novelSusiti Chapter 1 Covering the Rear
Chapter 1 Covering the Rear
Shen Bai lay prone in the reeds, the water waist-deep, with an arrow stuck in his chest.
It hurt. It hurt so much he wanted to have his whole arm ripped off.
He glanced down at the arrow shaft; the fletching was still sticking out. Blood flowed down the shaft, staining the surrounding reeds red.
Fuck. That's a fucking bastard.
He cursed inwardly. Not at the Northern Barbarians, but at this damned time-travel nonsense.
If you're going to time travel, why can't you at least get a decent body? This body is even riddled with arrows.
Someone was searching for him in the distance. They spoke in a rapid-fire Northern Di language, their voices filled with excitement—like the excitement of finding a powerful artifact in a video game.
"Damn it." He cursed again.
---
When the shield wall collapsed, Shen Bai was pushed backward.
He glanced back.
The shield wall still stood. His brother was at the very front, his left arm broken, but he still held the shield aloft, as if it were being held up by his bones. His father was on the left, his sword chipped, cutting down the Northern Di soldiers one by one.
And then that was it.
A hole appeared in the shield wall. His brother's shield was still raised, and then it was gone.
His father glanced back at him. His gaze was completely empty, like he was looking at a dead man.
Then his father also collapsed.
The shield wall collapsed. It collapsed row by row.
Shen Bai was pushed away and disappeared from sight.
---
Shen Bai ran twenty steps, then thirty steps, and then he stopped.
It's not the legs that stop—it's the eyes that stop.
On the edge of the reeds, three people were surrounding one person. That person's left arm was broken and was hanging in the water, making it impossible for him to lift his shield.
Iron Shield. His father's old men. They fought for twenty years.
When Shen Bai was hit by the arrow, it was the iron shield that pushed him away. The blade was originally aimed at the back of Shen Bai's neck, but the iron shield blocked it with his arm, breaking his arm bone and getting stuck in the water.
Now the iron shield can no longer be raised. The Northern Di's sword is slashing down.
"There are rats from the Southern Liang here!" three Northern Di soldiers shouted at the top of their lungs.
If they were made to shout, the other seven people in the reeds would all be exposed. Of the nine people, none would survive.
Shen Bai cursed and rushed over.
---
The first blow landed on the back of his neck, but the knife got stuck in the bone and he couldn't pull it out. Shen Bai loosened the hilt, squatted down, and felt for a rock in the water. The rock was hard, cool, and heavy in his hand.
The stone hit the man's face. Once, twice, and on the third time, the man stopped moving.
The second slash came. Shen Bai raised his hand to block.
The blade sliced across his left arm, the pain causing his vision to go black.
Then--
There was light in his hands.
It wasn't his intention to release it. Suddenly, a burst of heat erupted from where the arrow shaft was in his chest, as if something was burning inside the wound. The light surged out on its own, rushing down his arm, and he couldn't stop it at all.
A pale silver light shot out from his fist, piercing through the neck of the Northern Di soldier. Blood spurted out, but the man's eyes remained open, wide-open, as if he had seen something he couldn't believe.
Shen Bai looked down and saw his hands.
His hands were black, as if they had been burned, and his knuckles were smoking.
He could hear his own heartbeat. It was slow and heavy, as if something was pressing down on it.
He looked up. The iron shield was retreating, one step, two steps, three steps.
Iron Shield said nothing, but his eyes spoke volumes.
That look meant: What the hell are you, you monster?
---
There are still seven people alive in the reeds, plus Shen Bai and Tie Dun, making a total of nine.
Nine people crawled out of the reeds, soaked and covered in blood. It was already dawn, and sunlight filtered through the reeds, shining on the mud, on the corpses, and on Shen Bai's chest.
The arrow shaft is still there, but the wound has been sealed. It doesn't hurt; I don't feel anything at all.
Shen Bai looked down at his hands; they were black, and his knuckles were smoking. He hid his hand behind his back.
No one saw it.
"Damn it!" a soldier nearby suddenly cursed. "What the hell is going on here?"
"That's weird," another muttered. "I've fought in ten years and I've never seen anyone glow."
Shen Bai glanced at them. The group fell silent.
---
"Captain!"
Someone is shouting from ahead.
Shen Bai looked up and saw torches. A dozen or so torches flickered in the morning mist. Someone ran over, holding a knife in his hand, his face covered in mud.
"They're General Zhou's men!"
A dozen or so people ran over from the edge of the woods and surrounded them. The leader was a middle-aged man with a scar on his face, running from his left brow bone to his right chin, like a centipede crawling across half his face.
The man glanced at Shen Bai, then he noticed the arrow shaft protruding from Shen Bai's left chest. The shaft was still glowing.
The man stopped. He stared at the arrow shaft for three breaths, the scar on his face appearing particularly deep in the morning light.
"...Follow me. Wait on the boat by the Huai River."
That was all. Then he turned and left.
---
They walked twenty miles until dark.
Shen Bai walked in the middle of the group, the arrow shaft in his chest bobbing with each step, but it didn't hurt with each bounce. He knew why it didn't hurt anymore; the light had burned through the arrow shaft, sealing the wound.
But he couldn't stand steadily. Every few steps, it felt like someone was poking him in the chest with a stick.
His left hand hung down at his side; that hand was still black, and his knuckles were still hot.
Iron Shield walked beside him, supporting Shen Bai's arm. Iron Shield didn't look at him again.
Shen Bai didn't say anything. He knew what Tie Dun was afraid of.
---
Two boats were waiting on the banks of the Huai River.
The boats were small, one seating four people and the other five. The water was muddy and yellowish, flowing rapidly with a rushing sound. There was a flag on the opposite bank. White background with black lettering, it read "Liu Bai" (流白).
Iron Shield stood on the shore, looking at Shen Bai.
"You go first."
"And you?"
"I'll cover the rear."
Shen Bai looked at him. Tie Dun's left arm was still severed, and blood had soaked through the strips of cloth. But he stood there, like a tree.
"Your arm is broken."
Iron Shield didn't answer. He just stared at Shen Bai with a look that wasn't one of awe, but of fear.
Iron Shield opened his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out. Then he turned and walked to the second ship.
Halfway there, Iron Shield paused. He didn't turn around.
"Your brother asked me to take care of you."
That was all. Then he went to the second ship.
---
Shen Bai leaned against the ship's railing with his eyes closed.
Zhou Lie stood in front of him, looking at him for a long time.
"I've seen that move you made," Zhou Lie said.
Shen Bai looked at him.
Ten years ago.
Then Zhou Lie stopped talking. He just stared at Shen Bai's hand, the hand that was still smoking. Then Zhou Lie turned around, walked to the ship's railing, and stood with his back to Shen Bai.
The Huai River makes a loud, rushing sound.
---
He is not the Shen Bai of the past. But he is the Shen Bai of today.
He didn't know why he stopped. Why the light exploded. Why this body made the decision for him.
All he remembered was looking back at the moment the shield wall collapsed in the reeds.
His brother held up a shield. His father brandished a knife.
Then the wall collapsed.
When he ran, someone stood in his way.
But he couldn't save anyone.
He looked down at his hands. His hands were black, and his knuckles were smoking.
---
(End of Chapter 1)