Chapter 2 On the road towards Miaoling, 76-73 BC

"My back…" I muttered as I sat in the carriage together with Huai Shan. The rebellion started their march towards Miaoling. A night ago, Huai Shan left me alone in the wood for the whole night. When Huai Shan woke up the next morning, he still found me practicing in the woods.

Huai Shan had a smile on his face and hurried over to my side. Stopping my practice and ordered me to have a rest.

But it didn't last long. After about an hour or two of rest, I was called up again and continued to spar with Huai Shan, who was surprised that I had improved so much in just a night. Laughing as he grabbed his own spear and sparred with me.

"Be grateful you were allowed inside here." Huai Shan said to me with his eyes fixated on polishing his sword and spear.

"This is our first battle." Huai Shan said as he placed down the sword. "Don't make it your last."

I gulped.

"Yes sir."

Taking out a map, Huai Shan spread it open and pointed at a place. "We are currently at here. If everything goes smooth, we will reach the Nan Ge village by sundown. Spread my order. I want my squad to be on constant alert."

"Yes sir." I said and stood up. Spear in hand, I climbed outside and got onto a horse. "Hyah!" I flicked the reins and hurried away.

Huai Shan sat inside the carriage. His father Huai Jiang had given him full control of two squads in this expedition. Although nothing was said, everyone knew that if things went smoothly, Huai Shan would promote from controlling one squad to two squads.

Nobody felt bitter or jealous.

Huai Shan had the skill.

His father had sent a scout ahead yesterday to check the surroundings. He also sent a scout inside Miaoling to get additional information but hadn't heard of them since.

Huai Shan had a gut feeling that something was off. He reported to his father more than once but all he got was to rest assured. Huai Shan sighed and looked outside the marching groups. It was true that he wanted to have a glorious battle. But he did not want his squad mates to die as well.

Sounds of marching footsteps and horses galloping made Huai Shan squint his eyes.

Ever since the expedition started, he have had been in constant uneasiness. "Report!!" someone called out as he rode a horse beside Huai Shan's carriage. "Sir. We have noticed a village in front of us about a few hours ride ahead from us. The lord has already entered the village and are waiting for you."

"A village?" Huai Shan asked. "There isn't a village according to the map. Are you sure that it isn't an ambush?"

"Yes sir. The lord has ordered you to attend to him right now."

Huai Shan gritted his teeth. He respected his father, yes. But ever since he managed to take over that village by the bamboo woods, he had started to let his guard down and get cocky. Although he didn't want to admit it, but if his father continued that way, the rebellion would lose without even starting.

"I understand." Huai Shan said as he wore his armour and picked up his weapons. Whistling, a horse came up to the carriage and Huai Shan got onto it. It was his own horse. His father gave it to him when they managed to take over the village by the bamboo forests. He named it Bēn Tíng. During the expedition, his horse was walking straight behind him. People had always said that Bēn Tíng was extremely clever. Huai Shan thought so too, and was proud of it.

"Let's go. Hyah!" He said and flicked the reins.

Passing by me, I turned in surprise and followed after Huai Shan. I was his personal attendant after all.

"Huai Shan!" I called after him as they passed through the marching troops. "What's with the rush?"

Huai Shan slowed down a little and ordered me. "I want you to be alert. Get some men with you and follow behind me as I enter that village. Father is in there with the other squad leaders but I have a gut feeling that it is a trap."

"But…"

"You have my order, Ling Yu." Huai Shan said and rode faster, leaving me behind in the dust. I gritted my teeth and turned over towards the army. "I need 10 people with me! A small squad! Immediately!"

Huai Shan reached the destination in no time. there were no one outside standing guard and the whole village was only consists of men. Huai Shan glanced at the villagers and sighed. Ever since he reached the village, the banging feel inside his head had started to get stronger and stronger.

Gritting his teeth, Huai Shan got off his horse and started to walk inside the village.

Bēn Tíng neighed and tried to stop Huai Shan. "I know, my friend. But I need to get my father and the others out otherwise we will be gone for good." Huai Shan said as he ruffled Bēn Tíng's head. "I will be alright."

Walking inside the village, he saw a familiar man standing guard outside a house.

"Huai Shan!" he called out and waved. It was Zhao Ming, one of Huai Jiang's most trusted henchmen. "Your father is waiting for you. Go on inside."

Huai Shan nodded his head and pushed open the door.

Inside was his father and several other squad leaders chatting with a group of young men. The moment Huai Shan entered the room, the group of young men rustled a little but settled down just as fast.

Unfortunately, this little movement couldn't escape Huai Shan's eyes.

"Welcome! Who is this little man?" the one talking to Huai Jiang said as he stood up and welcomed Huai Shan with his fists closed together. "Ha Ha! Come here, kid. This kid is Huai Shan, my son. Say hello to Da Yu over here. He's the village leader over here."

Huai Shan bowed and said. "Nice to meet you." He then turned over and whispered next to his father's ears. "Father. I need to talk to you."

Huai Jiang raised an eyebrow and nodded his head. He stood up and said "We have some urgent matters to attend to. We will be back in an instant."

Da Yu nodded his head and said. "We will be waiting." Then he turned and continued chatting with the other leaders.

Following Huai Shan out of the house. Huai Jiang turned over to face his son. "What's with the long face?" he asked.

Huai Shan looked at his father and said softly. "You are letting down your guard father. These people are not normal people. They have martial arts in their blood."

Huai Jiang sighed and patted Huai Shan's shoulders.

"You, my son, are too suspicious. Not just because someone knows a little martial art and you're going to start suspecting them."

Huai Shan sighed and said.

"Ever since I've set foot inside this village, my head has been pounding non-stop father. You know what that means. It means that there is danger near us."

Huai Jiang frowned. "Da Yu has proven great help to us. He even listed places we can go through to avoid detention from Miaoling. And now you suddenly pop out and claim that the villagers here are actually soldiers in disguise. You are putting me in a hard place my son."

"Better than everybody dying am I right father?"

Huai Shan drew his sword and pointed towards the gate of the village. "My men are just outside the village. With your command, they will rush inside and tremble our enemies."

Huai Jiang stayed silent in deep thought.

Huai Shan gritted his teeth. The other squad leaders were still inside the tent knowing nothing. The longer the two of them were here wasting time, the more danger they will be in.

"Watch to the defenses." Huai Jiang finally spoke. "I will not have you pointing swords toward innocent people. Our mission is to free the people of Wuzhou. Not bring turmoil to them."

"You would gamble the risk that they are soldiers waiting to assassinate you?"

"And what if they're innocent?" Huai Jiang grabbed Huai Shan's sleeve. Furious this time. he never thought that his son would become such a cold-hearted man in just such a short time. he couldn't even start to imagine what would become of Huai Shan if the rebellion continued. "We are not just some petty bandits my son. We are the rebellion that is destined to bring peace to the people. Just answer me, my son. What are you going to do when you realize that they are not soldiers as you said but just normal villagers that tried to give us a helping hand."

I rushed inside the village just in time to hear Huai Shan spurt out one single sentence.

A sentence that made me decide to devote my life to serving with.

Huai Shan looked up straight into his father's eyes. Resting his hand on the hand of his father, he slowly spoke.

"I would rather wrong all under heaven than be wronged by all under heaven."

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A punch laid itself on Huai Shan's face.

"How dare you say this!" Huai Jiang screamed at the top of his voice. "How dare you!"

Huai Shan stumbled onto the ground.

"Forgive me, father. But that is exactly what I believe in." Huai Shan said as he spat on the ground. I rushed forward to help Huai Shan up but Huai Jiang roared at me. "Don't you dare help him up!" I pause for a while and glanced at Huai Shan. Gritting my teeth, I still decided to help Huai Shan up.

"You dare defy my orders?!" Huai Jiang roared as he drew his sword. "Defying commander's orders! Execute!"

Finishing his sentence, Huai Jiang slashed at me. I froze in my steps. I wanted to dodge but every cell in my body froze. If it wasn't because of Huai Shan, I would've already been dead. Deflecting the strike, Huai Shan stood face to face against his father.

"What is the meaning of this?" Huai Jiang growled at Huai Shan.

"He's my attendant. Father." Huai Shan almost spat out that last word.

"What happened?" a squad leader heard the commotion and stumbled out of the hut.

"Zhang Jing! Good thing you're here. Do you have any idea what Huai Shan told me about just now? He told me that the villagers here are all soldiers in disguise waiting to collect our lives. He even said 'I would rather wrong all under heaven than be wronged by all under heaven.' Do you have any idea how furious I am?!"

Zhang Jing was in charge of the second-largest squad. He was also like an uncle to Huai Shan.

Zhang Jing studied Huai Shan. In the whole camp, nobody knew Huai Shan better than Zhang Jing. Huai Shan nodded at him and scanned the perimeter of the village.

Zhang Jing sighed and said. "Sir, I suggest we put this commotion to an end and raise our alert. In this way, we can not only prevent being assassinated, but we can also protect our reputation at the same time."

Huai Jiang breathed heavily and said.

"Fine."

Leaving Zhang Jing alone with me and Huai Shan, he walked at a brisk pace back towards the hut.

"You've felt it too haven't you?" Zhang Jing spoke out of a sudden. Huai Shan nodded his head. He glanced at me and said. "Thank you."

I smiled.

Zhang Jing turned to leave when Huai Shan called after him. "I have a question for you." He asked. "If I were to leave. Would you follow me?" Zhang Jing froze in his steps. He turned to face Huai Shan and in his eyes, a miniature flame started to flicker. "Do you mean betraying Huai Jiang? He is your father."

"There are no father and son on the battlefield. Ever since we have taken over that village in a small battle and he started to remarry, that man has started to lose his blade."

"That man is your father."

"Which is bringing us to death." Huai Shan gritted his teeth. That was the first time I noticed an expression appearing on Huai Shan's face.

"Your father isn't as what you think. He may be dull sometimes. But he has never let us down. Never."

Huai Shan kept silent and stared at Zhang Jing's leaving back view.

"If my father would be able to stay alive till tomorrow morning, tell him to meet me by the foot of Mt AoChang." Huai Shan called after Zhang Jing then turned to face Me. "Gather the others. We're leaving."

"Leaving? Why sir?" I asked, puzzled.

"I will bring you up to date on the way. Do as I say."

I bowed and ran off to gather the other soldiers.

Huai Shan didn't look well on his father. There were things even I didn't know that Huai Shan kept secret for the rest of his life.

Huai Shan met me at the entrance of the village and got up his horse. "Farewell. Father." He muttered at such a soft voice only I heard it. "Men! Onward! The spear only points in one direction!"

"Rise! Rise! Rise!" the soldiers behind him roared their slogan.

If it wasn't because he was just a squad leader, Huai Shan really hoped that he could bring along the rest of the army. There was strength in numbers after all. But if he really did that, he would end up having the title of being an unfilial son.

"If anything were to happen, come find me at the foot of Mt AoChang." Huai Shan turned and said to the other soldiers as he left.

I kept quiet as he rode side by side with Huai Shan.

"Sir…"

"You can just call me by my name when we are alone."

"Huai Shan… what just happened? Why did you leave?" I muttered. "We can't possibly do anything with just 30 men."

Huai Shan nodded his head. "I know. But don't worry. By tomorrow morning, that village will be in flames and the other soldiers that we left behind will come running towards us for protection."

I nodded my head and kept quiet.

"Aren't you curious about why did I do so?" Huai Shan asked suddenly. I stared at Huai Shan, trying to read his expression, but all that appeared on Huai Shan's face was just tiredness. "The villagers inside that village. They aren't normal villagers. I suspect them to be assassins and warned my father about it but he did not believe me. This was what I could do in order to protect our cause."

I nodded his head again.

"Don't you have any questions?" Huai Shan asked. "Reject my suspicions, question my decisions."

"I follow whatever you say. I learned not to think and just follow."

Huai Shan let loose a small laugh.

"That's good. But critical thinking is still important so please still hold onto that brain of yours."

"Yes sir." I smiled. It felt good to get Huai Shan to laugh.

"Once we reach the foot of AoChang, I want guards on alert at every corner. Priorities on safety. We can't afford to lose any more men." Huai Shan said.

It was already sundown by the time Huai Shan and the others reached the foot of Mt AoChang.

"Have you ever thought what would happen if the villagers aren't assassins as you suspected?" I asked Huai Shan as he was helping him polish his sword. "Your father would be furious. The brothers wouldn't be spared."

Huai Shan kept quiet.

I knew that Huai Shan did not want to answer that question so he kept his mouth shut.

A few hours passed. Both Huai Shan and I stood side by side. Both of us had a gut feeling that something was going to happen. Just as suspected, a group of soldiers started running toward us, all bloody and panting for their lives.

"Young lord! The Lord has been captured by the villagers! I mean… they weren't villagers at all!" a squad leader ran forward and knelt in front of Huai Shan. "Those basters were actually soldiers in disguise from Miaoling!"

I looked at Huai Shan with astonished eyes. I only decided to listen to whatever Huai Shan said before. But now I was totally amazed at Huai Shan's knowledge.

"Just as expected then. How many of you managed to escape?"

The man started to mutter to himself. Sweat started to trickle down his forehead. "We are the only ones left if I'm not mistaken. We were sent to patrol the outside of the village. We were lucky that we weren't there when they distributed the porridge with poison. When we returned to the camp, all we could see was a pile of bodies dumped into a pit ready to get burned.

"What of my father? Did you see him captured with your own eyes?"

"The lord… the lord was tied up with ropes along with the other squad leaders. The leader of the soldiers yelled something about wanting to kill him in front of your eye."

Huai Shan nodded his head and gestured for the man to return to the ranks.

"Huai Shan. What are you going to do? You can't possibly return to that village. It's a trap!" I grabbed Huai Shan's arm and said frantically. Huai Shan laughed and removed my arm. Looking at Huai Shan's face, I could literally see his smile so wide that it almost tore his face apart.

"This is god's will Ling." Huai Shan said with a trembling voice. "God's will for me to take control of the goddamn army. To do the right thing."

My eyes widened. "So… you're not going to go save your father?"

Huai Shan's eyes flashed across a flicker of cruelty. "No, I won't. But he will not die in vain. The day when I break open Miaoling's gates, I will bring that emperor's head as a tribute for him."

"But what will you tell the others? If you tell them the truth, you will end up being an unfilial son." I asked.

Huai Shan looked at me and smiled.

Waiting for all the soldiers to settle down, Huai Shan gathered all of them together. A sum of 143 soldiers stood tall and firm listening to him.

"I know what you guys want." Huai Shan opened his mouth and spoke. "Some of you just got your ass kicked. You guys want revenge. To slaughter those who killed your brothers in arms. Am I not right?"

Instantly, the soldiers started to roar and yell their agreement.

"BUT! Since you guys are here now, that means you are a part of MY army now." Huai Shan drew his sword and pointed straight at the sky. "Anybody who rejects my orders, execute! Anybody who does anything unmoral, execute! Anybody who escapes during a battle, execute! These are my rules!" he roared.

"I don't bother how and what you guys are like before under the other squad leaders but for once you're under my rule, you follow MY way." Huai Shan said as he stabbed his sword into the ground. "Do you understand?"

"Yes young lord!" the soldier yelled in unity.

"My father, Huai Jiang. Was captured by the soldiers of Miaoling. To be a filial son, I should rush to his aid at the first moment. But I will not do so."

The soldiers beneath started to rustle.

"The lives of my brothers in arms are more important!" Huai Shan continued. "I will leave my father's life to the will of the gods. While I continue to gather our strength and one day avenge him!" His voice started to turn softer. "I have lost a lot. We left our homes for a better tomorrow. I will not let my personal feelings divide my attention from our cause."

"Rise! Rise! Rise!" the soldier started to chant after hearing Huai Shan's speech. Everybody was touched by Huai Shan's honesty.

"Now, we rest." Huai Shan noticed that his plan had worked, and started giving out orders. "Throughout the night, keep watch over our surroundings, if anybody from our army managed to escape and get here, accept them. If they bring pursues behind them, kill them on sight. If the enemies managed to get close to us, kill them."

"Yes, young lord!"

Huai Shan plucked out his sword and said. "I'm not YOUNG."

The soldiers then finally realized what he meant and repeated. "Yes, lord!" then they settled off to their own business.

Huai Shan returned his attention to me. "Well, Ling. Let's start training shall we?"