Xuanqing Guard

Beach Stone, Teleportation Array perimeter zone.

Wu Kai patrolled the less-than-three-li radius perimeter zone over five times every day, not missing a single corner of the security area.

Meticulous, earnest, rigid, but not difficult to get along with. That was the impression Wu Kai gave the half-strength Garrison Mixed Battalion Captain defending the core region around the Teleportation Array.

Ever since he’d been ordered to garrison the Beach Stone’s Teleportation Array, Wu Kai could absolutely be called diligent and responsible. Not only did he guard the array like a fortress with military discipline, but he also got along quite well with the remaining half-battalion of garrison troops. By now, he could call nearly every Decurion or above in the surviving garrison by name.

But... there wasn’t a single man named Liu Qi among them.

This name had been circling in Wu Kai’s mind these days—he needed to find out the details about this "Liu Qi" without arousing suspicion.

Because on the registry Wu Kai stamped and then sent off, the men marked as Ma Mountain, Zhang De, and Xu Qian were all Liu Qi. According to the old routine at the Teleportation Array, the one in charge of recording in and out was usually the Decurion on shift.

But as Wu Kai had checked, none of the remaining Decurions in the garrison was called Liu Qi.

Could it be that Liu Qi transferred to the works with the other half-battalion?

"Captain Chen, I just happened to see one of our garrison brothers sorting through his kit earlier, and those boys in the garrison... their supplies are pathetic. They don’t even have a single Summoning Talisman. Isn’t that a bit much?"

At midday, Wu Kai had the habit of taking his huge rice bowl outside and eating together with the soldiers. Today was no different; he squatted down by Garrison Captain Chen Xing, chatting while they ate.

"Talismans? Ha! Lord Wu, you’re overestimating us. Plenty of brothers in the garrison here have never even seen a proper Talisman, much less been issued one. Bah! Used to be, when things were calm, we didn’t care much about short rations. But now, having empty hands makes the heart uneasy."

Wu Kai swallowed his food, a puzzled expression on his face. "You really get nothing? According to border army regulation, every man on defense at a key facility like the Teleportation Array is supposed to have a Summoning Talisman."

Chen Xing pursed his lips and then lowered his voice: "Lord Wu, you telling me your garrison at Hai Xia is clean as snow?"

"How could it be clean? To tell you the truth, Captain Chen, I pissed off the wrong people at Hai Xia. Even my standard rations get docked left and right, and I can’t say a thing. Still, what’s happening here is too damn much."

That one line hit Chen Xing right in the heart. His eyes bulged, his voice dropped even lower, but his discontent was naked: "It’s inhuman! After skimming off the top, they pin the blame on the men below—claim shoddy safekeeping or heavy personal losses. Lord Wu, tell me, does that even sound human? Who gets a Talisman and doesn’t guard it like life itself? Shoddy safekeeping, my ass! Who the hell comes up with that crap?"

These last few days, Wu Kai had made a good impression on Chen Xing, and since there was no direct chain of command between them—in fact, their very positions were different—they dared speak more freely. Wu Kai was local garrison, Chen Xing’s side were Garrison Army.

Bluntly put, the local garrison was like a professional army, under the nearest military Chief Officer; as long as you kept your gear on, you could do the job forever. The Garrison Army was technically also under the local military Chief Officer, but they were farmer-soldiers, usually stationed at agricultural military settlements.

So, compared to the formal garrison, the Garrison Army was obviously inferior in military discipline and equipment.

Didn’t used to matter much—in fact, the Garrison Army used to mock the garrison often. The garrison got only military pay, but the Garrison Army had their stipend and whatever the settlement fields produced—plenty of extra fat there. Now, those silver coins had lost their shine, and everyone would rather have a single Talisman, worth more than all the pay in the world.

"Ah. In the end, it’s the folks above screwing us all. I got throttled all the time by the Supply Battalion at Hai Xia too. Every time I saw that bastard Liu Qi strutting around the Supply Camp, I got so angry I could gut him with a blade!" Wu Kai grumbled, venting his own resentment.

"Liu Qi?"

"Yeah. A steward in our Supply Battalion—useless, full of sour remarks, a pest you can’t shake off."

Chen Xing paused, then laughed: "Wouldn’t you know it. Lord Wu, we have a Liu Qi in our Mixed Battalion too, and he’s also a damn pest."

"Really? What are the chances?" Wu Kai put on a startled face, inwardly relieved—finally, the conversation got where he wanted.

"No joke! We’ve got a bastard Liu Qi here too, only he isn’t around now—he went to the works garrison with the Captain."

"Heh, Captain Chen, no offense, but from the look of things, aren’t you being left behind here because you’re out of favor? Same here—if it weren’t for pissing off the powers above, I’d either be dragged off to a real front or inside the works waiting for reassignment, not sitting here twiddling my thumbs."

"Haha! Lord Wu, sharp as a tack! Absolutely right, everyone stuck guarding the Teleportation Array with me—none of us are in the Captain’s good graces. That Liu Qi I just mentioned? He’s got it in for me, but he’s the Captain’s relative. Brings trouble round the bend to mess with me. You know, we were supposed to rotate out together as a full battalion, but command left half of us behind on purpose just to make things harder for you guys—and for us too, to be honest. That’s the real story."

"Oh? So that’s how it is?"

...

When they finished eating, chatty Chen Xing and equally keen Wu Kai continued their talk as they strolled the perimeter, voices kept low as they vented their daily frustrations.

But while Chen Xing really was just venting—hard-won chance at someone to spill his secrets to—he dumped all his trouble with the Captain and that Liu Qi, not holding back at all.

The speaker didn’t care, but the listener did. Wu Kai had spent days getting Chen Xing to lower his guard, and it finally paid off. Without leaving a trace, he learned what thread Liu Qi was pulled from, and where he was now. Unexpectedly, he also found out the military settlements were even filthier than Hai Xia. Wu Kai couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy about the impending campaign.

Back at his quarters, Wu Kai began to write. He needed to send off the intelligence he’d gleaned, and, taking the chance, ask Shen Hao when the promised Great Nourishing Pill would arrive.

Pen moving swiftly, barely pausing, Wu Kai inscribed the information onto a Thousand-Mile Sound. Half an hour later, he activated the Talisman and sent it out.

Another two days passed. Wu Kai discovered a Copper Box in his quarters, thrown in from the window outside. Opening the Copper Box, his face burst with joy, then immediately turned cold and grim.

Inside the box was one Elixir, and a slip of paper.

"One Great Nourishing Pill. Please confirm receipt."

No question about it—the elixir was reward from the Xuanqing Guard. But for them to deliver it directly to his room meant that, besides himself, the Xuanqing Guard had other operatives in camp. Was this surveillance?

PS: Gained a new alliance leader, so here’s an extra Chapter. My respects.