Chapter 107: He is in the center of those ten thousand people.

In the capital, in the Hall of State, there was uproar and joy.
“Your Majesty, the frontier has won a great victory! Ji Huo, in the midst of the flames, led the Flying Bear Army with the Thunder-Hell Bear Fist and utterly crushed Duli Fu of the State of Liang. Liang’s great host has already withdrawn.”

“Ji Huo was rescued by a great master’s aid and has saved General Flying Bear. The main army can return to the capital soon.”

The court erupted. Civil and military officials shouted as one, and so entranced by the news that they could not bring themselves to remove their heads from their shoulders; they waved their arms over their heads in celebration.

The Grand Master smiled, inclined his palms, and said,
“Your Majesty, when the former emperor still ruled, I once divined this. I declared that Ji Huo was a rare military genius—one who would one day push outward into new lands and carve out immortal merit. It is a rare blessing for Great Zhou.”

His words stirred another wave of astonishment.

The whole court rejoiced. Some declared that with a glance one could tell Ji Huo was no mere pond-water man; others were already promising to set up matches for him, ten at a time.

On the dragon throne lay a slovenly beautiful woman in scant dress, bored out of her wits, idly gnawing a blood-slick finger bone.

The throne cushion was covered in human skin. Golden brilliance was all but buried beneath dark bloodstains now dried and black.

“Then let it be known: when the Flying Bear Army returns, I will reward him well.”

The woman turned lazily, revealing a body so enticing it could make breath catch in one glance, her long, springy legs stirring every base thought. She answered faintly.

“Your Majesty’s benevolence is unmatched.”

The ministers cried together, “Long live His Majesty’s wisdom!”

The woman sighed in frustration.
To ensure unceasing streams of imperial fortune and dragon-breath energy continued to gather, she had to play emperor and keep Great Zhou functioning.

That is when she learned how difficult it was, truly, to be emperor.

Every day those humans bickered and barked at one another, quarreling over kitchen-scratch matters for an hour, never repeating the same complaint.
They were half-dead, yet somehow more lively than the living.

She could hear, more than once, that many of them argued simply for the sake of arguing, as if each needed to prove existence.
More than once she wanted to flatten them with one slap, but forced herself to hold still.

“It’s hard to be human,” she said, lying on the throne like a salt-crusted fish left to dry by the sea for months.

In her eyes flickered several furry phantoms edged with bright gold.
“Just one more step… just a little more.”

She said it with a face full of despair, silently urging herself on, like a laboring beast that kept vowing to quit the machine next month and never turn another screw.

…
After five days of rest, the Flying Bear Army was to return to the capital.

Ji Huo rose early and soon saw Lu Deshui approaching furtively, with several soldiers behind him carrying a set of linked silver dragon armor.

“What is this?” Ji Huo asked, puzzled.

Lu Deshui chuckled. “Second Young Master, the weather has turned; you should add another layer.”

“It’s still summer. The sun is overhead,” Ji Huo muttered. “I have no office rank. This is improper.”

“What is improper about it? This is my private treasure. I thought your build was excellent and gave it to you for that reason.” Lu Deshui thumped his chest. “I swear, if you wear this, no one will dare say a word.”

In Great Zhou, whether it was hoarding private armor or gifting it, a person could be put to death—but Ji Huo, looking at Lu Deshui’s proud face, could not bring himself to say so.

“Second Young Master, hurry. The soldiers are all waiting.”

“All right, all right,” Ji Huo conceded.

When he had changed into the silver armor and reached the rally ground, the Flying Bear Army was already fully arranged, and all eyes burned toward him.

At the front, with chests lifted high, stood the officers led by Lu Deshui and Lu Shui. Behind them were the captains of ten thousand and of a thousand; behind those, the dark-packed mass of one hundred thousand.

“Little Commander, mount up!”

A veteran officer leading a white horse called it out loudly, so proud he nearly rubbed his hands in delight. By sheer luck of the lot-draw, it was his place.

From the corner of their eyes, Lu Deshui and the others saw his manner and ground their teeth.

How many of ten thousand, Ji Huo truly did not know. Let alone the supply wagons, cooks, medics, and all the rest.

Now this heaving dark army fixed on him all at once. Their eyes burned with heat and devotion.
The unconquerable Flying Bear Army, the killing, raging Flying Bear Army, the all-trampling-the-world Flying Bear Army… my Flying Bear Army.

Ji Huo stood in a kind of trance, sensing something wrong.
The order was wrong, the scene was wrong. Without a court appointment, without any formal handover—how had this been allowed so blurrily, so absurdly?

“What’s this wretch doing to delay?” Ji Xiaoxiong grumbled from behind, seated on a tall horse among the crowd.

Xia Ningshang rode a horse beside him and asked with a smile, “General Ji, did you hand over the Flying Bear Army like this?”

Ji Xiaoxiong said indifferently, “Lately I have heard much about him. In strength alone this boy is already at the peak of the highest rank—there is no master beyond him to contend. He has some of the same bearing I once had.”
“And his mind is nothing to despise either, in good part like my old self.”
“And finally, though this brat is unruly and unruly indeed, he still carries a hint of chivalry—some trace of what I once was.”

At this, a hint of pride touched Ji Xiaoxiong’s face, and a faint smile curled his mouth. His eyes held quiet satisfaction.

For this son of his who had drifted outside, he had felt more guilt than anger. He had once thought, if the child were not promising, he might keep him forever and a hard lecture would suffice, provided he never betrayed his state.
But now the boy’s achievements far surpassed all expectation.

“I won’t admit it, but this wretch did not shame me,” Ji Xiaoxiong murmured.

“As for court appointment and the like, I trust the new emperor is enlightened and generous and will not oppose it. As long as the Flying Bear Army remains loyal to the throne and Great Zhou, any man may lead it.”

Ji Xiaoxiong’s smile deepened, and he added in a lighter voice,
“In that case, I may retire.”

Xia Ningshang lowered her gaze at those words.
She looked at this Flying Bear General, one of the Four Great Generals, and in these few breaths he seemed to lose the force that had strode across the world; a dusk had fallen over him.

In that moment she understood: she would no longer meet this Flying Bear General again on the battlefield. In his place would rise a younger, more fearsome, more vital Flying Bear General.

As a child she had grown up on stories of this great commander; when she was reckless, her brother used to threaten her: “If you don’t behave, the Flying Bear General will come and beat you—he’s covered in fur all over!”

From hearing it so often, she had once dreamed of one day meeting him and contending with him on the field.

She had never imagined it would be like this.
She let out a soft sigh, unsure whether she was lamenting the decline of a hero or relieved that childhood fear had finally passed.

“Miss Xia,” Ji Xiaoxiong called suddenly.

“Hm?”

Still a little distracted, she turned instinctively and answered.
Ji Xiaoxiong folded his hands and offered her a formal bow.
“From now on, I entrust my vile boy to your care.”

“Excuse me?”

“Eh?!”

Her eyes blinked. Then she understood at once. She turned away and let her eyes drift to the clouds above, her words slurring, “I beg your pardon, General, I did not understand your meaning.”

Ji Xiaoxiong laughed aloud. “Old Bear has just recovered from a serious illness; my mind is still a little blurred. Let it be enough, Miss Xia, if you simply pretend you did not hear.”

The soldiers around them laughed too.

She decided immediately to pretend she had not seen him. Fortunately, her veil covered her face, and no one else could read her expression.

Her gaze moved, lingering at last on the young commander ahead in the center of ten thousand, who seemed to radiate a brilliance of ten thousand rays.

Ji Huo tossed himself onto the saddle. His eyes flashed, and he cried out,
“Attention, whole army! March!”

“Yes, Commander!” came the roar, cracking the sky.