Chapter 52: Chapter 50: A Mediocre Person
’Fifteen practices a day, and it will be mastered in thirty years. This means... it will take me about thirty years to become an Innate Martial Master...’
As he read the words, Wei Tu’s expression was both conflicted and overjoyed.
He felt conflicted because—
His previous Health Cultivation Technique had only taken five years to cultivate, but this Bone Marrow Cultivation Scripture required a full thirty years. And he was only twenty-two years old.
He was overjoyed because—
As long as he cultivated methodically, he had a high probability of becoming an Innate Martial Master by the time he was fifty-two. Then, he would gain great Longevity, his lifespan reaching two hundred years.
An Innate Martial Master in his fifties was still considered young, even in the Zheng Country.
Otherwise, when Elder Xue Du of Wuyun Tower tried to recruit him, he wouldn’t have offered to help him become an Innate Martial Master before the age of fifty.
’Plans can’t keep up with changes...’
’If I can only become an Innate Martial Master after I’m fifty, then having children with Xinghua needs to be moved up the schedule.’
Wei Tu sighed to himself.
After he turned fifty and successfully extended his life, he would still be a vigorous "young man," but the same might not be true for Xinghua.
In thirty years, Xinghua would be nearly sixty. By then, she wouldn’t be able to bear children even if she wanted to.
Even if having children meant he might have to endure the sorrow of outliving them, he couldn’t just wrong Xinghua by denying her the chance to raise a child.
When Xinghua grew old, their child would be their only solace.
’If my children fail at Martial Arts, there will still be my grandchildren. There’s no need to get hung up on this.’
Wei Tu made up his mind.
He couldn’t just not have children because they might "amount to nothing" in the future.
With his current status, he was more than capable of providing a child with a prosperous and stable life.
With this in mind, Wei Tu rose from his meditative Cultivation. He left the Cultivation Room, drew a bucket of well water, and washed himself thoroughly. Afterward, he went into the living quarters and slipped into bed with Xinghua.
"Brother Wei, we still have the fish bladders we bought today in the kitchen..." Xinghua’s cheeks flushed red, her voice trembling slightly as she gave Wei Tu a little push, reminding him.
"We won’t be using these anymore."
"That includes the pig bladders."
Wei Tu said decisively.
"Brother Wei, you’ve come around?" Upon hearing this, Xinghua’s face lit up with joy.
She and Wei Tu had been married for nearly five years, but her belly had remained quiet. She had been secretly mocked by their neighbors several times, and even Caixia had privately suggested she go to a physician for some fertility medicine.
However, in truth, she was suffering in silence.
For the past five years, it wasn’t that she didn’t want a child, but that Wei Tu had always told her to wait.
The two of them had been using contraceptives like pig bladders and fish bladders.
Fortunately, after today, her wait was over.
...
Things happened just as Wei Tu had predicted.
Less than a month after his return to the County Town from Sanyuan Town, the Xiang Army Government Office issued a military order to attack the Wuyun Tower branch.
This was an urgent military order, commanding the conscripted soldiers to move out within half a day. There were to be no delays; failure to comply was punishable by execution.
As highly skilled martial artists and Martial Scholars from the previous Military Examination, both Wei Tu and Weii Fei were included in the Xiang Army Government Office’s conscription order.
And so, at the third watch of the night, a contingent of several hundred elite Xiang Army soldiers, under the command of County Captain Xu, streamed out of the County Town’s gates and marched through the night.
"These soldiers may look elite, but they have no combat experience. I’m afraid they’ll suffer a great loss once they reach the battlefield..."
"Governor Wangg is just an armchair strategist..."
Along the way, Weii Fei and Wei Tu rode side-by-side on horseback. He glanced at the soldiers marching rapidly beside them, shook his head, and spoke.
The Xiang Army of Qingshan County had over three thousand men on the books, but its actual strength was just over one thousand.
Most of these thousand-plus men, due to low and often delayed pay from the Xiang Army, had become peddlers and laborers, finding other ways to make a living in the County Town.
And this military order to conscript soldiers came so suddenly that the Xiang Army Government Office had no time to prepare. As a result, besides a portion of the Xiang Army, many of the conscripted men were simply household guards and Martial Artists from prominent local families.
Therefore, these men might look fiercer and stronger than the Xiang Army regulars, but they couldn’t take a hit.
They would fall into disarray at the first sign of contact.
"I imagine Wuyun Tower isn’t much stronger than we are."
"They’re just a Martial Arts Sect, not a battlefield army. No different from bandits."
"Besides, we’re only dealing with a branch."
Wei Tu mused for a moment before offering some comfort.
If County Captain Xu were leading this disorderly mob into a tough battle, he would definitely desert halfway there.
But he believed Wuyun Tower couldn’t be much stronger than their side, and might even be worse.
’On the battlefield, it’s a competition to see who’s less terrible.’
As long as they made fewer mistakes than Wuyun Tower, they would have a chance to win.
"Right, we’re only up against a Wuyun Tower branch. A single branch probably doesn’t have many men or any major opponents!"
Hearing this, Weii Fei nodded and let out a laugh.
After that, Wei Tu and Weii Fei fell silent, conserving their energy for the great battle to come.
「An hour later.」
The rapidly marching army halted at a hillock. County Captain Xu, who was in command, ordered the men to sit down, rest, extinguish their torches, and prepare to don their armor.
’Is this Siyang Town in Baiyang County?’
’Is the Wuyun Tower branch hidden here?’
Wei Tu spurred his horse forward. He glanced at the terrain beyond the hillock in the bright moonlight, compared it with the map in his hand, and thought to himself.
He and Weii Fei were only Middle-Level Military Officers in the Xiang Army and weren’t qualified to see the detailed military orders. Thus, they only learned the specific target location after arriving at their destination.
From his high vantage point, Wei Tu looked down on all of Siyang Town. Combining what he saw with the map, he tried to guess which of the town’s many buildings concealed the Wuyun Tower branch.
But after looking for a long time, he couldn’t see anything unusual about Siyang Town.
Like many small towns of this era, Siyang Town was pitch-black at night, with only a few wealthy households showing the light of night lamps.
’It seems I don’t have any exceptional military talent.’ Wei Tu thought with a self-deprecating smile.
’He had memorized the military treatises from the Military Strategy portion of the Military Examination until he knew them by heart. But now, faced with a real battle, he racked his brain only to find he couldn’t adapt those strategies to the local conditions and formulate a proper plan. At this moment... he felt rather helpless.’
’If it weren’t for the "Late Bloomer" Destiny Chart enhancing my strength, I’d probably still be wallowing in mediocrity...’
Wei Tu lamented inwardly.
It had only taken him five years to perfect his Health Cultivation Technique and enter the Qi Sensing Realm, achieving something his master, Shan Wuju, had failed to do in his entire life. He couldn’t help but feel a little arrogant.
Now, however, Wei Tu suddenly realized just how mediocre he was. Aside from his "Late Bloomer" Destiny Chart, he seemed no different from an ordinary person—just a mediocre man, after all.
Wei Tu turned his horse and left.
He returned to the ranks of the rapidly marching army.
Soon, County Captain Xu informed the group of the Wuyun Tower branch’s hiding place.
"Liu Family Castle. It’s built against a mountain, making it easy to defend and hard to attack. It is situated in the northwest corner of Siyang Town, with the Maoshui River flowing past it, acting as a natural moat..."
County Captain Xu said slowly.
