Chapter 214 - Salute
Chapter 214 Salute
When Ou Yangming waved his hand gently, the Military Fire dissipated.
He shook the spear a little, causing a mighty force to be channeled into the weapon. “Pop” sounds were heard coming from the spear, and it was so loud that their ears hurt.
It was the spear’s natural might, but it was instantly displayed when Ou Yangming activated it.
Ni Yunhong and the rest were shocked. Although they witnessed the entire smithing process, they gained little—almost insignificant-knowledge because the gap between them and Ou Yangming was too huge.
Even if Ou Yangming openly showed them the whole process, how could they fathom it if they did not know the way to break through the worldly barrier?
On the other hand, Old Craftsman furrowed his eyebrows and pondered.
The elder had a greater understanding of smithing art and had achieved the integration of Heaven and man. While the state could not let him see through the mist, he had indeed come into contact with the barrier. In other words, the old man had touched the starting point, and from there he saw the direction of the end.
Needless to say, seeing it was one thing; making his way to the end was another thing.
The path was dangerous, difficult, and obscure. The old man could work hard for it, but nobody could guarantee that he would definitely succeed.
Ou Yangming put the spear away. He was proud when he looked at the other spear in the room, which was almost similar to the new one.
After a long time, the confused Ni Yunhong sighed and questioned, “Brother Ou, where’s my younger sister?”.
“She hasn’t returned,” Ou Yangming answered slowly.
“What?” Ni Yunhong’s face changed. “Why is that so?”
Ou Yangming shook his head and assured him. “Don’t worry, she’s safe, but she’ll only come back a few days later.”
Once Ni Yunhong withdrew himself from thinking about smithing art, he instantly thought about his younger sister. He frowned and asked, “Brother Ou, is my younger sister with… Him?”
Ou Yangming’s face darkened a little as he thought, ‘He just has to bring it up when I didn’t want to think about it. Can we even have a proper conversation…’
Nonetheless, he could only nod when he saw the rather strange look on Ni Yunhong’s face.
Ni Yunhong hesitated for a while, but he ended up saying nothing.
old Craftsman cast a meaningful glance at Ou Yangming, then he ordered, “Young fella, come with me to the military camp to meet General Chen.”
“Yes,” Ou Yangming quickly responded to him as he also wanted to escape from the awkward situation.
Old Craftsman had aged, but he had also become more stubborn. If he decided on something, he would act on it right away.
With that, they left the prefecture with the spear and headed to the military camp outside the prefecture.
Banners and figures could be seen from a distance away, and masculine shouts were heard coming from the military camp from a distance away.
Ou Yangming raised his eyebrows as he somehow felt like he was home, and he felt a warm and comfortable feeling inside his body.
Outside the camp’s gate, a bright-eyed squad leader noticed them. Seeing as they were approaching the camp, the leader yelled, “The military camp is an important place, and it’s out of bounds for idlers; trespassers will be killed without questions.”
As he spoke, the guards at the gate raised their spears and pointed the spear tips at Ou Yangming and his companions. Consequently, strong killing intent filled the air.
A normal person would have flinched even if one did not collapse to the ground at the sight of this, but Ou Yangming and the rest were already used to the scene because they were from the military camp.
Old Craftsman stopped and cupped his hands from afar. “I’m a soldier from the Immense Forest Military Camp’s Armament Camp. I heard General Chen Yifan from the West Camp is here, so I’ve come to see him.”
The squad leader frowned and asked, “Do you have General Chen’s authorization?”
Old Craftsman was stunned, and he could only answer with a bitter smile, “No.”
“Since you don’t have one, wait here.” The squad leader was disdainful. “Who do you think a camp’s leader is? He’s not someone who can be visited by anyone!”
The old man flushed while the people behind him looked displeased.
If they were at the Immense Forest Military Camp, Old Craftsman and the other men could easily meet a camp’s commanding general, let alone entering or exiting the camp freely. After all, the old man was the chief Military Fire Blacksmith in the Armament Camp; he had the right to meet someone directly.
Nevertheless, they were at the Prefecture Military Camp at the moment. Without any connections here, they were considered normal people.
Even so, they were indignant because of how a mere squad leader treated them.
Ou Yangming was about to negotiate when Ni Yunhong cleared his throat and expressed, “I’m impressed that the military camp has such strict rules. Heh, may I ask for your name, Sir Squad Leader[1]?”
The squad leader sneered. “I’m Qu Hongfu. If you’re not happy with me, go ahead and report me.”
Ni Yunhong kept a straight face and asked calmly, “I won’t report you. I’m Ni Yunhong, so am I qualified enough to meet the
general?”
Qu Hongfu’s face changed at once. He scanned Ni Yunhong from head to toe and asked, “The Ni family’s eldest young master?”
“That’s right,” Ni Yunhong answered proudly.
The Ni family was second to none in the prefecture. Even though the military camp was a relatively small and closed circle, how could the squad leader not know of the clan given that he was in the prefecture?
“You’re the Ni family’s young master. Please forgive me.” Qu Hongfu took a step back and did a fist salute. He added after a pause, “I’ll go notify the general now.”
Ni Yunhong waved his hand and said, “We’re meeting General Chen for a personal matter, so just inform him that Old Craftsman and Ou Yangming are here to meet him.”
Qu Hongfu hesitated for a while and thought, ‘Since it’s a personal matter, why are you entering the military camp?’
Despite that, he would not offend the Ni family’s eldest young master for a small matter. Just as he was going to answer Ni Yunhong, a thought crossed his mind. “Ou Yangming? Ou Yangming from the Immense Forest Military Camp’s Armament Camp?”
Ou Yangming stepped forward and uttered, “That’s me.”
His companions thought, ‘Looks like General Chen Yifan has given an order, or the little squad leader wouldn’t know Ou Yangming’s name.’
Qu Hongfu stared at Ou Yangming with a complicated look.
At the same time, the ten guards at the gate did the same too. Each of them looked at the young fellow with bright eyes.
Ou Yangming tensed up a bit. He would not be surprised if Qu Hongfu was the only one who reacted like that, but he became alarmed because the other soldiers had the same expression on their faces.
Ni Yunhong asked with a deep voice, “Do you know Brother Ou because General Chen gave you an order?”
Qu Hongfu took a deep breath and explained, “General Chen didn’t tell us about him, but we know of Ou Yangming from the Immense Forest Military Camp, and we know that he’s a good man.”
Following that, the squad leader took three steps back and ordered from the center of his squad, “Raise your spears.” “Whoosh…”
Behind him, the squad of soldiers straightened their bodies and held their spears tightly.
“Salute…” Qu Hongfu shouted and raised his military saber. The ten tough men behind him lifted their spears concurrently, then they prodded them diagonally in mid-air.
They moved in unison and with full power. While there were only about ten of them, they gave off a magnanimous aura as though they were a thousand soldiers with ten thousand horses.
In the military camp, people who were near the gate were attracted to the motion. Strange looks could be seen on their faces.
Ou Yangming and the rest were confused too. In particular, Old Craftsman and the two other elders from the Armament Camp were in disbelief.
They were familiar with the salutation because it was the highest formality done by the soldiers. Normally, soldiers would only do it as a group during huge events, and the salutation would usually seem grand and solemn if a hundred of a thousand of them did it together. Since merely ten soldiers saluted, and they did it at the military camp’s entrance, it seemed unremarkable.
“Uhm… What are you doing?” Ou Yangming was stupefied, and he asked with a bitter smile, “You got the wrong person, didn’t you?”
The squad leader put down his military saber and responded sternly, “If you’re ou Yangming from the Immense Forest Military Camp, it’s not a mistake.”
“Qu Hongfu, what the hell are you doing?” A furious roar was heard, which hurt everyone’s eardrums.
Subsequently, a burly man was seen walking over swiftly. He glanced at everyone at the gate with his lightning eyes, then he asked, “Who are they?”
Qu Hongfu immediately answered, “Captain Zhang, this is Ni Yunhong, the Ni family’s eldest young master, and this is…”
“Hmph, the Ni family’s eldest young master is honorable indeed, but you mustn’t carry out such a formality!” The man glared at the squad leader as he reprimanded him.
“Captain, let me finish… This is ou Yangming,” Qu Hongfu expressed bitterly. “What’s the point of letting you finish your sentence? The salutation can’t be… Oh, what did you say?” The man suddenly paused and looked at Ou Yangming. “Are you Ou Yangming? Ou Yangming from the Immense Forest Military Camp’s Armament Camp?”
Ou Yangming was bewildered, but he answered, “That’s me.”
The man scanned Ou Yangming from head to toe, then he straightened his body as well to carry out a formal military salute. “I’m Captain Zhang Mingzhe. Greetings, Master.” “I’m Ou Yangming. Greetings, Captain Zhang.” Ou Yangming quickly returned the salutation.
Old Craftsman and the other people looked at each other and thought, ‘When did Ou Yangming become so famous in the Prefecture Military Camp?’
Zhang Mingzhe said in all seriousness, “Master Ou, we’ve been waiting for you for a long time; you’re finally here.”
Ou Yangming looked at Ni Yunhong because he was shocked, but the eldest young master was also confused.
“Master Ou, why have you come today?” Zhang Mingzhe laughed. “I heard General Chen Yifan has come to the prefecture, so I’m here to see him,” Ou Yangming answered.
“Ah, you want to meet General Chen. That’s easy.” Zhang Mingzhe turned his body sideways and said, “Please, I’ll bring you to him.”
Qu Hongfu suggested, “Captain, let me lead the way.”
Zhang Mingzhe glared at him. “Master Ou is here, that’s an important event, so I must lead the way. Quickly report to the general that Master Ou has come; the general will be delighted.”
“Yes,” Qu Hongfu responded loudly and left in a hurry.
Ou Yangming asked after some thought, “Captain Zhang, which general is he reporting to?”
Zhang Mingzhe uttered, “Of course it’s General Li, the Middle Camp’s commanding
general!”
[1] Note that this is not a legitimate title. Ni Yunhong is only addressing the squad leader in this way because of how he and his companions were treated