novelSusiti Chapter 27 The March
Chapter 27 The March
On the third day, someone ran away.
He wasn't a new recruit. He was a veteran, in his early thirties, who had served in the army and fought in battles.
When they caught up with him, the man was kneeling on the ground, his face covered in mud, still shouting, "Why did I run? Why did I run? I just felt like I couldn't walk anymore—"
Shen Bai had someone release him.
He crouched down and looked at the man's face.
Why are you running?
The old soldier fell silent. His eyes darted away, avoiding Shen Bai's gaze.
Someone nearby interjected, "Deserters are dealt with according to military law."
The veteran's body trembled.
Shen Bai ignored the man. He continued to look at the veteran.
Why are you running?
The veteran's voice twitched.
I walked halfway and then looked back.
"What did you see?"
"Nobody's here."
His voice was hoarse.
I glanced back, but no one was following. I felt—I couldn't make it.
Shen Bai remained silent.
He stood up and dismissed the crowd.
---
The march continued.
The third day, the fourth day, and the fifth day.
The road is difficult to walk. It's not the mountain road that's difficult, it's the people's feet that are difficult to walk.
There's only so much dry food and water, and the number of miles we can walk each day is fixed. But people's physical strength is different; some walk more, some walk less, some get blisters on their feet that bleed, while others grit their teeth and keep going.
Nobody cares.
The soldiers went their separate ways, with the platoon leader and the squad leader walking in front, and no one looked back to see if the others were following.
If you fall behind, you fall behind.
Anyway, nobody asked.
On the sixth day, someone else fell behind.
This time it was a young man who couldn't walk anymore and sat down by the roadside, panting. The squad leader passed by, glanced at him, didn't stop, and kept walking.
Old Ghost saw this, picked the man up, hoisted him onto his shoulder, and caught up with the group.
Shen Bai stood there, watching the young man being carried up, his legs dragging on the ground.
He didn't speak.
When they set up camp for the night, he sat by the fire and watched the soldiers.
Each person sat far apart around their own fire. No one spoke; they just sat and sat.
It's like a group of strangers being thrown together.
---
On the seventh day, they passed through a village.
The village is deserted. All the young people are gone; only the elderly and children remain.
Shen Bai told the people to stop and set up a pot to cook.
He walked around by himself and looked around.
Half of the earthen wall in the village had collapsed, while the other half still stood, bearing traces of smoke. An old woman with completely white hair squatted by the well, holding a broken bowl in her hand, the bowl filled with water.
She watched the line pass by, her eyes vacant.
A child stood beside her. He was about ten years old, skin and bones, with big eyes looking at the soldiers.
Shen Bai stopped.
He asked the old woman, "What do you want to eat?"
The old woman didn't answer. Her hands were trembling, and half the water in the bowl had spilled.
Lin Yu walked over from behind and handed her his dry rations. The old woman took them without thanking him.
She stuffed the dry food into the hands of the child next to her.
The child took it, glanced at it, and then handed it back to the old woman.
The old woman didn't say anything. She broke the dry food in half, gave one half to the child, and took the other half for herself.
The child lowered his head and ate. The old woman didn't eat; she stared at the half-eaten piece of dry food in her hand for a long time.
Shen Bai stood there and watched for a long time.
He turned and left.
After walking a few steps, he looked back.
The old woman's eyes were still on him, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't.
---
At night, Shen Bai sat on the edge of the campsite without going into the tent.
The campfires burned in the distance, in clusters, their light not reaching this side.
He stood up and walked toward the fire.
He walked over to a campfire and sat down.
There were three people sitting around the fire, but no one spoke.
How many miles did you walk today?
The three people looked up at him.
"Thirty li."
"How's your foot?"
The three of them exchanged glances.
"good."
Who has blisters on their feet?
No one answered.
Shen Bai reached out and turned one of the people's feet over to examine it. The soles of their feet were scraped raw, and the blood hadn't dried yet.
"What about tomorrow?"
The man withdrew his foot and said nothing.
Shen Bai stood up and walked towards the next fire.
There were three people again, and again no one spoke.
He asked them one by one, how far they had walked, how their feet were, and how much they had eaten.
He asked about more than a dozen fires.
After asking his questions, he returned to his tent and sat down.
Iron Shield stood at the door, watching him.
"What did you see?"
Shen Bai did not answer immediately.
He looked down at his hands.
"They don't know where they are."
"What do you mean?"
"Every day we walk thirty li, but no one knows how far thirty li is. No one knows if they've fallen behind. No one knows where the people in front have gone, or if the people behind have caught up."
Iron Shield remained silent.
"They weren't unable to walk, they just had no hope left."
Shen Bai raised his head.
Give me three days.
---
On the eighth day, Shen Bai reorganized the team.
It's not organized by battalion, but by groups of three.
A group of three people eat together, walk together, and rest together.
No one is allowed to be alone.
If anyone falls behind, the other two will support him as he walks.
Whoever arrives first waits for the others.
"The three of them are together."
He stood at the front of the line, watching them.
"Whoever abandons their teammates first should think about the consequences."
Iron Shield stood to the side, saying nothing.
Old Ghost counted people in the crowd, assigning them to teams of three.
Someone asked, "Where did you learn to wear it this way?"
Shen Bai did not answer.
He turned around and walked forward.
---
On the ninth day, someone fell behind.
He was a young recruit with blisters on the soles of his feet, leaving bloody marks with every step he took.
Two people supported him from behind, one lifting his arm and the other dragging his leg, as they walked forward.
His face flushed red as he tried to break free, but he couldn't.
"Put me down."
"I won't let go."
"I can walk."
"You can't leave now."
The young soldier fell silent. His feet dragged on the ground, blood dripping behind him.
After walking ten miles, the bleeding from the soles of the man's feet had stopped, and a thin scab had formed.
He glanced back.
There were people following behind.
He didn't say anything more, kept his head down, and continued walking.
---
On the thirteenth day, they passed through a town.
There's a market in town. Vendors set up stalls, and customers squat on the ground to pick out what they need.
Shen Bai instructed his men to bypass the town, avoiding both entry and lingering.
As the group passed the edge of the town, he saw several people squatting by the roadside.
He was young, only a teenager, with a blank expression and empty eyes.
They were watching the procession pass by.
After watching for a while, he lowered his head again and continued squatting.
Shen Bai didn't stop.
He continued walking forward.
The group passed by those people, left the town, and went up the mountain road.
Lin Yu followed and walked beside him.
"You saw it?"
"I saw it."
"Those kids—"
"I saw it."
Shen Bai's voice was very flat.
Lin Yu didn't ask any more questions.
The group continued moving forward.
---
Day 23.
They arrived just as dawn broke.
The camp was more dilapidated than I had imagined.
The tent was tattered, the walls were made of mud, and there were hardly any trees around. A gust of wind blew by, raising a cloud of dust.
Iron Shield stood next to Shen Bai, looking at the camp.
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Shen Bai didn't stop.
He walked forward, stopped at the camp entrance, and paused.
His hand was inside his sleeve, and he touched the piece of cloth.
It's that portrait. "All the eroded beings around this person must be silenced."
He pulled his hand back.
Then he went inside.
The people behind them followed, one by one, and entered the camp.
No one spoke.
The wind is still blowing.
(End of Chapter Twenty-Seven)