Free Web NovelChapter 1115: Chapter 336 "Sending Off The Mourning" (Extra for 9500 monthly votes)
Duan Li’s treason caused hardly a ripple within Zhuang Country, let alone any impact abroad.
The once-dreaded Commander of the Jiujang Xuan Armor, in the end, was nothing more than a crippled man who had lost all his cultivation.
He still had his honors, still held his post, but in the Transcendent world, his status was no more.
The official claim was that he died due to a relapse of an old injury.
Apart from the soldiers of Jiujang Xuan Armor, not many people cared to delve into the reasons.
After all, if the Court said so, that was how it was.
The Court... surely couldn’t be deceiving people, right?
General Duan Li served his country for his whole life, covered in glory; though he died, he should have no regrets.
With no wife or children, the military camp was his home.
It was Du Yehu who arranged his funeral.
The funeral was somewhat rushed; he died the day before, his coffin was placed for one day of remembrance, and then he was interred straight away.
The funeral was simple, conducted within the military camp.
Yet it was also solemn.
On the day of his funeral procession, the entire Jiujang Xuan Armor paid their respects in formation; the State Minister personally attended to mourn, and even the Monarch sent his regards. Not to mention the Prefectural Governor and the head of the Procuratorate...
He should have no regrets.
Many expressed that General Duan must have died without regrets.
Dying from the relapse of an old injury is a dignified way to die. Among generals who struggled on the battlefield, this was a common way to perish.
It seems Duan Li himself would have accepted it.
After all, what he originally sought was a death by dismemberment by five horses.
Compared to that, dying from an old injury was far more respectable.
Du Yehu didn’t know that this was precisely the death Zhuang Gaoxian had intended for him. Of course, there was nothing to feel fortunate about in this coincidence.
But whether he knew it or not, things had come to this point.
The dead cannot be brought back to life, and he could not turn back.
After burying Duan Li, people found that General Du Yehu seemed to have changed.
He no longer drank day and night; no longer obsessed with heading to the battlefield at every moment.
He started to reorganize military affairs, with the help of Deputy General Yang Yin, began to consolidate power, and started to actively vie for the future of Jiujang Xuan Armor...
In terms of merit, during the war against Yong Country, he was the first to climb Suolong Gate, planting Zhuang Country’s flag atop the tower. To this day, his proclamation "A century of shame, today I return it!" is still talked about with relish.
In terms of power, following the path of the Ancient Soldier Family and always being the first to fight and fearless in the face of death, he had long made a name for himself in the army.
When he was still at the Tenglong Realm Cultivation Level, many didn’t accept him as the fifth Junior General of Jiujang Xuan Armor. But after a few battles alongside him, those who doubted began to accept him. No one was as desperate as him; while others risked their lives for fame and recognition, they had their limits. His desperation seemed to be about risking his life for its own sake.
As for now, having ascended to the Inner Mansion Realm, no one in the Jiujang Xuan Armor dared to face him alone. The other Junior Generals, whose cultivation was deeper than his, also felt a subtle, unspeakable apprehension about battling him to the death.
The only thing Du Yehu lacked was seniority, but the endorsement of Jiujang Xuan Armor’s Commander Duan Li long made up for that.
After Duan Li’s death from his old injury, the position of Commander of Jiujang Xuan Armor remained undecided, with no one sent from above to take over. Many were whispering that the Court was intentionally waiting, waiting for Du Yehu.
Waiting for him to gain more strength, waiting for him to be further recognized by more people.
At Duan Li’s funeral, the State Minister’s several private conversations with Du Yehu were seen as a hint of what was to come.
Of course, there were those who believed it, and those who did not.
At this very moment, Du Yehu sat alone in his military tent.
Having finished a day of military drills, the person least willing to ponder, was now silently contemplating.
From now on... no one would help him think things through.
Deputy General Yang Yin was very capable, very intelligent, but there were some issues that couldn’t be discussed with Yang Yin. At least not yet.
Indeed, he himself wasn’t clever enough. Back when he was in Fenglin City, Xiao Wu would mock him day in and day out, and he could only respond with embarrassed punches.
But it seemed, if he followed what Duan Li said, there wouldn’t be any problems...
Beside him was a pot of wine, yet he hadn’t had a single drink today. Occasionally glancing at it was just enough to quell the thirst.
The torment of craving alcohol was unbearable, but from now on, he dared not get drunk again. freewebnovёl.ƈom
He had made a promise, a promise to Duan Li...
"General!"
The tent flap rustled, and a solid silhouette squeezed in.
Zhao Erting, this blockhead, once again barged in without reporting.
In the past, Du Yehu hadn’t cared about such things, and only Yang Yin would manage such matters, but now he felt, perhaps it was time to establish some rules.
Duan Li had said, the foremost thing in training soldiers was rules.
Not knowing why, the words he had never been able to take to heart, after Duan Li’s death, surfaced over and over, becoming clearer and clearer.
Duan Li must have been right, right? freewebnσvel.cøm
Me being alive... must be useful, right?
After barging in, Zhao Erting just stared blankly at Du Yehu, not speaking for a moment.
Rules... Du Yehu thought again.
And thus felt a bit of a headache.
"What is it?" he asked the dimwit.
"You shouldn’t have arrested General Duan!" Zhao Erting suddenly blurted out.
"Idiot!" Du Yehu scolded irritably: "Where have you been, listening to such nonsense?"
"Zhang Junior General said it while drinking, to the people in his tent," Zhao Erting stubbornly said: "They claim you traded General Duan for glory and riches! Cooked or raw... all for shamelessness!"
Unexpectedly to Zhao Erting, the volatile Du Yehu did not immediately explode in anger.
Instead, he inquired: "Anything else?"
Zhao Erting thought seriously: "I also feel you did wrong, even if General Duan was guilty, you shouldn’t have been the one to arrest him. General Duan... he was so good to you..."
