That very afternoon, the transfer order came down.
Changlin Ward was to go into battle alongside three other wards.
And starting that day, they were to be placed under unified front-line command.
The moment the news came out, the martial artists within the ward were both frightened and excited.
They were frightened because their Workshop Master’s fate was still unknown. Without a central pillar to lead them, they had no idea where they might be sent.
They were excited because they could finally return to the battlefield, fight, and earn battle merits again.
A long time had already passed since the last time they had followed Xu Yuan into battle and repelled Chen Donghai.
Watching the martial artists from the other wards grow fatter and fatter in the purse, they did not dare voice it aloud, but inwardly they had developed quite a few grievances against Xu Yuan.
It would have been one thing if he wanted to cower in the rear by himself, but why drag all his brothers into the dust with him?
As the Workshop Master, he naturally lacked no battle merits, but they still had families to support.
In the rear courtyard of Changlin Ward, inside a spacious room, Chen Sanli, Qin Yang, Gao Yuan, and several others who had once shared quarters with Xu Yuan had gathered together that day.
For a time, the atmosphere in the room was somewhat oppressive.
“Third Brother, if you keep thinking it over, there really won’t be any road left.”
Qin Yang looked anxious and could not help being the first to break the silence.
Relying on his identity as “an old acquaintance of Workshop Master Xu,” he had been living quite comfortably in Changlin Ward.
And when it came to a sycophantic ringleader like Chen Sanli, calling him Third Brother had become smoother and smoother for him.
Chen Sanli’s brows were tightly furrowed, and no one knew what he was thinking.
“Could it be that Third Brother is still afraid of something?”
Seeing the thoughtful look on his face, Qin Yang continued to coax him along.
“Workshop Master Xu has obviously been... dealt with by those people from the Bai Family. If people like us don’t hurry and find a better backer, then the moment we step onto the battlefield, we’ll probably be shoved into cannon fodder and die on the spot!”
A trace of hesitation crossed Chen Sanli’s face.
He had schemed with all his heart to kneel and lick Xu Yuan’s boots, and he truly had gained quite a few benefits from it.
Now that he was helping Xu Yuan look after the yard’s internal logistics, there was plenty of profit to skim, and he himself had already entered the Third Meridian long ago and was now pushing toward the Fourth Meridian.
With his nature, if nothing had happened to Xu Yuan, he could have gone on flattering him to the day he died.
But now that circumstances had changed, he had to find a way out for himself too.
“Qin Yang, stop exaggerating and trying to scare people.”
At that moment, Gao Yuan spoke. In a low voice, he said, “There still hasn’t been any final word on Brother Xu’s situation, and you’re already thinking about turning to someone else. That’s really too heartless.”
“If Brother Xu hadn’t taken you in back then, you’d probably still be struggling for your life in the Level Four zone right now!”
“I...” Qin Yang’s expression stiffened, and then he retorted, “That’s a different matter entirely. How can those be the same?”
“That Workshop Master Huo already had a grudge against Workshop Master Xu. If we end up under his command now, he definitely won’t show any mercy. Anyone who stays here waiting for death is a fool!”
He turned to Chen Sanli. “Isn’t that right, Third Brother?”
“Why are you asking me?”
Chen Sanli glanced at him and slowly said, “Brother Xu has treated me so well. Now that something like this has happened, if I leave, would I still be human?”
He had thought it through.
He knew better than anyone what sort of man he was. He fawned on the strong, bent with the wind, and clung to whoever fed him.
But right now, Xu Yuan’s golden thigh of a backer had not fallen yet!
In his heart, Xu Yuan was an extremely cautious man. He refused to believe the other man would so easily come to harm. At the very least, unless he saw the corpse with his own eyes, he would never betray him.
And at the same time, he had realized something else—
This might be an opportunity.
Just like back then, when Wang Huan had spoken ill of Xu Yuan and he had gone up and slapped him on the spot.
If Xu Yuan really had not come to harm this time and returned afterward, then this would become another huge boost to his standing in Xu Yuan’s eyes.
Qin Yang’s expression changed, and he hurriedly said, “Third Brother, don’t be foolish. We’re about to go to war. Do you really want to become cannon fodder?”
“Forget it. You can go by yourself.”
Chen Sanli shook his head. “Besides, Brother Xu had a fairly good relationship with Workshop Master Xiao before. Maybe we can muddle through by staying under his command.”
Gao Yuan likewise said nothing, clearly agreeing with Chen Sanli’s decision.
“You people... are hopelessly ignorant!”
Qin Yang pointed at them in anger. “Does Workshop Master Xiao really have the power to go against Workshop Master Huo?”
“I heard that even that Battle Overseer Han has ties with Workshop Master Huo. Once we reach the battlefield, whether you live or die will still be nothing more than a word from them!”
By the end, he simply flung his sleeve violently and left on his own.
Gao Yuan looked a little irritated. “Did Qin Yang really spend time in the Level Four zone? Why is he so timid?”
Chen Sanli watched Qin Yang’s departing figure and said nothing.
He knew Qin Yang had a point.
But he also knew that, in this lifetime, meeting a backer like Xu Yuan had already been the result of outrageous good fortune.
If he turned and ran at the slightest stir in the grass, then what would make him any different from all those fence-sitters?
He would gamble once.
If he won, he would soar to glory.
If he lost... then he, Chen Sanli, had crawled out of the mud to begin with. No matter how much he lost, how much lower could he possibly fall?
In a man’s life, there might only be one or two such chances. To seize even one of them was already heaven’s grace.
...
Naturally, Xu Yuan knew nothing of all this turmoil outside.
But he had vaguely heard a few rumors.
When the convoy stopped to rest at a remote post station, Old Liu brought back news from outside, saying that word of the annihilation of the other five routes had already spread.
The Level Three zone had fallen into utter chaos. The Bai Family had seized the chance to counterattack, and two streets had already been lost on this side.
After hearing it, Xu Yuan merely nodded and said nothing more.
He was still on the road now, and there was less than two days left before he reached his destination.
Those troubles could wait until he got back.
The urgent matter at hand was to deliver this batch of resources safely and steadily first.
“Old Liu, have you arranged the route?”
“It’s arranged.” Old Liu leaned in and lowered his voice. “We’ll take the small road early tomorrow morning and bypass a few stretches that are easy to ambush. It’ll be slower, but safer.”
Xu Yuan nodded. “Then we’ll do it that way.”
Outside the window, the sky gradually darkened.
Dim yellow lamplight spilled out from the post station, and faintly, the barking of dogs could be heard in the distance.
Leaning by the window, Xu Yuan gazed at that heavy night and suddenly remembered what Old Liu had just said.
The Level Three zone had fallen into utter chaos.
The Bai Family had seized the opportunity to counterattack, and two streets had been lost.
People like Huo Gang were probably overwhelmed on the front lines by now.
And yet he, Xu Yuan, was sitting here safely and steadily in this remote post station, with the preserved supplies at his side and a huge sum of battle merits soon to be credited into his hands.
At the thought of this, a faint smile rose at the corners of his lips.
As for the matters he would have to face after going back...
Xu Yuan withdrew his gaze and turned toward the room.
No hurry. He would deal with what was in front of him first. Everything else could wait until he returned.
‘It probably won’t be much longer now.’