Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1377 Faction

Shangxuan Camp has gathered extraordinary martial arts masters, but how many of them are stronger than Huo Shiba? His sword skills, which were tempered on the battlefield, would break the stance of weaker people within a dozen moves. Only those with Lu Ning's strength can fight back and forth, and finally win by relying on the advantage of internal strength.

Because of this, there are actually not many people in Shangxuan Camp, less than a hundred in total.

After leaving the camp, Tang Ye was no longer as friendly as before. Instead, he put on a serious expression and handed Lu Ning's basic information to the person in charge of the investigation.

Loose outside but tight inside is the biggest feature of the Shangxuan Camp. All the people who enter the camp are just basic examinations. In fact, there are not too many requirements. As long as the person is not a demon and belongs to the Wei Dynasty, it will be fine. As for whether he is an insider or not, it depends on the subsequent investigation.

After completing this task, he happened to meet Qin Luo returning, so he reported the matter to him.

"Lu Ning..."

Qin Luo was a child born to Qin Zhong later in life. He was still young at this time, only about forty years old, in his prime, and had a good memory. After he went over the name Lu Ning in his mind, he had an impression of it.

"She was involved in what happened in the south."

"More than that, she is Lu Qingxu's daughter."

Qin Luo showed a look of realization: "If it is true, there is no suspicion. Lu Qingxu is obviously a practical official. Those idiots in the Ministry of Personnel actually let him go to the Censorate, which is a waste of talent."

"He was dismissed from his post last year and demoted back to his hometown. However, according to the official report at the beginning of the year, he was reinstated and sent to the west to serve as a prefect." Tang Ye was also very familiar with these things. "This is the position that suits that Lord Lu... Although he is not as good as the Imperial Censor in front of the emperor, he is also free."

At this time, more people came into the house one after another.

There were three other deputy generals, one was Tang Ye’s good friend Hou Zhenwu, one was the veteran Tong Rui who retired from the front-line battlefield, and the last one was a female general, Qin Luo’s daughter Qin Shu.

"Is the training over today? So early?" Tang Ye looked outside with some surprise. The sun had just passed overhead. It was only afternoon.

"There is a war." Hou Zhenwu took off the leather gloves on his hands, his face serious, "The outpost sent back news... The enemy is making moves. It seems that after such a long time, they have come up with some new ways to crack the situation."

Tang Ye was slightly startled and looked at Qin Luo.

"Although the three formations here are powerful, they are not impeccable." Qin Luo said, "If we always rely on the other side's inability to break them, over time, our own sharp aura will also be lost."

"General, you are right." Tong Rui looked relaxed. "It should be our turn to fight this time."

"Leave one person to manage Shangxuan Camp." Qin Luo glanced over, "Tong Rui, you stay."

Tong Rui's expression changed: "General? Although I am old, I can still lift a knife."

"Why not give the young people more opportunities?" Qin Luo said, "Besides, the Shangxuan Camp has been a little unstable in recent days, and you, an experienced veteran, need to take care of it more."

"Since the general has said so..." Tong Rui could only clasp his fists and say, "I obey your command."

=

Shangxuanying is numbered according to the Earthly Branches, with each branch having fifty rooms. In other words, this place can accommodate six hundred people.

It sounds small, but in fact, Shangxuanying has never filled up even these 600 rooms. Only a few people can enter this camp, and these few people are responsible for some dangerous tasks that can only be carried out by one or a few people, so many people have been killed.

Lu Ning walked for a while and didn't see anyone until she walked into a small garden in the central area.

In this kind of military camp, having such a small garden was already a privilege for them. In the garden, there were several people sitting, men, women, old and young, and everyone had a dull or even numb expression on their faces, which was different from the mental state of this camp that Lu Ning had expected.

However, just as she was about to step inside, a hand suddenly reached out from the side. Lu Ning reacted very quickly, twisting her body, and the hand missed. Immediately afterwards, a young man about her age came out from behind.

"Hey, quick reaction. You'd better not go over there yet." The young man shook his hands and grinned.

"Why?"

"Gardens are for people to relax, and if there are people who need to relax in this place, they are usually not in a stable state of mind." The young man smiled and spread his hands, "I haven't seen you before, are you new here? By the way, my name is Akong, people call me that, you can call me that too."

"... Lu Ning." Lu Ning nodded to him, "I just arrived here, walked around for a while, and didn't see anyone."

"Ha, I don't see anyone." Akong couldn't help laughing, "Look up in the sky, what time is it now? Everyone is eating, so they are naturally not here."

"Ah." Lu Ning suddenly realized, "I thought martial artists no longer needed..."

"Have you reached the stage of fasting at such a young age? God, how many delicacies have you missed? Come, come, I'll take you to the kitchen. The food in Shangxuan Camp is the best among the four camps. We have special treatment and I guarantee that we can awaken your dormant appetite." Akong immediately started talking about this topic, and seemed to intend to take Lu Ning away from this garden. Lu Ning let him do it. She followed him to the kitchen until they were far enough away, and then she condensed her voice into a line and sent it to Akong's ears.

“Why do you want to stay away from that group of people?”

Ah Kong suddenly lowered his voice: "You can transmit sound, that's fine, I can't, I'll whisper to you - those people are very dangerous, their mental state is not up to standard, although their martial arts are high, they haven't recovered from the battlefield, everyone is hiding."

"You only have martial arts skills but not enough state of mind..."

Lu Ning roughly understood it and thanked Akong.

"Haha, you're welcome. Just go to the kitchen and tell the fat cook what you want to eat. We can all have special meals. But Miss Lu, as the saying goes, where there are people, there are rivers and lakes. Besides, we are people of rivers and lakes. Since we are here, I'm afraid we can't avoid the customs..."

coming.

Although Akong was very enthusiastic, this purposeful enthusiasm was too obvious. Lu Ning did not dislike this approach, but it was also troubling that the other party did not mention it. If Akong did not say anything when he walked to the kitchen, she would have taken the initiative to bring up the topic.

"We are the people of Jianghu. We value the pleasure of revenge, but we also value the differences between sects. The Shangxuanying is also divided into several different sects. Ah, don't get me wrong, it doesn't mean that everyone has to fight with each other, but there are differences in closeness and distance, which is also human nature."

"Which faction are you from?" Lu Ning asked.

She didn't ask how many factions there were in total, because it would probably be useless to ask. This Akong was here to win her over.

"Is the girl from the north or the south?" Akong asked with a smile.

"Now that we are here, do we still need to distinguish between the north and the south?" "Of course not, but what I want to say is that if you are from the north, it will be easier for you to understand. You should know about the Yunhua Sect, one of the eight major sects?"

"know."

"Our faction is led by the youngest elder of the Yunhua Sect." Akong said proudly.

Lu Ning could understand his idea. After all, Yunhua Sect was a well-known large sect in the north, and most of its disciples were chivalrous and well-known. It might not be well-known in the south, but in the north, it was basically a kind of credibility guarantee.

"I see. But why are the elders of Yunhua Sect here? Why are they here instead of enjoying the offerings in the sect?"

"Of course it's to defend our country!" Akong said with a smile, "Elder Pang is a man of great integrity, so we naturally have to help him."

As they were talking, they had already arrived at the kitchen. There were five or six people cooking here, and the obvious leader was a fat cook with big arms and a big waist. When the cook heard someone coming in, he immediately turned his head and glanced at him: "Akong! What are you doing here again? You have used up your prescription for today!"

"Oh, isn't this a newcomer? I brought him here to help him get acquainted with the place." Akong apologized hastily with a smile.

"I haven't got my badge yet..." Lu Ning looked at the chef. Seeing that it was a girl, the chef's expression softened a bit: "It doesn't matter if you don't have a badge. I can't let you starve for the next two days. I will still give you the rations you deserve."

"The example is ..."

"I don't know what this brat said to you." The fat chef grabbed a piece of cloth to wipe his hands, then took out a sign from the cabinet in the corner of the kitchen, grabbed a sharp knife on the stove and carved it twice, then handed it to Lu Ning and began to explain.

"There are wars all year round in the northern part of the border. Although Grand Tutor Qin helps to mediate the supply, it is not that abundant. This guy probably boasted to you that he can eat delicacies from the mountains and the sea. Ha, nonsense. The ration is the extra ration given to you by Shangxuanying. You can eat better than other soldiers, that's all. There is a daily quota. Take this card and you can come to collect it once a day with this card."

Ah Kong scratched his head and chuckled, as if a little embarrassed about his bragging just now.

"Thank you."

"There are some fruits today, or you can have an extra bowl of broth with meat in it, but there are no extra dishes today, and I guess they won't be available these days." The fat chef said, "I advise you to get it here and eat it. If someone takes it away outside this door, I won't be responsible."

"Was it taken away?" Lu Ning raised her eyebrows.

"This is the military, but it's not a real military camp with strict rules... Ha, even if it's a real military camp, if you're not under Grand Tutor Qin, there will probably be all kinds of problems." The fat chef sighed, "Don't ask, what do you want to eat?"

"The fruit is ready."

"Row."

In just a moment, the fat chef brought a meal on a wooden plate. On the plate was a bowl of brown rice, a pickled vegetable dumpling, a piece of meat, a bowl of soup, and a porcelain bowl filled with a few unknown fruits that were big enough to be held in one hand.

"Eat by the stove. Akong, you wait here. If you have anything to say, wait until you finish eating." The fat chef glared at Akong.

Seeing this reaction, Lu Ning knew there was something fishy going on.

"Since I don't have a badge yet, I won't consider joining any faction yet. How about we talk about it in a couple of days?" Lu Ning looked at A Kong, "I have to pass the inspection first, right?"

"Ah...that's right. Where do you live? I'll come to see you in a couple of days." Akong asked.

"Twenty-six."

"Row……"

Ah Kong nodded and quickly ran out the door, seeming to be quite afraid of the fat chef.

Lu Ning also found a small stool next to the stove and sat down, and began to eat. The food was not very tasty, including the so-called fruit, which was more sour, but she knew that this meal should be considered a good meal in Saibei.

"Chef, is there a problem with the factions here?" Lu Ning asked with a smile.

The fat chef drove the other cooks out of the kitchen and continued to clean up the things in the kitchen. After hearing Lu Ning's question, he sneered.

"People want to live a superior life wherever they go. Even in the military camp, they want to be special. They don't even consider their own abilities."

"Uncle, I'm new here and I don't know what's going on here. Why don't you tell me about it?"

"There's nothing much to say. What factions? They're all crooked. They come to the army, but they can't even follow orders. They think they're great just because they have martial arts skills." The fat chef pulled a basket of radishes over and sat next to Lu Ning. He said while peeling radishes, "That fool thought he had a good backer. Humph. The only people you can rely on in Shangxuanying are those generals. The rest of the people are just based on their abilities. You must have some ability to get in. If you listen to my advice, don't worry about their messy things. If anyone dares to use any excuse to pressure you, just fight back. Anyway, when you get in front of the general, he will make a fair judgment."

"General, can you still make a fair judgment on this matter?" Lu Ning asked.

The fat chef pointed outside the door with his carrot: "Where is this place? Shangxuanying! Only capable people can enter. As long as you have ability, you are fair. So don't be a coward. Cowards are the most despised here. After all, the missions are assigned by the general. If you were a general, would you give such a life-threatening task to a ruthless person or a coward? Ha, aren't those people forming gangs just to get themselves out of the dangerous mission?"

"Is that so? Then why did they join the army?"

"Some really want to, but they are very clear about their own abilities; some come here just for fame, but they didn't expect that Saibei would drag on so long, until now." The fat chef smiled disdainfully, "Girl, if you only want fame, it's not too late for you to leave now. If you really want to defend your country, to put it bluntly, you have to be prepared to risk your life."

"Like you?" Lu Ning blinked.

Despite having such a burly body, the fat chef's aura is quite weak, mixed with a lot of gray-black air. If judged based on common sense, he would probably only live for one or two years at most.

"Luckily I didn't die, but I can't go to the battlefield anymore." The fat chef patted his belly. "I survived, but I don't know what bad luck I got to be so fat."

Lu Ning bowed respectfully, and then asked, "Uncle, I have another question. I'm sorry to bother asking."

"explain."

"On my way here, I met a man who claimed to have returned from the battlefield in the northern part of the Great Wall with a disability. His name was Gu Tong. I wonder if you recognize him, uncle?"