Chapter 114 - 101: Return to the Northern Border, Another Meritorious Achievement

Chapter 114: Chapter 101: Return to the Northern Border, Another Meritorious Achievement

Lu Yuan, on the other hand, let out a sigh of relief. As long as Wu Han was okay, that was all that mattered.

He wasn’t concerned about whether there were really a hundred thousand troops. After all, outsiders didn’t know the situation, so it was normal for rumors to spread and get distorted.

He believed the second half of the statement even less.

Knowing the character of those nobles in the Imperial City, if they really did show up, the first thing they’d do would probably be to try and absorb Wu Han’s forces, not ask for his help.

Still, he said, "Thanks."

Then he continued onward.

After they left, the caravan leader said to the person beside him, "Did you see that? That’s our Icefield Pass’s Captain. They say he reached his current position in the Northern Border in just a few short months.

It’s no exaggeration to say his name inspires awe, and he looks like he’s still in his teens."

His voice was filled with emotion.

The people around him watched Lu Yuan’s group depart, their faces showing a trace of reverence.

They had all heard of the Captain of Icefield Fortress, but this was the first time they had seen him. They’d had their doubts before, but after seeing the heads on the back of the horse today, all their skepticism vanished.

Lu Yuan and his men pressed on, finally arriving back at Icefield Fortress in the afternoon.

As they entered the city, the Centurion in charge of the gate brought his men to stand respectfully to the side from a distance.

When Lu Yuan’s group drew near, he immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Lord Captain."

Lu Yuan nodded and entered the city.

Hearing the noise from outside, Madam Lu couldn’t help but peek out. She said to An Niang beside her, "I originally thought this fortress city would be quite desolate, but it’s surprisingly bustling."

"Madam, these fortress cities have existed since the founding of the dynasty. Their populations grow every year. They say this Icefield Pass has several hundred thousand people. While it can’t compare to the great cities in the heart of the empire, it’s hardly desolate."

In this world, because the Dayong Dynasty was relatively stable internally and had many Cultivators whose lifespans were greatly extended, a massive population had accumulated over the years.

A single small border city could have hundreds of thousands of people.

Larger ones even reached populations of a million.

And that was with much of the population unrecorded. After all, the servants of many great families were purchased and not even counted as regular people.

If they were included, the population would likely be far greater than the current official numbers.

Madam Lu nodded, then looked at An Niang. "You were born in the Northern Lands, weren’t you?"

"Yes, Madam," An Niang said with emotion. "Though not in a fortress city, I was from the Northern Border. I was sold to Yunzhou. If not for you, I don’t know if I’d still be alive today."

As she looked at Madam Lu, her eyes filled with gratitude.

Just as the two were talking,

the carriage came to a stop.

Lu Yuan’s voice sounded from outside. "Mother, Aunt An, we’re here."

Curiosity on their faces, the two of them lifted the curtain of the carriage.

With Lu Yuan’s help, they stepped down from the carriage.

Then, a figure caught Madam Lu’s attention. She thought to herself, ’What a tall girl, and so pretty too.’

The person she saw was, of course, Zhou Hongling.

As a woman from the south, she seemed quite petite standing in front of the other woman.

At the same time, Zhou Hongling was also looking at Lu Yuan’s mother.

As soon as she learned Lu Yuan had returned, she had dropped everything and rushed out.

She found that Madam Lu looked much younger than she had imagined.

At that moment, Lu Yuan pointed to Zhou Hongling and said, "Mother, this is my superior, the Three Passes Garrison General of our Northern Border."

As his words fell, Madam Lu looked a little surprised.

Zhou Hongling, however, was not shy. She smiled at Madam Lu and said, "Aunty, you must be tired from your long journey. I’ve already had someone prepare hot water at the mansion. After you’ve bathed, we can all have a meal together."

Madam Lu didn’t refuse. "Alright, thank you very much, General Zhou."

This was their first meeting, and she didn’t know the nature of Zhou Hongling’s relationship with her son, so she was naturally very polite.

The latter quickly replied, "Aunty, you’re my elder. Please don’t call me General. Just call me Hongling. We’re neighbors now, so if you need anything, just let me know. Please don’t be a stranger."

Hearing Zhou Hongling say this, Madam Lu started to get an idea of the situation.

Her smile widened as she looked at Zhou Hongling. "Alright, I’ll listen to Hongling, then. Thank you so much for taking care of Yuan since he came to the Northern Border."

Zhou Hongling was clearly pleased that Madam Lu wasn’t being formal with her.

She quickly said, "Aunty, please go inside the mansion and rest first. I have some things to discuss with Yuan."

After speaking, she gestured for a maid to lead Madam Lu into the mansion.

"Alright, you two take care of business first. We’ll have plenty of opportunities to see each other later, there’s no rush." Madam Lu chuckled and followed the maid into the General’s Mansion.

After they had left,

Zhou Hongling finally looked at the heads on the warhorse. "You ran into people from the Charm Demon Sect on the road?"

"Yes, and one of them was a True Essence Realm expert. But I’ve already killed her. None of their leaders escaped. All their heads are here," Lu Yuan said calmly.

Zhou Hongling’s eyes lit up. She had assumed Lu Yuan would only bring back the heads of ordinary Charm Demon Sect elites. After all, in her memory, Lu Yuan had only reached the Blood Movement stage half a year ago.

’To be able to defeat a True Essence expert now, his cultivation must have improved again.’

And, most importantly, according to the intelligence she had received, the Charm Demon Sect’s Steward in the Northern Lands was a True Essence Realm expert.

Therefore, a look of delight appeared on her face. "You killed Hua Niang?"

"I don’t know her name, but she was a True Essence Realm expert." As Lu Yuan spoke, he pointed to one of the heads on the horse.

When Zhou Hongling looked, she saw it was indeed a perfect match for the portrait of Hua Niang.

She couldn’t help but say, "Tsk tsk, you’ve performed another great service this time. I heard that just yesterday the Marquis chewed out many of the Garrison Generals and Captains, giving them a deadline to capture the Charm Demon Sect’s leadership in the Northern Lands.

And now, you’ve returned today with Hua Niang’s head.

If this is sent to Yanzhou City, you’re guaranteed at least a third-class merit. Add that to the fact that you were the first to destroy the Baihua Courtyard last time...

With one more great service, as long as your cultivation reaches the Gang Qi Realm, you’ll be able to get promoted again."

Even Zhou Hongling couldn’t help but marvel at Lu Yuan’s capabilities.

"Just good luck," Lu Yuan said with a chuckle.

He was also quite happy to hear he had earned merit.

Next, Zhou Hongling said, "I’ll record your battle merits right away and have these heads sent to Yanzhou City. I heard the Marquis hasn’t rested for days because of this Charm Demon Sect affair."

After saying this, she turned and began giving orders to her subordinates.

Lu Yuan, for his part, ordered Zhou Xiong to give their fallen brothers a proper burial and to withdraw silver from the Inner Treasury.

For this trip to Yunzhou, everyone who followed him would receive fifty taels of silver. The injured would receive eighty taels, and the families of the fallen would receive two hundred taels each.

After receiving his instructions, Zhou Xiong immediately said, "As you command!"

Then he withdrew.

Once everything was arranged, Lu Yuan accompanied Zhou Hongling into the General’s Mansion.

「Meanwhile, in a rather unremarkable courtyard in the Imperial City, Zhang Hong was sitting in his living room, drinking tea.」

He had been in the Dayong Imperial City for some time now, and Zhang Zhe’s wedding was only a few days away.

For this occasion, he had even bought a courtyard house in the Imperial City.

The cost had been agonizing at the time.

This single, ordinary one-courtyard house had cost nearly half of the Zhang Family’s entire liquid silver reserves.

However, according to the people of the Imperial City, this place was rich in Spiritual Qi. It was a place where dragon veins converged, incomparable to the outside world.

Normally, such properties weren’t even traded for silver. It was only because of the Zhang Family’s connection to the Prince Manor that a price in silver was even considered.

After living here for a while, Zhang Hong had indeed felt the difference.

After reaching the Innate Realm, his cultivation progress had slowed to a crawl. But now, it was advancing rapidly.

It made him somewhat reluctant to leave.

He had heard that the courtyard he bought was just an ordinary one. The better ones were comparable to the Grotto Heaven Blessed Lands of outside sects. Some even had Arrays set up inside, allowing a Cultivator to advance by leaps and bounds.

Just as he was marveling at this, Zhang He walked in from outside. "Brother, I’ve gathered the information on Lu Yuan."

After speaking, a complicated expression appeared on his face.

Clearly, he had already read through it.

Zhang Hong, who had just closed his eyes, opened them. He said to Zhang He, "Bring it here and let me see."

As he finished speaking, he took the documents and began to flip through them quickly.