General

Morning for soldiers means training. With the dew that hide around the bushes and the fog envelopes their body as witnes.

No matter rain and storm morning practice is a must, because blunt knife are useless.

Thusly the barrack full of a fierced atmosphere in this cold morning. Hundreds of soldier line up form a group around 20 to 30 man and undertake a combat training.

The young prison guard comes and become spectator, its been some time since he saw combat training of the northern troops. Their skill was better since the last time he saw them partake the morning training session.

Even a normal foot soldier can execute a precise and heavy punch. What kind of hellish practice they got from the general? Sometime he feels sorry for them.

In the middle a man with black and red layer armor can be seen. From the back countenance he is the leader that captured Ning Rui last night. He give a command with his imposing and majestic voice.

As the youngest general he has many achievements especially with the surrendering of the rebellion faction when the new Emperor took the regent. So after the situation tranquiliz the Emperor dispatch him to the north borders to guard the citizen from the barbarian that terrorize the empire since their great founding.

The barbarian not only plundering the paddy field that the villager cultivate but abduct the children and sell them as slave, even rape the woman. The chaotic situation started to get better after the general took reign the border and built a fortress. The general capture and punished the barbarian that trespass the fortress and commit slave trading.

Before, the villager would not even have the courage to stroll on the street, the parents will prohibit their children play outdoor, the girl will hide inside their house afraid the barbarian will come and take them away. The stall and market was unoccupied, the village like a deserter, void and hollow from laugh, smile and the blithering life.

It's been 5 years the young and beautiful boy has become a cold and strict man. He saw the rain, the sun, thunderstorm even lightning. And he knew that in this world nothing is free, if you need something there's a price.

Now He is more handsome with his black lazuli eyes that can bewitched people. It seems that those eyes can see through soul and heart. There's nothing you can hide.

In this five years He never returned to the capital even in new year. Because he knows that there's no one that waiting his return. So instead his younger cousin that come every four to five months. Though the distance not that far but you could not say it was close by, at least two days needed if you ran with a horse but a week at most of a carriage involved.

So the total number he meet relative can be count with finger.

After an insence stick the training come to end. So the young prisoners guard reported everything the spy do.

" General, after we brough her here she lost conscious and only sobered this morning. She didn't make a ruckus. We already inspected her body and the are no poison, weapon nor information. She looks like a normal slave. Only.... "

The young boy hesitated wether he should say it or not, but before long the general lost his patience and hit the table. That make the guard speechless and said everything.

"There is a tattoo with a flower shape in her right chest, ehem it's not me that search her body but your elite guard, well she is still a child so her body hasn't develop yet. Don't get me wrong alright!"

After saw the frown in the general face the young prisoners guard sold out his companion.

"They didn't do anything immoral to her. I can vouch for it. Anyway we were thinking that she is a spy so it's natural that we searched her body, that's normal and even if its a child if she's really a spy, it will be dangerous."

"....." The General

He didn't say anything right?

Usually a child that sold by their parents will be bought by a nobility or merchant as a slave, some even train them as a killer. They undertook a training program since a very young age so that they can mastering the assassination, severed their relationships with other for the loyalist and a strong mental state.

The general only answer with one sentence, "I know"

" From her breathing it's not likely that she got a training. Even if its shallow but I think it's because she is hungry."