knife

Chapter 73 Climbing Up a Higher Branch
(Just a quick note about updates during the Chinese New Year holiday: I'll be updating once a day at 8 AM during the holiday. Please don't think it's too little! I also have elderly parents and young children to support, and there's a lot to do during the holiday! Updates will resume normally after the holiday! Thanks again to all my readers!)
"Fatty, you're really smart." A voice suddenly came from behind, startling Lü You and Jin Bao. When they turned around, they saw He Li and Zhu Zhe walking side by side a few steps away.

"Brother He, Brother Zhu!" Lü You said with a beaming smile, "It's just a wild guess."

Zhu Zhe looked the two of them up and down and said, "Being smart is being smart, otherwise you wouldn't have survived until now. What's there to be modest about?"

Lu You nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, Brother Zhu is absolutely right."

Seeing the fat man bowing and scraping, Zhu Zhe chuckled and strode away. He Li, however, patted Lü You on the shoulder and said, "Don't mind him, that's just Zhu's personality. He's a young man, after all. He's a really good guy. You'll get to know him better as you get to know him better. He's a true brother who'd risk his life for his brothers!"

The words were spoken casually, but contained a wealth of meaning. It meant that from now on, He Li truly considered these two as family, which was why he talked about what would happen in the future. Listening to this, Lü You felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

"How could I care? I've always considered Brother He and Brother Zhu as brothers who would die for each other!" Lü You said enthusiastically, "Brother He, after this battle is over, I'll invite you and Brother Zhu to Yingchun Tower. Please do me the honor!"

Upon hearing the name Yingchunlou, He Li's eyes lit up, and his attitude became even warmer: "Fatty, you've made quite a bit of money these past few years. Don't worry, your brother won't skimp on your finances!"

"Brother He, Boss Wild Wolf said that when we get to Mao'er Mountain, he'll give me and Fatty two silver tokens from Tai'an City..." Jinbao said cautiously from the side.

He Li raised an eyebrow and said, "Boss Wild Wolf keeps his word. What he promises is a promise, and you won't be left out. After this battle, he'll get it done for the two of you. The silver medal in Tai'an City isn't something you can just get casually. You have to apply first, then it's reviewed, and finally approved before you can get it. That takes at least half a month!"

“No problem, I can wait, I can wait. After this battle, I’ll go to Tai’an City to wait!” Jinbao said with a beaming smile.

"Fatty Lü invited me to Yingchun Tower, Jinbao, aren't you going to do anything about it?" He Li asked with a smile.

"Of course it's Yingchunlou!" Jinbao thumped his chest loudly.

He Li nodded. "I've got it. Fatty, I see you're badly injured too. You two shouldn't participate in the next battle. Just go inside and help with some chores."

"Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Brother He!" Lü You was overjoyed. Inviting someone to Yingchun Tower had proven useful; at least he wouldn't have to take any more risks. To be honest, he didn't want to fall before dawn; those who die before victory are the most unfortunate.

Jinbao asked cautiously, "Brother He, when will the reinforcements arrive?"

He Li smiled, looked up at the sky, and said, "It's late tonight, and Yan Dong sees us as fish on a chopping board, so he won't rush to attack. He'll definitely wait until tomorrow, until all his troops are gathered, before launching a full-scale attack. So tonight, we're generally safe. The real test is tomorrow morning, when Yan Dong will launch his final assault. His forces are twenty times our size!"

With a gulp, Jinbao swallowed hard, his face turning pale.

He was just a lowly bandit, with a maximum of thirty to fifty men under his command. He would immediately flee at the sight of a regular army. Now, in the last light of the day, looking at the growing number of flags gathering below the mountain, he couldn't help but waver again about whether he could get his silver medal.

"Whenever you need us brothers, just give the call, Brother He!" Lu Youyi said righteously. "Being able to fight alongside you and Boss Wild Wolf, to live and die together, is something Fatty can brag about for the rest of his life. Even if we die, we'll be very happy."

He Li laughed loudly: "Don't worry, Fatty, you won't die."

Watching He Li's departing figure, Jinbao whispered, "Brother He is a good person, but that Zhu Zhe is young but has a big temper, and he looks down on people."

Lu You glanced at him and said, "Bao'er, let me tell you, you need to be three times more respectful to Zhu Zhe than you are to He Li."

"What kind of logic is this? I think He Li is much higher in the Wild Wolf Boss's ranks than Zhu Zhe. Zhu Zhe is barely out of his teens, and who knows what kind of backing he has?"

"Keep your voice down!" Lu You hurriedly said, "Are you really stupid or just pretending? Don't you even look at how old Zhu Zhe is? How old is He Li? Whose martial arts cultivation is higher?"

"Do you even need to ask?"

"Yes, no need to ask. Zhu Zhe is only in his early twenties, yet he can hold his own against He Li under Wild Wolf's command. Their martial arts cultivation is also quite similar. But don't forget, He Li is almost twice the age of Zhu Zhe. What will happen to Zhu Zhe in twenty years?"

Jinbao took a deep breath.

"Bao'er, from now on we'll be following Boss Wild Wolf. We're only in our early thirties, and we'll be relying on Zhu Zhe a lot in the future. It'll definitely do us no harm to try and please him!"

“I’m going to follow you, Fatty!” Jinbao picked up an ice crystal and chewed it. “I’m not smart enough to think about all that. If you want to, I’ll just follow you!” Hearing Jinbao’s words, Lü You laughed and ruffled the other’s hair. “Brothers fight together, fathers and sons go to war together. Let’s work hard to make a future together.”

"Fatty, can you guess who the reinforcements will be?"

Lu You laughed so hard his face trembled: "At this point, it's not hard to guess. If Wild Wolf can get the silver token from Tai'an City, then it's obvious who he's working for. Bao'er, Li Dachui was able to stand up to Bei Yuan Wutu and snatch tens of thousands of people from that vulture Wutu. What is Yan Dong? What is Yan Sheng? This time, I'm afraid Tai'an City and Li Dachui are plotting against Baoping Prefecture! They've concentrated Yan Sheng's troops, which are scattered in various places, into one place, and then annihilated them in one fell swoop."

At this point, Lü You lowered his voice and whispered, "Who knows, the old man, the Lord of Tai'an City, might also take action, like capturing the king first, or shooting the horse first!"

"No way? A master of innate level, a god-like figure, personally killing someone?"

“Why not?” Lü You asked. “Even immortals need to eat, drink, urinate, and defecate. Besides, this immortal has to support so many people, including a bandit son. Parents should plan far ahead for their children!”

"Fatty can even spout quotations now?"

"I heard this from a storyteller in a teahouse when I went to Tai'an City last time!" Lü You said. "This time, we've really climbed the social ladder. Before, even if we clung to them, they wouldn't even look at us. So, Bao'er, opportunities are rare in life. When you encounter one, you have to hold on tight and never let go. From now on, when we're out in the world, just say we're subordinates of the Tai'an City Lord, and who will dare not look down on us?"

Jinbao nodded repeatedly.

Treasure Bottle City, Water Village.

At this moment, both the Qingshui River and the Juma River are frozen solid. They will not thaw until at least March or April next year, and these two major arteries outside the pass will not be able to operate again.

At this moment, all the hundreds of ships of all sizes in Baoping City were docked in the shipyard. The ice here was broken up every day to ensure that the water fortress would not freeze.

"Your Highness, this is the navy of my Baoping City, the only one of its kind outside the pass!" Yan Sheng said with no small amount of pride. "It is only through hundreds of years of management and accumulation that my Yan family has this foundation. Your Highness, if you have this navy, dominating outside the pass and defeating Linghu Ye will be within your grasp!"

“Governor Yan, it’s not that easy!” Tiele shook his head and said, “We only have one real opportunity to take advantage of this, and its advantage lies in its suddenness and secrecy. Once the enemy finds out that we have joined forces, the navy’s advantage will be greatly weakened. So we only have one chance to defeat Linghuye in one blow. After that, it will only be useful for transportation. Besides, the weather outside the pass is bitterly cold. Look, aren’t all the ships grounded now?”

Yan Sheng wanted to raise the price, while Tiele wanted to lower it. Naturally, one exaggerated the role of the navy to the skies, while the other endlessly magnified the other's weaknesses.

“This once is enough!” Yan Sheng said. “Does Your Highness agree?”

Tiele laughed heartily: "These ships are certainly important, but what I, Tiele, value even more is the Yan family. Whether or not these ships exist, I, Tiele, will still give Governor Yan an important position."

Yan Sheng laughed loudly: "Your Highness, why don't you go aboard and take a look? My Yan family's warships do have some commendable features."

"I was just looking to broaden my horizons. My Great Yuan dares to claim invincibility, but we're really not good at fighting on ships!" Tiele laughed and stepped onto the gangplank first.

Just as Yan Sheng was about to catch up, someone ran up quickly from behind.

"Prefect! Prefect!"

Yan Sheng turned around and looked at the person who came in: "What is it? Speak!"

The messenger beamed with joy: "The eldest young master just sent an urgent report that our army has forced the wolves to Mao'er Mountain. Now, forces from all directions are converging there, and the wolves have nowhere to escape. The eldest young master said that tomorrow, we can launch a general offensive and eradicate this scourge that has plagued our Baoping Prefecture for many years."

"You petty thief chieftain, if you're going to pull teeth from the tiger's mouth, you should be prepared to be bitten to death by the tiger!" Yan Sheng sneered.

Tiele laughed and said, "Prefect Yan, since we're already caught in a trap, why don't we go and watch the show? I want to see what kind of monster this wolf is that makes you, Prefect Yan, so determined to get rid of him!"

"Your Highness is too kind. To be honest, I just wanted to show Your Highness the prowess of my men from Bao Ping Prefecture. Otherwise, these lowly bandits wouldn't be worth all this trouble! Since Your Highness wants to see, let's go and see how my men defeat the enemy like autumn leaves in the wind tomorrow."

"Excellent!" Tiele exclaimed happily.

(End of this chapter)