Chapter 758 - The Cancer in the Army
That afternoon, we hit the streets of Hang Zhou.
Even though it was already getting close to the beginning of spring, it was still chilly outside. A lot of the girls out were wearing tights and a skirt to hide from the cold. Yan An street is pretty much one of Hang Zhou’s most flourishing commercial streets, and so even in this weather, there was no lack of eye candy for the boys. As we slowly walked along the street, we saw a girl wearing a very short skirt and pantyhose. She carried a large purse and had a smile on her face. The skirt was flowy and swayed with her stride. I then looked over at Wan Er and Dong Cheng who were completely covered. Dong Cheng and Wan Er were practically dressed like they were from the past conservative society. Despite that, the thick coats and sweaters didn’t detract from the girl’s beauty at all.
“What’s that expression?” Wan Er had a puzzled look. She then looked at the pants that she was wearing. With a scoff she said, “Alright alright, when it’s new year I’ll change into skirts…. Men, so unreliable….”
I protested, “Dearest, what kind of a man do you think I am? Am I really the kind of person that only focuses on outer looks?”
Wan Er pouted her lip, “Are you saying you aren’t? Look, that girl wearing the short skirt on the left, her legs are so long…”
“Where?! Where!?”
“……”
……
After getting beat up by Wan Er, I was dragged into a women’s clothing store. I hadn’t looked into the different brands, but the price tags on these clothes were all easily over ten thousand RMB. My heart stopped for a second when I saw the numbers. Wan Er, Dong Cheng and Dong Cheng Lei appeared completely calm. After all, they were born into rich families. I composed myself. After all, I was the guildmaster of [Zhan Long], I was at least valued over a hundred million, if not a billion. No matter what, I shouldn’t be balking here.
Very soon, the girls had picked out several pieces. The bill itself was over 130,000!
I did all I could to compose myself. Wan Er put the clothing bag in my hand and suddenly wrapped her arm around my arm. She smiled, “Let’s go and get some new clothes for you. Who knows, maybe you’ll have to go and visit relatives for the New Years.”
I replied, “Besides going to my auntie’s, I don’t have any other relatives to go to…”
“Even so you need to look good for that! That’s right, isn’t Meng Yao coming back to Hang Zhou too?”
Hasn’t she been spending the entire time grinding levels? I heard that she’s arriving in the afternoon. She told me not to pick her up, she’s planning on going straight home.”
“Ok.”
After walking a short distance, Dong Cheng grinned, “Wan Er, the only Zegna flagship store is here. Do you want to take Li Xiao Yao over to take a look?”
“Alright!”
Wan Er tugged on my hand and quickened her pace, “Pig, come and see if you like it or not.”
The moment I entered, I could tell that the store was very high end. So this was the Zegna that Dong Cheng was talking about. Even though I didn’t know much about brand names, I understood all I needed to know just by looking at the price tag. Just one piece of clothing was over 20,000 RMB. They’re practically stealing from me!
“What do you think of this one?” Wan Er picked out a navy blue casual blazer. She put it against my chest and sweetly smiled, “Looks like this piece suits you very well….”
I balked, “27,000…. It's so expensive!”
“But of course. A suit from Zegna is naturally very expensive. To top it off, this is their newest style. Do you like it?” She flashed a very beautiful smile as she looked into my eyes.
I quickly pointed at the male clothing store across the street and said, “The suits in that store look pretty good too. Very straight, how about we go to that store!”
Wan Er’s expression didn’t change at all, “That’s G2000, it's rumored to be a uniform store. Are you trying to dress like a waiter?”
I replied, “But, it's so expensive….”
“Oh grow up…” Wan Er sighed, “Alright then, now that I have decided for you, then I’ll pay for this. Either way, I still have a lot of money on my card. If I don’t spend it, it’ll go to waste….”
To which I replied, “No you can’t, I’ll pay for it….”
“Don't you even try. For a stingy person like you, it’d be strange if your heart didn’t straight up stop after paying that much. How could I allow that?”
I was speechless.
……
She then went over and picked out another couple of clothes. She was not satisfied until the bill was at least 100,000. She then pulled out her card to pay the bill. It was as though she would be very angry if I ended up paying, so I didn’t force it. There was no need after all.
I carried the heavy shopping bags in one hand, while I held Wan Er’s hand in my other and said, “I remember…. At first, you were very unwilling to part with your wallet when you bought that tiger from me. How is it that now, you can pay for a 100,000 bill without batting an eyelash?”
Wan Er grinned, “That’s because, before, my relationship with my dad was a bit tense. I wasn’t even willing to touch the card that he gave me. These past few days together with you, dad’s personality seems to be changing a bit. And so, he’s given me a new card. There’s around nine digits in it. He said that it's my allowance. I can’t even spend it all….”
I rubbed my nose and felt a surge of sorrow, “This is the woe of different social classes… Why haven’t my parents given me something like a card? Instead, they left Meng Yao with me, forcing me to work hard and raise her into a successful young woman all by myself….”
“Yea right, wasn’t Auntie the one that brought her up!”
“……”
……
After we finished shopping, we returned to our house. Not long after, Meng Yao arrived in Hang Zhou. Without anything to do, I logged onto the game after dinner to see if there was anything to do in the game.
“Shua!”
\
Light burst in front of my eyes and I appeared in Tian Ling City. A red tablet appeared on the system interface. When I clicked on it to take a look, I saw that it was all of the military information about the Royal Army. I glanced through it and then quickly summoned my Flying Scythe War Horse. I leapt on and dashed straight towards the camp. My horse was extremely fast and arrived before the gate in minutes. The guards outside recognized me and immediately knelt and greeted, “General!”
I nodded and dashed inside. The system quickly notified me that I needed to go to the drill grounds and supervise the drills for thirty minutes. This was a daily task for the commander.
“Jiu Jiu….”
My Flying Scythe Horse’s whinny had alarmed the general at the West Drill Grounds. It was one of the generals in charge of a division —— Han Yuan. It was also the man who was known as “Han Beard”. However, among all of the generals of the Royal Army, I admired him the most. He had a candid personality, and was definitely a brave and fierce general on the battlefield!
“My lord commander is here!”
Han Yuan bounded down the steps and raised his broadsword. He knelt before me and said, “Greetings my lord!”
I nodded, “Please rise, there’s no need for any ceremony!”
“Yes my lord!”
Han Yuan stood up. He then looked over at the thousand people who were training behind him and said, “The Blade Shield Camp is currently practicing a defense formation. My lord… are you here to watch?”
I smiled, “I want to understand more about the battle power of the Royal Army. That is within the responsibilities of a commander, is it not?”
Han Yuan was stunned, “My lord, don’t you know…. The past commander General Li Shi didn't even enter the strategy tent, much less examine the drills. He probably only knows how to play with girls and drink his nights away in his own tent.”
I was shocked, “He was that corrupt?”
“There’s more.” Han Yuan clenched his teeth, “There’s women in every tent within the Royal Army, raised only for the sake of being playthings for the noblemen. If my lord doesn’t believe me, you can personally go to the dungeons of Tent 4 to take a look. All of the women are locked up there, living a life worse than pigs and dogs.”
“Oh?”
Without another word I jumped back onto my horse and shouted, “Han Yuan, follow me!”
“Yes my lord!”
Han Yuan lead over a crimson battle horse and followed me to the fourth tent. From a distance, a couple of soldiers raised their spears, “Who comes here?”
Han Yuan quickly raised his sword, “The lord commander is here to inspect the dungeons. Who dares to block his way?”
The soldiers all knelt to the ground. I stopped my battle horse and said, “Take me into the prisons!”
“What?” One of the soldiers revealed an ugly expression and said, “This…. This place is under strict orders from Lord Luo Tei. I’m afraid I cannot obey….”
Angrily, I pulled out my general tablet and roared, “This is the Royal Army, just who is in charge? Immediately open the doors, or else I will inflict martial law and have you killed!”
“Yes… yes my lord….”
The gates to the dungeons opened up. I slid off my horse and walked in with my sword out. Instead of a musty stink, I could smell the scent of perfume and makeup. Instead of savage and brutal criminals locked in the cells, there were several beautiful girls, doing their make up. Some of them were even crying.
I furrowed my brow and said, “What is going on?”
Han Yuan replied, “General, every day after nightfall, there would be an influx of soldiers in this area. All of the women here must serve at least ten men a night. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be allowed to sleep. This entire Royal Army has at least a thousand women just like this. They were all servants who were sold into slavery. Some of them were women that we captured after we fought the Barbarian Tribe. But without any exception, they are all pitiful women. They live a life in the shadows without every seeing the sun. Almost every day there’s someone who dies. However, these noble soldiers use their pockets full of gold to buy more playthings to fill in the spot. This is the true scent of corruption in the Royal Army Camps!”
My hand shook with anger, “This thing, who’s the one in charge, just who allowed this?”
Han Yuan replied, “I don’t dare to say!”
“Tell me!”
“Yes my lord….” He hesitated for a moment and said, “This was arranged by Commander Luo. His father is a Marquis, and so…. As for the man who allowed this, the past commander of the Royal Army was Li Shi, and so he’s the one that allowed it. Anyone above that would be Princess Pearl. But, since Princess Pearl is a girl, she’s never truly understood the Royal Army, and so I don’t expect her to know about this.”
I shook with anger, “Those b*st*rds…. Guard!”
A couple of guards arrived, “Yes general?”
I pointed at the cell and said, “Let all of these women out and have them gather at the West Drill Grounds. In addition, gather all of the soldiers there!”
“Yes sir!”
……