Chapter 11: Valley Outside the City
Li Yan was now following Strategist Ji to the main gate of the military training grounds. Just as they stepped out of the gate, Strategist Ji glanced at the group of people waiting in the distance and stopped walking.
Li Yan followed him out. Before he could speak, Strategist Ji turned to look at him and said with a smile:
"Is the person who brought you here among those waiting over there?"
Li Yan quickly replied: "Teacher, your insight is correct. A senior of mine brought me here to enlist."
"Oh, then go over and say a few words to him. After that, follow me."
Strategist Ji waved his hand.
"Yes, thank you, Teacher."
Li Yan bowed respectfully to Strategist Ji, then quickly walked toward the crowd where Li Guoxin was standing.
The soldiers guarding the gate had overheard their conversation and already knew that this dark-skinned youth had been accepted as a disciple by Strategist Ji. They were well aware of how picky Strategist Ji was in choosing disciples, and couldn't help but feel envious of Li Yan.
One of the guards, who appeared to be a small officer, stepped forward, cupped his hands respectfully toward the advisor, and said with a flattering smile:
"Subordinate congratulates the Military Advisor on finally achieving his wish."
Strategist Ji nodded slightly with a smile but said nothing, simply standing there with his hands behind his back.
The small officer, seeing that his greeting was complete, tactfully stepped back. His thoughts were already racing, he would need to find an opportunity to cozy up to this newly accepted disciple of Strategist Ji.
With a powerful backer like the Military Advisor, it was clear this young man would become an extraordinary figure in the future. It was best to establish a good relationship early on. Otherwise, once the boy rose to prominence, there would be no shortage of people eager to curry favor, leaving no room for him...
By now, Li Yan had already arrived at the waiting area. Knowing he couldn't keep his teacher waiting long, he needed to make it brief.
He quickly walked up to Li Guoxin, who approached with hopeful eyes, and pulled him aside to the edge of the crowd.
At this moment, many people had already turned their attention toward him. Though Li Guoxin didn't recognize Strategist Ji, he hadn't realized what had just happened.
As soon as the two stood at the edge of the crowd, Li Yan leaned in and whispered to Li Guoxin.
At first, Li Guoxin was calm, but as he listened, his mouth slowly opened in shock, and his throat occasionally let out hoarse sounds like "heh...heh..." but he was at a loss for words.
By the time Li Yan finished speaking, Li Guoxin was standing there utterly stunned.
"Uncle Guoxin, Uncle Guoxin!"
Li Yan had to call him a few more times.
Seeing that the man only responded dazedly with "oh...oh...", he realized Uncle Guoxin was acting just like he himself had earlier.
He glanced at Strategist Ji in the distance and saw that he was also looking in their direction. Seeing that Uncle Guoxin was still too stunned to respond properly, Li Yan could only bow respectfully to him.
He turned, quickly walked over to the carriage, retrieved his bundle, and then made his way back to the gate of the training grounds.
Once he was in front of his teacher, he bowed and said without waiting to be prompted:
"Disciple has already explained everything to my clan uncle."
Strategist Ji smiled upon hearing this.
"Very well, then come with me back to the residence."
Then he walked along the outer wall of the training ground in a certain direction. After a few steps, he noticed Li Yan looking around curiously and paused briefly.
"I usually dislike fanfare and crowds, so it's just the two of us returning together. There is no carriage or sedan chair."
Judging from Li Yan's expression, he already knew what the boy was thinking. Indeed, Li Yan had been looking for the advisor's entourage.
He had heard the village elders describe how grand and imposing the outings of officials were, some even clearing the streets of civilians in advance.
After saying that, Strategist Ji flicked his sleeves, which fluttered gracefully at his sides, and began walking as smoothly as flowing water.
Li Yan looked at his teacher's back, glanced around again, and said to himself:
"So we really are walking back!"
There was no time to think further. He adjusted his bundle more firmly onto his shoulder and quickly caught up.
As soon as the two left, the waiting crowd erupted like boiling water.
Many had already recognized Strategist Ji when he was standing at the gate. Seeing Li Yan come out with him and even exchange whispers had already drawn significant attention.
When Li Yan had walked over, many had focused all their attention on him.
Although Li Yan had spoken softly to Li Guoxin, it wasn't a whisper into his ear. Those nearby who listened attentively could catch some of the conversation.
Adding Li Guoxin's shocked and frozen expression, anyone watching would naturally start drawing conclusions.
Li Guoxin remained stunned for some time after Li Yan left. Eventually, he snapped back to his senses and thought:
"So that person was Strategist Ji? But what Li Yan said... could it really be true? How did he go in and come out having become the advisor's disciple and even received some 'Vice Commander of Resistance' title? Heavens, is this real?"
Li Guoxin wasn't someone unfamiliar with the world, he knew a thing or two about military ranks.
He remembered that the Vice Commander of Resistance was a rank equivalent to lower-grade eighth rank. This wasn't something a fresh recruit could obtain, only seasoned veterans with considerable merit could hope to be promoted to that level.
Now fully alert, Li Guoxin's thoughts were a whirlwind of emotions. He didn't know what to think or feel.
What puzzled him most was: why had Strategist Ji taken a liking to Li Yan?
Li Yan had grown up in the village under his watch. He had never noticed anything particularly outstanding about the boy.
If anything, Li Yan's only notable trait was being a bit calmer and more composed than others his age, but surely that wasn't enough to catch the advisor's eye.
As he was silently pondering this, a few people nearby who had overheard parts of the earlier conversation had already started spreading the news, based on what they'd heard and guessed.
The moment Strategist Ji left, the crowd exploded into chatter. Many found it hard to believe.
People began inquiring about Li Guoxin's background. No one believed someone could just randomly and coincidentally latch onto such a powerful backer like Strategist Ji.
Some even surrounded Li Guoxin, bombarding him with questions. His head felt like it was about to burst.
He hastily replied a few times, then squeezed out of the crowd, unhitched his horse carriage, and rushed away like he was fleeing. He needed to find an inn to process all this.
Early tomorrow morning, he would hurry back to report the news to Li Yan's parents, no, to the entire village. That boy had just taken one giant leap into the heavens.
Meanwhile, those who stayed behind, once they confirmed the news was credible, also began to hatch their own plans.
They wondered whether it was worth investigating further, perhaps there might still be a chance for them to benefit from this.
For now, many of them were lost in their own thoughts, each plotting their next move.
At this time, Li Yan had already followed Strategist Ji to the northern city gate.
Strategist Ji's footsteps were silent. Though he appeared to be walking at a leisurely pace, he moved extremely fast. Fortunately, Li Yan had grown up following the adults into the mountains to hunt, so he was able to keep up.
Even so, he had to move quite briskly. Though he wasn't exerting himself to the limit, it still took about seventy to eighty percent of his strength just to keep pace. Watching how effortlessly his teacher moved made him long even more to learn martial arts.
As they approached the North City Gate again, Li Yan couldn't help but feel surprised. Could it be that the advisor's residence was somewhere near this gate? But he quickly realized he was wrong, because Strategist Ji showed no sign of stopping or turning, he walked straight toward the city gate.
Li Yan was full of confusion but kept silent and followed behind him.
When the two of them reached the outside of the gate, they saw seven or eight soldiers conducting inspections under the command of a man who looked like a low-ranking officer.
Li Yan looked up and saw that these weren't Liu Chengyong and his men, they had apparently rotated out and been replaced.
The officer spotted Strategist Ji from afar and immediately cupped his hands in salute.
Strategist Ji nodded slightly and walked straight past the line of travelers being checked without saying a word. As Li Yan walked along, he looked around again but still found nothing unusual, so he continued to follow closely.
After the two of them exited the North Gate, the officer looked at Li Yan's retreating figure and muttered to himself:
"Strange, this person's face is unfamiliar, and he doesn't appear to be one of Lord Ji's bodyguards. Who is he to be walking so closely beside Lord Ji?"
After leaving the city, Strategist Ji said nothing. His wide sleeves floated behind him as he continued walking ahead, deepening Li Yan's confusion.
Outside the city was only a single main road stretching northward, the same road Li Yan had taken into the city earlier. On both sides were dense mountain forests.
"Could it be that Teacher's residence is in a town dozens of li away? I've heard there's also a garrison there, but that would be far too distant.
Traveling back and forth every day without a carriage? That would take forever. Though dozens of li isn't much for me, doing that regularly would surely get tiresome."
Along the road, Strategist Ji remained silent, seemingly preoccupied. He walked steadily ahead, neither fast nor slow, while Li Yan trailed behind, lost in his own musings.
After they had walked about two li beyond the city, Strategist Ji suddenly veered left, toward the western mountain range.
Looking closely, Li Yan saw that there was a mountain path here, leading deep into the western mountains.
They had passed this same stretch of road when entering the city earlier. Small side paths like this one leading into the mountains were quite common and usually ignored by passersby. But now, Strategist Ji had taken this one.
The western mountain range was far more vast and deep than the eastern mountains. The eastern mountains stretched for three to four hundred li, beyond which lay the flatlands of the Central Plains, where one could ride freely across the open plains.
But no one knew how far or deep the western range extended. Local people only knew that about four to five hundred li westward, one would start encountering all kinds of unknown demonic beasts.
Anyone venturing farther would almost certainly meet death. Even top-tier martial artists dared not delve too deep.
It was said that Marshal Hong had once led elite warriors four hundred li westward and encountered numerous venomous insects and ferocious beasts.
Even though he retreated swiftly, more than half of his men died or were wounded. He himself had been struck in the face by the tail of one such beast, leaving a hideous scar.
Had he dodged a moment later, that tail would've pierced his temple and brain, resulting in instant death.
Strategist Ji led Li Yan along the narrow mountain path, ascending into the forest of towering trees.
Beneath the trees, dense underbrush flourished. It was already the You hour (5–7 PM), and though autumn days were longer, the sun was already setting behind the mountains.
The sky still held some light, but under the thick canopy of interwoven green leaves, it was already quite dim. Occasionally, the calls of birds returning to their nests echoed clearly through the vast forest...
They continued up the mountain path for roughly a li. When they climbed the last few stone steps, the scene suddenly opened up before Li Yan's eyes.
A large clearing came into view, roughly a hundred zhang in diameter. Towering trees surrounded the area in layers, with only a narrow stone path, wide enough for two or three people side by side, connecting to the entrance they had just ascended.
To find such a large open space in the mountains was no easy feat, this must have been cleared and leveled by human hands.
Flanking the entrance, to either side of the clearing, were two rows of large stone houses made of greenish-blue rock, each row containing four or five rooms in a neat line. Though simple, they were clean and orderly.
The large central area of the clearing was paved with crushed bluestone. In some places, sandbags hung or training pits had been dug, everything was well organized.
When Li Yan stepped onto the flat ground, he saw eight soldiers standing in two rows, armed with spears, alertly watching the stairway entrance.
As soon as they saw Strategist Ji step forward, they saluted in unison:
"Greetings, Lord Advisor!"
Then they straightened up and stood at attention to either side. They glanced at Li Yan once but didn't ask anything.
Strategist Ji gave them a nod and continued walking inward. After a few steps, he stopped and turned to one of them:
"Oh, go call the others out. I have something to announce."
"Yes, sir!"
One of the soldiers replied and then quickly strode toward the center of the clearing, shouting loudly:
"Lord Advisor has returned, everyone come out!"
Not long after, a dozen or so people emerged from the stone houses and gathered in the center of the courtyard.
Li Yan had been following behind his teacher ever since reaching the platform.
Earlier, he had noticed that aside from the eight guards at the entrance, people were coming and going from the stone buildings. One building even had thin smoke curling up from its chimney, and from afar, he caught faint traces of a fragrant aroma.
However, it was already dim by now. The faint light coming from the rooms wasn't enough for him to make out much detail from a distance.
Once everyone had assembled, Strategist Ji stepped into the center of the courtyard and turned to wave at Li Yan.
Li Yan quickly walked over. It was only when he stood in front of the gathered people that he saw, besides the eight guards, there were twelve more soldiers dressed in the same standard military uniform.
In addition to these soldiers, there were also three middle-aged women.
Among these people, the three women and two soldiers standing near the center of the group were curiously eyeing Li Yan. The rest stood there with neutral expressions.
"This is my newly accepted disciple, Li Yan! He will be living here from now on."
Strategist Ji pointed to Li Yan and said, then turned and explained to him:
"This is where I live. These twenty soldiers were assigned by the Marshal to provide security and guard the premises. The remaining women are responsible for our meals and laundry."
Li Yan looked around at them but was surprised to notice that a few of them were giving him strange, inexplicable looks.
For a moment, he couldn't make sense of it at all.
(Chapter End)