Wuxia: Drinking with Spring Breeze

Regarding the practice of martial arts,

Yang Ge was becoming more and more enthusiastic.

This might be because he truly had a talent for martial arts, even possessing a sense that allowed him to perceive the progress bar of his training.

Perhaps it was because the entertainment options in Wei were so limited that aside from practicing martial arts, he couldn't find other ways to pass the time.

Or maybe it was because his current living environment indeed required this skill for self-protection and establishing a secure life.

Or it could be that his martial arts skills were becoming more profound, and he was starting to appreciate the true charm of martial arts.

In any case, practicing martial arts was gradually overtaking "courtyard renovation" to become his biggest interest and hobby in Wei.

It's worth mentioning that...

Ever since he learned that the monthly salary for the imperial guards was eight taels of silver, he had been planning to rent the abandoned courtyard behind his house. He even sketched out a plan for a small vegetable garden and raising chickens and ducks, just waiting for the guards' payday.

...

In the following days,

Yang Ge stayed inside the small courtyard, focusing single-mindedly on improving his martial arts.

He strengthened his Inner Strength,

tempered his muscles and bones,

polished his leg techniques,

and corrected his power generation.

He spent a great deal of time researching and refining every single aspect.

The previously somewhat rough and haphazard leg techniques became crisp and smooth under his wholehearted effort, flowing like clouds and water, with their power increasing day by day.

Occasionally, when he was truly tired or fed up with training, he would pull out the sketch of the vegetable garden and continue to revise it.

He pondered where to build the chicken coop so that it would be well-ventilated, shaded from the sun, and not affect the life in the front yard.

He considered which vegetables to plant to ensure a fresh supply through the spring, summer, and autumn.

He thought about where the water would come from and where the drainage should go...

His life might have been dull and bland, but he enjoyed it immensely.

During this period, the small courtyard had visitors every day.

Wang Dali came once,

complaining to him that the price of grains in the market had risen again, the number of boats on the Bian River had suddenly decreased a lot, and the government had started collecting more taxes. He said their family could hardly afford food anymore, the inn was not open for business, and his father was looking at him with growing disapproval every day...

In the end, as usual, he swindled two cornbreads from him and left contentedly.

Big Yellow, furiously spreading his hind legs, cursed him for a full quarter of an hour at the courtyard door... Those cornbreads were its portion of food.

That fellow had always been family-oriented and a bit petty since he was a pup.

If anyone brought something into the yard, it would greet them with an open doggy smile and wag its tail like a windmill!

But if anyone took something from the yard, Yang Ge wouldn't stop it from pouncing to bite, and if he did, it would stand in front of the yard and curse!

Moreover, you can be sure that if you come back a second time, it still remembers that you took something from the yard, and it will start scolding you before you even enter...

Liu Mang came once.

This guy entered with a very unconvincing panda eye, yet swore on his chest that he was close to beating his old man. If his father came to consult with him about it, he asked Yang Ge to definitely support his idea of opening a martial arts school. Once they got over this hurdle, the prospect of their "Fists and Feet Unparalleled" duo punching in the South Mountain Retirement Home and kicking in the Northern Sea Kindergarten was just a matter of time!

But to Yang Ge... it seemed unlikely!

The Yuelai Inn was the Shopkeeper's lifeblood. It had been almost a month since the renovations were completed, and the Shopkeeper stubbornly didn't mention reopening, clearly intending to outdo Liu Mang, the prodigal son, to make him give up the bleak prospect of opening a martial arts school and firmly inherit the business of the Liu family, becoming a worry-free inn owner.

Fortunately, although Liu Mang was a spendthrift, he wasn't completely rebellious, or else based on the Shopkeeper's condition where climbing stairs took his breath away, he wouldn't be able to pummel this guy into sporting a panda eye.

Fang Ke came twice.

The first time, he brought a list of personnel for Yang Ge.

After carefully reviewing everyone's background, Yang Ge selected four soldiers who could read and who had previously served as squad leaders or platoon leaders in the frontier army, appointing them as "Trial Flag Officers." Together with Fang Ke, the official Flag Officer, they each led a group of muscular men to work on the Bian River.

The second time, he brought the updated list of personnel added to the imperial guards for Yang Ge to review.

After the second round of additions, Yang Ge's command truly lived up to its name, with a total of fifty-one people under his leadership, each one a ruthless character who had cut down men and seen blood!

Yang Ge had been mentally prepared for this sort of situation and, of course, didn't feel anything unusual about it.

However, he did not realize that such a situation was not common within the imperial guards.

Normally, the junior officers of the imperial guards, including the minor flag-bearers, flag-bearers, trial hundred householders, and hundred householders, even though they all held military ranks, most of the time, they did not command troops.

Instead, they each led only a few trusted subordinates to perform patrol, arrest, and other law enforcement duties outside, only requesting permission to temporarily deploy troops for major tasks when needed. Once the task was completed, they were to immediately return the military seal and the troops they borrowed.

It was a bit like detectives calling in uniformed officers to arrest suspects after completing an investigation.

But the task assigned to Yang Ge by Shen Fa was to establish undercover agents in Luting County, in other words, setting up a "Luting County intelligence station." From then on, they would be stationed in Luting County, carrying out the imperial guards' duties in investigation, assistance, and arrest within the county on their own.

That's why all personnel were provided to Yang Ge at once instead of letting him carry the title of flag-bearer while doing the work of a constable!