Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 79 Nobody Wants to Follow the Rules

"Beast——"

Peng Zeng, whose stomach felt like it was about to burst from drinking so much porridge, cursed to the sky and fell fast asleep once again.

Feng An and Liang Kun couldn't move this burly man, so Yun Ce carried him and threw him onto the sheep cart. The man's high fever had almost subsided, but he was extremely weak. In addition, he had six fractures and countless superficial injuries, which made his mind not very clear.

Yun Ce was very interested in this. Really, a person with such injuries would have died seven or eight times over on Earth. Yet, after eating some food, he was actually recovering. The only creature comparable to him was an ancient Earth creature like a cockroach.

It snowed last night, and tonight the sky is cloudless. The full moon is more than half the size it was three months ago, and it finally looks a bit like the Earth's moon. If it weren't for the two annoying crescent moons, the blood moon and the hook moon, constantly showing their presence on the horizon, Yun Ce might think of his hometown.

The thought had barely formed in his mind when Yun Linchuan's bald head, covered in age spots, appeared before Yun Ce's eyes. He couldn't help but shudder, and even straightened his sleeping posture.

That's it. As long as Yun Linchuan appears in Yun Ce's mind, he will linger there for days, making Yun Ce think of the days they spent together again and again.

Yun Ce hates getting up at five o'clock to run, hates running until seven o'clock, hates brushing his teeth after exercising, and hates the unchanging meals on the table.

As dawn approached, Yun Ce impatiently opened his eyes. Seeing that everyone else was still asleep, he took out his phone from the Dragon Ball and glanced at it. Sure enough, it was five in the morning, still Earth time.

After tossing his phone into the Dragon Ball, Yun Ce stood up, wet a handkerchief with ice water, wiped his face haphazardly, and then gulped down some water, pretending it was brushing his teeth.

It wasn't that he didn't like brushing his teeth; that damned man in black hadn't provided him with a toothbrush or toothpaste. His gear was full of special forces survival training equipment; he hadn't even been given a gun.

To make travel easier, Yun Ce's camp was right by the main road. If you heard a burst of footsteps during the day, it wouldn't be unusual, as many caravans passed through this road. After all, the royal hunting grounds produced quite a lot of goods.

Now that the full moon is high in the sky, it is inappropriate for a group of people to come. Feng An and Liang Kun, who were sleeping fully clothed, also heard the noise. They opened their eyes and were about to call out when they saw Yun Ce standing by the sheep cart, spitting out a mouthful of water to signal them to continue sleeping. Then, he jumped up, crossed the tall sheep cart, and left through the gap in the sky.

Yun Ce went out at five o'clock and returned before seven o'clock.

Feng An noticed that his clothes were perfectly neat and his hair was tidy, but his hands looked like they had just been washed, much cleaner than when he usually only washed them once.

Yun Ce returned without saying anything, so Feng An didn't ask. Whether it was a human or a wild beast that came here in the early morning was no longer important; Yun Ce should have resolved the matter.

Today is the day we'll take over the Royal Hunting Grounds. Eji was a little excited. She woke up early this morning and didn't see Yun Ce. She thought he had gone out to run errands, so she quickly urged everyone to make a quick breakfast. If they wanted something better, they could wait until their husband took over the Royal Hunting Grounds.

Peng Zeng was sleeping very soundly. Perhaps his instincts told him that he was safe, so he entered a deep sleep. Yun Ce knew that this kind of sleep had an irreplaceable effect on repairing physical and mental damage, so he did not let E Ji, who was eager to arrange work for Peng Zeng, get close.

Eji's concept was very simple: if you eat my food, you have to work for me. She believed this was the greatest principle in the world. Even if King Huo were to be resurrected, she would still dare to say this to his face.

Early in the morning, after breakfast, everyone set off again to greet the rising sun. The Royal Ranch was located at the foot of Mount Takara in the east, and the sun peeking over Mount Takara heralded the start of a new day.

Along the way, Feng An carefully observed the surrounding terrain, trying to find some clues from the subtle changes in the environment. He firmly believed that Yun Ce did not go out to run errands as E Ji had said.

The Royal Hunting Grounds are a high-altitude hunting ground. It is said that one can hunt the Zhou, a sacred beast that is extremely rare even in the entire Han Dynasty. Legend has it that Emperor Liu Shou and Prince Huo both drew their bows at the same time. The emperor shot and killed a Zhou, while Prince Huo returned empty-handed.

Emperor Liu Shou had the fur of this tadpole made into a hat, which he wore all year round and never took off.

When Yun Ce arrived at a vast hall, there was no one at the entrance. Feng An shouted loudly for a long time before an old woman came out tremblingly and asked them who they were looking for.

Feng An explained that the newly appointed Grand Steward of the Royal Hunting Grounds had arrived and that the officials inside were to come out to greet him.

"Weidun'er is not here."

No matter what Feng An said, the old woman kept repeating the same thing: Wei Dun'er was not here.

Yun Ce pushed open the gate, and the sheep cart entered the royal hunting grounds. When he looked back at the old woman, he found her still standing there blankly, muttering repeatedly—Weidun'er is not here.

"This Wei Dun'er's real name is Wei Xiao. He has served as the deputy director of the royal hunting grounds for many years. I've heard he's an honest and kind man." Liang Kun easily found the corresponding person in the list of officials in his mind.

Yun Ce curled his lip, not believing a single word Liang Kun had said. In the morning, when he went out for a run, he encountered Wei Dun'er and twenty-nine others.

Among them, the six strongest men were Wei Dun'er's sons, and there were eleven other young men, said to be Wei Dun'er's grandsons. The youngest, according to Wei Dun'er, was only thirteen years old this year. He had come to broaden his horizons, test his courage, and incidentally choose a suitable wife from among Eji and her group of girls. Wei Dun'er, who was already sixty-eight years old this year, was still in good health. Since he took over from his father as a laborer in the royal hunting grounds at the age of eight, he had always regarded this royal hunting grounds as his home. Over time, it truly became his home.

For sixty years, he spent sixty years using various means to drive out the original servants and managers one by one. Those who could not be driven out were killed. In the end, all the managers and servants of the royal hunting grounds were related to him. The royal hunting grounds, which the royal family never visited, became Wei Dun'er's paradise.

Upon arriving at the royal hunting grounds, Yun Ce was not greeted by any stewards or ordinary laborers, which was exactly what he had expected.

This very morning, he personally beat all twenty-nine stewards and laborers of the royal hunting grounds to death with his fists.

The body was given to a dog that had been tracking him for a long time. It was estimated that the dog would not be able to finish it and would summon all its companions.

Feng An and Liang Kun searched the entire royal hunting grounds and palaces but couldn't find a single person in charge. In the end, they had no choice but to summon some laborers and servants who were specifically there to do the work. They casually read out the appointment notice, and Yun Ce became the chief steward of the place.

Only the people Yun Ce brought with him acknowledged that Yun Ce was the Grand Steward. The people from the Royal Hunting Grounds did not think so. The old woman with a mental disability even earnestly told Yun Ce after he finished reading the proclamation that Wei Dun'er would return.

After thinking it over carefully, Yun Ce was certain that Wei Dun'er could not come back. After watching Yun Ce smash his youngest son's head with a single punch, the man began to curse Yun Ce fiercely. But after Yun Ce smashed his son's head one punch after another, his curses turned into pleas. He begged Yun Ce to kill him and spare his grandson's life.

Yun Ce felt he couldn't keep him alive. This guy, who knew how to kill, rob, and steal women at the age of thirteen, would only be a menace if kept alive, so he punched him through the chest and killed him.

Wei Dun'er was the last to die. The process wasn't too complicated. Anyway, there was no way Wei Dun'er could return to the royal hunting grounds.

Yun Ce wrote a report accusing Wei Xiao and his stewards and servants of dereliction of duty, and selected the smartest servant to deliver the message to Chuyun City.

For two consecutive days, Yun Ce was organizing various bamboo slips and wooden tablets at the royal hunting grounds, revising the rules and regulations of the hunting grounds. He sincerely hoped that the servants here would abide by the rules he had set.

Just as Yun Ce was extremely busy, Peng Zeng, who had slept for two days and two nights, finally woke up. After sleeping for two days, he was terribly thin, and his once bright and piercing eyes were now sunken in their sockets. There was no trace of the heroic look he had when he first met Peng Zeng in the wilderness.

"You saved me?" Peng Zeng's voice also became hoarse.

"You saved yourself. I only offered a little bit of help. You did the rest yourself."

"Alright, I won't thank you for your great kindness. How about we wipe the slate clean of our grudges?"

"No way. I beat you up twice, but I didn't kill you either time. This time I really helped you, so you should owe me."

Besides, do you see that young lord who keeps looking this way at you? You eat her food, sleep in her carriage, and drink her water. How will you ever repay such kindness?

Peng Zeng struggled to his feet. Because his fracture had not yet healed, he hunched over and pleaded with Yun Ce, "A drop of kindness deserves a spring of gratitude in return."

Yun Ce shook his head and said, "You've already signed a contract of servitude, and that can't be changed."

“My family is not a slave.”

"Of course you are a slave, and you are still part of Eji's meager wealth."

"I--"

When Yun Ce saw Peng Zeng start cursing again, he punched him in the left rib. A slight cracking sound came from under his rib, which should be the sound of a broken left rib.

Peng Zeng slowly collapsed onto the bed, and intense pain surged through him once again, quickly overwhelming him.

Yun Ce called over the old woman and said to her, "Take good care of him, give him three green coins every day."

The old woman nodded and said, "Weidun'er will come back."

Yun Ce nodded in agreement, placed the three green coins in the old woman's calloused hands, and left the room.

　Let me shout it out again: Do you have any extra monthly passes or anything for me?
　　
　
(End of this chapter)