A Pawn's Passage

Bursts of thunder resounded above Wuxing Mountain.

Winter thunderstorms were rare. Among the common folk, it was seen as an ominous sign.

For the Black Robes stationed on the outskirts of Wuxing Mountain, this was an ill omen.

They were already resentful for being stuck guarding Wuxing Mountain instead of going home for the New Year. Now that they saw this bad sign, their hearts became restless.

There was no helping it. Compared to the Black Robes on the frontier, the fighting spirit of the Divine Central Guards was like that of pampered flowerbed Daoists, clearly inferior. Yet thanks to their superior equipment—firearms, armor, and horses—as well as their number of high-ranking officers, the Divine Central Guard’s reputation still held strong.

Xing Nian was on duty that night, carrying a long rifle on his back and a saber at his waist while riding his horse on patrol. The north was already cold, and nighttime was even worse. Water froze into ice in a few seconds. The night wind was not merely chilly but bone-piercing. Even wrapped in a heavy cloak, sitting on horseback for long made the body stiff. One could only rely on cultivation to endure such freezing temperatures.

Beside Xing Nian was an older soldier, not quite a battle-hardened veteran, just someone with no connections and poor cultivation who failed the yearly assessments. Thus, he had always remained a regular soldier, never promoted, and always assigned the dirty, tiring work.

Luckily, the Divine Central Guards’ pay was good. Even an ordinary guard like him could get 6 Taiping coins a month, plus housing and winter gear. For many Black Robes, they would not go cold or hungry as long as they did not marry or have a family. Life was fairly carefree.

Of course, once they married and had a wife and kids, it was another story. They would no longer be carefree. Instead, they would have endless worries and complaints. There was a common saying that poor couples had a hundred sorrows. If they could not get promoted, they would have to endure their superiors’ temper in camp and their wives’ nagging at home for being incompetent. This was a common affliction among some women. They seemed to believe every misfortune in life could be traced back to one root cause—marrying the wrong man.

Well, part of it was true to some extent. If they were to marry the emperor, they could become a consort. Then they would no longer have such common sorrows as being well fed or clothed. Unfortunately, they were not worthy enough to be a consort. It was highly unlikely for the emperor or the nobility to marry a commoner’s daughter.

It was always about matching status. Even if one could not match up in family background, one would have to have the ability to make up for it. For example, if Qi Xuansu were still just a Kunlun-stage Heavenly Being at the seventh rank, he could not match up to the steadily rising Zhang Yuelu. Their lives would intersect less and less, and their growing distance would be inevitable, regardless of their intentions, unless Zhang Yuelu simply wanted to keep him around for amusement.