Where There's a Will, There's a Way

On the mountain path outside the city, the moonlight was thin and the shadows of the trees swayed.

A group of people appeared along the winding mountain path.

Walking at the very front was a little girl of about eight or nine years old. Her hair was styled in twin buns, and the bamboo basket on her back was wider than her small frame, forcing her to lean forward under its weight.

It was unclear what the heavy basket contained, but the hemp ropes dug deep into her thin shoulders, making her wobble with every step she took.

Her foot slipped on a loose stone, and she pitched forward, crashing hard onto the ground.

The contents of the bamboo basket tumbled out with a clatter.

They scattered all over the place.

Feng Chunya hurriedly rushed over and knelt to help her up, her voice filled with concern. “Sister Ar He, are you hurt? Give me the basket. I'm strong, I can carry it.”

Cui He shook her head, scrambled to her feet, and began gathering the scattered items without even pausing to brush the dust off her clothes.

She stuffed them back into the basket one by one, then hoisted the hemp ropes over her shoulders once more.

“Sister Chunya, I can do it myself.”

Feng Chunya couldn't help but urge her again, “What if you fall again later? Just let me have it.”

Cui He looked up. The moonlight washed over her face, highlighting eyes as clear as a mountain spring.

“If I fall, I'll just get back up,” she said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, her voice devoid of hesitation. “I'm fine.”

She paused, then added, “Sister Chunya, my teacher taught me: where there's a will, there's a way!”

Feng Chunya was merely a butcher's daughter and had never had the chance to learn how to read or write. Such high-sounding words like "where there's a will, there's a way" sounded like a foreign language to her.

“Sister Ar He, I don't understand.” Blushing, she looked at Cui He with a hint of embarrassment. “Can you tell me what those words mean?”

She actually loved listening to people explain books, but no one had the patience to teach a girl who slaughtered pigs.

Even the Divine Lady's words, “A woman's loyalty and courage have never been second to any man's,” were something she had only barely understood after asking around.

Cui He explained patiently, “What I just said means that as long as you work hard at it, there is nothing in this world you cannot achieve.”

“It must be nice to be able to read.”

A trace of envy crept into Feng Chunya's voice.

“The Divine Lady wants to enlighten all living beings, but most mortals can't even read. That simply won't do.” Though Cui He was young, she spoke with clear enunciation. “My teacher said we cannot leave the Divine Lady with the impression that mortals are foolish.”

Her face lit up with excitement as she spoke.

“So, once Yecheng settles down, he will arrange to build schools so that everyone can learn to read and write.”

Feng Chunya was pleasantly surprised. “Really? Even a pig-slaughtering girl like me can learn to read and write?”

“Really.”

“My teacher never lies.” Cui He's eyes were filled with absolute trust in Shen Yu. She said earnestly, “But this isn't something that can be done overnight.”

“Just having something to look forward to is already wonderful...”

Feng Chunya murmured.

Just then, a soldier stepped forward to report.

“Commandant Feng, some in the rear are exhausted. May we pitch camp here and rest for a moment?”

Feng Chunya looked at the exhausted crowd behind her, then nodded to the soldier. “Pass down the order to camp here.”

Before long,

The troop dispersed along the mountain path, sitting down in groups of twos and threes against the tree trunks. They drank water, massaged their legs, rubbed their shoulders, and kept themselves occupied.

Once they had some free time, some couldn't keep their mouths shut.

“What do you think the higher-ups are thinking?” a bearded man grumbled, leaning against a boulder as he tossed his waterskin onto the empty ground beside him. “Letting a pig-slaughtering woman be our Commandant and lead us? If word gets out, I'll be too ashamed to go back to camp.”

A tall, thin man next to him chimed in, “Exactly. How many characters does she even know? How many books on military strategy has she read? Once we're on the battlefield, she probably won't even be able to tell our flags from the enemy's.”

“Not telling flags apart is the least of our worries,” another raspy-voiced man interjected, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “I'm worried that on the battlefield, her womanly softness will kick in, and she won't even be able to swing her blade.”

“I really don't know how a mere pig-slaughtering girl has the nerve to compete with General Shen for the chance to earn merits in Yecheng.”

“I heard that Miss Pei strongly recommended her, and General Shen didn't want to lower himself to argue with a woman.”

Feng Chunya was leading her men to distribute rations, and every single word reached her ears clearly.

She stood frozen in place, her hands clenched into tight fists, yet she had no idea how to refute their words.

Everything they said was true. She indeed lacked the ability to lead troops and fight battles. If not for her innate brute strength and the stroke of luck that brought her the Divine Lady's enlightenment and divine martial arts, she would have spent her entire life at home with her father, slaughtering pigs.

Just as she was about to pretend she hadn't heard and turn away, a small, thin hand grabbed her wrist.

“How dare you! Gossiping about your superior behind her back? Do you still have any respect for military law and discipline?”

The gossiping men jumped in fright.

Spinning around, they saw Commandant Feng—whom they had just been mocking—standing not far away.

Beside her stood a little girl.

Though the girl was small, she exuded an imposing aura. “Men, drag them away and give them twenty strokes of the cane!”

Had Cui He been an ordinary little girl, no one would have listened to her, but she was not.

Not only was she Shen Yu's disciple, but she had also been personally praised by the Divine Lady for her pure heart and clear mind, and she had been taught the divine art of planting sweet potatoes.

Furthermore, the reason the people of Xindu could plant sweet potatoes was entirely because Cui Erlang had carried her on his back, teaching people wherever they went.

To the people, food was heaven.

The people of Xindu might not remember who the Emperor was, but they would certainly remember who had kept them from starving.

“Yes, Little Miss Cui.”

The nearby soldiers cupped their fists and stepped forward, dragging away all the men who had been gossiping about Feng Chunya.

Cui He turned to Feng Chunya. “Sister Chunya, you shouldn't tolerate such insubordination. The more you back down, the less they will respect you.”

“But they weren't entirely wrong...”

Feng Chunya said in shame, “I can't read, and I know nothing of military tactics. How can I be a good Commandant?”

Cui He comforted her, “No one is perfect; everyone has their flaws. If you don't understand military tactics, you can just listen to the Military Advisor's plans in the future.”

“But you must never hand over your military authority to anyone else,” she said solemnly. “Sister Pei went to great lengths to win this opportunity for you to lead troops. She wants you to seize this chance to earn military merits and rise to a higher position.”

“Many women in Xindu City have been inspired by you to practice martial arts and serve the Divine Lady. If they ever get the chance to join the military in the future, you will be their only pillar of support.”

Looking at Cui He, who now behaved like a little adult on the surveillance screen, a thoughtful look flashed in Yun Shu's eyes.

It seemed she could secretly give things a push to help realize Shen Yu's idea of building schools as soon as possible.

Movable type printing was simple enough.

The difficult part was that she didn't know how to make paper.

It looked like she would have to find an opportunity to return to Xindu and use the Mirror of Retrospection Set to search Luo Daoqing's memories.

Perhaps there was something useful inside his head.

Before she knew it, the list of things to do was growing longer and longer, yet she did not feel tired.

It was probably because none of her planning had gone to waste.