The Golden Age - Chapter 99: The Overconfident Teenager
Qin Xiao walked directly to the battalion flag without looking back.
To be honest, none of the men in the feed mill will stand a chance if they were to fight against Qin Xiao. So Qin Xiao didn’t care about them at all.
From the very beginning, he was disgusted by those people in the feed mill.
Qin Xiao originally wanted to stay in the feed mill for a while. He even thought about not becoming a cavalry and just live there for a few months before leaving.
But he had no other choice.
He was sent by Yuwen Chengchao and only got a job in the feed mill. It could be seen that Yuwen Chengchao’s position was not as high as he thought.
He even doubted that in this White Tiger Battalion, some people disliked Yuwen Chengchao. Since he was sent here by Yuwen Chengchao, some naturally disliked him as well.
Disrespect the Eldest Son to be favored by the Second Son.
He knew that in order to become a cavalry, there was only one way, and it was the Tiger Stone.Â
He didn’t know how heavy the stone was.
However, his Martial Aunt helped him reach level two and after consuming the red berries in the cave, Qin Xiao felt that his strength increased incredibly.
Although he seemed frail on the outside, the power he had even surprised himself.
In order to leave the feed mill, there was no better way than to use the Tiger Stone.
Although Qin Xiao only stayed in the feed mill for one day, he already knew that if he continued to work in the feed mill, there was no way he could get a chance to ride horses and shoot arrows.
The reason he agreed to be sent here by Yuwen Chengchao in the first place was because he thought this place was safer and he could practice his riding and shooting skills.
There was no such opportunity in the Manor of the Governor, and he knew that in Xiling, it was very crucial to learn those skills.
The workers in the feed mill just cut hay all day, of course they wouldn’t get such opportunities.
The battalion flag of the White Tiger Battalion looked like a spear pierced into the sky. The flag danced under the wind and the tiger on it looked like it was about to leap out any second.
Under the battalion flag stood two guards each holding a spear.
For any army, the flag was extremely important. This battalion flag was guarded day and night.
Before Qin Xiao even got close, he could already see the Tiger Stone sitting under the battalion flag.
When he passed by during the day, he didn’t pay attention and did not notice this giant stone. But now, he could see that under the torches, this stone gave a faint black glow and was very smooth.
The Tiger Stone was not too big; Qin Xiao’s arms were long enough to wrap around it
Voices came behind him. Qin Xiao turned around and took a glance and saw Sergeant He along with a few others.
He sneered, knowing that these people had come to see him embarrass himself.
 “What are you doing?” Qin Xiao approached the flag and one of the guards immediately yelled.
Qin Xiao bowed and smiled. He pointed at the Tiger Stone and asked, “Brothers, can anyone come and pick up this stone anytime?”
The two guards looked at each other. One of them asked surprisedly, “What did you say? Pick up the stone?”
“I want to try if I can lift this Tiger Stone,” Qin Xiao said with a smile, “I heard as long as I can pick this up, I can become a cavalry. I’m here to give it a shot.”
The two soldiers studied at Qin Xiao with surprised expressions on their faces. But soon, one of them burst into laughter. “Go away, go away. What are you talking about? Go to sleep and stop bothering us.”
“I heard that anyone can come and try to lift it,” said Qin Xiao.
“That’s correct. Even if you’re not from the White Tiger Battalion, you can still come and try to lift it. Where do you work?” asked one of the guards.
“Feed mill,” replied Qin Xiao.
“Little brother, just go back to your feed mill and work. Do you think you can lift this? Although it’s not big, it’s made of pure obsidian. It’s heavier than anything you can imagine. Just with your little body? I’m afraid you’ll accidentally break your arm,” said the other guard.
At this time, another group of patrol happened to pass by. The patrol leader heard the conversation and also joined, “This kid wants to lift the Tiger Stone? Is the sun rising from the west? This stone has been sitting here for decades and no one ever picked it up.”
The other patrols all laughed.
Qin Xiao bowed again and said seriously, “Let me try!”
Seeing Qin Xiao’s serious manner, everyone stopped laughing.
“Little brother, are you sure?” One of the guards said, “Until now, no one has used this method to become a cavalry. It’s not that bad if you break your hand, but you’ll be humiliated by everyone.”
Qin Xiao nodded, “I know!”
He knew very well that if he couldn’t lift it, it would be just like what the guard said. From now on, everyone in the White Tiger Battalion would look at him as if they were looking at a joke.
At this moment, Sergeant He was standing not too far away with his hands behind his back. Behind him stood several others. Geng Hong and the other worker who fell into the cesspit did not come, instead, they went for the shower. But the feed mill obviously got the news already, or Sergeant He just wanted more people to watch Qin Xiao embarrass himself. At this moment, including Guo Wang, many people were already standing near the stone.
The two guards looked at each other. Seeing that someone wanted to lift the Tiger Stone, the patrol guard was also interested. He even forgot to keep patroling as he said to the guards, “Brothers, the Marquess ordered that anyone can try and lift this rock if they want to and he will not be stopped by anyone. Since he’s brave enough to try, just let him try.”
The guards no longer hesitated and one said to another, “Hit the drums!”
Qin Xiao was taken back, confused on why they needed to hit the drums. The patrol leader obviously saw Qin Xiao’s questions and smiled. “Before lifting the Tiger Stone, they must hit the drums and let everyone know that a brave warrior is here to lift it. It’s also that everyone can witness it.”Â
Qin Xiao didn’t expect that all these had to be done before lifting the rock. The guard had already walked over to a leather drum not too far away and started hitting on it.Â
Dongdongdongdong.Â
The sound spread thought-out the whole battalion.
“Now you can try and lift it.” The other guard pointed at the stone and took a step back.
Qin Xiao rolled up his sleeves and took two steps forward. The Tiger Stone was pitch black and very smooth. It was a bit hard for him to find a place to grab on. Under the torchlight, it even showed a dim black glow.
In fact, Qin Xiao himself wasn’t so sure if he could do it. But he didn’t show it on his face. His expression was still calm and without the slightest nervousness.
Under everyone’s eyes, Qin Xiao bent down, wrapped his hands towards the bottom of the Tiger Stone, and yelled as he tried to lift it. Sergeant He and everyone else held their breath and opened their eyes wide as they watched.
But the Tiger Stone did not move at all.
Qin Xiao stood up, sighed, and shook his head. Upon seeing this, everyone else immediately started laughing.
“How overconfident,” Sergeant He was the first to insult. “If the Tiger Stone was this easy to lift, then all my feed mill workers would be cavalries by now.”
Another person beside him laughed as he said, “If that stone can be lifted by weakness, I think he has a shot.”
Everyone else burst into laughter again.
Qin Xiao looked around. Other than Guo Wang who was still looking at him with hope, everyone else was mocking him.
However, all he did was test out how heavy the rock was and where the best position to hold it was. He didn’t expect everyone to burst into laughter and be glad for his failure after the first try. Qin Xiao shook his head.Â
After the drums sounded, many soldiers were awakened from their dreams. Many people had already gathered around.
Qin Xiao frowned.Â
He thought that he could just lift this a few times quietly, he wouldn’t mind if there were a few people watching. But he never expected so many people to gather so quickly.
He didn’t like to be special and show-off in front of others.
But now, he realized that he had no other choice and he must lift this stone tonight.
He knew that only more and more people would gather around. So without any more hesitation, he bent down again, grabbed onto the spot he tried last time, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, calmed his heart, and forced his internal strength from his Dantian into his arms.
“Get up!”
Qin Xiao roared.
Everyone was horrified as the Tiger Stone, which had never been lifted before, slowly got off the ground. When Qin Xiao was standing upright with the stone in his arms, everyone cheered in excitement.
Sergeant He originally had a sneer on his face, but at this moment, after seeing Qin Xiao lifting the stone, his mouth opened wide and he stood there dumbfoundedly.
After lifting it up, Qin Xiao immediately placed it back down. Then he picked it up again.
He remembered that Sergeant He told him that one must lift this thirty times in order to be an official cavalry.
Since he started already, he would not give up easily.
Thirty was no small number. But if he tried hard enough, he believed that he could do it.Â
After Qin Xiao lifted the stone ten times, one of the guards finally realized what was going on as he shouted to the other guard, “Go…go… go get the commander!”
The other guard also realized what he was witnessing and immediately turned around to get the commander. But only after a few steps, he saw a middle-aged man wearing black armor standing not too far away. He was just about to speak, but the man in the black armor raised a hand and stopped him. His leopard-like eyes were looking at Qin Xiao.
Edited by: EyljeeÂ