"…Throughout the present dynasty, famine is widespread, and the people are suffering. The emperor is tyrannical, imposing exorbitant taxes. The fate of the Wu Dynasty is exhausted. Therefore, heroes from all over the world rise up in response to the will of the people and the trend of the times…"

A dark room, a desolate space, a somber atmosphere. According to Ning Yi's experience, what he was about to encounter should be a relatively formal and serious meeting. Whether it was with good intentions or malice, since the other party was creating such an atmosphere, they would not give up halfway or treat it as a child's play. And after the self-introduction "I am Liu Dabiao," the content contained in the voice behind the curtain was indeed quite formal and serious. Or at least, from the other party's perspective, they were seriously shaping this atmosphere.

The other party was serious from the beginning, so Ning Yi stood there earnestly, watching and listening. Because at this time, the scent of incense in the room couldn't completely cover the smell of wound medicine. The other party, sitting behind the curtain, was likely carrying injuries and had just returned to Hangzhou before inviting him to meet. However, after standing here and listening for a while, he couldn't help but feel that the atmosphere in front of him was a bit strange.

"...I have long heard that Brother Ning is learned and possesses lofty ambitions. At this time, we men should rely on a surge of passion to display our knowledge and achieve a great feat. Now, Saint Duke is eager for talents..."

Ning Yi himself could not be considered a classically trained scholar. Although he could understand ancient texts, he naturally didn't have much accomplishment in this area. But after all, he had a lot of interactions with Qin Si Yuan and others. Listening to a paragraph or two at this time, he could find that this seemingly impassioned declaration against the rebels was actually devoid of literary talent. It was understandable that someone from Liu Dabiao's bandit lair background would try to appear cultured, but at this time, the deliberately rough and slightly stuttering words sounded like a student in class reading their own unsightly article.

Looking over from this side of the curtain, although he couldn't see if the young woman was holding a piece of paper in front of her, he could be sure that what she was saying at this time was not something she had come up with herself. Either she had read it before and was reciting it, or, in Ning Yi's opinion, it was more likely that she was holding it in her hand and reading it. And soon after, the reaction from the other side confirmed his guess.

"…I, Liu Dabiao, cough… I, Liu Dabiao, am highly skilled in martial arts, gifted with extraordinary talents, inheriting the lineage of the Southern Overlord Saber, surpassing my predecessors, I can capture dragons in the ninth heaven and slay leviathans in the five seas, one blade across, ten thousand men cannot pass, I am domineering and forthright, with the heart of an orchid and the intelligence of a water chestnut, a smile that turns heads…"

When Ning Yi heard this and his face twitched, the voice stopped there. He saw her calling over a woman who was probably a maid inside, and he vaguely heard her saying, "Who wrote this..." After a while, he heard again, "It's so embarrassing…"

The maid left, and the room became quiet. The body of Liu Dabiao on the other side lowered by half, looking like she was sitting there holding her chin with one hand, not knowing whether she was sulking or doing something else. Ning Yi blinked, not knowing what to say for a moment. The two sides were in such a seemingly confrontational situation. Time passed quietly in this silence. For a while, he heard rustling sounds coming from behind the curtain, as the woman's body moved on the large chair, took a sip of water, and then… looked like she was scratching an itch.

After an unknown amount of time, Liu Dabiao probably emerged from the embarrassment, or realized that staying like this wouldn't work. She sat up straight and spoke, her words still somewhat deliberately rough, but simple.

"Hey, I have a stronghold, with over four thousand people. I'm not good at managing it, and I need someone to help. Can you do it?"

Ning Yi was stunned for a moment: "Uh, sure…"

"Excellent." The embarrassing article probably made the young woman a bit disappointed. She nodded at this time, not very enthusiastic, "Then from now on, you're my man. No one in Hangzhou can bully you anymore."

After thinking for a moment, she said again: "You're not allowed to bully others either. Anyway, your official position isn't big... You're a smart person, so I don't want to say much. Your identity is sensitive, so just be aware of it. In the future, someone will send over the things that need to be dealt with in the stronghold every morning. I'll be staying here, and I'll call you over if there's anything. You can also come to me if you have something... Oh, right, when we caught you, your things... you can only have enough gunpowder for self-defense. Your knife is sharp, but not easy to use. If you are interested in the way of the saber, you can come and ask me for advice in the future. You can go."

As she spoke, she grabbed a bundle and threw it over. Ning Yi caught it in his hand. The bundle contained roughly the things that had been searched from him when he was captured. In addition to some silver notes and loose silver, the most important things were naturally his firelock and the military knife he had asked Kang Xian to make. The military knife was weighted towards the front, mainly for chopping with one blow. Although the use of the saber still emphasized an unstoppable momentum, it wouldn't be to this extent. Ning Yi understood this in his heart, nodded, and took his leave.

As he was about to leave the door, the voice from behind rang out again: "In the past, we stood in different places. If anyone in the army has offended you, don't hold a grudge... Your wife and the people you were protecting have already gone to Huzhou, and they are still safe. You can rest assured. When the time is right, we will naturally have people bring them over…

…There's nothing else."

Ning Yi nodded and closed the door.

He returned to the academy, got some rice and grain, and it was already noon. Back in the small courtyard, he told Xiao Chan about the process of meeting that Miss Liu. Xiao Chan couldn't help but laugh: "How can she be the chieftain like this?"

In Ning Yi's original assumptions about this inevitable meeting, he had many imaginations. But what he didn't expect was that the final occurrence was indeed almost a child's play, and it was no wonder Xiao Chan felt that Miss Liu didn't have the demeanor of a chieftain. There was no coercion or intimidation, no proof of loyalty, nothing like that. Just a simple sentence of "I have a stronghold," and she asked someone to help manage it.

However, as far as Ning Yi was concerned, he couldn't underestimate the injured young woman sitting behind the curtain. That last sentence implied that after capturing Ning Yi and during the process of attacking the city of Jiaxing, she had already extended her reach to Huzhou, investigating everything around Ning Yi, perhaps even reaching Su Tan'er's side. Besides that, what the young woman had implied throughout the entire process was just "I am very kind, very open-minded, and you can only rely on me here."

When all the initiative was in her hands, more coercion actually had no greater meaning. She offered conditions, asked people to work, and if Ning Yi disobeyed in the future, what he would likely face would be a head-on strike. For stupid people, many threats and beatings might be needed, but for smart people, some things could be omitted.

****************

After the simple conversation that day, Ning Yi was basically considered to have joined the Overlord Saber Camp. There was no welcome ceremony, no grand and solemn introduction. For Ning Yi himself, besides someone starting to send various things to Ning Yi's residence that afternoon, and starting to clean up and prepare to rebuild the collapsed house, the only change was that someone would send him some documents to be dealt with every morning.

The Overlord Saber Camp's handling of affairs was not really a matter of Ning Yi issuing orders. By the next day, Ning Yi roughly understood the whole model. Usually, the documents sent up would be copied into several copies, distributed to several advisors in the stronghold. The advisors would write their opinions, submit them to Liu Dabiao, and Liu Dabiao would read them and choose a certain method of handling. And many times, she would call people over to ask about these matters, why they should be handled in this way. In the following days, Ning Yi was called almost every afternoon to ask about the matters of the previous afternoon.

Ning Yi was not clear about the inside affairs of the Overlord Saber Camp. When dealing with matters, he usually called Ah Chang and Ah Ming over to ask in detail. Some of the handling at the beginning was naturally presumptuous, and Liu Dabiao, who sat behind the curtain and whose appearance could not be seen, would also explain many things to him every day. So after the first few days, he quickly understood the affairs of the Overlord Saber Camp.

In the morning, he would go to the academy to take a History class, handle some things, and in the afternoon, he would discuss a half-afternoon management course with Liu Dabiao. For this girl who might be called Liu Xigua but insisted on calling herself Liu Dabiao, Ning Yi did have some appreciation. In the outside world, it was said that this girl, who wielded a giant blade with a slender body, was tyrannical, rude, eccentric, and unpredictable. But in these few days, she had read all the thoughts of everyone with her still injured body every day, and had thought about the reasons for each one. If Ning Yi was really a university professor, the girl in front of him might be the most admirable student.

At this time, there were a total of five advisors in the Overlord Saber Camp. The other four, perhaps because their thoughts had already been thoroughly learned by the girl, were rarely called in for face-to-face talks. Of course, Ning Yi had also met the other four twice. These people were not scholars who had been robbed like Ning Yi. It was said that they were all old people from the Overlord Saber Manor. Because they were somewhat literate and had some management talent and ideas, they were called over by Liu Xigua and made into such a small advisory group. Since they were not famous scholars, they were not difficult to get along with.

As for Ah Chang and Ah Ming beside him, Ning Yi had already understood their situation. There were a total of eight of them, raised by the old chieftain and personally taught martial arts, accompanying the girl as bodyguards. These were not their real names. The code names of the eight people were "Life for a Life, Debt for Money." It was said that they were personally taken by the girl, and in the mind of that girl named Liu Xigua, these eight words probably represented fairness.

When the Overlord Saber Camp protected Ning Yi, it caused a stir among some people. But at this time when Liu Xigua returned, everything was as quiet as if nothing had happened. He taught in the morning and talked in the afternoon. For a time, the days were as peaceful as if he had returned to Jiangning. In a few days, several more rooms had been built in the small courtyard. Xiao Chan and Ning Yi, with the help of some other people, arranged them. This was their new residence, giving Ning Yi the feeling that he would be living here for a long time. This feeling truly became a reality in the days that followed.

The injuries on her body, the deliberately rough voice - for a period of time thereafter, this was still Ning Yi's impression of that Liu Xigua, talking every day, but only through the curtain. The only difference was that on this side of the curtain, Ning Yi had a well-lit table. Sometimes Ning Yi thought that if he were a poor scholar teaching poetry to a girl from a noble family, it would probably be like this. Liu Xigua had a strong learning ability, but Ning Yi was not a half-baked teacher either. Occasionally, the two would even argue over some issues.

Then, during this time, he did some small things and met some people. Taking this as a beginning, autumn had already arrived…(To be continued.) Your support is my greatest motivation.