chapter 41

“Splash . ”

Gu Nan doused some cold water on her face . The stinging cold numbed and eased her shaking hands quite a bit .

The dried blood caking her hands was washed away in the tent’s small basin . The cold water became dyed with a red tint . Her hands were gripped on the sides of the table, and the water droplets dripped from her nose and rippled the water underneath .

Gu Nan heaved loud breaths as her chest felt weighed down . She quietly looked at the reflection in the water, forcibly calming her breathing as well .

It was getting late into the evening . The wind had picked up, replacing the diminishing, light snow .

Gu Nan tied her identification pendant to her waist and went to the stables to fetch Blackie out for another walk .

Outside the camp, the winds blew fiercely at her cloak . The night was already full as she looked down at the dark path ahead .

Only after killing that Zhao spy, did she fully grasp the gravity of being on the battlefield . It’s to kill or to be killed . A slight mistake and you may not realize how you died .

Suddenly, Gu Nan chuckled and shook her head . Enough, my life is pretty minor and cheap anyways . Someday, I’ll fall just into a dream and not wake up .

She sneezed from her reddened nose and stopped thinking about those miscellaneous thoughts .

“Blackie, go, faster! You can run as much as you want tonight . ”

Blackie turned and rolled its eyes, unsure why this person would suddenly want to vent her frustrations . But his hooves still dug into the ground as he propelled forward .

Gu Nan has never seen Blackie gallop like this .

“Wa!” With her exclamation, the horse and the rider flew like a shadow into the snowy lands .

The sentry on the high walls looked at the rapidly receding figure, shaking his head . For her to act so leisurely outside the camp, she’s probably the only one in all of Qin .

According to legend, General Bai is said to have picked her up from the streets . It seems those rumors were true .

…

As they made their way to the grassy hill, Blackie snorted out some columns of mist and slowed down his pace .

Gu Nan stretched out rustled Blackie’s mane . “Eat as much as you can . You run fast but eat slow . ” Laughing, she jumped down from the horse .

Suddenly feeling a fleeting gaze over her, Gu Nan turned around to see a man already sitting a bit further near the summit of the hill .

After a soft sighing, she patted Blackie’s neck . “Go and eat . ”

Blackie glanced at the man on the hill, but not feeling any hostility, he turned away .

“What a coincidence . ” Gu Nan walked up the hillside and sat down casually .

The man was the same Zhao Shi from before .

“Ah, yes what a coincidence . ” Zhao Kuo forced a smile and continued looking over the Changping mountains .

Two people from Qin and Zhao are actually sitting together with such enthusiasm . How could this be a coincidence?

The two sat quietly with their legs crossed on the ground . Suddenly, Gu Nan said slowly, “Today, I killed a Zhao spy from your army . It was my first kill . ”

“…” Zhao Kuo was silent and nodded . “How does it feel to kill?”

He didn’t blame her because this was the battlefield . In a place where life and death are so closely intertwined, it’s useless to blame others .

“Not very good . ”

“My first kill was at the age of eight . It was a death-row criminal . I cried in my mother’s arms for two days . ” Zhao Kuo recalled as he looked into the darkness over Changping .

Gu Nan felt her mouth twitch . “How wimpy . ”

“En . ” Zhao Kuo also smiled . “Thinking about it now, it really incited a powerful feeling . ”

After a pause, Zhao Kuo said, “If we meet on the battlefield, I will not show mercy . You are someone from Qin, and I will execute you if it comes to be . ”

“I won’t be merciful either . We haven’t even competed yet . Who’s to say which of us is going to be executed?”

“Hahaha . ” Zhao Kuo laughed and continued, “I thought about the words you said that night…”

As he said, his eyes were shimmering at the Changping landscape . “Truly, I really envy those people .

“If there was no war, maybe you and I can be good friends . ”

Gu Nan shook her head . “I have no interest in knowing you . ”

“Who knows?”

Zhao Kuo looked back but was stunned by the sight . This is the first time he saw Gu Nan’s face .

The long black hair swayed with the high winds . Her face was like spring but contained a heroic air . Although she was sitting casually and she wore her military armor, it wasn’t difficult to see that it was a girl .

A pair of beautiful eyes looked at the falling snow with sharp eyebrows . It’s difficult to find the typical feminine feeling of a girl, but she was certainly very beautiful nonetheless .

“Brother Gu . ” After Zhao Kuo’s brief shock, he smiled and sighed . “I had spoken incorrectly . If we had known each other earlier, just to say, I would have taken you as my wife . ”

“Oh . ” Gu Nan lightly responded without much thought . Judging from the circumstances, she felt like Zhao Shi was joking and lazily replied, “Sorry, I have no interest in men . ”

“Haha, so it’s like this . I am really quite pitiful . ”

Not paying attention to Zhao Kuo’s thoughts, Gu Nan reminisced back to Xiao Lu and Painting Fairy . These days in the army are quite rough . How soothing it would be for another one of Xiao Lu’s shoulder massages or Painting Fairy’s songs .

“Hmph, I must say, is your Zhao army even going to fight or not? You better not drag this out . I’m still waiting to return to get my own wife . ”

Zhao Kuo laughed . “Brother Gu doesn’t need to worry . As handsome as you are, all the ladies of Xianyang would line up for you . ”

Gu Nan indifferently nodded . Her face hardening as she lied, “That is true . Without me saying anything, it could span from the East Market to the city gates . ”

—————————————————————

At noon, the highest arc of the sun .

The winds of Changping fluttered the banners loudly . The countless spearheads jutting upward on the military fields signified the amassed army in preparation . The nicks and dents were a testament to the numerous wars and battles witnessed by their wielders .

Zhao Kuo was riding on his horse, holding the reins tightly to control his restless mount . Facing the neatly-grouped battalions and teams, he shouted aloud, “Army, attention!”

“Here!” The four hundred thousand voices echoed over the camp .

“Open gates!”

The soldiers fastened their armor equipped their helmets . Marching forward, their synchronized footsteps sent tremors through the ground .

Everyone knows that the decisive battle has come . Win, and they can leave alive; lose, and they can only lie here forever .

The gates of the Zhao camp creaked open . Teams of soldiers poured out without a visible end . In front of them was a young man on a black horse . Although young, his demeanor was like a veteran of thousands of battles, void of the smallest symptom of fear .

Zhao Kuo finally put on the helmet from his hands .

The sounds of heavy armor echoed endlessly in the valley .