Liubai Camp: Remnants of the army attack northward

Chapter 2 Crossing the Huai River

By the time the boat docked, it was already daylight.

The water was muddy and yellow, flowing rapidly with a rushing sound. Shen Bai was helped ashore, his feet sinking into the mud, which felt as soft as cotton. He couldn't stand steadily, and the shaft of the arrow in his left chest throbbed with each heartbeat, each throb feeling like someone was hammering his ribs.

But it doesn't hurt anymore.

He looked down at his hands.

My hands are still black.

The iron-shield ship was still rocking in the water, bobbing up and down like a leaf.

"Go in."

It was Zhou Lie's voice.

Shen Bai didn't move. He stared at the ship.

He will come.

"I know," Zhou Lie said. "Let's go inside."

Shen Bai was helped into the camp. His feet sank into the mud with a squelching sound. The camp was situated in the middle of the mud, surrounded by a wooden fence reinforced with barbed wire and iron teeth. Two soldiers stood at the gate, long swords gleaming coldly in the morning sun. A flag fluttered at the entrance. White background, black characters: "Liu Bai."

The tent was at the very back of the camp. The curtain was lifted, and Shen Bai was helped inside and lay down.

The arrow shaft in his left breast throbbed with each heartbeat. With each throb, the shaft glowed. A pale silver light, as if something was burning in the wound.

He closed his eyes.

---

When I woke up again, it was already dark.

The tent was dark, with only a sliver of light coming in from the doorway. That light came from the camp's torches, their flames flickering on the tent fabric.

Shen Bai propped himself up and sat up. The arrow shaft in his left chest swayed with the movement, and the pain made his vision go black.

But the first thing he did was look down at his hands.

My hands were still black. My knuckles were smoking. Pale silver light peeked out from between my fingers.

He threw off the blanket, stood up, and walked out of the tent.

No one stopped him. There were no soldiers at the gate. He walked to the center of the camp and saw firelight shining through Zhou Lie's tent flap. He went over to him.

"Come in."

Zhou Lie's voice came from inside the tent.

Shen Bai lifted the curtain.

The tent was filled with smoke. A small fire burned on the ground, with a pot on top, bubbling away. The smell of herbs was pungent and bitter.

Zhou Lie sat on the ground, a map spread out in front of him, with a winding line. That was the Huai River.

Zhou Lie looked up at him. The scar appeared particularly deep in the firelight.

"hand."

Shen Bai didn't move.

"I'll let you see my hands."

Shen Bai stretched out his hand. The still-smoking hand was clearly visible in the firelight. His knuckles were black and smoking. A pale silver light peeked out from between his fingers.

Zhou Lie stared at that hand for a long time.

"How many years has it been?"

Shen Bai looked at him.

"What?"

"How many years has this thing been around?"

Shen Bai shook his head. He didn't know what Zhou Lie was asking. He didn't even know what Zhou Lie was saying.

"...I don't know what you're asking."

Zhou Lie stood up. The pot on the ground was still bubbling, and a bitter smell was rising from it.

Zhou Lie walked to the tent entrance, his back to Shen Bai.

"It saved your life when you were shot by an arrow."

Shen Bai remained silent.

"It's not what you wanted to put there."

Shen Bai remained silent.

"It's something inside your body."

Zhou Lie turned around and looked at Shen Bai.

"Your dad has this."

Shen Bai looked at him.

"Your brother has one too."

Zhou Lie's voice was very low, like a stone grinding on sand.

"Your father took thirty years. Your brother took fifteen years."

Zhou Lie looked at Shen Bai's hand.

"When your father died, it had already become one with him. The same was true when your brother died."

Shen Bai remained silent.

"But you—"

Zhou Lie pointed at Shen Bai's hand.

"This is your first time using it today. It doesn't recognize you yet."

Zhou Lie walked up to Shen Bai and stared into his eyes.

"Do you know what this means?"

Shen Bai shook his head.

"This means it will backfire."

Zhou Lie pointed at Shen Bai's hand.

"Every time you use it, it will eat a little of you. If you use it too much, and it eats too much, it will consume you completely."

Zhou Lie's voice was very low.

"Your father was completely devoured by it. So was your brother."

Shen Bai looked down at his hands.

That's not his hand. That's that thing's hand.

It recognizes its father. It recognizes its brother. But it doesn't recognize him.

Because he came from another time.

---

Shen Bai cursed inwardly.

I've transmigrated, and this body even comes with a man-eating creature?

He looked up at Zhou Lie.

"Why me?"

Zhou Lie looked at him.

"Why am I the one who can use this?"

Zhou Lie remained silent.

"My dad has one, my brother has one, why do I have one too?"

Zhou Lie looked at him. That look in his eyes—it wasn't doubt, it was confirmation.

"Your father said it's because you stopped."

Shen Bai looked at him.

"Your dad said that every time you stop, it's the thing that's moving."

Zhou Lie looked into Shen Bai's eyes.

"Your father said he was looking for someone who could stop. He searched for a long time. For decades."

Zhou Lie pointed at Shen Bai's hand.

"Then it found you."

Shen Bai looked down at his hands.

He didn't know why he stopped. Why the light exploded. Why this body made the decision for him.

Now he knows.

It wasn't this body that made the decision for him.

It's that thing.

That man-eating thing.

It found him.

---

"Hold."

Shen Bai cursed inwardly.

We found him, fine, but we still want to eat him.

What kind of weird setting is this?

---

It was quiet inside the tent. The fire crackled and popped.

Shen Bai raised his head and looked at Zhou Lie.

Will it eat me?

Zhou Lie remained silent.

"Like my dad?"

Zhou Lie remained silent.

"Like my brother?"

Zhou Lie looked at him.

"Your father took thirty years. Your brother took fifteen years."

Zhou Lie's voice was very low.

"You might not be able to use it for that long."

Shen Bai remained silent.

"You don't recognize it, and it doesn't recognize you. It's inside your body, like a red-hot iron. Every time you use it, it sears you. Too many sears—"

Zhou Lie pointed at Shen Bai's hand.

"You'll turn into a lump of charcoal."

Shen Bai looked down at his hands.

My hands are black. My knuckles are smoking.

He survived. He will live on. He will live on for them.

But he knew.

If he wants to live, he has to race against time with that thing.

---

The tent curtain was lifted.

It is an iron shield.

When Iron Shield walked in, his left arm was already in a sling around his neck. The sling was white, but now it was red, almost black. The bleeding had stopped, but he had lost weight; his cheekbones were prominent, and his eyes were sunken.

Shen Bai looked at him.

Iron Shield sat down next to Shen Bai. He didn't say anything.

The two men sat in the tent, listening to the sounds outside. Someone was running, their footsteps crunching in the mud. Someone was shouting, the voices distant, the words indistinct. There was the clanging of knives. The camp was in complete disarray.

"Your arm—" Shen Bai asked.

"It's alright," Iron Shield said.

Two people sat inside the tent. Smoke billowed out from the gaps in the curtain.

"That night," Iron Shield suddenly spoke, "why did you stop?"

Shen Bai looked at him.

Iron Shield didn't speak. He just looked into Shen Bai's eyes, a gaze that seemed particularly somber in the firelight.

"Your brother asked me to take care of you before he passed away."

He said, "If you ever stop, I'll drag you away."

Iron Shield looked into Shen Bai's eyes.

"But I didn't drag you away."

Iron Shield stood up and walked to the tent entrance.

"I can't pull it."

Iron Shield turned around and looked at Shen Bai.

"You stopped, you stopped on your own. I didn't pull you."

Iron Shield lifted the curtain and left.

The curtain was closed.

---

Shen Bai was left alone in the tent again.

He looked down at his hands.

My hands are black. My knuckles are smoking.

That thing was inside his body. It had been searching for decades, and finally found someone who could stop it.

It found him.

Then it wanted to eat him.

But it also gives him strength.

He clenched his fist. His palm was steaming, burning his hand until it went numb.

He has to live on for them.

---

It suddenly got very noisy outside.

The footsteps were hurried, making a squelching sound as they stepped into the mud. Someone was shouting, their voice shrill. "Assemble! Assemble!" The sound of clashing knives rang out.

Shen Bai came out of the tent.

The center of the camp was already filled with people. Their clothes were tattered, their faces were covered in mud, and their eyes shone in the firelight.

Zhou Lie stood at the front of the crowd, a knife in his hand. The scar looked particularly deep in the torchlight.

"Everyone, gather!"

Someone is shouting.

Shen Bai stood at the edge of the crowd, looking at them. There were fewer than three hundred people in total. Their faces were covered in mud, as if they had been dug out of the mud. But their eyes shone brightly, like a pack of wolves.

Zhou Lie looked at them.

"At the foot of Mount Song, there are three thousand Northern Barbarians."

No one in the crowd spoke.

"Arrived this afternoon."

Still no one speaks.

"Three thousand people, we have three hundred."

Someone started to move. Not speaking—but gripping a knife. The hilt was clenched tightly in their hand, their knuckles white. No one asked whether to fight. No one asked what to do.

Zhou Lie looked at them.

"We fought once in the reed marshes. We won."

No one speaks.

"At the foot of Mount Song, let's fight one more time."

Zhou Lie raised his hand and pointed southeast. There were mountains over there, their dark outlines on the horizon like a sleeping giant beast.

"We'll depart this afternoon and arrive at the foot of Mount Song tomorrow morning."

He paused.

"If the Northern Barbarians catch up—"

Zhou Lie's voice was very low.

"We'll bury them there."

---

Shen Bai stood at the edge of the crowd, looking at those people.

He looked down at his hands.

That thing was inside his body. Like a piece of red-hot iron.

It wanted to eat him.

But it also gives him strength.

---

Are you going or not?

Zhou Lie walked up to Shen Bai and looked at him.

"You have that thing inside you. The Northern Barbarians want it. If you go, they'll target you. If you stay here, they'll find you too."

Zhou Lie looked into Shen Bai's eyes and waited.

Shen Bai remained silent.

He looked down at his hands.

That thing is inside his body.

He couldn't tell whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

All he knew was—

He has to live on for them.

"I'll go."

Shen Bai said.

Zhou Lie looked at him.

"Since it came to me, I'll use it."

Shen Bai raised his head and looked into Zhou Lie's eyes.

"Use it until it consumes me completely."

---

(End of Chapter 2)