Simply Trading

Including the Second Ducal Prince, who had appeared in front of Qin Feng"s tent flap almost as soon as he clambered out of bed himself. His back was to the young man, however, and he merely gave Qin Feng a nod in greeting, before he turned back to look towards the st.u.r.dy walls of the camp itself.

"The alarm claxon is ringing. There is only one reason for that. We are being attacked. Or we are expecting one soon," Li Changhai explained, as he peered into the distance, towards the Camp Gate.

Qin Feng realized that it was true. He could hear the clanging peals of the small military bell from the Gate once the Prince had pointed it out. So he simply sighed:

"We had best get ourselves properly dressed and ready for a fight then."

The Second Ducal Prince looked down at Qin Feng"s reminder, and chuckled when he saw that he was still clad in his undergarments. Then he sighed and waved a hand at the tent that he was sleeping in.

"Unfortunately, I thought I was only had to introduce you to my uncle, and didn"t bring any extra weapons and such. I never expected that I would be needing armor for such an excursion. Perhaps we can borrow some simple pieces, you think? From the general stores?"

"You should speak to your maternal uncle about that. Or your grandmother might be able to twist the Logistics General"s arm so that he hands over something suitable for you. I haven"t been trained to use armor in a fight, so I guess I shall have to do without it. Besides, I still have that sword I got from Sergeant Lei Kongwei. That should suit me well enough, if there is any fighting to be done."

Li Changhai frowned at that. And gestured at the ring that was back on Qin Feng"s finger. "I remember that there was an a.s.sortment of weapons that you were showing off last night. Why not use those, rather than that simple army sword?"

"Ah! But I haven"t had a chance to familiarize myself with them yet. And it would be a little dangerous, to use an unfamiliar weapon when you are faced with someone out to kill you. I would probably take something out and use it, if I lose that sword of mine, I suppose. But I would rather rely on that if I have a choice."

He was largely telling the truth, when he said that. Although there were one or two weapons that he had in his ring that he was a little chary of showing off. Like the black-garbed old man"s sabre. That was something that would have caused a ruckus, if there were experts who could recognize it.

Like Lady Xia, for example. But she had merely sniffed, and pa.s.sed it over. So he was rather certain that she wasn"t going to make things difficult for him.

Then he paused, and turned to look over the Second Ducal Prince, still clad in his undergarments. "What about you? Shouldn"t you get back inside and put on something warmer? No point in wasting your zhenqi to keep you from feeling the cold, if you have something else that would do the trick. And you might want to get your hands on some weapons and armor too."

"My uncle said that he would send some over later. Looks like I had better put on my armor first, and wait for his messenger," sighed Li Changhai almost at once, as he took a step back towards his tent.

"I don"t believe that we shall have that sort of luxury, to delay. We don"t know when the enemy will be attacking, do we?"

The Second Ducal Prince sighed again. Qin Feng"s words did make sense. And it was clear from the look on Li Changhai"s face that he knew enough of the army"s rules to know that he didn"t have any time to waste. He would have to get to the sergeants in charge of the spare armor quickly, and get dressed for the fight that was coming!

Which was most likely the reason why his face was stern, as he led the way towards the front of the camp.

"Come on then! I know where the armory is!"

*

When the alarm bell stopped ringing, Qin Feng was just stepping out of another of the army"s large storage tents. He was dressed as he had been, when he arrived at Trials, in a soft grey, cotton robe. And the sword that he had received from Lei Kongwei was tucked into his waistband at his back once more.

He had a feeling that he was going to need it soon.

Movement behind him drew his attention to the Second Ducal Prince, who was emerging from the stores at his back. Li Changhai had changed into something more suitable for battle. In his case, it was a shirt of armor, made up of interlocking scales, along with matching greaves that covered his legs from knee to ankle. But he did not bother with a helmet, the last piece of the set. Instead, he wore his hair in his usual n.o.bleman"s topknot, bound with a bright silver hairpiece.

Qin Feng"s attention, however, was drawn to the weapons that he had chosen. Which was made up of an army-patterned spear in the Prince"s hands, and the long dagger at his belt. Surely he could have afforded something better. Why was he using the standard arms from the army?

"I didn"t bring my personal suit of armor, or my weapons here this time. After all, the Barbarians weren"t supposed to attack until a moon later, remember?" Li Changhai reminded him quiet, reading the question on his face with a wry smile.

"I will just have to make do with the regular weapons that the rest of the soldiers use."

And it was obvious that he was a little uncomfortable about the whole idea of joining in the fight. Clearly, he had not expected something like this to happen, and was not prepared for it. Then again, who was ever truly prepared to face a full-on battle?

Qin Feng was just about to say something along those lines, and had just opened his mouth when there was a a loud outcry echoing through the camp itself. Were they under attack already? Why hadn"t any of the sentries given the alarm, if the Barbarians had already been spotted. He didn"t understand.

Which was why his words turned into a question at once:

"What is going on?"

* * *