The Brown Boar squad had been on the road for two days without rest, stopping only at sunset to make camp and setting out again at dawn. The bandits traveled on foot straight through the forest, hauling their loads on their backs. Large crates and boxes bound with rope swayed through the undergrowth, like a line of ants dragging off their spoils. Only the scouts and Tang Gui himself with his close followers rode on horseback.

  Zhang Min still hadn’t taken the second pill. It lay wrapped in a clean cloth in his pocket, waiting for its hour. He checked it with a finger from time to time or pressed his palm over it, waiting for the right moment.

  Eh, Zhang Min sighed. This world also spins around the “despised metal.” I don’t know how many “candies” were inside that figurine, but those kids definitely ate a few gold ingots. Ohhhh.

  Even before leaving the fortress, he knew which group he would be assigned to, so he prepared himself in advance. Tang Gui’s intentions in placing him under Tu Hama remained unclear, but Zhang Ming hoped the captain merely wanted to rein in a newcomer, not kill him outright. Encouraged by that thought, he decided to play along with everyone at once.

  Pride is a fine thing, but I can’t afford it, he thought. Too many lives are at stake. If I have to, I’ll crawl on my belly before that bastard... for now. I just need time… and a small miracle.

  From the very first day beyond the walls of the proud stronghold of the Earth Dragons, Zhang Ming’s attitude toward Tu Hama’s unit changed dramatically. As if by magic, he turned into the most obliging man in the world. He volunteered to carry loads, helped even when no one asked, and endured every insult, every malicious glare and bloodthirsty grin from his new leader’s lackeys.

  “Do you think this will save your hide?” Tu Hama hissed in his ear as he passed by, the long strands of hair hanging from either side of his bald head swaying hair that had never known soap. “A bit late to come to your senses, isn’t it?”

  “No, not at all, sir,” Zhang Ming replied with a restrained chuckle. “I wouldn’t dare think such a thing. Whatever you decide is how it will be.”

  “Hmph.” Tu Hama burned a hole in his back with his gaze as Zhang Ming trudged off under enormous bundles of gear. “What’s that bastard plotting?”

  Not far away, at the very center of the temporary camp, Tang Gui was giving orders with a kindly smile and behaving as amiably as ever. Yet no one would have dared argue with him, everyone knew what kind of monster lurked beneath that friendly mask, and discipline in the unit was barely inferior to that of a regular army.

  “Hey! Zhang Ming, you’re on night watch today!”

  “Yes, gladly,” he answered at once, involuntarily glancing at the commander’s smiling face. “May I help in the kitchen?”

  “Fine, fine,” Tang Gui waved him off, as if speaking to a nephew.

  An hour later, soaked in sweat from the heat, Zhang Ming was stirring rice in a field cauldron, hauling water, serving food, and even gathering firewood along the way. When he brought a large pot of freshly cooked rice from the kitchen to Tu Hama’s unit, he helped the cook portion it out into bowls, bowing politely each time he passed his new commander. Tu Hama did not even turn his head.

  I didn’t expect so many bandits in the Brown Boar squad to have reached the realm of body tempering. While they’re around there’s no running away, Zhang Min thought. But the worst of them is Tang Gui himself! One damn monster.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Twilight thickened, clouds covered the sky, and only the campfires lit the bandits’ temporary halt. Zhang Min found a place in the shade of a tree and, pretending to be an alert sentry, took the second pill. From the outside it looked as if he were intently watching the forest.

  The sweet little pellet, rich with herbal flavor, melted in his mouth, then heat swept through his body: lava ran through his veins and they swelled with strain. His skin flushed; beads of greasy sweat formed and slowly joined into murky rivulets that trickled to the ground. Since performing the full technique from the scroll would attract attention, Zhang Min limited himself to meditation.

  Compared to the previous time, he felt the heat far more strongly now, as if burning alive, yet having experience, he controlled the rampaging energy better. He clenched his teeth and, without a sound, followed the breathing technique precisely. Steam sometimes poured from his mouth, and the air above his skin shimmered, as if from an oven.

  Before dawn the pill’s effect faded. Zhang Min absorbed as much vital energy from it as he could. He rose, moved a little, stretched several times. An unusual lightness filled his body; blood ran briskly through his veins, his heart pounded like a hammer, as if given new life. Every muscle brimmed with strength and power. The cool night breeze blew over his skin, cooling his body. He had never felt better. The strange sensation of rebirth sent shivers through him.

  Second level of body tempering! he thought, looking at his hand and clenching his fist. Thanks to the three girls hidden underground, my chances of survival just grew considerably. I will repay that debt.

  “What’s that smell?” the sentry’s voice pulled him back to reality. “Did someone puke?”

  “No, no, more like rot. Some animal’s remains decaying?”

  “Disgusting!”

  Their words made Zhang Min notice the horrible stench. Sniffing a little, he realized it came from himself, so he dashed to the stream by the temporary Brown Boar camp. Reaching the bank, he flopped on his belly and plunged his head into the water, drinking without stopping as if he’d just crossed a desert, then stripped off the rags soaked with filthy sweat and lay in the shallows like in a bath.

  “He won’t run?” one of Tu Hama’s men whispered, watching Zhang Min from afar.

  “Let him run. He’ll break Tang Gui’s order. Then we won’t have to do anything,” another replied. “Before the incense finishes burning, they’ll catch him and skin him alive.”

  “Right!”

  “Then why not just kill him now? Say he tried to escape.”

  “You don’t get to think! Do what you’re told,” the other answered. “Master Tu Hama won’t let him die easily. Heh-heh. They’ll cut him piece by piece…”

  “What’s that guy doing anyway?”

  “Bathing… in the stream.”

  “What the hell?”

  “He’s strange… always washing. Probably thinks he’s the son of a rich family. Ha-ha-ha!”

  Meanwhile Zhang Min washed the greasy sweat off his body using sand and stream water, rinsed his clothes and returned to his post as if nothing had happened. When the sun rose, his stomach ached badly, his body was still expelling impurities. The morning was uneasy for him. Nevertheless, after the breakthrough to the new level, such trifles couldn’t sour his mood.

  The pill cleanses the body… it seems. How much filth is in me?

  Dew still sparkled on the forest floor in the morning sun, and the Brown Boar squad had already broken camp and pressed on through the woods. The bandits kept off main roads to avoid government patrols and not alert caravans to their movements. Most walked on foot without horses, carts, or extra burdens. They carried their rations on their backs in large panniers, so they could easily cross rough terrain and narrow forest trails.

  “We saw smoke over the forest. Possibly a village,” reported a scout.

  “Tu Hama! Take two dozen of your men and check it out,” Tang Gui ordered.

  “Sir, most of my people have come down with a fever,” Tu Hama reported, barely contained fury roiling in the depths of his eyes.

  “Oh? Will they recover?” Tang Gui put on a look of concern.

  “Yes, but they won’t be able to march.”

  “Then that’s fine. It happens,” Tang Gui said with a reassuring smile. “Mo Dushi will give you as many men as you need. Go.”

  “Yes, sir!”

  “If it’s a village, don’t take too much. We’ll come back here later. If it’s something else… hmm… act as you see fit. We’ll meet at the pass. Go.”

  “Thank you for your trust, sir,” Tu Hama replied, bowing his head with practiced loyalty.