors offered. Very few actually negotiated.

Wang Qi's behavior would therefore undoubtedly invite displeasure.

Commandant Lin nonetheless agreed to hear him out. "Go ahead."

Wang Qi was not unaware that this was ill-advised, but there really was one thing he cared about. "Can I have a tent of my own?"

Lin Chu: "..."

Xu Ping: "..."

The clerk Zhao Ji wiped his forehead and asked, "That's all?"

Lin Chu said irritably, "You will be serving in Detached Division Commandant Xu Ping's scout battalion from now on. As long as you can bear the weight, you can carry whatever equipment you like on your own back!"

So I'll be a scout...

Wang Qi inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

But then he remembered that when he and Wang Dashan went hunting in the mountains, they simply lay down beside the campfire and called it a night...

Then he thought about how he would soon be accompanying the army into the dense forests of the south...

He immediately felt he was going to die.

Seeing him look utterly heartsick without making any further fuss, however, Lin Chu, Xu Ping, and Zhao Ji all felt a renewed fondness for him.

In their eyes, Wang Qi's fussiness was probably just the eccentricity of a genius, yet he was still able to keep his word. Overall, though his temperament had its flaws, they only made him seem more genuine and endearing.

Just then, Wang Qi remembered that he could still learn five secret techniques... His eyes immediately lit up, and he asked, "Then, my lords, where is the catalog of techniques I can learn?"

Commandant Lin wasted no words upon hearing that. He simply took out a bundle of bamboo slips and tossed it over. "Since you can read, choose for yourself."

"Tell Brother Zhao Ji what catches your eye. He will handle the registration and answer your questions."

Wang Qi hurriedly nodded.

Then Xu Ping said, "For now, go with Mr. Zhao to select your techniques. Tomorrow, at the hour of the hare, assemble on the riverbank twenty li north of camp. Don't be late."

As he spoke, Xu Ping vanished from before Wang Qi's eyes without a sound... Even though Wang Qi had already opened his Lesser Celestial Circuit and sharpened his senses through repeated out-of-body cultivation, he could still catch only the faintest, uncertain trace.

Wang Qi's heart immediately tightened. He knew that, in the end, there was always another heaven beyond the heavens.

The Yulin Shadow Guard truly had masters as plentiful as clouds.