Section 52: Probing (Part I)

After leaving Lady Seraph, Wei Wuji pondered silently as he strode toward the city hall. The strange occurrences he had just witnessed at Lady Seraph’s place left him somewhat puzzled, but he could only set them aside for the moment. Instead, he decided to pay a visit to Grant and Leonardo. After all, he had been away for a while and wanted to see what the revolutionary army had accomplished in his absence. Moreover, he needed to observe discreetly whether Sisley’s affections had any connection with these two men.

Upon reaching the city hall, Wei Wuji was stopped by two young soldiers clad in earth-yellow revolutionary uniforms, each wearing red armbands. Wei Wuji, never one to tolerate such impertinence, snorted through his nose, preparing to teach these earnest but inexperienced youths a lesson.

“Wait, wait, let him in—he’s the leader’s special military advisor!” Fortunately, at that moment, someone emerged from inside. Seeing Wei Wuji’s expression, the newcomer knew trouble was brewing and hurriedly stepped forward, grabbing Wei Wuji’s sleeve to prevent the two soldiers from further questioning him.

Wei Wuji’s temper flared instantly. Had anyone else tried to restrain him, they would have been tossed skyward. Gaul City was a place where only Grant could hold him back by force. However, this time it was a familiar face: the directionally challenged mage, Leyard. Though angry, Wei Wuji reserved some goodwill for acquaintances, so he restrained himself and forced a wry smile. “Good thing you showed up; otherwise, I might have caused a major commotion in Gaul City. Funny how I once stormed this city with Grant, and now that you’ve taken it, I have to storm it again.”

Leyard signaled the two young soldiers to step aside and led Wei Wuji inside, replying, “Internal affairs and security aren’t like fighting a war—everything must be done by the book. Don’t mind those two soldiers; now that the revolutionary group has expanded into a revolutionary army, military strength has grown, but some people don’t know you yet.”

“Oh? It’s become a revolutionary army, huh? Have you been promoted?” Wei Wuji narrowed his eyes at Leyard. “And what’s this ‘special military advisor’ title about?”

“Of course! I’m now the commander of the Third Regiment. Even that leader of the scouts got promoted to deputy battalion commander after being wounded in our last fierce battle,” Leyard said proudly, pulling a pass from his pocket and handing it to Wei Wuji. “Here, take this. It’s a pass card. With this, you can move freely within the city. The leader entrusted me to give it to you. The ‘special military advisor’ title is what the leader called you. To be honest, though we seem to be basking in glory after taking the city, I now truly understand the leader’s saying: ‘The greater the power, the greater the responsibility.’ You see, our forces have expanded, but many soldiers are former peasants turned fighters. The real combat strength still depends on the old core troops, and these new recruits will need several months of training before they become effective. However, that’s not the biggest problem.”

By now, the two had unwittingly ascended the stairs, and Leyard lowered his voice. “Everything else is even more troublesome. Although the revolutionary army seized the land and redistributed it to the oppressed, giving them hope, the army’s expansion meant that, according to the leader and Leonardo, the army should be professionalized and focused solely on combat. But in reality, that’s impossible. Soldiers still have to farm temporarily. Sigh, we are desperately short of mages and technicians. If only more people like Mr. Hegel or those skilled in various arcane arts would join us—it would greatly boost our combat capabilities and help production. Unfortunately, those with knowledge are hesitant, and although I’m a mage, I specialize only in shadow magic and some dark magic.”

Leyard’s shoulders slumped. Though a mage, he was unbalanced in his skills; shadow and dark magic were decent for combat but useless for production and construction. Meanwhile, many of Gaul City’s original magic practitioners did not support the revolutionary army. Some escaped; others found excuses to refuse service. Galio wanted to eliminate them in frustration, but Grant forbade it. Grant insisted that given time, these people would cooperate, and all forces that could be united must be united. Killing them now would deter others from joining the revolution. Still, the refusal to cooperate made urgent problems difficult to solve. Whether relying on industry and technology as the leader suggested, or the continent’s magical civilization, any help was welcome. Currently, development was a hodgepodge—Hegel and his team worked on weapon design while mages were needed, but the problem was a lack of personnel in every area.

Hearing this, Wei Wuji finally understood why Leyard was so delighted to see him. He raised his brows slightly. “So, Grant wants me to help him with something?”

“No, no. The leader said you are a rare strong one. Even he respects you greatly, so he gave you the title of special military advisor,” Leyard said awkwardly. Grant indeed wished to leverage Wei Wuji’s Daoist skills. The advisor title was a trial balloon; as long as Wei Wuji didn’t object, he was effectively on board.

Wei Wuji said nothing, sweeping his sleeves and stepping forward. Leyard trailed behind, frowning and mumbling, “Mr. Wei, please stay and join us. You don’t know how much the leader values you. Last time he was attacked, the assassin used flying swords and Daoist arts, and some suspected you, but the leader insisted you had nothing to do with it. Plus, I and Galio vouched for you. That assassin seemed more like the Far Easterner who ambushed us on the road before.”

“You say Feiligu attempted to assassinate Grant?!” Wei Wuji stopped abruptly, startling Leyard, who nodded hastily. Wei Wuji asked about the incident, frowning deeper as he listened. He sensed Feiligu’s intention to signal something to him; otherwise, he wouldn’t have risked a duel. Yet, since their relationship was decent, Wei Wuji did not wish to fight to the death. Nor was it plausible that Feiligu attempted the assassination merely to outdo him after hearing about their rampage through Gaul City. After all, Feiligu was a Golden Core cultivator, unlikely to act so recklessly. Wei Wuji suspected deeper reasons, perhaps similar to last time—someone had commissioned him. But with his reckless behavior on this continent, trouble was inevitable. Stubborn as he was, once Wei Wuji made up his mind, advice was useless. This was indeed a thorny matter.

Priorities had to be judged. Even if Feiligu had become a brazen assassin here, with his skill, causing him harm would not be easy. Though his assassination attempt on Grant failed and cost him his Everlasting Sword, at least he escaped. For now, Wei Wuji decided to settle Sisley’s matters first. Only then could he report back to Amango.

“Rest assured, though I have history with him, he can’t control me nor I him, so we’re not responsible for each other’s affairs,” Wei Wuji said lightly before continuing on his way.

P.S.: Well, dear reader, you guessed it.