After more than two hours of travel at their maximum speeds, Luo Ke Di finally slowed slowed down a little. Just ahead, the army camp that Zhou Weiqing had spotted long ago came into their vision, and the patrolling soldiers also spotted them.
Zhou Weiqing asked curiously: “This is the Heavenly Bow Unit?”
Luo Ke Di gave a humph and said: “Of course not, they are only the external guards stationed here. In this area, there are three Battalion worth of troops which are outside of the Five Regiments, and they only report to the Royal Family. There are many sentry points and hidden posts guarding the place, and the innermost area is where our Heavenly Bow Unit is.
As he said that, he brought the two and strode forward. The patrolling soldiers were extremely alert, but on seeing it was Luo Ke Di, they immediately saluted respectfully, and because of that, none of them even stopped Zhou Weiqing or Shangguan Bing’er, only giving them a few curious looks.
As they entered the army camp, both of them realised that there weren’t many people within. Undoubtedly, most of the soldiers stationed here were on patrol or sentry duty. From the noticeable patrols, the Heavenly Bow Unit was right in the middle of the protection of the three Battalions of soldiers.
After passing about 500 metres into the camp, they passed by another patch of forest and entered a large clearing. At that moment, a huge courtyard appeared before Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er’s eyes.
The courtyard was fenced in by a 3 metre tall wall made out of thick wooden boards and tied together by vines, and ordinary smaller wild animals would be easily kept out by this fence. The courtyard was rather large; just from an estimation outside, it seemed to be about 100 metres wide. The two large wooden doors were open wide, revealing the spacious courtyard and the row of wooden houses at the back. Each of the wooden houses were individually situated, right deep in at the back of the courtyard, and there were about a dozen of them.
As Luo Ke Di led the two into the courtyard, it seemed empty. Once they had entered the courtyard, it seemed as if they were no longer in the forest, although the air was still as fresh and clear as in the forest.
Zhou Weiqing thought to himself: These guys from the Heavenly Bow Unit sure know how to enjoy themselves!
“The newbies are here, come on out!” Luo Ke Di stood in the middle of the courtyard and yelled at the top of his lungs.
“Old Rogue, why are you yelling! Don’t you know we all have a mission to carry out tomorrow?” The door of the wooden house on the left opened up, and a man walked out. The man was of medium build, around 1.7m tall, and a clean cut short hair. His shoulders were wide, and the muscles around his neck were bunched up like a small hill. Although he wasn’t very tall, but he gave off a massive and stable aura. Looking to be about 40 years of age, his features seemed ordinary, but his eyes were piercing and fierce, as if a dormant volcano which could explode at any time.
Luo Ke Di grinned and said: “Little Mo Mo, these two newbies are brought over by Old Zhou. It’s been a long time since we had new blood, and it’s definitely not an easy thing for us to do so. We all have to meet up eventually, and since they have reached just in time, that means I can join up you guys on the mission tomorrow as well.”
The middle aged man’s glance landed on Shangguan Bing’er and Zhou Weiqing, looking extremely apathetic, and he said passively: “My name is Han Mo. Old Rogue, if you call me Little Mo Mo again, I’ll destroy your hidden stash of wine.” As soon as he said that, he turned around and went back into his house, slamming the door shut with a bang.
Luo Ke Di shrugged his shoulders helplessly and said: “Don’t mind him, he’s always like that to everyone. Amongst the bunch of us, he is the one with the coldest attitude.”
“Ohh, the newbies are here? Wahaha, and there’s a beautiful lady, that’s great. Welcome welcome, much welcome to you two for joining us.” Right at that moment, a large figure appeared out of nowhere, and in a few steps he was right in front of Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er.
The man was extremely tall, about 1.9metres, and extremely well built. He seemed even older than Han Mo, with a head of dishevelled red hair. With a pair of brown eyes set in a stalwart looking face which seemed lined with power and strength, he had a warm welcoming look on his face, showing a large contrast from Han Mo earlier.
“My name is Gao Shen. Little brother, little sister, what are your names?” As Gao Shen walked to the front, he put his arm around Luo Ke Di’s shoulder as he asked the duo.
“I’m Zhou Little Fatty, she’s Shangguan Bing’er. How are you, Senior Gao.” Zhou Weiqing said simply.
With a hearty laugh, Gao Shen said: “What Senior? I’m just a few years older than you guys, just call me Gao Shen Elder Bro will do. Old Rogue, you take good care of them, I’m going back to prepare mine and Han Mo’s arrows.” Having said that, he waved to Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er, before turning around to leave.
Luo Ke Did shrugged once again and said: “We have a total of 7 people in our Heavenly Bow Unit, and there are only 5 of us at home now, as the other two have gone out on missions. Gao Shen and Han Mo are a pair of partners. There should be two more whose houses are nearby.”
Shangguan Bing’er said with a faint smile: “That Gao Shen Elder Brother seems to be a nice guy.”
Luo Ke Di’s mouth twitched and he grinned, saying: “Nice guy? Among those two fellows, if I had to choose only one to be a friend, I would definitely choose Han Mo instead of Gao Shen. Little girl, do you know what’s Gao Shen’s nickname? Han Mo’s nickname is called Arrow Tower, and Gao Shen’s nickname is called Cannon. In our Heavenly Bow Unit, the evaluation that Gao Shen gets the most is this line: Murder and arson, look for Gao Shen. The death tally of the other six of us added up cannot match his, he is indeed a homocidal maniac.”
“Old Rogue, do not scare the kids.” Right at that moment, a magnetic voice sounded out behind them. As Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er turned around, they saw two men walking in from the outside, and the both of them had a huge contrast in appearance.
The man on the left was tall and lanky, looking about forty years of age as well. Luo Ke Di was already considered rather handsome and suave, but compared to this middle aged man, he was not even on the same level. He had a very handsome face, fair skin, straight eyebrows pointing upwards, a pair of attractive yet fierce eyes, straight nose and firm mouth. His long gold hair was draped at his back, giving him an overall graceful air. Especially his pair of deep blue eyes with a hint of melancholy, that was definitely a lady killer. Wearing a spotlessly clean white robe, it definitely complemented his appearance.
Shangguan Bing’er noticed that the middle aged man had a pair of large hands, with cultured fingers like jade.
Just as Shangguan Bing’er was looking at the suave middle aged man, Zhou Weiqing was staring dumbfounded at the other man. This man was standing beside the suave middle aged man, and was a huge contrast in appearance. Only about 1.6m tall, with no visible muscles on his skinny frame, he seemed to be about 50 years old, with his messy grey hair set to the back. His eyes were darting around, secretly eying Shangguan Bing’er while he his throat moved, as if swallowing saliva. Along with the tobacco pipe in his mouth, he looked vulgar and like a scoundrel.
As Shangguan Bing’er looked at him, their gazes met, and she couldn’t help but furrow her brow, subconsciously moving behind Zhou Weiqing. This scoundrelly-looking old man’s gaze was even more loathsome than Luo Ke Di’s.
Right at this moment, Zhou Weiqing cried out: “Teacher!!”, giving Shangguan Bing’er a huge surprise.
Zhou Weiqing rubbed his eyes, ensuring that he had not seen wrongly, and dashed forward with delight on his face. “Teacher! It’s really you!”
That suave middle aged man is his teacher? Shangguan Bing’er thought in surprise, then she suddenly saw Zhou Weiqing give the old scoundrel a big hug.
A strange expression appeared on Shangguan Bing’er’s beautiful face, and it was as if comprehension dawned upon her, why Zhou Weiqing was so precocious and the reason why he had a mind full of dirty thoughts.
“Ehhh, why are you here little brat? Your dad let you come?” The old scoundrel rolled his eyes, looking very surprised, and said exasperatedly: “Let go of this old man, your Father, I, do not have any interest in men. What’s the point of hugging!”
Luo Ke Di stared dumbfoundedly at them and said: “Mu En, this little brat is your disciple? That means he’s Old Zhou’s son? Damn it, didn’t you say that little brat was a trash? Old Zhou is such an old fashioned, serious guy, how could he possibly let his son learn from you and be ruined? No wonder that little brat was full of evil tricks, and yet seemed so familiar. After so long, it was all from you, this old thing!”
Mu En instantly grew enraged, pushing Zhou Weiqing aside and exclaiming: “Luo Ke Di, you little rogue, what are you saying? What do you mean ruined by me? When did I ruin him? Your Father I has taught a fine student as should be, okay!? 1 If you talk more rubbish, I’ll ‘ruin you’ a little first.”
“Alright, alright, you both, tone it down a little. Don’t scare the kids.” The handsome middle aged man shook his head helplessly. Turning to Shangguan Bing’er and Zhou Weiqing, he smiled and said: “Ignore them, although they argue a lot, they are actually extremely close; they just can’t help themselves and argue every time they meet up. Don’t mind them, they don’t have any malice. Let me introduce myself first, I’m called Hua Feng, and I’m the Leader of the Heavenly Bow Unit.”
As soon as Hua Feng opened his mouth, Mu En and Luo Ke Di both quietened down. Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er both bowed down towards Hua Feng and said: “Greetings, Hua Feng Senior.”
Zhou Weiqing definitely did not expect that he would meet Mu En here. Four years ago, when he had just passed his 10th birthday, Admiral Zhou had suddenly brought this dirty old man Mu En in front of him and asked him to be his teacher. After which, he had accompanied Mu En for two years and studied under his tutelage. He had not learned any fighting or killing techniques, but rather how to survive in the society, how to conduct himself in the world and deal with people; of course he also learned how to be a rogue and scoundrel.
Admiral Zhou given this evaluation about the dirty old man to Zhou Weiqing like this: He might not have a lot of power, but in this society, he is one of the type of people who has the best survival capabilities. As long as you can learn some of his abilities, at least in the future you will never starve to death. In truth, what Zhou Weiqing did not know was that Admiral Zhou had struggled for a long time before asking Mu En to teach his son. Mu En’s nickname was God Eye Scoundrel, and you could imagine what Zhou Weiqing would learn from him. For Zhou Weiqing, being only 14 years old, to know so much and be so precocious, it can be said that it was due to those 2 years when he was learning from Mu En.
Hua Feng smiled and said: “Welcome, both of you, to the Heavenly Bow Unit.”
Shangguan Bing’er said: “Hua Feng Senior, isn’t there still another test before we join officially?”
Hua Feng said; “For Admiral Zhou to recommend you both, that means you definitely have the right and ability to enter the Heavenly Bow Unit, otherwise, old Rogue wouldn’t bring you guys here. As for the test, you two will join us on a mission tomorrow, and your performance during the mission will be your test.”