Konoha Aogen

After seeing off Lu Jin and his son, the three returned to the Night Palace. The afterimage returned to his own courtyard.

Ye Xuan entered Mu Qing'er's room and handed the sword given by Lu Jin into her hand. Mu Qing'er held the wooden scabbard and slowly pulled out the sword and danced it a few times. The sword was in plain clothes and the shadow of the candle was swaying. After dancing, he flicked the sword with his fingers, and the buzzing sound lasted for a long time.

Mu Qing'er put the sword into its sheath and handed it back to Ye Xuan. Ye Xuan didn't answer.

"This is the heavy sword, you can use it." It was rare for the senior sister to like something, so Ye Xuan decided to give her the sword.

"Okay, let me practice and see." Mu Qing'er was simple and indifferent by nature, and his martial arts was also rough. Although the sword was heavy but soft, she was not sure whether she could handle it.

"Try this sword with 'fine steel' and 'mysterious iron' tomorrow. Don't show off, but it will trick the master to death." Ye Xuan ordered.

"No, I'll still use 'Mo Jie'." Mu Qing'er felt sorry for the sword, especially because it was something Ye Xuan gave her.

"Swords will break, and people will grow old." Ye Xuan comforted him harshly: "This sword is more suitable for you than 'Mo Jie'. I want to see you kill people with it."

"Okay. Test it tomorrow." Mu Qing'er said cruelly. Immediately he said: "Young Master, give it a name."

"Isn't the name written on the sheath?" Ye Xuan said with a smile.

Mu Qing'er looked carefully at the almost rotten scabbard, looked at Ye Xuan again, and shook her head. The style of the scabbard is quite simple, with two characters engraved near the handle, which are the special fonts for "Imperial Clan". It is said that it was created by an emperor who was lazy in state affairs and loved seal carving in the middle of the Great Liang Dynasty. In the eyes of warriors, this kind of font is really pretentious and distorted to the extreme. Fortunately, there are rules to follow in this twist. You can understand it by resetting it logically in your mind.

"Dark water." Ye Xuan muttered in a deep voice. Mu Qing'er looked at the scabbard again and figured out which words it was. "This scabbard is useless anyway. If you don't like it, I'll think of a new one."

"This name is quite good." Mu Qing'er said softly while stroking the sword.

"You have a new lover, who will you sleep with tonight?" Ye Xuan looked at Qing'er's love-struck look, feeling happy in his heart and pretending to be resentful in his mouth.

Mu Qing'er hesitated for a long time, and then responded: "You do." Mu Qing'er can still laugh when she doesn't need to say too much.

The next day, Ye Xuan, Mu Qing'er, and Can Ying talked with Lu Jin and his son until midnight. This time, the afterimage has a seat.

Although there were five people sitting by the fireplace in the study room of the City Lord's Mansion, "Mu Qing'er" didn't say a word except for greetings and farewells. Five days passed like this, and all the details were barely discussed. The next day, "Lu Xing" handed Ye Xuan a weightless "Lancet".

…………

midnight. Night Palace, Xuanyuan.

Ye Xuan was wearing loose dark black pajamas and sat on the edge of the soft couch. His bare feet were sunk into the white fox fur blanket that covered the entire bedroom. Mu Qing'er knelt down beside Ye Xuan and put her right hand on the back of his neck to gently press it. Rubbing. Ye Xuan's neck was not sore, but looking at the four people opposite him, Mu Qing'er felt more comfortable doing something with his hands.

About five or six feet in front of Ye Xuan, Gui Mo, Han Xing, and Gu Yan were kneeling on the fur blanket, looking solemn. There was only an afterimage sitting cross-legged on the right side of Gui Mo, his body half shorter than the others.

Perhaps it is a tacit understanding of aesthetics. No matter how many people are discussing the matter, they will always sit scattered and never sit in a row.

At this moment, Ye Xuangang told everyone about the treasure and was arranging the follow-up matters.

"The field corps consisted of a thousand people, divided into groups of ten, divided into hundreds of groups. They set off in batches along ten different routes. They wore casual clothes, did not ride horses, and did not carry weapons. On the day of the Valley Festival, they gathered in Xiyun City Outside the 'Hades Temple' on the outskirts, each group is strictly prohibited from gathering in advance. Those who arrive early and those who arrive late will be subject to military law." The empire was shattered and fragments were scattered all over the ground. Now only a few thousand people dare to call it a "corps". The military strength provided by "Kurong City" can be considered extravagant in this "era of disaster".

"Yes, young master." Guyan leaned slightly and accepted the order indifferently.

"Security Corps, Imperial Guard Corps. The commander is vacant, and the deputy will take charge temporarily."

"Yes, young master." Gui Mo and Han Xing responded in unison.

"Kurong City" is divided into "Three Regiments and Three Divisions" from the "City Lord's Mansion" below.

The three regiments are the "Field Corps, the Security Corps, and the Imperial Guard Corps."

The "Field Regiment" has one thousand cavalry. He has a tall black horse, a long sword and light armor, and a fine bow and crossbow. It is the one with the largest number of people, the most expensive equipment, and the most useless among the three corps. On weekdays, we just clean out some bandits and bandits outside the city. If this kind of trivial matter were left to "Mowen Tower", it would be ten times cheaper. From Yu Ying's point of view, the existence of the "Field Corps" was entirely due to Ye Xuan's cowardice.

The "Security Corps" has 500 infantrymen and is not responsible for public security in the city. This regiment was originally called the "Gendarme Regiment", but later Ye Xuan felt that this name was too overbearing, so he changed it to the "Security Corps" and still acted as a military police. Military police are soldiers who kill soldiers. Having said that, the Field and Guard Regiments were each led by family members, and Han Xing and Guyan's soldiers were not in Gui Mo's turn to kill. The real responsibility of the Public Security Corps is to supervise the "yamen soldiers" under the jurisdiction of the "Criminal Law Department" and to provide military support when the yamen soldiers encounter strongmen resisting the law.

There are 500 infantrymen in the "Jiang Guards Regiment", all of whom are female soldiers. They all come from "Xuanqing Academy" and specialize in the internal defense of "Night Palace". In terms of force alone, it is even inferior to the Security Corps. Except for the regimental leader, regimental deputy and a few leaders who were barely good at it, the rest of the group had mediocre martial arts skills. The main duty of the Praetorian Guards is to "fire the resounding arrows." Those who can enter the Night Palace, and those who dare to enter the Night Palace, are beyond the control of ordinary warriors. Therefore, they only need to wake up the masters in the palace at the "necessary moment", and they have done their duty.

"Within the walls of the Night Palace, not a blade of grass grows." As more and more guards from the "Jade Guards" retired at the end of their term and became free citizens in the city, the appearance of the interior of the Night Palace gradually became known. No garden, no pavilion, no rockery, no pond. The floors are all paved with gray and white bricks. Each of the six members of the family has a house, which is not far from each other. The names of the houses are also very simple: Qing, Xuan, Ying, Mo, Xing and Yan. There are more than thirty feet of open space around the six houses. Inside the six houses, there is a different world. Everyone decorates and arranges it according to their own preferences, and each place has a different scene.

The three departments are the "Finance and Taxation Department, the Criminal Law Department, and the Legal Affairs Department."

The "Finance and Taxation Department" is responsible for tax collection; approving and appropriating the expenses of the "Three Regiments and Three Divisions"; and the construction of some facilities in the city led by the "City Lord's Palace".

The "Criminal Law Department" is responsible for solving cases and arresting criminals, vigil patrols, mediation and arbitration, and also manages urban defense matters. The person in charge of city defense is actually an idle yamen. In this era, it was rare for an organized army to attack a city or capture territory. It is even more impossible to conquer a city with experts stationed there. It is second best whether it can be conquered or not. Even if it is conquered, it is impossible to sit still. The existence of the city wall was mainly to block the refugees caused by the famine. The northern cities also needed to guard against the intrusion of "small groups of cavalry" on the grassland. Ever since the empire collapsed and the Great Wall was damaged, and the grassland herdsmen could "split up to trade and plunder separately," such a thing as a "ranger team of ten thousand people" has never appeared again.

The "Jieli Division" is responsible for the revision of city laws, the appointment and dismissal of officials, the construction of post houses, and the exchange of post officials. During important solar terms, they also perform some dispensable ceremonies in the name of the "City Lord's Mansion". Ordinary businessmen and craftsmen have no personal awareness of the existence of the Jiedi Division. However, major business groups and wealthy merchants in the inner city know that they must make friends with people from this yamen.

After Ye Xuan explained the matter of the "Three Regiments", he looked at the pure white fur blanket in front of him and said: "The city lord's mansion is entrusted to 'Tang Fu'. When necessary, he has the right to hire mercenaries." Tang Fu is the "Jie Li Division" of hosting.

"Yes, young master." When Mu Qing'er replied, her left hand rubbing his neck paused for a moment.

After speaking, Ye Xuan looked at the afterimage: "While you are away, the 'fourth and fifth floors' will be closed. You decide who is in charge of the remaining three floors."

"Yes, young master." Afterimage was thinking about more important things in his mind.

"Lu Jin will take care of the matter of hiring Captain Luo. The regiment will start to set off in batches in ten days, and the six of us will start again in two months. During this period, Gui Moth is banned. You must always stay with me and Qing'er. Or Xiaoying should be at least one person by your side, never leaving. Even if we are around, you are not allowed to talk to people outside the family." Ye Xuan stared at Gui Moth and ordered.

Gui Moth's eyes widened immediately, extremely embarrassed and angry: "I won't talk nonsense!"

"I won't give you a chance to prove this." Ye Xuan did not give in, but his words lost the dignity of giving orders just now.

"You don't believe me, why did you tell me?" Ghost Moth's eyes were filled with mist, and he stared at Ye Xuan through the haze and shouted. The plump buttocks that were kneeling on her calves also lifted up as her body straightened up.

"Little moth." Mu Qing'er's voice came out coldly from behind Ye Xuan. With just such a gentle drink, Gui Mo's body suddenly shrank back like a frightened kitten. Tears fell one drop at a time on his strong thighs.

"How would you feel if the five of us talked in secret and you were not allowed to listen?" Ye Xuan's voice became softer and softer, and it was unclear whether it was questioning or comforting. "Originally, you didn't care about the specific matters. There is nothing to hand over to the Corps."

All matters of the "Security Corps" are handled by the regiment deputy "Ji Jiusan". Gui Mo is really an idler. Apart from being ridiculous in the brothel, his main hobbies are learning "tattooing" and studying "torture". When a government official encounters a piece of meat that is difficult to interrogate, he is always taken to the security corps and handed over to Gui Mo. For decades, there has never been a mouth that she cannot pry open. Sometimes, in order to please her, the government officials would throw serious criminals to her who were not really difficult to judge.

At this time, Gui Mo lowered his head and said nothing, kneeling on the ground, wiping his tears with the back of his hand. The afterimage looked sideways at her aggrieved look, a little gloating and a little distressed. Afterimage and Gui Mo were both from "Xuanqing Academy", and they were the closest to each other.

The afterimage at that time was not the "blood coordinator" today. After entering the "Mowen Tower" for the first time to help Ye Xuan, Afterimage couldn't hold back the girl's temperament and shared some secrets of the "fourth floor" with her good sisters, and warned Gui Mo not to tell others. Within a few days, rumors spread to Ye Xuan's ears.

That was Ye Xuan's first and only time to punish the afterimage. It was also that time that Afterimage understood that good feelings should not be a reason to trust someone. Later, Ye Xuan and Chan Ying tried Gui Moth many times with "false information" and found out that she was a person who had a hard time keeping secrets.

"Yan, be careful too. The thousands of people under your command are not allowed to know anything before they see the gold brick." Ye Xuan warned Guyan.

"Yes, young master." The soft and low voice revealed the alienation from Ye Xuan. The "Konoha Family" is vaguely divided into two branches. Afterimage and Gui Moth are close to Ye Xuan, while Han Xing and Gu Yan are close to Mu Qing'er. These two people are more or less disgusted and despised towards Ye Xuan. Just because Ye Xuan and Mu Qing'er were so close, this hidden danger never caused any trouble.

On the other hand, the differences between the factions are not obvious, because the afterimage and the ghost moth really have no ill feelings toward Mu Qing'er. On the contrary, it was Mu Qing'er who disliked the afterimages and deliberately alienated Gui Mo for some reasons.

"That's all for tonight. I will discuss all the details with you tomorrow." After Ye Xuan glanced at the three people and said this, his eyes stopped on Gui Moth and said jokingly: "Little Moth, turn over the sign."

Gui Mo ignored Ye Xuan and whispered to Mu Qing'er: "Sister Qing'er, I'm retreating." After that, he pulled the afterimage and walked out of the bedroom. Thinking that in the next two months, he would be like an unweaned baby, being passed around between Mu, Ye, and Yiying, Gui Mo felt intense humiliation in his heart, and he didn't know how much torture he would have to endure before he could vent it.

Exile Diary - Excerpt (12)

Finally I saw another island. It was bigger than anything I had seen before, but it was still an island, not a land. It can be clearly seen from a distance.

Although I didn't have any hope, I put on the princess's gorgeous clothes, covered myself with jewelry, and landed on the island. Out of fear, I still raised the sword with my left hand. The steel sword sleeps quietly in its sheath. Even so, it makes me feel a little at ease. Anese's long sword has been unsheathed, guarding me vigilantly.

Before going to sea, Anese asked me, even if you find someone who can write, they may not be good people. What if they harm you? I told Anese: "This is a gamble, there is no absolute safety. But if you listen to me and read more books, you can always come up with some solutions."

I have read history and some made-up stories. From the books, I understand a truth - if you look like a princess, others will treat you as one. If you look like a slave girl, others will treat you as a slave girl.

If the thieves in the mountains capture a female slave, they will continue to use her as a slave, but if they capture a princess, the bandit leader will marry her as his wife! Even the most unruly bandits will take the initiative to recognize the levels set by the Royal Court.

So whenever I land on a strange land, even if it's just an island, I must put on the most gorgeous clothes and the most expensive jewelry, and be accompanied by Anese in plain clothes. In this way, no matter who I meet, as long as the other person is a real person, he will be able to understand my nobility.

Of course, if the other party is a rude and dirty thief, he may still rape me, beat and scold me, but at least he will treat me as a human being instead of an animal, and that is enough. As long as I am a human being, I will have the opportunity to learn to speak, have the opportunity to have people listen to me, and there will be endless possibilities in the future. If the other party recognizes my nobility, Anese's situation as my slave girl will be better.

There are no people or snakes on the island, at least not today. The most numerous thing on the island is a giant bird that is as fat as a meat ball and is bigger than a "Shire Dog". This bird cannot fly, runs extremely slowly, and is not afraid of us at all. It’s not quite accurate to say that we are not afraid, they almost ignore our existence. Anese and I approached, but they didn't respond. Anese bravely swung his sword to kill one of them. The other one clearly saw it, but still didn't react at all. It still strolled at its original pace without panicking. Don't be angry, don't pay attention. That's amazing, are these birds cursed?

Aniesha and I both need sleep. Without extra female slaves to keep vigil, they would not dare to spend the night on the island with just a bonfire. Let’s go back to the ship first and come back to see it tomorrow.

Exile Diary - Excerpt (13)

Today I observed the "meatball birds" carefully. They mainly eat a kind of fruit on the island. This kind of fruit is as hard as a stone and will fall from the tree and be scattered all over the ground. When the meatball bird encounters the fruit, it swallows it in one gulp. They occasionally peck at insects in the soil and appear to be omnivorous.

No larger animals have been seen on the island. It seems that nothing will prey on the "Meatball Birds". Maybe this is the reason why they are indifferent and stupid? Well, that reason is at least better than a curse.

This place is too far away from "Wolfgangga". I don't know any animals, plants or insects.

Sometimes I even wonder if the days of being a princess in "Kunst" are just a fantasy. Could it be that in the whole world, there are actually only two people, Anese and I, drifting endlessly in the "Endless Sea"? Is it possible that even Anese is a figment of my imagination?

No, I can no longer think wildly, I must be wary of this tendency! People who have never been to the sea can also suspect that the world is fake. The book says this is called "philosophical thinking". Only the dirtiest and most evil pagans will do this in their minds. This is a blasphemy against Ergus!

I am not a pagan, I am not a Christian at all. Although I am a ritual convert to Ergus, like almost everyone else in Wolfgangga, I believe in no god.

My father was extremely angry about this, but not enough to tear me apart. He warned me not to reveal this to anyone at any time. Anyone who knew that I had such thoughts would be killed, including Anese!

I'm not a fool, I know how dangerous my ideas are. As for Anese, of course she knows what I really think, and of course she won’t be stupid enough to say it. She is a slave girl from the "Lorama Clan", and she obviously has more motivation than anyone else to curse "Egus". Anese's sobriety made me even more unable to understand what the other female slaves were thinking. Their piety seemed not to be fake!

If you doubt the reality of the world, you can blaspheme to "Egus", and of course I am happy to do so. But I think there is no "Egus" at all. In the eyes of the servant of God, this idea is thousands of times more vicious than directly cursing "Egus".

It has nothing to do with "Egus". Even if no one tells me, I can still realize the abyss into which this terrible behavior of "philosophizing" can lead people. Wolfgangga exists! Anese exists! no doubt!

Oh, by the way, what I want to say is: this place is too far away from "Wolfgangga". I don't know any animals, plants, or insects, so I don't dare to eat anything. Thinking about it, you know that this "meat ball bird" must be very delicious, and the experience of "Wolfgangga" is that all birds are non-toxic, and the only difference is whether they are delicious or not. Can the experience of "Wolfgangga" still be used here? I can't let Anese try the poison. Now I regret killing the last slave girl even more.