A young woman in a red outfit stepped into the military camp.
"Forgive my poor eyesight," the Prefect said as he sized her up, puzzled. "May I ask who you are, young lady?"
"The little woman's surname is Sun, given name Li," she replied calmly.
She lifted a bronze medallion from her waist and held it high. "By order of the Grand Commander's Office, I've come to Poyang for the Elite Selection."
"Sun Li?"
At the mention of her name, Prefect Ji's eyes widened. He immediately stood up and bowed respectfully. "Ah, I see now! I didn't expect the Grand Commander's daughter herself to grace us with her presence. How discourteous of me, how discourteous indeed!"
Daughter?
Chen Sanshi glanced at the woman again.
So the Grand Commander sent his own daughter to Poyang?
For the Elite Selection?
Impossible—it had to be for more than that.
Still, for now, it looked like someone had stepped in to shield him. That would save him quite a bit of arguing.
"Please don't misunderstand, Lady Sun," Prefect Ji said with a suddenly pleasant tone. "I merely admire talent. I was simply trying to give Flag Officer Chen more opportunities."
"Admire talent?" Sun Li's voice was sharp and direct. "Funny. From your tone, Prefect, I hear no admiration—only threat."
Prefect Ji forced a smile. "You misunderstand, Lady Sun. I meant no such thing. You mustn't twist my words."
"Just a joke, Prefect, don't take it to heart." Sun Li turned slightly, speaking softly to the young man beside her. "Flag Officer Chen, I have a few questions for you. May I borrow you for a moment?"
Prefect Ji watched the two walk out, then sat heavily back in the main seat.
Moments later, Thousand-Household Officer Xiang Tingchun strode in.
"Prefect Ji," Xiang said, his expression dark. "You've set your sights on one of my men?"
Prefect Ji slammed the armrest, his face contorted with anger. "Do you even realize how much trouble you caused me when you slaughtered the Song family?!"
His voice rose, full of grievance. "Across the twelve counties of Anding Prefecture, the spittle from dozens of martial halls is about to drown me! Some even pulled strings to send petitions straight to the Grand Secretariat! Tell me—how am I supposed to deal with this?"
"Prefect Ji, calm yourself."
Xiang Tingchun spread his hands casually, unbothered. "I did it for the spring campaign. Without silver, how am I supposed to raise troops?"
"Campaign? You? A minor Thousand-Household talking about campaigns?" Prefect Ji barked a harsh laugh. "What a joke!"
He sneered, voice dripping with contempt. "You should be grateful for your luck. If it weren't for the Crown Prince's current plan to recruit all martial officers above the tempering organs stage, your head would already be rolling on the ground!"
"The Crown Prince?"
Xiang Tingchun's pupils contracted. "Prefect Ji, are you saying His Highness has heard of me?"
"You? Don't flatter yourself."
Prefect Ji's tone was cutting. "It's Minister Gao from the Ministry of War who holds some appreciation for your performance. If you manage to achieve something noteworthy, he'll recommend you for advancement. I came to Poyang this time on Minister Gao's direct assignment."
Despite the humiliation, Xiang Tingchun showed no emotion. His face stayed impassive as he asked, "What's the mission?"
"An investigation," Prefect Ji said coldly. "There are reports of Witch God Sect followers hiding in Poyang. Supposedly, they possess something important. Do you know anything about this? This matter is serious—His Majesty personally appointed the new County Magistrate to oversee the investigation. You'd better not hide anything."
Xiang Tingchun recounted what he knew, trimming away the key details and mixing in half-truths to make it sound plausible.
"Keep digging," Prefect Ji ordered sternly. "The credit for solving this case would rival wiping out an entire barbarian tribe. Do you understand?"
"I'll handle it myself. No need for Prefect Ji's concern," Xiang Tingchun replied evenly.
"Good. Now that official business is done," Prefect Ji said, his anger flaring again, "let's talk about personal matters."
He jabbed a finger toward Xiang Tingchun's face. "You owe me an explanation for the Song family incident! If Chen Sanshi doesn't disappear from Poyang, how am I supposed to command respect in Anding Prefecture?"
"No," Xiang Tingchun said flatly. "I still need him."
He gave a cold smile. "Besides, that's not something you should be telling me. Go talk to the Grand Commander's daughter."
"No one can stop me!" Prefect Ji declared, his tone full of conviction. "The more talented that boy is, the less he should remain under the Grand Commander's banner. It'd be better if he served me instead!"
"You?"
Xiang Tingchun laughed mockingly. "He's been practicing for just two months and already approaches the tempering bone stage. You think he'd lower himself to serve a Prefect?"
Then his tone turned sly. "Still, since we're colleagues, let me give you a friendly reminder.
"That kid might look honest, even gentle, but when it comes to ruthlessness, he makes me look soft.
"You can't charge him with anything, yet you still want to threaten him? Think carefully about what happened to Song Wu."
He paused, his grin widening. "Oh, right—he just commissioned a Fifteen-Stone Bow from the forge. Tsk, tsk…"
"Prefect Ji," Xiang Tingchun said with a half-smile, "you'd best stay indoors at night for the next few days.
"If some accident were to happen, chances are they wouldn't even find your corpse. And even if I wanted to avenge you… there'd be no evidence to work with."
"He wouldn't dare!"
Prefect Ji Guangxian snorted, full of self-assurance. "If he really tries something, that'll be the perfect excuse to execute him!"
Xiang Tingchun gave him a long look—one that was more suited for a corpse than a living man. Then, shaking his head slightly, he turned and walked away.
Outside the garrison, across the open fields, two figures—one in red, one in blue—walked side by side beneath the fading light.
Sun Li's hand rested lightly on the hilt at her waist out of habit. "According to the Grand Commander's records," she said evenly, "you began practicing martial arts after the autumn harvest. Now it's been about two months. What stage have you reached?"
Though she was young, her tone carried the calm authority of a senior officer.
Chen Sanshi answered truthfully, "At present, I'm tempering bone."
"Tempering bone?"
A flicker of surprise flashed through Sun Li's eyes, followed by a sudden change in expression. "Who told you to rush into that stage? Didn't anyone warn you that once you use a lower-grade breathing method, your qi and blood will fix after tempering bone—locking your future potential completely?"
Under normal circumstances, once an Elite Selection candidate entered one of the Eight Garrisons, they would be assigned a new breathing method based on their aptitude—a middle-grade or even superior one.
This new method would overwrite the inferior breathing technique they had used before.
But once a warrior reached the tempering bone stage, the quality of their qi and blood would become permanent and could never be altered.
By regulation, whoever oversaw the candidate's training was supposed to clearly explain this point in advance.
"Hmm?"
Chen Sanshi blinked, momentarily startled. He quickly explained, "You misunderstand, Selection Officer. I'm cultivating the Haoran Breathing Method."
"The Haoran Breathing Method?"
Sun Li's eyes narrowed in disbelief. "Who taught you that?"
This technique was indeed a superior breathing method—but also one of the hardest to learn. It was reserved only for those with exceptional talent, handpicked from the Eight Garrisons after thorough evaluation.
"Hundred-Household Wang Zhi," Chen Sanshi said. "You might know him, Selection Officer."
"Wang Zhi?" Sun Li frowned. "I don't recall that name. What does he look like? And where did he even get the Haoran Breathing Method?"
Chen Sanshi described his appearance briefly.
'Could it be him?'
A faint, cold glint flashed in Sun Li's eyes—an almost imperceptible hint of killing intent. "Where is he now? Take me to see him."
"He went to the prefectural city to visit family," Chen Sanshi replied.
A few days earlier, Wang Zhi had ridden off on horseback, saying he was returning home. He hadn't come back since.
Even then, Chen Sanshi had suspected it wasn't a family visit—it looked a lot more like he was running away.
Judging by Sun Li's tone now, he was probably right.
So what was Wang Zhi guilty of? Embezzlement? Or something worse?
If the man had truly committed a serious crime, Chen Sanshi doubted he could help him at all.
"Forget it," Sun Li said finally, taking a deep breath. "We'll deal with him when he returns."
She turned to Chen Sanshi. "Let's go."
"Go where?" he asked.
"To your house."
Sun Li smiled faintly. "I'm tired. I'd like to stop by Flag Officer Chen's place for a cup of tea. You don't mind, do you?"
"Of course not," Chen Sanshi replied quickly. "Please, this way."
He walked ahead to lead her back, still wondering about her true intentions.
So… was this supposed to be an inspection?
The Grand Commander's Office certainly didn't take Elite Selection lightly—they even conducted home visits now.