Breaking the Formation
After a long while, Wang Ba finally spoke. “The formation you are talking about…what is it?”
“Marching array, the generals always learn this to use this array. This formation was reformed from Daoist magic.” He Yan said, “It’s a long story, but this formation right now…”
“What?” Shi asked.
“It’s not a military formation. It’s just an ordinary octogram formation.” He Yan replied.
She really couldn’t understand why there suddenly was a Dao formation. There was no such a thing when she went up the mountain and Wang Xiaohan and the rest didn’t encounter it too. It seemed that it was prepared solely for them, or was it only for her? But why?
“Then can… we get out?” Jiang Jiao asked, staring at her face.
“Of course.”
This time, Huang Xiong was also surprised, “You even know how to solve this?”
He Yan smiled slightly, “I only know a little.”
Her “a little” was generally “everything”. Everyone had nothing to say. He Yan knew that there must be supervisors hiding in the dark on the mountain to observe their situation, and her words and actions were watched by the eyes hidden in the dark at this moment. It was impossible for her to say “no”.
Maybe Xiao Jue intentionally set up a formation specially for herself to test her ability? After all, she has never seen any Fight for the Flag that ends with having the team break a formation. It seemed that it was indeed not easy to enter the Nine Banner Battalion. If everyone in the Nine Banner battalion can break the formation, then the Nine Banner Battalion is really not simple. Xiao Jue had such cavalry, no wonder he was invincible in battle.
With that in mind, she said, “You all follow me, just copy what I’m going to do. Don’t make a wrong step.”
It was rare for He Yan to be so serious. Jiang Jiao and the others did not dare to be careless right now so they followed He Yan’s footsteps and slowly walked down the mountain.
Huang Xiong said as he walked, “Brother He, who did you learn this trick from?”
He Yan smiled and said, “I learned from an expert.”
“I think so too,” Huang Xiong nodded, “Your master must be a peerless master. Or else how could you know everything?”
He Yan lowered her head and smiled without answering. In fact, it was not uncommon for General Feihong to be brave and skilled in the battlefield. The world does not lack heroes who are not afraid of death. Although she was good at her skills, it was not to the point where she could be considered as number one in the world. Let alone fighting against the group of heroes alone. General Feihong was best in the formation of troops.
Her master was indeed peerless, but as a woman, she was not as good as a man as she lacked physical strength and physique. People must know how to use their strengths and avoid weaknesses. If they learn to arrange and deploy troops, they will be more capable than fighting on the battlefield alone. Her master was best at Daoist magic, so she learned to combine it with the art of war, and finally became this generation’s famous General Feihong.
Generals needed to learn how to train and deploy troops, but why did the Nine Banners Battalion learn this too? He Yan was puzzled and couldn’t find the clue, so she gave up and headed down the mountain. Actually, she could have also directly broken the formation by destroying it directly. But He Yan was not sure if this formation was prepared for her. In case it was prepared for others, and she ended up destroying it so passionately, what would be left for the others?
That was why she took Jiang Jiao and the others out through the door of life.
This formation was just as easy for her, since she was familiar with it. But when it fell into the eyes of the supervisor who was observing secretly, it became a remarkable event.
Ma Damei and Liang Ping were hiding in the dark at the moment. Seeing He Yan and her group going away, the two opened their mouths and looked at each other, both could see surprise in each other’s eyes.
“He… he just left?” Liang Ping stammered.
“As if there was nothing…” Ma Damei said.
He Yan didn’t even stop to think, nor did he think about how to break the formation. With just a glance at it and he knew how to get out. Such a character unexpectedly appeared among their new recruits. So far it seemed that nothing could stop him.
This should have been a good thing, a heroic young man, so extraordinary, whoever that has such a hero under them, would feel that it must be because of their luck that had been accumulated for several lifetimes. However, the situation now was complicated, and from the look of head Instructor Shen they saw last time, they don’t know whether it was a blessing or a curse.
The jungle was dense, half of the sun had already sunk down the mountain. He Yan and his group have also stepped out of the formation. She stopped and looked back. The formations made of stones and dead branches seemed blurred and indistinguishable.
“We’ve walked out?” Wang Ba asked.
“Correct.”
Wang Ba was happy, “The hell! There is nothing that can stop us this time, right? I guess it will take another half an hour’s walk to head down the mountain completely.”
Jiang Jiao was also a little pleased, “It’s almost over.” He saw He Yan still looking behind and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” He Yan shook her head. She still felt that this formation was inexplicable. When Lei Hou fought her before, there was something strange. These discomforts are like tiny stones falling into the boots, and the panic of it is making it difficult for her to feel joy. She only felt that she had overlooked something and was feeling uneasy.
“It’s getting dark, let’s go down the mountain early.” Huang Xiong said.
He Yan retracted her thoughts and said, “Let’s go.”
…
The sun hasn’t sunk yet at the Baiyue Mountain, as it fell into Wulu River, half of its body underneath the river, the water surface dipped by the setting sun was splendid like the color of blood, glowing with sparkling waves, as if a woman’s makeup box had been opened, making the whole place sprinkled with pearls and jade.
A pot of tea in the room has long been cold.
It was the time of the evening when the wind was light and the autumn colors spread all over. There were two people sitting playing a game, one anxious, and the other calm.
Someone walked in from outside and said, “The first team has gone down the mountain.”
Shen Han looked at Feinu, waiting for Feinu to say the person’s name.
“It’s He Yan.”
Listening to these three words, Shen Han leaned back slightly, and his whole body relaxed.
This result, unexpectedly, was reasonable. He had already guessed this result, though with some doubts, and now he has finally confirmed it. He was a little bewildered for a while.
Settling down the black chess piece, the young man in front of him raised his head and said indifferently, “You have lost.”
Shen Han, “…The general’s chess skills are superb, I am ashamed.” In the past half-day, he hadn’t won once.
Rather, he didn’t know how Xiao Jue was in the mood to play chess like this.
“General, they have come down the mountain, do you want to reward them now…”
“No need,” Xiao Jue curled his lips, “Du Mao can handle it. It’s the Mid-Autumn Festival five days later. The Mid-Autumn Festival night tour can be regarded as the reward.”
“The matter of the Forward Battalion, is it possible to let He Yan in?” Shen Han asked hesitantly. He Yan has already won first place, so naturally, he should enter the Forward Battalion. But his identity is doubtful, so it was unclear if he’s a friend or a foe. Wasn’t it a bit bad to agree rashly?
“No,” the young man stood up and looked at the laurel tree outside the window. The laurel tree was in bloom and fragrant, with it in one place, set off by a gentleman like jade in a beautiful atmosphere, he said, “Let Lei Hou enter the Forward Battalion. “
…
After going through the battle, it took only half an hour to get down from the mountain and arrive at the guardhouse.
There were a few torches flailing outside the martial arts arena. Everything was as calm as before — there was no instructor at the door and the scene of the warm celebration that they thought in their hearts could not be seen. The few people looked at each other.
“I thought there was a celebration,” Wang Ba was a little dissatisfied, “Why is there nothing?”
As they were talking, someone in the martial arts venue saw them and walked over to them. They didn’t see clearly until they got to the front. This person was Du Mao.
Du Mao was not as excited as he was when he sent them in the morning, and his expression was very calm. When he saw them, he asked, “Where are the flags?”
He Yan took out the large number of flags from her arms, her arms were bulging with them, as she steeply handed it to him, making her a lot more comfortable.
Du Mao counted, “Twenty?”
“Yes.” Jiang Jiao was still a little excited and couldn’t help but said: “We should be first, right?”
“Yes, you’re first.” Du Mao nodded, put the flags away, and said to them, “Go back, take a bath, and rest up. Tomorrow morning, you can take an extra hour off before coming to the martial arts arena. You have all worked hard today.”
Seeing no intention to give reward, Wang Ba asked, “That’s it?”
Du Mao looked at him, “What else?”
Wang Ba couldn’t answer this and somehow felt a little aggrieved. Du Mao said, “I’m heading back to the Head Instructor first, don’t stay here, you all are sweating all over, go wash up and eat something.” After that, he turned around and left, ignoring them.
Really ruthless…
Looking at Du Mao’s back, several people only felt that the night breeze was a little bit cold. When Wang Ba saw Du Mao walking far away, he dared to point to his back and asked, “No, what does he mean? He just left us alone? He has to explain it! We worked so hard together for a whole day and it was all in vain!”
Huang Xiong and Jiang Jiao were also a little disappointed, but Shi spoke up and said, “Perhaps they’re not going to discuss the merits today. After all, there are still some recruits who have not come down the mountain.”
“Yes.” He Yan thought so too, “We don’t know when the last recruit would come down the mountain, and besides, the instructors will discuss the reward for a while. It is not something that can be figured out immediately.”
Wang Ba glanced at her, and said sourly, “Of course you don’t care, your wish of entering the Forward Battalion will definitely be stable. So naturally, you can say that.”
“When I will enter the Forward Battalion, I will get you two jars of good wine.” He Yan patted his shoulder and said solemnly.
Wang Ba threw her hand away and hummed twice, “Whatever you say, Damn, I’m going back!”
They didn’t live in the same room, so they parted ways at the martial arts arena. When He Yan and Shi returned to the room, the originally quiet room suddenly became lively.
Mak rushed up first and leaped in front of Shi, “Brother! How’s it? How many flags did you get? What was your ranking?”
Shi showed a rare smile and said, “All.”
The people in the room were stunned for a moment, then suddenly cheered. He Yan was almost lifted up and thrown into the sky. She heard Hong Shan exaggeratedly yelling, “All? You guys are too desperate! Ahe, you really can do anything. This time you’re number one again. I don’t think it will be long before you will move out of this room. I heard that the soldiers in the Forward Battalion eat and sleep in better places than us. Hey, I’m so jealous!”
“Shi, Brother He, tell us quickly, how did you capture all the flags?”
“That’s right, with so many recruits on the mountain, did you even need to fight? Was the fight good?”
“We took all the twenty flags, how could we not fight? I think you are all thinking of it as something easy. Do you really think everyone else is incompetent?”
The room became too noisy. He Yan had to say, “Brothers, let us eat something and drink some water first, we will tell you slowly, no need to rush.”
After all the talk was over, it was already midnight.
Outside, they heard that the recruits were coming down the mountain one after another until all of them returned. He Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Once there was no one in the middle of the night, she could then to sneak to a place where no one was by the river to take a bath.
The long summer was finally over, and the river gradually began to show its coldness. He Yan couldn’t help but fight with the cold before entering completely. She was a little worried, but summer and autumn were still fine. However, in winter, it would not be easy for her to go to the bathroom with the recruits to take a shower and she does not know what the river water would be like. Cold comes second, but when the time comes, what excuse should she use to explain the fact that she doesn’t need hot water and would be going to a river for taking a cold bath?
Others will think she is sick in the head for sure!
Therefore, she has to enter the Nine banner battalion as soon as possible. Xiao Jue has no shortage of silver, and he is also a young master, so he won’t treat his confidant badly. It would always be a little more convenient than now.
Slowly adapting to the coldness, He Yan poured some water on her body and took the sachet given to her by Mak to wipe herself.
The recruits have all gone down the mountain and since she’s not heard any news of someone going missing, it meant that the formation on the way down the mountain should have been withdrawn after He Yan and the others left. The formation was really prepared for her, He Yan thought to herself, Xiao Jue really wanted her to enter the Nine Banners Battalion, and was deliberately testing her qualifications. In that case, after she passed, Xiao Jue should be satisfied with her and her entry to the Nine Banner Battalion should be assured. In the future, she only needed to show more of her skills, so that the Xiao Jue would become more satisfied with her, and the more chance she would have to become his confidant, preferable his right-hand man, the kind who are inseparable.
It was just that whenever she thought about Lei Hou, He Yan always felt that something was wrong with him during the fight against him. She couldn’t figure out what was wrong even after thinking for so long, and it was the same at this moment. She could only shake her head, hoping that she can find some reasons to spar with this person again in a few days, maybe she can figure out the crux of the matter.
But this person was really merciless and must be guarded against.
He Yan rinsed the foam, wiped her body with a cloth before putting on her clothes, and walking back to the house. Since the last time she bumped into Xiao Jue by the Wulu River, He Yan had to walk far every time she wanted to take a bath, in order to avoid bumping into him again. Come to think of it, she was really being very discreet as a new recruit too.
…
On the second day, all the recruits who had gone up the mountain the day before had a rest in their rooms. Cheng Li Su came to find He Yan.
Young Master Cheng brought two round pomegranates to He Yan, sitting cross-legged on her mat, and said, “I didn’t know that you were fighting for the flag until yesterday evening. My uncle locked me in the house for a whole day and I copied the books for the whole day. If I knew it, I would have come to see you.”
He approached He Yan, “I heard that Big Brother got 20 flags, this time you are the first among recruits in Liangzhou.”
He Yan smiled and opened the pomegranate brought by Cheng Lisu. The pomegranate was big and round, and the inside was already ripe. When it opened, the grains were like red crystals, making the tongue salivate. He Yan picked up a few grains to eat, and replied, “It’s just good luck. It’s just a fluke.”
“Big brother, you are good at everything, but you are too modest!” Cheng Lisu said sternly, “How can this be called good luck? You are already amazing!”
“Then I’m so good,” He Yan had the intention to get words out of his mouth, and looked at him with a smile as she asked, “Do you think I can enter the Nine Banner Battalion?”
“That’s…” Of course, these two words Cheng Lisu swallowed in his stomach forcibly.
Originally, this was a matter of course, it couldn’t be more natural, but Cheng Lisu still remembered that Xiao Jue’s attitude towards He Yan didn’t seem to be appreciative when he got words out of his mouth.
“I think, elder brother, you have proved one thing to everyone, that is you are the number one in Liangzhou Wei, and there is no doubt about it.” Cheng Lisu carefully weighed his words, “Any ordinary person would definitely choose you to enter the Nine Banners battalion.”
His words implied very clearly, “Ordinary person”, but Xiao Jue was not an ordinary person, so no one can say what the result will be.
He Yan didn’t notice the flaws in Cheng Lisu’s words, probably because she was overly confident in herself. After all, this time when she fought for the flag, she had already put all the flags in her bag, which was sufficient to show how good she was. Moreover, during the entire flag competition, He Yan recalled carefully and felt that she had performed very well. Not only could she arrange the troops, but also set up an ambush; not only could she take advantage of the tricks, but also not lose when fighting against Lei Hou. Even the formation that Xiao Jue added was easily broken, and He Yan felt that even in Xiao Jue’s current Nine Banners Battalion, she would be ranked among the best.
How could Xiao Jue let go of such an outstanding talent?
She was extremely happy and excited in her heart, so she didn’t notice, the happier she was, the more guilty Cheng Lisu appeared.
“However, do you know when the rewards based on merit will be given?” He Yan asked, “If there was none yesterday and if none today, it should be within the next few days. You are inseparable from your uncle, and you should know something.”
Cheng Lisu breathed a sigh of relief. He could answer this question, so he said, “Isn’t the Mid-Autumn Festival coming? On the night of August 15th, the barracks will be rewarded for their merits.”
He Yan was slightly startled, “Mid-Autumn Festival?”
“Yeah,” Cheng Lisu sighed, “Time flies so fast, I feel like it hasn’t been long since I came to Liangzhou, and it’s already Mid-Autumn Festival.”
He Yan looked at him and the face of this young boy, who had always been radiant and vigorous, was rarely worried. He Yan asked, “Do you want to go home?”
The worry quickly faded, making people wonder whether it had appeared just now. Cheng Lisu flicked his sleeve and said angrily, “How is it possible? Is the scenery in Liangzhou bad, or is my uncle ugly? Why should I be homesick? I’m so happy here! I don’t want to go back to get engaged!”
He Yan, “…”
Children at this age probably always yearn for freedom.
Cheng Lisu turned to her and asked, “Elder Brother, what about you? Do you want to go back?”
The young man lowered his eyes, and the shadow passing by made it difficult to see his expression clearly. Her voice contained happiness, with a slightly invisible sorrow, as she said, “Fortunately, I’m not too homesick.”
…
For the next few days, everything went on as per usual. The talk about the flag fight was only privately among the recruits, and everyone was talking about what kind of rewards the winners would get this time. The instructors were very calm and tight-lipped, not revealing anything, making people more agitated as if something was scratching their hearts.
The autumn moon became more complete day by day, and in a blink of an eye, the Mid-Autumn Festival will be arriving in just four days.
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