OFTLHFRO C76

Chapter 76 A Duty for Every Man

Huo Yan was silent for a moment, then asked, “Old Master Ming, what brings you here?”

“I’ve heard you’re the best temporary escort at the Yulin Escort Agency, and that you once led twenty men to destroy a mountain stronghold of over a thousand,” Old Master Ming said, placing a stack of banknotes on the table—no less than ten thousand taels of silver. “If given three thousand men, could you deal with that rabble?”

The meaning was obvious: as long as Huo Yan agreed and completed the task, the money was theirs.

Even Luo Mingchen, usually fond of wealth, managed to keep a clear head at the sight of the thick stack of notes.

Old Master Ming glanced at the unmoved Luo Mingchen, genuinely surprised.

The situation had already been analyzed very clearly by Old Master Ming.

It wasn’t that Luo Mingchen failed to understand—if Yuanzhou Prefecture fell, fleeing to Yuelan County would be useless.

What’s more, their home was here…

But if Huo Yan went, he would certainly follow.

What about the three children?

Pulled over to eavesdrop by Huo Xiang, Huo Yuhui thought his two fathers were worried about the three of them and stepped forward. “Father, Little Daddy, don’t worry. I’ll take care of myself and also look after my younger siblings.”

The three adults turned to look at the four children in the doorway.

Old Master Ming added, “Once you leave, the three children can stay with the Ming family. As long as a single person of the Ming clan remains alive, nothing will happen to them.”

This was a very weighty promise.

Luo Mingchen looked at Huo Yan, the question in his eyes—go or not?

Huo Yan was looking back at him.

After a moment’s thought, Luo Mingchen asked, “Is there no one commanding troops in a prefecture as large as Yuanzhou?”

“There is, of course,” Old Master Ming answered honestly. “Though they’re a rabble, the rebels have bombs in unknown quantities. What’s certain is that they have more than Yuanzhou Prefecture does. Compared to Huo Yan, the commander in Yuanzhou is far inferior; whether he can hold the city is uncertain. The rise and fall of the nation is every man’s duty. Do the two of you intend to pin your hope of survival on others?”

The couple fell into a silence.

Old Master Ming, disappointed, was about to rise when Luo Mingchen said, “Relying on others is not ideal.”

If they didn’t go now, would they wait until everyone willing to shield them was dead and matters were beyond salvaging, then pack up to flee?

Where would there be left to run?

Besides, there were a few children watching them.

Huo Yan said, “If they are willing to obey my command, victory is assured.”

Old Master Ming’s eyes lit up. He took a qilin-shaped object and a letter from his bosom. “This is the third prince’s military order; it authorizes you to deploy the troops of Yuanzhou Prefecture.”

When he’d come last time, signs of unrest were already apparent there. The third prince had deliberately left the Qilin Seal and a letter, just in case.

He had thought they would never be needed; unexpectedly, the two agreed.

Luo Mingchen was stunned. How much trust did they place in Huo Yan?

Playing at such high stakes, were they?

Taking the military order and the letter, Huo Yan said, “The mission will not be disgraced.”

“Excellent, excellent,” Old Master Ming said, happily passing the banknotes on the table to Luo Mingchen.

“This is a bit embarrassing…”

Smiling, Luo Mingchen nonetheless took the notes.

Old Master Ming couldn’t help but laugh and cry. “I believe you can hold Yuanzhou Prefecture.”

Holding the notes, Luo Mingchen asked, “When do we leave?”

“The sooner the better.”

Luo Mingchen nodded. “Alright then, we’ll pack up, inform the restaurant and the shop, and set out tomorrow morning.”

“I meant—could you leave now?” Old Master Ming said earnestly.

“…That urgent?”

Luo Mingchen glanced at Huo Yan.

“I’ll speak to the restaurant and the shop,” Old Master Ming said. “Horses are already prepared at my residence, and a groom can escort you there.”

Such thorough preparation…

“Alright, we’ll go now,” Luo Mingchen said.

They were going sooner or later anyway; better to go early.

Hearing this, Huo Yuhui brought his younger siblings inside.

Luo Mingchen ruffled their small heads. “The two of you take good care of your sister. Xiaoxiang, you’re already a big kid—don’t make your brother worry, alright?”

Huo Xiang nodded. “Alright.”

After giving instructions, Luo Mingchen pulled Huo Yuhui into the room, handed him the items bought and stored away, reminded him to deliver the gifts to Xiao Lin, packed two sets of clothes, and then went with Huo Yan to the Ming family’s manor with the steward.

To be honest, Luo Mingchen didn’t know how to ride a horse.

Huo Yan wanted to have him ride together, but Luo Mingchen had already imitated his manner, tried patting the horse’s head, then stepped into the stirrup and swung himself into the saddle.

When he looked back and saw Huo Yan’s outstretched hand, he arched an eyebrow smugly—meaning, wasn’t that impressive?

With a slight curl of his lips, Huo Yan withdrew his hand.

The two rode out of Taohua Town.

Watching their backs, the steward noticed Luo Mingchen’s horse wobbling as it walked and suddenly guessed—was he perhaps a novice rider?

But Luo Mingchen soon got the horse under control, which let the steward breathe a sigh of relief.

Once outside Taohua Town, the two horses galloped swiftly.

Luo Mingchen finally understood what it meant to spur a fast horse.

The speed really was something—and it jounced the hips quite a bit. It took a while for Luo Mingchen to settle into the rhythm.

Fortunately, there weren’t many carts on the official road ahead; otherwise, without a steady hand, he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t crash into one.

As they approached the boundary of Yuanzhou Prefecture, Luo Mingchen saw Huo Yan halt and reined in as well. “What is it?”

Dismounting to examine the tracks on the ground, Huo Yan said, “They’ve already arrived.”

“Then shall we fight our way through?”

With just the two of them, if they encountered bombs, it would be troublesome.

After a moment’s thought, and seeing Huo Yan looking at him, Luo Mingchen understood.

They dismounted and tethered the two horses inside the storage space to keep them from munching his vegetables.

Avoiding the official road, they took advantage of the night to move through a small grove.

Before long, Luo Mingchen spotted flickering campfires ahead; there were many erected tents, likely a portion of the rebel force.

If they’d been roving bandits, there wouldn’t likely have been armor.

The two crouched at a moderate distance. In a low voice, Luo Mingchen said, “By the looks of it, there are two to three hundred men. Should we tie them up first?”

“Wait and see,” Huo Yan replied.

Patiently, Huo Yan crouched with Luo Mingchen for half an hour.

As Luo Mingchen was nodding off, Huo Yan tossed a small stone toward a spot.

Startled awake, the night watchman shouted, “Enemy attack!”

In short order, men poured out of the tents.

Huo Yan said to Luo Mingchen, “Let’s go into the space.”

“Okay.”

After resting there for a while, Huo Yan went out and tossed another stone.

They repeated this back-and-forth several times. At dawn’s darkest hour, Huo Yan led Luo Mingchen to slip near the tents and casually threw a larger stone.

A sentry yawned. “Will this ever end?”

Grumbling though they were, the men still ran off to check the surroundings.

Huo Yan then led Luo Mingchen into a tent, knocked two men out, and found several crates.

Opening one, Luo Mingchen saw it was full of sabers.

The crate Huo Yan opened was filled with bombs.

Regardless of where the rebels had acquired so many weapons and bombs, Luo Mingchen stored all of it away, after which he and Huo Yan changed into the armor of the two knocked-out rebels and strode out openly.