Chapter 105 Returning to Yihe Village, Commander Han Ying
Clean and repair for several days.
That evening, Li Xian simmered tiger bone soup. The soup was boiling and flavorful. Li Xian then added two bird eggs, a handful of salt, a handful of chopped green onions, and some wild vegetables from the mountains.
The color, aroma, and taste are all quite good.
Just as he was marveling at his improved culinary skills and about to devour the food, Uncle Fu arrived.
"Sir, I've brought your wages."
Uncle Fu said respectfully.
"Huh?" Li Xian was taken aback. "How come my salary is with you? Come to think of it, I haven't received my salary for several months."
Uncle Fu then explained the reason.
Originally, Heihe Village belonged to the wives of tenant farmers. Every winter, the village chief had to go to the village to report on the situation there.
Were there any casualties? Were any babies born?
For generations to come, his descendants will be tenant farmers. After Uncle Fu went to the estate, the accountant, Uncle Xiang, asked him to bring back his wages.
This will save us from having to make another trip.
"Sir, things are really chaotic outside right now."
"You didn't see it, the guards in the village are so busy they can't even find their way around."
Uncle Fu handed over the money bag.
Li Xian checked his finances; several months' salary was all there.
"I heard that the head of the guards in the manor has changed. That's a rare thing, and many of the guards are talking about it," Uncle Fu said, beaming.
"Oh? It's changed?" Li Xian's heart skipped a beat. "The commander's surname isn't Pang anymore?"
"I don't have that surname anymore, I'm surnamed Hua now." Uncle Fu said, "That gentleman is really arrogant, not nearly as kind as you, sir."
"We almost got kicked out of the manor as soon as we entered. But then again, it makes sense. Where else in the world can you find someone like you, sir?"
"In my opinion, it would be best if you were to take on this leadership position."
Li Xian frowned slightly. "Do you know the reason? Was Commander Pang promoted or what happened?"
“I’m not quite sure,” Uncle Fu recalled. “It seems… he was injured and couldn’t get out of bed, so he was placed under the care of Commander Hua.”
"I'm afraid the injuries are extremely serious," Li Xian murmured.
Unfortunately, he was too far away to meet Pang Long.
Li Xian recalled Hua Han's eagle-like eyes; this man was definitely not a magnanimous person, yet Pang Long was completely unguarded against him.
“We must be wary of Hua Hanying. He is narrow-minded but very ambitious. I have a feeling that he has long coveted the position of commander. Commander Pang has been very kind to me. I need to remind him about this matter again.”
Li Xian carefully put away the money and decided to return to the village the next day.
The tiger soup was delicious; the wild mountain vegetables masked the gamey taste of the tiger meat. A pinch of salt brought out the freshness and aroma of the tiger meat, and the glistening, oily bone marrow added another layer of flavor.
Adding some sweet fruit would make the flavor even richer.
[Your cooking skills have improved; proficiency +2]
...
The next day, before dawn, Li Xian set off, running with light and quick steps. With all his might, he leaped several meters away.
It was incredibly fast.
Before dawn, they had already rushed back to the village.
They rushed straight to Pang Long's residence and found that Pang Long was indeed seriously injured, pale-faced, lying on the bed, breathing weakly.
“Commander Pang,” Li Xian called out.
"Cough cough." Pang Long woke up, his eyes glazed over. After a long while, his focus gradually returned, and he recognized Li Xian.
"Li...Li Xian...you...how did you get here?"
His voice was weak as he propped himself up on the bed with his right hand.
"I heard you were seriously injured, so I came back to see you." Li Xian channeled his Qi to him and asked, "Commander Pang, how did you get hurt? You are badly injured."
With liver and spleen damaged, and right leg bones fractured inch by inch, such injuries, without the aid of powerful medicine, will certainly not heal completely. A lifelong disability is now a certainty.
Then I saw his left wrist, which had been severed by a knife, the wound still bearing the marks of the blade and had not yet healed. If Pang Long hadn't known how to seal blood and close orifices, he would have bled to death.
"It's a long story, so I won't go into it," Pang Long shook his head and said weakly, "You came all this way to see me, which is very kind of you."
Li Xian frowned. "You're so badly injured and have so little time to move around. Why isn't anyone taking care of you?"
Pang Long was taken aback. After a moment, he said, "Everyone has things to do. My injury can be treated with rest." His expression betrayed his dejection.
In truth, it was known that all the guards in the manor were trying to curry favor with Hua Hanying. A sick dragon is no match for a fledgling eagle.
When the lady learned of the situation, she simply said, "I know, go and recover from your injuries," and then asked no further questions.
“Commander Pang, I still need to be stationed elsewhere and cannot stay long. I came here firstly to visit you to check on your injuries, and secondly…” Li Xian said solemnly, “I may have been petty, but I have been naive. You must be careful with Hua Hanying.”
“Han Ying also joined the manor at your age.” Pang Long shook his head and said, “We are all loyal to the lady. We only need to be loyal to the lady. Why think too much?”
"Perhaps." Li Xian shrugged and dropped the subject.
After exchanging a few more words, Li Xian took his leave.
He walked from the village.
Li Xian suddenly felt melancholy. Although he was a guard, he was not familiar with the estate. He had never even set foot in some of the wild forests and wastelands.
Walking along the road, we passed the manor's main compound. Just then, we heard footsteps; the guards had just finished their morning training and were returning to the compound to practice martial arts.
"Have you heard? Master Hua wants to discuss something with us later."
"Hey, still calling him 'Grandpa'? He's Commander Hua now. Don't get it wrong, or we'll be in big trouble."
"Commander Hua is just making a big splash as a new official. Sigh, even if I were a handsome man like him, being a top-class bodyguard wouldn't be his limit."
"Commander Pang has essentially stepped down and yielded his position. I heard he was seriously injured this time; I wonder if he will recover fully."
"Who cares? If he recovers well, we'll treat him like royalty."
...
The crowd rushed in.
Li Xian had no interest and turned to leave. He ran into Hua Hanying, who had changed out of his guard's uniform and was now wearing a commander's uniform. He was young, handsome, and quite distinguished.
“Li Xian?” Hua Hanying was taken aback, then laughed and said, “Very well, since you’re here, you can listen to it too. This matter is also related to you.”
He walked straight up to the crowd and said, "Gentlemen, I, Hua Hanying, have been promoted to acting commander. Until Pang Long recovers from his injuries, I will have the final say on the matters of guarding the hospital."
"I have improved upon the previous leadership's work and now establish new regulations. I hereby inform you of them."
"In terms of patrol duties, it remains the same as before. The main issue is the hierarchy of guards. After careful consideration, I have decided to make a major change."
Hua Hanying spoke eloquently, “Many of you guards have served the lady for ten or twenty years.”
"The original nurse ranking system was unfair, giving opportunists a chance to take advantage of the system, and it also discouraged those who had stuck to their posts for ten or twenty years without being promoted."
"Therefore, I am changing 'A, B, C, D' to grades one, two, three, and four, and improving the promotion criteria."
"Firstly, a fourth-class guard needs to have been employed in the manor for two years before they can attempt to advance in rank..."
At this point, the true intentions have been revealed.
After explaining the new rules, Hua Hanying glanced at Li Xian, secretly pleased with himself. With this move, he could merge Li Xian's "Class B" into "Class Four".
The clever part is that most of the nurses can retain their original benefits.
The position of commander holds immense power and authority. Apart from the wife's word, the commander can make decisions on the promotion, patrol duties, and training of the guards, and can even make decisions with a single word.
Hua Hanying had just assumed command and was not yet firmly established in his position. He might not have the power to implement sweeping reforms, but he was more than happy to show off his power to his subordinates and guards.
"Utterly boring."
Li Xian turned and left.
"If any of you are dissatisfied, you may raise objections. You may propose a better solution. Of course... we are all martial artists, so we can also have a martial arts contest to see who is right and who is wrong."
Hua Hanying was feeling complacent, knowing that as the commander, he controlled the lives of the guards, and that no one would dare to contradict him even if he said such things.
It can also accentuate a large belly.
Li Xian paused, then suddenly laughed and said, "Commander Hua, what did you just say?"
"Um?"
Hua Hanying laughed and said, "Hahaha. Since you didn't hear clearly, I'll explain it to you again separately. Li Xian, you're so young, yet you've already reached Grade B. That's quite an achievement."
"Now, with the new regulations and reforms, I've fallen back to the fourth tier. The difference is rather large, which I can understand."
"But as the saying goes, true gold is not afraid of being tested by fire. As long as you have real skills, you will be promoted again after two years."
“We are all serving the lady. It takes us two or three years before we can get ahead.”
"It's a good thing for young people to get more experience and training."
Upon hearing this, the others chimed in with their own opinions.
Since entering the manor, Li Xian has displayed dazzling talent and stolen the limelight, achieving "success and fame" in less than half a year. The fact that someone else so easily snatched away the goal he had strived for his entire life must have filled him with resentment.
Ignoring the opinions of others, Li Xian laughed and said, "Commander Hua, since true gold fears no fire, how about I test you?"
"What do you mean?" Hua Hanying said angrily, "You want to challenge me?"
"Are you against this new regulation, and therefore seeking a fight with me?"
Li Xian nodded, "I guess so."
"How dare you!" Hua Hanying cursed inwardly. He clenched his fists, narrowed his eyes, and silently swept over the crowd. He had already made his promise, so how could he go back on his word?
He immediately thought, "I'm in dire need of someone to establish my authority, and you've delivered yourself to me. Let me show you how I got this position of commander!"
He said, "Alright, as I said before, if anyone has any objections, we can settle this with our fists. But once we're on the ring, there's no room for error in fists and kicks, so you can decide for yourselves!"
Everyone was excited at the prospect of a fight, glancing between Hua Hanying and Li Xian. They discussed amongst themselves:
"Li Xian is still young and impatient."
"Without Pang Long's backing, he's at best a third-rate fighter. How dare he compete with Commander Hua? He's really arrogant."
"Alas, Li Xian is indeed quite skilled; it wouldn't be difficult for him to secure a second-class rank. However, if he were to compete against Commander Hua, he would probably be no match."
"Everyone has seen Commander Hua's Fire Eagle Claw; its power is formidable. Although Immortal Li possesses the Azure Palm, it seems he only recently mastered it."
"Not only that, Commander Hua has already circulated his Qi throughout his body. The difference between their internal Qi is as great as 108,000 miles."
...
Hua Hanying straightened his chest and jumped onto the arena. Hearing the crowd's discussions, he felt quite confident.
"A man's word is worth a thousand pieces of gold. I, the commander, will not break my promise, and I hope you will not break yours either."
"Why aren't you coming up on stage to fight me right now!"
He roared with his inner energy, his voice booming like thunder. Instead, he feared that Li Xian would desert him in the face of battle.
Li Xian said, "A word is worth a thousand pieces of gold."
Having said that, he stepped onto the arena. He didn't care about the guard's rank; with his strength, what did he have to fear about a lowly title? However, Hua Hanying deliberately made things difficult for him, proudly displaying the Tiger Commander's flag, his smug face disgusting to behold.
"Li Xian, a fourth-class bodyguard, humbly requests Commander Hua's guidance."
(End of this chapter)
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