Chapter 286: Chapter 142: Xinhua Academy 6

"I’ve heard Lord Zhou mention him. Even when drunk, Lord Zhou is always talking about this brother of his."

"I originally thought that even if he was stronger than Lord Zhou, it wouldn’t be by much. Now I see I was wrong."

"Shh, stop talking. General Zhao is looking at us. Get back to work..."

In Dingfeng Camp, Zhou Qing was, after all, the leader of a hundred-man squad, so it was normal for him to be addressed as "Lord."

When they arrived, Zhou Qing’s subordinates were extremely curious about Shen Bai.

They had assumed he would be a little stronger, but not absurdly so.

Now, it seemed the word "absurd" was no longer enough to describe this Ding Shou from the Observatory.

Zhao Sheng’s gaze swept over, silencing the group of soldiers. Only then did he look toward Shen Bai and Zhou Qing, thinking to himself.

’Shen Bai will definitely become a supreme figure in the future. I wonder if Zhou Qing’s friendship with him will be a blessing or a curse.’

Reaching the pinnacle is a path paved with corpses.

Especially in a chaotic era, the difficulties are immense.

Zhao Sheng admired Zhou Qing. He was actually worried that Zhou Qing’s close relationship with Shen Bai might cause him to be caught in the crossfire when Shen Bai one day reached the top.

The more he thought about it, the more complicated his thoughts became.

After a moment, Zhao Sheng shook the thoughts from his mind.

’At my age, I shouldn’t be meddling in the affairs of the young.’

’Besides, Zhou Qing’s talent isn’t low. After this punitive expedition is over, I’ll recommend him to the old master to help him go further.’

’First, let’s get this done.’

With that, Zhao Sheng began to direct his men to stand guard nearby.

「On the other side.」

Shen Bai and Zhou Qing sat on the ground.

Zhou Qing had a naturally carefree personality and had already forgotten the earlier danger. He laughed and said, "Lao Shen, you really blew my mind this time."

Shen Bai shook his head. "It was just a routine maneuver, nothing more. What about you? How have you been in the military camp? Your letters to me didn’t mention much about it."

Their correspondence tended to focus on recent amusing events, while the duller things were rarely mentioned.

Now that they had met in person with plenty of time to spare, Shen Bai casually asked.

Hearing this, Zhou Qing’s floodgates opened, and he began to recount everything about his life in the camp.

As Zhou Qing went into detail, Shen Bai’s brow furrowed slightly.

"Old Zhou, it’s too dangerous. Why don’t you quit the army and come to Fenglin State? I’ll find a post for you."

Just now, Zhou Qing’s words had sounded casual, but they contained many perilous incidents.

For example, one time while hunting for a spy, the spy had hidden in the sand for three days and three nights.

Zhou Qing was leading a search party when the spy suddenly burst out from the sand. He nearly lost his life and now had a long scar on his waist.

And there was more. Many of his experiences were far more dangerous than this one.

Matters in the Border Region were always a gamble with one’s life.

To be honest, if his Divine Power wasn’t something others couldn’t learn, Shen Bai would have taught it to Zhou Qing.

After all, even an expert of Elder Mu’s level couldn’t see through the Anti-Demon Blood Sword Dance. Shen Bai didn’t want Zhou Qing to waste his time and gain nothing.

Shen Bai’s advice now was really born from the hope that Zhou Qing would stop taking such risks.

Hearing this, Zhou Qing shook his head. "Lao Shen, you know my personality. I’m not afraid of danger. I feel that everything I’m doing is meaningful."

"Ever since I was a kid, my dream has been to do something about this chaotic era. I couldn’t get into the Observatory, so the military camp is even better. I’m only now realizing that I’m living my dream."

As he said this, a smile appeared on Zhou Qing’s face. Shen Bai could tell it came from the heart.

Shen Bai fell into a thoughtful silence.

Zhou Qing clapped Shen Bai on the shoulder and said, "Don’t worry, Lao Shen. I know what I’m doing. And even if I do die one day, it will be a worthy death. That’s better than living a mediocre life."

"Besides, I’m your brother. You’ve got so much guts. If I didn’t have any, I might as well just go and die."

"Don’t try to persuade me. It’s like if I tried to persuade you—you wouldn’t listen either. It’s the same when you try to persuade me."

Shen Bai sighed and said no more.

Although the two brothers had different personalities, they were the same in many ways.

Shen Bai put himself in Zhou Qing’s shoes and realized that if their roles were reversed, he wouldn’t agree either.

"Alright, I won’t say any more about it. But you have to remember: at all times, survival is the number one priority," Shen Bai said.

Zhou Qing nodded, then looked left and right with a secretive expression.

"What are you doing?" Shen Bai asked, puzzled.

In the past, whenever Zhou Qing put on this act, it either meant he was after the cured meat at Shen Bai’s house, or he had something good to give him.

Speaking of which, Zhou Qing had eaten more than half of the cured meat at Shen Bai’s home.

After all, on a constable’s meager salary in Shengyun County, especially for an upright person like Zhou Qing, he really couldn’t afford to eat meat with every meal.

"Lao Shen, come a little closer. I’m going to show you a treasure." Zhou Qing glanced around and beckoned mysteriously.

The corner of Shen Bai’s mouth twitched. "What treasure do you insist on showing me?"

Zhou Qing said, "This is a treasure I found on an enemy spy, and General Zhao awarded it to me. I’ve been fiddling with it for ages but can’t make it work at all. It’s useless in my hands, but it’s definitely a treasure. I couldn’t just give it to anyone, so I figured I’d give it to you."

As he spoke, Zhou Qing took something wrapped in a white cloth from his robes.

Shen Bai was also very curious what it could be that Zhou Qing was taking so seriously.

When Zhou Qing unwrapped the white cloth, Shen Bai finally saw what was inside.

It was a statue, only the size of a palm.

The statue held a bow in its left hand and an arrow in its right, in the process of drawing the bow into a full moon.

"A Bent Bow General Statue. What do you think? Impressive, right?" Zhou Qing chuckled. "Lao Shen, can you tell what kind of treasure this is? I really can’t use it. I probably don’t have the skill for it. I don’t know if it’s any use to you..."

Shen Bai’s eyes narrowed slightly.

A wisp of mist materialized in mid-air, gathering before his eyes and finally forming a new line of text.

[Bent Bow General Statue]

[Identification Progress: 0%]

[A wisp of Evil Qi can be used for rapid identification.]