Death Sutra

Chapter 949: The New Commander-In-Chief

Before he departed from the capital city, Pang Jing and his close friends, each contributing one sentence at a time, had composed dozens of poems about the Western Regions. The main theme was half about the strong wind and heavy snow, and that other half about the desert. At the end of the winter, when he finally arrived in Jade City, he forgot all about those beautiful verses. All he could think about was staying in a large house and isolating himself from the snowy world outside forever.

‘The capital is a paradise.’ He secretly let out a heartfelt sigh.

Before leaving the capital city, Pang Jing had once made a bet with an official that though it was winter, with all the courier stations that the Central Plains had built in the Western Regions, he would be able to reach Jade City in a month, which was about the same amount of time that this journey would take in the summer or autumn. Because of this bet, Pang Jing had refused to progress at a moderate pace. Bringing only a small group of attendants, he had galloped non-stop in icy cold wind, as if he were a messenger carrying an important dispatch.

And Pang Jing had made it. Even though his cheeks had peeled and his lips were dry and cracked, revealing red flesh, even though he exhausted many horses and camels to the point of death, the number of which he lost count, and even though he had to abandon three fallen attendants what had become exhausted, leaving them in the snow, he had made it in the end. He had managed to finish the journey from the capital to Jade City in merely twenty-nine days.

In order to attain positive proof of his winning the bet, Pang Jing didn’t settle himself in the military camp outside the city. Instead, he rode straight to northern Jade City. Without consulting with anybody, he directly occupied the mansion prepared for the Governor, had someone get him the seal of Governor, and stamped his travel document. With the date stamps of all those checkpoints and courier stations, Pang Jing now had indisputable evidence to show that he had won the bet.

After he returned to the capital, the official whom Pang Jing had bet with would carry three goblets of wine to Pang Jing with his own hands. The stake was of no account. He just wanted to prove that he had been right.

The incumbent Governor was a Norlander, Mo Chu, who had been missing for a long time. There were a dozen servants living in the mansion, who were all from Golden Roc Castle. When faced with a group of strange Central-Plains intruders, they didn’t dare stop them. Instead, the handed the seal of the Governor over and hurriedly reported it to their superior.

As a result, after the news was relayed several times, the Central Plainsmen who were standing in formation in the camp outside the city waiting to welcome the new commander-in-chief finally heard of it. It turned out those refugee-like guys whom the scouts had encountered previously were actually the general and his attendants coming from the capital.

Pang Jing liked fighting with his inertia to toughen his will. As a result, less than four hours after he settled into the mansion, when the numbness and pain in his toes were just beginning to ease, he walked out of the comfortable bedroom and summoned his subordinates.

Nearly a hundred generals were crowded into the hall. They knelt in unison to pay respect to the new commander-in-chief, thinking in confusion, ‘Is this beggar-like young man whose face is full of frostbite really the younger brother of the General-in-chief, Pang Ning?’

Pang Jing was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, tall, well-proportioned, and with a rugged, square face. Though his frame was not overly big, his eyes were bright and piercing. Even when he was exhausted, there seemed to be an inexhaustible vigor in those eyes, as if he could squander it in whatever way he liked.

During his first meeting with his subordinates, Pang Jing showed himself to be a man who didn’t do everything by the rules. Without having his subordinates make a self-introduction, he directly walked up to the only outsider in the hall.

“You must be General Dugu.” Before Dugu Xian could formally introduce himself, Pang Jing smiled. The smile pulled his frostbitten face, causing him to involuntarily grimace and gasp.

Dugu Xian slightly lowered his head, holding the seal of the commander-in-chief. He was here on behalf of the Dragon King, so he could be neither humble nor pushy. “I’m Dugu Xian, the General of the Left of the Dragon Army. I was entrusted with the seal of the commander-in-chief. Now, I shall return the seal to its rightful owner… ”

An attendant, whose face was also covered with frostbite, took the seal of the commander-in-chief. Without glancing at the seal of the commander-in-chief, Pang Jing took the only arm of Dugu Xian and sized him up. “General Dugu has defeated many numerically superior armies, including the Golden Roc Army and the Norland forces. You’re world-famous. If the Central Plains had a general like you, we wouldn’t have spent so many years preparing ourselves before daring to fight with the Norland.”

“How about you switch sides to the Central Plains? I’ll give the position of the commander-in-chief to you. You can also do some drinking and eating for a few days. After I return to the capital, I’ll report your meritorious deeds to the Imperial Court. I think that it’s safe to say that you’ll be bestowed the title of a duke.”

All of the generals were startled. It was against the rule to publicly co-opt the most important general of the Dragon King during the first meeting.

Also stunned, Dugu Xian forgot all of the words that he had prepared in advance. After stalling for a while, he said, “I’m flattered, General Pang. I won a couple battles, but the Dragon King was the one who formulated the battle plan, and I merely followed orders. The only thing that I’m capable of is leading troops. I’m sure that there are a lot of Central Plains generals who can do the same.”

“What a pity. What a pity,” Pang Jing burst into laughter and then said, “If the Dragon King doesn’t mind degrading himself, I can bestow the title of duke to him right now.”

Upon hearing these faux pas gush from the lips of the new commander-in-chief, all of those generals lowered their heads. None of them dared to speak. Dugu Xian made a few perfunctory remarks and then hurriedly took his leave, heading for the camp of the Dragon Army to report this to the Dragon King. He really didn’t know how to describe Pang Jing’s behavior.

After dark, Pang Jing was still highly energetically receiving visitors, checking troops registers as well as the numbers of weapons, armor, and provisions. Those generals had prepared a welcome banquet, but nobody dared to invite the new superior. Everybody was worried that when the superior asked them questions, they might not be able to answer correctly and thus lose the potential opportunity of being promoted.

Eventually, a general tactfully sent a message to Pang Jing via an attendant: the mansion of the Governor didn’t belong to the Central Plains for the moment, so the new commander-in-chief might as well spend the night in the military camp. Everything was readily available there. The living condition was just as good as that of the mansion.

Pang Jing refused to move. The reason was very simple. “The Central Plains is the common ruler of all countries. Not to mention the fact that this mansion is unoccupied, even if the Norlanders were living here, I’d chase them away.”

That night, Pang Jing had a restful sleep. The next morning, he awoke feeling rested and refreshed. Walking out of the bedroom, he suddenly felt that the snow-covered landscape in the Western Regions was actually very beautiful. It was a pity that winter was about to end. Snow was melting and seemed to have lost its piercing coldness.

It was going to be another hectic day. Golden Roc Castle sent a renowned doctor who specialized in treating frostbite to the mansion. He brought some ointment. Pang Jing applied it to his face and found that it was very effective. Though his face looked somewhat ugly with white patches on it, he didn’t mind at all and just kept receiving visitors.

To many people’s surprise, the first resident of Jade City that Pang Jing received was Meng Mingshu. It seemed as if Golden Roc Castle’s gesture of friendliness was nothing in his eyes.

Meng Mingshu was also amazed. He had merely sent a visitor card to this new Central Plains official by convention. Unexpectedly, he was the first one to be received.

Fortunately, the Bodhi Garden was not far away from the mansion, so Meng Mingshu arrived soon. He was panting heavily, but mostly due to nervousness.

Pointing at his face, Pang Jing laughed. “I’m so sorry. Originally, I was too embarrassed to meet people, but given the fact that the Meng family’s relationship with the Central Plains, especially with the Pang family, is special, I think that there’s no need to regard you as an outsider.”

Organizing the small countries in the Western Regions and paying tributes to the Central Plains on a regular basis had been one of the core businesses of the Meng family. The value of the reward that the Meng family received from the Central Plains was always far higher than that of the tributes, so it was a very lucrative business. To keep this business, the Meng family had spent a lot of money broadening their contacts, which was why they were on good terms with a lot of officials. As the most powerful family related to the Empress Dowager, the Pang family had naturally benefited a lot from this.

Meng Mingshu never expected that the Pang family would value their relationship so much. Though he was overwhelmed by this unexpected favor, he was still vigilant. After incoherently thanking Pang Jing, he started talking about the decline of the Meng family as well as the poverty he was in, bemoaning it repeatedly.

Pang Jing indeed didn’t regard him as an outsider. Like an old friend, he tried to console Meng Mingshu and was especially interested in the robbery that the Meng family had suffered. “It is theoretically impossible to keep an operation of that scale secret. How haven’t you identified the culprit yet?”

Meng Mingshu was unwilling to talk about this issue, so he answered perfunctorily, “As the saying goes, ‘When the tree falls, the monkeys will scatter.’ The Meng family has declined and all of its servants have left. I can’t even defend myself, so how am I supposed to investigate this? Besides, Jade City is different from the Central Plains, and it’s even more different from the other countries of the Western Regions. It could literally be deemed as unruly. Strength is everything here. Given the current situation the Meng family is in, I’d rather not know who those robbers are.”

Pang Jing laid his right hand on Meng Mingshu’s shoulder in a cordial manner. “Things are different now. I came here with the most important task of selecting the Lord of Jade City and bringing order and rules to this city. I’ll find out who robbed the Meng family and then bring them to justice. You have my word.”

Meng Mingshu awkwardly thanked him for his kindness, feeling that this new official was too young and inexperienced.

Pang Jing walked Meng Mingshu to the gateway of the mansion and then whispered into his ears, “Please remember my words, Young Master Meng. The Meng family is very important to the Central Plains. I won’t let the one who bullied the Meng family get away. As long as you give me a clue, then no matter how powerful that person is, and no matter where he’s hiding the Meng family’s wealth, I’ll muster all of the Central Plains troops stationed in the different areas of the Western Regions to get it back for you.”

Meng Mingshu nearly knelt down in public, his eyes brimming with tears when Pang Jing expressed his support for him.

After returning home with a mixed expression on his face, he immediately wrote a letter and had one of his henchmen deliver it to Xiao Fengchai, who was living in southern Jade City, asking her to report it to the Dragon King. He had entrusted the Dragon King with the future of the Meng family, so he didn’t want that white-faced young man with a suspicious mind to misunderstand him.

However, sitting in his room alone, Meng Mingshu was slightly regretful. If he had known that the Central Plains valued the Meng family so much, he wouldn’t have cooperated with the Dragon King…

The second person that Pang Jing received surprised Jade City even more. He didn’t even wait in the mansion of the Governor for the guest to come. Instead, he directly went to the Essence Pavilion in Retention Alley himself to meet the Master Commander of the Waning Moon Hall.

It had been only less than a month since the Waning Moon Hall had made its existence known to the public. Nobody knew why Pang Jing put so much store by this organization.

This meeting lasted for almost two hours. Nobody knew the details of it. The disciples of the Waning Moon Hall all kept it a secret, and all Pang Jing’s attendants were ordered to stay outside the building. None of them went inside with the general.

After the meeting, Pang Jing didn’t stay in southern Jade City. He went back to northern Jade City and received a few more visitors. It was not until night fell that the mansion of the Governor quieted down.

Large numbers of related intelligence reports were delivered to the camp of the Dragon Army, waiting for the Dragon King and Zhong Heng to analyze them. But one of those visits was covert and no inside information had been disclosed, so the Dragon King naturally had no idea what it was about.

Having been waiting in the bedroom for a long time, Luo Qikang respectfully bowed to the new commander-in-chief.

Pang Jing was very excited. The smile pulled on his frostbitten face again and he grimaced, which made his face look a little weird, but the pain was nothing compared to his heartfelt enthusiasm. He strode to the swordsman of the Luo family in two steps and gave him a big hug.

It was them who truly were old friends.

“It’s time we made some achievements,” said Pang Jing with an ardent look in his eyes.

By comparison, Luo Qikang was much more composed. “I just want to know whether we’re to let loose now. I’ve been waiting here for too long. My sheathed sword is growing rusty.”

Pang Jing walked to the doorway, looked around, turned around, and then said in a low voice, “To our enemies, we can do whatever we want. To our friends, we must offer our full support.”

“Who are our enemies? And who are our friends?”

“You will find out tomorrow.”