Chapter 104: Lei Qing’s Independent Regiment

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“You dare…” Li Baobao only felt a numb, tingling sensation in her ear, like an electric current, spreading throughout her body. Hearing his threatening words, which sounded like teasing, her delicate body stiffened slightly, and she said stubbornly, “Under the bright sky and in front of everyone, what can you do?” However, her body dared not twist around anymore, and she obediently leaned against his chest.

The aura of a masculine man drifted into her nose, seemingly present yet absent, like a strand of hair tickling and teasing her heart.

His chest was very broad, firm and full of elasticity. Although Li Baobao was forced to sit in his embrace like this, she did not feel the slightest discomfort. Instead, she vaguely felt very comfortable and safe.

“Hehe, you also know my temper, Lei Qing.” Lei Qing leaned close to her ear and continued to whisper, “The more others dare not do something, the more I like to do it. Moreover, I can’t stand being provoked, so don’t tease me and make me lose my reason.” His hands clasped her waist, making her lean more comfortably.

“Hmph, you domineering bandit leader.” Li Baobao heard his rogue words, and her heart felt like a little deer was bumping around wildly. It made her heart messy and her earlobes burn. She spat lightly and said, “I just stood on your side and cheered for you.” However, she thought to herself, this bad bandit leader, how could he make her lean so comfortably and feel so safe?

“I have joined the regular army now. The Iron Cavalry Regiment is a famous corps; even the elite legions of our Tianlan Empire are no better. Now, I am no longer just some bandit leader.” Lei Qing was also in a very happy mood and laughed, “I can command a regiment in the Iron Cavalry Regiment and accumulate this qualification. Even if I return to Tianlan, I will be heavily relied upon.”

“Hmph, look at how proud you are.” Li Baobao pouted and deliberately tried to dampen his spirits, “Aren’t you just the leader of a small regiment? Is it worth boasting about yourself like this? Our Li Chamber of Commerce has over a hundred thousand employees, shop assistants, and troops combined. I’ve never seen my father as smug as you.”

“Fine, fine, your father is strong, okay? He is the famous Golden Abacus, Li Qianlong. How could I possibly compare to him?” Lei Qing said nonchalantly, “I held you just because you stood up for me earlier and cheered for me. I just wanted to let you share some of the glory. If you don’t like it, feel free to get down.”

“Hmph, I think you just deliberately dragged two beauties along to build up your momentum and increase your charm and prestige.” Li Baobao was truly sharp-eyed and instantly saw through his “wicked” intentions. Seeing him laugh awkwardly, she snorted repeatedly, “Forget it, forget it. I saw you fought hard earlier and won after all. Today I’ll take a loss and help you this once.”

Lei Qing rode his warhorse, carrying two beauties in front and behind, waving to the surroundings continuously. The fact that Li Baobao was the eldest daughter of the Li Chamber of Commerce and her connection with Lei Qing were known only to some high-level members of the Iron Cavalry Regiment.

The soldiers under his command did not know the inside story. They only felt that this newcomer, the fellow nicknamed Young General, Lei Qing, was truly a remarkable hero. Holding beauties in his arms, his aura was extraordinary. For a moment, the cheers grew even louder.

Lei Qing had, in a very short time, established preliminary prestige within the Iron Cavalry Regiment, and the effect was not bad.

Hearing those cheers for Lei Qing, a sense of pride rose spontaneously in Li Baobao’s heart.

Lei Qing carried the two beauties all the way, finally circling around to the front of the other two Early-stage Silver experts. He flipped off his horse, cupped his hands towards Dong Huai’an and Liang Yu, and said, “Two Vice Commanders, who will challenge next?”

Dong Huai’an and Liang Yu looked at each other, with awkward looks on their faces. In terms of cultivation strength, the two of them were on par with Xianyu Bao. If everyone dueled to compete, it would mostly depend on condition and luck.

The two came out to compete, firstly because they were indeed somewhat unconvinced that the Regiment Commander internally appointed his nephew as the commander of the Ninth Regiment; after all, that pretty boy Lei Qing hadn’t shown his true strength yet. Secondly, they also wanted to try their luck.

But now it seemed that Lei Qing might not surpass them by much in strength. However, that drive, fierceness, and bravery were hard to resist.

They had seen the battle just now clearly. If it were them on the field, even if Lei Qing gave them three moves, the outcome wouldn’t be any better than Xianyu Bao’s.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, being beaten until one had no power to fight back and losing face so badly—was that fun? Moreover, Lei Qing was in extremely high spirits today, carrying such prestige, his martial power was even more formidable.

As if they had made up their minds, the two looked at each other, then smiled bitterly and cupped their hands, “Young General, stop joking. We are no match for you. This time, we admit defeat. The position of commander of the Ninth Regiment is yours.”

Lei Qing laughed heartily, “Then thank you, Brother Dong and Brother Liang, for yielding.”

The rest of the middle and high-level members, hearing this, also extended friendly congratulations to Lei Qing. Regardless, while Lei Qing stole the spotlight today, he had indeed demonstrated his strength and style.

This is how it is in the army; strength is king. Whoever has big fists and thick arms will be respected. Undeniably, Lei Qing was a rare and fierce general; the battle just now showed he had both courage and strategy.

“Good, good. Lei Qing, you won the duel. According to the agreement in the previous meeting, you are now the commander of the Ninth Regiment.” Mad Blade Xiahou Huan also walked forward with tiger-like steps, smiling and congratulating, “As for the nature of the Ninth Regiment, I still need to discuss this with Mr. Gongyang and Vice Commander Qin. Come to my study tonight, and I’ll talk to you in detail.”

“Thank you, Regiment Commander Xiahou.” Lei Qing gave a standard military salute, serious and earnest. He naturally knew military affairs; in the army, especially in front of everyone, calling someone uncle or using nepotism terms was the biggest taboo.

“Good, good. In that case, Yuchi Kou, you take Lei Qing around our headquarters first to familiarize him with the various departments.” Xiahou Huan nodded with satisfaction, gave an instruction, and then left directly.

Yuchi Kou naturally agreed. He turned around and smiled at Lei Qing, “Brother Lei, your skills are truly solid. Impressive. Let’s have a good spar later.”

“Big Brother Yuchi.” Lei Qing also climbed up the pole; since he called him brother, Lei Qing immediately called him Big Brother affectionately. Then he put on a bitter face, cupped his hands in modest distress, and said, “I’ve heard about it long ago. You are the third expert of the Iron Cavalry Regiment. Your pair of copper hammers are used miraculously, and you have a glorious record of defeating several experts of the same rank. This, hehe, please don’t mock this little brother.”

“Haha, just luck, pure luck.” When talking about the dual hammers, which Yuchi Kou was most proud of, he said it was luck, but his smile was so wide his mouth couldn’t close. He became even more affectionate towards Lei Qing, pulling him along to start getting familiar with the Iron Cavalry Regiment headquarters.

The whole day passed just like that wandering around. It wasn’t a waste of time; Lei Qing basically understood the facilities and structure of the Iron Cavalry Regiment. He also became a familiar face; many people had watched the duel between Lei Qing and Xianyu Bao in the morning, so they were exceptionally enthusiastic towards Lei Qing.

At dusk, he returned to Xiahou Manor with Li Baobao and Qianqian. After dinner and a brief wash, a servant came to invite Lei Qing to Xiahou Huan’s study.

……

“Uncle Xiahou, thank you for your care.” After exchanging a few pleasantries with Xiahou Huan, Lei Qing stood up, cupped his hands, and saluted, “Little Nine has just arrived, being nominated as the commander of the Ninth Regiment, I’m afraid Uncle Xiahou will have to bear a lot of pressure.”

“Nephew, there is no need for such courtesy.” Xiahou Huan laughed heartily, “I am a life-and-death friend with your father; his child is like my own. Moreover, your parents were not by your side since you were young, and as your uncle, I haven’t taken much care of you, so I should look after you. The most important thing is that you have the ability yourself; you can hold your ground and make people submit. Watching your duel with that little leopard this morning was truly satisfying and thrilling. This time, you have really earned great face for me.”

“Since Uncle Xiahou trusts and supports nephew so much, Little Nine naturally cannot make you lose face.” Lei Qing said solemnly.

“Good, keep that drive. Sooner or later, you will truly become famous across the Pan-Continent, earning face for your father and the Lei Family.” Xiahou Huan laughed heartily, feeling gratified, “When you achieve success and fame, and your cultivation shakes the heavens, leading thousands of troops back to Tianlan, let’s see who dares to look down on you? Not to mention Yu Tianji, even the Emperor of Tianlan will treat you with courtesy, and might even find a princess to marry you to win you over. Haha.” Speaking of his pride, Xiahou Huan laughed happily.

“Then I will accept Uncle Xiahou’s auspicious words. May I ask why Uncle called Little Nine here, is there anything else you need to instruct?” Lei Qing looked unperturbed by favor or disgrace.

“Calling you here is naturally about the Ninth Regiment.” When talking about serious matters, Xiahou Huan’s expression became serious, “This afternoon, I discussed with Qin Wei and the strategist; merging the troops and resources you painstakingly accumulated into the Iron Cavalry Regiment is not appropriate. Those things were obtained by you risking your life and offending many people. We are elders and predecessors, how can we take advantage of you?”

“Uncle Xiahou, Little Nine did not mean that. Coming here to join Uncle, being accepted and heavily used by Uncle, I am already satisfied…”

“There is no need to say more; I know your good intentions. This matter has already been decided.” Xiahou Huan interrupted, “Mr. Gongyang proposed that you go ahead and form the Ninth Regiment, but the Ninth Regiment will be designated as an Independent Regiment. You, Lei Qing, will serve as the commander. As for the weapons, armor, food, and clothing for the troops under your command, you will bear the costs yourself. Anyway, you extorted a large sum from the Li Clan, so you have plenty of money. However, the nature of the Independent Regiment is that it is temporarily attached to the Iron Cavalry Regiment, receiving its protection and deployment. If one day you want to leave, you can take the Independent Regiment with you.”

“What?” Lei Qing stood up abruptly, cupped his hands with a serious face, and said, “Uncle Xiahou, this is absolutely unacceptable.”

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