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Chapter 306 General
A day or two later.

As the fields came to an end, the lush greenery gradually faded from view, replaced by one abandoned village after another, and seemingly endless ravines.

Yes, endless.

Looking around, it was as if countless wounds had been carved into the earth. If what we saw before were just pits and craters, now they were trenches lined up in the soil.

And for some reason, the more Zhou You looked at the scenery, the more familiar it seemed.

Finally, he managed to unearth some fragments from some long-forgotten memory.

"Holy crap, immortality, digging ditches everywhere, is this bastard Hidden King planning to create a national training array?"

"Master Zhou, what are you saying?"

Hearing Fu Yu's words, Zhou You glanced at the obsequious face, chuckled, and shook his head.

Compared to Master Yu, this kid has become much closer to Zhou You these past few days. However, unlike Lu Ping in the previous scenario, Fu Yu doesn't seem to have any intention of switching sides; it's simply a young man's admiration for the strong.

Perhaps some of them even had the idea of ​​secretly learning a few moves, but judging from their frail appearance...
Even if Zhou You wanted to teach, there's no way to practice this.

As for his master, he was much calmer. Having recently been eating at many restaurants, he was no longer as dry as firewood; at least he had gained some weight.

This guy even somehow got hold of a wild donkey, which is now fawning over Zhou You's female roe deer.

Seeing Zhou You chatting happily with his disciple, the old Taoist patted the donkey's rump and came over with a fawning smile.

"Fellow Daoist, busy at work?"

Fu Yu, standing beside him, immediately showed displeasure. He had tolerated it before when there was no reference, but now that there was such a sword immortal-like person next to him for comparison, it seemed even more vulgar.

In contrast, Zhou You maintained his peaceful smile and, to match Yu Daoren's speed, even tugged on the reins of his mount to slow it down.

"No rush, may I ask for your guidance, sir?"

"There's nothing to give advice or not, it's just that..."

Old Master Yu was quite pleased with this politeness. He first plucked his beard, and then said...

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, there's something I've been meaning to ask: why are you requesting an audience with General Zuo?"

Zhou You's answer was quite ordinary.

"Actually, it's nothing. It's just that, as you know, our Tai'an Dao is a small sect, constrained by the local area, and has no future prospects. So we wanted to move to a different location. That's why we used connections to get a certificate of nobility, thinking of building good relationships with powerful figures in the prefecture before moving."

—These were all arranged by Tao Le'an before he left, so he answered them relatively smoothly.

Upon hearing this, Master Yu sighed.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, do you know who is truly in power in Songzhou?"

"I remember his name was Hidden King, right?"

Upon hearing Zhou You's concise and to-the-point answer, Old Master Yu pulled out a single hair from his beard with a forceful tug, wincing in pain.

He looked around to make sure no one was nearby, and then sent his apprentice to the back before speaking in a low voice.

"Hey Fellow Daoist Zhou, do you know this person?"

Unlike his excited reaction, Zhou You's reply was calm and nonchalant.

"I heard from the middleman that this person's influence extends throughout the entire court. Although it has waned somewhat in recent years, he is still the undisputed overlord of Songzhou. I was thinking of seeing if I could establish a connection with him. What's wrong?"

Old Master Yu scrutinized Zhou You for a long time, and seeing that his face remained unchanged, he lowered his head and said.

“I say, Fellow Daoist Zhou, let’s just call each other Brother Zhou since it’s just the two of us. You’ve treated us to food for so many days, and I think you’re a good person, so I’ll risk offending you by telling you this – the waters of Songzhou are far more complicated than you think. It’s not just the Hidden King, but also the Thick Earth Sect that’s cooperating with him, and the lewd cults rooted in Songzhou. The waters run deep. Take my advice, you’d better leave now and not take this risk.”

But Zhou You didn't answer; instead, he smiled and asked a question in return.

"Since it's so dangerous here, why don't you leave, brother?"

Upon hearing this, Master Yu sighed deeply.

"I cannot disobey my master's orders. The item I need to find is of great importance to our Maoshan sect, and these people are innocent. I am, after all, a disciple of the orthodox Maoshan sect, and my reputation still carries some weight. But if I leave, who knows what might happen? So I should protect them as long as I can."

Seeing the old Taoist priest sighing incessantly, Zhou You also shut his mouth.

Compared to himself, this imposter, this was more like a true Taoist priest—climbing the mountain to cultivate Taoism, descending the mountain to save the people, and having the common people in his heart.

pity.

They were truly out of place in this godforsaken world.
-
Seeing that Zhou You was determined, the old Taoist priest had no way to persuade him. He could only instruct his disciple to take good care of Zhou You, and then rode his donkey and led the way forward.

After walking about seven or eight miles, the view suddenly opened up, and finally a relatively flat area came into view.

—That was a military camp.

Or, to put it another way, it's a place where the inside is a military camp and the outside is a construction site.

The inner area was separated by a wooden fence, complete with watchtowers and barricades, while the outer area was a bustling construction site, where hundreds of laborers, under the soldiers' shouts, were sweating profusely as they dug through the mud pits.

It was midday, and the scorching sun beat down on the laborers, making them dizzy. Every now and then, some of them couldn't bear it any longer and slowed down their work a little, but they were immediately met with a lash of the whip.

Zhou You frowned as he looked at the scene, but before he could do anything, Old Man Yu patted him on the shoulder, then rode his donkey alone to the soldier's head and leaned down to say something.

After a few words and the small amount of silver handed over, the soldier leader was immediately all smiles. He put away his whip and chatted with those around him for a while—only then did the militia have a chance to rest.

Old Master Yu also came over and whispered to Zhou You.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, please come with me. Remember, that General Zuo might have a bad temper and acts rather strangely, so whatever happens, you must be careful in your response, okay?"

Zhou You simply maintained his smile and nodded in agreement.

Old Master Yu was still a little uneasy, but he couldn't say anything. He could only lead Zhou You carefully around the crowd and then into the barracks.

The military camp offers a completely different view.

The usual discipline, training, and orderliness of soldiers were nowhere to be seen here. All you could see were soldiers sitting on the ground in groups of three or five, some playing gambling games, some eating roast chicken with yellow wine, and you could even see a few prostitutes with exposed skin, reeking of alcohol, going in and out of the barracks!

You should know that under the laws of this dynasty, anyone who dares to patronize prostitutes in the military camp will be executed by being cut in half at the waist, from the lowest to the highest rank. How dare these guys do that?
Also, is this a military camp or a brothel?
Before they could say anything, a dark figure suddenly burst out and staggered toward the three of them. Fu Yu immediately wanted to make a move, but was stopped by Zhou You. Duan Xie did not draw his sword, but simply used the hilt to block the man's path.

Then, turning his head, a drunken face appeared.

"Little lady, hiccup, don't run away, play with me first...wait, you're not a little lady, who are you?"

I'm your grandpa!
Zhou You rolled his eyes, then turned to look at Old Master Yu.

The man immediately understood, jumped off the donkey, and, like an old acquaintance, smiled and put his arm around the drunkard's shoulder.

"Sir, you've come to the wrong place. The young lady is over there; this is the outhouse!"

"The outhouse? That's great! Hiccup, perfect timing, my stomach's a bit upset, I need to go to the outhouse. Thanks!"

Then Zhou You watched as the man staggered into a tent, accompanied by a vomiting sound, causing chaos and confusion.

Seeing Zhou You's puzzled look, Old Master Yu didn't say anything more, but just sighed again.

"If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too; let's hurry up and catch up."
-
A few hundred meters further in from the outer camp is the commander-in-chief's tent.

The place was much quieter here, with only two soldiers at the entrance—but they were still drinking and playing cards. After greeting the two soldiers, the group finally entered the main tent.

As soon as we entered the tent, we smelled the aroma of food.

Looking around, there was no sand table or anything like that in the main tent, not even a weapon rack. Instead, there was an extremely long table, which was filled with all kinds of delicacies—a whole roasted lamb, a fat chicken with glistening oil, freshly stewed beef, tender and juicy venison, as well as various birds and beasts, fresh fruits and pastries.

There are even rare delicacies like bear paw cheese and roasted leopard fetus and owl.

Apart from the seafood that is hard to find in Songzhou, almost everything else can be found on this table.

Behind this mountain of food, the sound of chewing could be heard continuously.

Old Master Yu did not dare to overstep his bounds, but simply bowed and clasped his hands at the door to report.

"General Zuo, Yu Liangke, a guest advisor in the army, has completed your orders and is now reporting back with his apprentice."

However, after waiting for a long time, no one answered.

Old Master Yu frowned, raised his voice slightly, and repeated himself.

"General Zuo, Yu Liangke, a guest advisor in the army, has completed your orders and is now reporting back with his apprentice."

pity.

There has still been no response.

If it weren't for the constant sounds of eating, one might easily mistake the person in question for not being in the tent at all.

Old Master Yu took a deep breath, mustered his strength, and shouted loudly.

"General Zuo, Yu Liangke, a guest advisor in the army, along with his apprentice, has completed your orders and is now reporting back!"

At this roar, someone inside finally responded.

"Why are you yelling so loudly (glug)? You're interrupting my meal, you know that? (glug) I know you two are useless. If you have something to say, just come over here!"

Old Master Yu's face turned extremely ugly, but he still led Zhou You and the other two around.

The first thing you see is a fat and strong person.

Judging from his appearance, although this man's physique couldn't compare to that of Magistrate Shi among the Tai Sui, his entire body was still approaching three hundred jin (approximately 150 catties). Even though Old Taoist Yu had already arrived with his men, he seemed oblivious, continuing to stuff food into his mouth—

However, he didn't eat it.

He would only chew a bite or two of many things before spitting them out, and then, as if he had lost interest, he would throw the whole plate of food aside—several fat pigs had been waiting there for a long time, and when they saw the food coming, they would happily munch and slurp it down.

After 'tasting' several more servings, the fat man finally let out a satisfied sigh, picked up a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, and then raised his head to speak to Old Man Yu.

"Oh dear, your interruption has ruined my appetite. Let's call it a day. By the way, what did you say earlier?"

Master Yu calmed himself down and repeated what he had just said.

"General, I have completed all the tasks you previously instructed me to undertake, so I have come to inform you. What do you think?"

The fat man referred to as the general—who should be the Left General—scratched his chin, still looking as nonchalant as ever.

"Instructions? Come to think of it, what did I instruct you about?"

"The one from Majia Village before."

"Oh, the one who kept bothering us with the village chief's visits. So, did you resolve it?"

Only then did Master Yu have the opportunity to give a complete answer.

"It's been resolved, but it wasn't my doing; it was the work of this Taoist priest Zhou—his swordsmanship is among the best in the entire Han region, and he's currently seeking a position under you, General. What do you think?"

The Left General finally raised his eyes—but before he could speak, Zhou You stepped forward first and said with a smile.

"I am Zhou You from Tai'an Road, and I pay my respects to the General. By the way, General, I was quite curious earlier. Why did you eat all this delicious food without even swallowing a bite? You just took a couple of bites and then threw it aside?"

Old Taoist Yu, standing nearby, suddenly became anxious and quickly nudged Zhou You a few times, telling him to stop talking nonsense. Unexpectedly, General Zuo didn't care at all and even seemed to have met a kindred spirit, smiling as he explained.

"Tsk, you don't understand, do you? Unless you cultivate some kind of evil art, a person's appetite is ultimately limited. No matter how much you can eat, how much can you eat? However, food is infinite. So in order to eat as much as possible, I only taste a little of everything and then discard it. Over the years, I've fed quite a few animals."

Zhou You looked directly into those eyes, still all smiles.

“But there are so many laborers outside who are starving. Since you only eat a little each time, why don’t you give some of your food to those laborers?”

The fat man suddenly burst into laughter.

"You're joking again. We're all animals, what's the difference between superior and inferior? Besides, after I fatten up the pigs, at least I can kill them and eat them. But what can I do after fattening up a person? Human flesh is so sour and doesn't taste good. Damn, you've interrupted me so much that I forgot what you were planning to do here."

Zhou You remained silent for a long time, then cupped his hands in greeting.

"I am traveling around here in order to find a job for the general."

(End of this chapter)