Chapter 4: Ling Shan Guard

  "Crack!" A long whip lashed across Pang Gang's body, a scorching sensation spreading from his back to his brain.

  "Quick march!" A soldier with a scar on his face, holding a long whip, walked behind Pang Gang, occasionally giving him a lash. Every time he saw Pang Gang's body involuntarily twitching when he was whipped, he burst out laughing loudly from behind.

  Pang Gang's originally blue-gray uniform had now seeped out with streaks of blood, Pang Gang did not resist or protest, he just gritted his teeth and followed the carriage slowly forward, only his eyes inadvertently swept over the officer riding a horse in front, a hint of fierce color flashed in his eyes, he had already firmly remembered the appearance of that officer in his mind.

  The cavalry followed the winding small road all the way to dusk, and a dilapidated castle appeared in front of everyone. The soldiers couldn't help but cheer up, and without being urged by their officers, they hastened their pace towards the castle.

  Pang Gang, who had been following the horse carriage all along, finally couldn't help but turn pale when he saw the carriage. The confusion in his heart finally became clear: he had indeed traveled through time and space, although he didn't know what era or dynasty this was, but one thing was certain - he was no longer in his original time period, as the China of the 21st century would never have preserved such an ancient castle.

  When Pang Gang approached the castle gate with the team, he finally saw the appearance of this castle. The outer wall of the castle was built with green bricks, and it was estimated that some places had fallen off due to years of disrepair, revealing the yellow soil inside. Moreover, here Pang Gang also saw another scene that made him unbelievable, he saw a tattered large flag hanging on the castle tower, and the large flag wrote a big "Ming" word.

  "Is it the Ming dynasty? Could this be the Ming dynasty?" Looking at the flag that was fluttering in the gentle breeze, its color already indistinguishable, Pang Gang's heart was filled with wave after wave of shock and astonishment, but he became even more bewildered.

  "What is this place?" As the convoy entered the castle, what he saw inside the castle made Pang Gang even more shocked. As the convoy moved forward, there were more and more people in tattered clothes on the streets and roadsides. There were also many old men and women with gaunt faces, wearing ragged clothes, all of whom looked listless.

  "Is this what life was like in ancient times?" Seeing this, Pang Gang's heart surged with a wave of sadness. Nima, is this really the living condition of people in this era? Even African refugee camps are better than this!

  Unconsciously, the grain team arrived in front of a large building. It was big because from the gate, it was much larger than most of the thatched houses they had seen along the way. In front of the vermilion-painted gate stood a group of soldiers. At the forefront was a middle-aged military officer in his 40s, wearing a cyan official uniform with an embroidered flying bear on his chest. As the grain team entered, Pang Gang still clearly saw that this officer's most impressive feature was his bright red nose.

  "Is this officer a fifth-grade military officer in the Qing Dynasty?" Pang Gang thought to himself, secretly staring at the front.

  The officer leading the troops reined in his horse and immediately jumped off, striding quickly towards the officer standing at the gate.

  "Big brother, I'm back!"

  "Haha, Zhao Xian-di, I've been waiting for you to come back here for a long time! This errand was quite smooth, wasn't it?" The middle-aged officer laughed and walked down the steps, giving the dismounted officer a bear hug.

  "It was quite smooth, the big brother. The military officer did not make things difficult for me, and he paid the grain allowance very readily." The newly dismounted officer also smiled and said: "However, this is all thanks to the big brother's reputation."

  "Hmm... it's nothing much, just Lord Shu giving me a bit of face."

  The middle-aged officer, with a slightly embarrassed but pretentious expression, waved his hand. He was about to pull the officer next to him away when he inadvertently saw Pang Gang tied up behind the carriage. His eyebrows furrowed as he pointed at Pang Gang and asked, "Younger brother, what's going on here?"

  "Oh! Big brother, this is a thief I met halfway and was thinking of dealing with later. Didn't expect to disturb big brother instead. Come on, take this thief away!"

  Before the officer could finish, Pang Gang suddenly rushed out from behind and shouted loudly: "Sir, it's a miscarriage of justice! I'm not a bandit, but a merchant who came to do business. I didn't expect to encounter evil people, all my goods were robbed, and my followers were killed. On the way, I met this official, but unexpectedly, he took me for a bandit and had me arrested. Please, sir, do justice for me!"

  Pang Gang knew that if he was caught by the officer who had just grabbed him, he would probably be in for a bad time. Now seeing this seemingly more senior officer, how could he not struggle to get away?

  "You're talking nonsense! You claim to be a merchant, why are you still hiding a sharp blade?! I think you're tired of living!" The young military officer saw Pang Gang rush out and flashed a hint of anger, then drew the weapon from his body and pointed it at Pang Gang, ready to strike.

  "Halt!" A loud shout came from the middle-aged military officer beside him, who slowly walked up to Pang Gang and asked: "This official is He Zhengnan, the thousand-household of Ling Mountain Camp in Qingzhou Prefecture of the Great Ming Dynasty. This is Zhao Daxian, the deputy thousand-household of the camp. You said you are a merchant, so this official asks you, what route did you take? Also, this official sees that your headdress and clothing are strange, where are you from?"

  "Ah!" Pong Gang's sweat immediately came down as soon as he heard it. In college, Pong Gang had studied hard for a period of time on the history course in order to pursue a senior sister from the History Department. He knew that what was called "road guide" was a kind of official document similar to an introduction letter or a pass issued by the local government office when people left their hometown more than 100 miles away. This was called "road guide". If there was no "road guide" or if it did not match, one would be punished according to the law.

  Now Pang Gang's body can't even find the road signs, let alone the ID card he originally carried, which was washed away by the river water and didn't know where it went.

  Helpless, Pang Gang could only pretend to be bitter and fabricate: "I am a native of Yuezhou Prefecture, surname Pang, name Gang. I came here to do business, but encountered scoundrels who robbed me of all my valuables, leaving me with nothing but an ancestral treasure knife and a book on my person. What road map could I possibly have?"

  "Hmm, treasure sword!" As soon as he heard these words, He Zhengnan suddenly became interested and hastily asked: "Where is the treasure sword?"

  "Just now it was taken away by that big man." Pang Gang pretended to be helpless and pointed at Deputy Zhao Da Xian.

  Zhao Daxian stood by helplessly, although he was furious and wanted to chop the kid in two, but under the watchful eyes of everyone, he could only take out the Damascus-Giraffe curved knife from his waist, which he had searched from Pang Gang's body, and handed it over to He Zhengnan with a reluctant expression.

  He Zhengnan's eyes lit up after drawing the curved knife, and he grasped this curved knife emitting a cold glow. He plucked out a strand of hair and placed it in front of the blade, blowing gently, and the hair immediately broke into two segments.

  "What a great sword!" Seeing this scene, the soldiers couldn't help but burst out in unison with a shout of admiration. He Zhengnan's joyful expression was impossible to conceal, and his small eyes narrowed into a slit.

  "This sword has been passed down from my ancestors, and since you like it, I am willing to present it to you." Pang Gang saw the joyful expression in the eyes of the qianhu in front of him, and naturally knew what he had to do if he wanted to keep his life.

  "Oh, really?" After hearing Pang Gang's words, He Zhengnan looked at this clever "businessman" with some unexpected surprise, and a hint of "you're sensible" expression appeared on his fleshy face.

  "Since you have this heart, the official will take it down. However, since you don't have a way out, the official can't let you go. Considering that you contributed by presenting the precious sword, the official will spare your life. The official now assigns you as a military household, are you willing?"

  "Ah........." Pang Gang was stunned as soon as he heard that he had been made a military household.