Extreme Frontier Army: Starting from the bottom ranks, conquering the chaotic world

Lu Jing walked back along the path between the tents.

He stopped when he passed the tent where Ji Ruxue was staying.

The curtain was closed, and a sliver of candlelight shone through the gap, casting a thin, bright line on the snow.

A slight rustling sound of fabric coming from inside the tent.

The candlelight cast shadows on the curtain, first revealing a slender waist, then obscuring it with her long, flowing hair.

Ji Ruxue had probably just taken off her outer garment. As she raised her hand, her shadow swayed gently along the curtain wall, and her waistline was made even clearer by the candlelight.

Lu Jing glanced at it for a couple of moments, then his gaze fell on the tent flap.

There was a freshly washed white ribbon hanging there, its edges still damp with moisture, which gently brushed against the tent fabric when the cold wind blew.

Lu Jing raised his hand and touched the tent flap.

The shadow inside paused.

The next moment, Ji Ruxue's cold voice came through the curtain.

"Have you had enough of watching from outside?"

Lu Jing flicked his finger and lifted the curtain.

The warm yellow candlelight fell on my face.

Ji Ruxue sat on the edge of the couch, her outer robe already off, her thin inner garment cinching her waist, her black hair cascading over her shoulders.

She pressed one hand against her clothes and the other rested on the pillow, subtly pressing down on a cold, gleaming hairpin.

She looked at Lu Jing, showing no signs of sleepiness.

Lu Jing bent down to enter the tent and pulled down the curtain behind him.

Where is Zhao He hiding his private account?

Ji Ruxue's gaze sharpened.

She pushed the hairpin under her pillow a little further.

"Take your eyes off me first."

Lu Jing sat down opposite her.

"The account is better looking than you."

Ji Ruxue sneered.

"Then you're looking at the wrong place."

Lu Jing raised his eyes.

A tiny spark from the candle wick burst open, illuminating her exquisite face.

"Zhao He's private money accounts are mostly hidden in places he usually doesn't allow anyone to get close to, but we still need to verify the exact location."

Lu Jing sighed, "What's the difference between this and farting?"

"Alright, you go wash up and go to bed. I'm leaving now."

......

The next day, inside the camp.

Lu Jingzheng held the broken knife, examining it closely, and pondered deeply.

Shen Qingqiu stood five steps away, holding several pages of copied documents in his hands.

Today I changed into a slightly cleaner gray cloth outfit, and most of the mud on my face was washed off.

Her original fair complexion was revealed, with only some black and gray smeared on the corners of her eyes to conceal it.

"Zhao He has been very quiet these past two days."

She looked at Lu Jing.

"Ever since you hung him on the flagpole and subjected him to half an hour of smoke, Gu Changfeng sent someone to bail him out, and he retreated back to his centurion's tent. His personal guards haven't come to cause trouble for the Eighth Battalion these past two days."

"A dog that bites doesn't bark."

When he changed his dressing last night, Shen Qingqiu rewrapped the bandage on his back injury.

"Zhao He is waiting."

Lu Jing pondered for a moment.

"Let these useless knives ruin us. As long as he doesn't make the first move, I won't have a legitimate reason to go to the centurion's tent and chop off his head. If I really try to kill him, that would be insubordination. Gu Changfeng can immediately mobilize five thousand men and raze our camp to the ground, bones and all."

Shen Qingqiu glanced at him.

"But you're holding back your attack now, and the morale of the troops is about to collapse."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the warehouse.

Skinny Monkey scrambled in from outside the door, stumbling and falling face-first onto the threshold.

"Sergeant, something's happened!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Those old thugs outside are causing trouble! Black Bear is leading the charge; those thugs who don't know the truth are blocking the drill ground, demanding an explanation from you!"

Lu Jing tore off a rag from the side to wipe his hands.

"What's going on?"

"I need a knife!"

The skinny monkey was so anxious he was jumping up and down.

"Those uninformed soldiers say that the fine knives Mr. Gu bestowed upon us have been delivered two days ago, but they're all locked up in the storeroom, getting moldy. Everyone's still holding broken pieces of iron with dull blades. With the northern barbarians about to attack the city again, what will we fight with if we have no weapons?"

He lowered his voice slightly.

"Some people are also spreading rumors that Brother Lu has already negotiated a price with black market dealers in the city and is preparing to resell these knives for money."

Lu Jing raised his eyes.

"Who sent it first?"

"have no idea."

The skinny monkey shook his head.

"Black Bear said he heard it from one of Zhao He's cooks, and Scarface Li said he heard it mentioned during his night patrol last night. Anyway, by the end of the night, the whole camp knew."

Shen Qingqiu frowned slightly.

"It's Zhao He's people stirring things up."

Trust is worthless in the soldiers' camp.

The cohesion that Lu Jing gained through a pot of meat and a grain-grabbing contest proved fragile and vulnerable when it came to real matters like weapons and life and death.

"That's a good message."

Lu Jing tossed aside the rag he was using to wipe his hands and grinned.

"I was worried that the fire in the stove wasn't burning bright enough, but he added some firewood himself."

He walked up to the red lacquered wooden box, bent down, and picked out five "standard steel knives" that looked the most impressive.

After examining each one, the blades were indeed gleaming.

"Skinny Monkey, take these five knives."

Lu Jing shoved the knife into the skinny monkey's arms.

"Go to the drill ground, find Black Bear, and then pick the three most troublesome guys in the camp and give them the knives."

The skinny monkey, holding five heavy long knives, was stunned on the spot.

"Send it to them?"

"Sergeant, isn't this knife useless?"

"Yes, it's useless."

Lu Jing stepped forward and straightened the hilt of the top knife for him.

"After you go out, stand on the reviewing stand and shout at the top of your lungs for me."

He lowered his voice.

"It is said that this batch of knives was specially approved by Mr. Gu, and that Commander Zhao He personally inspected and handled them before finally delivering them to our Eighth Battalion with great difficulty."

"Sergeant Lu held back from issuing them because he was afraid the brothers would be reluctant to use them. Today, he specially brought out five to let everyone see them and try them out."

The skinny monkey stared wide-eyed, his mind momentarily blank.

"Isn't this just patting that old dog Zhao He on the back?"

Shen Qingqiu stood aside, looking at Lu Jing's roguish face, a knowing glint in her eyes.

"Go when I tell you to."

Lu Jing kicked the skinny monkey in the butt.

"Remember, make sure they test the knife with all their might in front of everyone. Chop at wooden stakes, chop at armored vehicles, whatever makes the most noise."

"Go."

Skinny Monkey rubbed his buttocks, grabbed the knife, and ran off.

The warehouse fell silent again.

Shen Qingqiu looked down at the iron slag on the ground.

"The fake blood knife has been on display for a day, and Gu Changfeng hasn't sent anyone to check it, which means he doesn't care whether we've seen through it or not."

"So you're not going to keep playing dumb."

"I'm not pretending anymore."

Lu Jing walked back to the broken bucket and sat down.

"If the fish aren't biting, it's foolish to just sit there with the fishing rod in hand."

"Zhao He wanted to use someone else to do his dirty work, so I put the knife back to his neck. He even spread rumors for me, saving me the trouble of searching the whole camp for someone to beat the gong."

He stood up: "Let's go to the drill ground to watch the play."

"Today we'll inspect the goods in the Great Yan Dynasty's armory and see if these five hundred divine weapons can withstand a piece of wood."