Promotion

Coming back to the capital, the very first thing that happened to Xuan Yueji was that he was promoted by Zheng Ruogang. When he heard the words coming out from the old man, he was surprised and yet not surprised at the same time. There were many reasons why his reaction was like this.

First of all, Xuan Yueji already expected to be promoted since he had asked Chen Shi to help him get a high ranking post. Only with a high rank could he walk to every garrison and regiment freely like he wanted and kill enemies with no trouble. Lately, he has been killing people to cool his thirstiness only at night with ambushes not in the country.

Originally, Xuan Yueji thought that by becoming a soldier, he could kill freely at will, but then he realized that there were almost no enemies willing to come into the territory of the Lin Empire. Even if there was, there were only a few camps and the majority of them were posted at their current place only to ensure that there was peace between the countries. This made it hard for him to kill within the country, so he ultimately would leave for another country and kill off people that were on the mercenary list or people that planned to attack the empire.

Xuan Yueji had no obligation to protect the empire, but since the only family member of Bai Shuixian was born in the Lin Empire, he decided to help out. Only by a little though. He had no plans to do this in the long term and once Su Guang died, he would stop.

By then, Xuan Yueji hoped that Bai Shuixian would already be merging back with him. With that, she would be able to use the skills he had and protect herself. After all, he was her and she was him.

Secondly, Xuan Yueji was surprised by Zheng Ruogang's proposal to promote him because he was being promoted to lieutenant general. This was only a rank below the old man's and skipped over four ranks. In what world was the old man living to let him be promoted to such a high rank?

"You asked Chen Shi to let you have a high rank, however, only I have the power to promote you to such a rank," Zheng Ruogang started. "Though you are absent most of the time, I do admit that you are a strong young man despite your size."

Ignoring the last comment, Xuan Yueji chuckled while putting his hands together to thank with a small bow, "Then, I thank you. Though, I found that being in the military makes no different to what I've been doing before."

"Is that so? It's too late. I have already submitted the request to the emperor," Zheng Ruogang informed Xuan Yueji.

With a small frown that remained hidden in his mask, Xuan Yueji asked, "To become a lieutenant general, you need the permission of the emperor?"

Zheng Ruogang then laughed out loud with a glint in his eyes while caressing his beard.

"I said lieutenant general merely to make fun of you," Zheng Ruogang said. "Someone with your skills deserves a high ranking such as a general like me."

Deepening his frown, Xuan Yueji said, "I don't want to be a general. Retrieve your request."

"No way. This empire should not lose someone of your heights," Zheng Ruogang rejected. "It would take another thousand years before the empire can find another great general like you."

"I have not accepted the post," Xuan Yueji told Zheng Ruogang with an unsatisfied voice as he walked out of the tent with the intention to never come back again.

However, just before leaving, Xuan Yueji asked, "Is it really because of my skills?"

For some reason, Xuan Yueji did not like the reason. If it was truly for his skills, he could not believe it! The amount of times that he had shown his abilities was almost zilch.

Besides, the most that Zheng Ruogang had seen from him was the fight with the soldiers during the championships. Even then, the only thing he did was kick them off the stage one by one with his foot. Yes, a foot.

Xuan Yueji did not use both his feet, but only his right foot. He did not believe this to be the reason why Zheng Ruogang wanted to be a general though. There must be another reason, right?

Laughing out loud again, Zheng Ruogang stated, "Whether you believe it or not, it's up to you, young man. However, I do admit that Chen Shi did a lot of work to persuade me to promote you to a high ranking. Though… he did say that he has never seen fight before."

Staring through the open flaps of the tent, Xuan Yueji solemnly said, "Nobody has seen me fight. Those that have… are dead."

"Such a grim tone," Zheng Ruogang commented. "Young man, you have the aura of a commander. Not the aura of someone that listens to orders. It is this that has proven to me that you are worthy of becoming a general."

"You have sharp eyes," Xuan Yueji replied.

Raising his brows and his tone with a hint of curiosity, Zheng Ruogang asked, "Oh? You've been a commander?"

Tightening his lips, Xuan Yueji denied, "No… I shall… take my leave now. Later, general."

Seeing Xuan Yueji leave immediately after spouting those words, Zheng Ruogang shook his head and chuckled to himself. As they say, "a black horse is hidden amongst horses, a dragon is hidden amongst the clouds." This idiom could take on multiple meanings, but he felt that the best way to define this idiom would be that a person with true power could hide themselves anywhere.

Zheng Ruogang felt that Xuan Yueji was this black horse and this dragon. It seemed like he was attracting a lot of attention and had the world revolved around him, but then there would be a realization that he was nowhere to be found. There were no rumors about him, no news about him, and nothing about him could be known.

Xuan Yueji was someone famous, with a hidden background. He was someone that could be everywhere, but also never be found. Someone with the ability to utilize their power in such a way is an intelligent person though they would never admit.

Of course, Zheng Ruogang would never have requested for the promotion if he did not receive the truth from Chen Shi and seen Xuan Yueji himself. There was also another reason. The boy was similar to him in many ways, even if the past is forgotten, they will always be remembered once in a while.

When Xuan Yueji returned to the Chen Residence, he entered the room left for him and sighed. He could not believe that Zheng Ruogang had such sharp eyes. There were many details left out that were not discussed, but they were too easy to read and understand.

Since the first day Xuan Yueji left the barracks, Zheng Ruogang had already been keeping his eyes on him. Though he did not have the ability to follow him, he knew that he went to Yuezhong and did many things for the regiment there. He was also able to find a way to know that he was not helping the regiment for no reason, but had a motive behind, though not knowing what the motive was.

Just like Xuan Yueji, Zheng Ruogang also had a treasure trove of secrets that others could not find. Though this interested him, he did want to involve himself in country politics like the old man. His current wish was to head back to the village and have Chi Dujuan take over.

However, before Xuan Yueji could make his attempt to leave the residence, or the capital at all, Chen Shi came over to stop him. Without knocking on the door of his room, he opened the door catching him off guard. At this action, it annoyed him as it seemed like the room did not really belong to him.

The moment Xuan Yueji frowned, Chen Shi saw it so he explained, "It's not my fault that you want to remain hidden in my house."

Hearing that, Xuan Yueji stopped frowning and asked, "What do you want?"

"Come with me," Chen Shi told Xuan Yueji while grabbing his hand as though to make sure he did not escape. "The emperor wants to see you."

The previous frown that Xuan Yueji got rid of came back as he asked, "Why?"

With a happy face, Chen Shi said, "Just come with me. I'm sure you'll be happy with the results I managed to get for you."

"I didn't ask for anything," Xuan Yueji commented.

"Are you telling me that you're forgetting about the rank? The clothes? The mask? The token?" Chen Shi questioned pessimistically.

Frowning, Xuan Yueji was about to retort, but Chen Shi continued to speak before he could speak a word, "Don't worry, I know what you want to say. Honestly, I'm sure you will like the position I managed to request for you. This position gives you the most freedom you could ever want."

"Really?" Xuan Yueji asked with suspicions.

"Yes," Chen Shi affirmed. "Now, follow me. I'll get on the carriage first. We'll leave when you enter."

"Alright," Xuan Yueji said with reluctance and followed after Chen Shi on the roofs, keeping himself hidden.