From bone collectors to the supreme ruler of humanity

Gao Wenjing flipped through the fish-scale book to a new page with a rustling sound, picked up his pen, and dipped it in ink.

"Lin Yan, a native of Black Wind Ridge," he muttered to himself while his hands continued to write.

He paused for a moment, then looked up at Lin Yan.

Lin Yan stood still without saying a word.

Gao Wenjing stared at him for a while, then suddenly closed the booklet and leaned back in his chair.

"You are a wandering martial artist. According to the rules, wandering martial artists need two law-abiding citizens to act as guarantors for their examination."

Lin Yan's heart sank.

The candidates in the hall looked at each other, and some of them smirked again.

One examinee whispered, "I've never heard of such a rule. Besides, where would a person registered as a migrant guarantor come from? Isn't this just making things difficult for people?"

Another chimed in, "The real trouble is with the registration system; otherwise, every commoner would have to take the exam, which would ruin the reputation of the Martial Selection Office!"

Lin Yan stood in the center of the hall. He didn't know anyone in Zhenbei City, and even in Black Wind Ridge, he only knew Manager Hu.

Gao Wenjing picked up his teacup again. "Insufficient guarantors; the assessment ends here—"

"I am a disciple of Lieutenant Ye from the Northern Military Prefecture yesterday. She can vouch for me. I wonder if my official status can be exchanged for two good citizens?" Lin Yan suddenly remembered what Ye Qingxue had told him and took out the token.

Upon seeing the token, Gao Wenjing immediately dropped his contemptuous expression.

"Commander Ye actually gave him the token. Could it be that Commander Ye is really this lowly commoner's backer?"

He put down his teacup, picked up Lin Yan's household registration document and looked at it, then looked at the "town" token in Lin Yan's hand, and remained silent for a few moments.

"Lin Yan, a first-grade Body Tempering Realm cultivator, is qualified in both swordsmanship and fist techniques. He is self-taught, no, his teacher is... his teacher is Captain Ye Qingxue of the Zhenbei Army."

Gao Wenjing lowered his head and continued writing.

"You have passed the assessment and are hereby granted entry into the ranks."

He pushed the booklet forward: "Sign it. After you're done, go to the household registration office to get the deregistration certificate. From now on, you're a law-abiding citizen."

Lin Yan stepped forward, picked up a pen, and wrote down his name.

After finishing writing, he put down his pen and took the document stamped with the official seal of the Military Selection Office.

Gao Wenjing leaned back in his chair, watching Lin Yan turn and leave, and clicked his tongue:

"A self-taught scholar? How come another prodigy has appeared?"

Half an hour later, Lin Yan stood at the door of the household registration office in the north of the town, holding the still-wet ink document of his expulsion from the household registration office in his hand.

The document clearly states that Lin Yan, originally registered as a resident of Black Wind Ridge, has now passed the examination by the Martial Selection Office and is permitted to leave his registered status and become a free citizen. Note: His family has been free citizens for three generations, and his taxes will be halved.

The characters are in the neat, official script style, and the seal is made of red clay, like the official seal of a household.

He stood under the eaves of the house, the northern wind whipping up sand and dust that stung his face.

He looked down at the words on the document again, then folded it up, put it close to his body, and strode out.

Outside the house, Ye Qingxue was waiting by the roadside, leading a green horse.

Lin Yan walked over: "You passed the test."

Ye Qingxue nodded: "I guessed it."

How did you guess?

"I could tell from your swordplay yesterday that you have a background in military drill, plus you were able to hold your own against that barbarian. You'd be more than qualified to pass the Martial Arts Selection Division."

Lin Yan tried to force a smile, but before her lips could even curve upwards, they fell back down.

The two hadn't walked far when they saw a noodle shop worker moving a door panel, preparing to close up shop.

Lin Yan touched the few copper coins he had left in his pocket. "I'll treat you to a bowl of noodles."

Ye Qingxue glanced at him. "You're treating me?"

"It's just a bowl of noodles," Lin Yan said. "You've done me a great favor."

The noodle shop was small, with four old square tables and oil lamps on the walls blackened by smoke. The two sat down at a low table near the entrance, huddled together by the still-burning stove fire.

The noodles arrived, served in a rough earthenware bowl, steaming hot soup noodles, with scallions and a few drops of oil floating in the soup, and a dish of salted radish on the side.

Ye Qingxue lowered her head and ate a few bites, not very fast, picking up strands of noodles one by one with her chopsticks and putting them into her mouth.

Lin Yan cupped her face in her hands and looked at Ye Qingxue. "By the way, I haven't asked you yet, why were you at Qipanling that day?"

"Just passing by."

"A captain, passing by Qipanling alone?"

Ye Qingxue suddenly put down her chopsticks, raised her eyelids, and said, "Are you interrogating me?"

"No," Lin Yan shook his head, "It's just that you don't seem like someone who came from the border army."

"I've met a few people who have served in the border army, and their swordsmanship skills were all honed in the manuals, very meticulously. But you're different."

Ye Qingxue didn't reply and continued picking out noodles.

The stove crackled beside the two of them, and the noodle shop worker was scrubbing the pots inside, with wisps of steam billowing out from the iron pots.

After a while, Ye Qingxue put down her chopsticks.

"My mother came from a noble family, and I've lived with her since I was little. My father was from Qingzhou, a centurion in the border army. Years ago, when the northern barbarians attacked, he led his troops to defend Zhenbei City to the death." She looked at the noodle soup in her bowl. "When the news came back, some people in the clan said that my mother had married a border soldier with no connections, which lowered the prestige of our noble family. They said either she should remarry, or she should take me with her. So my mother took me in a mule cart and followed the people who were evacuating from Qingzhou southwards."

She paused for a moment, then said, "The northern barbarians didn't attack, and the roads were blocked; all the passes to the south were shut down. My mother and I had nowhere to go, so we returned to Zhenbei City."

Where is your mother?

"It's always been here." Ye Qingxue picked up her chopsticks again and took a bite of noodles. "She died of illness a few years ago. She was buried behind the mortuary in the north of the city, without even a tombstone."

The steam from the bowls of noodles wafted between the two of them.

Ye Qingxue looked up at him. "After returning from the mortuary, I went to the recruitment office at the North Camp. I had just turned fourteen then, and I wasn't even as tall as Dao. The recruitment officer saw me and laughed, saying, 'What are you doing here, you little brat? Go home.' I slammed my father's decree of ennoblement on the table and said, 'I want to join the army.'"

Her tone suddenly softened as she said this.

The recruiting officer glanced at the document, then at me, said nothing more, and accepted me.

"I spent three years at the Beidaying barracks, rising from cook to scout. Later, my master noticed me and said I had good aptitude, so he took me into the mountains to train in martial arts for four years. After completing my training, I returned to the border army and rose through the ranks to become a captain."

After saying this, Ye Qingxue picked up the bowl and drank the last mouthful of noodle soup, then wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

"I'm heading north tomorrow."

"where did you go?"

"Northern front, military order." Ye Qingxue stood up, casually tore off a piece of cloth to wipe her chopsticks, paused, and said, "The world is not at peace. If someone like you joins the army, many people can survive."

Lin Yan placed the empty bowl on the table. "Take care of yourself too."

"What are your plans next?" Ye Qingxue asked.

"First, I'll go back to Qingzhou to pick up my mother and sister, and then find a place to settle down."

Lin Yan said, "I promised them."

Ye Qingxue stood up. "The noodles are good. I'm leaving."

Lin Yan escorted her to the crossroads outside the city.

Ye Qingxue mounted the horse and pulled on the reins. "If you want to join the army in the future, go to Beidaying and register my name—Ye Qingxue."

After she finished speaking, she spurred her horse and rode it out of the city heading north. Her green figure was quickly swallowed up by the dust on the official road.

Only the fading sound of horses' hooves remained.

Lin Yan stood at the crossroads for a long time. The sky to the north was hazy, and there was a faint smell of burning in the wind.

After standing there for a while, Lin Yan turned around and walked south.