Chapter Twenty-Six: Rewards (Part One)

After such an incident, Xu Kang felt that his relationship with his subordinates had grown much closer, especially with those newly promoted squad leaders. The way they looked at him now carried a hint of admiration. This brought him a quiet joy.

“Damn, I never imagined I’d have a moment where my mere presence commands respect—like a tiger’s roar! Clearly, even a witty performer needs an appreciative audience,” he mused internally.

With these thoughts, his gaze towards Zhao Hong and Zhang Cheng softened noticeably. “Zhao Hong, Zhang Cheng, your questions just now were excellent. They helped everyone here learn a little about me. As I said, good questions deserve a reward. Go to my tent and bring out my wooden chest.”

“Yes, sir!” Zhao Hong responded instantly. He and Zhang Cheng entered the tent and carried out the chest.

Inside was not money, but the small round tokens Xu Kang had cut out from his waterskin the previous night—the very tokens he intended to use as currency for purchasing magical bread.

As Zhao Hong and Zhang Cheng hefted the chest out, Xu Kang opened it in front of everyone, smiling slightly.

“Heh, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. This isn’t money, just a little thing I made myself. But it does have an interesting feature.”

He took out a token and handed it to Zhao Hong.

“Zhao Hong, use fire to burn it.”

“Yes, sir!” Though unsure of Xu Kang’s intentions, Zhao Hong obeyed without hesitation.

He grabbed a burning stick and held the token to the flame.

To his astonishment, the token instantly transformed into a dense cloud of white smoke, spreading rapidly. When everyone had recovered from their surprise, Zhao Hong’s hand was empty.

Seeing this, the crowd was awestruck and puzzled, while Zhao Hong’s face lit up with sudden understanding.

“So it was this—this morning’s mysterious mist in the main tent came from this thing! Is it an immortal artifact?”

“Immortal artifact?” At this, the others’ expressions changed yet again, their gazes at Zhao Hong and Xu Kang now tinged with curiosity and suspicion—seven parts intrigue, three parts doubt.

Watching their reactions, Xu Kang guessed what they were thinking. To prevent anyone from accusing him of orchestrating a two-man act, he quickly waved his hand with a smile.

“Haha, it’s not what you think. This is just something I made myself. Rare, perhaps, but calling it an immortal artifact is exaggeration. Treat it simply as proof of a reward!”

He took twenty tokens from the chest and handed ten each to Zhao Hong and Zhang Cheng.

“Zhao Hong, Zhang Cheng, these are the reward tokens I promised. Hold onto them. After everyone’s questions, you can exchange them with me for prizes. I guarantee they’re worthwhile!”

He winked at them, then turned to address the rest.

“Alright, let’s continue. Feel free to ask questions. As always, good questions earn rewards, mistakes don’t earn punishment. Who’s next? Don’t be shy!”

Xu Kang’s words emboldened a burly man, who stood and saluted.

“Since you invite questions, let me ask: Is being a squad leader an official post? If so, can we eat meat every meal? I don’t want porridge anymore—it doesn’t fill me up!”

“Ah?” Xu Kang was momentarily stunned, then burst into hearty laughter.

“Hahaha, you’re a funny one! You think being a squad leader means meat every meal? Ask your garrison chief if he eats meat daily!”

“Uh…” The burly man had clearly never considered this. He turned to the man beside him, who was desperately signaling with his eyes.

“Chief, didn’t you say you have meat at every meal, gnawing bones all the time? Tell the commander!”

“…Tell you what! That was just boasting, alright?” The chief flushed red with embarrassment, wishing he could disappear. But in front of Xu Kang, he had no choice but to stand, kneel, and implore.

“Commander, Niu Sheng doesn’t know the rules. It’s all my fault for poor discipline. Please punish me!”

“Haha, I said good questions earn rewards, mistakes earn no punishment. Get up!” Xu Kang laughed, reaching out to pull the man to his feet.

“Thank you, commander!”

“We’re all brothers-in-arms, no need for formality.”

After helping the man up, Xu Kang clapped him on the shoulder.

“But you should explain to your men that we don’t feast on meat while they eat scraps. Otherwise, we’d be no better than corrupt officials, right? Haha!”

As soon as Xu Kang finished, laughter erupted all around. Zhao Hong, especially, pointed at the chief and jeered.

“Zhao San, I’m still eating watery porridge, and you claim you feast on meat and gnaw bones every meal? You corrupt official!”

With Zhao Hong leading, other chiefs chimed in.

“Haha… Zhao San is a real corrupt official!”

“Commander should punish him thirty times!”

“That’s right, that’s right…”

The tent buzzed with merriment, while Zhao San, at the center, was so flustered he didn’t know where to put his hands.

Luckily, Xu Kang stepped in to rescue him.

“Alright, let’s stop teasing Chief Zhao. Anyway, boasting isn’t a crime in our Han, and besides, once we defeat the Yellow Turbans, eating meat every meal won’t be so far-fetched—it’s hardly a boast!”

He took ten tokens from the chest and handed them to Zhao San and the burly man.

“Here you go, Zhao San, Niu Sheng—your reward. Don’t underestimate it; this can get you a month’s worth of meat. Keep it safe, haha!”

He couldn’t help but laugh again, addressing the crowd as they joined in.

“Everyone, time is short. If you have questions, ask quickly, or you’ll miss your chance and only watch others claim prizes. Don’t regret it later. Now, who’s next?”

Xu Kang’s words sparked a frenzy, with people scrambling to stand up.

“I… I’ll go first. Commander, how old are you? Are you married?”

“And me—I want to know how many wives you have!”

“Commander, do you have children?”

…