Ten Thousand Sword Masters

Zhang and Liu followed Yang Changping to the office. After Yang Changping sat down, he gestured for the two of them to sit down as well.

"Today is the annual prayer festival of Camel Bell Village. As you know, the people living in Camel Bell Village are all Qiang people. Maintaining national unity is a national policy of our Great Yu Dynasty. How about you two keep watch over Camel Bell Village tonight?" Yang Changping asked seriously.

"We are willing to share the burden for the Pavilion Master," Zhang and Liu said in unison.

"good!"

Seeing their sincerity, Yang Changping was very pleased. "Go to Du Zhong's place and each get a horse. Make some preparations and then head to Camel Bell Village. Once you get there, their village elder will make arrangements for you."

"Yes."

After receiving their orders, Zhang and Liu went to Du Zhong to get horses, made some preparations, and then headed to Camel Bell Village.

Camel Bell Village is located on Malan Mountain, west of Cangxi Town, and it takes an hour to reach it by horseback.

"It's just a holiday, why should we have to keep watch for them?"

On the way, Zhang Jianyun asked in confusion.

"Because during the Qiang people's New Year Festival, they hold a wedding ceremony for a ram and a cow at night and use the ram and cow to worship their ancestral spirits. Then their ancestral spirits will bestow blessings upon the ram and cow. After the ram and cow are slaughtered and eaten, people who eat the meat will have their lifespan increased. So at this time, the meat might attract demons," Liu Fei explained.

Zhang Jianyun was somewhat surprised to hear this: "There's such a thing?"

"The longer you stay at Cangxi Pavilion, the more strange things you'll encounter. But don't worry, these beef and mutton will only add two or three years to your lifespan at most, so they might not attract demons. Even if demons do come, they won't be too powerful. So, this is actually a lucrative job. Boss Yang is taking care of us, haha," Liu Fei said.

Seeing Liu Fei's excited expression, Zhang Jianyun dared not join in the excitement, after all, this was his first time on night watch, and he could not be careless.

An hour later, the two arrived at the foot of Malan Mountain. The mountain path was somewhat rugged, so they dismounted and led their horses up the mountain.

After walking for a while, we arrived at Camel Bell Village.

At this time, Camel Bell Village was bustling with activity, decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, and had a festive atmosphere.

Zhang Jianyun noticed that most of these Qiang people wore rattan clothing, giving them a fierce and tough aura.

There were also many Xia people present, presumably guests invited by Camel Bell Village.

The Great Yu Dynasty was home to many ethnic groups, with the Xia people being the main group. Zhang Jianyun and Liu Fei were members of the Xia people.

"Lord Zhang, Lord Liu, you've arrived too."

As soon as Zhang Jianyun entered the village, he heard a familiar voice. Looking in the direction of the voice, he saw Jiang Gulin leading three constables over.

"Officer Jiang, you've come in person this time," Liu Fei said with a smile.

"Is Lord Liu mocking me? I'm just a lowly constable, and I'm here to keep watch for the Qiang people. Lord Cao is giving me face, haha." Jiang Gulin laughed loudly.

"Are you gentlemen, officials from Cangxi Town?"

Just then, a Qiang girl came over and asked Zhang, Liu and the others a question.

"We are soldiers from Cangxi Pavilion, and these are constables from the government," Zhang Jianyun said.

The Qiang girl was delighted to hear this, "Please come with me, gentlemen. The village elder has been waiting for a long time."

Afterwards, Zhang, Liu, and the others followed the girl to the village elder's bamboo house.

"Welcome, gentlemen, to keep watch for our Qiang people. We have nothing to offer but a roasted camel."

The village elder was an elderly man with white hair and a gentle, kind appearance.

As soon as the village elder finished speaking, several Qiang men carried in a roasted camel, and instantly, the fragrant aroma of roasted meat filled the entire bamboo house.

"Xiang Nu, go and bring down that jar of plum blossom wine from my second floor," the village elder said to the Qiang girl.

"Gentlemen, please try our village's charcoal-roasted camel. Our village may not have much else, but we have plenty of camels," the village elder said warmly, then tore off a piece of meat and handed it to Zhang Jianyun.

Zhang Jianyun hurriedly caught the meat, then took a bite. "Delicious!" he exclaimed, giving a thumbs-up as he chewed the camel meat.

Upon seeing Zhang Jianyun's praise, the village elder revealed a bright smile.

Before long, a Qiang girl named Xiangnu came over with plum blossom wine and poured it for everyone.

"This was brewed two years ago. Gentlemen, please have a taste. A bite of camel meat and a sip of plum wine," the village elder said.

"Good meat and good wine!" Jiang Gulin exclaimed, slapping his thigh. The other constables ate and drank heartily.

Just then, a variety of side dishes were also placed on the table, all of which were specialties of the Qiang ethnic group, such as stir-fried lamb kidneys, soft-shelled turtle cooked with Miao grass, and stewed goose with green mushrooms.

These side dishes are also extremely delicious, comparable to those at Jiaxing Restaurant.

For a moment, Zhang Jianyun was filled with emotion, wondering how life in a mountain stronghold could be better than that in Cangxi Pavilion.

After a meal and drinks, the village elder led the group to familiarize themselves with the terrain of the village and explained its defensive configuration. He also told them that if any demons appeared, the village warriors would do everything in their power to kill them.

Looking at the strong and robust Qiang warriors, Zhang Jianyun understood why they couldn't attract demons. If ordinary demons came, they would definitely pay a heavy price, and powerful demons wouldn't care about the extra lifespan.

Afterwards, the village elder led Zhang Liu, Jiang Gulin, and others to an empty bamboo house.

"Gentlemen, please rest here. Elephant Girl will keep you company. If you need anything, please feel free to ask her. Guests from other villages are arriving one after another, so I must excuse myself. I apologize," the village elder said.

"You're too kind, Elder. Please go ahead and do your work," Zhang Jianyun said.

Afterwards, the village elder took his leave.

As soon as the village elder left, the once demure Xiang Nu instantly became carefree.

"Tall guy, I heard that the fish-patterned blades of your Nine Star Guards can subdue strange creatures. Let me see them," the elephant woman said, staring at the sword at Zhang Jianyun's waist.

"See?" Zhang Jianyun said, drawing his fish-patterned knife and handing it to the elephant woman.

The woman took the knife and brandished it in the bamboo house with fierce power, frightening the constables into quickly getting out of the way.

"What a fine knife! It's truly a fine knife!" After brandishing it a few times, the woman exclaimed excitedly, "Tall man, can you give me this knife?"

"This knife is an official weapon, not my personal one, so I can't make that decision," Zhang Jianyun said with a smile.

"Tch, stingy." The elephant woman said, throwing the fish-patterned knife back to Zhang Jianyun, who hurriedly caught it.

"Do you think demons will come tonight?" the elephant woman asked as she paced back and forth in the bamboo house.

"What, you want demons to come?" Liu Fei said with a laugh, then grabbed a handful of fried soybeans and put them in his mouth.

Upon hearing this, the elephant girl became excited. "Of course I hope the demons come! Before, when demons came, I was too small and could only hide in the bamboo house to watch. Now that I'm grown up, I want to kill the demons!"

Seeing the violent tendencies displayed by the elephant girl, Zhang and Liu exchanged a glance and thought to themselves, "No wonder she's a Qiang girl!"