Chapter 25: The Centurion

The benefits before him were already substantial. Even with some risk involved, Ning Ye decided to accept the offer for now. Besides, Wang Mingyuan did not seem like the sort of man who would turn against someone without reason, and Ning Ye believed he still had some use to him.

“Since Lord Lin has put it that way, I naturally cannot shamelessly refuse. I just wonder what procedures I need to go through.”

Lin Changhe waved his hand. “What procedures? It is nothing more than a trivial matter. I alone have the authority to decide it. I will take care of everything for you when the time comes. No one will be able to find fault with it, so you can rest easy.”

The matter had been settled so easily that Ning Ye could not help sighing inwardly. Sometimes, having the right connections truly made everything easier. Without them, even the simplest task might never be accomplished.

Lin Changhe kept him there for a while, asking how he had managed to wipe out the bandits. Only after answering all his questions did Ning Ye finally manage to leave. If the business here had not yet been finished, he would certainly have spent the entire evening drinking at an inn.

The recruitment continued until noon before it was finally brought to a preliminary close. All the refugees had been assigned, and everyone who could be put to use had been listed. The number was slightly higher than Ning Ye had expected.

Looking at the people gathered below, Ning Ye suddenly had a new thought. Was the Great Qian Dynasty truly short of able-bodied men? The proportion of men among the refugees was by no means small.

Perhaps the real problem was that no one was willing to risk his life for the court anymore. Even as refugees, they would rather starve than go to the battlefield. That was probably what had led to the present situation.

Judging by the government’s practice of distributing wives, was that not merely an act of drinking poison to quench thirst?

How could such measures possibly alter the fact that the dynasty was steadily declining? It would probably fall apart before long.

But none of that had anything to do with Ning Ye. For now, all he needed to do was develop himself quietly. When true chaos finally arrived, he would still possess the strength to challenge the world with his sword.

As for the more than one hundred people he had recruited, Ning Ye intended to take them all in at once. Although that exceeded his original plans slightly, he could afford to support them. Keeping a few extra people would not hurt.

Just as Ning Ye was preparing to take them back and put everything in order, a voice that sounded faintly familiar yet extremely arrogant rang out.

“Well, well. Aren’t you the boy who beat me that day? After hiding like a turtle for several days, you finally dare to show your face?”

The swaggering figure approaching them was none other than Huang Shan, and this time he was accompanied by even more servants.

The words did not anger Ning Ye, but Wang Wu and the others were not about to let them pass.

Wang Wu stepped forward with his men, and the murderous aura surrounding them emerged naturally.

Wang Wu said coldly, “Take back what you just said, or I will not spare you.”

Huang Shan involuntarily took a step backward. “What in the world? Your master dares to provoke me, and even a pack of obedient dogs like you dares to speak to me this way? None of you will be leaving here unscathed today.”

An old man standing beside Huang Shan spoke up. “May I ask which of you is Young Master Ning Ye? Would you come out and speak with me?”

Ning Ye slowly stepped forward. “If you want to talk, I can give you that opportunity. But try not to spew filth everywhere like your young master.”

“So this is Young Master Ning,” the old man said. “You may call me Old Hu. I am the Huang family’s steward. We have come today to resolve the dispute between you and our young master.”

“Is Steward Hu here to apologize on his behalf? If so, I think that is unnecessary. Your young master did not gain any advantage from me last time. Remaining on peaceful terms is already the best outcome, in my opinion.”

Steward Hu stroked his beard. “Young Master Ning, you are a gifted young man, and you still have a long road ahead of you. If you apologize to our young master today, our family master will let bygones be bygones.”

Ning Ye gave a cold laugh. “Did your young master not tell you? I was born incapable of apologizing. If that is the reason you came here today, I am afraid you are going to be disappointed.”

“A tree that grows too straight is the first to be cut down. I believe you understand that principle, Young Master Ning. Do not throw away your future for nothing.”

Ning Ye raised an eyebrow. “Has no one ever told you how childish you sound? From the very beginning, I have never regarded your family as worthy of my attention, let alone apologized to you.”

Steward Hu began to lose his temper. He had never seen anyone speak with such arrogance.

If Ning Ye had not been so close to Wang Mingyuan and the others, the Huang family would not have bothered wasting words on him again.

To put it bluntly, in Qingyuan County, there was nothing the Huang family could not do if they truly wished to do it.

“Since Young Master Ning refuses to heed advice, so be it. I have said all I can. Let us wait and see what happens in the future. Perhaps the day you regret this will come sooner than you think.”

With that, Steward Hu led his young master and the others away. It seemed they had come merely to deliver a warning.

Wang Wu said with a grim expression, “My lord, just give the word, and I will deal with every one of them right now.”

The men behind him were equally outraged. Clearly, as long as Ning Ye gave the order, they would dare to act regardless of who their opponents were.

“What are you getting so worked up about? It is only a minor matter. If you have too much anger to vent, go find some entertainment for yourselves. I have never restricted you.”

Though that was what Ning Ye said, once he mounted his horse, he could not suppress the faint smile that appeared on his face. His sense of honor had fully taken root.

All shared in honor, and all suffered disgrace together. The people under his command should indeed be like this.

They had arrived with impressive momentum, and their return was no less imposing. A group of more than a hundred people already made for a lengthy procession. Since some of the refugees had brought their entire families, Ning Ye simply brought them along as well. After all, people with families had ties that bound them.

To solve the problem of clothing, Ning Ye directly bought out all the ready-made garments in the local tailor shops. Otherwise, they might not have been able to gather enough.

Naturally, so many people could not all be housed at the manor. Fortunately, there was an abandoned village nearby, so Ning Ye arranged for everyone to stay there.

Whatever they lacked, they could tell Wang Wu, and as long as the request remained within reason, he would purchase it for them. Their only requirement was to hurry up and look like human beings instead of living like ghosts.

Wang Wu understood Ning Ye’s meaning perfectly. It was simply a matter of organizing them as he had done before, when they were first brought under control. As for Old Hu the Third, he remained behind to maintain order.