Chương 55: Preparing for war I

Four years passed, and Shu Yang was standing next to his wife by the training grounds in their manor in Fugu City. With everything that had happened in the Black Beast Mountains, Shu Yang finally managed to convince his family to move from Baishu Village. He also bought a large manor for most of his wealth so that the family would have enough space as it continued to grow in size. Besides, it didn't really fit the status of a Master to live in a small courtyard at the edge of the city.

Thankfully, the business continued to become more and more profitable, and Shu Yang's advancement brought many advantages from the Office. He now owned a lot of land not only in Kuo County, but in Fugu Prefecture as well.

"Do you think any of them will succeed?" Qianyue asked.

"Who can say? But at least Tianhu shows us that it's possible. The rest is up to them," Shu Yang said, staring at the courtyard where Tianhu once again instructed his nieces and nephews in the way of the sword. While most of his children didn't seem to have any plans to start a family of their own any time soon, Tianren and Tianan had both continued having children over the past few years. Tianren now had five children, and Tianan had seven.

While most were still young, some had grown old enough to start practicing the sword. Shu Yang arranged for Tianhu to give them all some instructions a few times a week. But so far, there were no signs of anyone having any talent for it. But then again, Shu Yang hadn't thought Tianhu had any talent for it either, and he had been proven wrong about that. If there was anyone who could comprehend sword intent, it would be Tianyi, who was practicing alongside her nieces and nephews.

Shu Yang thought he could see in her the same kind of obsession he had seen in Tianhu. Of course, even without figuring out sword intent, his daughter would become the powerful warrior she had always dreamed of. She was only eight years old, but had already advanced to the 2nd-grade stage. And that was with her taking it slow; she hadn't been given any resources to speed up her process. Everything she was given was only to lay a more solid foundation. But advancing seemed to come to her as easily as breathing.

'At this pace, she'll probably become an Innate warrior before she even becomes an adult. That's good. She is so adamant about going out to adventure that I'm worried about keeping her at home when she grows up. If she can advance to the Master stage before that, it would ease my worries a lot.'

'Maybe I can think of something exciting for the both of us to do together. That way I can go with her and keep an eye on her.'

'But that is still many years away. The future is far too uncertain at the moment to make any plans.' Three years ago, what Shu Yang feared had come true. The Lishen Empire sent an army south, and the Qing Empire sent theirs north. Luckily, the Yan Kingdom didn't share a border with the Lishen Empire, and the Qing Empire headed north with its army to the east of the Black Beast Mountains, leaving the Yan Kingdom one of the few Kingdoms out of the war. But that was only for the moment.

When the Luo Kingdom to the north was defeated, the Yan Kingdom would be next. The Kingdoms weren't slow to realize that they needed to band together and help their neighbors under attack. So even if the war was far away, the Yan Kingdom was very much involved in it. And soon, Shu Yang would have to do his part as well.

"Mom, Dad!" Tianyi came running after the lesson was over. Shu Yang shook his head slightly, watching her run toward them. While Tianyi was diligent in her practice, she was easily distracted and not very patient.

"You must be tired. Are you hungry, sweetheart?" Qianyue asked, wiping the sweat from her daughter's forehead.

"Hungry like a beast!" Tianyi said, nodding vigorously.

"Come. I'll go cook you something delicious," Qianyue said, a few wrinkles at the edges of her eyes as she smiled.

"Make enough for me too, will you?" Shu Yang asked, "I'll have a talk with Tianhu and then come over to help." While they now had servants to do the cooking and other chores, Qianyue still preferred doing most things on her own. The servants were mostly used by Tianan's family, who all wanted to direct their energy to the family business rather than household chores.

"Okay, I'll make a lot, and whoever wants some can come over and eat," Qianyue said. Shu Yang walked up to Tianhu while his wife and daughter went back to the mansion. As soon as the lesson for the next generation had come to an end, Tianhu immediately started practicing on his own. Tianxu was right next to him as usual. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

'These kids never take a break, do they?'

"Tianhu," Shu Yang called out.

"Dad," Tianhu sheathed his sword and walked up to him.

"I heard you got another letter from Xiaoshi?" Shu Yang asked.

"Well…yeah," Tianhu said with a nod, avoiding eye contact.

"How are things? Is she finally ready to come over for a visit?" Shu Yang asked with a smile. He didn't know what to do about his son's relationship with Shen Ye's daughter. Four years had passed, but they had made no attempt to meet each other. But it was reasonable, as Xiaoshi had been traveling with her father, looking for her brother most of the time. They only managed to finally find him last year, imprisoned in a Martial Family awaiting trial for some reason; Shu Yang wasn't clear on the details.

But last time Xiaoshi sent a letter to Tianhu, it seemed like it had all been sorted, and the family had finally been reunited.

"Well, I don't know," Tianhu said with a small frown, "She might make a brief visit…But it will be difficult. Even if she comes, she will leave pretty much immediately for the battlefront."

"She's joining the war?" Shu Yang asked.

"Yeah," Tianhu said, meeting Shu Yang's gaze with determined eyes.

'I guess it's not surprising. The Shen family can't shirk this responsibility, and Xiaoshi is already a Master.'

"Haah," Shu Yang let out a sigh, "Go with her then. Keep her safe."

"... Seriously?" Tianhu asked, seemingly shocked by his answer.

"What? You don't want to?" Shu Yang asked.

"I have to go," Tianhu said.

"Well, there you go," Shu Yang said with a shrug. His son had brought up going to join the war a few times, but Shu Yang had always refused. How could he let his son go somewhere so dangerous unless it was necessary? While he was strong, he could still die in a place like that. But he really couldn't stop him from going if Xiaoshi was going. He wasn't that hypocritical.

'I don't think he would have stayed even if I forbade him from going.'

'Either way. The situation is different now from what it has been. With me there, I should be able to keep an eye on him.' Shu Yang, of course, wanted to stay out of the war. There was no place he'd rather be than with his family, keeping them safe and looking after the next generation. But the situation had left him with little choice. Since Shu Yang advanced to the Master stage, his family had officially become one of the few Martial Families in the Yan Kingdom to rise up since the old Shen Empire's collapse.

It came with a lot of perks, like none of his family members being conscripted, no matter how far the war progressed. But there were also some responsibilities he couldn't avoid. One of them was supporting the Kingdom with his strength should there be a need. And while the war had yet to reach the Yan Kingdom, it had entered an alliance, and the Yan Kingdom was required to send a certain number of Masters to support the Luo Kingdom. Shu Yang might be able to get out of it if he really wanted to.

But he felt that would be unnecessary; he would just get on the wrong side of a lot of influential people, and should the Luo Kingdom lose, he would still have to go fight in the war, only with a lot more at stake. Besides, Shu Yang thought it was only right for him to go. While he might be able to escape, he had his family to look out for. He would much rather fight far away with an army to help than have to defend his family here in Fugu City.

He still had the hideout in the Black Beast Mountains, but that was a last resort. If the situation turned dire, he could retreat there with his family until he reached the Saint stage. But that could take decades, and his family would suffer a lot. He would much rather earn some merit in battle and return in glory. If the alliance between the Kingdoms came out on top, the Shu family would have a place at the top of the Yan Kingdom for at least the next century.

Taking it all into account, Shu Yang decided that joining the war was the best course of action. He was a Master now, after all, and not many people were a threat to him. Not to mention that he wouldn't be alone. He would have the assistance of a little helper. Looking up at a nearby tree, he spotted his greatest asset resting on one of its branches, as usual, completely invisible to most of the family.

"Xiaorong! There you are! Do you want food? Mom's cooking is a lot better than eating it raw." Tianyi stuck her head out the window and called out to the small black fox.

'I've told her not to bring attention to Xiaorong,' Shu Yang thought with a sigh. Tianyi had the trait Piercing Gaze, so she was the only one besides Shu Yang who could always spot Xiaorong. Xiaorong, named that way by Shu Yang after he got tired of calling her 'black fox', had been cautiously getting more and more familiar with Shu Yang over the years. These days, she basically never hid herself from him, and spent the days in the manor.

In just four years, Shu Yang could feel that Xiaorong had grown a lot stronger. Which she should, considering how many resources Shu Yang had fed her. Thinking about how she could already sneak-attack Masters when they first met, Shu Yang felt very assured about taking her with him on his journey. While it carried some risk, given that her parents were the infamous Black Beasts, Shu Yang felt it should be all right with Xiaorong's ability to hide.

"Do you want some food, too?" Shu Yang asked his son.

"I'll continue practicing some more," Tianhu said, shaking his head.

"Alright. We'll discuss joining the war later. You can't just go up there unannounced; it has to be official. I'll arrange things with Tianyue and Tianzheng in the Office, and we'll plan it together. I'll see if we can put you in the same camp as Xiaoshi."

"Alright. Thanks, Dad," Tianhu said. Shu Yang headed to the mansion to join his wife in the kitchen. He had already told her about his plans to join the war, and they wanted to spend as much time together as possible before he had to leave.

'Tianren and Tianan have done a good job having kids. There won't be much time for Qianyue to feel bored or alone with so many grandkids around.'

'Hopefully, the war can come to an early conclusion, and the family can finally have a stable place in this world.'