Chapter 15

Up until now, Tang Yin still didn’t take the so-called military contributions too seriously. Plus, he never belonged to the army in the first place. It was just a mere coincidence where he wore a dead soldier’s clothes. He said casually, “Doesn’t the army count according to human heads? That person’s head could no longer be found.”

“It doesn’t matter, military badges work too. Plus, there are so many brothers here who can testify!” Qiu Zhen handed the military badge to Tang Yin while laughing. Tang Yin didn’t take it, he just looked up and said, “You hold on to it.” As he spoke, he looked at the other people. Now, there were more than thirty Feng state soldiers cleaning up the battlefield. Some were collecting weapons, some were looking for food and supplies, and there were even some who gathered all the Ning soldiers who were still alive and chopped off their heads with no mercy…
Qiu Zhen followed Tang Yin’s gaze and said with a smile, “Big Brother Tang, it seems that our helpers have increased. We now have enough to make a squadron!” Subconsciously, the way he called Tang Yin changed again.

Tang Yin and Qiu Zhen lurked on both sides of the road with an initial intention to snatch horses. However, in a day’s work, they didn’t manage to snatch any horses but instead gathered a large number of Feng state soldiers. By night time, the number of people they gathered had already exceeded a hundred people.

With so many people gathered together, there couldn’t be no military system. Tang Yin ignored it, but Qiu Zhen couldn’t not care. He divided the hundred over soldiers into four teams, and selected four veterans to be the temporary captains of the four teams. As for the leader, it would naturally be Tang Yin. He, on the other hand, was the self-proclaimed vice leader.

He had joined the army for some time, but had unfortunately only been an ordinary soldier all along. Now that he had over a hundred subordinates, he finally tasted the beauty of being an official. This feeling was extremely enjoyable for him.

Seeing how busy he was, Tang Yin couldn’t seem to be happy. For a person like him who had long gotten used to being alone, the more people there were would make him even more uncomfortable. He didn’t share the same happiness as Qiu Zhen. He only felt that there was a huge baggage on his shoulders that he couldn’t get rid of.
Feng state was now defeated, and Hedong region was Ning state’s territory. It was dangerous for them to be here, and there was a possibility for them to encounter Ning state’s main troops at any time. With just a hundred over men, it might not even be sufficient for them to get serious.

Tang Yin recalled the scene when he was trapped in the valley. The torturous and cruel scene kept his memory fresh. Upon the uniform army, life was as fragile as hay. Even if his Reiki cultivation was any higher, it was impossible for him to fight against the army.

At this time, Tang Yin walked up toward Qiu Zhen who was talking to the four temporarily selected captains. He pulled Qiu Zhen to the side and asked softly, “Are we still heading back to Tongmen?”

Qiu Zhen said, “Of course.”
Tang Yin said, “But you gathered so many people, where do we go to find so many horses?”

Qiu Zhen scratched his head and said innocently, “That is true, but we couldn’t just leave them here, right?! We can only see as we go, and walk back to Tongmen. We’ll see if we can find any opportunities on the way.”

He said that helplessly, but Tang Yin couldn’t see that he was at all helpless. Instead, he saw that he was tirelessly happy about it.

Tang Yin sighed, shook his head helplessly, and said, “Whatever you want!” He wanted to leave as he spoke, but Qiu Zhen grabbed him by his sleeve hurriedly and smiled, “The captains of the four temas have been chosen, you should get to know them!”
Tang Yin was pulled by Qiu Zhen toward the four captains.

The four men were Zhang Bao, Zhong Zhen, Yu Hua and Li Yu. Tang Yin was somewhat familiar with Zhang Bao, but was unfamiliar to the other three. However, Zhong Zhen and the rest were similar to Zhang Bao in a way where their attitude toward Tang Yin was extremely respectful. The three have long heard that Tang Yin single-handedly killed off the commander of the enemy, and admired him whole-heartedly.

“Big Brother Tang!” Seeing Tang Yin approaching, the four men bowed in unison.

Their politeness made Tang Yin a little uncomfortable. The corner of his mouth twitched and showed a smile as he nodded in acknowledgement to the four.

“It is indeed unexpected that Big Brother Tang is a master of spiritual art!” Zhong Zhen was of a bold personality, and he said straightforwardly.
Just from the appearance, Tang Yin was no different from an ordinary person. He was wearing the clothes of an ordinary soldier and had a handsome smiley face. He only looked as if he was smiling, but once approached, he gave off a cold feeling.

“That goes without saying. It will not be wrong to follow Big Brother Tang.” Tang Yin was quiet, but with Qiu Zhen around, there will never be an awkward situation. He continued the conversation, “We shall rest for a night. Tomorrow morning we’ll depart toward Tongmen. There are no other opinions, right?”

“No opinions!” Zhang Bao and the four nodded in agreement.

Qiu Zhen said again, “Tonight’s security task will then be handed to Brother Zhang. You are responsible for arranging manpower as whistleblowers.”

Zhang Bao’s face turned serious and said without hesitation, “Yes!”

Qiu Zhen then said to Zhong Zhen, “Brother Zhong will bring your underlings to gather food and water. The more the better. The road to Tongmen is extremely dangerous, and who knows what we will encounter along the way. We will have to have some preparations.”

“No problem, hand this over to me!” Zhong Zhen answered.
Tang Yin was sitting by the side, nodding as he watched. Qiu Zhen may be playful, but he was very organized and meticulous in handling matters. Even if he were to be put in his previous world, he would still be considered a rare talent.

He tilted his head up and looked at the night sky. The sky was gray and dull, with not a glimpse of light. He said softly, “Rest early, everyone. Tomorrow’s journey may not be as smooth.”

Zhong Zhen asked curiously, “How so?”

Tang Yin said gently, “It’ll rain tomorrow.”

As Tang Yin said, in the early hours of the next morning, when the people just started, the sky began to rain.

This kind of drizzle was much more annoying than heavy pours. You’d never know when it would stop. The sky was filled with dark clouds, like a huge rock pressing against one’s chest. Giving people an indescribable pressure.
When approaching noon, the road became more and more muddy, and everyone’s pace started to slow down. Walking in the rain required huge effort and slowed people down, it could be said as laborious. But everyone didn’t dare to stop. They were in a dangerous situation, stopping for a second would mean a tad more of danger.

The rain was getting heavier, and everyone was tired and hungry from the walk.

Hearing Qiu Zhen gasping for air, Tan Yin turned and asked, “You’re tired?”

How is it possible to not be tired? Seeing Tang Yin whose face had no redness, nor was he breathless, Qiu Zhen started to doubt whether he was a man or a beast. They have hurried their way for a whole morning, yet there wasn’t the slightest trace of exhaustion on his face. He sighed and said, “Big Brother Tang. Not just me, all our brothers are exhausted!”

Tang Yin looked back, it’s exactly the case. All the soldiers were languid, with their heads low and their legs marching mechanically.
In Tang Yin’s world, no one cared for him, and he would never take the initiative to care for others. If it wasn’t for Qiu Zhen’s reminder, he really wouldn’t have noticed that the soldiers were long exhausted.

Tang Yin stopped while raising his arm. He looked back and shouted, “Stop! Rest in place.”

“This sentence was exactly what I was waiting for.” Tang Yin just finished talking, and Qiu Zhen had already sat heavily onto the road without a care for anyone else. He took out his water pouch and took in gulps after gulps. After gasping for air, he felt a little better and said, “We had probably walked around thirty to forty miles this morning, right?”

Tang Yin glanced at him and didn’t know how Qiu Zhen calculated it. He said with certainty, “At best, twenty miles. With this speed, we might not even reach Tongmen in ten days, let alone three.”
“Sigh!” Qiu Zhen threw his hands behind his head and leaned back onto the ground. He looked at the gloomy sky and laughed, “The weather isn’t on our side, I can’t help it. However, if our travels are slow, the Ning people wouldn’t be any faster. We’re all the same!”

Tang Yin was undecided. He took out a piece of rabbit meat and ate it slowly.

As there were no seasoning, the rabbit meat didn’t taste good. There was a strange pungent smell and it was hard to swallow. However, Tang Yin wasn’t picky. As long as it could fill his tummy, he could even swallow a pile of hay.

After taking two bites, Tang Yin seemed to have remembered something. He waved at Zhang Bao who wasn’t too far away. Zhang Bao hurried over and asked with respect, “Big Brother Tang, what’s the matter?” This was the first time Tang Yin looked for him personally, Zhang Bao took extra precaution when speaking.

“Pick some brothers out for whistleblowing, ensure that it is safe within a mile.”
Zhang Bao was stunned at first, and then nodded. Just as he was about to leave, Tang Yin called out again, “In the future, every time we rest for more than five minutes, send out brothers to lookout immediately. Ensure that no enemies would appear suddenly within a mile.”

“Un… Understood!” His words were positive, but Zhang Bao didn’t leave. He looked at Tang Yin in distress.

Tang Yin asked, “Is there something else?”