Chapter 32: Golden Thread Blood Salt, Wolf Guards, and Promotion to Military Household!
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Where did these barbarians get such a massive chunk of Blood Salt?!
And it was clearly different from ordinary Blood Salt.
Could there be different grades of Blood Salt?
Had this group of barbarians come here in such force, even slaughtering an entire village, just for this thing?
“Something doesn’t add up…”
Xia He frowned, sinking into thought.
If they had merely wanted to steal something, they could have taken it and fled. Why slaughter the village, provoke the garrison soldiers, and invite pursuit?
Moreover, that woman had come earlier intending to take this thing away.
It was completely unnecessary…
After making such a commotion, wouldn’t they have lost everything if they were captured?
Unless they had truly come for this thing—and had some compelling reason to slaughter the village!
“If this Blood Salt is all consumed, how much qi and blood could it refine?”
Now that he knew its value, there was no way he would hand it over lightly.
It was the spoils of killing this barbarian!
“It’s mine now!”
“Over here!”
“Hurry!”
…
At that moment, Xia He suddenly heard a burst of noisy commotion behind him.
Without the slightest hesitation, he quickly used his hands and feet to cover the freshly dug pit again, then carefully hid the precious Blood Salt he had already obtained inside his clothes.
Before long, several garrison soldiers hurried over and surrounded him.
When their eyes fell upon the barbarian’s corpse on the ground, every one of them was stunned. Even Uncle Zhou, who was rich in experience, widened his eyes in astonishment.
They had previously gone to investigate in the direction from which the signal arrow had sounded. To their disappointment, however, they had found nothing except several garrison soldiers who had been brutally murdered.
That band of barbarians had been extraordinarily fierce and savage. In such a short time, they had killed several garrison soldiers and swaggered away.
When Xia He finally fired the warning signal arrow, the soldiers could only grit their teeth and rush over as quickly as possible.
Yet when they arrived, all they saw was the corpse of a barbarian lying across the muddy ground.
Of everyone at the scene, the only living person still standing was Xia He!
“My heavens! You killed this barbarian?!” one of the soldiers exclaimed first, his voice filled with disbelief.
In an instant, the others came to their senses as well.
“He’s really dead!”
Everyone was deeply shaken.
After all, Xia He had only recently broken through to the Skin Tempering Realm, while the barbarians before them had already slain several garrison soldiers in the Blood Refining Realm.
Who could have imagined that such a ferocious barbarian would now lie dead here?
Uncle Zhou walked over to Xia He, unconcealed astonishment in his eyes.
“Xiao He, are you all right?”
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“I’m fine, Uncle Zhou. Did you find any trace of the other barbarians?”
Uncle Zhou shook his head, his expression grim.
“They’re Wolf Guards, the Khan’s personal soldiers!”
There was a blood-red wolf-head tattoo on the barbarian’s arm.
“Wolf Guards? What are those?”
“They’re elite soldiers personally trained by Wanyan Bei, among the barbarians’ special forces. Every one of them is a martial artist at the peak of the Blood Refining Realm! They specialize in small-scale incursions!”
Xia He froze.
So the Wolf Guards were the special forces of this army?
That explained why the other soldiers were so shocked!
If this really was a Wolf Guard, then it was no wonder he had managed to kill those soldiers.
But one of the Wolf Guards had actually died at Xia He’s hands…
You’re telling me this kid is only at the Skin Tempering Realm? And that he has been training in martial arts for less than half a month?
“Carry the barbarian’s corpse back and report to the Thousand-Man Commander!”
“We may be able to find clues on him and determine what they were really after!”
“Yes!”
…
By the time the group returned to the military camp in grand procession, the heavy rain overhead had finally stopped.
As they carried back the barbarian and the bodies of the fallen soldiers, the atmosphere among them was strange. Their eyes kept drifting toward the young figure within the ranks.
So many of them were soldiers in the Blood Refining Realm, yet they had not even found a single hair of the barbarians.
It was utterly humiliating!
And the only person who had gained anything in the end was this young man who had joined the camp only recently.
He had been here for merely half a month. Not long ago, he had only just broken through to the Skin Tempering Realm.
Though he had already gained some renown in the army, he had killed a Wolf Guard?
What a joke!
The requirement to become a garrison soldier was to kill three Southern Barbarian heads.
Yet a single Wolf Guard was worth three ordinary barbarians!
With such a great achievement, Xia He’s promotion to garrison soldier was already certain.
…
Inside the military tent, Thousand-Man Commander Fan strode out.
“Xia He!”
“Present!” Xia He answered.
“You have rendered meritorious service by killing a Southern Barbarian Wolf Guard. You are hereby promoted to garrison soldier! From today onward, you will receive all the benefits of that rank and may freely recruit twenty military slaves!”
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“Thank you, my lord!”
Xia He’s expression was filled with excitement.
After working so hard for so long, he had finally become a garrison soldier!
Once he held that rank, his monthly military pay would be fifteen silver taels. He would also officially enter the military registry, placing him above ordinary soldiers.
If he had known this earlier, he should have joined the army sooner!
“My lord, the barbarians sent Wolf Guards here. I fear they have some other purpose.”
“Mm.”
Thousand-Man Commander Fan’s face was expressionless, revealing neither joy nor anger.
“I understand. Send someone at once to inform the Military Governor, then we shall decide how to proceed.”
This mountain search had resulted in heavy losses. In principle, Thousand-Man Commander Fan would also be held responsible.
He no longer dared send men into the mountains recklessly.
But with the appearance of the Wolf Guards, this matter was clearly far more serious than a mere Southern Barbarian raid. The mire behind it ran much deeper.
The garrison’s military strength was currently insufficient. Apart from holding their position and sending for reinforcements immediately, there seemed to be no other course of action.
For a time, a pall of gloom settled over the hearts of every garrison soldier.
Was the gap between the Wolf Guards and ordinary soldiers really so immense?
What would happen if they disregarded everything and launched an assault on the camp?
“Though the Wolf Guards are elite Southern Barbarians with formidable individual strength, they are extremely difficult to train and few in number. For now, there is no need to worry.”
Uncle Zhou spoke slowly beside Xia He, but there was not the slightest trace of ease on his face.
“Hopefully, we can find some clues on the Wolf Guard’s corpse. Otherwise…”
With that, he let out a heavy sigh. Then he looked at Xia He with a complicated expression and offered his heartfelt congratulations.
“Xiao He, congratulations. To be promoted to garrison soldier at such a young age—you have a limitless future ahead of you…”
Within the military camp, apart from the people in the kitchen battalion, the lowest rank was that of an ordinary soldier. Above them were garrison soldiers, Hundred-Man Commanders, and Thousand-Man Commanders.
Xia He was only a little over twenty, yet he had already become a garrison soldier. This clearly could not be his final destination. In all likelihood, he would one day become a Hundred-Man Commander or even a Thousand-Man Commander.
The others came over to congratulate him as well, most sharing the same thoughts as Uncle Zhou.
If they did not show goodwill toward such a promising young man now, they might never get another chance.
After everyone had left, Xia He finally stopped Uncle Zhou, hesitating as though he wanted to speak.
He still did not know that the woman his son had brought home had turned out to be a spy sent by the Southern Barbarians.
The reason Xia He had not immediately exposed the matter before Thousand-Man Commander Fan was that he wanted to see whether the commander already knew about it.
“Uncle Zhou, there’s something I want to ask you.”
“Xiao He, what is it?”
“Earlier, in the rainforest, I seemed to see someone meeting up with that barbarian. I had seen her once before. She was the woman your son brought back from the brothel.”