Chapter Fifteen: Peaceful

  Daxi Zhangru is a man of principle, and in his years in the Honghua Army, he was notorious for not giving face. So if he said that Li Xian couldn't eat unless he drew his sword 1,500 times, then even if Li Xian drew his sword 1,499 times and fainted from hunger, Daxi Zhangru still wouldn't give him a mouthful of porridge to drink.

  One of the Blood Riders, Chousuoge, was on duty tonight and had arranged for the patrol and sentry. With nothing to do, he sat down on a rock by the lake, took out his wine pouch from his waist and gulped a mouthful. Although it was already April, the night wind on the grasslands was still biting cold. The Blood Riders wrapped in felt blankets slept soundly on the gravel by the lake, not moving, as quiet as stones.

  They sleep on the stony lake shore instead of the soft grassland, simply because although the grassland is more comfortable, it's colder. Although they don't know what science is, they have incredibly rich experience.

  Those blood cavalrymen slept so quietly that it was astonishing, not a single one of them snored. There were no grinding teeth sounds, no smacking lips sounds, no talking in their sleep sounds, no sounds at all, just like... a field of sleeping dead men.

  They don't snore. This isn't because these Blood Knights have no respiratory problems, nor is it because they sleep very soundly. It's because those who can't control their snoring while asleep are already dead.

  Camping outdoors, a single snore could attract enemies.

  Survival of the fittest, just like in ancient times, the giraffes' necks were not actually long, they were about the same as horses', or even a bit shorter. But at that time, the vegetation on the ground couldn't fill their stomachs, so they had to stretch their necks to eat leaves from trees. Those with short necks definitely couldn't eat, so they all starved to death.

  War will not adapt to every individual, so every individual can only adapt to war. More than 2,000 cavalrymen were left with only over a hundred men, all of whom survived by drinking human blood and eating human flesh. In the following years, while wandering on the vast grasslands, there would always be people interested in their war horses and armor. Among the 104 Blood Cavalrymen who are still alive today, who does not have ten or even dozens of lives on their hands? And who has not fled in a hurry after being pursued?

  The refreshing wine went into the belly, but it couldn't dispel the severe cold.

  Chao Qiu Ge looked at the young man on horseback, who was still drawing and sheathing his sword like a ghost. His eyes were fixed on those hands and that sword, but there was no sympathy in his eyes. He stared because Da Xi Chang Ru had asked him to count how many times Li Xian drew his sword. Da Xi Chang Ru knew the prophecy of the true dragon's reincarnation, but the Blood Riders did not. They had no feelings for Li Xian; if anything, they were surprised by the young man's determination and felt a little admiration for him.

  Chao Xiang calculated the time and thought it should have passed the hour of Chou. He let out a sigh of relief, thinking that he wouldn't have to stay with that unlucky young man until dawn after all.

  Fifteen hundred.

  Chao Xiang Ge's mouth lightly spat out three words, then drank the wine in the wine bag dry, stood up and walked towards that young man, he wanted to pat that young man on the shoulder and say: "Well done, hope you can survive."

  What shocked Zhao Si was that as soon as he stood up, the young man could no longer hold on and fell off the black horse, heavily crashing onto the grass, scaring the black horse into jumping to the side. Not too early or too late, it happened exactly at the 1500th time, then he fell down and lay motionless like a dead pig on the ground.

  Chao Qiu Ge was stunned, and he suddenly thought of something, something very frightening.

  Was the young man still clear-headed in such a situation? Did he clearly remember how many times he had drawn his sword? Moreover, on one side of where the black horse stood was a protruding rock, and on the other side was flat grass. He hadn't fallen onto the rocky side; did that young man still have the composure to choose which direction he fell in before losing consciousness? Chou Xiang Song stood there dazed for over a minute before sighing and shaking his head as he walked towards the young man.

  He picked up the boy who was as soft as a puddle of mud and placed him by the lake, then wrapped his body in a woolen blanket. Perhaps due to curiosity about the boy, Zhao Xiu lost his sleepiness. He sat down next to Li Xian, wanting to drink but found that the wine bag was empty.

  "Thank you."

  The already confused young man suddenly opened his eyes with difficulty and sincerely said two words to Chao Su Ge.

  Chōkyō Kō said: "No need to thank me... You really remember how many times you've drawn your sword?"

  No answer.

  Chao Qiu Ge looked down and saw that the handsome young man had already fallen asleep. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed, a sign that he could still feel the intense pain in his body even in his dreams.

  "What a freak."

  Chao Qiu Ge let out a sigh of emotion and lay down next to Li Xian.

  When the sun had not yet risen, the Blood Cavalry were accustomed to waking up, rolling up their felt blankets and placing them on their warhorses, then starting to prepare breakfast. Da Xi Chang Ru walked over to Li Xian's side, squatted down beside him, put Li Xian's arm that was exposed outside the blanket back in, then helped him tuck in the corner of his quilt.

  "Wait until dinner time to wake him up, if he can't get up... just stab a knife on his butt."

  Daxi ordered a Blood Knight to go.

  The young man's breathing was calm, but his eyebrows were still deeply furrowed. Da Xi Chang Ru knew that Li Xian was suffering from what kind of pain, even if he was in a dream.

  "My butt has done nothing wrong to you, I hope you treat it well."

  Li Xian shrunk his body and didn't open his eyes.

  Daxi Changru smiled: "How was your sleep last night?"

  Li Xian sniffled, feeling like he might have caught a cold, his nose was a bit uncomfortable: "It's definitely very comfortable... if I can fall asleep."

  Li Xian really didn't fall asleep, although he fell off the horse's back, although he was so tired and exhausted that he had suicidal thoughts, although he missed the hard stone ground and didn't want to get up. But without a doubt, he didn't sleep all night. The biggest feeling Li Xian got from this night wasn't how cold the grassland wind was, or how bright the stars in the sky were, but rather that he discovered everything except his head didn't belong to him anymore. He couldn't even feel the existence of his hands and feet.

  After his tense nerves relaxed, Li Xian didn't even have the strength to move his little finger.

  "If you lend me a hand, I won't be stingy with saying thank you."

  Li Xian opened his eyes and looked at Da Xi Chang Ru saying.

  Daxi Zhangru stretched out his hand, but didn't wait for Li Xian's hand to come out from under the blanket. He lifted up the blanket and helped Li Xian sit up.

  "Can you still finish the 1,500 times for today?"

  Daxi Changru asked.

  Li Xian thought for a moment and said: "My respected master, if I succeed, will you consider giving me some reward?"

  "What do you want?"

  Da Xi Chang Ru didn't expect that this young man who still had half a life left would actually have the mood to set conditions.

  Li Xian let out a sigh and said, "If you take back the two characters you gave me, I will be eternally grateful. I know you don't understand why I'm so resistant to those two characters; you can think of it as if hearing them makes me constipated. Master, this request may be excessive, but it's what motivates me to keep drawing my sword. If you don't agree, I might consider throwing myself into the lake."

  "Can you bear to die?"

  Daxi Changru asked back.

  He stood up and said, "You've learned so many petty tricks and practiced such beautiful archery skills. I don't think you're someone who would sacrifice yourself for your ideals. I'll make a deal with you: if you can still draw your sword 1,500 times today, I'll come up with another character to replace this one."

  Li Xian shook his head firmly: "Can I think of one myself? You can say that's what you gave me."

  "What is it? Tell me and I'll listen."

  Daxi Changru asked Dao.

  Li Xian smiled, looking very handsome and gentle, with a hint of shyness. He thought back to the famous novel about reincarnation he had read in his past life, and the young man who shared the same name as him, Xian. That young man's fate seemed better than his own, at least he had a powerful blind master, a mother who left him a large inheritance, an emperor father who felt guilty towards him, and a group of eccentric guards. As for himself, he was surrounded by horse thieves, a big-bearded man named Zhang Zhongjian, and now a perverted master named Da Xi Chang Ru.

  "It will be alright."

  Li Xian smiled faintly: "I like these two words, I really like them."

  "If you can finish one thousand five hundred times today, I will promise you."

  Da Xi Chang Ru turned around and walked away. Li Xian tried to lift his right arm, and was delighted to find that his left arm lifted naturally. He smiled wryly and thought to himself, "Is this training also a case of 'assisting the growth of young seedlings'?" It wasn't that his nerves were confused, but because he used force, his right arm couldn't lift up after all, while his left arm lifted up under the influence of strength.

  Chao Qiu Ge smiled and said to Li Xian, "Don't frown, hold on, it won't take five days for you to get used to it, and in a year, your right hand will become strong."

  Li Xian still smiled bitterly: "Little Chao Ge, I'm not worried about my right hand, I'm worried about my left hand... Can't you find something for me to eat that doesn't require chopsticks?"

  Chao Xiang Ge discovered that this young man was indeed very cute, and under such circumstances, he still had the mind to make jokes.

  "I'll go help you roast a rabbit."

  Chao Xiang Ge stood up and walked towards the rekindled fire pit. Before going to sleep last night, all the fires had been extinguished and covered with stones to ensure that no sparks would fly out.

  Daxi Zhangru didn't stop Li Xian from swallowing a whole rabbit in one go, even though eating so much after not having anything for a day and night was bad for his body. Because Daxi Zhangru knew that today... maybe only this breakfast could be eaten. Daxi Zhangru's requirement was simple yet harsh: to draw the sword 1,500 times continuously, or else no food would be given. Not accumulating 1,500 times in a day, but rather non-stop continuous drawing of the sword. An eleven-year-old boy eating a whole roasted wild rabbit in one breath wasn't surprising, but an eleven-year-old boy on horseback drawing his sword while vomiting, vomiting to the point where he could recall the taste of what he ate last week, and yet still stubbornly continuing with soft hands and feet like noodles, that was somewhat astonishing.

  That deliciously roasted wild rabbit made a round trip in Li Xian's stomach and was spat out before it had time to digest. It went in through the mouth and came out through the mouth, making Li Xian seem like a single-celled organism, successfully putting the chrysanthemum gate out of work.

  Stubborn young man, with such perseverance, what can't you achieve?

  Daxi Zhangru looked at Li Xian's elongated shadow in the sunlight and suddenly felt a long-forgotten sense of grandeur.

  "These two characters 'Wukong' are really not good? I still think they're much stronger than 'Anzhi'."

  Daxi Zhangru tried to change Li Xian's mind.

  "If you mention these two words again, I'll return to the Mountain of Fruits and Flowers and never come back! Even if a demon eats you, I won't come back!"

  Li Xian gritted his teeth and said.

  P.S. I think Ming's text is more beautiful than Emperor's, so it takes a bit longer to write. There are no stored drafts, and I'll try to maintain three updates per day; if not, at least two updates will be guaranteed.