Chapter 24 How? Not how!

  When the sun climbed over the city wall of Fanggu, pouring sunlight into this small town, people who got up early and went out were shocked by what they saw in front of them. Before long, the news spread, all the people of Fanggu City, including the old, weak, women and children, rushed to the widest main street, sighing at what appeared in front of them.

  On the main street, over a hundred tables were lined up in a row, filled with wine bowls.

  No food, only wine.

  Apart from Li Xiangzhong, the border general of Fan Gu's army, more than 700 border soldiers are all here. At this time today, not a single soldier can be seen patrolling back and forth on the city wall of Fan Gu City. More than 3,000 wine bowls were densely arranged on the tables, each bowl filled with wine.

  Inside Fanggu Castle, four wine shops, six inns, and over a dozen large and small wine houses, bosses, clerks, cooks, apprentices, as well as all the miscellaneous workers and guards from Jin Yuanfang, were busy for an entire night, almost emptying their stored wine and transporting it to the main street. These more than 700 border soldiers had wanted to help, but these villagers insisted on not letting them, instead having them sit at the tables to rest.

  More than 2,000 people gathered on Zhong Street, looking at the long table in front of them, and suddenly they all felt a little uncomfortable.

  The border soldiers who had guarded Fanggu City for many years were the only ones qualified to sit at the table. Even Fang Jie, who arranged all this today, stood on one side, looking at the border soldiers with a guilty expression.

  "Really?! Are you really leaving?!"

  Someone couldn't help but ask.

  Fang Jie waved his hand and didn't answer.

  He picked up a bowl of wine, slowly knelt down and spilled it on the ground: "This bowl of wine is dedicated to the comrades who unfortunately died in battle that night. It's my way of apologizing for not being able to protect you!"

  Apart from border soldiers, few people understand this sentence.

  That night's events were hidden from the citizens of the city, but they couldn't be hidden from these elite soldiers of the Great Yu. They knew who Fang Jie's wine was for, so their faces all looked somewhat sorrowful. That night, at the west gate of the city, more than 20 border soldiers died in battle, killed by... Fang Jie.

  Logically, the border soldiers shouldn't forgive Fang Jie, but for some reason, the silent crowd suddenly had someone shout "One road leads to all good", and over 700 soldiers stood up in unison, each person raising their wine bowls and pouring them onto the ground, then shouting in unison "One road leads to all good".

  The oldest deputy commander in the army, Qu Fengxia, poured wine and muttered: "Don't blame Fang Jie."

  More than 700 people toasted together, wishing their deceased comrades a peaceful rest in heaven.

  Fang Jie poured out the wine, then solemnly kowtowed three times in the direction of the west gate. The soldiers standing on both sides of the long table also didn't know who shouted "Attention!" and over 700 soldiers uniformly placed their right fists horizontally in front of their chests, solemnly giving a grand military salute.

  Qu Feng slowly walked over, reached out and pulled up Fang Jie who was pressing his forehead against the cold bluestone road: "No one blames you, we soldiers may hate it the most when comrades kill each other, but that doesn't mean everyone can't tell right from wrong. Li Xiao Zong didn't come today, he said he's locking himself in the general's mansion, but we didn't go get him either. You see for yourself, even the brothers on duty at the general's mansion came, and they didn't treat you like an enemy!"

  "Whether you are in the Imperial City's Martial Arts Institute or elsewhere, the border soldiers of Fan Gucheng will forever be your brothers!"

  "Respectful brother!"

  Qu Feng raised his wine cup again and let out a loud shout towards the sky.

  More than 700 border soldiers also immediately raised their wine cups and toasted in unison: "Respect brothers!"

  Wanted to cry but held it back.

  He took the wine bowl handed over by Daquan and drank it all in one gulp.

  "I know you hate Li Xiangzong, and even we hate him, let alone you?"

  Qu Feng placed the wine bowl on the long table, and from his bosom he pulled out a stack of silver notes to hand over to Fang Jie: "This was given by Li Xiao Zong through the General's Manor guards for you. The General's Manor guards said they had no face to see you, so I'll give it to you. This is the interest you earned in Fan Gu City these few years, handed over to Li Xiao Zong, not all of it, roughly a third... You hate him, but this money was earned by you. In the Imperial Capital, every department needs to be bribed, and as an official, it's hard to speak out. Don't refuse, money is just money. If you feel that taking this money isn't pleasant, then we, these over 700 brothers, will each drip a drop of blood on the silver notes, washing away your grievances!"

  "I'll take it!"

  Fang Jie nodded vigorously and solemnly accepted the silver ticket.

  "Are you coming back, Fang Jie?"

  A little girl with a milky voice was held in her mother's arms, her pure eyes were reluctant to part. Although not as rich as the adults', but more pure.

  "Come back!"

  Fang Jie nodded and smiled.

  "I had planned to invite everyone for a drink before I left, and spend all the silver in my luggage. But none of the shopkeepers in town would accept my money, so this drink is not me treating you all, but rather you all treating me! I may not be a great hero who can move heaven and earth, but I am still a man! This wine is a farewell wine, but it's not a heartless wine! If you think I'm worthy of being friends with you, then let's finish this cup together today!"

  Everyone had a bowl of wine in their hands, even the children were stuffed with one.

  The little girl who had asked Fang Jie if he would come back earlier looked at the wine bowl in her hand and said timidly, "Mother, the wine is spicy, I don't want to drink it."

  Her mother rubbed her sore nose and said, "Good baby, just drink a small mouthful. After drinking this bowl of wine, you must remember Fang Jie. He is the relative of all of us in Fan Gucheng, he is family."

  The little girl seemed to understand and nodded her head.

  Not far away, a rough man dipped his finger in some wine and sent it into the mouth of the infant in his wife's arms. The infant sucked it in subconsciously, but the wine was too spicy, and the infant immediately scrunched up its face, stretched out its small arm from the swaddle and waved it a few times, and let out a loud wail.

  The baby's cry also brought tears to many people's eyes.

  "May we meet again someday!"

  Fang Jie finished drinking and finally shed tears. The big dog on the side let out a sigh, even a woman like Mu Xiaoyao's nose turned sour.

  ……

  ……

  On this day, Fan Gu Cheng had no wine.

  Or perhaps they didn't want to see such a scene, so the people who were summoned by the red sleeve had already left the city. On the widest street in the city, it's unknown how many people had fallen drunk. The young girls with tender years, after drinking wine, had faces as red as peach blossoms blooming in the spring breeze, but their eyes were red and swollen from crying.

  For them, Fang Jie is not just a name. Even many years later when she's married and recalling the past, she'll still blush with a smile, unable to forget that young man she couldn't stop thinking about in her youth. Perhaps Fan Gu Cheng was too small, so Fang Jie changed it. The imperial capital is so big, perhaps what changed was himself.

  More than 700 border soldiers drank and returned to their posts under the leadership of the school lieutenants. The upper city, the outer city patrol also led the war horses out of the city, Qu Feng was the last one to leave, patted Fang Jie's shoulder and said with a slight drunkenness: "Whether or not you pass the test to enter the Martial Arts Academy, come back and take a look. If you don't pass the best, come back and drink together and kill the enemy together. Others may not know, but I'm very clear in my heart... Every time you kill the enemy, you hide, but those horse thieves who pose the greatest threat are all shot dead by your secret arrow. The most righteous thing Li Xiaozong did was not to obscure your military merit."

  "You're a qualified scout, within a radius of several hundred miles, any horse thief from the Wolf's Milk Mountain side, wasn't it all found by you? For three years, the people in Fangu City have become rich and peaceful to the point of being enviable... Fangu City has been around for decades, but its surroundings have never been so clean."

  "Brother Qu..."

  He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

  Qu Feng smiled and said, "However, I still hope you can get into the Martial Academy. Even if you don't do well, you'll at least become a school lieutenant. I know your skills, what's there to be afraid of? There are many generals in the military who rely solely on physical strength to contend with high-level cultivators. Don't forget about Luo Yao, who guards our Great Sui's southern border. His external skills are said to be comparable to those of a 9th-grade cultivator, and he still dominates the world! It would be best if you could become a general, then we can all call you General Fan!"

  "Hmm!"

  Fang Jie nodded vigorously.

  "I'm off, I have to lead the troops on patrol around Langshan today, can't see you off, don't be offended... Have a smooth journey!"

  After saying this sentence, Qu Feng turned around and left.

  After the soldiers left, the villagers surrounded him again. Seven mouths and eight tongues spoke to Fang Jie, but in the chaos, he couldn't hear what they were saying at all. Someone said that Fang Jie should treat Pan Gu as his mother's family, and after being scolded for a sentence, he realized that Fang Jie was not a woman.

  It's inexplicable why everyone has a reluctance in their heart, like parents giving away their daughter in marriage.

  "Master Zhang, don't worry about Jin Yuan Fang, I will take good care of it. If you don't come back, I will send someone to deliver the annual accounts to you for review."

  The second boss of Jin Yuan Fang, Chu Huaili, rubbed his eyes and said.

  "Ah, the Grassland Barbarian's money is easy to make, and the Golden Yuan Building cannot be overturned. Although the Red Sleeve Building is gone, the Guest Victory Building and the Golden Yuan Building are still the cash cows of Fan Gu City. As long as these two buildings exist, our fellow villagers will not live in poverty like before."

  Fang Jie replied in a low voice, "Li Xiaozong wants to get rid of the evidence of his corruption, he will definitely burn all the old accounts. You keep a copy and hide it well. Also, he will definitely cut ties with all the businesses in town, this is an opportunity... Without him, let the profitable businesses become our own, even without the red sleeve's share, we'll still make more than before."

  "I remember Da Zhanggui!"

  Chu Huairi nodded vigorously.

  He was originally a frustrated scholar in Fanggu City, but his life changed because of Fang Jie. If it weren't for Fang Jie, this poor and despicable man would have ended up wandering the world.

  "Save some money for yourself."

  Fang Jie laughed and said, "You're too honest, you haven't saved up enough money to marry a beautiful wife yet. But after I leave, I reckon the girls in Fan Gu City will have their eyes on you."

  Chu Huai-li's honest and simple face turned red, and he was at a loss for words.

  ……

  ……

  "Let's go! Let's all head back, it's not like we're parting ways forever. If one day I become as wealthy as Wu Yidao and rule the world, I'll bring you all to live in the imperial capital of Chang'an! Of course, don't hold your breath."

  He waved his hand on the platform as the horse carriage drove away and said loudly: "The green hills will remain unchanged, the flowing water will last forever... we'll meet again someday!"

  Hei's aunt shouted in the crowd with her feet: "Although the girls in Beijing are beautiful, it is still the most reliable to find a daughter-in-law from Fan Gou!"

  "Auntie He... turn around and let Chu Huai Li give you some silver from the account, to set up a specialized marriage introduction agency. I've already thought of the name, it's going to be called 'Century Lily'!"

  "Understood! Remember me, I'll be waiting for you to come back and marry me!"

  "Give up! I won't be back for ten years, are you not going to get married in ten years?! When people get old and their beauty fades away, no one will want them. Take advantage of your youth and choose carefully!"

  "Be careful, the capital is too big, don't lose yourself!"

  "Don't worry, if I lose myself, I'll go report to the authorities!"

  "Square root, they say your little brother has grown up so quickly, before you leave, tell me how did he do that!"

  "Brother, you've been exposed!"

  General's Mansion

  Li Xiaozong poured a cup of old wine and drank it all in one gulp, listening to the loud shouts outside, he sneered at himself: "The encounters in life are so wonderful, I didn't expect that as a general, I am far inferior to this merchant. I don't know how many people saw me off when I left Fan Fortress, and how many scolded me... Fang Jie... More than 700 border troops went to see you off, do you want to tell me... you are better than me?"

  East Gate of Dongmen Street

  Under an oil-paper umbrella, a woman wearing a snow-white ermine long gown looked at the scene in the city and smiled slightly. She turned around and said lightly, "Let's go." It was unclear whether it was the oil-paper umbrella with peony patterns that set off her beauty like a celestial being, or whether her face made the oil-paper umbrella also gain charm.

  Three maidservants of sixteen or seventeen years old followed her out of the city, and not far from the city gate, a team of red-sleeved carriages stood quietly by the roadside.

  "How?"

  A loud voice of a big wife came from a horse-drawn carriage.

  "It doesn't matter, just ordinary people."

  The beautiful woman replied and then boarded the horse carriage.

  "When he loses this plebeian air about him...he will surely make a great achievement."

  "If he didn't have this plebeian air about him, it would be even more unbearable."