Xuanqing Guard

Wu Kai still patrolled around the Teleportation Array every day, never missing a single defensive point. The soldiers under his command were long accustomed to the chief officer’s rigor, and they also looked down on the idlers from other battalions.

But in recent days Wu Kai found the atmosphere in Beach Stone growing more and more tense, a kind of oppressive feeling as if clouds were pressing down from above.

All kinds of supplies—from weapons, armor, horses, arrows, General Spirit Stones, down to rations, medicine, clothing—were being shipped in one convoy after another from outside, or pouring out from the large exit of the Teleportation Array.

According to Captain Chen, who was in charge of recording information on comings and goings via the Teleportation Array, the volume of supplies recently brought in has already surpassed the total of the past year. And this doesn’t even include the number of horse-drawn convoys, which far exceed the throughput of the Array itself.

This was hoarding supplies. It showed that the Ministry of War and the Dynasty had begun making preparations for war.

Yet what puzzled Wu Kai was that despite the flood of supplies, there still hadn’t been any news of any of the Four Major Armies being mobilized. Throughout the Jingjiu Dynasty, it seemed only the area from Hai Xia to Zhuo Huo Pass had entered a state of wartime lockdown.

When did the Jingjiu Dynasty’s military response become this sluggish? Wu Kai couldn’t figure it out.

The sad thing was that despite all these supplies, all war preparations, there were still people skimming and embezzling as usual. Just look at the "supplementary equipment" delivered into Captain Chen’s hands—it was actually only half the standard allocation. And even so, Captain Chen said, "I’ve never seen such abundance."

To be honest, Wu Kai had more than once thought about having all those vermin in the military executed by death by a thousand cuts. But he didn’t have the means.

Wu Kai also noticed that the Xuanqing Guard Inspectors—those who usually lazed around and waited for death—had suddenly started moving, often seen wandering everywhere. It was strange; these Inspectors were always regarded as useless, and no one ever looked them in the eye. Why were they suddenly so eager to make their presence known now?

Moreover, when asked what they were watching, they refused to back down as before. On the contrary, the current Inspectors faced questions with considerable force, pulling out all the original rules for establishing Inspectors. Though these didn’t amount to real power, the word "inspect" was authority granted by the Ministry of War itself—there was absolutely nothing wrong with them having a look around.

"Just looking, nothing more." This was what Wu Kai personally heard an Inspector say when questioned by the sentries around the Teleportation Array. But from the sharpness and coldness hidden in their eyes, Wu Kai was sure they were up to far more than just "looking."

The Xuanqing Guard were never decent folk!

Wu Kai had never felt such revulsion towards the Xuanqing Guard as he did now. He even began to resent his former superior, now the Jingxi Governor of the Xuanqing Guard, Jiang Cheng.

They had agreed before: two Great Nourishing Pills in exchange for gathering information for him in the Border Army. Wu Kai had thought it would be a one-time deal, but it turned out there were endless strings attached.

So far, he had only been given one pill—and even that was tossed directly into his quarters.

Wu Kai understood this was someone throwing their weight around, making sure he knew that even in the army he couldn’t slack off—there would always be eyes watching him.

He found out the person who tossed the Great Nourishing Pill into his room that same day, but he dared not act rashly. Who could say for sure there was only that one Xuanqing Guard informant by his side? Maybe they deliberately showed themselves, not only to give him pressure, but to test him as well?

After meeting Hundred Households of Shen, Wu Kai sincerely didn’t want to have a falling out with the Xuanqing Guard. Being around them always felt like facing a venomous snake. The best way to deal with a viper wasn’t to kill it, but to avoid it entirely.

What was even more infuriating than being watched or having to act with such caution was the follow-up demand. After finding that ledger, they now wanted him to approach Xie Kai.

Who was Xie Kai? Of course Wu Kai knew—a Captain previously responsible for guarding this Teleportation Array. They wanted Wu Kai to get close to him, then dig up the inside story of how "Ma San, Xu Qian, and Zhang De" used the Teleportation Array before.

As for how the Xuanqing Guard had determined Xie Kai knew those so-called secrets, Wu Kai guessed it was thanks to the name "Liu Qi," registered at the end of the ledger. As to how exactly, Wu Kai couldn’t say.

The trouble was, Xie Kai had always been in Beach Stone, while Wu Kai had been stationed in Hai Xia. The two places weren’t far, but there was little contact between them. Wu Kai had never even met Xie Kai—how was he supposed to approach him, let alone pry a secret out of him?

This frustration had been making Wu Kai take even longer to calm his mind and focus during cultivation these days.

Despite the endless turmoil, Wu Kai had also received a pleasant surprise.

The surprise came from that Great Nourishing Pill.

After swallowing the pill, the effect was worlds apart from the Small Nourishing Pill. It immediately infused his previously stagnant meridians with vitality, boosting him a tremendous amount all at once.

The Realm Barrier, always so close yet out of reach, was now something he could feel directly. That meant his chance of breakthrough was already very high—so long as he took just a few more "steps," he would likely tear through the bottleneck and enter the next small realm.

But it was those "few steps" that Wu Kai knew would be the hardest. If he couldn’t get another Great Nourishing Pill soon, then relying solely on his own cultivation, it wouldn’t be impossible to spend several more years before breaking through.

So, getting another Great Nourishing Pill as soon as possible was the most urgent matter in Wu Kai’s mind. And so, things were forced back to the Xuanqing Guard’s new demands.

Want the Great Nourishing Pill? Then go find Xie Kai and continue the investigation. Don’t want to find him? Figure out some other way to get the pill. But something like the Great Nourishing Pill—elsewhere Wu Kai might be allocated it with his position, but on the Border Army side, with embezzlement rampant, he had trouble getting even the Small Nourishing Pill, let alone the Great one.

After much deliberation, Wu Kai decided to give it a try.

At present, in Beach Stone, the only connection he had was with that Captain Chen, so he could only try something with him.

The next day, Wu Kai found Captain Chen and, cautious, mentioned he needed some elixir for his cultivation lately.

As soon as he spoke, Captain Chen understood and grinned, "If Lord Wu is lacking contacts, I can put you in touch with my previous Captain—he deals in elixirs, though he charges a high price, just about five percent below the auction rate."

Wu Kai naturally went along with it. He let out a long sigh of relief in his heart—his guess turned out right.

However, Wu Kai wouldn’t go buy it immediately. On the one hand, he couldn’t appear too eager; on the other, he still had to ask the Xuanqing Guard for funding. He couldn’t be helping them with their work while paying out of his own pocket, could he?

This time the Xuanqing Guard responded promptly—an entire stack of silver notes was stuffed through Wu Kai’s door that very night. Opening them up, Wu Kai suddenly thought the Xuanqing Guard seemed surprisingly generous with money.

Did they have money to burn?