Over the next ten-plus days, the army continued advancing.
The journey remained calm, and Lin Zhiji gradually grew used to the jolting of the carriage.
Moreover, perhaps the daily training was taking effect—he felt his body had become a bit sturdier.
They were currently in Zhuzhi County, less than two days’ travel from Qingzhou.
The closer they got to Qingzhou, the more apparent it became that the region’s livelihood had deteriorated. Even many fields by the roadside had been left barren.
Lin Zhiji felt increasingly conflicted.
The original book had mentioned corruption and widespread suffering, but only seeing it with his own eyes revealed how much blood and hardship lay behind those few words.
At that moment, the convoy suddenly stopped.
Lin Zhiji lifted the carriage curtain and happened to see Songlü passing by, so he stopped him to ask what was happening.
From Songlü, he learned that Xuelin had taken scouts ahead and discovered that a village in front was completely empty.
Xie Yi grew suspicious and ordered the troops to slow their advance and stay on high alert.
And then he ended up arguing with Xie Zhongze over it.
Xie Zhongze said, holding back anger, “General, you’ve seen it yourself. The fields along the road are already barren. It’s not strange for a village or two to be abandoned.”
What he worried about most was that they had already been delayed too many times by trivial matters. They should have reached Qingzhou today, yet they were still in Zhuzhi County. Not only was grain being wasted, but they might also miss military orders.
How could Xie Zhongze not be anxious?
Unexpectedly, Xie Yi didn’t even look at him and said flatly, “Since you know I am the general, then you should know my words are military orders.”
“Pass down the order: drum signal to encamp. Rest here.”
As soon as he spoke, the messenger immediately carried out the command, and soon the order spread throughout the entire army.
Xie Zhongze’s eyes widened. “You—!”
But Xie Yi had already turned his horse and ridden toward the front.
Lin Zhiji got off the carriage and stretched his limbs.
The ordinary soldiers who saw him immediately greeted him warmly:
“Young Master Lin!”
“Young Master Lin, when will you continue the story?”
“Young Master Lin, I just picked some wild fruit. I washed it—try some!”
During the march, Lin Zhiji had passed the time by telling stories to Songlü.
He had developed his storytelling skills in a hospital back in his original world, where even the children in the wards approved of him.
Back then, his room was always the liveliest place.
So although Songlü had been his only audience at first, gradually the idle soldiers also gathered around to listen, completely captivated.
Before long, Lin Zhiji naturally blended in with them through storytelling.
He had a good temperament, no sense of distance, and knew many things.
Once, a soldier had been bitten by a tick and instinctively tried to pull it out by force. Lin Zhiji stopped him, took a piece of pork fat from the cooking unit, carefully applied it to the tick’s head, and made it detach on its own.
Afterward, he explained why forcefully pulling it out was dangerous and how to properly handle it.
Because of this, Lin Zhiji became the most trusted and liked person among the ordinary soldiers.
Wherever he went, people greeted him, and he smiled back in return.
Not far away, Xie Zhongze’s followers saw this scene and spat on the ground.
“As expected of Xie Yi’s man—always good at winning people over!”
Xie Zhongze’s expression grew dark as he wiped his face and turned away to arrange patrols.
Though he disagreed with Xie Yi’s decisions, he would not neglect his duties just to oppose him.
It was precisely this rigid, rule-bound nature that made him unpopular in the Shuofang Army, which was why he had been transferred to Xie Yi’s side.
By the time he finished arrangements, night had fallen and the camp was lit with curling cooking smoke.
As usual, Xie Zhongze led a patrol and soon noticed movement in a nearby forest.
He raised his hand; his trusted men understood immediately and drew their weapons.
Xie Zhongze drew his blade and approached the woods.
Then several elderly figures in ragged, trembling clothes walked out.
They immediately knelt upon seeing him, claiming their village had been raided by bandits from Qingzhou, and they had barely escaped alive.
Xie Zhongze looked inside the forest and saw about thirty to forty people—mostly old, weak, or women, all covered in dust and dirt.
The women huddled together in fear.
When questioned about their village, they answered clearly and consistently.
Nothing seemed wrong.
Xie Zhongze frowned.
According to military law, he should have ordered them driven away.
But it was already night, and these were mostly elderly and women—he could not bring himself to act.
At that moment, footsteps sounded behind him.
He turned and saw Xie Yi and several of his personal guards.
“What happened?” Xie Yi asked.
Xie Zhongze relayed the story, then hesitantly said, “General, it is already night. Forcing them to travel would be dangerous. Perhaps we should let them rest here in the forest for now…”
Before he could finish, Xie Yi said coldly:
“Kill them all.”
Xie Zhongze froze.
But Xie Yi’s guards had already drawn their blades without hesitation.
In an instant, the old men were killed without time to react.
Seeing they were still continuing, Xie Zhongze stepped forward and blocked a blade, shouting, “General! These are civilians! Are you trying to kill innocents for merit?!”
“Stop them!”
But Xie Yi’s voice followed immediately, sharp and absolute:
“You didn’t hear me? I said kill them all! Anyone who disobeys will be punished under military law!”
The forest quickly turned into a scene of slaughter. The surviving “villagers” scattered and fled.
Not far away, Lin Zhiji stood on tiptoe trying to see what was happening, only to be startled.
Earlier, he and Xie Yi had come here, and Xie Yi had ordered Songlü to stay and protect him while he went ahead with the others.
Lin Zhiji had no idea what had been said—only that fighting had suddenly broken out.
Xie Zhongze’s eyes turned red. Unable to care about rank or hierarchy, he rushed forward alone to save people.
At that moment, an elderly man stumbled and fell before him. A guard’s blade was about to strike.
Xie Zhongze blocked the attack and shielded the man.
But in the next instant, the old man’s expression twisted violently. He pulled a concealed blade from his chest and stabbed toward Xie Zhongze’s back.
Lin Zhiji’s system interface suddenly lit up.
【Host! Save him!!!】
Xie Yi frowned slightly, then still moved like lightning.
In the next moment, the fatal strike was knocked aside at the last second.
Xie Yi stood cold and sharp, saving Xie Zhongze’s life.
But this was the signal.
The fleeing “villagers” all turned back at once, weapons drawn.
Xie Zhongze was both shocked and enraged.
His men snapped back to attention and rushed in.
Only then did they realize Xie Yi did not need help at all. They quickly joined his guards in blocking escape routes.
Soon, only a few attackers remained alive.
Xie Yi ordered them taken alive.
Those men immediately bit down on hidden poison.
Xie Yi reacted quickly, dislocating one man’s jaw, but it was too late. Black blood spilled, and he died instantly.
Xie Yi’s expression darkened.
Because of his quick response, casualties were minimal—but no one felt relieved.
When Xie Zhongze turned one body over, he found a young man disguised as an elder, carrying poison. They were clearly trained death soldiers.
Cold sweat broke out across his back.
If Xie Yi had not noticed, and these people had entered the camp…
He did not dare imagine the consequences.
Xie Zhongze said in disbelief, “How could Qingzhou bandits have death soldiers?”
Xie Yi had already confirmed his suspicion. He sheathed his blade calmly.
“Deputy General Xie, what is the punishment for disobeying military orders?”
Xie Zhongze froze, then remembered what he had done earlier. His face flushed with shame as he knelt.
“This subordinate acknowledges guilt.”
According to military law, Xie Zhongze was to be publicly flogged before the entire army.
Being punished was one thing, but being punished in front of everyone was enough to make him feel so humiliated and furious that he wished he were dead.
What made it worse was that Xie Yi was utterly ruthless in psychological pressure—having every charge against him clearly read out in detail. Only the fact that those “bandits” were actually death soldiers was concealed. Even so, the revelation still caused an uproar, and many soldiers began looking at Xie Zhongze differently.
For Xie Zhongze, that was more unbearable than death itself.
Lin Zhiji already understood the full sequence of events by this point.
Seeing Xie Zhongze being helped back into his tent, he hesitated for a moment before exchanging a system reward for a bottle of healing medicine and quietly entered the tent.
The air inside was thick with the smell of blood.
The ones carrying out the punishment were Xie Yi’s personal guards—they had shown absolutely no leniency.
Xie Zhongze was too ashamed to call for the military physician.
Seeing Lin Zhiji enter, his expression immediately changed. He said in a muffled voice, “Are you here to see me make a fool of myself?”
Lin Zhiji shook his head and handed him the medicine. “I brought you this. It works very well. We still have to travel tomorrow—you shouldn’t go against your own body.”
Xie Zhongze calmed down and realized he had been misdirecting his anger. He silently took the medicine and awkwardly muttered a thank you.
Lin Zhiji smiled and said, “Actually, I came to tell you something—you misunderstood General Xie.”
Xie Zhongze assumed he was defending Xie Yi and let out a cold snort. “Yes. He already saw through that group of people being death soldiers, and I was the fool who thought he was killing innocents for merit…”
“I’m not talking about that,” Lin Zhiji shook his head. “Your violation of military orders this time could have been judged either lightly or severely, but in the end you only received the lightest punishment. Have you considered why?”
Xie Zhongze had been too focused on the humiliation of being punished in front of everyone to think further. Now, hearing this, he finally paused.
Lin Zhiji spoke gently. “You didn’t recognize the death soldiers, but your intent to protect civilians was genuine. That’s why General Xie personally intervened to save you.”
“And your daily work is also meticulous. If your camp defenses hadn’t been so watertight that those assassins couldn’t find a flaw, why would they have resorted to such desperate tactics?”
“The general doesn’t say it, but he remembers all your merits.”
“Is… is that so?” Xie Zhongze looked uncertain.
“Yes.” Lin Zhiji said firmly. “It’s just that General Xie has a blunt personality, so he’s easily misunderstood. Next time, try trusting him a bit more.”
Only then did Xie Zhongze realize why the soldiers all liked interacting with Lin Zhiji.
With just a few words, he could make anyone start doubting their own anger.
A moment ago, Xie Zhongze had been full of resentment toward Xie Yi. Now, after hearing this, even that arrogant expression of Xie Yi’s didn’t seem quite so detestable anymore.
He shivered slightly at the thought.
Still, after talking with Lin Zhiji, he opened up a bit and complained, “I’m not someone who refuses to listen. I can understand the situation yesterday—it really was too late to act. But what about other matters?”
Like the matter of boiling water. Only after Lin Zhiji explained it to the soldiers did he learn how many harmful things were in raw water.
There had been many such incidents. Without Lin Zhiji constantly clarifying, the camp would have been full of complaints by now.
Lin Zhiji gave an awkward smile.
Xie Zhongze sighed and said sincerely, “Young Master Lin, I must apologize. I used to think you were one of those men kept for… appearance’s sake. Only now do I realize you have real insight and talent. You should have a bright future—why stay by the general’s side without status, letting your reputation suffer?”
Lin Zhiji: “Uh…”
He tried to explain that things were not what people assumed.
But before he could, the tent flap was lifted again.
Xie Yi walked in slowly.
The night wind slipped through the entrance, making the candlelight flicker. The shifting shadows fell across his face, giving him an almost sinister air.
Xie Zhongze quickly said, “General, forgive me. Young Master Lin only came to deliver medicine out of kindness.”
Lin Zhiji also didn’t know how much he had heard. He coughed lightly. “You’re here to see Deputy General Xie, right? I’ll leave you two to talk—I’ll go first…”
Xie Yi raised a brow and said unhurriedly, “I came to take you back. After all, without status, I can only come personally.”
Lin Zhiji: “……”