Chapter 49: Chapter 47: Two Years
After returning from his New Year’s visit to the Shan Family.
A month and a half passed.
Wei Tu received a festive invitation from Shan Yanggong, who was taking a concubine.
When Wei Tu saw the address on the invitation was for the Shan Mansion in the Prefecture City, he couldn’t help but marvel at the shrewdness of Mrs. Min of the Shan Family. ’I wonder how she persuaded Shan Yanggong’s wife to agree to this.’
During the months he’d stayed at the Shan Mansion last year, he had learned that while Shan Yanggong’s wife might appear gentle—not fiery like Shan Fang—she was strong-willed deep down.
Otherwise, Shan Yanggong wouldn’t have delayed until now to take a concubine.
’What a coincidence. Eldest Brother Kou Liang just sent a letter, inviting Wei Fei and me to Xuanhe Tower for a reunion...’
Wei Tu thought to himself as he glanced at the date on the invitation.
Nearly a year had passed, and just as Fu Zhizhou had said at the Government Office, it was time for Prefect He to be transferred.
In the past few days, this rumor had spread all over the County Yamen.
Wei Tu guessed that Kou Liang’s letter, gathering the four sworn brothers, was probably to discuss this matter.
Wei Tu found Wei Fei, and the two agreed on a time to go to the Prefecture City together.
...
「A few days later.」
Xuanhe Tower, Heaven-Grade Room Three.
"Second Brother, Third Brother." Hearing Wei Tu and Wei Fei’s voices outside the door, Kou Liang came out to greet them personally.
He smiled, clapped both Wei Tu and Wei Fei on the shoulder, and exchanged a few pleasantries.
"Eldest Brother."
Wei Tu and Wei Fei glanced at each other, bowed slightly, and cupped their fists to Kou Liang in a salute.
Over a year had passed, and Kou Liang hadn’t changed much. He wore crisp white martial arts attire, tall and broad-shouldered, looking valiant and spirited.
But Wei Tu and Wei Fei both noticed a trace of weariness in Kou Liang’s eyes, an aura of frustration from unfulfilled ambitions.
The two of them instantly understood that Kou Liang, like them, was also being suppressed by the local Government Office in Xiaoyi Prefecture.
But unlike them, who had each other for support in their shared struggle, Kou Liang was undoubtedly much more alone.
"Where’s Fourth Brother?" Wei Fei walked into the private room, glanced around, and frowned when he saw no sign of Fu Zhizhou.
On the way here, he and Wei Tu had ridden almost non-stop to arrive at Xuanhe Tower ahead of the appointed hour.
Since Fu Zhizhou was their Fourth Brother from the oath, it made no sense for him to make his three sworn elder brothers wait while he himself was late.
"Fourth Brother has earned Governor Wang’s favor and is now one of his personal Imperial Guards. He isn’t usually free. We’ll have to wait a bit longer."
Kou Liang sat on a stool, shook his head, and explained.
"Second Brother, have a drink first. Quench your thirst."
Wei Tu also sat down on a stool. He gave Wei Fei a meaningful look, signaling him not to be anxious and to wait patiently.
He knew why Wei Fei was impatient.
After receiving the first letter from Fu Zhizhou, the two of them hadn’t received a second one from him in over half a year.
Fu Zhizhou... it was as if he had forgotten the Alliance pact they made that day, forgotten these sworn brothers of his.
The three of them waited patiently.
The waiter at Xuanhe Tower brought pot after pot of wine.
It wasn’t until evening—
that the crisp CLINK of scale armor sounded from outside the door.
Hearing the sound, the three men in the private room looked towards the door in unison and finally saw the long-awaited Fu Zhizhou.
Fu Zhizhou was clad in Bright Silver Armor, wearing a helmet adorned with a Hongying. He looked majestic and carried the air of a great general.
The contrast between him and the three men inside the room—Wei Tu and the others—was clear at a glance.
The former was triumphant, the latter dejected.
"Eldest Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother..."
Fu Zhizhou took off his Armor, revealing a dark under-tunic, and cupped his fists towards Wei Tu and the other two, bowing respectfully. His attitude was deferential, without a trace of arrogance.
Seeing this, Wei Tu and the others secretly breathed a sigh of relief. In their hearts, they began to once again accept this Fourth Brother who had gotten a head start.
The four of them exchanged greetings.
At this, Kou Liang instructed the Xuanhe Tower waiter, who had been waiting for a long time, to serve the dishes and warm the wine.
"I’m sorry to have kept you three sworn brothers waiting. I’ve been on assignment, so I’ve been at the Governor’s Mansion all this time..."
"For the sake of secrecy, I didn’t dare send a messenger. If I have slighted my three sworn brothers in any way, I hope you can forgive me."
Fu Zhizhou seemed to have sensed what was on their minds and proactively explained why he had neglected them for the past half-year.
"Assignment?" Hearing this word, Kou Liang’s heart stirred. His gaze toward Fu Zhizhou became searching.
If he were merely an Imperial Guard Officer in the Governor’s Mansion, Fu Zhizhou wouldn’t have had to "cut off contact" with them to this extent.
"Since Eldest Brother has asked, then I, your Fourth Brother, will speak plainly."
"I only hope that after you know, you three won’t tell anyone."
Fu Zhizhou thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said.
—He understood that if he didn’t make things clear today, the four of them would surely go their separate ways after this banquet.
In terms of brotherly affection, Fu Zhizhou felt he hadn’t yet reached a point of life-and-death camaraderie with the other three. But since they had made a pact, sworn a blood oath, and become brothers...
...then they should share life and death!
Feelings... could be cultivated later.
"If you have something you can’t speak of, Fourth Brother, you can choose to keep it to yourself. You don’t have to force it..."
Seeing this, Wei Tu quickly spoke up to stop him. He knew that sometimes, knowing too much was not a good thing.
He had no desire to suffer an undeserved disaster or bring a fatal calamity upon himself.
"Third Brother is right."
"If you have something you can’t speak of, Fourth Brother, you don’t need to tell us."
Hearing this, Kou Liang and Wei Fei immediately understood the meaning behind Wei Tu’s words and nodded repeatedly.
If the secret were leaked, and an Innate Martial Master used a Spirit Secret Technique to clean up the mess, they wouldn’t just punish Fu Zhizhou alone.
They would also follow the trail,
and it would lead right to the three of them.
Hearing this, Fu Zhizhou shook his head and explained, "This matter is closely related to your future prospects, my sworn brothers. If you don’t know this information, you will be at a loss when you’re inevitably involved later on."
"Besides, with my current status, as long as you three keep it a secret and don’t speak carelessly, the Government Office won’t easily trace it back to me."
After he spoke, Wei Tu and the others exchanged glances and finally agreed to let Fu Zhizhou reveal the "secret" he knew.
"Last year, the four of us opposed Prefect He over the matter of the Wuyun Tower. Because of that, we formed the Yee Society, swore a blood oath, and pledged to support each other and advance or retreat as one."
"The secret I am about to tell is also related to the Wuyun Tower."
"Governor Wang’s approval for Prefect He to send Martial Scholars to infiltrate the Wuyun Tower last year was just an obvious move. The real hidden gambit was already set in place by the governor long ago..."
"He’s just waiting for the day the Wuyun Tower commits a crime that provides proof, the day he can close the net..."
"When that time comes, Shannan Dao will likely mobilize the local Xiang Army to attack the Wuyun Tower. And you, my three brothers, with your superior martial arts, will naturally be within the scope of conscription."
"Governor Wang’s Imperial Guard will be the elite force in this attack on the Wuyun Tower."
"As for the timing, it could be as soon as three or four months from now, or as long as a year or two."
Fu Zhizhou said slowly.
"Attack the Wuyun Tower?"
This piece of intelligence was not unfamiliar to Wei Tu and the others.
As early as last year, they had anticipated that the Government Office would inevitably make a move against the Wuyun Tower. The Wuyun Tower was a sinking ship.
But they hadn’t expected Governor Wang to pull the local Xiang Army into the attack.
Wei Tu and the others knew best what the local Xiang Army was like. They were mostly made up of peddlers and laborers who would collapse at the first contact with a strong enemy.
If the local Xiang Army was conscripted, then Military Officers like them certainly wouldn’t be able to escape it either.
"This is our chance to earn merit. If we go back to the County Town and diligently train our soldiers, we might be able to win a promotion."
Kou Liang and Wei Fei were filled with fighting spirit, very optimistic.
In contrast, Wei Tu was a little worried.
Unless absolutely necessary, he didn’t want to set foot on a battlefield. After all, swords and spears have no eyes, and it would be terrible to die in battle.
"My three sworn brothers, now that you have this information, you can go back and secretly train your soldiers and purchase Refined Armor. When the battle starts, you will surely be able to achieve great things."
Fu Zhizhou said with a smile.
Providing this intelligence was his way of fulfilling the promise he made last year: to help Wei Tu and the others when an opportunity arose.
"Thank you, Fourth Brother."
Wei Tu sighed inwardly, concealing his own feelings, and joined Kou Liang and Wei Fei in thanking Fu Zhizhou.
He was a Capital Army Envoy. Although he had a few soldiers under his command, they didn’t form a proper unit, so the matter of training soldiers had nothing to do with him.
This opportunity to earn merit had little to do with him.
’Still, knowing this information in advance is a good thing for me. I can prepare a suit of Refined Armor ahead of time. On the battlefield, it could save my life at a critical moment...’
Wei Tu thought to himself.
An hour later.
Fu Zhizhou put on his Bright Silver Armor, offered his apologies, and walked out of the private room. He left Xuanhe Tower and returned to his post at the Governor’s Mansion.
Afterwards, the other three also left one by one.
...
「Back at the Shan Mansion in the Prefecture City.」
Wei Tu stayed for two or three days, waiting until after Shan Yanggong’s concubine-taking banquet was over before returning to Qingshan County Town with Wei Fei.
After returning to the County Town, this time, Wei Tu no longer worried about the favor he would owe for borrowing money. For a suit of Refined Armor, he went to Wei Fei and borrowed fifty taels of silver from him.
Next, Wei Tu went to the Huang Family again, wrote an IOU, and borrowed thirty taels of silver from his second aunt, Wei Hong.
A total of eighty taels of patterned silver.
Wei Tu took all the money to the armory of the Xiang Army and requested the blacksmith to forge him a suit of masterfully crafted, fully protective armor.
Time flowed by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the 26th year of Qing’an.
This year was the fifth year of Wei Tu’s Cultivation of the *Turtle Breath Qi Cultivation Technique*.
In the small courtyard, after Wei Tu finished practicing the Pile Skill of his Health Cultivation Technique for the twelfth time, he suddenly felt faint wisps of free-flowing essence in his meridians.
These wisps of essence were completely different from the warm current that surged through his body when he usually practiced the Pile Skill.
He seemed to be able to use his will to control these wisps of essence, guiding them out of his meridians and outside his body.
At this, Wei Tu knew exactly what was happening.
He had finally used the Health Cultivation Technique to progress from the external to the internal, producing his first strand of Inner Qi.
Thinking of this, Wei Tu immediately immersed his consciousness into his "Late Bloomer" Destiny Chart to observe the changes in the words on the Golden Purple Destiny Chart.
*Turtle Breath Qi Cultivation Technique* (100/100): Practice nine times a day, mastery in five years.
’I did it!’
’Not only did I enter the Qi Sensing Realm before the five-year mark, I also managed to significantly boost my strength before the Government Office attacks the Wuyun Tower...’
A look of joy appeared on Wei Tu’s face.
He clearly remembered that he began cultivating the Health Cultivation Technique in the late autumn of the 21st year of Qing’an, and now, he had entered the Qi Sensing Realm in the summer of the 26th year of Qing’an.
This was several months shy of the full five years. While not a huge difference, it was enough to prove his efforts were effective.
He could complete the progress on his "Late Bloomer" Destiny Chart ahead of schedule; he didn’t necessarily have to wait for the fixed number of years it indicated.
...
