“So, this is the Yan Fortress?”

The next afternoon, the Zhong Clan’s black four-wheeled carriage appeared at the entrance of the former Liuhe Town. Zhong Hongzhang opened the carriage window and gazed at the brand new fortress.

—The green fortress wall stood more than 12 meters tall, which was pretty extravagant for a mere town. The high fortress wall was made of huge green stone blocks at the bottom and green bricks layered on top, tightly stacked against each other. The tall fortress wall looked extremely sturdy with many arrow battlements and crenels after every hundred meters. There was also an intimidating watchtower. During the daytime, uniformed guards could be seen patrolling on top of the fortress wall. Above the archway was a stone tablet with two big golden words inscribed on it —’Yan Fortress’!

Endless streams of carriages and pedestrians passed through the fortress’ archway and it was very lively there. Two groups of guards were stationed at the entrance, but they were only there to maintain order. Everyone could still freely enter and exit the Yan Fortress.

“The setting and standard of this fortress wall have exceeded Qinghe County’s town. It’s on par with a border fortress. As long as there are enough soldiers to defend a fortress like this, not even tens of thousands of people could breach it!” Zhong Hongzhang gasped, then turned around to cast a glance at Manager He who was sharing the ride with him. “I heard it is the same at the manufacturing bureau in Huanglong County. From the outside, it seems like it’s heavily guarded…”

“If Second Master and Lady Ruolan have the time to spare, we can have a look around the manufacturing bureau too. Ever since Yan Liqiang returned to take over the manufacturing bureau, there have been continuous renovations and expansions occurring at quite a rapid pace. The manufacturing bureau has changed its appearance over this one year. If this fortress wall is akin to the fortress at the border, then the manufacturing bureau would be akin to a military stronghold.

“The outer walls of the manufacturing bureau are about five zhang tall. The inner walls surrounding the core can reach up to ten zhang tall. Not only that, the core of the manufacturing bureau is also surrounded by many watchtowers. Many of the workshops are separated from each other, but they work together. The manufacturing bureau referred to these workshops as factories. I heard there were many impressive mechanisms in there. Guards aren’t allowed in the inner compounds as the people who are allowed in there are strictly regulated. If any outsiders snuck inside, they would be finished off by the metal traps even if they were experts.

“Just half a month ago, a wanted criminal of the imperial court called the Nine-Tailed Cat tried to secretly infiltrate the manufacturing bureau at night to probe into the secrets of manufacturing a coil spring. Despite being a Martial Master expert, his dead body was carried out of the manufacturing bureau with at least a hundred holes in it and most of the bones in his body were broken. Yet, there were no casualties in the manufacturing bureau…”

The two cushy seats with backrests in the passenger compartment could easily accommodate up to four or five people. Manager He from the Datong Monetary House sat alone on a bench near the front, speaking to Zhong Ruolan who was across from him, not feeling cramped in the slightest.

“The manufacturing bureau is the Yan Clan’s livelihood. It’s natural for Yan Liqiang to treat it with importance. Everyone says that Yan Liqiang’s knowledge in the path of mechanics and the investigation of things is almost on par with Zhang Yourong’s, so it’s no surprise that he’d set up a lot of mechanisms and traps in the manufacturing bureau. Not even an expert is invulnerable to them. If they were trapped in a passageway with arrows flying at them from all directions, only death would await them. I think this incident probably discouraged many from plotting anything against the manufacturing bureau…” Zhong Hongzhang nodded and explained.

“Indeed, after the incident with the Nine-Tailed Cat, more than half of the dubious figures who came to Pingxi City vanished…”

Zhong Ruolan looked at the lively scenery outside the window and suddenly spoke up, “Second Uncle, do you think the reason why Yan Liqiang fortified the Yan Fortress and the manufacturing bureau is because he’s worried about something?”

“Oh? What makes you say that, Ruolan?”

“Nothing in particular — it was only a conjecture.” Zhong Rulan’s sweet smile bloomed on her face, causing Manager He to quickly avert his gaze, not daring to stare. “There’s always a reason for everything. Yan Liqiang couldn’t have spent a fortune on transforming the Yan Fortress without a good cause…”

“True. We can observe more within this Yan Fortress. Are they keeping the wool they collected here too?” Zhong Hongzhang asked Manager He.

“Yes, it’s in a warehouse by the river in the Yan Fortress. It’s always being guarded by someone. Look over there, Second Master. That carriage is transporting wool into the Yan Fortress…” Manager He pointed outside the window while speaking. Zhong Hongzhang and Zhong Ruolan directed their gazes there and saw an old cow pulling along a four-wheeled carriage, which was loaded with a pile of more than ten bulging burlap sacks on it. Wool could be seen peeking out of the unsealed sack as the driver drove the carriage toward the entrance of the fortress.

While the three people conversed, their carriage very quickly passed through the archway and reached the town’s round plaza where the road was then split into three — to the left, right, and straight ahead. Both sides of the street were filled by shops, and the place was extremely lively with endless traffic.

“Why is this town so lively? I think not even Qinghe County’s town center is as busy as this place…”

“Two big marketplaces were built in this town. They’re spacious, clean, and have roofs to shelter from the sun and rain. The Yan Clan divided the marketplaces into many stalls for the vendors to set up their shops for free. Apart from the townspeople, many merchants and artisans from the nearby towns and villages are also willing to come here to sell their wares. Due to Yan Liqiang’s soaring reputation, many of his foreign admirers also came to see the hometown of the best archer in the northwestern region. They’d purchase some weapons from the Yan Clan’s blacksmith workshops and other things like the metal calabash to bring back home. As more people visit the Yan Fortress, businesses flourish too!”

The Zhong Clan’s black carriage went around the town first before heading to the Yan Residence. Manager He then handed over a greeting card on behalf of the Zhong Clan to the Yan Clan.

…

While the Zhong Clan was in town, Yan Liqiang was at the archery academy. The sun was beating down on his head while he supervised hundreds of students practicing archery on their rhinodrake steeds. His shouts could be heard reverberating throughout the horse field…

“Use your legs to control the horse! Shoot at an angle! In an assault formation, the first row should travel in a straight line while the people at the back can only shoot at an angle. Don’t worry about not hitting any targets, just make sure enough arrows cover the target area. Most importantly, make sure to shoot at the same time. The arrows must fall like rain. When you ride on the steed with your bow, you are a wild wolf, while the war bows and arrows in your hands are your fangs and claws. Do not hesitate to use your arrows. Arrows cost only a few copper coins each — you can have as many as you wish. Your lives are worth more than a few copper coins! You are riding on rhinodrake steeds so you can move faster than your enemies and outrun them. You are holding war bows so that you can hit other people before they can hit you! Remember, your lives depend on your speed. When you stop, that’s when you will die…!”

While Yan Liqiang was roaring, the sounds of the rhinodrake steeds’ hooves thundered. Five hundred longbows were drawn, raining down a torrent of arrows. In the midst of the whooshing sounds, most of the three hundred human targets made out of straw a hundred meters away were knocked down. The five hundred rhinodrake steeds ran and did a beautiful turn on both sides of the scarecrows. Another wave of bowstring vibrations was heard and half of the remaining scarecrows fell down, leaving a few more standing. When the bowstrings vibrated for the third time, all the scarecrows were on the ground along with countless arrows…

The five hundred people completed their training and dismounted. The next five hundred people got onto the rhinodrake steeds, then drew their bows and began assaulting the scarecrows again.

“Not bad. It’s commendable that the students can be in sync with their steeds to this extent in just less than a year…” Shi Changfeng watched at the side while nodding. “Yet, why do I feel that something is still lacking…?”

“The sight of blood.” Yan Liqiang squinted at the five hundred students riding among the dust on the horse field. His voice was calm. “Without the sight of blood, they are still lacking dauntless spirit regardless of how well they can practice with the scarecrows and arrows wrapped with cloth!”

Shi Changfeng turned around to look at Yan Liqiang. Based on his understanding, Yan Liqiang must have had something brewing already if he could say what was on Shi Changfeng’s mind.

Just then, a carrier falcon suddenly came down from the sky. A guard beside Yan Liqiang lifted his arm for the falcon to land on, then untied a copper tube from the falcon’s leg and passed it to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang took the copper tube and pulled off the sealing wax. He took out a note out, then the expression on his face turned strange.

Shi Changfeng asked. “Who came to find you again? Doesn’t seem like an average person for the people back home to inform you through a falcon!”

“The second-in-command of Lan Province’s Zhong Clan, Zhong Hongzhang!” Yan Liqiang took a deep breath, then put away the note. “I’ll leave everything to you, Master Shi. I need to go back…”