by Tao Wong
“Us?” Lady Pan shared a glance with Yan Qing before she shrugged. “We never intended to take part in the main assaults. Unfortunately, circumstances dictated otherwise.”
“Circumstances? That vice-general just didn’t know how to take no like a gentleman,” Yan Qing said, his hands stopping. Even though his words were aggressive, and his tone was neutral.
“The vice-general?” Wu Ying’s voice sounded troubled, the implications somewhat staggering to him. He did have to admit, Lady Pan had a certain way to her. The way she teased people, the way she acted and drew the attention of everyone who saw her. The few times he’d glimpsed her in the encampment, she had been surrounded by admirers. Mostly male, many wanting to spend time with her. But still, the vice-general…
“You get used to it,” she confided to Wu Ying. “It’s one of the disadvantages of my cultivation method.”
Wu Ying slowly nodded. That would explain a lot, including his attraction to the Lady. Not that she wasn’t beautiful in her own right, but he was with Li Yao. Sort of. Maybe. Maybe not anymore. He shook his head, discarding the thoughts that threatened to make him spiral into self-doubt again. Instead, he fixed his gaze upon the city’s docks as the enemy cultivators left another ship, along with the customs guards, to row on their own boat over to the next ship.
“Why do they stop some and not others?” Wu Ying said.
“Stop what?” Bai Hu asked.
“It depends on the boat. Those with higher status, those with captains and crew who can be trusted will be allowed through,” Lady Pan clarified. “The rest of them will be tested more thoroughly.”
Wu Ying noted, letting his gaze roam over a couple of individuals, tiny dots that walked along in the river. Jade Gates cultivators. Probably sensing for auras, checking to make sure there weren’t hidden dangers.
“Hmmm.” Wu Ying rubbed his chin, trying to work out how he’d break in through the water.
Unfortunately, every idea he had come up with in the last few days had failed on further review and discussion. Swim underwater? Tried and failed. The cultivators who worked the docks were specially picked for their aura sensitivity. Also, Bao Cong had pointed out one evening, there were at least a couple of Core cultivators in the city who were close enough to the docks that they would pick out anyone trying to sneak in even if the guards missed them. So long as they were present, sneaking into the city was impossible.
Not to mention anyone who managed to make their way in had to leave again—or open the gates. Which, considering how reinforced the gates were, would require a significant force.
“I don’t understand,” Wu Ying said. “How are we supposed to get in?”
“We probably aren’t,” Yan Qing said. Having said his piece, he was playing his instrument again, hands slowly moving the bow across the strings.
“What do you mean?” Wu Ying said.
“We were probably never meant to take the city,” Bai Hu said.
“Definitely not. How would the kingdom care for it? We are too far from the border. No, I think we’ve done all that we were meant to,” Lady Pan said.
Wu Ying frowned, and the lady looked him over, considering. After some thought, she conjured a jian from her ring, replacing her needles and embroidery with the weapon, which she used to draw on the ground. She never actually touched the ground, instead instilling a small amount of metal chi into the blade and using the weapon to form the map. Wu Ying quickly understood the simple lines for the river and the city they were watching. Quick stabs added nearby cities, and he assumed the Xs were the armies. When he questioned Lady Pan, she acknowledged his guesses.
“Now here we are.” Lady Pan gestured. “And here is the reserve of the army of Wei. They are moving toward us now, making sure that we do not take and hold the city.”
“Yes.” All of that was public information now, among even the soldiers.
“Now, what would happen if we hadn’t been here?” Before Wu Ying could answer, Lady Pan continued. “Their reserve would have been free to reinforce the others. But instead, we’re here, fighting on their soil, allowing us to destroy their crops, damage their city, eat their food. Even if they come, they have no chance to trap us. We will be able to leave in good time. Maybe we’ll fight them farther down the road. Or maybe we will avoid them. But either way, their army within the city is of no use to them.”
“What if we were ignored?” Wu Ying said.
“Then we have a new city.” Lady Pan shook her head. “War is not just about what you see, nor the objective that you might see. No general chooses a single path to victory. The smart ones, and we do have smart generals, always make sure there is more than one path.”
Wu Ying nodded, then looked over the map again. If they were never meant to take the city and just serve as a distraction, then…
“What the hell am I doing here?” Wu Ying said softly.
Perhaps not that softly, for Lady Pan shot him a sympathetic gaze. Even Bai Hu ended up offering Wu Ying a condescending smile.
***
Late that evening, Wu Ying was seated cross-legged in his tent. He breathed slowly, churning his chi and parsing the energy that was unaspected, that was empty of influence. Yin fire chi, Yang fire chi, metal aspected and earth aspected, it all flowed around him. As it met his aura, the selectively permeable barrier that he had formed around his body bounced them off, leaving him with just the unaspected chi he needed. In the churning morass of chi from the battle, the cultivators who drew and expelled chi around him, Wu Ying found himself rejecting more than nine parts in ten of the chi that tried to reach him.
At the same time, his body churned, the whirlpool in his dantian pulling at the chi around him, allowing him to keep his cultivation speed, his intake of energy, at a higher level. It was difficult training. Aspected chi slipped in constantly, polluting his meridians and requiring him to cleanse them of their aspects, requiring him to expel them into the air. Yet that too was training.
Each moment, each second of training added to his progress as each drop of energy, of effort, wore away at the barrier that kept him from advancing. Each indrawn portion of chi added to the core that was his dantian, allowing him to compress it further and refine the energy. Each breath built the foundation that he needed to progress. And always, he felt the blockages that stopped him from advancing, a light pressure, an ache deep in his body, in his soul that refused to budge.
He pushed on. Through the pain. Through the failure.
For failure was failure. But it was not permanent. Not so long as one continued to try.
Walls could be worn away. Water, time, energy. Lives. The barriers between one stage to the next might be as impenetrable as the walls that stood before them, but they could be split. Could be forced open.
If one persisted.
Through loss, failure, and pain.
A memory of Bai Hu staggering back to their lines, bleeding. Tears running down his face, his brothers slain and left behind for the worms. Of ordinary soldiers running back to camp to take position in the lines. A soldier late at night, clutching the stump of his hand, chi swirling around his body as enlightenment came in the midst of loss.
Persist.
Through danger, injury, and loss.
One breath, one ounce of chi at a time. Whispered words of remembrance, of promises to return favors and to greet others in the next life. Failure—only when one gave up. For the cycle repeated, rebirth and death, over and over, until one broke it.
By becoming an immortal. Or achieving nirvana.
So you kept training, second after second, moment after moment. Until you died. And started it again.
***
Days later, Wu Ying and the team stumbled back from another attack. They had been sent in as the fourth wave, a commitment of forces twice the number they had done before as another wave had arrived right after them. They had pushed against the walls, clustering under the eaves, attempting to climb to the top while the siege ladders were
destroyed via talismans and chi strikes all around them. But rather than give up, the general had ordered hand-held ladders, unused thus far, to be brought and thrown up at various walls. Twice, Wu Ying had had to throw himself off a falling ladder and hit the ground hard, bruising feet and body. Still, it was better than falling still wrapped in the ladder.
For half a day, the army had pushed against the wall, sacrificing numerous bodies and gaining no ground. Thrice, they had taken a portion of the walls just long enough to bring on a few more people before they lost them. Once, they had even had a Core cultivator, a member of the Sect Wu Ying had never met before, standing on the wall. Unfortunately, it seemed that the city had been waiting, for they sent two of their own to do battle. The fight between the three had been enough to clear the wall, destroying portions of the walkway and killing the Elder and one of the other enemy cultivators.
It was not a good trade. Not at all.
Whether the general had decided not to waste any more of his precious Core cultivators or because he felt the attempts to bait out the opposing defenders had been unsuccessful, he had never sent another major power to attack. And so, it was Energy Storage cultivators and regular soldiers who had fought, bled, and died. But that was the way of it. Those who had the most to lose would be put the most at risk.
And it really did not matter. In the end, the general called them back, leaving the walls damaged, the defenders bloodied, but the city untouched. The cheers that roared from the city, the catcalls and the horns had been uncharacteristic of the usually disciplined army of defenders. But Wu Ying could understand their jubilation. Rumors had already spread amongst the State of Shen’s own ranks that the State of Wei’s reserve army was only a week away. The siege was likely to be lifted, for no general would risk his army getting caught between the city, a river, and another army.
Later that night, under the cover of darkness, the siege weapons were rolled closer to the city. Then burning talismans, grouped flasks of oil, and flaming rocks had been tossed into the city, to damage, destroy, and otherwise wreck what they could.
Wu Ying and his team had a good view of all this, for they had been designated to sneak closer to the city ahead of the siege engines. There, under the cover of the assault trenches, his team had hidden. Waiting for the obvious retaliation. The State of Wei could not just let them send rocks and fire into their own city. So while archers imbued arrows and artillery in the city fired back, the gates of the city opened for the first time.
Wu Ying was tempted to dash in, but he knew they were likely looking for some foolhardy attack like that. Also, he wasn’t exactly sure that Yin Xue would have followed him. And while Wu Ying had a rough map of the city, if he went in in the middle of the night, trying to dodge soldiers, he wondered if he could find the location. And Wu Ying had to admit, their current orders were not ones he could in good conscience defy. Never mind the eventual, probably much harsher, punishment but also because he had promised to join the war effort. He too had his own honor. No matter what Li Yao thought.
The team stayed still, waiting for the calvary charge to pass them, watching and restraining their auras as best as they could. Thankfully, for this task, the army had provided them all with talismans that concealed their auras. All but Wu Ying, for his control was sufficient for their needs. As such, the rushing Wei cultivators missed their group, charging directly at the siege weapons that continued to attack the city. And if the soldiers noticed them, a few soldiers looking to launch a surprise attack were less important than destroying the siege engines. In truth, Wu Ying couldn’t blame them. After all, his team wasn’t there to fight the cavalry.
“Here they come!” Li Yao hissed at the group.
She was peeking out the corner of the trenches, staring at another mass of individuals who had left the city after the main charge. Soon, the enemy cultivators split off in different directions to aid the soldiers, moving in small groups. Wu Ying, crouched in the trench, could sense their auras even from here, and he could not help but shake his head. What was it with people and not learning to restrain themselves? Was it a matter of pride?
As they moved forward, barely making a noise, Wu Ying revised his opinion. Of course it was pride.
Still, Wu Ying had to chuckle internally. Their pride made the job easier.
Li Yao gestured at the group, making quick signals to pass on the details she spotted and assigning everyone to their tasks. In short order, the team was ready, weapons drawn and arrows nocked. As Li Yao slowly closed her fingers, the entire group tensed, waiting. When her hand clenched, everyone charged out of the trench. Even Bao Cong jumped out to give himself a better angle of fire.
They caught the group of enemy cultivators semi-unaware. Even if the talismans restrained their auras, they could not do so completely. On the other hand, they must have seemed to the other cultivators like a group of soldiers. Not strong enough to seriously worry about, but enough that their enemy was expecting the attack. What they did not expect was the series of chi-projected attacks, as weapons skills and fist forms gave life to energy projections.
The attacks were so mixed together, even Wu Ying’s Woo Petal Bracer’s metallic energy was hard to pick out. The surprise attack was somewhat successful, taking down one of the cultivators and seriously injuring two of the others. Together, Wu Ying and his team charged in, targeting the three cultivators left standing and unharmed as they reeled from the attack.
As if it was planned, Wu Ying found himself facing off not against the unharmed enemy but the two injured Sect members who were trying to run away. Rather than waste his time, Wu Ying threw another cut filled with the power of the Woo Petal Bracer, hoping he could finish the battle quickly. His energy field attack was blocked by one, semi-blocked by the other, leaving him to engage them in close combat. A lunge, a quick clatter of blades, a cut down low, then he was in, shoulder checking his opponent into the other. As they stumbled back, he took advantage of the momentary confusion to cut across his first opponent’s ankles, hobbling him further.
A sudden thrust of a spear aimed at Wu Ying’s face made him dance aside. He circled the pair, parrying the spear strikes while he countered, cheating by sliding his weapon down the spear shaft every chance he could. The attacks shaved off minor slices of wood, but more importantly, they made his opponent leery of committing for fear of getting his fingers sliced off. As the pair clashed, his first opponent pushed himself back to his feet as blood pooled around his ankles.
Realizing he would have to fight them both again soon, Wu Ying decided to risk it. He threw himself forward, and as the spear shot toward him, he twisted his body. He caught the attack high in the chest, just a couple of inches above his heart and to the left, but it glanced off the lamellar plate. His opponents, neither expecting the sudden charge, were caught by surprise as Wu Ying traded attacks.
Unlike his opponent, Wu Ying infused his weapon with his own chi and his sword intent, planting his front foot as he completed Greeting the Sunrise. The attack left his opponent with a new mouth, one that started below his chin and extended all the way to his ear, a mouth that erupted in a spray of blood.
As Wu Ying turned on his next opponent, the man slumped to the side, one hand futilely grasping at the feathers that stood out from below his chest, just under his armpit. It seemed that Bao Cong had beaten Wu Ying to it. It didn’t matter to Wu Ying.
He turned to the main battle, ready to help. As always, Tou He was holding his own, but this time, neither party seemed to have the upper hand. However, it seemed Li Yao was the one most struggling of the three, on the backfoot as her opponent conjured swaths of flame that burnt at her ice spear.
Decision made, Wu Ying threw himself into the fight. They had to finish this fast, before the defenders sent help.
***
As the group ran back, their opponents slain, bodies looted of valuables, they grinned at one another. After so many days of boring patrols, the brief encounter had been exhilarating. Even if
it had meant the death of others, doing battle was still a rush. The last trebuchet fired its final payload, moments before coming down with a crash as a massive rose petal energy projection smashed into the trebuchet. As he watched, Wu Ying reminded himself that all this glory, all this excitement, came at the expense of lives.
Civilian lives.
War, no matter how glorious, was paved with the blood and bones of commoners.
People like he had been.
And, perhaps, not anymore?
Chapter 19
Later that night, Wu Ying tossed and turned in his bed as sleep continued to elude him. His mind kept turning back to the siege engines, torn and twisted, discarded after their use. He kept seeing faces—of those soldiers who had fallen, the ones who had screamed in the medical tents as their limbs were amputated or their wounds were sewn closed. All around him, the noise of camp packing up resounded. Extra soldiers were on duty tonight to make sure that the army was not attacked in turn, adding to the noise level. The light from the burning city could be seen through his tent flaps, the damage still ongoing.
None of it helped him sleep, even if he normally slept all too easily. Tonight, his mind churned. Too much. He’d seen too much.
Wu Ying rolled off his bed, the cot sagging and buckling a little as the bamboo legs threatened to come apart. He could have gotten something better, but considering they were leaving soon, it had seemed wasteful. Even the tent he had been allocated was small, though larger than any soldier’s. He had a cot, a meditation pad, and a location to store his equipment. More than adequate for him. He could have gotten more luxurious furnishings, a larger space perhaps, if he had insisted. Spent his contribution points. But it was a luxury he did not need, a waste of resources and time. Not that he had anything against luxury. He wasn’t one of those who railed against it just because he hadn’t had it when he was younger. Wu Ying just thought it wasn’t appropriate here.
