Chapter 25

Yan Mei Ling was still a bit wary on her way back to the camp. When she heard one of her fellow soldiers shouting hysterically like a lunatic, her anxiety increased tenfold.

"I saw a girl! I saw a girl! I saw a girl!"

His screams had disrupted everyone in the camp. Sneers, curses and taunts had filled the camp as many soldiers had been disturbed from their slumber. Those who were awake were vastly irritated.

"I swear I will smother the life out of that lunatic for irritating my ears early in the morning!"

"I should have killed him in his sleep." Another muttered in frustration.

"If that bastard will not stop, I will surely gag his mouth!"

As Yan Mei Ling entered the camp, her heart somersaulted anxiously. Her entire frame was shaking with alarm. 'Could he be the one in the forest?'

The raving soldier, known to everyone as Chen Fu was running around the camp as if he was chased by a monstrous yaomo. The moment he spotted Mei Ling, he came near her. He looked at her with unfocused eyes - eclipsed with insanity. What happened next made her swallow the lump in her throat so hard that it almost choke her. He was staring at Yan Mei Ling knowingly despite the lunacy that befuddled his mind and, very softly, he whispered to her, "I saw a girl."

"Where?" Yan Mei Ling managed to croaked a question despite the elevated nervousness in her heart. She could hardly breathe and sweat began to form profusely at both sides of her temple. The camp's surrounding turned even more colder, giving her gooseflesh. It was as if that it was already winter.

Chen Fu paused for some time but as moments passed, his expression dumber. His brows furrowed which indicated that he did not comprehend Yan Mei Ling's question at all. He merely repeated stupidly, "I saw a girl. I saw a girl."

After saying those words, he then ran away as if he was possessed by some evil spirit while continuing to wreak havoc in the camp. Yan Mei Ling, on the other hand was still trembling from intense perturbation.

"Do not mind Chen Fu. He has been shouting, 'I saw a girl' ever since our encounter with the Hsein Army." A cheerful and familiar voice materialized behind Mei Ling's back; disrupting her from her thoughts and, at the same time, startling her.

"I am sorry if I have startled you, Lao Fang. It is not a usual habit of mine to speak to people unannounced and who are deep in their thoughts."

"It is fine, Lu Jinhai," Yan Mei Ling said softly as she could to somehow hide the alarm emanating from her heart. "I am just concern about what has happened to Chen Fu - that's all"

"Hmmm, well, you do not need to concern yourself about these kind of things happening during a war. In fact, they are all normal occurences. War does a lot of things to any person. The consequences may be too much for the heart and mind to handle thereby making anyone insane as what has happened to poor Chen Fu. But, anyway, his lunacy is not a thing in question, for it runs in his family." Lu Jinhai sighed wearily. He continued speaking while stroking his chin, "I sometimes wonder how the imperial army just accept anyone including those whose identities are questionable. Are they that desperate? What are your thoughts about that, Tang Lao Fang?"

Yan Mei Ling's heart took another frantic dive at Lu Jinhai's words. She did not know if they were merely expressed opinions or veiled double meanings. Her thoughts were in a chaotic muddle. She could not form a coherent thought in her mind anymore. She was rendered speechless until a light tap at her shoulder brought her back to her senses.

"Are you fine, Tang Lao Fang? You look pale as a paper." Lu Jinhai asked with genuine concern. He gently touched the back of his hand on her forehead to check if she was afflicted by fever.

Yan Mei Ling breathed in deeply to somehow relieve herself of tension but still her voice stuttered, "I am fine. I am just tired, Lu Jinhai."

"It must have been the war." Lu Jinhai commented thoughtfully. "Unfortunately, you cannot rest. Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei is back from the forest. In a while, we are about to start a military exercise. Cheer up and be strong, Tang Lao Fang."

Yan Mei Ling took in a sharp intake of breath as she saw Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei emerged from the forest to the direction of the camp. Their gazes held each other for a moment: hers with nervousness and his was full of question or was it suspicion?

If her encounter with Chen Fu and Lu Jinhai had alarmed her, seeing Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei emerged from the very same forest where she took a bath almost struck her dead with fear. Surprisingly, except for the brief questioning gaze, Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei had immediately and effectively masked any emotions on his face.

Could it be that he was the one who had startled her from her bath at the forest? Could it be that be that he was bidding his time before he confront her?

Yan Mei Ling had not felt so nervous and uncertain in her life until this very moment. Not even what she felt during the encounter with the Hsien army could equal to the intensity of what she was feeling right now.

How she wished that the earth would just open and swallow her into its deathly chasm. The though seemed preferable than for her identity to be exposed.

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Unit Commander Yan Bao Rong seemed to have lived his life in limbo since he learned about what happened to his village. What was even more devastating was the death of his only child, his treasure, Yan Mei Ling.

He was all alone now - no wife, no child and family. He found it utterly ironic how he had dedicated his life protecting the empire but could not even keep his own family from harm's reach.

His heart seemed twisted painfully as he strolled around his village - everything was a mess. Nothing was left of what he had worked hard for. What used to be a vibrant village had been diminised to ashes.

The vast and bountiful rice fields were gone; the trees were burned. The thatched houses that used to fill the village had became coals. Gone were the laughing villagers who were busy with their daily chores or the laughing children who used to run around. Gone was the house where the most cherished moments in his life happened. But, what truly caused a great searing pain in his heart was the thought of not seeing or hearing her daughter for the remaining days of his life.

Oh, he would give his life if only he could see his daughter. He was not even there to protect her. What had they done to her? Had she been crying out for his help? What a useless father he was, he thought bitterly.

He looked at the graying sky, only to fall down on his knees. His shoulders shook violently and his tears fall down his eyes. He punched his knuckles on the ground, fighting an enemy that was not even there until they bleed.

He was frustrated and angry. Frustrated - because he could not find the person who had destroyed his village. Angry - because of his incapacity.

He had promised his wife on her deathbed to protect her daughter but he was not able to do that. He had thought that his village was the safest place for his daughter but he never expected that this is also the place where his daughter would die. He had never anticipated for tragedy to struck his village even if he was one of the empire's best strategists for being able to anticipate several outcomes which had made him victorious in all of his campaign.

"Unit Commander," someone called his attention.

Unit Commander Yan Bao Rong did not bother looking at the person behind him but he asked in a grave voice, "What do you want?"

"The Son of Heaven asks for your presence in the court."

Upon hearing the words, Unit Commander Yan Bao Rong stood to face the man, who was one of the imperial heralds, and grabbed him roughly by the shirt, "You and the Son of Heaven are both bastards! I am grieving for the destruction of my village and the death of my daughter; and you dare to ask for my presence?"

"Unit Commander," the herald said in tremulous voice. "My condolence for you loss; I understand that time has been rough for you but -"

"Rough is an understatement!" Unit Commander Yan Bao Rong interrupted the herald's words. "I have lost everything - my village and my child; my only remaining family; my own flesh and blood! You do not know even half of the pain that I am feeling right now, insensitive fool! I am even tempted to kill you but not even your death could pacify me." He roughly pushed the herald to the ground. "Tell the insensitive Son of Heaven to get lost and never to contact me again."

"But, Unit Commander, it is most urgent and important -"

"Shut up!" Unit Commander Yan Bao Rong shouted angrily and grabbed the herald again. "Nothing is important to me now. I have lose everything. I am good as dead. Do you understand or shall I make you understand?"

"I hope that you will calm down and listen to what I am going to say, general," the herald said calmly; trying to appear unruffled despite the fear that had shook his heart. "The Son of Heaven's daughter was abducted. She is your daughter's best friend - surely, you also care for her. The Hsien army had kidnapped her several days ago inside the palace and up to this moment, there are still no news about her. The emperor needs you - you are the best military official that he has and you are the only one who could save the princess."

"Damn you! It is also because of the princess why I have lost my daughter!"

"I am sorry," the herald said sadly. "If not for the Son of Heaven, why not do it for your daughter? Your daughter has been overprotective of the princess ever since and the princess to your daughter. If something happens to the princess, your daughter will not be happy. Please, unit commander, please do it for the memory of your daughter."

"My daughter is gone. I am alone now. Nothing matters to me."

"There still one thing that matters, unit commander," the herald said with serious gravity. "It is revenge."

Unit Commander Yan Bao Rong's jaw hardened upon hearing the word but he remained silent.

"Think of it, are you just going to waste yourself, mourning for your loss, when you could have done something about it? Take a look around you." The herald motioned his hand around emphasizing on the terrible destruction that had happened in the general's village. "Look at what those filthy animals did to your village. They had made a vast wasteland out of it. They had destroyed it, your people and, of course, your daughter. They had suffered in ways that only the gods know how and what. However, judging from what your village has become, it is definitely terrible. Are you just going to let those animals get away with it? Grieving and wasting yourself means passivity. Being passive will not bring your village nor daughter back."

"You are a fool." The Unit Commander hissed as his grip on the herald tightened. "Do you not realize that revenge will not bring them back either?"

"Yes, it will not." The herald answered unflinchingly. "However, it will bring justice to everything that you have lost. I may not be in your position but if this happens to me, I will turn the earth upside down to kill those who do me wrong."

"You are still a fool if you think you can sway me with your words." The Unit Commander hissed angrily. His eyes turned into slits with barely suppressed rage.

"Call me a fool but look at yourself, unit commander. What you are doing right now will be construed as apathy. Are you apathetic to their deaths? Do you not care about what had happened? If think you can get an ounce of honor or even a sliver of comfort by grieving silently like a pathetic hermit, you are wrong. Now, who is making a bigger fool out of himself?"

Unit Commander Yan Bao Rong remained silent but his grip on the herald loosened which made the latter continue. "Look around again and try to see beyond the superficial, unit commander. Try to imagine the pain all of your people had been through. The fearful screams of your daughter as she cried for help when those barbarians destroyed and burned everything into ashes." The herald clucked his tongue and looked at the general with pity. Surprisingly, it did not made the Unit Commander angry. "Those filthy animals are not even so kind as to leave any corpses for you to somehow build a monument on. This is pillage and murder at its worst - how despicable. You need to do something about it other than wallowing yourself in self-pity; it does not suit you at all. The Hsien armies massacred and razed what is yours. You need to do the same, Unit Commander Yan Bao Rong. Blood for blood."

The herald's words struck note within the Unit Commander's hardened heart that he let go of former. Tears fell rapidly from his weary eyes. He looked at the graying sky and the mountain a few distance from his village, seemingly contemplating.

An onslaught of memories came into him, crumbling his defenses.

He remembered his loving wife's beautiful face as he built their courtly house; he remembered his daughter as a child running in the rice fields along with the villagers' children; and, most of all, he remembered them alive. His face became more determined.

"I will get my revenge - mark my words. I will kill all of them and I will not give that swine, Hsien Mao Dong, the satisfaction of getting the princess. Tell the Son of Heaven that I will soon go to the Imperial Palace."

"That is right, Unit Commander. Kill all of those fools who did this to you; save the princess so that she may not fall in the hands of Hsien Mao Dong. They have taken everything from you, it is only right that you kill all of them."

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Dear readers,

Thank you for the tremendous support you have given me. Although, I am a bit slow in my update as I am very busy with my work which had me rendering extended amount of overtime and offer time. I beseech for your understanding and; I also need you votes and comments to keep my story's rating afloat. Thank you once again and God bless each one of you.

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