Chapter 6
Blood-stained sand sank to the ground, the north wind unable to stir up the clotted gravel. The fallen warhorse let out a mournful low whine, allowing the scimitar's piercing blow to end its torment. The dug sand pit was filled, and the remaining corpse lay sprawled on the wasteland, the few strands of grass that hadn't been bent swaying in the wind.
Li He closed his eyes briefly, wondering why he didn't feel the wild joy of surviving a catastrophe at his victory. The voices around him grew louder, a mingling of curses against the Hu people and grander fantasies. He wondered if it was a matter of unfamiliarity, because before this, he hadn't even spent a full year on the battlefield. Every battle ended in endless flight and pain. On nights like that, even the most daring ballads in Longxi sounded mournful, and the unquenchable flames were blown away by the wind. The nights were long, long enough for him to dream many, many dreams.
Those dreams, the details of which he would never forget even long after waking from the cockcrow, were completely different this time. A victory, he belatedly realized. This was the first battlefield where he didn't have to flee. He could now go down and help them select more suitable weapons and more complete armor. It was just an unfamiliar feeling, perhaps? He seemed to have found a suitable answer to his current feelings, and he opened his eyes again.
Li He loosened his grip on his sword and slumped to the ground, waiting for the others to finish cleaning up the battlefield. The bleeding on his shoulder should have stopped. He would have to go back to the tent and wait in line with the doctor to remove the arrow. He figured he could tend to the wound himself later. The wounded would be piled up in a separate tent with the doctor, and it was difficult to sleep amidst the screams of pain all night.
Li He raised his other hand, clumsily untying the newly tightened arm armor. He seemed to have tied it into a knot in his haste, so he could only cut the rope with the sharp side of a nearby gravel. His fingertips touched the blood-soaked linen, and then continued to press towards the center of the pain. The wound, which was not long, was firmly blocked by the feather arrow, and upwards he could touch the rough wooden splinters.
The blood seemed to subside, and a long, agonizing pain ensued, pulling at the surrounding flesh. Li He only now realized the extent of his injury. He figured the arrow must have lodged deep in his shoulder, otherwise how could the blood have congealed so quickly? The sword fell beside his leg, and someone chopped off the top half of the arrow. He was then helped to his feet and continued walking eastward to the next flat area where he could set up camp.
The wound on his shoulder continued to burst as he walked, blood flowing onto his hand. Li He was supported by others to keep up with the pace of the front group. Behind him were the wounded soldiers who were walking even slower. Now there were no spare hands to carry the seriously injured. They were left behind, and whether they could keep up or not, they still had to rely on themselves to survive.
The temperature hadn't yet dropped to unbearable levels in the early days of winter, and the sun's rays shone brightly, allowing them to break into a light sweat as they walked. The smell of blood gradually spread, a fact they couldn't change no matter how picky they were. The soaked linen clothes dried again, clinging to their bodies, the blood-stained parts beginning to stiffen.
They finally stopped when Li He felt that the pain from his arrow wound had completely subsided. The sun had not yet set, and there were traces of a camp on this wasteland. The camp was empty, and no one cared where these people had gone, or whether they were dead or alive. They re-set up the tents, and the weapons and armor they had confiscated were first counted and calculated one by one. The few horses were led by the grooms to find hay to chew, and the generals drank and talked happily. The camp was noisy again, continuing to vent their unfinished heroic spirit. Li He sat with his back to the tents. The military doctor's tent was already filled with wounded soldiers, some with broken limbs, and some with their intestines ripped open. There were long groans of pain and also silence.
Everything felt unreal, only the wounds and pain tangibly revealing the aftermath of a battle, the fate of most of them. Jiang Er limped over to Li He and sat down. "Little brother, why don't you go and get a seat in line? You don't know, if you're late, the military doctor won't have any medicine. You'll just have to bandage your wounds and tough it out." He then slowly began to remove his armor, which was stained with blood, making it difficult to discern its original color.
Li He also loosened the straps of his armor. "I'm afraid we won't be able to get a spot if we go now. Brother Jiang, why don't you go first?" He turned to look at the feather arrow lodged in his shoulder. The herbs the old man had given should be enough for him. "It's a minor wound. I accidentally got stabbed in the leg by a barbarian who had chopped me down. Luckily I dodged quickly and now there's not even any bleeding." Jiang Er waved his hand. "The arrow wound on my little brother's shoulder is much more serious. Without applying medicine, I'm afraid it won't heal much in ten days or half a month."
Li He touched the small bag of herbs stuffed around his waist. "At that time, the old man from the neighborhood who was collecting grain took pity on me and gave me some dry herbs. I'd like to trouble Brother Jiang to help me pull out the arrow. After I sort them out, Brother Jiang will also have a share." He unwrapped the layers of linen wrappings and sorted out the hemostatic and tissue-growing herbs and the appropriate dosage according to the pharmacology that his youngest son and the old man had taught him.
"Thank you, little brother and old man. Little brother, take care of yourself first. My injury is not a big deal. I can walk again tomorrow morning after resting tonight." Jiang Er patted Li He's uninjured shoulder. "But I've only seen others pull out arrows. This is my first time. Please bear with me, little brother."
Li He turned sideways, biting his palm as Jiang Er pulled the half-fleshed arrow from his shoulder. He swallowed back a cry of pain, his teeth clenched tightly. The bite on his palm drew blood, and the sweet, fishy smell of rust filled the air. He felt the blood begin to flow again, and the arrow scraped against his flesh, stretching the wound even further.
He reached out and slowly tore the herbs into pieces, sprinkling them onto the relatively clean linen cloth, then handed it to Jiang Er to bandage the wound on his shoulder. "Thankfully, the barbarians haven't learned our way of smearing poison on arrows. But little brother, you need to lie down and rest for the time being. The blood is flowing like a river."
Li He groaned softly, the blood quickly soaking the linen. The linen, wrapped tightly with herbs, held his shoulder's free range of motion. He waited quietly for the excruciating pain to subside. Fatigue had long been left behind by the pain, and he felt unusually alert. He reached out and touched the half-stranded arrow he had just pulled out. The tip of the arrow was a bloody mess, and the wooden splinter was also stained with blood. It turned out that he had been injured by such an iron weapon.
"Brother Jiang, you have to take care of the injury on your leg yourself. Just crush these herbs and apply them on the wound. If you are worried, you can wait a few days and see a military doctor." He gave some of the remaining herbs to Jiang Er and fell silent again. Of course, he didn't have the strength to speak now.
"How can I not trust you, little brother? If you say it works, then it works." Jiang Er chewed the herbs and applied them to his calf. "It's bitter, but it's good medicine. It has the bitter smell of a doctor."
Li He laughed along, leaning back against a dead tree. The wounded were still lined up in a long line at the camp. Occasionally, a collapsed soldier was carried sideways into the camp, and quite a few were carried sideways out of the camp. He closed his eyes and calculated the amount of herbs needed; it was barely enough to stop the blood sores for three to five days.
Old crows carried scraps of meat from the carcasses back to their nests, their hoarse cries lost in the dim moonlight. A fire was lit in the tents to ward off the cold. With victory in the battle, the day's rations were naturally much more plentiful. The dead Hu horses were cut into large chunks and the meat was shared. The thin porridge was cooked with more rice and flour, eliminating the need for wild vegetables to dilute the water. The horse meat roasted over the fire, giving it a fragrant aroma. They simply used short knives to carve the meat and share it among themselves.
Li He also received a piece, enjoying it with porridge, a rare treat of meat and a full meal in a year. The sour, lean meat was difficult to chew[1], which prolonged his enjoyment. The hot soup and roasted meat were hard to resist. He thought about it, this was the first time he had ever been given such a large piece of meat to chew. This was what winning a battle was like: although there were countless wounded soldiers and pain, there was also hot soup and meat. Some men were already imagining brewing another jar of wine, how happy it was.
Victory and fantasy began to connect, a tenuous connection. Even if rivers of blood flowed, and the dead lay in the wasteland, devoured by birds and beasts, leaving only bones, it still counted as a military achievement. They could eat large slabs of meat they couldn't even eat during the New Year, and gather in the warmth of their tents to discuss the future. Or perhaps, with enough victories, the war would be almost over. They would all be able to live better lives than before, with three meals a day and a safe home. There would only be the worries of life, without the horrors of battle.
Li He put down his bowl and eased the pain in his shoulders. He'd just changed shifts, and the pain in both shoulders persisted, so he decided to stay on duty all night. He finished his meat porridge and went out to sit outside the tent. Nighttime watch in ordinary tents wasn't a routine affair. The tents reflected the glow of fires and the shadows of people. The lingering aroma of meat lingered, seemingly drifting far into the wilderness.
The tonight wind carried the chill of early winter. Li He wrapped himself tightly in his armor and moved closer to the tent. They sat inside and continued their conversation, moving from their dreams of victory to the myriad ways of killing enemies on the battlefield. In the past, when they had lost, all they talked about were the dead and the stories of every wound. Now, after a victory, they could even boast about their feats of being as strong as an ox, chopping off dozens of men in a row, or about the joy of escaping death and emerging unscathed.
It was as if they had already driven back the barbarians along the way, all the way to Yumen, and would be home in a few nights. The living, on such occasions, no longer spoke of the dead in the wasteland, not even their brothers, fellow villagers, or close friends. Perhaps only dreams would awaken them to such events, but now joy overwhelmed their minds.
Tonight's fire burned brighter than ever, and Li He listened quietly to their thunderous voices. Northern folk songs filled his heart, mingling with the heroic spirit and fighting spirit. He suddenly felt lost, as if he should be completely immersed in the joy of victory, savoring the delicious flavor of the meat, the satisfaction of a full belly, and the joy of being alive. This was the way it should be. Today was the day of victory over the Hu people, the day of finally realizing his sweet dreams. Perhaps nothing else mattered.
[1] In ancient times, horse meat was generally not eaten except in extreme circumstances. By the way, horse meat may not be as fragrant as donkey meat, but after slow-cooking to remove the acid, it is still a high-quality protein and red meat. Some countries in Europe now eat horse meat.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
