Ze Tian Ji

Edited by: Michyrr

The two paintings were signed with the same six words.

’One great general of Sloping Cliff’.

Chen Changsheng’s first reaction upon seeing this signature was ’how bold’, but after a few moments, he felt them to be very lonely.

I am a great general; how can I not be proud when I look around?

Though I am only a great general of this remote place called Sloping Cliff Horse Farm.

And I am the only great general.

Boldness and loneliness were two feelings very difficult to combine, but now they seemed to leap together out of the paper.

Chen Changsheng looked behind the desk and saw a bookshelf filled with books, consisting of both interpretations of profound Daoist doctrines and ordinary novels. A trait they shared was that they were all very clean. To accomplish such a task in a place scourged by sandstorms year-round was no easy feat, yet he could understand how this had been done.

He often used that method to clean the books in the library of the Orthodox Academy.

He had already guessed that this was Luo Bu’s room, and now when he thought about how that person carried a rare spatial artifact with him, he became even more curious. Suddenly, he caught a whiff of a scent and, upon tracking it down, realized that a bowl still half-full of yogurt had been placed on the bookshelf. Just seeing the smooth surface of the yogurt, sprinkled with sesame seeds and topped by a cherry, made his fingers twitch. He could not resist bringing up the bowl of yogurt and examining it. He confirmed that this was not food from the barracks but a snack Luo Bu had probably made for himself last night.

Now, Chen Changsheng was truly convinced, even feeling a sense of inferiority.

From Xining Village to the capital, he had met countless young and talented geniuses of cultivation. Senior Yu Ren, Gou Hanshi, Zhexiu, Xu Yourong, and even himself were these sorts of people. However, he had never once encountered this sort of complete genius, a genius in every domain.

Yes, in Chen Changsheng’s view, this young officer called Luo Bu could be described as almost perfect.

Fortunately, although this person is skilled at medical arts, he’s not as good as me, he said to himself in comfort.

The howling of the wind and pounding of sand outside the window gradually faded away. From the distance came several shrill whistles, followed by footsteps.

Several clunking sounds could be heard from outside as the wooden bars over the door and windows sprang open on their own and Luo Bu walked in.

Sunlight once more illuminated the room. Dispersed by the remnants of the sandstorm, the sunlight smeared an ancient aura over the entire room, making it look rather picturesque.

Everything happened too quickly and Chen Changsheng did not have time to return the bowl of yogurt to the bookshelf.

Anyone who saw him would believe that he was just preparing to sneakily take a bite of the yogurt.

Luo Bu probably thought so.

The mood in the room was rather awkward.

The silence persisted.

Luo Bu turned and walked out of the room, saying, "I’m going to take a look at the grass."

......

......

The reason the Great Zhou Imperial Court had established a horse farm in a place so remote and deep in the mountains as Sloping Cliff was precisely that the meadows of Sloping Cliff were lush with the frost grass most beloved by Dragonhorses. It was only right that Luo Bu, as commanding officer, went to see the state of the grass after a sandstorm, but Chen Changsheng with bowl of yogurt in hand was well aware that this was just an excuse, just like how he hurriedly said that he would also take a look at the grass as an excuse to put down the bowl of yogurt as naturally as possible.

The sandstorm had already stopped, but the marks of its devastation were still evident. The barracks and stables were not harmed, but two repeating crossbow huts in the distance required repair, and most troubling of all was that the frost grass growing on the fields was now covered in a thick layer of dust.

Disregarding their slightly troublesome temper, Dragonhorses were essentially perfect mounts for war, but no cavalry soldier would disregard how greatly these horses desired their food to be clean. Unless the frost grass growing on these mountains was washed, they would never eat it. Moreover, with the number of soldiers stationed at Sloping Cliff Horse Farm, it was simply impossible to wash this grass by hand. Both man and horse could only wait for rain to fall from the sky.

Perhaps for this reason, the several hundred Dragonhorses pacing about the meadow by the stream were rather irritable. Occasionally, one of them would neigh and kick a rock. On the side, the soldiers cursed as they carried out repairs.

As a figure appeared, the Dragonhorses instantly became much more quiet. The soldiers, too, became as quiet as insects in winter.

This figure was Luo Bu.

Luo Bu did not issue any reprimands, only waved his hand to indicate that everyone should return to work.

The soldiers knew that their general’s mood today was not bad, and relaxed.

At this moment, a bodyguard that had once delivered medicine saw Chen Changsheng at Luo Bu’s side and called out in shock.

The brother and sister pharmacists that had been rescued at Sloping Cliff Horse Farm were the most interesting matter to occur in the past few years to these bored soldiers who had not even seen a demon. Many people knew of this matter and had even sneaked to that room to take a look at Chen Changsheng. Those soldiers who had chatted with Chen Changsheng before were more acquainted with him and went up to offer their congratulations.

"Little Cripple, you can finally get out of bed?"

"Little Cripple, you can finally walk?"

"Little Cripple, you can come out to take in a little sunlight now?"

The soldiers of Sloping Cliff Horse Farm had been addressing Chen Changsheng as Little Cripple this entire time, as he was very young, born with a tender face, and was confined to bed by his heavy injuries. There was no ill will in this nickname and Chen Changsheng, having grown up with Senior Yu Ren, did not feel too conflicted about it. He only felt that since his meridians were only temporarily broken, he was not truly a cripple, so this nickname was not correct. As a result, he could not accept and would correct these soldiers each time.

But the more earnestly he rejected this moniker, the happier the soldiers of Sloping Cliff Horse Farm were to use it. They just wanted to tease, but the soldiers were made somewhat helpless by the fact that the bedridden youth never once showed anger on his face, only an eternal indifference.

Just like now.

"I am not a cripple."

Chen Changsheng looked at them and explained, "All of you can see that I can now get out of bed and walk."

Someone teased, "Aren’t you still limping? How about you take two steps?"

Chen Changsheng very obediently used the tree branch to help him take two steps.

He had only been able to get out of bed last night, after which he had been walking constantly. To his still-frail body, this was a rather significant burden, so when he took these two steps, they were somewhat unsteady, frightening those soldiers into hurriedly stepping forward to support him.

A bodyguard shouted out, "Stop trying to be brave. And besides, what does it matter if you can walk two steps? We’re on the frontlines, on a horse farm. When you can get on a horse, then we can consider you recovered."

He had good intentions, but to the crowd, it sounded like teasing, at which they began to laugh.

The Dragonhorses raised in Sloping Cliff Horse Farm were the primary mount of the black-armored cavalry’s main force. They were extremely brave and fierce on the battlefield, had very bad tempers, and were extremely shy. Even the most elite of cavalry needed to spend at least a hundred days interacting with a Dragonhorse in order to establish a strong relationship and make it their mount. At the moment, Chen Changsheng needed the help of another to stand steady, so how could he mount a Dragonhorse?

Luo Bu had remained silent all this time. Now, however, the lips concealed beneath his beard perked into a faint smile while his eyes turned somewhat indifferent. Only the people closest to him knew that his mood at this moment was not very good.

He was not pleased that his subordinates were teasing Chen Changsheng.

To his surprise, Chen Changsheng was still not angry, and there was even a smile on his face.

Although this was a faint smile, it was very sincere, not feigned at all.

The several hundred Dragonhorses made their way from the stream to deeper into the meadow. As the morning light gradually flourished, they arrived on the outskirts of the crowd.

One of the horses suddenly stopped and turned its head to gaze at the crowd, where it seemed like something rather bewildering had occurred.

Ultimately, its gaze fell on Chen Changsheng’s body, and it seemed to think, just what is this young person laughing so happily about?