Commander Huo Chen
Xue Bai second arrow hit the first layer, but since his mother said the third layer, he kept shooting until he made it, which didn't take very long as after his fourth try, he hit it, albeit barely.
Li Rou seeing this, couldn't keep a calm face and had her pride whittled away from witnessing her son visibly improve after every shot. So after he landed it in the third layer, she stopped him and called it for the day.
Her pride needed some rest.
Though he was slightly still unwilling, Xue Bai gave the bow and arrow back to his mother and returned to his courtyard to bathe and rest.
Xue Bai continued his archery training for the next nine months until it was a year exactly.
During this time, he had grown tremendously under his mother. So much so that it scared Li Rou, but she still kept the illusion that Xue Bai was average to stimulate his growth.
However, though he had become a great archer, his passion didn't lie in archery. So after the anniversary, Xue Bai planned to ask his mother again to let him practice swordsmanship.
A year later, Xue Bai would turn eight years old, but while he aged a year, he didn't look any different from a year ago besides his hair growing longer and him growing a few more centimeters.
Now 15 centimeters taller at 1.25 meters tall, Xue Bai once again stood in the archery field wearing a slightly modified version of the practice robe he had a year ago.
After Li Rou gave Xue Bai his first practice robes, he realized that he didn't like them whatsoever, especially whenever he shot an arrow.
So after throwing away that robe, he asked his mother to make him a different set of robes.
The set asked for was basically the same as his previous tight-fitting all-black training outfit, except for the fact that this set didn't have sleeves.
Whenever he would shoot arrows, Xue Bai found it more comfortable not to have sleeves.
And since Li Rou was a very good tailor, she easily modified the robes to Xue Bai's liking.
"Mother, I want to learn swordsmanship from Father. I will still continue to practice archery, but I always have planned to follow in my father's footsteps, and archery was only something to assist and not my main path." Xue Bai spoke calmly and firmly
If he were indecisive or sounded weak, his mother would say no. So he spoke as he did.
Looking at her son, who was trying to look strong and manly, Li Rou giggled.
"Why do you want to learn swordsmanship? Your talent in archery is already heaven-defying. What if you have no talent with the sword, and you end up wasting your time?" Li Rou asked with a tilted head.
Sure, it was customary for a boy to follow in his father's footsteps and for a girl to follow her mother, but Xue Bai already had incredible talent in archery. So while it would be unorthodox, Xue Bai's talent more than made up for it.
"Using the sword is cooler than archery!" Xue Bai replied seriously.
"..." Li Rou had no words. What other words would she expect from an eight-year-old?
And she had foolishly been thinking only a year ago that an old fossil had taken over her son's body.
"Go tell your father about this. I don't know anything about swordsmanship. Also, if he asks about my opinion, tell him you have my consent." Not knowing how to respond, Li Rou just waved off Xue Bai.
"Thank you, mother!" Xue Bai ran off almost instantly.
Xue Bai had long been tired of the bland and desolate training field. In the past year, he had been in here for hours at the minimum and at the higher end, almost ten hours a day.
Now all he wanted was a break from this place.
After he ran out of the training field, rather than going straight to his father, Xue Bai first went to his room, planning to take a quick bath.
Right now, he was still sweaty from his training, his clothes were sticking to him like glue, and he was feeling beyond uncomfortable.
Entering his courtyard, Xue Bai called the nearby Xiao'er to prepare a bath for him while he went into his closet to get a towel and a change of clothes.
From his time as an ALS patient, Xue Bai became used to people bathing him. So right after his transmigration, he usually let Xiao'er bathe him.
But once he realized that he was a young, energetic boy with a fully functional body, he became apprehensive about it and started to rid the maid of her duties and started bathing himself.
After he got his change of clothes, Xue Bai entered the small bathhouse in his courtyard and slowly poured in the mixture his mother gave him.
And after stirring the green mixture in his bathtub with a basin, the once clear blue water slowly dyed green.
The mixture in the bottle was the same medicinal herb that Li Rou concocted a year ago to help him recover quicker while also strengthening his physique.
While he couldn't cultivate yet, having a stronger body would always help. And the herbs were also painless to absorb.
In fact, the medicinal effects from the herbs were so easy to absorb Xue Bai could take a nap mid-bath and still absorb all the medicine. Which he usually did and planned to do now.
So after a quick name, Xue Bai woke up refreshed and feeling even stronger than he was earlier. Hopping out of the tub, Xue Bai quickly changed into a new set of clothes before leaving for his father's office to ask about his swordsmanship training.
However, once he reached his father's office and went inside, he found it to be empty.
Thinking he was in a meeting with the commanders, Xue Bai walked out of the office and over to the main hall only to find that vacant as well. Confused, Xue Bai gave up on searching for the man and went back to his mother to ask where his father was.
Thankfully Li Rou had left the training field yet, as Xue Bai managed to catch her just as she started to leave the training field.
Along with the fact that once he looked behind her and saw that all the archery equipment was gone, Xue Bai knew she had just finished cleaning up the practice field.
"Mother, where is Father? I went to both his office and the main hall and couldn't find him?" Xue Bai asked once he got her attention.
"Oh right, I forgot, the Emperor had called all the Dukes over for a meeting. But he should be back by next week." Li Rou simply replied.
Xue Bai almost stumbled.
'How did you forget the fact that your husband isn't home?' Xue Bai was floored.
However, since he couldn't say his true thoughts aloud, he asked something else.
"Then what do I do now?"
Hearing his question, Li Rou simply shrugged.
"So I guess you can take this week as a break from training. Have fun for a little! But don't worry. You don't have to worry about him denying you. I'll send your father the message that you're moving on to swordsmanship." Li Rou said after a moment of thought.
Li Rou then gave her son a pat on the head and left. She was busy today.
Xue Bai stood still for a few seconds, exasperated.
–
Xue Bai now had nothing to do for a week. And after some time alone to think about his next move, he eventually thought that he should start preparing for when the plot of the game starts in 975.
A year ago, Xue Bai told himself that he wanted to give Huo Long and his clan a year to adjust to their new home.
And now that a year had passed and he had nothing to do for this week, Xue Bai thought that it was about time that he paid the Child of the Plane a visit.
The only problem was getting permission from his mother to travel that far away from home.
While the Huo Clan were a subordinate family, they lived at the border tens of thousands of miles away.
It was so far from the dukedom that the only contact Xue Feng had with the Huo Clan was through Commander Huo and his annual home visits. Other than that, the two were more like strangers than masters and subordinates.
And while this was normal, Xue Bai had a large problem now. Any powerful cultivator at Xue Feng's level had cultivated to that level well, trampling over the corpses of his defeated foes.
Because of this ever-true fact, it went without saying that Xue Feng had enemies. However, he was also extremely strong, so these enemies usually stayed underground in fear of him.
But now, Xue Bai wanted to leave the dukedom. And while some of Xue Feng's enemies were prideful and only wanted revenge against the Duke himself, some weren't.
Some were more than willing to kill Xue Bai just to get back at Xue Feng. So should Xue Bai ever leave the dukedom, there was no question that these turtles would leave their shells just to take him out.
Thankfully, Xue Bai found a solution to this problem.
Huo Chen
While the Wang twins were strong, they were only in the Law Engraving realm at the end of the day.
But every commander under Xue Feng was at least in the Law Manifestation realm, with Commander Huo being no exception. And moreover, Huo Chen was one of the strongest commanders under Xue Feng, being at the 6th stage of the Law Manifestation realm.
So if Xue Bai brought along the Wang twins and Huo Chen, he would have more than enough protection.
And luckily enough, Commander Huo's annual home visit was also coincidently a few days from now. So now, Xue Bai only needed an excuse to accompany him, and Operation: Meeting Huo Long would be a success.
Thinking this far, Xue Bai regained the color on his face and ran over to Li Rou, who was humming and walking away peacefully.
"Mother, can I leave the estate?" Xue Bai hurriedly asked.
Li Rou had started to walk away and was lost in her own thoughts as she hummed a tune, but once she heard Xue Bai running over to her and his question, she stopped and answered it.
"If you want to go to the city, just find Big Brother Huo to accompany you if you want to." Li Rou answered after a moment of thought.
But while she did answer it, she got confused.
Usually, when Xue Bai wanted to go out, she would only know he had left after her brother told her.
It was odd for him to mention it first.
"No, Mother, I don't want to go to the city. I wish to explore some of the Empire. I have been cooped up in our dukedom for too long. I want to see the outside world." Xue Bai said seriously.
Sadly no matter how much enthusiasm he put into his voice, Li Rou had none of it, and she instantly shot down the idea.
"No, not a chance. Your Father and I have too many enemies. If you leave the dukedom, there won't be anyone to protect, and you'd be killed almost instantly." Li Rou said as she shook her head.
Xue Bai was still a mortal. Even if Xue Bai had protection like the Wang twins, just the aftershocks of cultivators fighting at her level could turn him to mush. If they went a step further and just aimed for Xue Bai himself, then the job would be even easier.
However, even after hearing the blunt denial, Xue Bai wasn't disheartened as he knew that his mother would disagree instantly.
So before she could continue, he responded with his ready argument.
"Then give me a protector. While Father is out currently, his commanders are still here. I could take one of them as a bodyguard with me. Sure, you guys might have enemies, but experts in the Great Xuan Empire who are stronger than a commander would never waste their time to come and kill me, a mortal. And besides, all of the experts that could rival a commander are high profile and are constantly watched. So if one tries to make a move against me, you could warn the commander with me." Xue Bai quickly rattled off, stunning Li Rou.
'This brat came prepared with an entire argument?'
However, while she was caught off guard by how prepared Xue Bai was, his words did make sense.
So after Li Rou heard this, she began to think over his words.
And very quickly, she realized that he was right.
Every commander under Xue Feng was in the Law Manifestation realm.
And in the Great Xuan Empire, the requirement to become a Marquis Family was only to be in the Law Manifestation realm and have enough military merits as well.
So theoretically, each commander under Xue Feng could be a Marquis. And having someone at that level leave their home to come and kill Xue Bai was unrealistic.
Li Rou and Xue Feng had enemies, but none were that revenge-driven and petty. Besides, even if there was, Huo Chen was still a formidable cultivator in his own right.
Huo Chen would be able to fight off against most powerhouses in the Great Xuan Empire, while the twins would protect Xue Bai from the aftershocks of the battle.
The setup was nice, and Li Rou began to sway.
"But which commander would you go with? All of the commanders are busy with their duties currently." Li Rou replied, somewhat swayed by her decision.
"Doesn't Commander Huo return to his clan in a few days? I'll accompany him. At the same time, I can see how our subordinate clan is going. Though they have declined and aren't much of use to us, they are still our subordinates, so we should at least check up on them." Xue Bai's preparations were perfect, and he began to strike the iron while it was hot after seeing his mother being swayed.
Li Rou agreed.
"Then first, bring Commander Huo over. We can continue this conversation with him. It would be useless if we agreed, but he doesn't. I don't want to force someone to protect you. " Li Rou replied.
She had agreed, but she wanted to ensure Commander Huo would protect Xue Bai, even if it meant delaying his return home.
Excited, Xue Bai left to call the man over, but since he didn't know where he was or he lived, Xue Bai found a nearby guard and relayed his mother's command.
And very quickly, Commander Huo arrived.
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