Supreme Emperor of Mist

"Mother, I'll come back on the day I was accepted as one of his lordship's soldiers. I will bring honor and fame back to our family." said one of the youngsters in his fifteen or sixteen years old.

He was not the only one in the group. Behind him, there are more youngsters. All of them were eager to be a part of the county's private army.

Because Qin Lan has a shortage of manpower right now, only five Crimson Mist Soldiers were dispatched to this village to supervise the entire process. But five men were enough as all of them were at least as strong as second-level Bone Layer experts.

The process took close to two weeks for the cadets to arrive at the City of Ye. But none of them were brought into the City of Ye. Everyone was taken to the military camp that was recently built half a day journey from the city.

To some of the cadets, this was a big disappointment.

But since the enrollment was to recruit a new batch of soldiers fit to be called Shuiyue County's Private Army, such an arrangement is expected.

The military camp can be said to be built in a hurry. Except for the tents used to house the soldiers, there was nothing fitted in this military camp. Even the training equipment was rusted antiques thrown aside by the City of Ye's Security Department.

Being treated in such a way made some of the cadets decided to give up before it even started. One after another, the youngsters begin to leave this place that hardly fits them.

But they hardly knew that these were all a test given by Qin Lan to select the cream of crops amongst the masses in his Shuiyue County. As someone experienced, how can Qin Lan be clueless about how people think?

It was easy for an individual to be interested in something but hard to keep it aflame. To Qin Lan, losing the people that give up before the training has started was nothing concerning.

Their official training then started at the beginning of the second month of Qin Lan staying in this Shuiyue County.

The antique training gears were replaced in a single night. Not only that, those that remain were also allocated with a Blood Genesis Pill, seven Martial Accumulation Pellets, and three Spiritual Accumulation Pills to use in a week.

Half of the Crimson Mist Soldiers were also appointed to become their Martial and Cultivation Teacher to assist the cadet's training.

Although the result from this training will not show up in the first few months, as long they continue down the road, this will be the shortest route the cadets will take. Furthermore, since the training was paid, there was nothing for them to lose.

As for the soldiers with some experience serving the County's Magistrate, Qin Lan had an entirely new program for them. To these types of people, he had to groom them in person.

Thus, using the time he was busy with the military camp, Qin Lan gathered many of the craftsmen living inside his land to construct an academy inside the City of Ye.

He called it the Shuiyue Military Academy.

The reason it was established was to groom potential candidates for Shuiyue County. It was also to provide young talents to serve the Country of Wu.

When his initiative was heard by the King of Wu, it immediately brings a smile to the king's face. Even Sun Wu Jian had a smile on his face after hearing such a piece of news was brought up in the morning audience.

"Milord, the academy is half completed. If you want, we can start fitting the place with pieces of furniture right now. But how early can it start?" one of the three leading craftsmen asked Qin Lan after noticing that this Marquis is here to inspect the construction process.

They were still surprised by Qin Lan's generosity. He was prepared to be paying them upfront before the completion. The Marquis also prepared to hand out the enrollment slot for the craftsmen's closest family member in exchange for them to speed up the construction.

Currently, this was the biggest project that was happening in the entire county. IT was done on a scale that never happened before.

But little did they know, the source for construction material actually came from a devious channel. Since the construction material was smuggled by the ten smugglers' collaborative effort, Qin Lan's action was like exhausting other people's resources and manpower while paying them less.

Such a trick was not new in the business.

But when it was applied at a county level, the destruction it could cause was on a completely different scale.

Using such a trick to weaken the influence and preparation of the Wuyue County could eventually lead them to a victory, but nothing could ever get smoothly.

Due to the dispute between the smugglers in the waters connecting Shuiyue and Wuyue County together, a part of the plan end up reaching the ears of the Lord of Wuyue County. Almost instantly, the security between the border was strengthened.

A part of the unlucky smugglers ends up captured by Wuyue's Magistrate Court. Worst of all, the Lord was someone extremely ruthless. By the time the news arrived at Qin Lan's attention, close to ten smugglers have been beheaded before they went for a trial.

"I'm afraid the wind is blowing too strong recently. We would like to help, but it was not a good time for us to get too active right now. Forgive us for unable to lend a hand." the Black Shark Smugglers Cove and Sea-Bear Island were the first to stop their smuggling operation.

Although it would take out a large chunk of their income, as long there are people alive, money can be earned back. Having one smuggler less is equal to losing a few money pouches at once.

It then connected to the construction of the Shuiyue Military Academy as the material started to be a problem to them.

"Milord, the construction material is running low... I'm afraid that we will take three more months to complete the academy..." the chief craftsman said.

"Hmm... That was indeed a problem. But don't worry, chief craftsman." Qin Lan convinced them to continue to work as usual.

"Officer, are you around?" Qin Lan called for his trusted subordinate as it was time for him to execute the next plan he had in mind.

"This subordinate is here," the officer came into Qin Lan's room after getting summoned. There was a hint of a smile on the corner of his lips as he noticed a red envelope in Qin Lan's hand.

"Milord... Are we going to do what you've planned?" the officer asked. As he lifted his hand up, the red envelope was flicked over to him.

"Yes. Get the people ready. Bring them the reward and tell them to make it as clean as they could. As for what they took, tell them they're free to use them as they like." Qin Lan said.

...

...

"Bring me more women over here!" a young male shouted while both of his hands were occupied by the touch of the young maiden's breast. But from his expression, he seems to be asking for more as two women was not enough to satisfy his lust.

Since this person seems to be doing quite well, the brothel's owner was unwilling to let a "fat fish" like him run away. She immediately ordered more courtesan to come over and serve this young male.

Little did he know that he was drugged by the two courtesans that came later that night.

Sleeping until the sun has started to burn his buttock, Da Kui wakes up without a thread of cotton wrapped around his body. The room was still in a mess, but the women were no longer by his side when he opened his eyes.

"Where have all the beauties went?" Da Kui asked as he proceeds to put on his clothing and prepared to leave the brothel.

To his surprise, the brothel was empty as he walked out from the room until the main area where they entertain the guests. It was puzzling, but there was not a hint of suspicion on his face as he walked out from the brothel's front door.

Unfortunate for him, the soldiers from the Royal Army were here to capture him before he finds out about what happened.

"What is this? How dare you lock me up and try to drag me to prison? Do you know who I am?" Da Kui struggled as he was forcefully dragged to the dungeon, where serial killers were imprisoned until their trial date.

"Is your name Da Kui?" the prison warden asked.

"Yes! How dare you lock me up. Do you know my father? You better let me off now, or the next batch of gears that was supposed to be delivered to the royal army will be late. Can you be responsible if something were to happen?" Da Kui asked.

"Responsible? Yes, I can't... But you neither... The convoy you're leading over was attacked by the bandits. All the merchandise you're supposed to deliver is lost in the process."

"Right now, we're suspecting you to be involved with the people from the brothel yesterday. Just stay here until your father come. And behave yourself. This is not the lawless county like the Shuiyue County you came from.

"This is the Land of Shu. You're not allowed to be as what you like over here." said the soldier before he slammed the door close.

"W - What?" Da Kui was speechless after listening to the reason he was locked in the dungeon.