With the Blade-Chapter 46 - 43: An Unprepared War

That night, Jizhou Governor’s Mansion.

The rest of the places had already extinguished their lights, but only Governor Liu’s room was still lit. Occasionally, patrolling soldiers passing by couldn’t help but sigh at Governor Liu’s diligence and hard work.

But only this man named Liu Yanran himself knew that given a choice, only a fool would want to work at this hour. Especially for a martial artist, good rest is essential for maintaining combat strength; staying up all night is like self-sabotage.

Yet even so, Liu Yanran had no choice but to work through the night.

All because of that troublesome mess left by that damned Wang Gaoceng.

Since Wang Gaoceng disliked the bloody weapons of Jibei, he would often just talk about abstruse matters, play the zither, and give sermons. Now, the replacement of weapons in the Jizhou garrison had encountered serious obstructions. And Liu Yanran himself, often dragged by Wang Gaoceng to learn the ways of a refined man, was delayed in handling military affairs — fortunately, Wang Gaoceng eventually died, but these accumulated tasks still had to be done.

"Fortunately, Jibei already has a new Master Craftsman for grinding."

The pen halted for a moment as Liu Yanran looked up, gazing at the bright moon outside the window.

The bright moon rose into the sky, crimson as blood.

The perfect weather for killing.

"What a pity..."

With a sigh, Liu Yanran ultimately turned his gaze back.

If it weren’t for Wang Gaoceng’s delays, and the soldiers had sufficient armor and weapons, such a time would be perfect to muster the troops and march northward.

Riding across the grasslands, with a sword pointing towards Mo Bei, perhaps even achieving a monumental victory like his name suggests.

But as of now...

He first needed to deal with these preliminary preparations.

He needed to wait, wait a bit longer.

Jizhou Governor’s Mansion still wasn’t ready. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

...

...

Meanwhile, at the distant Yang Clan Fortress.

In the Dock Fortress, the old, the weak, the women, and children had all fallen asleep, but the young and strong of the Yang clan were still working hard to rebuild the burned ancestral shrine. Even with Carpenter Li’s guidance, the progress was exceedingly slow.

All because throughout the process, various accidents kept happening.

At first, the Yang clan members thought it was just bad luck, but as the accidents increased, many began to believe that they had angered the ancestors and were being punished.

So even though they knew that working through the night might not help, the Yang clan members still worked overtime, hoping to show the ancestors their efforts and earn forgiveness for the shrine being burned.

"So where is Sanlang?"

Looking up at the barely formed ancestral hall, the elderly Yang Xuan thought of someone.

"He hasn’t come again?"

"Sanlang, he said he wants to practice with the knife and carve out his own fame like the ancestors."

Some Yang clan member responded casually, with a hint of mockery in the words.

It wasn’t intentional; it’s just that Yang Sanlang had indeed become the laughingstock of the entire Yang Clan Fortress. He somehow picked up a curved knife from somewhere and claimed he was going to make a name for himself like the ancestors. How could that be possible?

After all, the ancestors of the Yang clan had followed the Grand Ancestor Emperor of the Great Chen dynasty on eastern expeditions and western conquests, earning their vast reputation. Even though the current Jizhou Yang clan had declined, and they couldn’t even gather a hundred able-bodied men, they still took pride in their ancestors.

What’s Yang Sanlang? With his poor judgment causing trouble with the overbearing outsider and even losing the ancestral blade, how is he worthy of claiming to follow in his ancestors’ footsteps?

"Alright, alright, Sanlang is still a member of the Yang family. Since he has that aspiration, let him be."

With a sigh, Yang Xuan eventually decided not to pay attention to these matters anymore.

Even though Yang Sanlang was once the most outstanding youth in the clan, the current Yang clan had more pressing matters to attend to.

The clan’s ancestral shrine needed to be rebuilt, the harvested crops in the field needed processing, and Governor Liu’s grain and fodder demands needed attention... all these various matters required the entire Yang Clan Fortress’s full effort.

But these tasks all coincidentally piled up at the same time.

"The wind is blowing from the north..."

Gazing at the bright moon in the sky, Yang Xuan felt a sudden unease.

He could only hope that those barbarians wouldn’t come at this time.

To wait, wait a bit longer.

After all, the Yang Clan Fortress still wasn’t ready.

...

...

...

At midnight, in the small courtyard, Du Chengfeng was still going through his pre-sleep exercises.

Carrying logs, leaning against trees, butchering pigs, the Tiger and Dragon Stances, every night before bed, Du Chengfeng would practice all the combat techniques he had mastered. As for the Red Needle Technique and Bohurt Wrestling, they had become a natural part of his life, a daily instinct.

Walking down the street, if a passerby came by, he would first instinctively target the opponent’s vital points and then quickly assess their posture and center of gravity. Although Carpenter Li always said he felt uncomfortable being watched with eyes like these, the training was indeed effective for Du Chengfeng.

However, it still wasn’t enough.

To defeat that man named He Xiqing, the current accumulation wasn’t sufficient.

He needed to be stronger, much stronger.

Fortunately, the path on Liu Dudu’s side had already been opened, and the entire armory of Jizhou was now at his disposal. Liu Dudu could obtain weapons, and he could acquire the memories attached to the Evil Qi — it was undoubtedly a win-win situation.

Moreover, on that commanding flag, he had already grasped the method to confront He Xiqing.

"Soon it’ll be ready, soon it’ll be ready."

Thinking of this, Du Chengfeng clenched his fists.

Du Chengfeng had considered running away, considered hiding far away, after all, Carpenter Li had once said, if he fled south, all the way to the heart of Great Chen, no matter how fierce He Xiqing was, could he chase that far?

He could.

Only Du Chengfeng knew, that man named He Xiqing truly could.

He was a monster who had understood the Evil Qi of weapons, an opponent who could level up by killing. Yes, he could choose to run, but could his escape speed really outpace He Xiqing’s killing speed?

Retreating was true death; only by mustering courage and boldly advancing could he grasp that single chance of survival.

Only now, only before He Xiqing began truly growing stronger through killing, could he have the opportunity to eliminate this life-and-death enemy once and for all.

"Anyway, sleep first!"

After finishing his exercises, Du Chengfeng took a shower and returned to bed.

Replenishing his energy was essential. He still had to go to the Jizhou Armory to hone those weapons during the day. He needed to become stronger, much stronger, to ensure that nothing went wrong.

Wait a bit more, wait a bit more.

Ultimately, for facing He Xiqing directly, he still wasn’t ready.

...

...

...

The next morning, upon waking and preparing to ride to Jizhen, Du Chengfeng heard the alarming news brought by the Yang family.

Last night, Jizhen City fell.

Qingyang’s front army general, He Xiqing, beheaded the Jizhou command’s Governor Liu Yanran.