Chapter 78 Remembrance: Neighbours
Finally, Situ"s wish came through, and he got to take Feng Luodi out every day for the next few days. It was all in the name of teaching Feng Luodi archery, but he could not help but baby over her every time she fell off the horse or chafed her fingers from her bad archery skills. His excuse to himself, and to the rest of the Covert Guard that followed them in the shadows, was that her hands are too delicate for such work and that their only purpose was to play the zither.
Of course, his actions incited a wave of rage amongst the Covert Guards. Just to remember how stern he was with us during our training sends a chill down my spine! Of course, he was much stricter with himself.
Covert Guard Quattor buried his head into Zero"s chest and wailed. “I wanna be a girl too!” Zero rolled his eyes at the big baby in his arms.
Two peeled Quattor off Zero"s chest and smacked his head. “The General wouldn"t even so much as look at you even if you were a girl. Forget about it!”
Zero"s eyes widened, unable to comprehend what he just heard. “Wait a minute! Two, are you saying that he…he likes the General THAT way?”
Two nodded sadly, and wiped away his imaginary tears.
Zero turned to Quattor and looked at him pitifully. “It must be really hard on you to have to guard Miss Feng every day then. Why didn"t you tell us about it earlier!”
“Wait…what?” Quattor shook himself out of his act and finally realised what had happened. He ground his teeth together and lunged towards Two. “I am going to kill you!”
Zero quickly held him back. “Two just wants you to realise the impossibility of your feelings! Don"t blame it on him.”
“Get out of my way, Zero! Don"t be misled by his words!” Quattor struggled free of Zero"s grip.
In the distance, Situ"s eye twitched as he applied medicine to Feng Luodi"s chafed hands. Seems like those kids need a reminder…
“No need for that anymore, Situ. They"ll crack open again anyway.” Feng Luodi pushed his hands away.
Situ ignored her words, and carefully dressed her wound. He took the bow and arrow from Feng Luodi"s uninjured hand and threw it aside. “No more archery for now. Just tell me what you want to eat and I"ll hunt it down.”
He"d meant to sound chivalrous, but Feng Luodi stared at him with her doe eyes. “Am I too stupid? I can"t shoot an arrow properly even after three days.”
Situ swallowed. Of course you can"t shoot properly! There"s no strength in your arms, nor grip in your hands, nor aim in your eyes. He rephrased his thoughts carefully. “It"s my mistake. The bow is too heavy for you to aim and shoot properly. We"ll practice again when we get you a lighter bow. Let"s just learn to ride for now.”
“Alright.” Feng Luodi was easily convinced, and nodded obediently.
Situ patted her head and whistled loudly. Whirlwind quickly trotted over from the distant, a reddish-brown mare following behind him. Feng Luodi pursed her lips. Why does he always pat my head? I"m not that short! She trudged to the mare, and looked her in the eyes.
The mare"s eyes were huge and docile, snorting lightly as she pawed the ground gently. Feng Luodi shook her head as she recalled the mare"s name. I can"t believe that man actually named a horse ‘Rose".
Just as she was about to mount Rose, Situ"s hoa.r.s.e shout rang through the air.
“Who"s there?”
Two stepped out of nowhere, dragging a man by his collar. Compared to the Xuan, the man was rougher looking, with deep-set eyes and a sharp nose: defining features of the Huns. Two threw the man to the floor. “Who sent you?”
“The…the First Prince.” The man stammered, avoiding Situ"s eyes.
“Which First Prince?” Two asked again, his voice cold as steel.
“The First Prince of the Huns.” The man admitted himself.
“Your prince wishes to invite me to his residence?” Situ looked at the man expressionlessly.
“We wouldn"t dare, General Situ.” The man smiled awkwardly. “The First Prince had heard of your return to the North, and sent me to…check to see if you"ll need help with anything.”
The corners of Situ"s mouth curled upwards into a smile. “I see. Pa.s.s on the message to your prince and ask him to keep things down. I have no time to spare for him.”
“Of course, of course. I will pa.s.s on the message.” The man glanced at Situ. Situ turned away, and the man quickly leapt to his feet and ran off into the distance. He turned back halfway and shouted at them. “I will take my leave now!!!”
“Seems like all of the subordinates of the First Prince of the Huns are all of this nature. I can almost remember the same few guys from three years ago.” Two joked.
Situ waved him away and motioned for Feng Luodi to mount her horse. But before Feng Luodi could attempt again, Quattor appeared with another man in his arms. He threw the man to the floor, sending a cloud of dust into the air.
“There were three of them. This is their leader.”
Feng Luodi looked at Quattor carefully. Why does he seem so familiar?
“Gr…greetings, General Situ.” The spy stammered.
Zero appeared out of nowhere, prodding the spy with a finger. “I remember you, you"re a follower of the King of Sushen, aren"t you? Sushen has been peaceful lately – why are you following my General?”
That"s the third man that appeared out of nowhere! Feng Luodi counted off her fingers. Are they the people protecting Situ from the shadows？
The spy forced out a smile. “You…you have a good memory, sir. I am but a lowly servant.”
“Hey, now. Are you lying to us?” Quattor eyed the man, a devilish glint in his eyes.
The spy shuddered, and knew what was to befall him if he did not confess. He quickly gave up his secrets. “The King is worried by the return of you, General Situ. He sent me to find out if you intend to stir up the situation in the North again.”
“That"s all?” Quattor glanced at Situ, and turned to ask the spy again.
“There"s something else…” The spy hesitated. “There"ve been rumours amongst the kingdoms in the North of an invincible weapon that General Situ has been trying to find. We"re worried that the kingdom of Sushen will be in danger if General Situ manages to find the invincible weapon.”
“Who told you that we"re looking for such a weapon?” Quattor frowned.
“Uhm…it"s just from a bunch of rumours going around.” The spy was confused as well. “We heard that General Zhang Xin had been missing for a few days already; we"d a.s.sumed that he"d left to look for the weapon.”
Quattor broke out into a devilish grin and dragged the man away, Zero following behind him. Feng Luodi took a look at Situ"s face, which had darkened considerably. She hesitated, but approached him.
“Is something the matter? You look very serious.”
Situ shook his head and smiled. “It"s just someone repeating his old tactics. Nothing to worry about.”
Feng Luodi looked around, trying to find the Covert Guards that had just left. “Were those men members of your Covert Guard? The men that"ll follow you wherever you go?”
Situ nodded. “Is there a problem?”
Feng Luodi frowned, but shook her head. “Not really.” Why do I have the nagging feeling that Situ had set one of his guards on me? But…I"m sure he wouldn"t do something as disrespectful as that, right?
“It"s getting dark now. Let"s head back.” Situ mounted Whirlwind in a swift motion. “Do you want to try riding by yourself on our way back to the camp?”
“That was already agreed upon!” Feng Luodi clambered up into the saddle slowly. With a tug on her reins, Rose broke into a gallop.
Behind her, Whirlwind followed in a flurry of hooves.
Situ headed to the meeting tent as soon as they reached the camp, meaning to interrogate the spies that they had caught.
“General. These spies are sent by the Fourth Prince of the Huns, the King of Fuyu, the King of the Xianbei, and the Heir of the Sushen Kingdom. They"re all here because of the rumour that we are in possession of a legendary weapon.” The official reported.
“Hmph.” Situ observed the men carefully. “Why is it that your masters have sent the few of you this time? They should be aware of the fact that I can probably recognise most of you by now.”
“This is a..misunderstanding, General. Just a small misunderstanding.” One of the spies laughed awkwardly. The others quickly spoke up as well, but Situ waved a hand and they were quickly brought away.
He turned to the official when the tent was empty again. “What have you found out?”
“The rumour was spread by the Huns. But because of the chaotic situation with their royal family at the moment, we"re unable to confirm the exact source of the rumours. General, should we…” The official drew a finger across his neck, miming a decapitation.
Situ shook his head. “That"ll cause a stir, which will definitely reach the Emperor. Not now.”
The official was disappointed. “Then I believe it"s best if your Covert Guards follow up on the issue; we wouldn"t be able to do anything even if we reached the end of the matter.”
Further north in the Kingdom of the Huns, the First Prince looked in delight at his advisor.
“Are you saying that Situ did not deny the fact that he"s searching for a legendary weapon?”
“Yes, your Highness. If we can find the weapon before General Situ, the Wolf King will definitely name you as his successor.”
“HA HA HA!” The prince guffawed. “Seems like it is the will of the heavens for me to rule the kingdom! Now I"ve bested my third brother – he didn"t even believe in the rumour!”
Similar events happened throughout the other countries of the North. The rumours spread like wildfire, and the undercurrents stirred in the North. Everything pointed to the return of the General of the North Army, Situ Muye.
Meanwhile, another man arrived back in Yunzhong Pa.s.s. Cheng s.h.i.+fei, General of the Right of the North Army, was quietly recalled back to the Pa.s.s. Now, all that left was to wait for the return of Zhang Xin, and the news he bore.