Brocade Robe Unparalleled

Chapter 7 Reunion with the Black Robe
"unacceptable!"

"Your position was earned by Commander Lin with his life. Why should he just demote you like that!"

"No, I can't swallow this! I'm going to report this to the Commander-in-Chief, and I'm going to report this to the Garrison Commander!"

……

In Lin Xuan's courtyard, Zhang Hu paced back and forth around Lin Xuan, his face filled with righteous indignation.

Chen Bao leaned against the wall, glanced at him, and shook his head, saying, "Forget it. With Commander Chen gone, the Sizhou Border Defense Command is completely under Wu's control. If we anger him, he might send us on a few dangerous missions at will. Forget about our positions, we might not even be able to save our lives..."

Lin Xuan patted Zhang Hu on the shoulder and said with a smile, "A gatekeeper is fine. It's a quiet job, and you don't have to go on business trips. There's no danger. I like it."

Chen Bao took this as Lin Xuan's self-consolation, sighed, and said, "I heard that Huang Yue gave Wu Baihu a bribe of five hundred taels of silver, and Wu Baihu agreed to make him a banner officer. Your position should have been vacated for him."

"Five hundred taels!" Zhang Hu's eyes widened in surprise. "Huang Yue has gone mad! A banner officer's annual salary is only thirty-six taels. Five hundred taels? How many years would he have to work to break even?"

Chen Bao shrugged and said, "You're not new to the Jingbian Division. They make money not just from that meager fixed salary..."

Zhang Hu was speechless for a moment. Indeed, from top to bottom, who in the Jingbian Division lived off their salary?

Even a centurion's salary was only five or six taels a month, and no more than sixty or seventy taels a year.

This amount of money is probably not even a fraction of their annual income.

The real money comes from bribery, extortion, gifts from various parties, buying and selling official positions, and all sorts of shady income that can't be brought to the table.

The Jingbian Division wielded special power, and even the prefectural government had to show it deference. Even a minor officer could easily earn five hundred taels of silver a year if he wanted to.

In fact, this is how everyone in the Jingbian Division, from the guards down to the centurions, did it.

The reason he, Chen Bao, and Lin Xuan became friends was because the three of them disdained doing such dirty things.

Chen Bao said slowly, "The current Jingbian Division is completely under the control of Commander Wu. The other banner officers have all surrendered to him. Before, we only listened to Commander Chen. His suppression of us is just to make an example of us. Our future is probably not going to be easy..."

Lin Xuan listened quietly without making any comments.

The Jingbian Division of Sizhou is usually headed by two centurions, one as the chief and one as the deputy.

Commander Chen was in charge of action planning and personnel transfers, while Deputy Commander Wu was in charge of intelligence gathering and finance. The two were not subordinate to each other, each performed their own duties, and were jointly responsible to Commander Qianhu.

However, in terms of rank and power, Chen Baihu was higher than Wu Baihu and was the de facto head of the department.

Now that Commander Chen has been transferred, Lin Xuan and the other two are indeed in a very awkward situation.

He offended the current top leader by taking sides in the past, and is now being purged, with no chance to even surrender.

If I can extricate myself from this situation, I won't have to continue to suffer.

Unfortunately, Lin Xuan was already deeply involved and had no choice but to accept the situation.

Zhang Hu left cursing, and Chen Bao followed him.

After the two left, Lin Xuan closed the courtyard gate, shutting out the noise from the outside world.

Walking back to the center of the courtyard, he temporarily forgot about these trivial matters and slowly closed his eyes.

Then, Lin Xuan stood with his feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, arms loosely clasped in front of his chest, palms facing each other, as if embracing an invisible, majestic mountain.

At the same time, his breathing also adjusted, following a unique rhythm, becoming slow and long.

This is the core stance training of the first level of Zhenyue Gong: Baoshan stance.

There are countless martial arts in the world, some emphasizing offense, some focusing on defense, and others emphasizing movement and speed. Among the vast sea of ​​martial arts, Zhenyue Function has become the inherited martial art of Jingbian Division, which is extraordinary in itself.

The core of this technique lies in tempering the body. As one's cultivation level increases, one's defensive power grows exponentially. At higher levels, one becomes proficient in both offense and defense.

An opponent of the same level cannot break through the defense of the mountain's protective aura. However, a practitioner of the Mountain Suppression Technique can, with a thought, draw upon the immense power of heaven and earth to condense a true mountain phantom to suppress powerful enemies, with devastating power.

Gradually, Lin Xuan felt an invisible current flowing across his body.

This is the mark of the first level of Zhenyue Gong. When he can break through the skin and enter his entire body, that is when he breaks through the second level of Zhenyue Gong and officially becomes an eighth-rank martial artist.

The description of the first two levels of the Zhenyue Skill as having a body of copper and iron is most fitting.

Lin Xuan cultivated for a full hour, until he was exhausted and could no longer stand.

He worked so hard not to get his official position reinstated.

In this dog-eat-dog world, only those with sufficient strength can firmly grasp their destiny in their own hands.

He even bought a bathtub so that after his practice, a comfortable hot bath could effectively relieve some of his fatigue.

Three days passed quickly. As the holiday ended, Lin Xuan immediately reported to the gatehouse.

The duties of the gatekeeper were much easier compared to those of the banner officer. They mainly involved recording people coming and going, receiving official documents and mail, and maintaining the cleanliness of the gatehouse, the area inside and outside the gate, essentially serving as both a security guard and a cleaner at the Jingbian Si gate.

Compared to Lin Xuan, Zhang Hu and Chen Bao's lives were not so comfortable.

Wu Baihu assigned them all the dirty and hard work of the Jingbian Division, clearly intending to force them out. In that case, he would have another opportunity to make a living by selling the two vacant banner officer positions.

Although his body was at ease, Lin Xuan's heart remained uneasy.

Today is the fifteenth, the day set by the man in black robes.

As a doorman, Lin Xuan had no access to any useful information. Although it wasn't his fault, who knew what the man in black robes would think?
They waited anxiously until nightfall, but the man in black robes still did not appear.

Just when Lin Xuan thought he wasn't coming, the oil lamp in the room flickered and then suddenly went out.

Lin Xuan assumed it was caused by the wind, so he took out a tinderbox and relit the oil lamp.

In the dim light, a figure shrouded in a wide black robe silently sat down in a chair by the table.

Lin Xuan's heart tightened, and the words he had rehearsed countless times in his mind slipped out: "Commander Chen has been transferred, and Commander Wu dismissed me and reassigned me to the gatehouse. I can't get any intelligence..."

In the suffocating silence, the man in black finally spoke.

His voice was still hoarse and aged, but it lacked the aggressive tone of the last time: "I am aware of this matter, and it is indeed not your fault."

Lin Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the man in black robes was willing to reason, there was still room for maneuver.

The man in black robes continued in a hoarse voice, "Your position was obtained at the cost of your father's sacrifice. Although Wu Xianren's actions were unkind, they were not entirely unreasonable. Your most urgent task is to master the first level of the Zhenyue Gong as soon as possible, break through to the eighth rank, and regain your position as a flag officer..."

Lin Xuan nodded and said, "I will try my best."

He was almost certain that the man in black robes had other informants in the Jingbian Division, otherwise he wouldn't know so much about the affairs of the Jingbian Division.

At this moment, the man in black robes slightly raised his head. Beneath the hooded mask, two tangible gazes fell upon Lin Xuan. His tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction: "Three years have passed, and you haven't even broken through the first level of the Zhenyue Skill. Although the cultivation speed of the Zhenyue Skill is slower than other techniques, it shouldn't be this slow..."

After a brief pause, the man in black stood up and said, "Punch me with all your might."

Lin Xuan was slightly taken aback: "Huh?"

The man in black robes repeated, his tone leaving no room for argument: "Use all your strength to hit me."

Without further hesitation, Lin Xuan spread his feet apart, bent his knees slightly, and assumed the "embracing the mountain" stance. He clenched his right fist, twisted his waist and hips, and punched the black-robed man hard in the chest.

This punch was powerful and heavy, lacking any skill, relying entirely on force, and carrying a strong sense of personal grudge. It even stirred up a whistling sound in the air.

boom!
The man in black robes gently raised his hand, and Lin Xuan's full-force punch was lightly blocked by his palm.

A tremendous force of recoil struck, and Lin Xuan staggered back several steps before managing to regain his footing.

The black-robed man's tone was unreadable: "You're quite obedient. I told you to use your full strength, and you used twelve percent of your strength."

Lin Xuan shook his slightly numb fists and clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "Your subordinate is acting under orders."

The man in black spoke again, his tone surprisingly appreciative: "Very good, I hope you can continue to be so obedient."

Lin Xuan sighed inwardly.

People have to bow their heads under the roof.

If one day he were to cure the Heart-Eating Gu and possess the strength to defeat the man in black robes...

He'll show this cowardly fellow, who doesn't even dare to show his true face, what it means to have a gentleman's revenge, even after ten years...

The man in black robes was unaware of Lin Xuan's thoughts. His gaze lingered on Lin Xuan for a moment before he spoke again: "Take off your clothes."

"what?"

Lin Xuan froze instantly, and soon, an indescribable sense of humiliation and anger surged to his head.

He accepted being forced to become an undercover agent for Nanzhao after his body was infected with the Heart-Eating Gu by the man in black robes.

But if that old man harbored any other wicked intentions towards him, he would rather die...

The man in black robes took out a dark porcelain bottle from his robes and continued, "Your strength is already at the peak of the ninth rank. This bottle of bone-tempering liquid is enough for you to break through to the eighth rank."

The anger on Lin Xuan's face melted away like ice and snow, replaced by a hint of doubt. He asked in a low voice, "Bone Tempering Liquid... what is that?"

(End of this chapter)