Chapter 45: It"s Easier to Talk with Money
[Awaiting Final Editing ETA: 9AM-EST]
“Reporting.”
“Come in.” Zhao Kuo eased his tensed eyebrows, feigning a neutral expression.
The man who entered was his deputy general, the man who handled the a.s.sault.
“General.” The veteran commander bowed with an embarra.s.sed expression.
Zhao Kuo hurriedly stood up and helped the man up. “In the army, you may be my lieutenant, but you are also my elder. There is no need to bow.”
The veteran got up and sighed. “The casualties have been counted. Our losses are nearly seven thousand, and the Qin army should have lost about six thousand or so.”
“General, now that the army"s underside is exposed to the enemy, the situation restless.”
As he spoke, he looked at Zhao Kuo with a sullen expression. “I"m wondering where the King"s reinforcements are by now.”
Zhao Kuo"s face remained unperturbed. “By now, they should have reached the foot of the Taihang Mountains. They should arrive in ten days.”
“Ten days…” The veteran hesitated in thought, sighing, “I"m not sure if the army can hold for ten days.”
“The army still has enough food for ten days. Once the reinforcements arrive, we can turn defeat into victory.”
“I hope so.” The veteran nodded.
But he suddenly seemed to remember something. “Yes, General, as my force was attacking the camp, we encountered a very young general.”
“Young general?” Zhao Kuo felt it strange. Although the entire Zhao army was committed to attacking, the actual width of the wall section targeted was quite small. The melee did not reach it"s maximum of a field battle, but the chaos could still be imagined in such a limited s.p.a.ce. In these circ.u.mstances, it"s impossible for the Qin commanders to take the risk of partic.i.p.ating.
“Yes, this old man saw it atop the city walls. One person held their line, and his bravery was quite commendable. Although I was far away and could not see his face, I heard from the soldiers" shouts that he was a person surnamed Gu.”
“Surnamed Gu?” Zhao Kuo"s face was a bit strange, but a smile soon formed. “When I arrive, I may recognize this person…”
“Indeed, it is quite the rare individual. This is fine as well. This person may be a nameless figure, but if they truly possess this courage, I would hope that General could be conscious of this person.”
“En.” Zhao Kuo nodded his head in understanding.
“Then this subordinate will be out.”
“rustle, rustle.”
From Gu Nan"s tent came the light movement of clothes.
By the small window was the basin, it"s water muddled with red from the b.l.o.o.d.y cloth submerged into it.
The still-b.l.o.o.d.y arrows were neatly placed by the bedside.
The woman carefully untied Gu Nan"s black armor. The heavy iron chest armor was particularly heavy, but the woman still managed to handle it without much exertion, placing it to the side.
Looking down at the thin robes underneath, the woman"s face turned brighter shades of red. Not only has she never undone someone else"s clothes, but it happened to be such a beautiful girl at that.
Especially after washing her face of b.l.o.o.d.y, she was almost afraid to look at her.
The soldiers outside call her ‘General Gu." Is this person a general?
The woman thought as she reached out and gently tugged at the neckline of Gu Nan"s robes.
Can a woman become a general?
She thought momentarily about this girl charging forward on a horse across the battlefield, donned in this black armor and pale robes, wielding a long spear. The woman blinked and agreed that this girl might really be that strong.
Slowly pulling the collar loose, she carefully avoiding the wounds. It revealed the white skin underneath, giving a silky feeling upon contact, just as supple as a young girl"s.
The woman"s gaze fell on those wounds, pouting that such violent beasts would dare leave a wound on such an immaculate work of art.
The clothes continued to be pulled down, revealing the delicate clavicle and the white clothes binding down the girl"s chest.
The woman"s face turned a bit redder.
Putting her hand on Gu Nan"s stomach, she felt the near absence of fat and even firm abdominal muscles. The woman"s attention returned to inspecting the wound at the waist, frowning slightly.
The wound was deep and the armor at the waist was the least. The arrow should have damaged the foundational root.
She took out a small bottle of medicine, lightly sprinkling it above the wound. At the same time, her hands began to emit a milk-white glow, closing the large lesion.
Once all the wounds were treated in a similar fashion, everything was bandaged with a clean white cloth. The woman wiped the heavy sweat from her forehead. She had not rested in the slightest during the two hours of work.
Only after she carefully put Gu Nan"s clothes back to their original position did the woman take a long sigh of relief.
Quietly, taking a final look at this female general, the woman took a white cloth and wiped her hands with it as she walked out of the tent.
Outside the entrance, Meng Wu had already allowed Bai Qi to take his place.
Bai Qi didn"t say anything, simply standing outside the door quietly. Naturally, he understood that the woman leaving the tent signaled the conclusion of the operation.
Bai Qi quickly stepped forward. “Many thanks, good Madam for your hard work. But, I merely hope to inquire on the situation of my disciple.”
“I"m a ‘good Madam" now, eh? Humph.” The woman scoffed, agitated. “This is how you treat people after you kidnap them?”
Bai Qi was a bit stunned to realize that it was only a twenty-year-old woman but smiled reluctantly after regaining composure. “The situation was dire before and we, soldiers, are naturally not gentlemanly. So, I apologize for any poor treatment you"ve received.”
The woman shrugged her shoulders after her irritation cooled down from the apologies given. “The girl inside should be waking up in a couple hours. So, I"ve already treated your person, can I go now?"
There was no immediate response. Bai Qi faintly sighed and said to the woman.
“I am unsure of how to address your honorable self, but I am grateful for saving this one"s disciple. I hope I can trouble you to stay for a few more days.”
Bai Qi then revealed a rueful smile as he said, “As ‘good Madam" would know, this is a military camp, and without other females, it"s very inconvenient to continue treatment.”
“Hmm.” The woman thought about it for a moment. Returning early didn"t really mean much, and there wasn"t a problem to stay a bit longer. Since the girl is still unrecovered, the duty is still somewhat unfinished.
Ah, there"s no helping it. Who"s going to give me a break?
“Since the General has insisted and displayed his sincerity, I can stay for a few more days. However, regarding payment…”
As the woman spoke, her mouth formed a knowing grin.
This girl is quite interesting. it would be good for her to stay with Nan"er a few days.
Bai Qi smiled brightly. “Of course, this old man will not treat you poorly.”