Dominion's End

Volume 5, Chapter 1: The Ice Spears, in the Making

Translated by Miaka_Mei (proofread by Arcedemius; C/E edited by lucathia)

Wen Jianuo was a very meticulous guy and kept asking after the severity of leaking information. But being a decisive guy as well, once he understood the severity, he immediately set off to find his fellow comrades and finally only brought along nine people.

With Ah Nuo, Ah Qing, Su Ying, and me, our total number was thirteen. What a coincidence, it just so happens to be Thirteen’s name. Thirteen would become a future aberrant elite, so it’s a lucky number, I guess?

Things like luck were a real headache for me. I had no idea how I could change the Jiang family’s bad luck.

Wen Jianuo said to the nine people, “This is the vice-captain of our squad, Jiang Shuyu. I say ‘vice-captain,’ but everyone knows who to listen to, right?”

These soldiers had already been instructed, so there wasn’t the least bit of surprise on their face, not to mention anyone displaying a look of disapproval. As expected of seasoned and disciplined troops. I guess this is one of my rare good luck moments that I was able to pick up this group of men.

As if trying to break the tension, Chen Yanqing hurriedly called out, “Come, come, come. Come report your name to our vice-captain. Peng-gē, why don’t you start first?”

I added, “And tell us your power while you’re at it.”

The soldiers reported their names one by one with practiced discipline.

A soldier who seemed to be middle-aged took the lead and reported, “I’m Peng Weijie. My power is vibrating things by touching them.”

I glanced at him. He seemed to be getting on in years. His stubble made him appear slightly older, but he probably hadn’t reached his forties yet and should be younger than Zheng-shū. But this didn’t really matter since once one eats a lot of crystals, they’ll just keep getting younger. Age is really just for reference.

This Peng Weijie’s ability sure was something. Vibrate? It was way too weak still. It was just like the power over fire at the beginning of the apocalypse. If you hadn’t eaten any crystals yet, at most you would only be able to light a cigarette.

“Yang Xi. Just call me ‘Watermelon.’”

This watermelon guy looked nothing like a watermelon. In fact, he was quite handsome. He looked rather bright and cheerful when smiling, very much like—Xia Zhengu.

I’ve decided. From this day on, I’m going to hate him!

Hmph hmph. This Yang Xi must have infuriated everyone because of his good looks, making them itch to vent their anger by devouring his flesh That’s why he’s called Watermelon, right?

Afterward, Chen Yanqing told me that it wasn’t like that at all. It was simply because Yang Xi loved eating watermelon so much, that he had sneakily polished off an entire table of watermelons before dinner, causing everyone in the army to get angry at him. Since then, everyone started to call him Watermelon. But the person himself actually liked this nickname, since people would give him melon to eat every so often.

Yang Xi said with some doubt, “I probably have the power to lighten things. I used to think that my strength had increased, but there was once when I made a bullet so light that it floated up.”

I was shocked. He’s even got the same ability as Xia Zhengu? Power over gravity wasn’t very rare, but it also wasn’t as ordinary as fire and water. At the very least, I had never met anyone except Xia Zhengu who had this ability. I suddenly have the urge to freeze this person into a popsicle, then smash him into pieces…

“Xiao Yu, what’s wrong?”

Upon noticing Chen Yanqing looking at me with worry, and Wen Jianuo standing in front of Yang Xi as if shielding him with his whole body, I finally recovered my senses, and remembered that all of these men were soldiers; Yang Xi had even earned Ah Nuo’s trust. He isn’t like that Xia Zhengu at all. Besides, Xia Zhengu with his changeable temperament wouldn’t have been able to last in the military. It can’t be him!

“It’s nothing.” I shook my head and said, “It’s just that he looks a lot like my ex-boyfriend. Just the mere sight of him makes my blood boil!”

“…”

Shit, the words slipped out before I could stop them. I coughed and corrected myself, “I mean, a lot like my ex-girlfriend.”

Everyone turned to look at Yang Xi. The latter’s face briefly twitched, and he stiffly drew out a smile, batting his eyes and pouting his mouth to flaunt his face that transcended gender.

Fine. Let’s stop hating this sensible watermelon for now.

After going through this brief interlude of ex-boy-girlfriend, these several soldiers no longer stood so stiffly. Although not going as far as happily laughing, at the very least, most of them had an amused twinkle in their eyes.

It looks like my image as the vice-captain is gone. Well, whatever. Considering my life-long habit of daydreaming and wearing my emotions on my face, it was simply too difficult for me to create my “deep and profound” image.

I pursed my lips and said in an unhappy tone, “Continue reporting your names. Quit daydreaming.”

Hearing this, everyone hid their smiling expressions, but their standing posture remained more relaxed. The atmosphere of the whole team was no longer as tense as just before.

“I’m Diao Ming.”

The first person who reported his name almost made me burst into laughter right then—what a good “diàomín.” He looked just like an honest and kind person, so how did his parents come up with his name, down with the tyrant? Was it because he’s too honest, so they picked a not-so-honest name to balance it?1

Diao Ming was also aware that he had a weird name. He shyly smiled with his hand on his head, and said, “My power is moving things like flowers and grass… That’s all it is. I don’t even know what’s the use…”

I abruptly rushed over and grabbed both of his hands, my heart overwhelmed with excitement. These days, I’ve been having so much good luck that I’m getting nervous.

Diao Ming was frozen with shock. To be exact, everyone was in a state of shock.

Wen Jianuo looked speechless as he asked, “Vice-captain, is there something wrong again?”

After getting too excited for a moment, I withdrew my hands and showered Diao Ming with praise, “You’re very suited for farming. Sorry, it got me so happy that I got carried away.”

“Er, thank you. It-it’s okay.” That honest face of Diao Ming was a bit dazed. He seemed unable to comprehend whether “suited for farming” was a compliment or not.

The next several men didn’t know what their ability was. But there was nothing strange about it. All of these men were armed with guns, so they’d instinctively use their guns when endangered. Furthermore, with their profession as soldiers, they lacked a certain exposure to all kinds of addictive games and movies, so it was quite normal for them not to have noticed the existence of their powers.

“Gao Yun, Huang Guanlun, Li Qiao, Lin Zuojun, Xue Xi, Xue Huan.”

The last voice was actually a woman’s. I stared at her openly. She was very tanned. Her skin was more tanned than Yunqian and Lily’s, and she was slightly taller than Yunqian, though not as tall as Lily. Dressed in a full military uniform, you wouldn’t be able to tell that there was a female among these nine people unless you looked closely.

As if noticing that I was watching her, her face stretched taut and she maintained the grim, stern face of a soldier. Unlike those men beside her, whose tense and serious looks from earlier had disappeared, her face remained still and stern. Her back was straight, and she looked exactly like a statue of a soldier, like those erected in front of military bases as a military symbol.

Although she and the man beside her didn’t look much alike, these two had the name of Xue Huan and Xue Xi respectively, so they were definitely a pair of siblings.

Chen Yanqing hurriedly took one step forward, and said, “Xue Huan is very strong. She and Xue Xi are fraternal twins, and she has excellent combat skills and marksmanship. Their partnership makes them a force to be reckoned with. Their coordination is top notch!”

When they were introduced, Xue Huan’s face was still stretched taut, while Xue Xi wore a smile on his face.

I nodded and said, “Xue Huan, I’ll have to trouble you to take care of the other female member of our squad. She’s timid and easily frightened of men. I’ll need your help.”

Xue Huan stared blankly, then responded with a military salute, “Yes sir!”

What type of military role model is this? I looked at Xue Xi to the side. Despite also standing up straight, he was smiling and didn’t look so extreme.

“Huanhuan has always been like this.” Wen Jianuo smilingly said, “She’s well-known as the military model among our troop. Even her picture can be directly printed in textbooks.”

The nickname ”Huanhuan” feels very mismatched with the person herself. Then, is Huanhuan’s big brother called “Xixi?”2

“Just call me Boots.” Xixi, the person himself said this, instead.

I nodded. “Sure, Xixi.”

“…”

After everyone was done with their introduction, it was then my side’s turn. I shouted toward the doorway, “Su Ying, you can come in now.”

Su Ying pushed the door open and walked inside. At first, everyone tried to suppress the look of realization on their faces. Some were even winking at me. Their cheeky looks were just like Chen Yanqing’s when I first got to know him—especially Yang Xi, that big watermelon. That smile of his was so dazzling that I once again felt like freezing and smashing him into smithereens.

They most likely thought she was my girlfriend. But when she stopped and stood at least two meters away from me, everyone seemed to be at a loss. They looked at me, then at her, unable to make sense of the current situation.

As I glanced at Su Ying, the latter trembled and shifted one more meter away.

“Xiao Yu, you… she…” Chen Yanqing stuttered with discomfiture, as if I had done something unspeakable to her.

I said with annoyance, “She’s timid. After seeing me kill people several times, she became like this.”

Chen Yanqing “Oh”-ed and nodded with understanding. “She does seem very timid. Don’t you just freeze people? That doesn’t seem very scary. You gotta know that when we fire a headshot the head bursts open and brains would spurt out everywhere—”

Su Ying shrieked and cut him off, “No! He didn’t freeze them! He likes busting people’s head the most! He chops their heads off and minces their brains! Just him alone could kill a lot of monsters!”

Upon reaching this point, she seemed to have suddenly realized that I myself was around. She jumped with shock, almost plastering herself against the wall, and covered her face with both hands, repeatedly mumbling, “I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry.”

I’m very sorry, too. After many years of killing aberrants, I had gotten used to smashing heads into a pulp. My thought process couldn’t keep up with my reflexes. It’s too late for me to change…

Wen Jianuo noticed something amiss. “Hold on. Xiao Yu, you said you killed ‘people?’”

I coolly explained, “Don’t get the wrong idea. It was something that happened after the black fog. At the time, I was the one who was home, and a mercenary troop attempted to rob our stuff. Bloodshed was unavoidable. As for why I smashed their heads to a pulp, it was to prevent them from turning into aberrants. You guys have to do the same thing in the future, too. Even if the enemy is a human, you still gotta do it. Otherwise, they’ll return in a much more terrifying form next time.”

After hearing that, all of the soldiers looked at me, their gazes containing a whole new level of respect. It was worth the effort of using an indifferent tone to teach this “smashing heads after killing people” sort of thing, as I’d finally earned back a bit of their respect.

Su Ying seemed even more aggrieved, as if she was the only person on Earth who knew the truth—Jiang Shuyu is actually the demon king!

I too wish to be the supreme demon king. As of now, I’m still working on it.

After recalling the names introduced by everyone, I realized that I could only remember Peng Weijie, Yang Xi, Diao Ming, and the siblings Xue Xi and Xue Huan. I could remember the first three because of their powers and because of my ex-boyfriend. Then again, it wasn’t much of a big problem. If you don’t have powers in this squad, I’m treating you as a nobody!

I looked at the two “nobodies” who hadn’t reported their powers yet—the captain and vice-captain of the squad, Ah Nuo and Ah Qing.

“Your powers? If you don’t have any, then just resign and become a squad member—relegated right to the bottom!”

Wen Jianuo grabbed his crew-cut hair and lifted one finger. His fingertips turned silver, slowly spreading downward, and finally that whole finger became silvery gray in color. I reached out my hand to him and tapped on his finger. It was very hard and even resounded.

Power over metal—the same as Ding Jun’s, but a different form of manifestation. Ding Jun could manipulate metal, while Wen Jianuo could transform himself into metal. It was hard to say which one was better, so I’d just have to see which one of them would level up more. If he dares to lose to Ding Jun, then I’ll demote him from his position as the captain to the lowest!

“Power over metal. Its destructive power is pretty decent. Do your best to transform your whole body into metal.”

Hearing this, Wen Jianuo breathed an audible sigh of relief. There was a dazed look on his face the moment he heard the last sentence, before it was quickly replaced with excitement.

“Yes!”

And finally, I glanced over at Chen Yanqing. He had a look of embarrassment on his face. Wen Jianuo, who was next to him, patted his back in an attempt to comfort him. Don’t tell me… he hasn’t even found out what his power is?

“You don’t know your power?” I frowned, then looked at the other soldiers, and was once more convinced that it wasn’t much of a big problem. These guys were all on the same side. There wouldn’t be problems with anyone unwilling to obey a leader who didn’t have any powers. At the very least, with Ah Nuo’s backing, it wouldn’t occur for now.

“I do!” Chen Yanqing anxiously replied, then fumbled for words, “It’s just that my powers is, is a bit weird. It’s like useless. I wasted so many crystals for nothing.”

I lifted one eyebrow, not showing the slightest disappointment. I was quite intrigued. Just how useless is it, for Chen Yanqing to be so depressed about it? At the current phase, even far-sight wasn’t considered a useless power.

Chen Yanqing looked crestfallen as he squatted down to pick up a small stone, placing it on his palm. But the very next second, the stone vanished into thin air, leaving behind only his empty hand.

“That’s pretty much it—making things disappear. Plus, it doesn’t work unless I touch it. The bigger the thing is, the longer I have to touch it. Ah Nuo said that if I trained hard enough, I might even be able to make a whole aberrant disappear. But I need to touch the aberrant, and I even need to touch it for several minutes. That’s so stupid!”

I felt a bit regretful. If I had known this earlier… When Ah Nuo joked about Ah Qing wanting to marry me, I would have definitely agreed! Is it too late now?

I said, “Bring it out.”

Chen Yanqing looked at me with bewilderment.

“Bring out that stone.” I struggled to contain the excitement in my eyes.

The other soldiers turned to look at Chen Yanqing. Wen Jianuo even had a look of realization on his face.

Chen Yanqing hesitated for a while. His head turned, staring intently at his palm for a good few second, before a small stone quietly appeared on top of his palm. His eyes turned wide as saucers, before he swiftly turned to look at me.

“Spatial abilities.” I patted him, my mouth pulling into a smile I couldn’t hold back. “In the future, we’ll be counting on you for store keeping.”

Chen Yanqing looked absent-minded as he said, “Is that a good thing?”

“Of course it is! Do you have any idea how big a jackpot you just hit?” I gave a slap to the back of his head, and furiously said, “Just one touch after a stroll, and all supplies would be put away into storage, and we won’t even need to worry about logistics. You would be the only one who could retrieve the stuff, too. So tell me, is this powerful or not?!”

Chen Yanqing grumbled, “But store-keeping has no combat power.”

“Who says there isn’t? It’s called ‘spatial blade’—you can sandwich and cut people in half with the storehouse door, you got that?”

“I can picture it vividly enough with the way you described it,” Wen Jianuo said while suppressing a smile.

Chen Yanqing still had a bitter look on his face. He seemed to think that it wasn’t powerful at all. What an idiot!

Spatial ability users were very famous and few in number. At the beginning of the apocalypse, everyone wanted one in their troop. After all, they were very useful while searching for supplies. However, supplies gradually dwindled during the middle stages of the apocalypse. As everyone started to form larger communities, logistics expanded, and the value of spatial ability users started to decline. However, by that time, someone discovered how to fight with it. Furthermore, that method of attack was very hard to defend against. Rumor had it that it could even kill people above their tier.

However, very few spatial ability users were able to learn this spatial skill. I couldn’t remember if it was three or four users. Back then, it had merely been an entertaining story for me. I hadn’t paid close attention to it and didn’t remember the details to the story.

Should I properly write down the details of my ten years in the apocalypse?

I thought about the pros and cons. Obviously, the advantage was that I could give a book of “Things to Take Note of in the Apocalypse” to every member of the JDT so that they could have more of an understanding of the apocalypse. As for its disadvantage…

“Xiao Yu? Why did you suddenly stop talking?”

I glanced at Chen Yanqing. I was very sure that this guy didn’t exist among those spatial ability users. He should have long died beneath the guard tower. Even Wen Jianuo shouldn’t be standing here alive. These nine in front of me might have all died, and some of them might have even turned into a powerful aberrant.

I recalled that butterfly aberrant. If it wasn’t for me, that aberrant might have broken out of her cocoon and become a tier-three aberrant which ruled over Lan City. But I hadn’t heard of this kind of aberrant in the later stages of the apocalypse, so I couldn’t say for sure if she had been annihilated by a stronger aberrant colony, or perhaps the succeeding king of Lan City, Thirteen, had personally annihilated her?

Thirteen, the future aberrant king hadn’t been recaptured by the MORC. He even had with him a human, Beibei, and didn’t particularly seem to hate humans.

Not to mention the “Ice Emperor,” his whole being had been completely axed by me.

I might have even affected the Thunder God. According to Dàgē, he’d had dealings with him, exchanging information about the apocalypse to obtain firearms and ammunition. That action might have already impacted the Thunder God’s development.

Moreover, had Jin Xiaoyue also existed in my past life and assisted Jin Zhan in becoming the Thunder God, or was she someone who had only appeared in this life?

I seemed to have inadvertently brought about many changes in events, and these changes weren’t small at all. Maybe I shouldn’t be recording anything. “History” had changed so much that my record might lead to confusion instead.

“Xiao Yu?” Wen Jianuo glanced at me with an indescribable look.

I took a deep breath. Let’s leave these records aside for now, and get right to business.

“I’m looking for some stuff. I’ll write it down later so that you guys can help me find it. But you must bear in mind that these things must not be leaked to outsiders!”

Wen Jianuo pressed for details. “So the reason you formed a small squad was to look for something? What are you looking for?”

“In short, it’s to find ‘food.’” I glanced over everyone, and simply said, “Currently, looting supplies everywhere is the simplest method. After all, with a lot of humans gone, we wouldn’t be lacking in food in the short term. It’s just a matter of having enough ability to loot supplies.”

I paused, making sure that everyone was focused on listening before mentioning the main point.

“But what about the future? Even if there are cans, instant noodles—these things with a long expiry date, how many years can we keep eating them?”

Everyone glanced at each other in dismay, seemingly not having thought of matters several years later. But I knew it all too well. Humans thought that they were currently living in hell but didn’t know that the real hell was going to start three years into the apocalypse: food shortage, declining temperatures, powerful aberrants…

Dao Ming blurted, “If there’s not many humans, a lot of food can still be found in the wild. At least, we won’t starve to death.”

I smiled. “What ‘food?”

Stumped for words, he then somewhat nervously gave several examples, “Wild food, fish, fruits, and many more. I grew up in a village. There’s a lot of things in the mountains, wild forests and natural rivers that can be eaten after cleaning.”

“I saw a large group of mice outside of Lan City, so many that they were like a tidal wave engulfing everything in its path. Even aberrants fled from them. After entering the city, I then saw a butterfly over four meters in height, leading a large group of caterpillars—each and every one of them as big as a human. A whole district had been occupied by them. And previously, in a small town, I saw a large tree with the height of a ten storey building. The whole town was eaten so clean that only a few living things remained.

“As for the beach, I haven’t really been there, but I guess it’s safe to say that the things inside the sea are in no way gentler than butterflies, mice, and trees.”I calmly continued, “So let me ask you again, what ‘food?’”

The expression on everyone’s face turned gloomy. It seemed that even soldiers felt a deep sense of dread toward the apocalypse.

Wen Jianuo said, “We did see a mountain pig from afar along the way. It was very big. If all aberrants out there are like that, then we would probably become the ‘food’ instead.”

I glanced at him. A mountain pig wasn’t necessarily an aberrant. Such a large wild animal could already attack humans in the early stages of the apocalypse.

“Besides turning bigger, did that mountain pig have any other major changes?”

Wen Jianuo stared blankly for a moment, then spoke after careful thought, “It had a large body, long tusks, and was covered with glossy fur. Stabbing it would probably be pretty hard.”

“It shouldn’t be an aberrant, but an animal that has gone through evolution. It’s edible.”

Edible? Everyone’s face was as dark as the black fog.

Chen Yanqing curiously asked, “You’re planning to breed pigs?”

I shook my head, and explained, “I won’t be breeding mountain pigs. Those kinds can’t be bred. If you dared to eat its offspring, then it’d dare to evolve until it could eat you instead. I’m planning to breed some other things. And one more thing, rice is very strong, so it can’t be planted.”

Rice is really, really strong. And once the black fog arrived, all kinds of changes could easily happen. A whole paddy field of evolved rice is basically the scariest existence in a village. It’s fortunate that they generally have a strong attachment to their habitat, and wouldn’t wander too far away from it. Eventually, everyone would avoid them. As a result, these rice weren’t able to eat enough “food,” so their tier usually wasn’t very high. Otherwise, it’d be really hard to tell what kind of things would be ruling over this world…

Wen Jianuo mumbled, “Farming and breeding. I see…”

“Well, those are all matters for the future.”I looked at these men with a frown, and said, “All of you are too weak. Forget finding what I want, without guns, you guys won’t even be able to enter the city. Right now, the most important thing is to have everyone figure out their powers, and then train properly.”

The moment they heard “too weak,” everyone had a distorted look on their face, but none of them dared to refute. Not bad, they’re quite disciplined… Wait a second! What’s up with you guys suddenly staring with bulging eyes?

“Shuyu.”

Startled, I turned around and saw Dàgē walking in, with only Cain following behind him. The latter was carrying a rifle. Although he looked somewhat flippant, he was imposing enough to inspire awe. Each and every one of the soldiers was pressured into a state of battle-readiness, their gazes firmly locked on him.

As for my family’s Dàgē, these soldiers had already given up all resistance toward him.

I hurriedly stepped forward, and spoke in confusion, “Dàgē? What’s the matter?”

Dàgē gave an “mm” and asked, “Shuyu, do you plan on entering the city anytime soon?”

After giving it some thought, I glanced at the soldiers, before saying with distress, “I was going to enter the city, but some of these soldiers don’t even know their power, so they might end up getting wiped out if I bring them into the city. It’s better to stay behind and train properly first.”

“In that case, you’ll stay behind to take care of the base. I’m going to search for some supplies in the city, and train myself while I’m at it.”

After thinking for a while, I gritted my teeth, and said, “You can bring Junjun along and let her get some training.”

Dàgē definitely wouldn’t stop worrying if both his little brother and little sister were to enter the city together, so I had no choice but to let Shujun go with him. I was also worried about the safety of Dàgē and Xiǎomèi, but—I gotta bear with it!

Dàgē lifted his eyebrow. “Sure. We’re going into the city in a few days. If there’s anything you need, just tell me later.”

I nodded and watched as Dàgē turned to leave. Actually, he didn’t need to personally come find me for this kind of thing. In any case, I’d also be coming over to the main building for dinner, so wouldn’t it be fine to just ask at that time?

Dàgē had come here to give me support.

I turned around and saw that these soldiers no longer looked dissatisfied. Some of them couldn’t hide their surprise as they gazed at me. Seems like it wasn’t until now that they finally believed I’m truly capable.

It was simply too hard for me to convince others with this face of mine. In any case, I had plenty of time for that later. Just like Chen Yanqing, they would surely become convinced once they see more.

“Go pack your luggage. I’ll show you guys to your new living quarters.”

Wen Jianuo said as he shook his head, “No need. We don’t have any luggage.”

Is it that you don’t have any luggage, or you’ve given everything to the other soldiers? And in any case, it’s not like I’d let you guys starve. I rolled my eyes at him, but decided not to say anything in the end. After all, a group of soldiers who cared for each other was always a good thing.

I had picked a building which wasn’t too far from the main building. The building was a siheyuan,3 courtyard house with a courtyard enclosed by walls. Although I called it a ”building,” it was pretty much a small community. The walls were like slender, single-storey houses. Although they all only had one floor, except for the primary residence at the rear which had two floors, there were enough rooms for triple our numbers in the Ice Spears to have a room per person. After all, our squad wasn’t big.

I led the soldiers into the courtyard that was in the middle. Despite squeezing in all these people, the courtyard remained extremely spacious. I was quite satisfied with the size of this courtyard house. It even had a great geographical location. It was situated diagonally behind the main building, and wasn’t too far away from there, so it would be convenient for me to come here from the main building. It was also far from Old Town. We wouldn’t attract anyone’s attention with whatever we did here.

There was only one problem—the house was a bit old and needed repairs. But there was no need to rush it. After all, the thing that the JDT had the most right now was people.

“From now on, you guys will be staying here. You’ll only be following my orders. Ignore all others, unless it’s the current members of the JDT asking for you. Last but not least, outsiders are forbidden to enter!”

Wen Jianuo nodded in response.

“In the future, our squad will be called ‘Ice Spears.’ I’ll protect my squad members, but bear in mind that if you dare to use my name to abuse your power…”

My lips pulled into a faint smile, I stretched out one hand, and sent out a huge blast of icy air, enveloping the entire courtyard with biting cold air. And with a clench of my fist, the freezing air gathered to form a horizontal bar, high altitude climb, balance beam, and other fitness training equipment.

Subduing my squad members and the construction of the base—these two things couldn’t be delayed.

“I’m still in need of an ice sculpture, to be erected in front of the courtyard as a warning sign!”

I walked back to the main building as I said to Wen Jianuo, “First, we’ll make the walls taller and add barbed wire to it, too. I’ll be hiding my strength and identity, so I can’t be seen by others while I’m training you guys.”

The courtyard house was located in a very remote area, and you’d also need to pass the main building to get there, but some people would inevitably try to sneak over, so it was best to have taller walls. At the very least, it could prevent the risk of being seen.

Wen Jianuo nodded.

“I’ll bring you to see Lily later. She’s our logistics head. Go talk to her if you need anything.”

When I got to this point, I stopped, stood still, and warned Wen Jianuo with a glare, “I will protect every member of the Ice Spears. But if you guys dare to swindle the JDT or make off with our supplies, I won’t show the slightest mercy!”

“We absolutely won’t!” Wen Jianuo hastily replied. He had become much more obedient—after I had turned the courtyard into an ice paradise, that is.

“You won’t be taking things to help out your previous comrades?”

Wen Jianuo stiffened. This time, he couldn’t give the same response.

I said in an unhappy tone, “My big brother is currently in need of personnel, whereas all of your fellow comrades have combat capabilities. If they do their job properly, they definitely won’t be treated unfairly. You don’t even need to go help them. As for people who refuse to work, if you’re still thinking of helping them, how about I freeze that head of yours? Maybe then you’ll see things more clearly?”

Wen Jianuo said while shaking his head, “It’s just that, I don’t really know your big brother well. Xiao Yu, you’re a good person, but I’m not sure about what kind of person your brother is. ”

Dàgē? Well, the term “good person” doesn’t exactly fit him. I pondered for a bit, and said, “My big brother is a very powerful person.”

Wen Jianuo smiled, before saying in a somewhat awkward manner, “We’re not allowed to share with fellow comrades, but is it possible to share with the civilians? Just things like food and clothes. We absolutely won’t give away weapons or materials for wall fortification. I’m at least clear enough about that. ”

I threw him a glance. “Just don’t starve yourself or get sick from the cold. I don’t want a sickly squad member. As for the extra stuff that you manage to earn, who cares if you’re going to give them to your girlfriend or boyfriend.”

Wen Jianuo said with a wry smile, “It’s a pair of brother and sister that I’ve met along the way. They got separated from their parents.”

I nodded, and said no more. My mind was only thinking of asking Lily about how she was going to deal with over a hundred civilians.

While we passed through the second floor, I picked an empty room for Wen Jianuo. Although he’d mostly be in the courtyard house, having a room in the main building would show that he was an important, trustworthy figure in the Jiang Dominion. It’d also make it easier for me to operate. After all, I didn’t plan on showing myself.

“èrgē, èrgē!”

I turned and saw Shujun racing downstairs. She even gave a swirl while asking, “Does it look pretty?”

She was wearing a uniform that could literally take people’s breath away. The design was quite similar to a military uniform. The upper half was a jacket, fully black with silver edging and two rows of buttons, while the lower half was a blue pleated skirt. I had brought this outfit back from Lan City. It was just that there was a little bit of modification, like the addition of silver trim and most importantly—the JDT’s crest.

Although I was a bit dissatisfied with how short the skirt was, at least the socks extended past her knees, so only a small portion of her thigh was exposed. It was barely passable.

“Have you been working on the uniform? Not bad. Use the same style as this one for everyone else’s.”

I nodded with approval. As expected of my family’s diligent and hardworking little sister. It hadn’t been that long ago when I said I wanted uniforms, and she had already started working on it.

“Mm. I’m making them together with Yutian-jiě.”

“Who’s that?”

“Weijun-jiě’s best friend.”

I thought for a bit. It was probably that round-faced and sweet woman—Tai Wen’s wife. Her being able to sew clothes was quite expected since she really matched the image of a good wife and loving mother.

“Dàgē will be entering the city soon, so try getting his clothes done first.”

Upon hearing this, Shujun firmly nodded. “Okay. èrgē, what kind of special design do you think Dàgē’s clothes should have?”

After giving it some thought, I said, “Long windbreaker, long boots, all black with gold trim. The others can only use silver trim. ”

“Okay! I’ll make Dàgē’s clothes appear dazzling and majestic!”

As expected of Junjun, she knows her èrgē inside out like a tapeworm inside his belly—no, wait! My Junjun isn’t a worm. If she had to be in my belly, she’d be a precious baby! Uh, this doesn’t sound quite right…

“And what about you, èrgē? What kind of clothes do you want?”

After thinking for a bit, I had a rough idea in my mind. However, it was quite complicated. Shujun might not be able to make it.

“It’s fine, I’ll do it myself. You can help me make the uniforms for the members of the Ice Spears. There are several of them, so it’ll take some time. You can continue making them after returning home.”

“Returning?” Blinking her eyes, Shujun asked with confusion, “Am I going somewhere?”

“Dàgē will be taking you into the city.”

Shujun stared blankly for a moment, then beamed with joy.

Wen Jianuo who was behind me, said disapprovingly, “Why bring a girl into the city? Even if your big brother is very strong, there’s no guarantee that accidents won’t happen.”

I furiously said, “You jinx! Wanna see me turn you into an ice sculpture?!”

The Jiang family’s luck is already terrible. I don’t need you to add an additional “accident” to “terrible!”

Shujun was also very upset. With a wave of her hand, she whipped out a lightning whip. The blinding blue and white lightning whip swished past Wen Jianuo, but didn’t hit anything, not even the floor. After that, she simply pulled it back before it disappeared without a trace. Never mind Wen Jianuo, even I was dumbstruck.

“Junjun, when did you learn this…”

Blinking her big, watery eyes, Shujun said, “I learned this when you went missing.”

Hah, it’s as if I’ve gone missing for a year. It was only one month!

I held my forehead with my hand. No wonder Dàgē easily agreed to bring her into the city. With such a lethal and readily available weapon, not just Dàgē, even all of the JDT members would want her to go with them, too.

“èrgē, I’m going to get started on the clothes now, okay?”

I nodded, and said, “You can go look for some women to help you with the work. Give them food and warm clothing as a reward.”

With people assisting in the work, we could provide them with food, and even prevent them from forming bad habits like freeloading. This is basically killing multiple birds with one stone!

Junjun cheerfully said, “Okay! I’ll ask Yutian-jiě for help with recruiting people!”

After saying that, she then rushed upstairs. It seemed that she was working on the clothes in her room.

I hurriedly reminded her, “Shujun! Remember to work on the first floor. Don’t take people up to the third floor.”

“Okay!”

I wanted to tell Shujun to bring my mom over, but it came to me that Guan Weijun was looking after her. I probably didn’t need to worry about her going hungry or feeling cold. Although I was relieved, there was a touch of bitterness in my heart. My mom has become someone else’s mom. If I want to help her, I have to consider a bunch of other stuff first.

“What is up with you siblings…”

Wen Jianuo had yet to recover from his shock. The lingering shock he got from a beautiful girl with a lightning whip was quite long-lasting.

I patted the soldier’s shoulder.

“Well, simply put, my little sister who just started high school could burn you to a crisp in a split second. What’s up with that, huh?”

Notes:

1. “Diao Ming”: Diao Ming’s name sounds like diàomín from弔民伐罪 (diàomínfázuì), which means punishing the tyrant to console the people.

2. “Huanhuan and Xixi”: Their names came from huānxǐ (歡喜), which means happy.

3. “sìhéyuàn”: A sìhéyuàn (四合院) is a courtyard house with a fully enclosed courtyard. The residence at the very back is the main residence. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siheyuan