Chapter 32

"‘No stay, no rest’ must be a military order, how should it be interpreted? Dean Wen said those who achieve merit will receive longer star-guiding time, what is the scoring standard for this merit? Wen Xinyue said joining the vanguard camp is a good thing, as it allows one to kill more enemies and earn more points. If that’s the case, killing enemies must be a scoring point, but is the score the same for killing enemy soldiers and killing beasts? Is the score the same for killing ordinary soldiers and killing squad leaders or centurions?"

Yue Heng stroked his chin, thinking for a long time, but the most critical part was still with Wen Xinyue. He had to confirm it to connect all the pieces.

Ugh...

Ugh ugh...

The long horn sounded, and the alarm bells in the camp rang loudly. Senior officers shouted outside, ordering the troops to assemble. Yue Heng jumped off the large bunk bed in surprise, and the soldier Zhou Xuan beside him was also startled awake. Everyone rushed out of the tent and lined up at the door according to military requirements.

"Trouble, Wen Xinyue isn’t here. I hope she’s okay," Yue Heng ran out of the tent, looking around but seeing no sign of Wen Xinyue, he was somewhat worried.

There was a flurry of activity between the tents. Mounted officers and the guard camp ran back and forth with torches, and people were shouting and horses were neighing everywhere. However, under the command of the squad leaders and centurions, the camps quickly returned to quiet and solemnity.

A figure slipped over from the edge of the tent and stood in front of Yue Heng, making him breathe a sigh of relief.

"Where were you?"

"Shh... I got it..."

"Very good..."

The two quickly exchanged a few words, then stood silently, waiting for the centurion to call the roll.

This sudden change occurred because someone in the guard camp discovered a knocked-out messenger. After being splashed with cold water, the messenger informed them that an attacker had forced him to reveal the content of the military order. The guard camp then sounded the emergency assembly and rang the alarm, sealing off the entire camp.

Yue Heng leaned close behind her, lowering his head and whispering, "Was it you?"

Yue Heng's breath on her ear made Wen Xinyue feel ticklish, and she hurriedly dodged, her face turning red involuntarily. She glared back and huffed, then moved forward a bit, trying to distance herself from Yue Heng.

"Hey, the girl is blushing? Tsk tsk, that’s rare!" Yue Heng felt a stir in his heart, smelling the faint fragrance from her, his mood also became agitated.

The search for spies and the search of the camp, of course, found nothing. Back at the large bunk bed in the tent, Yue Heng, without a word, suddenly pulled Wen Xinyue down to lie next to him. Just before she could resist, he whispered, "Don’t draw attention!"

The two were so close, something that had never happened before. To speak, they had to lie face to face. How big and wide could the bunk bed be?

Less than a foot apart, Yue Heng saw her beautiful face and smelled the fresh scent of a young girl, his heart was filled with joy, wishing this second act of the illusion would never end.

"Where are your eyes looking? Do you want me to kill you if you keep this up?" Wen Xinyue glared at Yue Heng, then slapped him, pushing him back half a foot.

"Decency, pay attention to your decency! We are soldiers, we should only have the country and military merit in our eyes, not gender. Don’t be so petty, looking won’t take a piece of meat off you, and what’s wrong with sleeping together... Hey hey hey, stop it, stop it, don’t pinch me... Shh... Lower your voice... What did you find out?"

"The King ordered the Three Affairs Officials to prepare. This time, the royal army is not just patrolling the territory of Xu, investigating rebellion, but directly attacking Xu, taking the heads of Xu Huiwang and the beast king to pacify the people of the land!"

Yue Heng's eyebrows raised, the final piece of the puzzle finally fell into place.

The Three Affairs Officials are a general term for officials responsible for personnel management, judicial management, and civil administration. These officials were now busy, clearly preparing to suppress the rebels and pacify the land.

"No stay, no rest" means "No killing, no peace"!

"Listen carefully, this is the most important information in this illusion test. As long as you manage to take the head of Xu Huiwang or the beast king, we will definitely win first place!"

"Pah! Is this the secret you were talking about?"

"Of course, this secret I dare say only you and I know. Remember, this is the usual recording method of scholars. The *Chang Wu* was written by historians, so any phrase that shows the wisdom of the ruler is not spared, but any text that might cause ambiguity or controversy is not directly described. Think about it, Xu is a vassal state of the Zhou Dynasty. Would King Xuan of Zhou personally lead the army and order the beheading of Xu Huiwang? Could he say this out loud? So, did you hear the order to kill the rebel leader in the military order? This order cannot be announced to the entire army, but someone must do it! We are only two people, to stand out in the illusion, we must find the core and take the initiative!"

Yue Heng explained quickly, and Wen Xinyue, unable to refute him, was also rapidly thinking about the true meaning of *Chang Wu*.

Suddenly, the illusion changed, and the voice of the illusion sounded again, this time without any pause, directly entering the third act!

"Great and glorious, the solemn Son of Heaven. The king calmly acts, neither hurried nor leisurely. The people of Xu are in turmoil, shocking the land of Xu. Like thunder and lightning, the land of Xu is shaken."

The time in the illusion passed in a flash. One moment, Yue Heng was lying on the bunk bed teasing Xiao Yue, the next, the assembly horn sounded, and it was already the next day. The solemn King Xuan of Zhou personally inspected the entire army, and the illusion progressed to the third act. The two were still lying face to face on the bunk bed, stunned.

"What’s going on? Why did the second act suddenly end?" In the tent of the Southern Zhong army, Kuang Yun was flipping through an ancient map of the Pre-Qin era. Hearing the assembly horn, he hurriedly ran out of the tent and asked his two teammates through his identity badge.

"I don’t know. I thought we would rest for a night before setting out, but the illusion doesn’t follow normal time, and the scene can change at any time." The teammate was also puzzled.

As everyone was confused, Kuang Qing, who was assigned to another squad, hurriedly came over, looking serious and said, "The second act was forcibly advanced. You need to be careful!" Then he hurriedly left and entered his own military formation.

Kuang Yun put away the map in his hand and fell into deep thought, feeling incredulous.

"Brother Yun, what does ‘forcibly advanced’ mean?" The teammate asked.

Kuang Yun looked serious, "If I’m not mistaken, something significant must have happened. We need to be careful. This situation is different from what is recorded in many documents and classics!"

In the third act, King Xuan of Zhou personally commanded the army, which moved steadily along the Huai River, full of courage and confidence to defeat the enemy.

In contrast, the Xu army, from Xu Huiwang to the ordinary soldiers, was in a state of panic. They were on edge, fearing every sound and movement, and everyone was uneasy.

"The king exerts his might, like a thunder and a storm. He advances his tiger warriors, roaring like fierce tigers. They set up camp on the Huai River, capturing the enemy. They cut off the Huai River, where the royal army stands."

In the following fourth act, the vanguard of the Huangfu army, like tigers descending from the mountains, roared across the battlefield. The royal army advanced rapidly, reaching the vicinity of Pizhou. The vanguard quickly occupied the Huai River embankment and set up camp at the intersection of Pizhou Mountain and the Huai River, organizing the troops.

These scenes were like movie scenes to Yue Heng. His unit, the right vanguard of the Huangfu army, didn’t even get a chance to fight. All he did was march, and he was frustrated, thinking he would finally see the fifth chapter of *Chang Wu* today.

Unexpectedly, the military order changed again. This time, the attack on Xu would be led by the Southern Zhong army, with the Huangfu army in the center to protect the king!

"What?"

Yue Heng was dumbfounded. Being in the center to protect King Xuan of Zhou, what kind of fight was that? If he couldn’t go to the front lines to take advantage of the chaos, staying by King Xuan of Zhou’s side would make it impossible to earn military merit!

"My friend told me that yesterday, some scholars in the Southern Zhong army found a way to advise, requesting to take the initiative. Their ideas were passed to the higher officers and adopted by King Xuan of Zhou."

Wen Xinyue explained calmly, looking at the disappointed Yue Heng, she added, "It seems that Brother Kuang and Scholar Shi have taken action. The sooner they go to the battlefield, the sooner they can earn military merit, which is very advantageous for the re-examination competition!"

"Pah!"

Yue Heng spat on the ground in anger, fuming, "Yesterday, it was our Huangfu army’s left vanguard camp sweeping the Huai River shore. The candidates in their camp were like they were on steroids, competing to kill Xu soldiers. Killing one rebel earns a bit of merit. I knew something would go wrong today! Now, we can only watch those assigned to the Southern Zhong army earn merit, while we get nothing!"

Unfortunately, military orders cannot be disobeyed. Yue Heng stood on a high ground at the front of Pizhou Mountain, watching the Southern Zhong army gather at the foot of the mountain, ready to engage the Xu army in a direct battle, feeling quite helpless: "When will it be my turn to fight..."

He had learned from the military research department that Xu was still in the primitive society. People usually farmed, and when Xu Huiwang called for the army, these farmers would put down their hoes and become soldiers. Whether in physical fitness or tactical arrangements, how could they possibly be a match for King Xuan of Zhou’s regular army?

Even if the illusion made minor modifications to *Chang Wu* to adapt to the post-punishment world, giving Xu a group of beast helpers, it still couldn’t change the outcome of *Chang Wu*.

"Even a fly is meat! This is the perfect time to grind for data! I want to kill enemies too..."

Yue Heng muttered to himself, his mind struggling with what to do.

"Has Great Scholar Yue come up with a good idea? The vanguard of the Southern Zhong army is about to set out. Bai Ming’s companions are all in the vanguard of the Southern Zhong army. By the way, the two Kuang brothers are also there, and many of the top ten scholars from Hong County are in the Southern Zhong army. If you don’t act soon, the top candidate might fall into someone else’s hands!" Wen Xinyue asked.

"Thinking, thinking... It looks like the fifth act is about to be recited. I’m sure it will be a poem describing the battle, and it will be the most intense scene in *Chang Wu*. What should I do? Emperor Fuxi, tell me what to do..."

Yue Heng grabbed his hair, his stomach aching again!...

PS: This chapter was uploaded incorrectly, it’s the earliest version, and I missed the revisions. Apologies.