In this era, lowly status is lowly status.
If a father is of lowly status, the child is born into lowly status. What is this person talking about? Hahaha, what is this young man talking about, what is he talking about... Kou Yulie’s palms clenched tightly around his chopsticks as he hung his head, thinking back to when he first came to these waters.
Men were grilling fish outside the boats, children were running up and down aboard.
Daughters and wives were selling themselves inside the boats...
He had encountered such scenes.
The noble son had come here to ’play’ fourteen years ago, and then the woman he played with got pregnant and gave birth to a daughter. Fourteen years later, the noble came again, still spending the night here, picking out that thirteen-year-old child.
In the end, the woman went mad and took her own life.
Kou Yulie, he lived up to the fierceness in his name. Back then, he rose to his feet with his fists lifted, wrapped in white cloths dipped in water, pounding the noble son to death with his fists. But when he went back, the man also wailed and jumped into the river.
This chronic distress now stirred the heart of the old Dragon King like a drill.
Kou Yulie, an old and mighty hero, but at this moment, felt a severe discomfort in his chest.
He didn’t know if the young man’s promise was just a vain dream.
But now, he suddenly felt the urge to burst into loud sobs.
There was a sense that such an ethereal, light and beautiful dream, even if it meant going to his death for it, was worth it.
That strong man had already brought in a tray, and Kou Yulie was puzzled. Li Guanyi simply smiled and extended his hand, letting Kou Yulie fetch it himself. The elderly man, unconcerned, he was used to such behavior as a hero of the Martial World, reached out his hand to wipe the liquor from his beard.
He saw the cold gleam, and on the tray, there lay a suit of armor.
Two others, each carrying a helmet.
A cold, gleaming treasure sword.
Li Guanyi said, "Old General, won’t you try them on?"
Kou Yulie was stunned.
Although he had come here prepared to take a gamble, he hadn’t expected Li Guanyi to be so direct. Having been in the Martial World for so long, he felt he had lived swiftly and dealt out justice, yet seeing three Colonels appear with the armor, he still felt a bit dazed.
His fingers gently touched the armor, the cold chill travelling up his fingertips. With his eyes closed, he could almost hear the sound of his younger self galloping through the battlefield, life and death, these years, often waking from sleep with a start, he had to grasp a sword to slowly sink back into slumber.
That young General simply tapped on his sword, producing a clear sound, saying:
"Drunk, I lit the lamps to view swords, as in dreams I heard the bugles of marching camps. Eight hundred leagues divided ’neath broiling banners, fifty strings overturned beyond the frontier, the autumn call of the battlefield."
"The horse becomes a swift Qilin, the bow like thunder with a startling string. The kingdom’s affairs settled by the King, winning fame both in life and after death. Alas for the gray hair grown!"
The young man’s voice was clear and piercing, and he seemed to be skilled in music, even tapping with fingers, yet with genuine emotion. Kou Yulie, such a great outlaw, whispered softly, "Drunk, I lit the lamps to view swords, as in dreams I heard the bugles of marching camps..."
"Alas, the gray hair grown!"
These two lines, as if seeing his younger self, unsheathing One Sword.
Even Kou Yulie couldn’t help but feel his nose tingle, looking up to the heavens with a long sigh, life is tough, he grabbed the armor.
Li Guanyi ordered, "Assistants!"
The long-haired, disheveled old man stretched out his arms, changing into a set of plain clothes as undergarments, first the inner armor, then the heavy mail, layer by layer he donned, his messy hair being tied back up, a long sword presented before him.
Kou Yulie caressed the weapon, lifting the sword and looking at the young man before him.
The young General stood backlit, smiling as he extended his hand, "Then, General Kou, welcome. If possible, I hope we are comrades chasing the same dream."
And so, the Qilin Army shared its grand dream with its subordinates.
Kou Yulie stepped forward half a step, bowed his head, and half-kneeled to the ground, quietly speaking:
"I have seen... the General."
The ships of the Seventy-two Linked Villages were originally intended to sail smoothly to East Crossing City, but they were vetoed by Yuan Zhi, the young strategist opting for a more steady and aggressive strategy—
That was to buy many old boats at the Chen Country’s usual ferries, with great fanfare.
Fifty or sixty boats, all in extreme disrepair.
The elite Scouts of Chen Country spotted this and reported back to the Commander in Jiangnan of Chen Country at the moment, and after continuous exploration, concluded quite straightforwardly.
"The Qilin Army led by Li Guanyi, proficient in traversing mountains and rivers, includes the backbone from the Yuwen Family army of North Country, huh, their sudden emergence here, taking advantage of the situation to occupy many ferries."
"But their foundation is still too thin, lacking a Navy, lacking boats."
Then, one day, Yuan Zhi asked Yuwen Tianxian to gather at the outskirts of East Crossing City when changing guard at various ferries, resulting in banners filling the field, an eerily solemn atmosphere, an incredibly vast presence. When the Chen Country’s General first discovered it, he immediately realized something.
They thought this fierce Qilin Army was going to conduct rapid combat as before.
Therefore, they also called troops to be on full alert.
But to their surprise, the Qilin Army was just changing guard, Yuwen Tianxian indifferently ordered a dismissal.
After reconnaissance, the Generals of Chen Country were nearly red-eyed with rage.
Yuan Zhi then requested Nangong Wumeng lead some disciples of the Yin Yang Reincarnation Sect who had joined the Qilin Army to spread rumors, to say in Chen Country’s region, "Li Guanyi has already joined hands with Ying Country, look, even the Immovable Ming King Venerable General is in his camp."