Chapter 10

Soon, someone applied medicine to Lu Yao's wounds, treated them simply, and helped him out of the thatched hut. The strong sunlight made Lu Yao squint his eyes.

Wei Xuan pulled at Lu Yao, threw him onto a horse, and handed him the reins. Perhaps because of Lu Yao, he had been scolded by his master, so his actions were quite rough, causing several of Lu Yao's wounds to throb with pain.

More than ten people were packing their luggage and supplies nearby, and soon they mounted their horses and set off. These people included both young and old, and even two women dressed as maids. The men were uniformly dressed, agile in their movements, and indeed had the demeanor of a noble's trusted guards. The faint but pervasive smell of blood in the air was enough to prove that these elite warriors were ruthless. The bandits had dared to attack such a person, truly blind and deserving of their fate.

Each of these people had a horse, and they proceeded along an unnamed mountain path. This path, explored and mapped by farmers and hunters over hundreds of years, was extremely treacherous. It wound like a gray-white snake through the high mountains and deep valleys. Sometimes, they ascended to the mountain peaks, with mist rising on both sides. The riders slowed down, dismounted, and walked; sometimes they even had to tie the horses together with ropes and proceed cautiously. At other times, the path descended rapidly, passing through canyons. Dense primeval forests and jagged rocks blocked the sunlight, and the cold stream water flowed over the road, making it slippery and slowing their progress. One of the pack horses slipped into a deep pool by the roadside, and the guards had to exert considerable effort to pull it out.

Lu Yao noticed that no matter how busy the guards were, Mr. Pei always sat calmly on his horse. He spoke little, only occasionally asking the guards in front about the route. The guards were also quiet, speaking briefly and clearly to each other, mostly silent as they moved forward, unlike the usual travelers who chattered to pass the time.

Two hours passed, and the sky gradually darkened. In such rugged mountainous areas, traveling at night was extremely dangerous; a misstep could lead to a fall off a cliff. Therefore, the guards slowed down even more and sent scouts to find a suitable place to camp.

Initially, Lu Yao lay weakly on the horse, but now he sat upright and controlled the horse with ease. This surprised many of the guards. In fact, his external wounds had mostly healed. The medicine applied to his wounds was indeed of high quality, but it felt sticky and uncomfortable. However, Lu Yao had no intention of removing the bandages. If the guards discovered this, it would be too shocking. Lu Yao did not want to be seen as a monster.

After traveling another two to three miles, the group of riders deviated from the path and stopped in a mountain hollow. There was a small, sheltered flat area here, not far from a spring, making it a good place to camp.

The guards who arrived first had already cut through the brambles and cleared a small area. The others worked together to set up tents, water the horses, and prepare for the night's rest and meals.

Traveling conditions were usually harsh, and as long as they could shelter from the wind and rain, it was enough. However, the noble offspring were different. These people were extremely meticulous in setting up the camp, paying attention to every detail. Especially the tent where Mr. Pei stayed, which was set up and decorated by the women in the group. The area was surrounded by barriers, and the guards did not even have the right to look inside.

The setup of the camp was already so meticulous, and in the subsequent rest and meals, Lu Yao once again witnessed the strict rules and elaborate etiquette. If it were an ordinary soldier, they would either be scared to death or worn out by the strict hierarchy.

Lu Yao also helped with the setup. The guards were initially wary of him, but his skilled and experienced actions quickly dispelled their doubts. By the time everything was roughly in order, everyone had exchanged names and chatted a bit.

Lu Yao was most impressed by the two guards who had entered the thatched hut with Mr. Pei when he was immobilized. These two were the leaders of Mr. Pei's guards. One, Wang De, was eloquent and good at communication, while the other, Wei Xuan, was skilled with a crossbow. Both were from Jingzhao and had been elite warriors in the army before joining Mr. Pei's service, each with remarkable martial skills.

According to these people, they were in the southeastern part of Shangdang, deep in the mountains near Yangchang Slope. They were not sure of the exact location. Mr. Pei and his guards were from Luoyang and were originally heading to Bingzhou. In recent years, the Bingzhou army had been in intense conflict with the Xiongnu, making the roads unsafe. To avoid trouble, they hired mountain people as guides and planned to take a shortcut over the Taihang Mountains to reach Shangdang. However, the Xiongnu suddenly launched a large-scale attack, and their scouts appeared at several key mountain passes they planned to cross. Therefore, this group had to return the way they came.

Until today, when the mountain people rebelled, the guards were caught off guard, almost injuring Mr. Pei. In their anger, the guards killed all the mountain people. This left them without guides, making it impossible to continue. They had to find a new group of guides in a mountain village in the Taihang Mountains before they could set off again.

Of course, there were vague points in this story. When Lu Yao once asked about their master's detailed background, the guards immediately fell silent, and he did not press further. Instead, some guards enviously asked if Lu Yao had any secret medical formula, as he had quickly recovered.

After more than an hour of busy work, the moon had already risen above the treetops.

Lu Yao sat cross-legged under a large tree, trying to calm his turbulent emotions and slowly organize the vast amount of information that came with his rebirth.

The memories of his helpless life in the previous world and his current life as a fallen noble were intertwined in his mind. The massive influx of information shattered his thoughts and consciousness into countless fragments, which alternately repelled and entangled each other, causing various disorientations. Lu Yao had no doubt that if this continued, he would suffer from a mental breakdown and fall into a prolonged delirium.

Fortunately, no one disturbed Lu Yao. With his exceptional patience and determination, he gradually extricated himself from the chaos and began to clarify his mind. The consciousness of the battle-hardened Bingzhou army commander and the modern office worker slowly and precisely merged.

This work was extremely draining, and the progress was excruciatingly slow. After half an hour, intense fatigue forced Lu Yao to stop. He lay on his back for a while, then got up and went to the pond to splash water on his face. The cold water invigorated him.

The water gradually calmed, reflecting a gaunt and stern face. This is me, Lu Yao said to himself.

The moonlight fell on the still water, reflecting Lu Yao's image. His face was weathered, his brows hard as iron, like a seasoned soldier. A fierce scar ran from the corner of his left eye to his jaw, a memento from a bloody battle in an unnamed small fort. Lu Yao tried to smile, and the long scar twitched, making his expression look fierce and rough. Fortunately, his eyes remained bright, even more sharp and piercing.

Lu Yao gently stirred the water with his hand, and the ripples broke the reflection.

The memories of his previous life were gradually awakening, but they were incomplete. It was like trying to find the needed information in a vast database without a search function, extremely difficult.

As an amateur history enthusiast, Lu Yao had read historical records like the "Book of Jin" and the "Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government," giving him a general understanding of this period.

According to the part of his memory that had recovered, it was the first year of Guangxi in the Western Jin Dynasty, 306 AD. This was the ninth and last year of Emperor Hui of Jin, Sima Zhong's reign. In this year, the sixteen-year-long War of the Eight Princes finally came to an end. Prince Sima Yue of Donghai defeated the opposing forces in Central China and Guanzhong, returned Emperor Hui to Luoyang, and took control of the government. At the same time, the Di people's Li Xiong in Yizhou declared himself emperor and established the Cheng state. Along with the Xiongnu Liu Han and the Zhang Gui regime in Liangzhou, three of the "Sixteen Kingdoms" had already begun to take shape.

Lu Yao pressed his forehead, trying to remember more, but he was momentarily at a loss. A flood of strange information surged in his mind, and every time he tried to grasp it, he came up empty-handed.

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