He needed to practice his accuracy.
His years of martial arts training had given him a steady hand.
But after shooting a few arrows, his hit rate was terrible. He even missed the target completely twice.
So that ti in the Panlong Desert when he successfully saved his father with a Flying Blade was really just dog-shit luck.
’No, Hee Chunhua was the lucky one. He didn’t get his head taken off by his son’s blade first.’
Hee Lingchuan wasn’t discouraged. He recalled how Hu Min shot arrows as if they were an extension of his own arm, a skill that certainly wasn’t mastered overnight.
After drawing the bow fifty tis, Hee Lingchuan set down the Strong Bow. He first relaxed his sore shoulders and arms, then regulated his True Qi before beginning his blade practice.
This was what he had been wanting to do ever since he woke up.
He closed his eyes, slowly recalling the desperate struggles of the past night.
Every parry, every dodge, every injury, every devastating blow, and—
Every kill!
In the dream, he had killed six enemies and wounded or assisted in taking down nineteen others.
Now, these scenes replayed in his mind—pausing, zooming in—allowing him to calmly take stock of every success and examine every mistake.
He even rembered Commander Xiao’s blade—it was clean, sharp, viciously decisive, without a single wasted motion.
And then there was ng Shan, whose ferocity and domineering aura made him face a mountain of blades and a sea of fire without flinching, a cutting edge that even Commander Xiao dared not confront directly.
It was as if Hee Lingchuan had returned to yesterday’s battlefield.
By the ti he ca to his senses, he had finished a full set of blade forms. His blade intent felt complete and harmonious, and many previously obscure points suddenly beca clear.
Just then, a sweet osmanthus blossom drifted down. Hee Lingchuan slashed out, the edge of his blade stopping about an inch from the petal.
The blossom seed to pause montarily in mid-air before continuing its descent along its original path.
Completely unhard.
The servant standing in the corner of the courtyard couldn’t bear to watch, but Hee Lingchuan, on the contrary, seed quite pleased, even revealing a slight smile.
Swinging a blade creates a slipstream. The faster the blade, the stronger the slipstream.
The blossom was less than an inch from the blade’s edge, yet it was undisturbed by the slipstream. This was a mark of his progress.
Hee Lingchuan had actually developed a hint of blade qi, but controlling it at will was far more difficult than it sounded. To go from projecting it outward to containing it within, he still had a long way to go.
’Still, when did my mory get this good? To be able to rember every detail from last night, replaying and savoring it fra by fra?’
Thinking back, it seed to have been like this in both Dream Realms.
’This must be the Broken Blade’s doing again, right?’
He then went back to drawing the bow, then practiced his blade again, repeating the cycle three tis over.
As the sun slowly dipped toward the west, a servant had to remind him, "Eldest Young Master, don’t forget Madam’s instructions."
What had Madam Ying instructed? Hee Lingchuan thought for a good while before rembering that she wanted him to go around the upper-crust circles of Black Water City and distribute invitations, asking them to attend the Hee Family’s "tail-burning banquet" tomorrow evening.
When an official is promoted, colleagues, relatives, and friends co to offer congratulations, and the host family prepares a lavish feast with song and dance in return. This is called a "tail-burning banquet." Hee Chunhua had perford a great service and been promoted several ranks this ti, so of course, the banquet had to be a spectacular affair.
He finished his practice, took a bath, and got to work.
By the ti Hee Lingchuan finished delivering the invitations and returned ho, the bright moon had already risen.
Hee Lingchuan glanced at the Broken Blade on the wall. As he lay down to sleep, he felt a small thrill of excitent, hoping he could return to Panlong in his dreams tonight.
He was desperate to know the outco of the battle by the riverbed.
Unfortunately, the night passed without a dream.
...
「Three days passed in the blink of an eye.」
With Hee Prefect’s promotion, Black Water City was as lively as if it were a festival. Even the Hee Family’s servants enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention when they went out.
The Hee Family’s residence was as crowded as a marketplace. The stream of well-wishers and gift-bearers was so great it nearly wore down the threshold.
Most of them were received by Hee Yue, as Hee Chunhua was busy finalizing the roster for his Personal Guard Team.
The Black Water City Army currently numbered over thirteen hundred n. He couldn’t possibly take them all, so after a ticulous selection process, he chose three hundred.
These three hundred Elites would be the foundation of his flourishing developnt in Xiazhou. In this respect, loyalty was more important than Combat Power.
Among them were three commanders, including Zeng Feixiong.
Hee Lingchuan was surprised that this "great filial son" was actually willing to head north with them. Upon asking, he learned that Zeng Feixiong’s father had passed away suddenly five days ago. Before he died, he had regained his senses, and father and son finally had a good talk.
Zeng Feixiong had fulfilled his wish and seen his father off. With no more attachnts, he no longer felt any lingering affection for Black Water City.
In fact, one of Hee Chunhua’s criteria for selecting his Personal Guards was that they be young, strong bachelors, preferably unburdened by family. Otherwise, on a thousand-mile military campaign, if the Guards had to bring their dependents, the marching speed would inevitably suffer.
In addition, Hee Chunhua also brought along several advisors.
Madam Ying, anwhile, was busy settling wages and dismissing the household servants. Aside from the old Chief Steward, the Hee Family was only taking two Attendants on the road this ti, one male and one female, both loyal servants who had been with them for seven or eight years.
They would travel light on the road and simply hire new staff once they reached the new location.
Uncle Hao was also willing to go to Xiazhou, but he was assigned by Hee Chunhua to remain in Black Water City temporarily to help manage the Hee Family’s properties. He would head north in about three to five months.
Hee Lingchuan also saw Situ Han. The Sand Bandits weren’t going.
"We can’t. Our families are here, and they’re all counting on us." By now, Situ Han and the other Sand Bandits had been incorporated into the City Army. Being on the official payroll ant they had a steady governnt stipend. Everyone had grown comfortable and was unwilling to travel a thousand miles to face the unknowns of Xiazhou.
"Who doesn’t know there’s a war to be fought there? If you can live a peaceful life, who wants to go to the front lines?" Situ Han pushed Fuzzy Peach forward. "Only this kid insists on following you." No amount of persuasion would change his mind. That’s what you call reckless.
Hee Lingchuan asked in surprise, "Isn’t your woman in Black Water City?"
"We broke up yesterday. She even slapped twice." Fuzzy Peach grinned, not seeming to care at all. "I hear the girls in Xiazhou have bigger, brighter eyes, not like the rough-and-tumble won we get around here. They have a thousand miles of fertile fields over there, so why should I stick to this one ager plot of land?"
Factoring in the essential family mbers and logistics personnel, Hee Chunhua’s final entourage numbered over four hundred and thirty people.
Hee Lingchuan didn’t expect the first person he’d see upon stepping out the door would be Liu Baobao. The guy hurried over, holding a box. "Eldest Young Master, this is the stuff you asked to get a few days ago. Consider it a farewell gift."
Curious, Hee Lingchuan took the box and opened it. Inside were several vials of a fine, white dicinal Powder.
The vials were absurdly large, too.
"Er..." ’No matter how I look at it, this stuff seems like contraband.’ "I asked you to get sothing like this?"
’No, I didn’t. How could I? I’m a promising, upstanding youth.’
"Didn’t you want a dicine that would stop pain instantly without hindering movent?" Liu Baobao pointed to the powder in the vial. "This is it. It’s called Shituo Powder."
Hee Lingchuan was relieved and accepted it with pleasure.
Liu Baobao’s face was all smiles. He bowed in farewell. "When you soar to great heights in the future, Eldest Young Master, don’t forget your old friend in this small border city."
"Of course!" Hee Lingchuan readily agreed.
That morning, after a farewell tea with their four-hundred-strong Personal Guard Corps and bidding goodbye to the common folk, the Hee Family left Black Water City amidst the cheers of the people lining the streets and headed north.
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