New and dark light years

Chapter 537: Threatening to marry child
Seeing the military officer riding on his warhorse, Zhang San knew he was doomed.

He looked around and noticed faint shadowy figures inside.

Without a doubt, there were at least two hundred strong archers lying in ambush on both sides of the official road.

Although a single archer is not as powerful as a martial artist who wields hidden weapons, the problem is... the enemy outnumbers them.

Moreover, their teamwork was excellent. A single volley of arrows would give even fourth- and third-rank martial artists a headache, let alone a seventh-rank martial artist with only average martial skills. His greatest skill was simply making various human skin masks.

"May I ask your esteemed name, sir?"

Xiao Chunzhu looked at the other party: "I am Xiao, the military commander of the western route under the command of the military governor of the three prefectures! Is the person opposite me Zhang San, the master strategist?"

Upon hearing Xiao Chunzhu's identity, Zhang San, the master healer, sighed helplessly.

Xiao Chunzhu is very famous in the martial arts world.

As Li Lin's general and confidant, he was an 'idol' for many young people in the martial arts world.

Despite being just a江湖人 (jianghu person, a martial arts practitioner) or even a disgraced disciple of a sect, he became a military officer wielding significant military power.

The Military Commander was a powerful seventh-rank military officer, with the emphasis on the word "powerful".

Secondly, he was also the military commander of the Jiedushi, which was a level higher than that of an ordinary military commander.

For people in the martial arts world, such a position represents the pinnacle of what they can imagine for advancement.

But it seems his future is not limited to this. Li Lin has recently shown some rebellious tendencies. If he really goes to the capital, then Xiao Chunzhu will at least be granted a marquisate.

This thought only fuels envy and jealousy, making one wish they could take the place of the other.

Zhang San took a breath, dismounted, and said, "Sir, I'll go with you, please let my granddaughter leave."

"Grandpa, I want to stay with you."

Xiao Chunzhu laughed and said, "There's no need to put on a show of grandfatherly affection here. Whether she can leave or not is not up to me, but up to the military governor. If you two don't want to be treated rudely, please tie your hands and come with us."

When he spoke, there were at least three hundred people in the groves on both sides of the official road.

About two hundred of them were archers, and one hundred were swordsmen and shieldmen.

Such a force is beyond Zhang San's ability to contend with.

The girl dismounted and came to Zhang San's side, whispering, "We can take him hostage..."

Zhang San shook his head: "He is also a martial artist, stronger than the two of us."

"How is that possible?" The girl exclaimed in surprise. "After becoming an official, how much time will you have left to practice martial arts...?"

Zhang San said, "Li Lin's subordinates are different. They are descendants of the Li family of Junjin and know how to refine pills. Whether it's the Seeking Immortals Society or his confidants, they will all receive pills from Li Lin, which will make their martial arts skills improve by leaps and bounds. Even the civil official... that guy named Jiang Jili, has pretty good martial arts skills."

The girl looked surprised: "Is that military governor such a generous person?"

Zhang San was right. Although Xiao Chunzhu spent most of his time on official duties, his martial arts skills did not decline as a result; on the contrary, they steadily improved.

When he first joined Li Lin's forces, he would receive a bottle of body-strengthening pills from the Li family every month. After a while, these were replaced with vitality pills.

Now... I can get a bottle of spirit pills every three months, and occasionally I'll get a few dozen kilograms of spirit rice to try.

In this situation, even if you lie down and do nothing, your vital energy will gradually improve.

Moreover, he also makes time to practice martial arts diligently.

Zhang San sighed, removed the human skin mask from his face, and transformed from an ordinary-looking middle-aged man into an old man with a face full of wrinkles.

The girl looked at him, then removed the human skin mask from her face, revealing herself to be a fairly attractive young woman.

Xiao Chunzhu smiled and said, "Send them to see the adults."

……

About half a day later, Li Lin met Zhang San and his grandson in the White Tiger Hall of the government office.

The White Tiger governs killing and warfare; it represents the courtroom of the military governor.

Li Lin sat in the main seat, three feet higher than the other two kneeling figures, looking down at them.

"Zhang San?" Li Lin asked with a smile, "What's your real name?"

"My surname is Luo, and my given name is Shengcai."

Li Lin looked at the girl: "Your granddaughter?"

"Yes." Luo Shengcai nodded.

The girl sized up Li Lin for a while. She was a little nervous at first, but after seeing Li Lin's face, she was less nervous and even blushed a little. She kept her head down, occasionally glancing at the young man above her, and then quickly lowering her gaze again, pretending that she hadn't done anything.

“You’re so old, whether you live or not doesn’t really matter to you, after all, you’ve lived enough,” Li Lin said in a light tone. “But your granddaughter is still young, and you wouldn’t want her to become a handful of dust at such a tender age, would you?”

Zhang San took a deep breath and then exhaled: "Of course I don't want to, sir. Please tell me, as long as it's within my power, just say so."

"Tell me everything you know about the Immortal Execution Society, and someone will contact you." Li Lin glanced at the girl. "As for your granddaughter, I will arrange for her to live in Yulin County. I will give her a small house and a monthly stipend. What do you think?"

Luo Sheng then realized that his granddaughter had been taken hostage.

But this was already the best possible outcome, so Luo Sheng nodded and said, "It's all up to you, sir."

Li Lin was very satisfied with Luo Shengcai's "getting the hang of it": "As for the human skin mask... from now on you will be a menial servant in the Ministry of Justice, working in the torture chambers for the rest of your life until you die of old age, understand?"

"Yes!"

The girl suddenly raised her head: "Sir, this is not fair. My grandfather is a very famous figure in the martial arts world..."

"Hong'er, shut up!" Luo Shengcai shouted sternly.

Li Lin smiled and asked, "What do you intend to do?"

"You must treat Grandpa as an honored guest, or I will commit suicide and refuse to be your hostage."

Although she spoke fiercely, the girl's tone was actually quite gentle.

It was less of a threat and more of a... coquettish complaint?
Xiao Chunzhu shook her head as she listened.

Li Lin's expression turned colder, and he said, "Alright, drag the two away and behead them at Caishikou tomorrow."

After he finished speaking, several guards came up from the side.

Xiao Chunzhu also gripped the short knife at her waist.

As soon as the two men made any move, he pounced on them and hacked them to death.

The girl was stunned.

In her mind, she believed that if she spoke like that, the man in front of her should gently persuade her!
This is completely different from what I imagined. Why would they want to kill me?

She couldn't believe it.

Luo Shengcai immediately kowtowed repeatedly: "My lord, please spare Hong'er. She is just young and ignorant. I will teach her properly. Please let her go."

Only then did Luo Sheng start banging on the floor.

Li Lin looked at the girl coldly.

The girl lowered her head under Li Lin's gaze, her body beginning to tremble slightly.

She finally began to feel a sense of...dread.

Li Lin remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.

Luo Shengcai dared not stop. He was old; for a man in his fifties to die, death was enough. But his granddaughter was still young, and he did not want her to die like that.

dong dong dong...

One sound after another, one echo after another.

Hearing the sound, the girl turned around and saw her grandfather banging his head, first with a red mark on his forehead, then the skin broke and bled.

A pool of blood quickly appeared on the ground. But Li Lin remained silent, and the people around him did not move.

Luo Shengcai continued kowtowing, and after an unknown amount of time, the white bone was visible on his forehead. At this point, blood also began to flow from Luo Shengcai's nose.

Upon seeing this, the girl finally realized how 'unnecessary' and pointless her words had been.

She looked up, wanting to plead for her grandfather, but saw Li Lin's cold eyes.

Full of oppression.

She opened her mouth, only to find that she couldn't make a sound.

It seemed as if something was blocking his throat.

Is this the... majesty of a high-ranking official?

She trembled even more violently.

The thumping sound slowed down, but became heavier.

This shows that the other party has lost control of their strength. Luo Shengcai has been banged at least two hundred times, and his head is probably about to be turned into a mushy mess by now.

He wasn't a true master; he didn't have that kind of physical strength, and besides, he was old.

If they keep kowtowing, someone could really die.

At this moment, Li Lin finally spoke: "Alright, you can stop now. Since you've been so sincere, we can continue with the previous conditions."

Luo Shengcai's eyes were full of joy, and blood flowed down his forehead, mixing with his nosebleed and running down his face to his neck.

But he dared not wipe it, and just said happily, "Thank you, sir, thank you, sir."

Li Lin waved his hand: "Send the old one to the torture chamber to do odd jobs. Supervisor Xiao, you take your personal guards to take the young one to Maolin Ward, to the small house east of the banyan tree. Tell her the rules of living here and teach her how to be a proper hostage."

Xiao Chunzhu looked slightly surprised, then clasped her hands in a fist and said, "Yes, sir."

The guards separated into two; one was taken to the torture chamber as a servant, and he would probably never be able to leave there for the rest of his life.

The other was taken out of the administrative center.

Then someone came and cleaned up the bloodstain.

Jiang Jili also walked in from outside.

"Commander, the list of selected soldiers has been finalized." Jiang Jili bowed and said, "We have tried our best to be fair and impartial, but the name of this special battalion has not yet been decided. Would you like to give them a name?"

Li Lin waved his hand and said, "You can get up now. I suppose you already have a plan in mind."

"You understand me best, sir," Jiang Jili said with a smile. "Would you like to call them the 'Swallow Feather Guard'?"

"The meaning of the Swallow Feather Arrow?" Li Lin asked.

There is a type of arrow with feathers made from swallow feathers, which is faster and more accurate than ordinary feathered arrows.

These are the finest arrows.

"The significance of Your Excellency in creating this army lies in its speed and its ability to break through enemy lines," Jiang Jili explained. "Therefore, I believe that calling it 'Swallow Feathers' is very fitting."

Li Lin nodded: "That's really good, let's settle on that then. Show me the list."

Jiang Jili presented the booklet with both hands.

Li Lin looked through them for a while and asked, "Most of them are soldiers who have made meritorious contributions, but there are still more than twenty people who look like spoiled brats."

Jiang Jili looked embarrassed: "Sir, you truly have discerning eyes."

“The names are different,” Li Lin laughed. “Most soldiers’ names are things like Da Niu, Tie Zhu, and Gou Dan, and then there are some… Shao Tang, Jing Yi, Mo Sheng, etc., which sound very scholarly. They’re obviously different.”

Jiang Jili said helplessly, "I have no choice. There are twenty-seven people who have not made any contributions. Three of them were forced in by my Jiang family. For this, my family sent some useful information. The other twenty-four people were sent in by some wealthy people and gentry in Yulin County. They donated a lot of money when you built the Zhenjun Temple. Their names are still on the merit stele."

Upon hearing this explanation, Li Lin closed the booklet: "That's fine then. I understand the principle that 'too much clarity leaves no fish.' But you must tell those spoiled brats that they are not allowed to complain about hardship or fatigue during training, otherwise this opportunity will be given to someone else."

Jiang Jili nodded: "I will give these people proper instructions."

……

Xiao Chunzhu walked with the girl on the street.

Yulin County is now very prosperous. Although it still lags far behind Beijing, the noise and bustle are already quite similar.

Thanks to recent developments, Yulin County has a very strong commercial atmosphere.

The girl has been living here for over a month. She usually lives in the suburbs and has only been to the city a few times, but she still likes it very much.

She had always wanted to stay here for a long time, but... land prices in Yulin County were already very high. A small house with a courtyard cost nearly three hundred taels of silver.

Luo Sheng had worked in the Zhuxian Society for decades and was able to save up some money, but he didn't have the 'qualification' to buy land.

People who move from outside the city must live in villages near the suburbs for at least five years before they are eligible to buy land in the city.

But now, it seems she'll be allocated a house.

However, the way this house came about made her feel uneasy.

Xiao Chunzhu found an empty house under a large banyan tree and said to the girl, "You will live here from now on."

The girl looked at the small house. There were some weeds in the yard, but it didn't look too messy. Through the paper window, she could see that there was simple furniture in the house. With a little cleaning, she could move in.

The girl nodded.

Xiao Chunzhu said, "Don't even think about escaping. Your grandfather is still working as a handyman in the torture chamber."

"Using a young girl to threaten her family, you... are really despicable."

Xiao Chunzhu sneered: "There are quite a few ordinary people who have died for no reason at the hands of your Zhuxian Society. At least some of our colleagues had no conflict with you at all, but you still killed them and even peeled off their skin to make human skin masks."

"Grandpa didn't kill the person."

"But your grandfather should bear at least half the blame. If it weren't for his disguise skills, those people wouldn't have thought of peeling off someone's face."

The girl was speechless.

At that moment, a woman dressed in a long, bright red dress walked out from the side, her face icy cold.

The girl was a bit narcissistic; she thought she was a pretty girl, and that she would be a great beauty when she grew a few more years.

But when she saw Zeng Hongluo, she subconsciously bit her lip.

Because she is really beautiful.

Whether it's looks, figure, or that alluring charm, she's far inferior.

Upon seeing the woman in red, Xiao Chunzhu respectfully cupped her hands and said, "Heroine Zeng!"

Zeng Honglu bowed in return: "This humble woman greets Supervisor Xiao."

"Don't say that, don't say that." Xiao Chunzhu was somewhat flustered: "This humble official... I am only on official business and will be leaving now. As for this woman, the master asked me to send her over. It seems there is some deeper meaning behind it. Just keep an eye on her."

After saying that, Xiao Chunzhu left.

He wasn't afraid of Zeng Hongluo's high martial arts skills, but he knew that this woman seemed to have an ambiguous relationship with the master.

If you can't afford to offend them, you should avoid them.

"Did Li...the military governor send this over?" Zeng Hongluo looked at the girl.

Her gaze was initially somewhat scrutinizing, but upon seeing the girl's merely passable appearance, and then noticing her figure and demeanor, she smiled, the scrutinizing intent in her eyes vanishing and replaced by peace.

"Little sister, what's your name?"

Zeng Hongluo had heard of Zhang San, the master healer, but she had never met him, much less this little girl.

(End of this chapter)