Chapter 06 Part 07 - Farewell (1/2)
Chapter 06 Part 07 - Farewell
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“Huh, who told you that?” ZiChuan Xiu sounded surprised, as if someone had just found out about his darkest secret.
“Don’t even try to deny, Sir. Lady Ning told us everything. You are secretly the fifth generation disciple of the Number One fighter of all time – Duke Zuo Jia Ming. You’ve also mastered every technique he taught you, such as the ‘Wave technique’, ‘Lightning Blade’, ‘Thunder Kick’, ‘Iron Head’[[1]], ‘Nine Swords of DuGu’[[2]], ‘Buddha’s Palm’[[3]], ‘Sunflower Manual’[[4]] and even the legendary ‘Hamehamea’[[5]]… anyway, you knew all the kicka.s.s stuff~!”
“Sigh, I told Ning many times to keep it a secret…” ZiChuan Xiu knew woman could be like children sometimes. If you wanted her to help you spread certain rumours around, the best way was to keep reminding her: “Don’t tell anyone!” And as expected, the result was impressive. It didn’t even take a full day before the trio came to him like dogs wiggling their tails, hoping to catch their master’s attention. All rumours naturally had the tendency to ma.s.s produce and mutate each time it did. In the end, ZiChuan Xiu was “confirmed” as Duke Zuo Jia Ming’s favourite disciple!
“Very well. I admit. That is the truth! I’m Duke Zuo Jia Ming’s fifth disciple!”
“Sir, don’t worry. We’ll guard your secret with our lives! We just… have a very small favour to ask…”
“Oh. I see. You want me to teach you some martial art techniques!” ZiChuan Xiu appeared to have come to a realization.
The trio nodded rapidly.
“But you should know, it is not like I don’t want to…”
Bai Chuan quickly pulled out a bag of coins, and Luo Jie dragged a box of p.o.r.n Mags behind him. ZiChuan Xiu exhaled in defeat: “Why do you guys keep doing this to me, what do I even say to that? Fine, since you all asked so sincerely, I’ll teach you the highest form of martial technique of Zuo Jia Sect, the Universal Invincible Thunder Palm Manual! For two thousand only! Anyone interested?”
Bai Chuan asked curiously: “So cheap?” She immediately paid him in cash and ran away as fast as she could with the manual.
Luo Jie and Chang Chuan realized too late what had just happened, crying like lost sheep: “Sir, help us! If that evil b.i.t.c.h masters the Thunder Palm technique, we’d all end up as her slaves for sure!”
“Hoho, worry not! Her Thunder Palm Manual is in fact incomplete, it has several weaknesses! I have another Great Sun Technique Manual here for sale. It is specifically designed to counter the Thunder Palm Technique, only for eight-thousand-and-eighty-eight and it is all yours! If you master this technique, I guarantee your victory over her! Also, when you do, will you ask her for me if she would be interested in the upgraded version of the Thunder Palm Manual, this time complete with all the extra’s, it will only cost her another ten thousand!”
……
Next morning, Red Banner Master – Li Qing came to visit ZiChuan Xiu on behalf of the High Command. The first thing she saw after arriving at Xiu’s Company’s camp however, was Luo Jie crawling over the floor like a toad, with his head tilted in the direction of the sun and his mouth gaping wide. It sounded as if he was chanting some mnemonic phrase: “I’m an idiot… I’m an idiot… I’m an idiot…”
“Master Luo, what are you doing?”
“I’m an idiot… Please don’t interrupt me. I’m practising the Great Sun Technique by absorbing the essence of the sun. I’m an idiot… Once I master this, I’ll be invincible!”
Li Qing frowned at him, asking:”If I may ask, where can I find Sir Xiu?”
“I’m an idiot… Go through the front gate then turn right. I’m an idiot… The door with the naked girl poster hanging outside leads to his office!”
“Thanks.” Even after Li Qing had pa.s.sed through the gate, she could still hear Luo Jie’s shout clearly from a distance: “I’m an idiot!” In fact, he was being so loud the whole camp heard him.
“I know! You don’t have to keep repeating it!” Li Qing shouted back without so much as a backward glance.
……
ZiChuan Xiu quickly got up and greeted Li Qing as she came through the door. They had known each other and were friends for a long time.
Li Qing studied Xiu’s Company’s headquarter for a moment, posters of naked girls hanging on every wall, piles of stinky trash all over the floor, and more behind his old desk, dirty clothes, empty bottles, and even a few dead mice from several days ago.
She coughed slightly, complaining: “Xiu, what a nice bunch of soldiers you have! Did all of them just come out of prison?” She had made up her mind, without a brigade or a bigger contingent of guards, she would never again walk through Xiu’s Company’s front gate. Those lecherous gazes from the soldiers outside was short of nerve racking.
ZiChuan Xiu spoke with a playful smile: “What are you talking about? Don’t I look normal to you?”
Li Qing replied with a smile without smiling: “Right, so reading an adult magazine right after the sun comes up is somehow considered normal here?”
ZiChuan Xiu hurriedly ditched the book underneath his bed, clearing his throat: “So what brings you here, Master Li?”
Li Qing retracted her smile: “Sir Xiu, by High Command’s order, you are to gather your men… Hey! Let me finish… Stop, give me my orders back! Wait, don’t open it… Sigh!” She complained: “I’m supposed to be the envoy here, show some respect, will you?”
“Xiu’s Company will be placed under Commander Fang Jing’s command, and shall depart immediately for Fort Warren.”
“Strange, didn’t they promise the new recruits a month to train? We barely have had two weeks! Not to mention we are still missing half of our equipments. Several of our squads don’t even have the tents to weather the winter with.”
“It is Supreme Commander’s idea. The official reason is, the sudden development at the Far Eastern Front has demanded urgent reinforcement for Stirling. The real reason however, is Di Du’s Police Corp. Their chief cried his eyes out to Luo Ming Hai, saying: “The City of Di Du will never have peace as long as Xiu’s Company remains here.” He demanded your immediate removal. Xiu, do you even know what the people of Di Du think of your unit?”
ZiChuan Xiu answered with all the seriousness in the world: “Whenever the people of Di du see the magnificent banner of Xiu’s Company, they would always show their respect and admiration: They are men of strength, the embodiment of righteousness… Such disciplined force, as expected from the young hero, ZiChuan Xiu!”
Li Qin smiled lightly: “Do you even believe that yourself? You know it better than anyone. Everyone calls you the three plagues of Di Du: c.o.c.kroach, rats and Xiu’s Company!”
Li Qing stood up and said her goodbye: “All right, that settles it. If there is anything you still need to do but haven’t, I suggest that you make haste. Meanwhile, I can help you with your equipment problems. As you may or may not know, in order to get rid of you and your men as quickly as possible, the Logistic Corp has gone all out. You should take this opportunity and grab what you can from them.”
“Oh, there is one more thing. I have a letter for Stirling. Since you are headed for the Far East, would you deliver it to him?” ZiChuan Xiu felt a jolt going through him. It had been so long since he kept the secret from her how Stirling loved Princess Ka Dan. If she hadn’t mentioned it, he almost forgot that officially, Li Qing was still Stirling’s fiancé.”
“Remember, deliver my letter to him in person!”
ZiChuan Xiu quietly took the letter: “Ok.” But his heart lamented: Woman are such fools sometimes, they think going to the Far East is like going to their backyard. How do they not understand the Far Eastern Front is an area stretching across hundreds of thousands square kilometers? Stirling’s Army isn’t a garrison unit either. How is he supposed to run into Stirling’s forces in a huge area like that?”
He escorted her to the gate. Li Qing turned to him, staring deeply into his eyes as she spoke with deep sincerity: “Take care, and for Ning, please be safe.”
ZiChuan Xiu felt another jolt going through him, but he kept a straight face: “Right, for our future Headmaster, we need to take care of ourselves.”
Li Qing pushed her fine long brows together, as if she didn’t approve of his answer. But without another word, she turned around and left.
……
“Brother, you are back?” ZiChuan Ning seemed especially happy today seeing his unexpected return. “You even brought me flower… Woah, brother. That is so nice of you! I almost thought you forgot about my eighteenth birthday!”
“Today is your birthday?!” ZiChuan Xiu was shocked: He only bought the flowers in preparations for what he was about to tell her. He did not expect to stumble onto her birthday… Seeing how overjoyed she was holding the flower he gave her, he couldn’t say a word of what he had planned: Should I really say those things to her right now?
Ka Dan came out of the room: “Let me see… Is it normal to give yellow daisies[[6]] to someone as birthday gift?”
“Ah, you are right! He is always a bit dim-witted that way!” Even though ZiChuan Ning complained, her face told a different story: As long as ZiChuan Xiu remembered her birthday, she would be just as happy even if he had given her nothing at all.
Luo Jie, Bai Chuan and Chang Chuan attended her birthday party as well. They kept saying: “We are here to cherish our friends.h.i.+p with Her Ladys.h.i.+p and congratulate her on her birthday!” But ZiChuan Xiu quickly saw through their disguise, they came here for the free and expensive gourmet. Bai Chuan brought her a cute makeup box, while Luo Jie and Chang Chuan, “two idiots who never had more than a nickel left in their pocket by the end of the month”, brought her a bag of sunflower seeds together.
Luckily, ZiChuan Ning was in a great mood, she gave her sincere thanks to anyone who brought her anything. ZiChuan Xiu knew however, that she was usually very picky; she rarely cared for stuff made of common quality.
The meal was quite extravagant; it was a great eye-opener for the couple commoners from the Far East. Ka Dan smiled: “This reminds me of the Royal dinner back at the Imperial Palace.”
During dinner, ZiChuan Ning raised her cup to ZiChuan Xiu, giving him her blessing: “I wish you ever victorious and a safe return.” Only now did ZiChuan Xiu realize, Li Qing had to have told her of his new a.s.signment already. He emptied his cup without another word, and everyone else quickly followed suit. Even Ka Dan and Bai Chuan who usually never drink had their cheeks flushed that night from the alcohol.
Everyone was having a good time. Luo Jie however, only sought out pretty girls to drink with. Sometimes he raised his cup in honor of Stirling fighting in the Far East, sometimes he did it hoping the peace would soon return to House ZiChuan, and every so often he gave his blessing to everyone who was about to depart for the frontline. He was being so overly courteous, even ZiChuan Xiu started to doubt whether he had any ulterior motives.
Was he trying to get the girls drunk, hoping to take advantage of them that way? Then again, it didn’t seem all that possible. Luo Jie was so simple-minded; he couldn’t possibly think that far ahead. It would have been a lot more suspicious if it was Chang Chuan.
The conversation kept going around the war in the Far East. Since ZiChuan Ning had a good friend like Li Qing working inside the High Command, she knew a lot about what was going on in the Far East.
Like how the High Command had plans to establish an unified command structure in the Far Eastern Theater, but they weren’t able to agree on the candidate who was supposed to be in charge.
Based on merits alone, both the High Command and the Headmaster supported Stirling, but Stirling had only been promoted to Commander recently. If they put him in charge, he probably would have a hard time controlling the old fox, Ming Hui who held the same rank. If they had to find someone else other than Stirling or Ming Hui, then the only suitable candidate would be the Supreme Commander – Luo Ming Hai.
When his name was mentioned, all the officers laughed. Luo Ming Hai was known for his lack of understanding for warfare.
Chang Chuan told the party a story of Luo Ming Hai: Once, he was put in charge of a battle. He could see House Liu Feng’s lancers coming his way. Yet, he just stood there, not saying a thing. When his men saw how calm and how fearless he was, they instantly felt empowered by him and were able to repel the enemy attack. After the battle, when everyone started cheering, Luo Ming Hai dragged an orderly to the side in secret and asked: “Did we win or lose?”
It was a terrible joke, but everyone laughed hysterically.
…