But when she asked, Jia Xu just smiled silently, Zhao Kuo snorted, and Bai Qi, without reacting much, commented, “He shouldn’t be that old.” Referring to his age when included in the system, he likely had a short life.

Only those young men from prominent families, who gain fame early, could act so proud and aggressive.

Then Zhao Kuo seemed to remember something and asked, “By the way, sister, don’t you want to check Huo Qubing’s card just now?”

“No.” Ying Yue gently shook her head and said, “Since he clearly stated he wouldn’t help me, why should I peek into his life from the cards?”

_

After the young boy left, Bai Qi and Zhao Kuo quickly cleared away the bodies of the Hu people and burned them to prevent them from turning into zombies.

While doing that, they asked Jia Xu to gather the weapons and put them in the stronghold’s warehouse for future use.

“Using captured weapons to kill the Hu is only fair.”

While Jia Xu carried the weapons to the warehouse, Ying Yue felt uncomfortable just sitting there, so she helped him carry them. After all, Jia Xu was a scholar, and the effort he put in should be similar to hers.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t be reasonable to just watch.

However, while carrying the weapons, Ying Yue was shocked to find Jia Xu was much stronger than she expected.

She thought he looked thin and weak, so his strength wouldn’t be much different from hers.

But in reality, carrying one weapon was her limit, while Jia Xu easily carried two at once.

Seeing her shock and admiration, Jia Xu smiled and explained, “When I was alive, I also joined the army and did some small things.”

He downplayed his role as an important strategist, casually brushing it off.

“Is that so…” The girl, who believed everything others said, nodded and praised him, “Wen He is really amazing!”

For a moment, Jia Xu thought that Ying Yue possessed one key trait of a great leader: she could genuinely praise her people, no matter the circumstances.

Knowing how to sincerely encourage others is an essential skill for a leader.

_

By the time they finished moving the dozen or so heavy weapons, and Bai Qi and Zhao Kuo finished burning the bodies, the sky was already darkening. The day had been spent listening to Miss Shen talk about things in Beidi County during the day and handling these Hu people at night.

They all headed back to their rooms to rest since a “tough battle” awaited in the coming days.

As for Huo Qubing, who had left earlier, no one knew where he went, and they weren’t worried about his safety. Ying Yue was a bit concerned at first because he appeared so luxuriously dressed. She couldn’t tell if he was a scholar or a warrior.

In addition, she hadn’t looked at Huo Qubing’s card, so she only knew one sentence from the system about him. 

After the little girl expressed her worry, Jia Xu told her that Huo Qubing was a famous general praised in history. 

Naturally, nothing would happen to him in this small mountain village. Even if he encountered an enemy, he would be the one to hurt others, not the other way around. 

Hearing this, the little girl felt completely relieved. She decided to forget about Huo Qubing and pretend she had never drawn his card. 

Ying Yue thought Huo Qubing probably wanted her to ignore him. 

_

The next day. 

Ying Yue didn’t wake up early like before. She followed her usual routine. 

When she got up, Bai Qi, Zhao Kuo, and Jia Xu were already working. 

Jia Xu returned to the warehouse where they kept treasures to sort out the unfinished account book. 

They were preparing to change locations and seize Beidi County so Ying Yue could become the county governor. However, there were still things to finish, like managing money and property. 

To compete for control in the Central Plains, they needed a lot of financial resources. Since they were just starting, every penny had to be carefully budgeted. They couldn’t leave wealth behind in Chunzhai. 

Bai Qi studied the terrain. Even if they planned to leave Chunshanbianchunzhai^[1]‘Spring mountains, spring homes.’ It evokes the image of a peaceful, spring-filled landscape where homes are surrounded by the beauty of spring mountains., knowing the terrain was important for the future. It was best to finish what they started. 

Zhao Kuo went to the stables. He hadn’t had time to check on the horses before. 

“Speaking of horses…” Ying Yue approached Jia Xu, who was discussing their plans for the day. She remembered something and said, “I actually have an SSR colt in my card book.” 

She wanted to tell him about this before Zhao Kuo left, but he had rushed off too quickly. 

After the recent events, no one thought about the horses anymore. 

“Oh?” Jia Xu raised his eyebrows at Ying Yue’s words. He found it surprising that she had an SSR card that many would struggle to obtain. 

“Yes,” Ying Yue nodded and asked, “Wenhe, do you want to see it? I can make it appear. It’s just a foal, so it won’t be a problem.” 

Jia Xu nodded slightly, “Okay.” 

After he agreed, Ying Yue opened her card album, took out the SSR card, and placed it on the ground. 

As the card touched the ground, it transformed into a chestnut pony. 

The foal had a head shaped like a rabbit’s, dark grape-like eyes, and was entirely flaming red. 

Even someone like Ying Yue, who knew little about horses, could see that it looked special, like a legendary horse. 

“…” 

Jia Xu was silent for a moment, seeing that the foal looked familiar but smaller. He asked, “Is this… Chitu^[2]which is Red Hare.?” 

“Huh?” Ying Yue blinked her beautiful eyes, confused. “Do you know Wenhe?”