Chapter Sixteen: Enduring what can be endured, but not enduring what cannot be endured

  "My god!"

  Fang Jie scolded fiercely, then pulled out the large horizontal knife from behind his back. This was the only thing with nostalgic significance that he had prepared to take away from Fan Gu. The uniform of the Da Wei border army was left in the backyard of Jin Yuan Fang, and only this horizontal knife was taken away.

  He had three thousand nine hundred and twenty-seven taels of silver on him, of which three thousand eight hundred were in silver notes and one hundred and twenty-seven taels of silver. By rights, this silver should also be a memento of Fan Gucity, and when he saw it in Chang'an City, he would think of Fan Gu. But without a doubt, the silver was meant to be spent. Fang Xiang's temperament would never allow him to spare it just because it was earned in Fan Gu, and he wouldn't hesitate to spend it in Chang'an City.

  Money is only useful for buying what you want to buy, it has no other use in itself.

  At least it's not for reminiscing.

  This horizontal knife is different, with Fang Jie's name and the name of his team engraved on it. The six words "Fang Bian Jia Zi Dui" are all that remain as memories. If nothing unexpected happens, this horizontal knife will be hung in Fang Jie's new study in Chang'an, and every time he sees it, it will remind him of the familiar faces in Fan'er City and the memorable past events.

  This horizontal knife is his unbreakable connection with Fan Guccheng.

  And now he has drawn his sword, ready to cut off this connection.

  Because of this horn sound.

  As expected, after the horn sounded, it would take less than ten minutes for the well-trained Bian border army to arrive. Su Xiaoyao and Shang Guoheng could ignore those six flying fish robes, but they couldn't stop eight hundred Bian soldiers. Su Xiaoyao only had strength at the fifth rank, while Shang Guoheng was below the fifth rank. Even if both of them were eighth-rank masters, they still wouldn't be able to stop eight hundred Bian soldiers. The eight hundred Bian soldiers' combat power was far from being just a simple matter of eight hundred people.

  Because Bianjun is good at fighting and well-equipped.

  The border army has a continuous crossbow, a hard bow, and even the big Suibing Army's newly developed explosive cannon last year. The explosive cannon is just a bomb, although its power is much smaller than the bomb in Fang Xian's memory. However, it cannot be denied that an eighth-grade master may not be able to dodge hundreds of incoming explosive cannons. Even if they don't kill him, can't they hurt him? The arrows are dense and the explosive cannon is sharp, and it's not a fantasy for 800 border soldiers to trap an eighth-grade master.

  In the face of strong military power, no matter how strong an individual's strength is, it may be difficult to play a decisive role.

  So Fang drew his sword, because he knew he had only ten minutes left.

  The ones guarding the city gate were comrades of the Bingzi team. The people on the city wall would need about five minutes to run down, and the twenty border soldiers at the gate were the connections that Fang Jie had to cut off.

  "Go help Mu Xiao Yao!"

  He let out a low, hoarse cry and then suddenly charged forward. Perhaps his heart was filled with sorrow at the moment he drew his sword, because those border soldiers were all his friends. But he wouldn't have hesitated for a moment, because tonight these friends might very well take his life.

  The Great Sui Army's laws are as firm as a mountain, and the border army cannot defy military orders.

  Fang Jie would never be willing to give up his own life, even if it meant killing someone.

  The big dog didn't hesitate, and with a loud bark, it charged forward, not to help Muxiaoyao, but towards the border soldiers guarding the gate. Fang Jie's body paused for a moment, but soon accelerated to catch up. He knew that Daquan's choice was the most correct one, and his decision also carried some ridiculous chivalry.

  If he rushes up, he will hurt people without killing them.

  The big dog rushed up and could kill people but did not hurt them.

  Fang Jie sneered inwardly, ridiculing his own naivety. Da Xun could kill those twenty border soldiers, who were skilled but lacked cultivation, in no time, at least faster than him. By the time Da Xun finished off the twenty border soldiers, he estimated that Mu Xiao Yao would have also taken care of the remaining five Fei Yu Pao.

  This is the calmest choice.

  The hand grasping the knife trembled slightly.

  Calm down, he told himself to calm down. Just as he took a deep breath, a large horizontal knife came slashing towards him. The one who made the move was precisely the team leader who had blown the horn: "Fang Jie! No matter what you've done, don't do it this way. As long as you stay behind, I'll plead for you in front of the general."

  The team leader chopped four times and said one sentence.

  The fifth knife he couldn't chop out, because Fang Jie's horizontal knife cut off his right arm holding the knife. This was Fang Jie's first time hurting someone, but he seemed to have no hesitation at all. Such a hurtful or murderous knife technique, Fang Jie would practice very hard every day. Every time he made a move with his knife during practice, it seemed like he could see the shadow of his enemy in his eyes.

  Da Wei's horizontal knife was very sharp, and cutting off an arm was as easy as cutting open a piece of tofu.

  The team was stunned for a moment before letting out a mournful howl.

  The big dog turned his head and glanced at him, a hint of appreciation flashing in his eyes. As he turned around, a horizontal knife slashed towards his skull. His eyes were still looking at Fang Jie, but his hand grasped the blade just in time. He was wearing a pair of steel-studded gloves on his hands, and the horizontal knife couldn't cut in.

  The next second, the big dog's other hand had already scooped out the heart of the soldier on that side. Like a wolf's claw, his right hand fiercely stabbed into the soldier's chest, and when he pulled it out, his hand held half a bloody heart. He withdrew his gaze, took a step forward with one foot, and charged towards another soldier.

  Three minutes.

  Twenty border soldiers guarding the gate died seventeen and injured three. Seventeen were killed by Daquan, and three were wounded by Fang Jie. At the same time, Mu Xiaoyao killed the third Feiyu Pao, with three more surrounding her. However, it was clear that those three Feiyu Pao had lost their will to fight.

  "I wonder... will they go easy on you?"

  Big dog asks.

  Fang Jie looked at the three border soldiers wailing on the ground and was speechless.

  The big dog didn't say anything else and quickly rushed towards the direction of Mu Xiao's waist: "You go open the city gate, get out first, you can't shake off the two of us!"

  Fang Jie nodded and then saw the border soldiers on the city wall rushing down to the city. He rushed towards the city gate, only to find two more people suddenly appearing in front of it.

  "Interesting, I didn't expect that little Fan would actually be hiding dragons and tigers, two fifth-grade officials... this is one..."

  Mo Da shook his head and curled up his lip in disdain: "No taste?"

  "You have no taste!"

  Fang Jie leapt high into the air, his sword slashing towards Mù Dà's head. This was the fastest and most ruthless slash he had managed to produce after years of arduous practice.

  ……

  ……

  The wind didn't stop until nightfall, but the snow stopped in the afternoon. After that mournful howl from the wooden house on the edge of the military school grounds, even the dark clouds seemed to be startled and turned to flee. Qiu Xiaoshu was dead; from the moment Wu Peisheng chose him as his first interrogation target, he was doomed.

  The people behind him may still have a way out, but since he is the first one, whether he signs or not, he will die. The difference lies in that if he signs, he will wait for a while before dying. If he doesn't sign, he dies immediately.

  As the mournful cry spread out, General Li Xiang of the border army silently turned around and walked towards the outside of the camp. He trudged through the snow, making crunching sounds with each step. He knew that by doing so, he would lose the support of the 800 border soldiers under Fan Gong. This support was something he had earned over three years, not easily obtained. But from today on, the soldiers would all come to resent him, and this resentment would come very easily.

  He didn't regret making such a decision at all, because he knew his future couldn't be ruined in this remote and cold place.

  Life is like a play, everyone is acting.

  A great martial artist from a prestigious school and with excellent grades, and also born into a noble family, how could he possibly set his sights on this small border town?

  "Three years... is enough."

  He muttered to himself and walked out of the camp without looking back. These three years in Biancheng were his capital for promotion. With these three years, the Ministry of War promoted him, and those who opposed him in the imperial court could not find an excuse. As long as he returned to the Imperial Capital, with his ability, he would be promoted to at least a fourth-rank Langjiang, not a fourth-rank Guwei, but a regular fourth-rank Yingyang.

  He rose to the rank of Eagle Soaring General and was able to establish his own fiefdom and build a government office.

  Someone who became a fourth-rank hawk-yang lang general at such a young age, any aristocratic family in the imperial court would be willing to win him over. His future prospects are boundless, as long as he doesn't make any major mistakes, perhaps it's really possible that after the age of thirty, he might become a first-rank governor-general, a second-rank territorial official, bringing glory to his family.

  This is why General Li Yuanshan of the Right Vanguard Wei helped him, as for being of the same clan and family, to hell with that.

  Li Yuanshan was willing to spend a lot of money to win Li Xiaozong over precisely because he saw that Li Xiaozong had a bright future ahead of him. After all, they were both members of the Li family, and at the very least, they couldn't let Li Xiaozong stand on someone else's side. The waters in the imperial court were originally deep and unfathomable; if even this small trick couldn't be seen through, then there was no need for Li Xiaozong to return to the capital.

  Even without Wu Peisheng, without Li Yuanshan, and without the imperial court's law enforcement envoy, nothing would have happened... Perhaps before he returned to the capital, he would have killed Fang Jie because he wouldn't allow a single stain on his personal history. Since someone from the capital has come, why doesn't he just go along with it?

  Returning to the imperial capital requires socializing. Socializing requires money.

  He didn't give up on attacking Nirvana City because of Fang Jie's persuasion, but because he discovered that it was indeed a way to make money, and he needed it. Attacking Nirvana City was to make Your Majesty remember him. It is a well-known fact that Your Majesty likes young and hot-blooded generals, even if attacking Nirvana City causes some trouble, due to the pride of the Great Sui Emperor, he will not succumb to the pressure of the Mongolian Empire.

  But this was an adventure, and Fang Jie's proposal for making money made him even more satisfied.

  With enough money, after returning to the imperial capital, giving gifts to several powerful officials is more effective than taking down Nirvana City. A single compliment from the prime minister is worth more than the merit of killing tens of thousands of enemies.

  He thought Fang Jie was a gift from heaven, but now this gift... is worthless.

  When he walked out of the camp, he couldn't help but think of the first time he met Fang Jie. That dirty young man blocked his war horse and said with a straight face: "General, do you want to get rich?"

  What made him decide to talk to this young man was not the sentence "Do you want to get rich?", but the three words before that, which made him feel very happy.

  Generalissimo.

  Only a fool would call this little fifth-grade captain a great general. Of course, it was a comfortable fool. It wasn't until later that he discovered Fang Jie wasn't a fool.

  These three years in Fanggu have been very wonderful.

  This is Li Xiangzong's definition of his three years in Fan Gu.

  He walked along the widest street in Fanggu City for 15 minutes and arrived at a store that had already closed. He knocked on the door with his hand, speaking in a very polite tone.

  "Excuse me, is business still open today?"

  The door opened, and in front of Li Xiangzong appeared a young woman with a delicate face and a good figure. She was wearing a simple blue cotton dress with white flowers, and an apron around her waist. Her hands and face were covered with flour, apparently she was cooking.

  "It's General Li, I'm really sorry, when the master of the house went out for a long time, he didn't do business before he came back."

  "Can I talk to you for a bit? There's something very important that I think you should hear."

  Li Xiaozong smiled and said.

  The young woman was taken aback for a moment, then nodded her head.

  She opened the door but didn't close it. Li Xiangzong came in and sat down by the stove, sniffed and couldn't help but praise: "The most fragrant wine in Fan Gu Cheng is in your house. I still remember that the name isn't ordinary... called Pear Blossom Wine?"

  The young woman took out a jug of pear blossom wine from the counter and placed it in front of Li Xiang: "You came just in time, there's only one more left. If you had come later, I would have drunk it myself tonight. But since this is the last one, I'll sell it to you at a higher price."

  Li Xiangzong hummed, but didn't drink: "Although I don't know where you husband and wife are from, why you came, and I don't want to disturb you, today I came because I couldn't help it. You can deceive everyone in Fan Gu Cheng, but you can't deceive me... However, as long as you don't make a move tonight, I'll just sit for a while and then leave, let's pretend I never came. Visiting a superior person, yet being so abrupt, my heart is inevitably fearful..."

  "It's we who should be worried when General Li comes in person."

  The young woman smiled and picked up the wine jug, drinking it all in one gulp: "My husband and I don't like to get involved in other people's business, and since the master is not at home, as a woman, I can naturally avoid trouble and won't go out of my way to provoke gossip. If we weren't afraid of trouble, do you think we would run to this remote place to do small business?"

  "Minding one's own business is true enlightenment."

  Li Xiaozong smiled and his face relaxed.

  "It's just...the person you want to kill still owes me something. If you don't mind, you can pay it back for him. Otherwise, who am I supposed to go after once he's dead?"

  "How much?"

  Li Xiaozong did not expect that a reclusive master would be so worldly.

  A strip

  The young woman replied.

  "What's up?"

  Li Xiao Zong was puzzled.

  A life

  The young woman took off the apron from her waist, carefully folded it and put it on the table: "I wasted half a bottle of ten-year-old pear blossom wine on him, just to get back his cheap life. You say go and he's gone? What an easy thing?! I can tolerate anything in this life, but two things I cannot tolerate, first, being cuckolded by that scoundrel Su Tou, and second, losing money in business!"