Chapter 615 - 367: Snow Realm Door-Knocker (2)

"Attention!" Cheng Border barked. Xu Yiyu and Yi Xin immediately snapped to attention.

Fu Tiance gave a standard military salute, then said, "Relax. Per Commander He’s instructions, I’ve brought Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei to you."

"Sir," Cheng Border said, his expression grim.

"Relax, relax." Fu Tiance was, after all, of a higher rank than Cheng Border, which was why he had been in command outside the Third Wall.

He strode forward, clapped Cheng Border on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "Don’t get ahead of yourself, kid. Remember, they’re only temporarily assigned to your Cyan Mountain Army for joint missions. They’re still my soldiers."

From behind, Yin Hu Chen Bingxun’s voice boomed, his words devoid of any humor. "Take good care of them for us. When they come back, I don’t want to see a single hair out of place."

Cheng Border nodded, but his mind was already racing.

’Take good care of them?’

’As if you even need to tell me.’

’One is Lady Xu Fenghua’s son, and the other is our old commander Gao Qingchen’s daughter... How could we dare to do otherwise?’

’Besides, Gao and Rong are the first new recruits assigned to the Cyan Mountain Army in years. Their importance to the army’s reconstruction is undeniable. How could we possibly not look after them?’

As he thought, Cheng Border’s gaze drifted between Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei.

For a moment, gazing at the two tall, slender figures in the doorway, it was as if Cheng Border could see them glowing.

"Come on, meet your new captain." Fu Tiance gestured behind him, slinging an arm around Rong Taotao’s shoulders as he stepped forward and kicking him in the process.

"Hey!" Rong Taotao stumbled, turning to look at the imposing dragon-head mask. "What’d you kick me for?"

"I’m pissed you’re being transferred out of my squad. So what?" Fu Tiance retorted with a laugh, his feelings truly a complicated mix.

Rong Taotao grinned. "How is this my fault? It was an order from the higher-ups. If you’ve got the guts, go kick Commander He..."

"Ahem." At his side, Gao Lingwei coughed softly, cutting him off.

Everyone in the room was stunned.

’Is he for real? The pampered young master of the northern Snow Realm, the son of a Soul General?’

’He’ll talk smack about anyone...’

Fu Tiance took a deep breath, as if desperately suppressing his emotions. He turned to Cheng Border and said, "I take back what I just said. Don’t go easy on him. I want you to discipline him strictly!"

Cheng Border agreed out loud, but inwardly he was struggling.

’Discipline him strictly... You really give me too much credit.’

’Who does he think Rong Taotao is? Huh?’

’Even with the army’s strict hierarchy, Rong Taotao’s status is just too special. Besides, Xu Dog and Pig are only temporarily assigned to the Cyan Mountain Army. Technically, this is just a ’secondment.’ They still belong to the Twelfth Squad.’

’And one day, when this long, stormy night is over, who knows what they’ll decide to do or where they’ll end up?’

’These two are no ordinary soldiers. It’s only because of his own good character that Rong Taotao doesn’t normally throw his weight around!’

’If he really wanted to go over our heads, bypassing me and Fu Tiance to report directly to Commander He, who could possibly stop him?’

"Alright, I’ve handed them over. My orders are that you’re to report to command personally after the transfer is complete." Fu Tiance said to Cheng Border, then shot a threatening glance at Rong Taotao. "You behave yourself! And don’t cause me any trouble!"

"Yeah, yeah," Rong Taotao replied impatiently.

Yin Hu Chen Bingxun spoke up. "Life on the wall is tough. It’s not like the Twelfth Squad, where you had the freedom to move around. You need to be mentally prepared for that."

Hearing Yin Hu’s concern and advice, Rong Taotao was genuinely touched. His expression grew uncharacteristically serious as he snapped to attention and gave his two former captains a perfect military salute. "Sir!"

Fu Tiance and Chen Bingxun returned the salute. Gazing at the two talented young soldiers, they were overcome with emotion. They turned and walked away.

On paper, the two were merely on loan, a temporary assignment to the Cyan Mountain Army. But as for how things would actually develop, who could say for sure?

After all, Gao Lingwei... was the daughter of the Cyan Mountain Army’s original supreme commander, Gao Qingchen.

With her father’s unit in shambles and its glory gone, facing his former subordinates would surely awaken a sense of responsibility in Gao Lingwei’s heart.

And that was indeed the case. A week earlier, when the squad had been on a mission outside the pass, Gao Lingwei had directly rebuked Xu Yiyu for her mournful words, despite being just an ordinary soldier at the time.

Gao Lingwei’s exact words had been: "Don’t say such demoralizing things in front of the old commander’s daughter. Hold your Cyan Mountain Banner high. This is only our first mission together."

More importantly, not only did Xu Yiyu not argue back, but a spark of light had even appeared in her eyes as she readily accepted Gao Lingwei’s reprimand.

"Let’s go, let’s go." Chen Bingxun dragged Fu Tiance along. Just as they were stepping out the door, he turned back to smile at Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei. "We’ll keep your office for you. Also, don’t die."

It was the first time he had smiled since entering the room, but no one expected it to be for his parting words.

His words, however, cast a pall of sadness over the room.

Gao Lingwei pursed her lips. She turned to face her new teammates, momentarily at a loss for words.

Likewise, the three members of the Cyan Mountain Army didn’t know what to say.

Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei had been parachuted in, or to put it another way, they’d "joined the cast with their own funding." This "funding," of course, was the personal order from the supreme commander of the Snow Burning Army, the leader of the Three Walls. It was a clear signal.

Therefore, for this "ragtag remnant" of the Cyan Mountain Army, figuring out how to position and treat Gao Lingwei and Rong Taotao was a matter that required extreme caution.

In the silent room, Rong Taotao suddenly shot out a hand and grabbed Cheng Border’s. "Captain Cheng!"

"Ah."

Rong Taotao grinned. "Everyone knows me. I’m a really easygoing guy.

We’ve got a long road ahead of us, so let’s take our time getting to know each other. If things don’t work out between us, well... you should probably look for the reason on your end."

Cheng Border: ???

’Is that something a soldier should say to his commanding officer?’

In the distance, a faint smile seemed to appear on Xu Yiyu’s lips, hidden beneath the black mask covering the lower half of her face.

’After all these years, it seems the lifeless Cyan Mountain Army finally has a spark of vitality.’

"Attention! Stand up straight!" Cheng Border suddenly barked, as if trying to reclaim his authority as an officer.

Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei snapped to attention, as if by conditioned reflex.

"The personnel transfer is complete. I’m going to report to my superiors." With that, Cheng Border stormed out without another word. It was unclear whether he was sulking or just needed to go compose himself due to his complicated emotions.

Only four people remained in the room: Xu Yiyu, Yi Xin, Rong Taotao, and Gao Lingwei.

"Yi Xin." A man in his early thirties stepped forward, pulling down the mask on the lower half of his face and extending a hand. "I’m also from Pine Soul Soul Martial University. Your senior. From now on, we’re brothers in the same trench."

Rong Taotao shook his hand, surreptitiously sizing him up.

’This Yi Xin seems to be in great shape. Buzz cut, below-average looks, even a bit of a brawny face... Hmm... He doesn’t quite match my image of the glorious, heroic figures of the Cyan Mountain Army.’

From behind, Xu Yiyu also strode over.

’Next to Yi Xin, Xu Yiyu looks like a goddess...’

The cold female assassin extended an equally cold hand and uttered two words, "Xu Yiyu."

Rong Taotao smiled as he shook her hand. "I heard from Da Wei that when I charged into the enemy lines to make that lotus bloom, you were the one covering me with the Silk Mist Enchanting Robe from behind?"

"My actions were nothing compared to yours," Xu Yiyu said, letting go of his hand. "I saw that giant Lotus bloom. Thank you for using your Snow Ghost Hand to knock me back to safety."

Rong Taotao chuckled. "Oh, the thank yous never end. I still have to thank you for getting my champion’s trophy and those two bottles of liquor back. That was the good stuff I was planning to bring when I visited Qingchen."

But Xu Yiyu just pointed at the floor beneath them.

Rong Taotao: "What about it?"

Xu Yiyu: "Before you two arrived, we shared quarters with the Three-Wall Guard Army. But now, this little stone house belongs to us, the Cyan Mountain Army."

Rong Taotao looked stunned. ’Damn... so this is the real signal, huh?’

’With a backer this powerful, I’d like to see anyone try and bully me now!’

’Coach Xia was right. Maybe my name should be Rong "the Grabber."’

’If you’re going to get a backer, you might as well get the biggest one there is!’

’At Pine Soul Soul Martial University, I went straight for Mei Hongyu’s office! Here in the Snow Burning Army, I’m knocking on the door of the leader of the Three Walls...’