Liubai Camp: Remnants of the army attack northward

Chapter 5 Awakening

Shen Bai walked in a sea of ​​white.

It wasn't snow—it was white. Pure white. Like a piece of paper torn to shreds, scattered everywhere. He walked in that white expanse, unable to see the road, unable to see the sky, unable to see his own feet.

Then he heard someone talking.

It's very far. Like there's a layer of water between us.

"...No heartbeat..."

His heart stopped. It was as if someone reached into his chest and pulled his heartbeat to a halt.

"……electric shock……"

One light.

White light. Blinding. Like someone pricking his eyes with needles.

Then came the pain.

It exploded in his chest. Not the pain of an arrow shaft—it was something else entirely. It felt like something was trying to rush out of his body, but it couldn't get out, so it burned inside his bones. Burning his ribs, burning his shoulder blades, burning his fingers. Scalding. Swelling. Like someone was stuffing red-hot wire into his bones.

He was in so much pain he wanted to curse.

But he couldn't call out.

Then he heard a voice.

"Chen Bai!"

Very far. Very urgent. Like being separated by a mountain.

"Chen Bai!"

He opened his eyes.

---

tent.

It was very dark. Only a little light came in through the doorway. The tent smelled strongly of herbs, bitter, like someone scraping his tongue with a wire.

He lay on a tattered straw mat. A damp cloth covered him, clinging to his body and cool to the touch.

He looked down at his hands.

His hands were under the cloth. He didn't move. He dared not move.

"woke up?"

It was the sound of the iron shield.

Iron Shield sat beside him. His left arm was still in a sling, but the cloth had been changed; it was white and there was no blood.

"I……"

Shen Bai wanted to speak, but his voice was hoarse, as if it had been sanded with sandpaper.

"Don't speak."

Iron Shield stood up and walked to the tent entrance.

Thirsty?

Shen Bai nodded.

Iron Shield poured a bowl of water and brought it over. The water was cold, and Shen Bai took it and drank it sip by sip. After drinking it, his throat didn't hurt so much anymore.

"The war..." Shen Bai said, "is it over?"

Iron Shield looked at him.

"It's over."

"Reinforcements..."

"They've arrived."

Shen Bai looked at the iron shield.

"Zhou Lie..."

Iron Shield remained silent.

Iron Shield stood up, walked to the tent entrance, and lifted the curtain.

"You're all better now, come out and see for yourself."

---

Shen Bai came out of the tent.

It was daytime outside. The sun was high in the sky, shining brightly on the ground, making everything white. The ground was all mud, mushy mud, trampled and rotten, as if someone had run over it.

He walked forward. His feet sank into the mud with a squelching sound.

Then he saw Zhou Lie.

Zhou Lie lay on a tattered straw mat outside the tent. A white cloth covered him, but it was soaked in blood, turning a dark red. Zhou Lie's face was exposed, covered in blood, making his features indistinguishable. But Shen Bai recognized that face.

Shen Bai squatted down.

He looked into Zhou Lie's eyes. Those eyes were still closed. Closed tightly. Like he was asleep. Like he was waiting to be woken up.

Shen Bai extended his hand.

He touched Zhou Lie's face. It was cold. Hard. Like touching a stone.

Not a dream.

Zhou Lie is dead. Really dead. It's not a dream.

He lowered his head and gagged.

But he didn't cry.

He stared at Zhou Lie's face. He stared for a long time.

"I know what you're trying to say," Shen Bai said. "In the end, it became—became what? It became charred remains. Just like your father."

Shen Bai stood up.

He looked down at his hands.

His hands were in his sleeves. He rolled up his sleeves.

The hands were black. Not grayish-white—they were black. Like they'd been burned. Like a piece of thoroughly heated iron. Like a piece of burnt-out charcoal.

He gripped it tightly.

Pain. The pain started in my palm and went all the way to my chest, all the way to the arrow shaft. The arrow shaft was still there, still glowing, a pale silver light seeping from the wound.

He clenched his fist. Then he loosened it.

He used it too many times.

He knew what he had become.

---

Iron Shield stood behind him.

"Can you walk?"

Shen Bai did not turn around.

"able."

"Zhou Lie's body needs to be transported back."

Shen Bai turned around and looked at the iron shield.

"good."

Iron Shield looked at him. His gaze—especially heavy in the sunlight—was like a stone sinking in water.

Aren't you going to ask?

"What do you want to ask?"

"Ask how many men we have left. Ask how the reinforcements arrived. Ask how many days you've been asleep."

Shen Bai remained silent.

Aren't you curious?

Shen Bai stared at Zhou Lie's corpse.

"He's dead."

He turned his head and looked at the iron shield.

How many people are left?

Ninety-seven.

Shen Bai nodded.

"How many days have you slept?"

"Three days."

Shen Bai remained silent.

"How did the reinforcements arrive?"

"The letter Zhou Lie sent out when he crossed the river has been found. The main force is in Hefei. They've been marching for two days."

Shen Bai nodded.

Iron Shield looked at him.

"You've changed."

Shen Bai remained silent.

"The you of the past would have asked."

Shen Bai looked at Zhou Lie's face.

"I used to not know what death was."

He knelt down and picked up Zhou Lie's body. Zhou Lie was very light, lighter than he had imagined, like carrying a bundle of firewood.

"Now you know?"

Shen Bai did not answer.

He carried Zhou Lie's body and walked forward. His feet sank into the mud with a squelching sound. The sun shone on his face, on his hands, and on that dark, calloused hand.

He didn't know what he would become.

All he knew was that he had to get Zhou Lie back.

Then he had to keep going.

---

He stopped when he reached the edge of the camp.

He looked at the tents. The tents were tattered, the ground muddy, bloodstains everywhere. He looked at the people walking back and forth—ninety-seven, plus himself, ninety-eight.

He looked at the tents. They were drying in the sun, turning white, like a cluster of dried mushrooms.

He lowered his head. In the mud at his feet, someone had used the tip of a knife to scribble the two characters for "name" in a crooked manner.

Come back home.

I don't know who did it. I don't know if it was done by a dead person or a living person.

Shen Bai glanced at it but didn't say anything.

He turned around and continued carrying Zhou Lie forward.

He didn't know what he would become.

He didn't know if he could still use that thing.

He didn't know if he would also turn into a piece of charred remains.

But he chose this path.

He wasn't living. He was paying the price.

He chose to keep going.

---

(End of Chapter )