Chapter 15
When Li He woke up again, it was time for his shift change. The morning's falling snow had completely covered the ground, leaving deep craters in the snow as the crowds moved. The soft white mixed with the yellow sand of Longxi. They relaxed, betting that the Hu people wouldn't take advantage of the heavy snow to attack the city. He tightened his armor and left the tent. The snow, now lighter, continued to fall, silently acknowledging their assertion.
It was a rare heavy snowfall in Longxi. The distant mountaintops merged with the clouds, leaving no trace. The untrodden snow was knee-deep. Dead branches, unable to bear the weight of the accumulated snow, occasionally broke and struck passersby. This winter was colder than the winter of his death. Now, goose-feather-like snowflakes drifted, and the wind seemed willing to hold back for a while, letting the white snow continue to accumulate.
He followed Jiang Er out of the city gate and circled the wall to check for any other signs. Armor couldn't block the melting snow, so they slowly followed the footsteps of those before them, surveying the area outside the wall. A fair amount of snow had fallen on the uneven bricks, and the snowflakes, which hadn't yet melted, would eventually wash away the grit carried by the north wind.
Li He looked up and saw the snow drifting even further away. It was even softer than the snow that fell in the morning, falling slowly from the sky to the ground, as if covered by a layer of fog. Looking up, he could only see endless white in the distance. They made sure there were no signs of other people around, then walked back to the tent.
Even on snowy days, the tents were much warmer than usual. Sitting by the firewood, they drank from their bowls of porridge, regretting the lack of liquor to accompany it. It was also a shame that they rarely had broth; otherwise, they would have chewed up the bones, even the soup. Li He sipped his porridge slowly, constantly recalling the Chinese character for "he," day after day, until the snow began to melt.
The city lights went out earlier as the night deepened, and the night watchmen stopped shouting at the top of their lungs. Only the sound of gongs drifted across the empty snow. Li He sometimes stood guard on the city wall, adding oil more frequently than usual to keep the flames ablaze and the black smoke rising high. For several nights in a row, the moon was completely obscured by clouds. When he looked up at the sky, he could only see thick clouds and the occasional white snowflake. The snow on the city wall had been swept aside and frozen. He had to be extra careful on the slippery steps during his night patrols.
When the snow melted, it was naturally colder, so dry grass was added to the porridge to fill their stomachs. Li He huddled in a corner of the tent. When he returned from his shift, his armor and linen clothes were soaking wet and needed to be dried by the fire. But he was used to this kind of cold that seeped into his bones. The fine ice chips were always milder than the north wind that raged relentlessly at nightfall.
Li He wiped the ice off his scimitar with the hem of his shirt, no longer gripping the hilt constantly, though his right hand remained loosely gripped. Jiang Er had heard that the Hu people's camp was located more than ten miles from the city gate. The heavy snow had hampered their movement, making the city defense easier recently. All they had to do was clear the snow that blocked their path and monitor any unusual activity within the city walls.
Their food supplies were starting to run low, but they were still far superior to the vegetables and water Li He had tasted before. At least his mouth no longer had the bitter taste of grass roots. He lay down, waiting for the warmth in the tent to dissipate the chill.
Then, a sharp, long blast of a horn blared, a sound he hadn't heard since arriving at Yumen. Li He froze for a moment, his right hand subconsciously gripping the hilt of his sword. He followed the crowd, dragging his assigned shield to the front of the group. Following the rhythmic drumbeats that followed, he blended into the formation he'd trained in during the day.
They exited through the side gates, splitting into two groups to outflank the Hu troops attacking from the front. The snow on the ground had frozen into ice, slowing their advance. The white snow had barely faded from the wasteland of Longxi, and the yellow sand had already been stirred up again. The Hu cavalry charged ahead, attempting to overrun their ranks.
The horses, their heads raised, neighed in pain, the sound of hooves being hacked off. Li He held the shield in front of him, blocking the barbarian attack. The drums on the city wall beat more and more rapidly, and the ranks kept shifting. Blood flowed into the still-melting snow, corroding the flakes that clung to the ground. The smoke of war grew clearer during the day, and the beacon fires on the city wall swayed in the wind. The barbarian soldiers, climbing ladders from the side, continued to swarm forward. Li He used his scimitar to cut down the horses' hooves as they tried to leap over them. The warhorses then fell to their knees, breaking through their defenses.
The snowy landscape seemed to maintain a desolate silence, with only those trapped within it aware of the constant cacophony of sounds. The thud of swords slashing flesh, the clatter of arrows piercing the air from the city walls, the incomprehensible shouts of the barbarians, and the thud of war drums. Li He remained firmly gripped by his scimitar and shield until the barbarian's sword toppled the shield.
He was once again caught in the chaos of the enemy, forced to use both hands to hold his sword against the fierce force of the blades, gradually retreating to be joined by those behind him. Li He temporarily escaped from this chaos, ready to relieve the front. The patrols on the city wall had already used stones, and the Hu people were being pelted with stones at an ever-increasing rate. The snow beside the city wall had completely disappeared, and the yellow sand was stirred up. The blood from the dead bodies was rapidly congealing. Li He suppressed the urge to distract himself and look at the battlefield. Following the drumbeat, he took the shields of the fallen men in front of him, which were still usable, and took their weapons from their clenched and stiff fingers, and continued his previous attack.
The clouds had thinned today, and the sun finally peeked through. For the time being, they wouldn't notice the faint warmth. Caught in the chaotic battle, their formations gradually disintegrated, each slashing at the enemy before them. Blood streamed across the ground, a mixture of ice and sand, gradually turning a congealed black.
Li He felt his fingers go stiff, not only frozen by the howling north wind, but also numbed by the force of the knife handle as he defended himself. He sank into this predicament, the blood in his bones neither boiling nor freezing. He accepted this fate and moved forward with it.
Perhaps his back had already been slashed two or three times by the barbarians, and his armor had been ripped open. The wind rushed in through the gaps, cooling the sweat all over his body. Li He thought this, still blending in with the ranks, risking his life to resist the barbarians who kept charging. Before the battering rams they were pulling reached the city gate, Li He could hear the horns from the city walls getting louder and louder, and he tightened his grip on his sword.
It didn't seem like much time had passed before the drumbeats grew heavy and slow, accompanied by scattered cheers of victory from all around. This was the signal to withdraw the troops. Li He, still clutching his sword, returned from the city gate. The bodies lying outside would be left for nighttime disposal. The ladders left by the Hu people had been cut down, and the snow outside the city walls had disappeared, exposing the frozen soil and gravel beneath.
He didn't want to use the few remaining herbs he'd stuffed into his arms. They were the herbs his father and his youngest son had painstakingly gathered but hadn't yet taken to the city to sell. They were the last things they'd left him. He went into the wounded's tent, waiting for the military doctor to treat the wounded soldiers ahead with their limbs broken. He was stopped by a man lying in the corner, covered in snow, his injuries unclear. The only thing he could tell was the half-broken arrow lodged in his abdomen, allowing him to identify the source of the blood.
The man pulled back his knife, his lips moving incessantly as he spoke incoherently. Li He couldn't hear clearly, so he had to kneel down and lean over to hear his request. The voice was extremely faint, but it was as frightening as thunder in Li He's ears. "Little brother... I'm afraid I won't live to see that day." Accompanied by violent coughing, blood flowing from his mouth obscured his face. Li He recognized the faint voice: it was Jiang Er.
"Little brother... in the future... see, see... sister—" Li He was silent, leaning in closer to listen to Jiang Er's words. He hadn't expected Jiang Er to become like this, and in silence, he memorized these fragmented words. He wanted to reach out and cover Jiang Er's bleeding wound. He called out to Jiang Er with a hoarse voice, but it was destined not to reach Jiang Er's ears. His voice was as weak as Jiang Er's. He loosened his hand on the knife at his waist, trembling violently. He looked at Jiang Er's blurry face again and wiped away the blood with his hand. Jiang Er's eyes were still open. Li He wondered how Jiang Er could die before him.
He thought Jiang Er must have passed out from his injuries, so he silently grabbed the military doctor and asked him to treat Jiang Er lying on the ground first. The crowd around him pushed him back. Someone squatted on the ground and used brute force to shut Jiang Er's eyes. Those eyes that had been open because he felt he had not yet completed his instructions at the moment of death. Those eyes that still looked at the sky, wanting to go home. Those cloudy, tired, and bloodshot eyes.
Li He sat slumped in this corner. He felt that the surroundings were too noisy. He immersed himself in his own silence, thinking about the words left by Jiang Er over and over again. He knew what they meant, "When you go home one day in the future, please help me take care of my sister." That was the sister that Jiang Er often talked about, the person that Jiang Er had been thinking about for two or three years, and the sister that Jiang Er vowed to win military merit for so that she could marry in glory.
Li He completed Jiang Er's thought, his mind still brooding over Jiang Er's eyes, which hadn't closed just now. He closed his eyes, a heavy sigh spilling from his chest. The lump in his chest grew even thicker, and he could barely breathe. He watched as they wrapped Jiang Er's body in a straw mat and dragged him out of the tent, leaving more space for the remaining survivors. Li He remained silent in the darkness and noise, maintaining a nearly dead silence.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
