Green Mountain
Chapter 323 - 263, Xiancheng

Chapter 323: 263, Xiancheng

Chen Ji cupped his fists and asked, "May I know what matter has General Hu sought me for?"

The Border Soldiers shook their head, "Young Master Chen, there’s no need to ask me, I’m just following orders and I am not privy to the details."

Chen Ji thoughtfully said, "What if I refuse to go?"

The Border Soldiers placed their hand on the hilt of their waist knife, "The order the general gave me is to devote full effort without questioning the reasons. If you refuse to go, I will have no choice but to take you by force."

Chen Wenzong stepped forward, his expression cold, "Guyuan is not a lawless land, do you intend to take a person without any reason?"

The Border Soldiers said menacingly, "Try and you’ll know."

Zhang Xia looked toward Li Xuan, "Lord Li, Chen Ji is a Right Guard of the Eastern Palace, if he is taken away just like this, it would probably damage the Crown Prince’s reputation too, wouldn’t the Yulin Army ignore this?"

Li Xuan calmly said, "Second Miss Zhang, you speak too gravely, our Yulin Army will certainly not stand by idly."

Upon hearing this, the Border Soldiers sneered, "Bring men, take Young Master Chen away!"

With a sharp sound, dozens of Border Soldiers drew their swords and split the door curtain, allowing the cold wind to pour into the main hall of the inn, confronting the Yulin Army with their broadswords, they aggressively forced the Yulin Army back three steps.

Li Xuan barked angrily, "Draw your swords, protect the Right Guard!"

Both sides were on the brink of a skirmish, Qi Zhenzhuo sneered, "It seems the border army is looking for trouble; pretending to need Chen Ji is a sham, the real motive seems to be to break with Yulin Army!"

The cold wind was biting, yet everyone’s palms were sweating; should there truly be a clash with the Border Army today, the Yulin Army would have no place in Guyuan.

In the standoff, Chen Ji suddenly smiled and said, "What are you all doing? There’s no need to ruin the peace over such a small matter, I shall just go with them."

Li Xuan quickly said, "No, the Border Army has ill intentions, perhaps because you thwarted their plans before, they intend to seek revenge!"

Chen Ji turned his head towards Li Xuan, "Lord Li, rest assured, I have my own strategies."

Having said that, he whispered to Zhang Xia, "Stay in your rooms, don’t go anywhere, and lock up."

Zhang Xia responded affirmatively, "Don’t worry."

Chen Ji went to the stable and led Zaozao, surrounded by the Border Soldiers, he left the inn, over a dozen Border Soldiers coercing him in their midst. Zaozao, restless and snorting, could only be constantly soothed by Ji as he stroked its back.

Chen Ji assessed the soldiers around him and pondered secretly: he had only met Hu Junxian twice, the first from a high vantage point on the city wall, and the second during a tense confrontation on Shache Street.

With no real connection between them, what could be the reason for Hu Junxian seeking him out?

Was it an attempt to enact revenge on behalf of Old Wu? Or did Hu Junxian know that he had food in hand and wanted to conscript it?

Chen Ji had several thoughts flash through his mind, only to dismiss them one by one.

But just as they turned out of Qiu Ci Street, the Border Soldiers smiled amiably and said, "Young Master Chen, I apologize if my words earlier were offensive, please do not take it to heart."

Chen Ji puzzled, "What is this all about...?"

The Border Soldiers explained, "Before coming here, our general mentioned that there is a rift between the Yulin Army and our Border Army, and told us not to show close demeanor with you in front of the Crown Prince and the Yulin Army, otherwise it would be difficult for you to manage beside the Crown Prince."

Chen Ji was slightly taken aback, "What exactly does General Hu seek from me?"

The Border Soldiers shook their head, "We truly do not know."

At this moment, Guyuan was a scene of chaos, the doors of the shops on the sidewalks had all been dismantled, scattered on the streets.

The shops were a mess inside, the shopkeepers, their wives, and apprentices were all ashen-faced as they cleaned up, while some simply sat in their shops crying out loud.

Along the street every once in a while, there were disordered corpses lying on the ground, their blood mixed with the yellow dirt and frozen into ice.

The Border Soldiers seemed accustomed to this, riding their horses over the corpses, without sparing them a second glance.

All was in decay.

Chen Ji looked toward the Border Soldiers, puzzled, "Doesn’t the Border Army take care of those local tyrants who plunder the citizens?"

The Border Soldiers sighed, "Young Master Chen misunderstands us, it’s not that we do not discipline, but the situation has become too violent to control. Most of the corpses lying on the ground were killed by our Border Army, look, the corpse ten paces away, I personally stabbed him dead last night for stealing someone’s child."

Chen Ji remained silent.

The Border Soldiers lamented, "Young Master Chen was born in a flourishing land, perhaps you have never witnessed such barbarity. In the 25th year of Jianing, the Jing Dynasty Heavenly Strategy Army besieged Guyuan for two months, that was truly brutal. The bark of the Yushu trees on the street was peeled and ground into flour, Yushu leaves were plucked clean, incidents of exchanging children or concubines for food occurred frequently."

Another Border Soldier mentioned, "One of Guyuan’s traditional delicacies is the hot oil Yushu flour noodles and cold mixed Yushu leaves, foreign merchants passing through always say they want to try it, but end up unable to swallow it. Today the Yushu bark is still available, indicating that people haven’t become desperate yet."

Chen Ji observed the surrounding Border Soldiers, seeing their sunken cheeks and unflappable gaze.

At that moment, cries for help came from a distance, the leading Border Soldier gave a signal to a subordinate beside him, and five Border Soldiers immediately drew their swords and dashed towards the cries.

Shortly after, cries of pain and pleas from a man were heard. The five Border Soldiers returned, cursing and wiping their sword blades on their sleeves, sheathing them back.

One of the Border Soldiers complained, "The city has turned into such chaos in just two days, the adults scaling walls to bully the orphans and widows next door, they’re asking for death!"

Chen Ji spoke up, "Perhaps deploying men along the streets to stand guard would make things much better."

Border Soldiers looked at him, "Young Master Chen, once you climb atop the city wall, you’ll understand. We, the border army, need to guard even more critical locations."

A group of people entered the Border Army Camp, where soldiers of the border army were seen sprawling openly on the ground, asleep in their armor. Others sat by the road, with a glazed look in their eyes, holding a bowl of hot water, sipping it little by little.

As Chen Ji approached, he noticed that there were a few grains of rice at the bottom of the bowl.

Arriving in front of the city wall, Chen Ji dismounted and ascended the wall with a border soldier, his vision suddenly became vast and clear.

All he could see outside the city were burnt and blackened fields stretching across the mountains. At the horizon, there was an endless array of camps belching cooking smoke, a massive military formation like none he had ever seen even in films from his previous life, boundless, stretching to the end of the world!

"Young Master Chen, please this way, the General has been waiting," said the border soldier.

They entered the city gate tower where a huge Guyuan sand table was placed, dotted with flags of various colors. A robust figure stood next to the sand table, holding a bowl, sipping water from it.

Hu Junxian.

Upon hearing footsteps, Hu Junxian turned around and sized up Chen Ji like a wild beast, his thick beard like a lion’s mane.

Chen Ji bowed with his hands clasped in front, "General Hu."

Hu Junxian grunted in acknowledgment.

Chen Ji looked up and asked, "May I know why General Hu has summoned me?"

Hu Junxian handed his clay bowl to his aide and casually asked, "The Jing Dynasty spy in Shache Street, was it you who found him?"

Chen Ji honestly replied, "Yes."

Hu Junxian then asked, "Was it also you who killed the Yang Family fur Shopkeeper?"

Chen Ji continued, "Yes."

Hu Junxian remained silent for a moment: "What did Old Wu say before he died?"

Chen Ji shivered inside, but did not answer.

Hu Junxian calmly said, "Don’t worry, I’m not looking to trouble you."

After pondering for a while, Chen Ji softly said, "Before dying, Old Wu said, ’Guyuan, oh Guyuan...’"

Hu Junxian momentarily stunned, his expression mixed with love and hate, repeated solemnly, "Guyuan, oh Guyuan..."

Chen Ji stayed silent, waiting for Hu Junxian to speak.

After a long time, Hu Junxian looked out towards the night sky beyond the city walls, "I had heard about you before you arrived in Guyuan, just a day before your arrival, a letter from your teacher Wang Daosheng had already reached Guyuan, and it was clear he thinks highly of you."

"Mr. Wang?" Chen Ji knew that traveling with a camel caravan could not match the speed of a courier horse, but he hadn’t anticipated Wang Daosheng would specifically write a letter for him.

Curiously, he asked, "What did the master’s letter say?"

Hu Junxian answered calmly, "He wrote that you had averted crises in Luocheng City many a time, yet never sought any accolades. He praised you in eight characters: ’Bright but not dazzling, deep like still waters.’

Chen Ji modestly said, "I am not worthy of such praise from my teacher."

Hu Junxian walked out of the city gate tower solemnly, hand resting on the weathered battlement: "I saw everything that happened on Shache Street, and I trust Wang Daosheng. He said you should not pursue the Imperial Examination path, but now he is out of the Ministry of War and cannot support you. He asked me to find a way to keep you in Guyuan... Would you like that?"

"Stay in Guyuan?" Chen Ji was startled.

Hu Junxian threw out his offer, "Join my Guyuan Border Army, serve for twenty years, and I guarantee you will become Deputy General of Guyuan, holding a Standard Third Rank position. How about that?"

Chen Ji shook his head, "Thank you, General, for your kindness, but my ambition lies elsewhere."

Hu Junxian grunted again and said no more.

Chen Ji, puzzled, thought to himself, since there was an intention to recruit him, shouldn’t there be more to it?

Hu Junxian, catching Chen Ji’s perplexed expression, seemed to read his thoughts and said expressionlessly, "I spoke to recruit you to fulfill Wang Daosheng’s request. I stopped because I do not want you to waste away here like us. Which fine man would want to stay in this godforsaken place? Your teacher doesn’t mean well for you, not recognizing that is fine."

Chen Ji: "..."

Just then, the sound of hooves came from outside the city.

But with the night sky low, the torches on the city wall could only illuminate a small area, making it impossible to see clearly outside. Only when the Jing Dynasty cavalry came closer could they see the position by a sliver of light.

The Jing Dynasty cavalry took off the Iron Bow from his back, bent the bow and placed an arrow.

Chen Ji yelled out, "General, be careful!"

With a whoosh, a sharp whistling sound came, and Hu Junxian slightly tilted his head. The feathered arrow grazed his cheek and stuck slantingly into the city gate tower.

The feathered arrow was wrapped with a piece of white silk, fluttering in the wind.

Chen Ji looked out of the city again, only to see the Jing Dynasty Divine Archer had turned his horse around and reentered the darkness.

A Border Soldier took down the arrow, unwrapped the silk, which was written in blood: "Within three days, open the doors and surrender the city. Otherwise, prepare for your bones to cover the fields, and the land to run red for thousands of miles!"