Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 907: Chapter 342: Founding Ceremony, Childhood Sweethearts, Did the Star-picking Hall Catch Fire?

Great Xia, Year 7, September 9

Time flies, and three more years have passed in a hurry.

Great Xia Inner City, Residence No. 8 near the main building

Shortly after nightfall, the hostess, Cheng Fang, wearing the Ninth Rank Lady’s Edict, walked out and found her husband, Hong Gang, already waiting outside the courtyard gate. She immediately turned around and shouted into the house:

"Ah Ye, quickly bring the offerings, we’re leaving."

"Coming, Mother!"

In response, a moment later, a sturdy young man ran out from inside the house.

The young man appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, dressed in a black summer outfit that was well-tailored and full of texture. There was a vividly embroidered picture of a young Snow Mane on the back, a light red hair-binding crown on his head, a silver ring about three centimeters in diameter around his neck, and a finely carved bone-jade waist pendant hanging from his waist. His noble attire, paired with the confident smile on his youthful face, made him appear even more radiant and distinguished.

This young man was naturally Hong Gang’s youngest son, Hong Ye.

Hong Ye was carrying a large wooden box, inside which were three pieces of high-level Beast Meat glinting with a black sheen, two Yellow Candles as thick as a baby’s arm, a bottle of Qingyang Wine, and three exquisite small porcelain cups.

Seeing his parents waiting outside the courtyard gate, he jogged over.

When Hong Ye arrived, Cheng Fang suddenly realized that her younger son had unknowingly grown a full head taller than her. Recalling how, six years ago, he was a brat who always angered her and Hong Gang, she was momentarily lost in thought, seeing how much he had grown in the blink of an eye.

Of course, seeing her younger son with such distinguished bearing, her heart was filled with satisfaction, and the bewilderment in her eyes quickly turned into pride.

"Hmm, not bad, everything is ready. You’re finally showing a bit of maturity!"

Hong Gang glanced at the wooden box in Hong Ye’s hand. Seeing the offerings were all there, he complimented Hong Ye for a change.

Rarely praised by his father, Hong Ye smiled gently and said, "This is the second time I’m entering the Sect Temple, Father, you can be completely at ease."

Seeing his younger son’s calm demeanor, just like Cheng Fang, a hint of nostalgia rose in Hong Gang’s eyes. However, he quickly recomposed himself and turned to walk out the door first, "Let’s go, it’s the day of the sect’s sacrificial ceremony today, the streets are already crowded, let’s get going."

Cheng Fang went first, and after Hong Ye locked the courtyard door, he hurriedly jogged to catch up with them.

"Dad, isn’t my older brother coming back for this year’s sacrificial ceremony?"

This was obviously a leading question, as they were already setting off for the ceremony, yet Hong Ye asked now, clearly to inquire about his brother Hong Mu’s situation.

Hong Gang naturally saw through his younger son’s intentions at once, thinking of how close the brothers were, having not seen each other for almost half a year. It was normal that Hong Ye wanted to know the current situation of his older brother, so he felt no anger and instead had a trace of comfort on his face.

Seeing his wife Cheng Fang also staring at him, knowing she was worried for their eldest son too, he slowly began to speak: "The Longyuan Army went to replace the garrison at Songyang Ridge, so they definitely won’t return to Xia City anytime soon. They have six months of leave rotation; Mu Er came back in June last time, so he’ll likely return at the end of the year for the Cold Yuan Festival."

Hearing that the eldest son would not return until the end of the year, Cheng Fang’s expression suddenly became concerned.

Hong Ye, however, seemed much more excited, and quickly asked, "Wasn’t it the Cloud Dragon Army stationed at Songyang Ridge before? Why is the Longyuan Army replacing them? They’ve only been established for less than a year; their combat strength shouldn’t be very strong, right?"

"Is it your place to gossip? I just praised you for being more mature, and now you’re spouting nonsense again."

Scolded by his father, Hong Ye immediately retracted his neck slightly but wasn’t afraid, continuing to speak softly, "I didn’t say anything wrong. Everyone knows, the formation qualification of the Seventh Army originally belonged to Lord Zhao Long; it wasn’t for the Longyuan Squad. It was because the madam fiercely argued with the Lord that there came to be a Longyuan Army. The commander of the Longyuan Army, Zhou Yuan, was originally the Scout camp colonel of the Long Wu Army, and it was the madam herself who went to request him from Yuwen Sizheng."

Hong Gang’s expression stiffened, thinking about how his son lived in the Inner City long-term and so close to the main building, it wasn’t surprising he heard these rumors. However, after contemplating for a moment, he still shook his head, his tone stern, "From now on, you are not allowed to spread rumors regarding the Lord and the madam. If I catch you again, you’ll be subject to family discipline!"

"Got it, Dad, I won’t say anything from now on."

Upon hearing the threat of family discipline, Hong Ye quickly nodded and agreed repeatedly.

"Then, Dad, do you know why the Longyuan Army has to station at Songyang Ridge?"

"I heard it’s to deal with the Beast Tide from the Arrow Bamboo Forest. The Cloud Dragon, Long Wu, Dragon Slayer, Tiger Leopard, Xuanwu, and Divine Martial armies have all been deployed to Mirror Valley, as the Longyuan Army is somewhat lacking in strength, they were ordered to garrison Songyang Ridge."

Upon hearing this answer, a smug expression immediately appeared on Hong Ye’s face.

Indeed, he was not wrong just now.

The Longyuan of the Seventh Army was only established in November last year, and its combat strength was indeed less than that of the previous six armies. Being dispatched to change guards at Songyang Ridge meant the original stationed Cloud Dragon Army must have a more important task.

"September 9th, oh right, the Beast Tide occurring every four months at Arrow Bamboo Forest happens to be at this time, no wonder since the end of last month the entrance at the north of Redwood Ridge has been sealed. The last time the three teams said they were going hunting to the north, they saw the hunting department’s seal hunting tablet there."

Hearing his son mention hunting, Hong Gang suddenly became interested. He turned to stare at Hong Ye for a while, laughing, "I heard from Han Yang that your performance in the third team wasn’t bad. Last time you hunted a low-level Thunder Kui all by yourself, is this true or false?"