A Pillow Arrives

When Li Yan heard that Liu Chengyong wanted to give him a weapon, his heart stirred, but he immediately dismissed the thought.

He returned the sword in his hand to its sheath on the weapon rack and smiled. "Captain Liu, you are too kind. I have not yet learned any martial skills. I am only focusing wholeheartedly on cultivating an inner cultivation method, so I would have no use for it. If I learn some martial skill in the future, and you happen to have a weapon that suits me, I will certainly come ask for it."

Liu Chengyong laughed heartily and naturally nodded in agreement.

Still, he assumed Li Yan simply had not taken a liking to his weapons. What sect of martial artists only cultivated inner strength without practicing martial skills? With Strategist Ji's peerless martial arts, could he possibly lack divine weapons and precious blades?

After laughing, Liu Chengyong glanced outside and said to Li Yan, "Brother Li, after the military council meeting a few days ago, the Marshal mentioned something to me. He said that when you had time, you should go see him. Perhaps the information recorded when you answered the call to enlist had not been fully registered in detail. As the military's chief official, he needs to have it all properly recorded before reporting it to the court for filing. So, you still need to make a trip there."

Li Yan was stunned upon hearing this. He had been considering how to reveal some information to Liu Chengyong and then have it passed along through him to Marshal Hong. Yet before he could use any of the arguments he had prepared, Liu Chengyong had handed him the very result he wanted. Was this what people meant by, "When you want to take a nap, someone brings you a pillow"?

How could he not understand that this was a signal that Marshal Hong wanted to begin moving? What incomplete registration records? With the military's capabilities, even if he had only written down his name and hometown that day, they could have dug up the details of his ancestors for eighteen generations in no time.

And if his registration information had truly been incomplete, were his family's subsidies and his own monthly pay being taken from Marshal Hong's personal purse instead of going through the accounts? Still, this saved him the trouble of worrying. He only needed to go with the current.

He immediately put on a surprised expression and looked at Liu Chengyong. After a brief moment of thought, he said, "Oh? That must be it. After my teacher accepted me as his disciple at the drill grounds that day, I really did not handle some of the matters afterward. That must have been the reason."

Liu Chengyong had been watching Li Yan closely. He had been somewhat hesitant when he first relayed this message, and he could not help feeling uncertain.

But hearing Li Yan say this, he realized that since he had not been at the drill grounds that day, there truly were matters he did not know about. Still, he suspected the Marshal had summoned Li Yan for some other purpose. He did not believe things were as simple as they appeared, but he did not dare investigate too deeply. As long as Li Yan believed it, that was enough. In any case, the Marshal bore Li Yan no ill will. That was also why Chen An and Li Yin had been temporarily avoided.

"Since that is the case, and there is nothing to do today, why not—"

"Of course, of course. Military business cannot be delayed. Hmm, I have not yet had a look around the barracks. Captain Liu, take me around the camp first, then we can go over." Li Yan said this not because he had any interest in wandering around here. If he left immediately after only speaking with Liu Chengyong for a moment, Chen An and Li Yin would not be easy to fool. They would surely suspect that he had come with some purpose in mind.

"That can certainly be arranged. Oh, then afterward, should we just go over like this? If Chen An and Li Yin learn of it, will they report to Strategist Ji that we handled things poorly, troubling you with such a minor matter and even alarming the Marshal? What do you think?" Liu Chengyong asked hesitantly. He was unsure what consequences would follow if Chen An and Li Yin found out.

"It is nothing. Just tell them directly. It is not some major matter," Li Yan told Liu Chengyong.

Let me see how Marshal Hong handles this little aftereffect. From one point, I can judge the whole picture and see whether he is merely a crude military man or a sly fox.

Though Liu Chengyong felt something was amiss, he could not figure out what it was for the moment, so he agreed. After they exchanged a few more words, he led Li Yan around the barracks. Naturally, they only visited the public areas, but even so, Li Yan could not avoid showing his face before several other squads again.

Afterward, the four of them left the camp gates, and four riders headed toward the Marshal's residence.

When Chen An and Li Yin learned that Li Yan was going to the Marshal's residence, hesitation appeared on their faces. But Li Yan left the moment he said he would, without even looking at the two of them. It seems my teacher must have personally given them secret instructions not to let me come into contact with outsiders too much.

Before long, they arrived before the Marshal's residence. Liu Chengyong naturally stepped forward to explain matters to the guards. Not long afterward, word came from inside that Li Yan could enter. This meant that even Liu Chengyong could not go in, much less Chen An and Li Yin, who did not dare follow without authorization.

After passing through several winding corridors, Li Yan followed a soldier to the entrance of the rear residence's main hall. The soldier stopped, turned, and said to Li Yan, "Lord Li, the Marshal is inside. You may enter on your own." With that, he turned and left without waiting for Li Yan's reply.

Li Yan looked toward the main hall. No soldiers stood guard, and the doors were wide open. He secretly took a deep breath and strode toward the entrance.

When he entered the hall, the light seemed to dim slightly. He focused his eyes and steadied himself before looking again. The interior was broad and empty. A man sat in the middle of the hall, looking at him. Who else could it be but the bald, burly man Li Yan had met once before? Li Yan stepped forward a few paces and bowed.

"Your subordinate, Li Yan, pays his respects to Marshal Hong."

From the moment Li Yan entered, Hong Linying had been staring at him. He felt that Li Yan's aura was far heavier and more solemn than it had been two months ago. This was not an aura that someone newly entered into martial cultivation should possess.

Hong Linying drew in a sharp breath and could not help speculating, Is this the inner cultivation of Ji Wenhe's sect? In only two short months, it has made an ordinary person's inner breath so stable and weighty.

Yet the more this proved true, the greater his expectations became.

"There is no need for so much ceremony. Sit first," Hong Linying said, pointing at a row of chairs below.

After thanking him, Li Yan found a chair to the side and sat down.

"Deputy Captain Li, more than two months have passed since we parted at the drill grounds. Seeing you today, you have indeed become someone who makes others look at you anew under Lord Ji's instruction."

"You flatter me, Marshal," Li Yan said with a bitter smile.

Seeing Li Yan's expression, Hong Linying's face tightened. "Oh? Could my eye have been wrong?"

Li Yan shook his head at this, as though considering how to answer, but he did not speak.

Seeing this, Hong Linying's heart stirred. He adjusted his posture and leaned back against his chair. "When Fang Yu entered the strategist's residence back then, the next time I saw him... that was when my judgment had truly been wrong."

Li Yan naturally knew who the "Fang Yu" in his words was—the name of his unfortunate eldest martial brother. His expression froze, and after a moment of hesitation, he asked, "What do you mean by that, Marshal?"

"Oh, nothing. Seeing you today, I merely feel that although Deputy Captain Li's aura has grown much stronger and more substantial, your complexion suggests that your inner breath is faintly unstable, as though it is restless and ready to stir." As he spoke, he stared intently at Li Yan's face. Through reports from informants in the strategist's residence, he knew that Li Yan had recently been temperamental and his aura agitated. That was why he had said this.

A look of shock appeared on Li Yan's face. "Marshal, you can see that something is wrong with me?"

Hong Linying was delighted inside, but his expression remained unchanged. "I can see a little of it, though I cannot discern the cause. Hehe, but it is naturally impossible that something has gone wrong with your cultivation. With an unrivaled expert like Strategist Ji guiding you, that should not be the case. I imagine there must be some other reason."

After hearing this, Li Yan's expression shifted between light and dark. Every change fell into Hong Linying's eyes, but he remained unmoved.

After a while, Li Yan hesitantly asked, "Marshal, do you know how a person of the martial world might cure severe poison?"

Hong Linying was taken aback, then looked puzzled. "Why ask that? Oh, are you worried about the poison in Strategist Ji? You need not concern yourself with that. Even I cannot be of much help, much less you, with your currently shallow cultivation. You cannot help him at all. Heh, I did not expect you to be someone who respects his teacher and upholds the Way. Sigh!"

His expression darkened as he sighed.

"Still, I do know a few methods. The first is naturally to use the corresponding antidote, but one must know what poison has been taken. The second is for people like us to use profound inner strength to force the poison from the body. But that is not foolproof either. Once some strange poisons enter the body, they burrow deep into the internal organs and bone marrow. Such virulent poison is extremely difficult to expel."

"The third is a method found only in the demonic paths of the martial world. Find someone whose inner cultivation is not weak, use him as the vessel that draws away the poison, and circulate this secret art to guide the poison into the other person's body. Then force that person's pure inner breath into one's own organs. But this method requires a secret art of the demonic path. Very few sects know such a method."

He watched Li Yan as he spoke slowly, and saw faint beads of sweat emerge on Li Yan's forehead.

After a short while, Li Yan asked hoarsely, "Then what happens to the person used to draw out the poison under this third method?"

Hong Linying said, "He will almost certainly die, unless he also knows that demonic secret art and can do the same thing again. But clearly, that is impossible. Ah, enough of this. Liu Chengyong must have told you why I summoned you here today. However, the military clerks obtained your detailed information from the government office under Great Green Mountain this morning. I was just about to tell Liu Chengyong that there was no need to notify you to come after all."

Li Yan seemed not to have recovered from the conversation. Only after a long while did his expression begin to return to normal, though he still looked absent-minded. He rose and bowed. "If that is the case, then this subordinate shall take his leave."

"Very well. You may go," Hong Linying said with a faint smile.

Li Yan turned and walked toward the hall entrance. Just as he was about to step out of the hall, Hong Linying's voice sounded behind him again. "Deputy Captain Li, you need not worry too much about Strategist Ji's situation. After all, he has suffered this poison for quite some time, and he himself is an expert healer. There should be a solution."

Li Yan halted for a moment upon hearing this, then vanished from the hall.

After some time, a muffled voice sounded within the hall. "Senior Brother, that boy seems to have begun suspecting Ji Wenhe."

"Hehe, today we have confirmed three things. First, the inner cultivation of their sect is truly extraordinary. In barely more than two months, he has cultivated to this extent. If he continues at such a pace, who could stand against it? Second, he is the person meant to have the poison drawn into his body. I did not expect Ji Wenhe to truly know this method of the evil sects. Third, this boy has already sensed something about his own situation. He has begun to feel that Ji Wenhe may be using him."

"Then, Senior Brother, our next step is to wait for him to come seeking aid."

"Hehe, I imagine he will make his next move very soon. Life... who does not cherish his own life?"

After leaving the hall, Li Yan thought as he walked, This Marshal Hong is extremely eager to obtain this so-called 'martial art,' and he has already begun planting seeds of suspicion in my heart. Since matters on this side have been confirmed, the next stage of the plan can proceed. It is only that I did not discover the other expert Dong Fuyi mentioned today. It seems my cultivation is still too low. I cannot even sense the experts of this mundane martial world.

Lost in thought, he had already left the Marshal's residence. He saw the other three standing beneath a tree several dozen paces away, speaking among themselves while occasionally glancing in his direction.

Hong Linying had calculated well. Li Yan's trip in and out had taken only the time it took to drink a cup of tea—exactly enough time for him to report his background and family information. It would be difficult for anyone to suspect there had been any other business.