The God of War Who Protects the Nation: Starting with Saving a Mother and Daughter in Distress

Realizing that war was inevitable, Qin An felt somewhat heavy-hearted.

He looked at Han Quan's face, which was filled with barely concealed excitement, and was puzzled for a moment.

What do these things have to do with me?

How did it become my opportunity?

Han Quan saw through his doubts and smiled, "According to the rules, militia training is under the jurisdiction of our local yamen runners. I know what you're thinking, so I specially secured a spot for you to go back to Baishan Village and be responsible for training the militia of several villages near your home."

Qin An's breath hitched, and his heart began to race uncontrollably.

"Don't underestimate this task," Han Quan continued. "If you train them well, these people might even follow you to the battlefield when we set off."

"Once you're in the military, you have people under your command whom you've trained yourself. You start at a higher level than others and get promoted faster."

He paused, a hint of emotion flashing in his eyes. "The reason I advised you to become a constable was precisely for this reason. Having a position in the yamen would give you the opportunity to get involved in these matters. Otherwise, how could a hunter like you possibly be the one to take the lead?"

"With this resume, I won't have to start as a private when I join the army in the future."

Having said all that, Han Quan didn't hold back and laid everything out in one go.

A warm feeling welled up in Qin An's heart.

He had always thought that Han Quan took care of him out of gratitude for saving his life, but he never expected that the other party would consider things so far ahead for him.

This friendship is profound.

"Brother Han..." Qin An was speechless for a moment, a thousand words stuck in his throat, and in the end only he could say, "I will never thank you for your great kindness. I will remember it in my heart."

"Why are you being so polite with me?" Han Quan waved his hand. "You're capable; all you lack is an opportunity. I'm just going with the flow. Work hard and don't waste your potential."

"Don't worry!" Qin An stood up abruptly, his eyes gleaming. "I'll go back and prepare right away. I won't let Brother Han down."

He wished he could fly back to Baishantun immediately.

Training militia is not only a springboard to getting closer to the army, but also an excellent opportunity to build up strength.

Using this as an excuse, he could transform the conscripted men into a truly capable fighting force, giving them more confidence on the battlefield in the future.

Han Quan nodded in satisfaction at his eager expression: "The government will make unified arrangements for the conscription. Go back and wait. They should all be here in three days."

"Okay." Qin An hurriedly took his leave and hurried towards Baishan Village.

He hurried along, the cold wind brushing against his cheeks, but it couldn't extinguish the burning passion in his heart.

……

When Qin An returned home, it was still early.

Yang Yuyan was sitting in the courtyard washing clothes when she saw him walk briskly through the door. She was taken aback and asked, "Husband, why are you back so soon? Didn't you say you wouldn't have a day off for a few more days?"

Cai Yan peeked out from under the window, and Cai Zhen ran over and tugged at his sleeve: "Father, has something happened at the yamen?"

Looking at the three faces, some puzzled and some worried, Qin An felt all the gloom that had been weighing on his heart for days vanish.

He couldn't help but laugh out loud, and picked Cai Zhen up and spun her around: "Great news, the best news ever!"

Seeing his joy, Yang Yuyan breathed a sigh of relief and stood up to brush the dust off his shoulders: "What good thing is it that makes you so happy?"

Qin An put Cai Zhen down, took Yang Yuyan's hand, and told her about how Han Quan had secured a militia training spot for him.

He spoke with great enthusiasm, from how Han Quan planned things for him, to the significance of training the militia, and then to his future career path in the army. Only after he finished speaking did he realize that Yang Yuyan's eyes were already red.

"My wife?"

"I'm fine." Yang Yuyan wiped her eyes, her smile filled with undisguised pride. "I'm just happy that my husband has finally gotten his chance to shine."

"We have to celebrate properly tonight!" Cai Zhen skipped towards the kitchen. "I'll go see what else we have to eat!"

Cai Yan smiled, a rare occurrence for her, and turned to help her younger sister with the preparations.

That evening, Yang Yuyan prepared a table of dishes, and Cai Yan and Cai Zhen sat around on both sides, enjoying a happy meal together as a family.

Qin An drank quite a lot of wine, a rare occurrence for him. He downed bowl after bowl of wine, his face flushed, and he talked much more than usual.

He would say one minute that he would train the militia into elite soldiers, and the next minute that he would say that they would gain a foothold in the army in the future, so he took them all to live in the city.

Yang Yuyan poured him wine and served him food, but didn't urge him to drink less; she just listened with a smile.

Cai Yan and Cai Zhen had never seen Qin An so happy before, and they found it quite novel.

It wasn't until the moon was high in the sky that the two sisters finished cleaning up the dishes and went back to their rooms to rest.

Yang Yuyan helped the slightly tipsy Qin An into the bedroom. As soon as she closed the door and turned around, she was tightly embraced by a pair of burning hot arms.

Qin An hugged her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder, his hot breath mixed with the smell of alcohol spraying onto her neck.

"My wife..." His voice was lower than usual, hoarse with the smell of alcohol.

Yang Yuyan's body went limp the moment he put his arm around her, and she scolded, "Drinking so much, aren't you afraid of having a headache tomorrow morning..."

Before she could finish speaking, Qin An had already turned her body around and lowered his head to kiss her.

The kiss was heavily intoxicated, more urgent and domineering than usual, like a fire that had been suppressed for a long time finally finding an outlet.

Yang Yuyan was breathless from his kisses, but she couldn't bear to push him away. Instead, she raised her arms to wrap around his neck and tiptoed to meet him.

"My wife..." Qin An picked her up horizontally, walked a few steps to the bedside, laid her down on the bedding, and leaned down to press her down.

His eyes shone brightly in the dim light, and his voice trembled slightly with excitement, "I've finally waited for this opportunity, finally..."

The words that followed turned into a series of hot kisses, landing on her forehead, her eyebrows, her lips, and moving downwards.

Yang Yuyan knew he was genuinely happy.

This man, who was usually so composed that he didn't seem like a young man, had now shed all his restraint and forbearance, like a tireless wild beast, full of inexhaustible energy.

He was unusually excited tonight, and his movements were much rougher than usual, but he subconsciously stopped himself each time he exerted force, afraid of hurting her.

Even so, Yang Yuyan was quickly overwhelmed.

She was no match for Qin An to begin with, and tonight he was even more vigorous than usual. Before long, she went limp and didn't even have the strength to lift her arms.

She could only cling to his shoulders, rising and falling with his rhythm, letting out intermittent soft hums.

"Husband...please go slower..." she finally couldn't help but beg for mercy, her voice as soft as melted honey.

Qin An lowered his head and kissed her lips, swallowing her pleas for mercy, but his movements did not slow down in the slightest.

It was as if he wanted to pour all the repression, all the expectations, and all the hopes for the future of these past few days into this one night of entanglement.

Yang Yuyan felt like a small boat caught in a storm, tossed up and down by the giant waves, and in her daze, she had no idea where she was.

But she didn't push him away.

She bit her lip and used her last bit of strength to cross her legs even tighter.

She knew how much ambition this man harbored, and she also knew how difficult his journey had been.

She couldn't offer much help; she could only use this body to hold all his emotions.

She accepted all of his passion, his ambition, his unease, and his desires.

Even though she was almost falling apart, she was happy to do it.

As night deepened, the noises in the bedroom continued unabated.

The loud noise from their conversation traveled through the thin wall to the next room.

Cai Yan and Cai Zhen had already been woken up by the noise.

The two lay in bed, facing each other in the darkness, neither daring to speak first.

After a long while, Cai Zhen finally couldn't hold back any longer and muttered softly, "Father... how much did he drink? How long has it been?"

Cai Yan blushed and pinched her: "Stop talking nonsense, go to sleep."

Cai Zhen turned over and leaned closer, lowering her voice to say, "Sister, do you think... Father is getting more and more powerful? It doesn't seem like it's been this long before..."

She paused, a hint of mischief in her voice, "Mother's really in trouble now."

"You still dare to say that!" Cai Yan was so ashamed that she shrank deeper into the blanket.

Cai Zhen persisted, whispering in her ear, "But I don't think Mother suffered much. I vaguely heard her cry out a few times just now, it didn't sound like she was in pain... it sounded more like..."

She was a little embarrassed to continue talking about this.

Cai Yan was silent for a moment, then whispered as softly as a mosquito's hum: "Mother... must be very happy."

Neither of them spoke. In the darkness, they could only hear faint sounds coming from next door and their own pounding hearts.

After a long while, Cai Zhen suddenly spoke softly, "Sister, tell me... what does it feel like for a man and a woman to do that kind of thing?"

Cai Yan froze when asked the question, stammering for a long time, "I...how would I know?"

"The book says it's the happiest thing in the world," Cai Zhen's voice held the innocence and curiosity unique to young girls. "But if it's such a happy thing, why does Mother always..."

Cai Yan's face turned bright red, and she simply buried her head under the covers: "Stop asking about these irrelevant things and go to sleep."

Cai Zhen pouted and didn't ask any more questions.

She tossed and turned in bed for a while, but she couldn't calm down.

As the noise from next door gradually subsided, she closed her eyes, but Qin An's image involuntarily surfaced in her mind.

She secretly buried her face in the blanket and muttered softly, "If I ever get married, I want to marry a man like Father..."

Although the voice was soft, Cai Yan heard it.

Cai Yan kicked her under the covers, but didn't say anything in response.

She stared at the dark roof beams, a strange and inexplicable ripple stirring within her heart.

The night finally quieted down.

In the bedroom, Yang Yuyan lay on Qin An's chest, her whole body covered in sweat, too lazy to even move a finger.

Qin An's drunkenness had mostly subsided, and he put his arm around her shoulder, stroking her back intermittently.

"My husband is truly happy today." Yang Yuyan's voice was languid and hoarse after the event.

"Mmm." Qin An lowered his head and kissed the top of her head. "My wife, you've worked hard."

Yang Yuyan chuckled softly: "Serving my husband, what's so hard about it?"

She propped herself up slightly, using the moonlight streaming in from the window to examine his face, and reached out to stroke his brow bone. "As long as you become successful in the future and remember that you have an old and faded wife at home, I will be content."

Qin An took her hand, kissed it, and said, "I will never forget this in my life."

Yang Yuyan smiled, buried her face in his neck again, and soon fell into a deep sleep.