He Yan had thought that after Ma Damei and others, sent by Xiao Jue, competed with her in horse riding and archery, they would recognize her exceptional skills and make some gesture of acknowledgment. However, after more than ten days passed, everything remained ordinary. Apart from occasional recruits coming to challenge her, nothing happened. They didn’t even give her an extra portion of military rations.

Perhaps… it was just a coincidence? He Yan thought that maybe the instructors were simply bored at Liangzhou Guard and wanted to test her skills.

She temporarily put this matter out of her mind.

After several rainfall episodes, the summer heat seemed to diminish somewhat. During morning runs, when the sun wasn’t visible, there would occasionally be cool winds. Soon, the summer at Liangzhou Guard would be over.

It was precisely because the weather was gradually becoming cooler that the new recruits were allowed to go into the mountains in recent days.

White Moon Mountain was enormous, and crossing over the peak would take at least a day and night. Therefore, recruits were strictly forbidden from crossing the mountain and could only go up to the summit. Every day, groups of five would patrol the mountain.

Hong Shan couldn’t understand, “What’s the point of five people patrolling? If there’s any real danger, would five people be enough?”

He Yan thought to herself, of course not enough, because patrolling wasn’t the real purpose.

The new recruits stationed at Liangzhou Guard had been training here for an entire summer, and before long, it would be time for the “Flag Competition.”

The Flag Competition involved placing more than ten flags at the mountain summit. The best-performing recruits would be selected and divided into teams to compete for the flags. Fighting between teams was permitted during the competition. The team that brought down the most flags would be declared the winner. These winners would become the most promising recruits, with a high possibility of entering the Vanguard Camp.

He Yan’s current goal was no longer today’s Vanguard Camp, but rather the Nine Flags Camp.

Having the recruits go up the mountain daily was actually to familiarize them with White Moon Mountain’s terrain and help them remember locations, so they wouldn’t be lost during the Flag Competition. The recruits didn’t know this, but He Yan, having served in the military before, understood.

During her last Flag Competition in Mo County, which connected to the desert, the wind would blow away landmarks, and dunes would shift. Their competition had been extremely dangerous, and if not for a senior soldier who found a small river, perhaps no one would have made it out of that desert.

The Flag Competition tested not only individual skills but also team cooperation. Excellence in just one area wasn’t enough. It challenged everyone significantly. Although the Flag Competition was scheduled for sometime later, the competition had, in a sense, already begun. Smart individuals would remember the paths during a patrol, while those without awareness would treat it as casual wandering, gaining no advantage in future competition.

“Who cares about that? Brother He Yan, it’s your turn to go up the mountain today. Can you hunt some rabbits with a bow and arrow? We can secretly roast them when you return. I haven’t tasted meat in half a month,” Xiao Mai licked his lips.

“I won’t take a bow,” He Yan smiled. “It’s too heavy. I’ll take a knife.” More importantly, bows weren’t suitable for close combat. If they encountered any real problems, they wouldn’t be very useful. Besides, someone in the team would always carry a bow, and she could borrow it if needed.

Seeing Xiao Mai’s disappointed expression, she consoled him, “Don’t worry, in a few days, we can go up the mountain together. Then we can hunt as many rabbits as we want.”

Xiao Mai seemed half-convinced.

He Yan couldn’t tell him that during the Flag Competition, everyone would be on the mountain without the instructors, possibly staying overnight, and they could eat whatever they wanted.

She tightened her belt firmly, and heard Hong Shan say, “Come back early then, we’ll celebrate the festival together tonight.”

“What festival?” He Yan was puzzled.

Xiao Mai said, “The Qixi Festival!”

He Yan: “…”

She had almost forgotten that today was the seventh day of the seventh month, the Women’s Festival. But it seemed amusing that a group of men would celebrate the Qixi Festival. He Yan smiled, “Shouldn’t that be celebrated with a girl you like? Do you have any girls you like?”

Hong Shan immediately replied, “Don’t look down on us. Many girls like your Brother Shan. If I wanted to celebrate Qixi, they’d be happy to join.”

“I… I don’t have anyone,” Xiao Mai quickly spoke up, “but my brother does! My brother likes Sister Xiao Lan from Old Sun’s noodle shop in the east of town!”

Shi Tou: “…”

He Yan looked at Shi Tou, whose ears had turned red to the roots. Xiao Mai asked, “Brother He Yan, do you have a girl you like? What kind of girl do you like?”

He Yan casually made up an answer: “Beautiful, intelligent, skilled in martial arts, wealthy, and also gentle and caring, lively and interesting. It would be even better if she had some artistic talents like music, chess, calligraphy, or painting, and knowing how to cook would be perfect.”

After He Yan left, Xiao Mai was still pondering her words, mumbling, “Brother He Yan’s requirements for a sweetheart are high…”

“Don’t listen to his nonsense,” Hong Shan tapped his head, “He’s describing a princess. Xiao Mai, don’t learn from him!”

Xiao Mai nodded solemnly.

…

He Yan first went to the training ground’s weapon rack to get a Mandarin Duck Blade. Since she had defeated Huang Xiong’s Golden Back Great Sword with the Mandarin Duck Blade, people had been practicing with it for some time. However, they weren’t as agile with it as He Yan, and after a few attempts, they found it unsuitable and gave up. Therefore, in the end, He Yan was practically the only one using the Mandarin Duck Blade at the training ground.

Going up the mountain today, this blade was light and handy. If she wanted to make a fire and grill some fish later, the blade would also be good for cleaning fish.

After getting the blade, she walked to the horse path where the other four people were already prepared.

He Yan didn’t know any of these four; they weren’t from Instructor Liang’s group. Seeing He Yan, one of them smiled and pointed behind him, “Go pick a horse quickly, then we can leave.”

He Yan nodded, went to the stable to choose a horse, and the five of them headed up White Moon Mountain together.

The mountain was densely forested, blocking sunlight and shade, making it much cooler and more comfortable than at the foot of the mountain. Wild rabbits occasionally hopped past on both sides, and someone asked, “Should we hunt some rabbits?”

“Sure, sure,” the recruit who had greeted He Yan readily agreed, “Who brought a bow?”

Everyone looked at each other.

Probably because the bow was too heavy, and they had to stay on the mountain for half a day or more, no one wanted to carry it, so no one had brought one.

“Well, no one brought one,” a recruit with drooping eyes shrugged, his tone unfriendly but his gaze fixed on He Yan, “Guess we can only watch them run by.”

Everyone knew He Yan’s archery was superb and probably assumed she would bring a bow.

He Yan calmly returned his gaze, maintaining a composed expression.

Asking Flying Hong General to hunt rabbits for you, did you bring your brain? Your face is thick, she thought.