Meeting Ma Yuan

Qi Dazhu and his companions quickened their steps and came up to Ye Fan.

"Brother Ye, it really is you!"

"Brother Qi, I've been waiting here for you for ages," Ye Fan said jokingly to Qi Dazhu and his companions.

"Brother Ye, you're here early today. I wonder if we brothers can be of any help. If you need anything, we're at your disposal. You gave us so much silver last time that we won't take a single coin today. Consider it our thanks to you, Brother Ye!" Though Qi Dazhu was an honest man who knew few characters, his words were pleasant to hear.

"Brother Qi, that won't do. We're all out here trying to make a living-you are, and so am I. If you don't take payment, how could I feel at ease? I do need to trouble you brothers today. I reckon those carts of yours will have to make several trips."

"Alright, Brother Ye! The more goods there are, the happier we'll be. Our bunch has plenty of strength-we couldn't use it all up if we tried." When Qi Dazhu finished, his companions chimed in and burst out laughing.

"Haha, then follow me, brothers." Ye Fan was in high spirits as well.

Ye Fan led the way, and with a thought, a great quantity of medicinal herbs appeared out of thin air, piled in the spot he had just chosen. There were a great many herbs this time, six or seven times as much as last time. If he had not been afraid of arousing suspicion, Ye Fan could have brought out even more.

"Brother Qi, here they are," Ye Fan said, pointing at the herbs piled up like a small mountain before them.

"Whoa!!! Brother Ye, there really are a few more herbs today. But it's no trouble. Just leave them to us." Qi Dazhu was truly stunned by the mountain of herbs, and he had some questions too. How had Ye Fan brought so many here? If someone from his hometown had delivered them, surely they would not have stopped short of entering the city, with only such a short stretch of road left. Still, Qi Dazhu had the professional ethics he ought to have: he did his work and never spoke out of turn.

"Brother Ye, with so many herbs, I reckon it'll take the few of us eight or nine trips back and forth. If you trust me, we've got several more fellow villagers looking for work in the city. I could call them over too, and we'd get it done faster, wouldn't we? What do you think, Brother Ye?" Qi Dazhu was naturally thinking of his fellow villagers. Of those out looking for employers, how many came from well-off families? Some had gone days without finding work, with whole families crying out to be fed. If he could help, he would lend a hand.

His companions saw what Qi Dazhu was trying to do. Ye Fan saw it too. The man was indeed as he had thought, someone worth befriending.

"Brother Qi, I'll leave the transport to you. As for exactly how to do it, you can decide among yourselves," Ye Fan replied readily.

"Alright, Brother Ye, rest assured. All of us from Heling Village are honest men who know what matters. I can't speak for anything else, but we can certainly keep the promises we make to our employers." Qi Dazhu was quite pleased to see Ye Fan agree to his suggestion.

"Xiao Liuzi, go into the city and call your fourth uncle and the others over. Tell them to drop whatever they're doing and hurry here to help," Qi Dazhu said to a young man.

"Alright, Brother Dazhu, I'll go right away. I'll be sure to bring them back!" With that, the young man named Xiao Liuzi immediately ran off, excited for no apparent reason.

Xiao Liuzi knew that his fourth uncle and the others had been staying in the city for a long time to make it easier to find work. They slept in inconspicuous spots at street corners, or found a hollow tree or a space under a bridge-anywhere the patrol battalion did not check. Xiao Liuzi had seen his fourth uncle a few days ago when he came into the city to deliver goods. The man had grown much thinner. He ran himself ragged every day but earned very little, and apart from what he kept for his own meals, he had Xiao Liuzi take everything home. Making money in the city was not easy either.

Ye Fan watched Xiao Liuzi leave. Why did the fellow run in such a lopsided way?

"Brother Qi, there's no rush with the goods. We can just sit and wait for them and start whenever they get here," Ye Fan said, turning his head and pointing at Xiao Liuzi.

"It's alright, Brother Ye. Some years ago, Xiao Liuzi went to Phoenix Cry Village to buy things for an employer and ran into a bunch of thugs. Not only did they rob him, they gave him a vicious beating. That's when his leg was injured. But it's no great problem. He may not look good when he runs, but he's still got plenty of strength."

"Phoenix Cry Village?" He could not have been more familiar with the place. Could those thugs have been Ma Chuang and his gang?

"A lingering leg injury? Brother Qi, if it's only a lasting effect of the old injury, I could give it a try. But I can't make any promises." Thinking of the Spring of Life, Ye Fan spoke to Qi Dazhu with considerable confidence.

"Alas, it's been a stubborn ailment for years. He's seen many physicians, and none could cure it. Even if you're not certain, there's no harm in trying, Brother Ye." Clearly, Qi Dazhu did not believe Ye Fan could cure Xiao Liuzi's lingering leg ailment.

It was still early, and Ye Fan was in no hurry. The group waited there for Xiao Liuzi, chatting and laughing.

Meanwhile, Yan Fengxiao and the other two had left Cloud Mountain Fortress and were leading an army of 150,000 toward Wuling City.

Commander Chahar had already completed the deployment of Wuling City's garrison.

"Reporting to Commander Cao: Yan Fengxiao has led his army out of Cloud Mountain Fortress and is heading toward Wuling City," a scout reported.

"It seems those generals of the Wu Kingdom have finally set aside their differences and joined forces!" Commander Cao said to the others in the hall.

"Commander Cao, that means there will be more than 300,000 enemy troops outside Wuling City." Wan Que could not help feeling somewhat worried by the report.

"Commander Wan, there's no need to worry. Wuling City now has strong troops and sturdy horses. We have more than enough to defend a single city," Commander Zha said, looking at Wan Que.

"Haha, Commander Zha is quite right. An enemy force of 300,000 is nothing to fear. The number of soldiers cannot play a decisive role in the course of a war; what matters most is the person leading them. Yan Fengxiao, Guo Youshan and the others are all men hungry for grand achievements. If we use our stratagems properly, those two are nothing to fear." Commander Cao paused, then continued.

"The key is this Chen Haoran. The secret reports say very little about him, only that he comes from a military family and is skilled at commanding troops. Everything else is unknown." Commander Cao looked at the others when he finished.

"Chen Haoran? Never heard of him. But since the secret reports say he's skilled at commanding troops, we just need to be a little more careful when we deal with him," Wan Que replied.

"Since Yan Fengxiao has joined forces with them, all generals must make preparations against him. Send more men to guard the city gates, transfer the entire city defense battalion to the gates to prepare for battle, and dispatch several more groups of scouts to keep a close watch."

"Yes, sir! We accept your orders!"

Hearing this, the men cupped their fists and accepted their orders. Since the Wu Kingdom's forces had joined together and meant to take their blade to Wuling City, this would be the burial ground of those 300,000 soldiers.

Meanwhile, Ye Fan and the others had not waited long before Xiao Liuzi arrived with several men. After introducing themselves, everyone began moving the herbs under Qi Dazhu's direction.

Ye Fan watched Xiao Liuzi. Though his leg hindered him, he was fairly nimble when carrying things.

"Xiao Liuzi, once we're done, ask our young friend Ye to take a look at your leg." Qi Dazhu had noticed Ye Fan glancing at Xiao Liuzi, sometimes deliberately and sometimes without thinking. Though he did not believe Ye Fan could cure him, he still spoke to Xiao Liuzi; after all, Ye Fan meant well.

"Alright, thank you, Brother Ye!" Xiao Liuzi set down a large bundle of herbs and bowed to Ye Fan with cupped hands.

"Xiao Liuzi, I'm not completely confident. After all, you've had this leg ailment for too long. But I can still give it a try." Ye Fan was rather cautious in what he said.

"Alright, Brother Ye. I've had this bad leg for years, and I'm used to it by now. Whether you can cure it or not, let me thank you first."

While the two were talking, the first batch of herbs was loaded onto the carts. Qi Dazhu checked with Ye Fan, and after receiving his confirmation, shouted, "Let's go..."

More than a dozen men pushed the handcarts in a long, single-file formation, setting off in grand fashion for Wuling City with Ye Fan leading the way. Only one man remained behind to keep watch. So close to Sunset City, bandits and robbers did not dare strike.

At the city gate, the guards were inspecting merchants coming and going.

"Captain Ma, what brings you back on duty today? Have you taken care of everything at home?" the city defense squad leader asked Ma Yuan, who was dressed in uniform. Though he did not like the man, they currently ate from the same trough and saw each other all the time. It was only a few words; it would not cost him a piece of flesh. Besides, he had heard that Ma Yuan had gone home to deal with a matter concerning his younger brother, Ma Chuang. The fellow had contracted some unknown, serious ailment and become paralyzed. They had sought physicians and medicine everywhere, but no one could cure him.

"Mm." Ma Yuan was in no mood to talk and gave a brief reply.

As the two spoke, Ye Fan and his companions waited with their handcarts to be inspected.