The poor boy looked terrified as he stepped out of the office and stammered something that may well have been "The colonel will see you now," except the words weren't exactly in the right order. Nor were they exactly words. But they were accompanied by frantic hand gestures that got the point across quite nicely, so the cadet was spared having to repeat himself and took the first chance to run down the corridor once Guo Jia had nodded briefly in acknowledgement of the message. Apparently, the colonel's effect on his underlings had not changed in the years since Guo Jia had seen him last.

The strategist let himself into the office and greeted his new superior officer with a pleasant smile and nod. "Guo Fengxiao, reporting for duty," he said lightly, "It's been a while. Still terrorizing your men, I see."