After Qin Siyao left, Xiao Mo returned to his barracks.
The mont he stepped into the Twelve Earthly Branches’ barracks, Zhao Wei and the others all crowded around him excitedly.
"Brother Xiao, was that young lady the rumored Third Princess?"
"Brother Xiao, how do you know the Third Princess?"
"Brother Xiao, the Third Princess ca to see you on her own initiative. Is sothing big happening?"
"Brother Xiao, don’t tell you’re going to leave us so soon to beco a high-ranking official?"
The n all spoke at once, their faces alight with curiosity.
"Shoo, shoo..." Xiao Mo pushed them away. "What high-ranking official? The Third Princess and I just know each other from before. This ti, the Second Prince was just coming to the military camp to handle so matters. The Third Princess is naturally playful, so she took the opportunity to sneak along for fun."
As he spoke, Xiao Mo smiled and patted Zhao Wei’s shoulder, saying to them, "Don’t worry. According to the laws of the Qin Kingdom, once you join the Iron Tiger Army, you have to serve at least seven years before you can leave. For now, none of us will be becoming high-ranking officials."
"..."
For a mont, everyone was speechless.
In truth, they would have been happy for Brother Xiao if he had beco a high-ranking official. But it was also fine that he hadn’t. With his talent, Brother Xiao was bound to achieve great things in the future.
Still, they were incredibly curious how a re son of a concubine like Brother Xiao had co to know the current Emperor’s most favored daughter.
But since Brother Xiao wasn’t talking, they decided to drop it.
If they kept pressing, it wouldn’t be good if Brother Xiao decided to give each of them a punch.
Soon, they turned the topic to the Second Prince, Qin Jingyuan.
Even if most commoners in the Qin Kingdom didn’t know much about the Royal Family’s affairs, they at least knew that the position of Crown Prince was currently undecided, and that the Eldest Prince and Second Prince were vying for it.
Qu Weize and Ma Jinpeng, whose fathers were a County Magistrate and a court official respectively, were especially talkative, holding forth for their comrades—
"I’m telling you, the Second Prince’s talent in the Martial Dao is actually a bit higher than the Eldest Prince’s. And for the recent governnt affairs the Emperor assigned to them, the Second Prince’s performance has been slightly better."
"That’s useless. The Eldest Prince will definitely be the Crown Prince. After all, what kind of logic is it to pass over the elder brother for the younger? Besides, I heard from my father that the Eldest Prince isn’t bad either. As long as he doesn’t make any mistakes, he’ll be fine."
"That’s not necessarily true. Although my father is just a County Magistrate, I’ve heard that the Emperor has already tacitly allowed the two Princes to form their own factions and build their own power bases. The Emperor definitely wants to choose the best candidate; he’s just still hesitating."
"Actually, I think it’s the sa no matter who becos Emperor. Whether it’s the Eldest Prince or the Second Prince, they will both be wise rulers in the future."
"So do you support the Eldest Prince or the Second Prince?"
"I’ve never t the Eldest Prince, but the Second Prince is quite handso, hehehe..."
"???"
As the n debated back and forth, Xiao Mo, off to the side, couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.
"Brother Xiao..." Suddenly, Qu Weize turned to Xiao Mo. "Brother Xiao, which Prince do you think will beco the Crown Prince in the future?"
"You guys... what’s the use of thinking about this? It won’t change our situation as grunts. Let’s get so sleep. We have to be up early tomorrow."
Xiao Mo didn’t answer, simply lying down on his bed.
Zhao Wei and the others continued their discussion, though they lowered their voices significantly.
’Choose a side?’
Xiao Mo turned on his side, recalling what the Second Prince had said to him.
’Do I have to choose?’
’What if I don’t?’
...
「The next morning, it was another day of routine training.」
At noon, Xiao Mo and the others went to the ss hall for their al as usual.
At first, Xiao Mo ate normally.
But before long, Xiao Mo discovered chopped pieces of at in his bowl of rice.
The texture of the at was like that of an animal’s heart.
Xiao Mo knew this was Red Tiger Heart.
Only then did Xiao Mo notice that while the soup he was drinking was the sa color as everyone else’s, its taste was vastly different.
’This soup was also stewed with Red Tiger Heart, and it even contains so precious Spirit dicines.’
After a mont’s hesitation, Xiao Mo continued to eat.
Xiao Mo would not take the initiative to use the special privileges the Second Prince had given him.
But there was no need for him to deliberately refuse sothing that was being force-fed to him like this.
In short, his plan was to maintain a certain distance in their relationship, but not get too close.
As for the future, if there was sothing he could do to help the Second Prince, he would naturally do so.
But if it involved sothing more unsavory, such as picking a side, he would not take that step.
In the evening, after training ended, Xiao Mo would stay behind at the training grounds to practice alone for a while longer.
As he practiced, Xiao Mo would find himself looking in the direction of the Imperial Palace.
Xiao Mo knew the military camp was too far from the Imperial Palace for him to possibly see any sky lanterns released from there.
But since he had already promised Siyao that he would look up every night, he would not break his word.
’If we et again in the future and Siyao asks, I’ll just tell her I saw the sky lanterns she released. That way, I won’t hurt her feelings.’
Two months passed like this, and Qin Siyao did not return to the military camp.
But one evening, as Xiao Mo finished his usual training and was about to return to the barracks, he felt an urge and looked up again.
A single sky lantern was drifting forlornly toward the military camp.
"That girl."
Xiao Mo smiled, watching as the sky lantern flew higher and higher, eventually blending in with the stars.
Before he knew it, another two years had passed.
In those two years, Xiao Mo had only advanced to the Mid-stage Cave Mansion Realm, but this was the result of him deliberately suppressing his Realm.
In exchange, he had achieved a profoundness in the quality of his Realm that even he himself did not fully comprehend.
As for Zhao Wei and the others, they had all advanced to the Mid-stage Foundation Establishnt Realm.
After all, they were prodigies selected from all over the Qin Kingdom; their talent was naturally not going to be poor.
Xiao Mo also frequently sparred with them and answered their questions about the Martial Dao.
Their admiration and respect for Xiao Mo grew ever deeper.
Just as everyone had grown accustod to life in the Iron Tiger Army camp.
One morning, Xiao Mo and the others woke up as usual but did not hear Master Chang counting.
...
「anwhile, Master Chang had arrived at the wooden cabin of Wang Sima of the Iron Tiger Army.」
"Lord Wang, you were looking for ."
"Yes." Wang Sima nodded. "Do you know about the matter concerning the Wei Kingdom?"
"I do," Chang Xin nodded, saying angrily, "The Wei Kingdom, a tiny, insignificant country, has the audacity to overestimate its strength and violate our borders!"
"The Emperor is also furious. He has already dispatched a large army. This ti, His Majesty doesn’t just want to beat the Wei Kingdom into submission; he wants to devour it whole."
Wang Sima handed over a letter.
"And this ti, among the soldiers conscripted by His Majesty are three thousand soldiers from the Iron Tiger Army.
The Twelve Earthly Branches unit you lead.
All ten of them are on the list."
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