The cold wind howled outside. Su Cheng wrapped his cotton coat tighter and went into the tent. Ermo woke up groggily and asked, "Brother Cheng, where did you go?"
"I'm feeling a bit stuffy, I'm going out for a walk."
A dozen or so grown men sleeping in one tent, some of whom don't like to wash their feet, some of whom snore, and the tent being tightly shut, is indeed a bit much.
"Let's go to sleep then, we have to get up for training tomorrow."
Ermo mumbled something and then drifted off to sleep again.
Su Cheng spent a sleepless night and went to ask for leave very early. Now that Su Cheng was a minor official, he had to ask the General for leave.
"You want to go out and buy something?"
"Hmm," Su Cheng said without batting an eye, but the general didn't quite believe him.
"Who is Lord Su, who came from the capital, to you?"
Seeing the general's mocking gaze, Su Cheng lowered his eyes. "Just the same name."
"Could there be two people in this world who share the same prefecture, the same surname, and even the same eyes?"
Faced with the general's teasing, Su Cheng hummed in response and said he didn't know.
"Go ahead, I'll give you two days off. You can come back tomorrow, but there's a task for you."
Su Cheng looked up, and the general continued, "Send the officials to the government office in the city."
So that's what it was about. Su Cheng nodded and walked to the tent where Su Yi and the others were sleeping. "My lords, the General sent me to see you all out."
Lord Feng didn't want to leave; his mission wasn't yet complete. Su Yi looked at him and asked, "Could it be that Lord Feng has other matters to attend to and therefore doesn't want to leave?"
What could a civil official possibly do in a military camp? Lord Feng immediately replied, "Not at all, I just found the scenery in this military camp quite unique and wanted to take a look around."
Su Cheng chimed in, "There's not much to see in this military camp. If you'd like, sir, you can go to the city for a stroll. There are many different kinds of things from the border, so you can bring some back with you."
Su Cheng spoke very seriously, oblivious to the displeasure on Lord Feng's face.
"You're right, then lead the way."
The military camp was located in the north of the city. A large open space was not built on the ground, but filled with tents. A gate was also opened in the north of the city so that the army could enter without disturbing the people and go out to carry out daily training.
Su Cheng led them through a high wall to the main street, and after walking for a while, they arrived at the border town government office.
"Gentlemen, you have arrived. Please come in."
They were greeted by the prefect of the border town. After entering, they were arranged to stay in a side room. Lord Feng was going back in a couple of days, unlike Su Yi who was going to stay for a long time, so the prefect planned to hold a welcome banquet for the two of them that evening.
After seeing the group off, Su Cheng left for the inn. At a stall outside the inn, he encountered a larger version of Liu Huan, only much darker. He was a little scared, a little excited, and a little heartbroken.
Liu Huan felt a strong gaze and turned around to see a handsome boy staring at her. She wondered if she was so charming that she could easily charm people.
Upon further reflection, those eyes and that face were simply an enlarged version of Xiao Shi.
"Xiao Shi, I've finally met you."
Liu Huan ran up and hugged him, "You've grown so tall. You used to be shorter than me."
Su Cheng let her look him up and down, and cooperated by turning around in place. "How is it? Aren't you dashing and handsome?"
Liu Huan rested her chin on her hand and gave a serious evaluation, "He's not bad, but he's still not as handsome as Shi Tou."
Su Cheng rolled his eyes when he heard this. "In your eyes, no one can compare to Second Brother."
Liu Huan neither confirmed nor denied it; that was her opinion.
A gust of cold wind blew by, and Liu Huan felt uncomfortable. She pulled him into the inn, saying, "Let's go in first, it's really cold here."
Once inside the house and charcoal was lit, Liu Huan couldn't leave.
"Xiao Shi, I heard you came here on your own. You're getting bolder and bolder, and you don't listen to me at all."
Su Cheng listened attentively to her lecture, and when he saw that she said she was tired, he poured her a glass of water, saying, "Have some water before you talk."
"How are things going? Are you settling in well in the military?"
"It's pretty good. I wasn't used to it at first, but I got used to it later. It's just that the winters here are very cold, much colder than Huangshi Town."
Liu Huan agreed, "That's true, especially at night. When the charcoal fire went out, it woke me up from the cold. It was better when I slept with Qiu Rong."
Su Cheng then asked, "Why have you gotten so dark? You used to be the fairest person in our village."
Liu Huan smiled mysteriously, "Idiot, this is a painting. Otherwise, a beautiful woman like me, whose beauty could rival the moon and shame the flowers, would be like a lamb entering a tiger's den if I were here."
Su Cheng: "You're talking nonsense again."
How long are you planning to stay?
"When are you going to stop fighting?"
Su Cheng thought for a long time but still didn't know. "I don't know. Those nomads are so annoying. They come to provoke us every year, and even the people in the nearby villages suffer. They don't keep their promises at all."
Based on her observations over the past few days, Liu Huan roughly knows the reason.
The border is all grassland, and the only mountains you can see are in your own country; on the other side, there are mostly small hills and shrubs.
Nomads rely on herding cattle and sheep for a living. Due to the climate, they can only grow a few crops, and the grasslands turn yellow and dry in winter, making it impossible to feed their cattle and sheep.
That's why they had to resort to war to expand their territory and create opportunities for their people. In fact, everyone's starting point was correct.
"Sigh, I hope it ends soon."
"It will be over soon. You and your second brother should go back early. Swords have no eyes, and this city will always be in chaos."
"Yes, I'll leave when Stone leaves. I forgot to tell you, my brother-in-law and sister are also in the capital. They miss you a lot."
"I'm fine, don't worry, I'm perfectly fine, I can take on ten of them by myself."
Su Cheng gradually found his footing with Liu Huan and started boasting, completely unaware that the door had already been opened.
"Cough cough..."
Liu Huan coughed a few times, and Su Cheng thought she had choked, so he went over to pat her back and asked, "Are you alright? Why are you still like a child, choking even when you're drinking water?"
Liu Huan whispered, "The stone is here."
Su Cheng raised his hand guiltily, "Second Brother."
Su Yi let go of his hand, sat down to drink tea, and Su Cheng just stood there obediently.
Liu Huan tugged at his robe, "Sit down, what are you afraid of him for? You're spineless."
Su Yi looked up at him. "Do you want me to treat you?"
Su Cheng sat down and obediently poured tea for the two of them. "Alright, I quite like being in the military camp. Don't worry about me. I'll go back after the war is over."
“Our village’s Dog Brother is here too, but he injured his leg and is now in the cooking squad. He doesn’t have to go to the battlefield anymore.”
Liu Huan patted Su Yi: "Alright, why do you keep such a long face? Didn't you come here because you were worried about her? You're here but you're not saying anything and you're scaring her away."
Su Yi's expression softened a bit. "Be careful in everything you do."
After finally managing to say something comforting, Su Cheng nodded happily, "Yes, yes, I know, Second Brother."
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