Liubai Camp: Remnants of the army attack northward

Chapter 6 The Return Journey

Shen Bai walked at the very front.

Tie Dun sat on the carriage shaft, his left arm still in a sling, but his eyes remained fixed on the front. Zhou Lie's body lay on the carriage, covered with a white cloth, which was soaked in blood, turning a dark red.

Ninety-eight people walked through the mud. The sun was scorching, shining on the ground and making the mud reflect light like a mirror.

On the third night, Shen Bai suddenly stopped.

His left shoulder jerked violently. The spot where the arrow shaft was inserted felt like someone was poking it with a red-hot wire.

"Chen Bai!"

Iron Shield caught him.

Shen Bai's face was deathly pale. He clutched his chest; the arrow shaft trembled and gleamed, as if something was struggling within the wound.

It wasn't just ordinary pain.

It's that feeling—like something burning in your bones, rushing through your veins, tearing at your heart.

That thing inside his body.

It's moving.

"Everyone... step back."

Shen Bai gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words.

Iron Shield stood up and pushed aside the surrounding soldiers.

"Everyone, disperse! Give Shen Bai some space!"

The soldiers didn't know what had happened, but no one asked; they all silently retreated.

In the firelight, Shen Bai knelt on the ground, clutching his chest. Silver light shone through his fingers, growing brighter and brighter, as if it would tear his body apart.

Then--

"Get out of the way."

A voice came from behind the crowd.

Very flat. No unnecessary words.

A woman stepped out from the crowd.

She walked up to Shen Bai and squatted down.

They didn't introduce themselves. They didn't ask if they could be saved.

She glanced at Shen Bai's chest. She glanced at the still-glowing arrow shaft.

Then she opened the medicine box.

---

She stretched out her hand.

Those were a man's hands. The knuckles were thick, and there were indelible yellow stains under the nails. The veins on the back of the hands bulged out, like earthworms crawling under the skin.

Hands that spend years grinding medicine. Hands that spend years inserting needles.

"hand."

She said. Only one word.

Shen Bai stretched out his hand.

She began to insert the needles.

One stitch. Two stitches. Three stitches.

Every needle hurt. But she was very steady. She didn't stop just because Shen Bai was in pain.

Four stitches. Five stitches. Six stitches. The silver light gradually faded.

Her hands never stopped.

"Don't push yourself next time."

she says.

The voice was flat. It sounded like someone saying the weather was nice today.

"When the backlash occurs, it means your body is already warning you."

Seven stitches. Eight stitches. Nine stitches.

"It wants to eat you, not bite by bite, but day by day."

The silver light gradually subsided.

She put away the needles and looked at Shen Bai's hands.

The hand was still black. It was no longer smoking.

"What's your name?"

Shen Bai asked her.

"Shen Anning."

"Shen?"

She didn't answer.

She simply looked into Shen Bai's eyes. His gaze—calm, yet something was there.

"My father was a military medic."

she says.

"He didn't return from the Northern Expedition last year."

Shen Bai looked at her.

"Your father—"

"Shen Zhonghe."

When she said that name, her voice was still flat. As if she were talking about a complete stranger.

"Your father knows him."

Shen Bai remained silent.

She carefully put the silver needles into her cloth bag one by one.

"My father didn't come back. My mother waited at home. She waited for three months. Then she received a letter."

She closed the medicine box.

"The letter said that your father was beside my father when he died."

She stood up and looked at Shen Bai.

"Your father made my father close his eyes."

Shen Bai remained silent.

"That's why I'm here to help you."

She carried the medicine box on her back.

"It's not because of you. It's because of your father."

Shen Bai stood up and looked at her.

"you--"

"Stop talking."

She interrupted him.

"It's no use saying anything."

She turned around and walked out of the crowd.

She walked a few steps and then stopped.

"My father died in place of your father. Your father owes him a life."

She turned around and looked into Shen Bai's eyes.

"I'm not here to collect a debt. I'm just here to see if you're worth it."

She turned back.

She took a few steps, then stopped.

"Don't force yourself."

She didn't turn around.

"Your dad doesn't like people who force themselves to be strong."

Then she left.

---

The crowd gradually dispersed.

Iron Shield helped Shen Bai sit down.

The night wind was cool. The campfire was burning, casting a flickering light on people's faces.

Shen Bai sat by the fire, looking at his hand. His hand was still black. It was no longer smoking.

Iron Shield sat down beside him. He didn't say a word.

After a long time, Iron Shield spoke.

"Did you see the shield wall fall that day in the reeds?"

Shen Bai looked at him.

"I saw it."

"How much did you see?"

Shen Bai did not answer.

He remembered the shield wall collapsing. He remembered his father turning back to look at him. He remembered his brother holding the shield, and then the shield was gone.

But what happened next... he didn't see.

Iron Shield stared at the fire.

"The shield wall stood for two hours."

His voice was low, like a stone grinding on sand.

"The Northern Di people tried to break through seven times. They failed each time."

Shen Bai remained silent.

"On the seventh charge, twenty men rushed in. Their swords were gleaming, and they wore black armor. They weren't ordinary Northern Di soldiers."

Iron Shield paused for a moment.

"Your father swung his sword, cutting down three. Your brother raised his shield, protecting your father's flank. I was in the middle, blocking the second row."

Iron Shield looked at his hand. His wounded arm looked particularly pitiful in the firelight.

"Then--"

The iron shield's voice suddenly stopped.

He didn't say anything more.

Shen Bai waited.

"Then your dad's shield fell first."

The iron shield's voice changed. It became very hard. Hard as stone.

"He wasn't cut down."

Iron Shield clenched his fist.

"It collapsed from the inside."

Shen Bai looked at him.

"Someone behind them sheathed their sword. The third row of the shield wall."

Iron Shield's voice suddenly lowered, becoming as low as if it were coming from underground.

"I was in the second row when the shield wall collapsed. I saw your father's shield fall from the inside. I saw someone in the third row sheath their sword."

Iron Shield's hands were trembling.

"But I didn't see who it was."

His hands clenched even tighter, until his knuckles turned white.

"I only saw a knife."

His voice was trembling.

"Someone stabbed me in the back."

Iron Shield's shoulders were trembling.

"It's not about striking at the Northern Di people."

Iron Shield's shoulders trembled even more violently.

"It's against our own people."

Two people sat by the fire, listening to the firewood crackling and popping. It sounded like someone was crying.

Shen Bai remained silent.

He clenched his fists. His hands were black. His knuckles were cracked.

"When your father swung the knife, he slashed outwards."

The iron shield trembled.

"Your father's shield falls from behind."

Shen Bai clenched his fists even tighter.

"Your brother's shield is like that too."

Iron Shield looked up at the fire. His eyes appeared especially red in the firelight.

"They didn't die at the hands of the Northern Barbarians."

His voice was trembling.

"They died at the hands of their own people."

Shen Bai's breath hitched for a moment. It felt like something was pressing down on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.

Shen Bai remained silent.

He stood up.

He squatted down again.

His hands were black. His knuckles were like dried mud, crumbling at the slightest touch.

"She was sold."

Shen Bai's voice was very low. So low that he could barely hear it himself.

"My father. My brother. They were sold out by their own people."

Iron Shield remained silent.

He just looked at Shen Bai.

Do you know who it is?

Shen Bai raised his head and looked at the iron shield.

Iron Shield shook its head.

"have no idea."

His hands were still shaking.

"But I know whose people they are."

Shen Bai looked at him.

"The third row. They're your father's personal guards."

Iron Shield's voice was very low.

"Your father's personal guards sheathed their swords in their backs."

Shen Bai clenched his fists even tighter.

"Your father's personal guards are your father's men."

Iron Shield looked into Shen Bai's eyes.

"But they sold your father."

---

Shen Bai squatted on the ground.

He lowered his head, looking at his hands.

Blood seeped from between his fingers, dripped onto the ground, fell into the ashes, and died.

He thought of his father.

His father glanced back at him.

Now he knows.

The meaning of that glance.

That was the last time his father saw him.

His father knew he was going to die.

His father knew he had been betrayed by his own people.

But his father didn't say it.

His father didn't say anything.

His father only glanced at him.

Then his father rushed into the crowd. He didn't look back.

Shen Bai clenched his fists even tighter.

He didn't feel any pain.

He only felt very cold.

It's cold from the inside out.

He was so cold that he was shivering all over.

"Iron Shield."

His voice was very low. So low it sounded like it was coming from underground.

"I am here."

"My father's personal guard—"

Shen Bai raised his head.

"Whose people are they?"

Iron Shield looked at him.

"have no idea."

Iron Shield's voice was very low.

"But I know they're not doing it for themselves."

Shen Bai looked at him.

"Whose people are they?"

Iron Shield shook its head.

"have no idea."

His hands were shaking.

"I just saw it."

His hands clenched tightly.

"I don't know why."

The iron shield's voice trembled.

All I know is—

The iron shield stopped.

"What do you know?"

Iron Shield stared at the fire, his eyes appearing especially red in the flames.

All I know is that someone sold your father.

His hands were shaking.

"It was sold to the Northern Di people."

---

Shen Bai stood up.

When he stood up, his legs went weak for a moment, but he regained his balance.

Shen Bai stared at the fire.

The flames tilted in the wind, then stood upright again. The firewood split in the middle, scattering a few red sparks that fell to the ground and went out.

"I want to know who it is."

His voice was very low. So low it sounded like it was coming from underground.

"I want to know who sold my father."

He clenched his fists.

"I want to know who gave the order."

Shen Bai looked at the iron shield.

"I want to know."

Iron Shield looked at him.

"And then what?"

Shen Bai did not answer.

He simply turned around and looked at the road ahead.

The road is long.

The night is long.

"I want to kill him with my own hands."

---

Shen Anning arrived the next morning.

She walked up to Shen Bai, squatted down, and opened the medicine box.

"hand."

she says.

Shen Bai stretched out his hand.

She began to insert the needles.

The movements were steady and light.

After administering the acupuncture, she put away the silver needles.

"Come again tomorrow."

she says.

Then she stood up and looked at Shen Bai.

"You didn't sleep last night?"

Shen Bai did not answer.

She didn't ask.

She simply slung her medicine kit over her shoulder and walked out of the crowd.

She walked a few steps and then stopped.

"Don't force yourself."

she says.

He didn't turn around.

Then she left.

---

Shen Bai stood up.

Iron Shield stood not far away, waiting.

"Let's go."

He said.

Iron Shield followed him.

Two people walked at the head of the procession. Behind them were ninety-six others, including Zhou Lie's corpse. Shen Anning followed behind.

After walking for a while, the road ahead suddenly became quiet. There were no birds chirping, no wind blowing. Only the sound of their own footsteps, crunching and squelching in the mud.

Iron Shield's hand rested on the hilt of his sword.

"wrong."

Suddenly someone ran towards us from the front.

They are scouts.

"There are people ahead!"

The scout ran to the iron shield and knelt down on one knee.

How many people?

Iron Shield asked.

"one."

The scout said.

A person was blocking the middle of the road.

The scout paused for a moment.

"They said they came from the north."

The scout looked at Shen Bai.

"They said they wanted to see Young Master Shen."

Iron Shield's hand rested on the hilt of his sword.

"Who is it?"

"have no idea."

The scout said.

But he said one thing.

Iron Shield looked at him.

He said—

The scout looked into Shen Bai's eyes.

He said, 'Your father has something with me.'"

Shen Bai stopped in his tracks.

Iron Shield gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

Where?

Shen Bai asked.

"It's just ahead."

The scout pointed to the woods ahead.

"He was standing right in the middle of the road."

The scout said.

"one person."

Shen Bai looked in that direction.

In the middle of the road.

There was a person.

---

(End of Chapter )