knife

Chapter 56 I have to go.
"I'm back!"

Li Dachui shouted, and the gate of the house opened in response. Several servants responsible for cleaning appeared at the door, greeting their master with smiles on their faces.

However, Xia Zhi was nowhere to be seen.

In the past, at this time, the summer solstice would always be the first to arrive, rushing over like a lark to greet Li Dachui.

"And the summer solstice?"

"I'm not used to this," Li Dachui asked.

"Miss Xia hasn't returned yet!" a servant replied cautiously. "Miss Xia has been coming home very late lately, she's been very busy."

Li Dachui nodded, accepting the explanation.

I'm really busy right now.

However, Xia Zhi's reason is definitely not just that; this little girl is very petty.

Li Dachui's house on the Helan Plain was naturally not a mud-brick, gray-tiled, bamboo-fenced house, but a large mansion covering more than ten acres. Built against the mountain and beside the water, in the north where ruggedness, grandeur, and sturdiness are valued, its architectural style perfectly reflects the delicacy and gentleness of the south.

Carved railings and painted beams, small bridges and flowing water, winding corridors, and moonlight reflecting on the walls.

The houses blend seamlessly with the surrounding scenery, not as if the houses came first and the scenery followed, but rather as if the houses were naturally embedded in the landscape, yet they don't feel out of place at all. It's as if something would be missing if such a house weren't there.

The house was designed by Li Dachui himself.

Only a handful of people usually live here.

Li Dachui, Xia Zhi, Fang Xiaomao, and Xiaoman from Wild Wolf Valley, who wanders outside and rarely returns home more than twice a year.

These three people were the same three people that Li Dachui brought with him when he left Tai'an City to become a bandit.

Xia Zhi and Fang Xiaomao are about the same age as Li Dachui. They were chosen by Zhou Zhi, the city lord of Tai'an, as Li Dachui's maids and playmates. Xiaoman from Wild Wolf Valley is more than ten years older than the three of them. She was already fifteen years old when she came to Li Dachui's side and served as his bodyguard.

More than a decade has passed, and they have all grown up and become well-known figures in the region.

The selection of the house's location took considerable effort.

Elsewhere, it's a world of ice and snow, and everyone is experiencing the harshness of winter. But inside this house, the trees are still lush and green, the water is flowing gently, and steam rises gently, making the whole house seem like a fairyland.

The reason for all this is that there is a hot spring under this house.

After Li Dachui went to Shangyuan, he discovered this place and was overjoyed. He immediately fenced it off as his future residence, since finding such a place in the icy and snowy world was no easy feat.

During the construction of the house, hot spring water was drawn out and flowed around the house several times along the dug ditches. Even some underground areas inside the house had ditches built to allow the hot spring water to flow through.

In this way, these houses remain warm and cozy, just like springtime, even in the depths of winter.

When Fang Xiaomao returned, Li Dachui had already taken a comfortable bath, changed into casual home clothes, and was looking at documents in the small living room. He hadn't been back for several months, and the documents that needed his personal attention had piled up quite high.

Fang Xiaomao is the commander of the Tianzi Camp.

The soldiers of the Tianzi Battalion did not live on the Helan Plain. Most of them were distributed in Tai'an City and its surrounding areas, and they would only be assembled when Li Dachui needed them.

The three hundred soldiers of the Tianzi Battalion were all top-ranking citizens of Tai'an City, and each of them wore at least one silver badge on their waist. Each of them had several or dozens of subordinates.

When Li Dachui needs them, his men can quickly assemble into a well-trained and unified army.

The entire city of Tai'an could assemble a formidable army of at least 30,000 men in just a few days, based on the 300 men of the Tianzi Battalion.

Li Dachui's bandit gang always appeared to have several hundred men on each raid, but in reality, the number of 300 men varied each time. The core 300 men of the Tianzi Battalion could actually be considered the officer corps of this army. Unless there were extremely special circumstances, it was very rare for them to be assembled and taken out together.

The reason why the strength of the Tianzi Battalion in this confrontation with Xiao Changche was so surprising even to the well-informed Xiao Dongwei was this. Xiao Dongwei could not imagine that a team of a few hundred people could contain so many powerful martial arts practitioners.

But if you put them in an army of tens of thousands, they are not many.

Therefore, Fang Xiaomao, who returned to Helan Plain, did not actually have military power. Here, he mostly served as Li Dachui's personal guard.

Although Li Dachui doesn't actually need such a character.

Xia Zhi held military power on the Helan Plain.

The structure of the Earth-shaped camp is actually quite similar to that of the Heaven-shaped camp.

The only difference is that the Heavenly Battalion focuses on cavalry, while the Earthly Battalion focuses on infantry. Xia Zhi's three hundred Earthly Battalion soldiers are now mostly officers, each with dozens or even hundreds of young and strong men under their command. However, they have not yet been assembled for a large-scale battle.

Unlike the Heavenly Battalion, which often went into battle under the leadership of its commander, the Earthly Battalion, apart from a few outstanding individuals who were taken down the mountain by Li Dachui for training, remained at a training level.

In other words, the foundation has been laid quite solidly, after all, they have been training for three years. Looking at the world, there is no army that can conduct three years of basic training.

However, even with a solid foundation, it doesn't guarantee excellent performance in practice.

Many people who seem to have excellent grades in normal times actually perform terribly in real exams, becoming extremely nervous.

Therefore, Li Dachui plans to send Xia Zhi with three thousand men to the plains this time, so that they can experience real warfare and face their test.

This was a preliminary test that Li Dachui had prepared for them.

Because no matter what, the troops under Yan Sheng of Baoping Prefecture could only be considered a qualified army, not the elite force in the world.

Only armies like Xiao Changche's three thousand soldiers, Linghu Ye's personal guard, and the regular army of the Northern Yuan can truly be considered the strongest armies in the world.

As for the Imperial Guards of Chang'an, Zhang Ruo said they weren't very good.

The eight southern garrisons that could rival the Southern Chu state should be quite formidable.

The experience of an army is honed through countless battles. Just like a martial arts master, no matter how high your level is, if you haven't actually fought a few battles and have rich experience in dealing with enemies, it's not surprising that you'll be killed in a real fight unless your level is far superior to others.

Cross-border killings are mostly like this.

If both people are experienced, then the one with the higher level of skill can easily kill the one with the lower level of skill, just like cutting melons and vegetables.

"Xia Zhi hasn't come back yet?" Li Dachui closed the document and looked at Fang Xiaomao. "Is she that busy today?"

"I didn't see her!" Fang Xiaomao said, somewhat surprised. "Young master, shouldn't she be waiting for you at home today? What is that brat up to now?"

"I don't know, but I saw her during the day and she looked really unhappy!" Li Dachui grumbled.

"Could it be that Zhang Qingyun's matter upset her?" Fang Xiaomao guessed. "Young master, that little girl is jealous! Haha, I didn't expect that the hot-tempered and carefree Miss Xia would be just like any other young lady when she gets jealous!"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Li Dachui glared at him. "Xia Zhi is like a younger sister to us. How can you joke like this with your own sister?"

"She treats me like her own brother, but she might not treat you like your own brother!" Fang Xiaomao chuckled and said, "This little girl has a bad temper; she might hold a grudge against you for a few days."

“I think she’s gotten more and more temperamental these past two years, getting angry at the drop of a hat. We need to teach her a lesson!” Li Dachui stood up and said, “Forget it, let’s not wait for her. Let’s go eat first. I have some things to discuss with you after we eat. When will Xiaoman be back?”

"Brother Xiaoman will arrive as early as tomorrow!" Fang Xiaomao laughed. "Speaking of which, we haven't had many opportunities to get together these past few years. We're always missing one or another. Brother Xiaoman mentioned in his last letter that he already has gray hair, and he's not even forty yet!"

“Thirty-eight!” Li Dachui corrected. “He’s just a bit too worried. Once this is done, he can relax a lot and won’t need to hide anymore.”

“Yes, among us, he’s the one who’s worked the hardest!” Fang Xiaomao nodded repeatedly.

As they spoke, they arrived at the dining room, and after they sat down, Fang Xiaomao ordered the dishes to be served.

The four of them have basically eaten at the same table since they were little. Even when they were young, Gu Xiaoman, who was already sensible, could not go against Li Dachui's wishes.

“In just a few more days, this table will be full!” Fang Xiaomao said happily. “To be honest, the food cooked by the cooks you personally trained at home is still the best to my taste. Back in Tai’an City, even the most successful chefs can’t compare to the dishes made by our cooks.”

Footsteps sounded, and someone appeared in the dining room carrying a tray full of dishes.

The kitten, who had been talking, suddenly stopped talking when it saw the newcomer. Like a duck whose neck had been choked, it abruptly stopped, staring at the newcomer with wide eyes.

She wore a light blue, narrow-sleeved blouse, a white leather shawl draped over her shoulders, and a red skirt with gold flowers. Her red shoes moved lightly beneath the skirt, and the hair ornaments on her head swayed slightly, occasionally clattering and making a tinkling sound.

"Summer Solstice!" Fang Xiaomao stammered as she looked at the woman who walked in.

The exquisite dress was merely the foundation of the woman's image; the meticulously applied makeup, the dazzling hair ornaments adorning her hair, and even the subtle fragrance emanating from her clothes and skin before she even got close made Fang Xiaomao almost unable to believe her eyes.

Is Xia Zhi really this beautiful?

Why didn't I realize this before?
Xia Zhi stared intently at the kitten, who belatedly jumped up, exclaiming, "Young Master, Xia Zhi, I suddenly remembered I have some things to finish. I'll get back to work now!"

Before Li Dachui could speak, he had already darted away with a whoosh, displaying a level of lightness and agility that was at least a notch above his usual skill.

(End of this chapter)