The establishment of the Celestial Dynasty began with the bestowal of the title upon the River God.

Gongsun Ling frowned, recalling the captain's reaction when she went to the Tiger Might Camp to demand the person's return.

"Normally, if the garrison requests personnel from the military camp, even if they are rare talents, the military camp will not be too excited, since Brother Li, you are not actually under the control of the military camp right now."

But Commandant Pang of the Tiger Might Battalion refused to give up easily. Unable to resist his stubbornness any longer, and behaving decisively, he ordered his men to take care of the matter.

Li Yi only partially understood. "What does Your Excellency mean?"

Gongsun Ling subconsciously rubbed the hilt of her sword with her thumb. "Intuitively, I feel that a battle is imminent."

Li Yi and Li Erhu exchanged bewildered glances. "Fighting in winter?"

Gongsun Ling said no more, only smiling and saying, "It's all just hearsay. You two should first establish a firm foothold in the county town, so that even if something happens—"

She pointed her index finger to the sky, "There's someone taller holding it up."

After leaving the government office, the centurion went straight back to the commander's office and ordered the gatekeeper to inform him that he wanted to see Commander Gongsun. Unexpectedly, he waited until late at night.

Gongsun Boyan left the main hall, passed through the waterside pavilion and corridor, and entered the inner courtyard.

Seeing that the light was on in his daughter's room, he went up the steps and knocked on the door.

"Father? Come in."

A woman's voice came from inside the house, gentler than usual.

When Gongsun Boyan opened the door, Gongsun Ling had already changed into a simple and elegant tunic with a cinched waist.

He watched his daughter approach and said helplessly:

"The compensation for the victims of Sanyi Village has been fully paid out. Didn't you also contribute a portion out of your own pocket?"

Gongsun Ling sat down on his own, but brought up another matter.

"The granaries have been replenished every month this year, and an additional one has been built at Xu Gong's residence. Father, tell me the truth, is the court planning to send troops again?"

Gongsun Boyan said indifferently, "Military secrets are not something a mere centurion like you could possibly glean."

Gongsun Ling remained silent for a moment, not pressing for details, and then said:

"The hero who helped my daughter exorcise the demon has now officially joined the ranks of the Hundred Households. He has rendered meritorious service in exorcising the demon and is considered a great benefactor to the remaining people of Sanyi Village. I plan to use this merit to exchange for a body-refining method for him."

Gongsun Boyan had heard about it last night, and raised an eyebrow, saying:

"That hunter from Hanshan County? A River God has emerged from the heart of the Great Cold Mountain, and now there is a promising cultivator. Truly, this place is blessed with outstanding people and resources."

Gongsun Ling nodded with a smile, clearly pleased with himself for successfully recruiting a capable assistant.

……

After Li Yi returned to the Zhang residence, the kitchen staff served him fine beef and mutton, saving him another blood-nourishing pill.

After a day, the Fubai acupoint has been initially stabilized.

"It has taken more than a month since the acupoint was opened. As long as there is enough food and drink, and another month or so, I should be able to break through the Fengchi point and reach the mid-stage of cultivation."

"It's all just a superficial cultivation level; it lacks both the various magical techniques and methods of Qi cultivation and the robust physique of body cultivation. It relies entirely on incense and a golden body for support, which is far too weak..."

Now that he had officially joined the garrison, Li Yi thought that he would take the initiative to ask for body-refining methods when he had time, so as to transform the realm of these ten spiritual acupoints into strength and solidify his foundation.

He took out Zhang Junyi's letter from his pocket, unfolded it, and examined it carefully again. He said speechlessly, "I still can't recognize many of the characters..."

When I thought of finding someone to translate it, the first person I thought of was Zhang's mother, but I felt a little shy. Then I thought of Gongsun Ling, and realized that I didn't want to share the letter with anyone at all.

"In the letter from Junyi, there is a mention of the layout of the prefecture city, which is an important matter. We can ask Gongsun Ling about it tomorrow; as for the rest... well, it would be better to find a tutor to teach us to read."

The next morning, Li Erhu knocked on the door early and called Li Yi to ride to the government office together. The two did not see Gongsun Ling, but were approached by the tall man.

The tall man handed over a booklet. "This is the roster of Sanyi Manor. Take a look."

Li Yi looked down and flipped through the pages. Although he couldn't fully understand them, he could roughly grasp the meaning.

This register contains all the information of eleven military households in Sanyi Village, including ten soldiers and one flag bearer, totaling thirty-seven people.

Most of the names were crossed out with a vermilion brush, leaving only thirteen.

The tall man solemnly said, "Of the thirteen survivors, eleven are relatives of soldiers. Of the eleven brothers of the Third Manor's junior officer, only two remain."

As he spoke, he pointed to the roster twice.

"Guantian, Yang Lin."

Guan Tian, ​​just turned seventeen, four years younger than Li Yi, followed in his father's footsteps and became a garrison soldier.

Yang Lin, twenty-two years old, began absorbing Qi and opening acupoints half a year ago. He is now a Qi cultivation practitioner in the early stage of physical cultivation, having opened three acupoints.

After Li Yi had looked around enough, the tall man reminded him:

"Let's go, I'll take you to Sanyi Manor to have a look—Li Yi, as a junior officer, the garrison will provide you with a horse, so let's just use that yellow horse, it'll save us the trouble of moving it around."

Li Yi had no objection and followed behind the tall man, riding the apricot-colored horse with Li Erhu. They walked out of the south city gate, then out of the city for another ten miles, finally arriving at the jurisdiction of the Hundred Households Office.

The tall man slowed his horse, walked along the path, and pointed to a spot, saying:

"The Beidajie Hundred Household Office is responsible for ten villages, from No. 21 to No. 31. Village No. 31 is located in the easternmost part."

Two horses and three soldiers were traveling along a narrow path when they suddenly saw a fleeting figure ahead, holding a copper bell in its hand, followed by a lifeless new soul.

The ghost messenger saw Li Yi and his two companions, nodded in greeting, and passed by them.

The tall man abruptly reined in his horse, his gaze following the movement of the ghost messenger and the new soul, stunned and speechless.

Li Yi also looked back curiously, and after a short while, he spurred his horse forward and called out twice.

The tall man withdrew his gaze and said blankly:

"There's only one brother left in Sanyi Village."

Li Yi realized something and suddenly turned around, but could only see the back of the new soul with its head bowed.

It's a pity I didn't get a good look at him earlier, I don't even have a recollection of what that brother looks like.

The tall man sighed softly, turned his head, and spurred his horse forward again, only increasing the speed slightly, occasionally shouting "Giddy up!" to urge the horse on.

Li Erhu had not yet activated his Qi and opened his acupoints, so he could not see any ghosts. He only felt the atmosphere was inexplicably oppressive, so he could only sit silently in the back.

The three of them arrived at the village, but before they could see anyone, they heard a suppressed, low sobbing. It seemed that people from the surrounding villages had heard some news and kept coming over.

The tall man led the two Lis straight to the gate of a courtyard, where people were bustling about inside and outside the courtyard.

A woman suddenly noticed the tall man and immediately knelt down, wailing, "Sir, Xiao Lin—he hanged himself!"

The surrounding military households all recognized the tall man and consciously made way for him.

The three of them turned from the main hall into the east room and saw a pale male corpse lying flat on the straw bed, with a coarse cloth draped over the roof beam.

The tall man sat on half his buttocks on the edge of the bed, muttered "good-for-nothing" under his breath, and then shouted:

"Please help with Yang Lin's funeral arrangements. The unit will provide all the necessary materials. The news of Yang Lin's death will be reported to the brigade headquarters, and the compensation will be distributed according to the same standard as the other brothers. This matter..."

The soldiers immediately understood and shouted:

"Rest assured, Commander, Xiao Lin was killed by the fox demon!"