Chapter Five: Returning Home at Night

Seventh Border Defense Army Garrison, Empire of Stede

Su Lu was agitated.

“I’ve handed over a hundred and seventy-four heads—one hundred and seventy-four heads of Green Mountain bandits!” Su Lu roared at the unremarkable quartermaster before him. “I’ve waited three days—three days—and the reward from the military hasn’t come, but instead, you, a harbinger of misfortune, show up first.”

“One hundred and seventy-four heads,” the quartermaster confirmed, nodding. “The Green Mountain bandits have indeed caused us no small amount of trouble, but I haven’t heard that there were so many children barely in their teens among them, brandishing broadswords in battle.”

“What are you implying?” Su Lu glared viciously at him.

“Among the hundred and seventy-four heads you submitted, there are both old and young. I’m glad, at least, that you weren’t foolish enough to bring women’s heads to claim merit. But the youngest boy was only fifteen, and the oldest man nearly seventy. If the Green Mountain bandits are truly made up of such a ragtag rabble, then how incompetent must we be, to let them run rampant and remain unsuppressed to this day?” The quartermaster met Su Lu’s gaze, a faint smile on his lips.

“You’re accusing me of murdering innocents to claim credit?” Su Lu’s fury boiled over. “I am a captain in the Imperial Army! Why would I stoop to such filth?”

“Shall we visit Liujia Village together?” the quartermaster said with a smile.

The instant the words “Liujia Village” left the quartermaster’s lips, Su Lu’s expression changed drastically.

He drew the sword at his waist and slashed at the quartermaster.

The quartermaster calmly raised a finger.

With his finger extended horizontally at his side, he blocked the saber. The keen blade struck the middle of the finger and did not so much as leave a scratch, as if it had hit the hardest steel. The force of the recoil nearly tore the weapon from Su Lu’s grasp. Yet the quartermaster still wore that same smiling expression, utterly unperturbed by Su Lu’s sudden attack.

“It’s settled, then.” The quartermaster looked at Su Lu. “Whoever was with you that day, let’s all go back to Liujia Village together, shall we?”

Su Lu trembled. “Who are you? There’s no way you’re just a quartermaster. The higher-ups wouldn’t waste such a formidable hand on a nobody like me.”

“I’m no one of note,” the quartermaster replied with a smile. “But tell me, do your so-called important people look like this?”

As he spoke, the finger he’d extended burst into brilliant golden flame, illuminating the dim officers’ room as if it were broad daylight.

At first, Su Lu was stunned beyond measure; then terror chilled him to the core. He clapped a hand over his mouth and, as if all strength had left his limbs, slowly collapsed to the floor. He then began smashing his head against the planks with desperate force—again and again, like pounding garlic. Yet it did not look like he was kowtowing for mercy.

Rather, it seemed that what had just transpired had so shocked him that he’d lost his mind and needed pain to suppress his fear.

“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.” The quartermaster’s voice softened to a tone one might use to comfort a child. “I won’t massacre your family. I just want you to bring the squad from that day and go to Liujia Village with me again. Let’s work together, shall we?”

The quartermaster’s casual reassurance eventually helped Su Lu recover from his terror. Blood streamed down his forehead from the center of his brow as he looked up at this mysterious man.

He closed his eyes.

“I obey, Your Highness.”

…

Su Ziye returned very late.

Yet no matter how late it was, Liu Ru would wait for him.

Because she hadn’t slept at all.

She was truly exhausted. After all, she hadn’t slept well in a long time. She’d bathed in hot water and eaten two hearty meals; was there any greater earthly pleasure than a sound, sweet sleep?

But she still didn’t sleep.

She was afraid she’d doze off even while sitting, so she tied her hair to a beam with a cord and stood in the center of the room, waiting for Su Ziye to return.

So when Su Ziye came back, he was greeted by the sight of Liu Ru’s curious “suspended by her hair” posture.

“What a novel look,” Su Ziye remarked with a smile.

Liu Ru blushed crimson. In her original plan, she would have untied her “anti-sleep” contraption as soon as she heard Su Ziye come upstairs and open the door.

She never thought Su Ziye could enter so silently.

Flustered, she hurried to untie the cord, offering no explanation. She trusted that someone as clever as Su Ziye would understand.

“Get some sleep. We have somewhere to go tomorrow,” Su Ziye said mildly, forgoing further teasing.

“Where?” Liu Ru couldn’t help but ask.

He looked at her, seemed to ponder for a moment, then answered, “Liujia Village.”

It was as if a red-hot brand had seared her—this once-familiar name now the scar she most dreaded to touch.

“You’ve been to Liujia Village?” she murmured. “You don’t trust me?”

No one could corroborate the story she’d told before. But if Su Ziye had gone to Liujia Village himself, the truth or falsehood of her words would be plain to see.

She knew well her hometown had become a living hell. Now, cold all over, she looked at Su Ziye. “Since you’ve been there, you must know everything I said is true.”

“In that case, I won’t go tomorrow.”

There is nothing crueler than having your scars ripped open again, especially when they’ve never even had the chance to heal.

“What if it’s both a request and an order?” Su Ziye said softly, expression serious.

He didn’t smile this time.

“I’m going to Nightleaf Academy soon. Of course, you’ll come with me. Once we leave, you may never return here again in this lifetime.”

“So, tomorrow’s trip to Liujia Village is simply to say goodbye. Maybe there will be some unexpected surprises, but at its core, it’s a farewell.”

“You’ll leave your old self behind completely and step into a new life.”

As he spoke, Su Ziye watched her, waiting for her response.

“An order?” Liu Ru whispered.

She had once vowed to follow this young man through fire and water.

But she’d never imagined her first trial by fire would wound herself the most.

“Alright.” Liu Ru finally replied simply.

It sounded almost like a sigh.