Chapter 31: 31

Mu Zhiming was being pulled around by Wen Heyin, so he had to make a great effort to say: “Listen to me, I’ll explain.”

Wen Heyin stopped shaking Mu Zhiming, withdrew his hands, and waited for Mu Zhiming to explain, his eyes wide open.

Mu Zhiming smoothed out the wrinkles in his lapel and patiently said: “Think about it. This is the Northeastern frontier, and we’re not familiar with this place. General Gu has been stationed here for more than a year, so wouldn’t it make sense for him to be more familiar with the terrain than us? If we were to encounter bandits on the way, wouldn’t General Gu know the best place to run?”

Wen Heyin held his chin and tilted his head slightly: “Hmm….It does seem to be the case.”

Mu Zhiming added: “Moreover, I’ve always had the feeling that the war in the Northeastern frontier wasn’t deliberately provoked by the Gouji Kingdom. Instead, I think the root cause is related to the Great Jin. If this investigation can really expose the true reason….however, it’s just too outrageous and I’m only a nobody. Wouldn’t others say that I was telling lies, and that I shouldn’t be trusted? But General Gu is different. He’s already well known and greatly respected. Who would dare to say that General Gu’s words cannot be trusted?”

Wen Heyin continued to ponder: “Hmm….That’s a good reason.”

Mu Zhiming said with a smile: “Therefore, of course I have to go with General Gu.”

“Then why can’t I go too?” Wen Heyin asked. “Doesn’t more people mean more helpers?!”

Mu Zhiming said: “More helpers would be good, but it would also attract more attention. The village we’re traveling to is too close to the Gouji Kingdom’s territory. Although the war between the two countries has just subsided, we are still in a tense situation of mutual hostility. If my identity were to be exposed, I could easily be captured. If it wasn’t because I don’t know martial arts, I would have gone on my own.”

“It does seem to make a bit of sense….but….” Wen Heyin was at a loss for words. As he scratched his head, he finally said: “But, what if that General bullies you?”

Mu Zhiming laughed: “We’re not enemies, why would he bully me?”

Wen Heyin pursed his lips and said: “I can see he doesn’t like you that much. In case you two fall into a dangerous situation, and he thinks you’re holding him back, won’t he simply leave you behind? If that happens, who could I go to complain to?”

“He’s not that kind of person.” Mu Zhiming said. “Even if he didn’t like me, he wouldn’t regard me as a burden.”

Wen Heyin grunted suspiciously: “In any case, I was never able to say no to you, and I can’t stop you from doing what you want to do.”

Mu Zhiming bent his eyes and smiled: “Don’t worry, I promise you that I will come back unharmed.”

Wen Heyin continued to mutter, but his attitude was no longer as harsh as before.

Apart from Wen Heying’s disapproval, the Officers in the military camp also disagreed with this.

In the night sky of the desert, the moon looked like a sharp hook, while in the military camp, the bonfire was already burning. In the Commander-in-Chief’s tent, a Vanguard General from the Rong Yan Army cupped his fist and saluted the General, bluntly saying: “General, you can’t go. It takes two days to travel to that village from the military camp, but it only takes half a day to travel to that village from the Gouji territory. If the Gouji Kingdom were to know you are there, they would surely send troops to catch you! Then, it will be too late for us to support you!”

“Hmm.” Gu Heyan nodded. “I’ll leave you in charge of the storage of food.”

Vanguard General: “….General, did you hear what I said?”

Gu Heyan: “Yes. The storage of food is complicated, remember to pay close attention to it.”

Vanguard General: “….”

The Deputy General of the Yulin army then opened his mouth: “If the General insists on going, at least let us send a small team to follow you and be stationed not far from the village.”

Gu Heyan shook his head: “No, the war has subsided not too long ago. If we dispatch troops to the border, it will be easy to stir up a dispute. You will be responsible for training the troops. As for the rest of the military responsibilities, Military Advisor Xu will be in charge.”

After Gu Heyan distributed the military affairs by himself, he turned a deaf ear to the advice given and said: “If there’s nothing else, go take rest.”

The several Officers looked at each other helplessly, but in the end, they saluted and walked out of the Commander-In-Chief’s tent. At that moment, Gu Heyan suddenly remembered something and called out Xiahou Hu’s name. Xiahou Hu thought that Gu Heyan was going to punish him now for bringing Mu Zhiming into the training ground without permission, so he hurriedly knelt down and awaited the punishment.

However, Gu Heyan asked instead: “How’s the progress of the Official of the Ministry of Rites in learning the Gouji language?”

Xiahou Hu let out a ‘haa’ and said: “Mu-daren doesn’t need me to teach him anything. He even speaks the Gouji language better than me!”

Gu Heyan was stunned for a brief moment as his brows slowly furrowed: “Better than you?”

‘How can that be? I clearly remember that in my previous life, Mu Zhiming studied very hard every day in the barracks in order to learn the Gouji language the best he could.’

“Indeed!” Xiahou Hu replied. “He speaks it quite smoothly! He even understands words that I don’t!”

Gu Heyan fell silent for a while, but then he nodded: “I understand.”

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After the several Officers went out the Commander-In-Chief’s tent, they just so happened to meet Mu Zhiming, so they approached to greet him one after the other: “Mu-daren.”

“Good evening, Generals.” Mu Zhiming bowed. “Is General Gu inside his tent?”

“He is,” Xu Zhiwei replied.

Mu Zhiming bowed again and thanked him. Then, Mu Zhiming said to the young soldier,who was guarding the tent curtain door: “Please report to General Gu that I have something to say to him.”

The young soldier directly lifted a corner of the curtain for Mu Zhiming and said: “Mu-daren, you can directly go in. The General instructed us that there’s no need for you to report your presence.”

Mu Zhiming nodded, thanked the young soldier, and walked into the tent.

At that moment, Xu Zhiwei nodded his head repeatedly as a smile graced his face, but he didn’t say a word.

After the Officers went to their tents to rest, and when no one else was around, the Vanguard General asked Xu Zhiwen with a trace of reproach: “Zhiwei, why didn’t you join us to persuade General Gu?”

Xu Zhiwei simply smiled and said: “General Gu has always acted in moderation, so we don’t need to worry so much.”

“But you’re still supposed to persuade him.” The Deputy General of the Yulin army said.

Xu Zhiwei said: “There’s really no need to persuade General Gu. Persuading him at this time would only delay the matter of the General’s marriage.”

“What lifetime matter1?!” The Vanguard General was puzzled.

Xu Zhiwei sighed and said with a pained tone, as if saying ‘everyone is stupid and only I understand’: “It’s something you can only feel with your heart.”

“Feel it with your heart?!”

—

The Commander-In-Chief had a big tent. When the tent curtain was lifted, some of the outside wind crept in, causing the flames of the candles on the desk to flicker slightly. When Gu Heyan looked up, the light of the flames were reflected in his eyes.

Quietly, Gu Heyan pulled out the seat covered with white fox fur that had been hidden behind him and placed it next to the table. However, Mu Zhiming didn’t notice this and tried to find a seat at random. Seeing this, Gu Heyan could only say: “Sit here.”

Right when Mu Zhiming was about to sit, he saw Gu Heyan pointing to a specific seat, so he had to get up and change places. After sitting upright on the white fox fur seat, Mu Zhiming raised his eyes to see that Gu Heyan’s desk was still filled with paperwork. Mu Zhiming thought: ‘In order to make this trip worry-free, he must have a lot of trivial matters to deal with now.’

“What can I do for you?” Gu Heyan asked as he pinched the center of his brow.

“A couple of things,” Mu Zhiming smiled and said: “First, in order to avoid attracting other people’s attention when we travel to that small village, we should disguise ourselves as ordinary people, who are traveling to the village to collect medicinal herbs. What do you think, General?”

“Collect medicinal herbs?” Gu Heyan was puzzled.

“Yes,” Mu Zhiming nodded: “I heard that there’s a valuable herb called ‘Locked Soul’ growing on the border between the Gouji Kingdom and the Great Jin. Many people settle in that village for that very reason, so we wouldn’t be easily suspected.”

“Alright.” Gu Heyan nodded. “What is the second?”

“The second, um….” Mu Zhiming looked at Gu Heyan, as the corners of his lips raised in a slight smile. “Dare I ask….what is the General’s given name?”

Gu Heyan was slightly stunned. Although he didn’t understand why Mu Zhiming wanted to know this, he still replied: “Yuyi, as in ‘shining brightly2’.”

“That’s it!” Mu Zhiming then explained: “General Gu is now a well-known renowned man, so you should take a pseudonym for this trip.”

Gu Heyan nodded in agreement.

“Then I ask General Gu to let me know when he has decided on a pseudonym.” Mu Zhiming smiled and cupped his hand.

Gu Heyan hesitated, but finally managed to softly say: “Can you help me pick one?”

Mu Zhiming was stunned, feeling surprised for a moment, but then he immediately curved his eyes in a smile: “I’m fortunate to have the General’s recognition. Then, I’ll have the courage to give a piece of advice. Why don’t you….pick one character from your courtesy name and your given name? Like He and Yi. Together it will be He Yi3. Does the General like it?”

Gu Heyan looked up at Mu Zhiming and said: “….I like it.”

Mu Zhiming smiled like the warm Spring sunlight in the third Lunar Month, when the swallows, with their whispering wings, fly carrying the apricot blossoms in their beaks. Mu Zhiming bowed casually with his hands held in front of him, and said jokingly: “Then, for the next few days, I’ll be bothering He-xiong.”

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