Novels online

Chapter 68: Master Bai, We Need You

Gao Family Village descended into chaos once more. Villagers scattered like headless flies, though this time, the situation was considerably better than before. At least the villagers knew to prepare war materials. They weren't sure if stones and oil would be useful for a night battle, but they gathered them anyway. Two blacksmiths hurried back to their forge, pulling out the armor they'd crafted over the past few days.

For the past few days, most of the women in the village had been weaving cloth. Though they'd slacked off a bit in San Shier's absence, the diligence of the working people was not to be underestimated. Even with some slacking, their work efficiency remained remarkable. The village now had a large supply of cotton cloth, so the two blacksmiths enlisted the help of several nimble-fingered women to stitch the pre-made iron plates together.

There were eight sets of cotton armor. These were actually more suitable for the current Gao Family Village residents than elaborate iron armor. Iron armor was too heavy; villagers without proper military training would be weighed down and unable to move. But cotton armor was light, allowing the villagers to move freely. "Zheng Daniu, here's one for you! You're a key fighter,"

Zheng Daniu grinned widely. "Save one for Gao Chuwu, he's also a key fighter. For these other few, have the strongest young men come forward..."

A woman rushed over, handing Li Da a thick roll of cotton cloth. "Blacksmith Li, I have another roll of cotton cloth I hadn't given you yet. The bandit army won't be here for a few more hours; see if you can quickly make another set of armor."

"Blacksmith Gao, I also have extra cotton cloth here."

In mere moments, the two blacksmiths received several more rolls of cotton cloth. As they prepared to rush production of more armor, they suddenly heard a slightly embarrassed, yet melodious, female voice say, "I have cotton cloth too."

Everyone froze at the sound. They turned to see none other than Saintess Gao Yiye, holding a large roll of cotton cloth in her hands, her voice tinged with embarrassment as she said, "I... I wove some too."

Everyone burst out laughing!

Never mind that, now wasn't the time to tease the Saintess. The two blacksmiths quickly rushed into the forge, calling upon other blacksmiths in the village and any women skilled with a needle and thread. There was still a full day; perhaps they could quickly cobble together a few more makeshift pieces of armor.

A large group of people swiftly worked to produce cotton armor. Meanwhile, Gao Chuwu, having left the Gao Family Walled House, strode swiftly towards Bai Family Fortress. He only knew the general direction of Bai Family Fortress, not its precise location, but that was fine; a bit of flattery would do the trick.

He asked anyone he encountered along the way. Once, he even asked a few bandits. Those bandits instantly drew their knives, but before they could even swing them, Gao Chuwu had already bolted more than ten meters away. The bandits stared, utterly bewildered. With this terrible drought and everyone starving, how could he possibly run so fast?

What took others four hours to walk, Gao Chuwu covered in just three.

He arrived at Bai Family Fortress.

To his surprise, a bustling scene of construction greeted his eyes. Bai Yuan, clad in a white scholar's robe, stood ramrod straight with his hands clasped behind his back, looking like a graceful gentleman. He was supervising his household guards, tenant farmers, and hired villagers from nearby as they repaired the fortress walls damaged by the Supreme Bright King during the last attack.

In the open ground outside Bai Family Fortress, a large group of young men were practicing thrusting movements with long poles.

It turned out that after Bai Yuan returned home, he had reorganized his militia. This time, he had spent even more money to recruit more people, vowing to protect Bai Family Fortress and ensure it would never again be breached by bandits.

Seeing his men practice with such vigor, Bai Yuan's spirits lifted. He called out loudly, "Bring me a bow!"

A household servant quickly handed him a light bow. Bai Yuan nocked an arrow, drew the bowstring, and shot it towards a scarecrow not far away, hitting it squarely in the face.

"Hahahaha, the art of archery, one of a gentleman's six arts, has reclaimed my mastery! Hahahaha, add it back, add it back!" Just as he was reveling in his triumph, a simple, earnest voice shouted from afar, "Master Bai, Master Bai!"

Bai Yuan turned to look. "Oh, isn't this someone from Gao Family Village? Gao Gaoshiwu? Gao Wuwu? Gao Yi? Gao Er? Gao San? What *was* it again?"

Gao Chuwu quickly ran before him. "Gao Chuwu!"

Bai Yuan replied, "Right, right, I remember perfectly. You're Gao Chuwu. What's wrong? You look quite winded."

Gao Chuwu quickly explained, "A band of bandits plans to launch a night attack on Gao Family Village. San Shier isn't skilled in warfare and hopes Master Bai can lend a hand."

Bai Yuan’s face instantly darkened. "Damned bandits! Gao Family Village showed me kindness. Since this concerns Gao Family Village, it concerns me, Bai Yuan! This is what's called 'it's rude not to reciprocate a kindness!' Among a gentleman's six arts, I am very particular about the ‘rites’ aspect.”

"Someone, bring two horses!"

Immediately, household guards came forward, leading two fine horses. Last time, Bai Yuan had fled with his wife and son, so he used a carriage. But this time, Bai Family Fortress was secure; he didn't need to flee with his family, so no carriage was necessary. Riding a horse was more comfortable and much faster.

"Gao Chuwu, can you ride a horse?"

"No!"

"Then just grip the horse’s neck tightly once you're on; hold on for dear life!"

Gao Chuwu said, "Huh? Huh?"

Bai Yuan swung onto his horse and instructed his household guards, "You know the drills I taught you. Guard Bai Family Fortress well until I return."

The household guards responded in unison, "Yes, Master!"

Bai Yuan watched Gao Chuwu clumsily clamber onto the horse and cling to its neck. With a hearty laugh, he took Gao Chuwu’s reins in one hand and his own in the other, then squeezed his legs against his horse's flanks. "Let’s go!"

His horse shot forward suddenly. Gao Chuwu’s horse, pulled by Bai Yuan, also began to run. Once it was running, Bai Yuan tossed the reins to Gao Chuwu, telling him not to worry; it would simply follow his own horse. The two men, on two horses, galloped at top speed towards Gao Family Village.

A horse’s speed was far greater than a man’s own foot power. It had taken Gao Chuwu three hours to reach Bai Family Fortress, but only one hour to return to Gao Family Village. When the two men caught sight of the Gao Family Walled House, it wasn't even noon yet. At that moment, Li Daoxuan was assembling a camera setup for the night battle; he certainly wanted a good view of the action. He planned to install several high-definition cameras, activate night-time motion detection alarms, and fine-tune a multitude of other operational gadgets!

He also made sure the diorama box's glass was sparkling clean, allowing the array of cameras to capture the battle from multiple angles and perspectives. This would also make it easier for him to edit a higher-quality video.

He had just finished setting up and calibrating the surveillance camera system when he saw two miniature horses, each about the size of two finger joints, galloping towards the edge of the village. He let out a surprised "Oh?" and chuckled. "These little horses are so cute! So, it turns out Brother Six Arts, Bai Yuan, has arrived."