Rebirth of a Star General 113
The Doctor
“Xiao Huaijin?” Ridamuzy looked at the person in front of him with gloomy eyes.
“Fei Nu.”
When Fei Nu appeared behind him, Xiao Jue handed He Yan to him, “Take them back.”
Fei Nu supported He Yan, Song Taotao also got up and followed behind, as the two of them arrived at the stage of the martial arts arena. At this moment, there were people around, Fei Nu asked He Yan, “Can you still hold on?”
He Yan nodded.
“Sit first,” Fei Nu helped her to sit and lean against the tree, “The doctor will be here soon.”
Doctor? He Yan was puzzled. There was only one medical girl, Shen Muxue in Liangzhou Guard, and she was being watched intently by the Qiang soldiers at the moment – beautiful women were always eye-catchers in a military camp.
She raised her eyes and looked up at the stage.
On the martial arts stage.
“Didn’t you want to spar with me?” Xiao Jue drew his sword carelessly, his dark eyes looking at the person in front of him, as he said with his slightly hooked lips, “Go ahead.”
Ridamuzy asked, “You are Xiao Huaijin?”
Xiao Jue smiled a little, “Do I look like a fake?”
Everyone in the world knew that there were two famous generals in the Great Wei – General Feng Yun, Xiao Huajin, and General Fei Hong, He Rufei. But just as He Yan had never fought the Southern Barbarians, Xiao Jue had never fought the Western Qiang. Although he had heard of their reputation, this was the first time they met.
Ridamuzy has never seen the real appearance of Xiao Jue, and before that, he had received the news that Xiao Jue went to Zhangtai, from Zhangtai to Liangzhou. According to the time of the journey back and forth, it was impossible for him to return here.
But the sword in his hand…does not look like an ordinary sword.
Seeing him hesitate to move, Xiao Jue raised his eyebrows, “Are you afraid?”
Ridamuzy sneered, “As if!” After shouting, he lunged with his sword.
But seeing the young man did not move, the sword in his hand was frighteningly cold. The sharpness looked unstoppable, as he moved like a falling flower, lazily sweeping straight through the scimitar, swift and fierce, looking only dazzling in the eyes of people. Ridamuzy who just fought with He Yan already had broken morale, and now he was even less able to cope up with him. Therefore he was defeated as Xiao Jue’s autumn sword shot straight to his chest.
“Commander!” This was the cry of his men.
Ridamuzy leaned back but was not stabbed by Xiao Jue in the chest. Instead, his armor broke through as with the tip of the sword and was thrown down, and in an instant, his chest was no longer covered by the armor.
“Western Qiang warrior?” Xiao Jue’s lips curled slightly as he taunted, “Is that all?”
Ridamuzy was burning with anger, but the exchange of blows had already shown that he was no match for Xiao Jue. The Liangzhou Guard had crouching tigers and hidden dragons, like He Yan just now, a new recruit with such ability. Who knew if there would be others? There was no need to continue sparring on the martial arts field. He had lost his troops, his two favorite generals, and was also seen in such a sorry state by his subordinates.
He looked sideways at the stage, thinking… why there was no movement.
The young man elegantly wiped his sword, smiled, and looked at him, “What are you waiting for? Waiting for good news from the ambushers by the Wulu River?”
Ridamuzy’s heart trembled, and he slowly looked up.
“Then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.” Xiao Jue laughed lightly, but his eyes were indifferent.
“Ke Muzhi!” Ridamuzy darted back and shouted, “Granary! The granary!”
“No news,” the subordinate’s voice also carried a hint of panic, “Commander, they haven’t returned yet!”
Xiao Jue was faintly stunned.
Below the stage, someone laughed.
Ridamuzy followed the voice and saw that the culprit who had almost caused him to fall on his face – the black-clothed boy named He Yan, had a clever smile on his face. She was already weak and her voice was very soft, but her words were still so annoying, “Sneaking to someone else’s granary to set the fire is too despicable. There were already bowmen present from the start. This commander, your men, won’t be able to return.”
How could they have prepared for this?
Ridamuzy suddenly realized that the situation was bad. He prepared a play early and thought that he could close the trap with satisfaction. Little did he know that when the mantis was catching the cicada, the oriole was behind his back. He thought he was the mantis, but he didn’t realize that there was an Oriole in the scene too.
Fooled!
He felt afraid that Xiao Jue’s trip to Zhangtai was just a decoy. Liangzhou Guard recruits being vulnerable was also a fake. It was all a fake. Everything was made to let them fall for it. The traitor here has long been exposed!
“We’re trapped! Try to get out of here!” He yelled at the crowd on the stage, “There are ambushers by the river!”
Ambush? The Qiang soldiers were confused. Weren’t the ambushers by the river their own people? The purpose was to wipe out the new recruits of Liangzhou Guard. But what does this mean…
“Since you’re already here,” Xiao Jue looked at him, “don’t leave.”
Ridamuzy gritted his teeth and crossed his scimitar in front of him. Things have come to this point. Their Western Qiang morale was low and now they were caught in a trap. The only thing they could do is to fight with their backs to the wall. However, if he can escape, he will have a chance to come back later!
“Warriors!” He raised his sword, “Kill them! Kill them all!”
The soldiers behind him raised their swords and started slaughtering wildly. They were in a melee with the recruits of Liangzhou Guard. Someone secretly set off a signal, and the smoke canisters flew up and exploded in the air.
Ridamuzy turned around and tried to take advantage of the chaos to escape.
As soon as he turned around, he felt someone pressing his shoulder.
“Want to run?” At this moment, the features of the Young General were stunningly beautiful, yet the smile was indifferent, “Can you run?”
As they exchanged blows.
He heard a sudden earth-shattering sound from the front, following the sound of a look, they saw an army running from the direction of Wulu River, all in black armor and black clothes. The foremost person was riding a horse, holding a battle flag, which had the word “South” written on it.
“It’s the South Army! The Nine Banners Battalion!”
“The Southern soldiers are coming!”
He Yan could hardly keep her eyes open. In order to prevent her from being hurt in the chaos, Fei Nu helped her to retreat, so He Yan could only hastily glance.
A steady stream of Southern soldiers came from the river, as if endless.
Help has come…. Before she passed out, He Yan looked in the direction of Xiao Jue. This was the only one thought in her mind.
It turned out…he had this idea.
……
It was a tragic battle.
Ridamuzy would not be stupid enough to lead only a thousand soldiers to provoke the Liangzhou Guards. He occupied the village closest to the Wulu River, crossed the river overnight, and set up an ambush by the river. If Liangzhou Guard’s recruits couldn’t resist and wanted to evacuate, they would be like sheep entering the tiger’s mouth, and they would be wiped out.
It’s just that people’s calculations are not as good as heaven’s. Probably, Ridamuzy himself did not expect that when he and others were “sparring with each other” in the martial arts field, the ambush by the Wulu River would not go very smoothly. He thought that all the recruits were around the martial arts field, but for some unknown reason, there was another team of archers hiding in the jungle beside the Wulu River. As soon as the Qiangs appeared, they fired arrows so they had to fight them hands-on, leading their formation into a mess. Then, Xiao Jue, who should not have come back at this time, suddenly appeared and brought back 10,000 soldiers from Southern province.
The 10,000 Southern soldiers, against more than 10,000 Qiangs, would not have won too easily. But if one adds the high morale of the new soldiers of the Liangzhou Guard, and the invincible Nine Banners Battalion, naturally, the attack is invincible.
The original thought to win the game, was turned upside down in an instant.
All the cronies around Ridamuzy died in battle. He knew that he would not be able to escape today, and he did not want to be a prisoner to be slaughtered, so he sliced his neck with his machete and committed suicide.
Once the leader was dead, the group became headless, and the remaining Qiangs soon abandoned their armors and fled.
It ended faster than expected.
On the martial arts field of Liangzhou Guard, at the foot of the Bai Yue Mountain, beside the road and by the Wulu River, there were all corpses. In this battle, a lot of Liangzhou Guard’s new recruits were also lost, the most tragic was probably the patrolling sentries who were secretly killed last night. The next was the archers, with whom the Qiangs were the first to engage.
The surviving, lightly wounded soldiers helped clean and organized the battlefield, carrying out the bodies of their companions. Those who were seriously wounded were sent to the medical center to be treated by Shen Muxue and her servants.
Xiao Jue walked outside, with Shen Han following behind him.
“Uncle!” Cheng Lisu was carried by Chi Wu, pounced over, saying in shock, “Why did you come back only now! I was scared to death, I thought I was going to die here today!”
Xiao Jue didn’t have time to say anything, but Cheng Lisu saw Shen Han behind Xiao Jue. He thought of the sufferings he had undergone at Shen Han’s place some days ago, and now that his elder was here, he immediately complained and said, “Uncle! Let’s talk about Instructor Shen. If it wasn’t for Brother He today, that… whatever his name was, would have gone on a killing spree in Liangzhou Guard. Brother He tried to help us, but as a result, he was put in the prison the other day! It’s too aggravating!”
“The prison?” Xiao Jue glanced at Shen Han, “What happened?”
Shen Han’s head was as big as a bucket and he replied, “…It’s a long story, the situation was urgent and I didn’t dare to confirm He Yan’s identity.”
“And you wrongly accused him of murder! What was the result? In the end, you arrested Brother He and released the real murderer! My big brother saved you all today regardless of the past. You all have to apologize to him later!”
“That’s enough.” Xiao Jue rebuked, “Chi Wu, you take Cheng Lisu back.”
“Hey? Uncle, where are you going?”
“I’m going to change my clothes.” Xiao Jue didn’t bother with him and said to Shen Han, “You follow me, I have something to ask you.”
He had come back in a hurry – having rushed over without sleep – and had just experienced a vicious battle, his body was covered in blood and dirt. As soon as he got back to the house, he quickly showered and changed into clean clothes before going out and bumping into a young man dressed in white.
This young man was similar in age to Xiao Jue, born with beautiful eyebrows, but also courteous, with a smile on his face, his clothes embroidered with a fairly like crane. It was winter but he was holding a folding fan and shaking it gently, as if it was not the season of cold.
When he saw Xiao Jue, he smiled and said, “Are you hurt? Would you like me to treat you?”
Xiao Jue raised his hand to block his movement: “No. There’s a dying one next door. Take a look at that one.”
“Oh?” The young man looked into the next room, revealing a reluctant expression, “I, the white-robed sage, Lin Shuanghe, have only treated women. You are already an exception. We haven’t seen each other for several years, yet you want me to break the rules as soon as you arrive, and now you even want me to treat the soldiers under you? Then what would be the difference between me and those street doctors?”
Xiao Jue, “Are you going or not?”
Lin Shuanghe unfolded his fan with a swish and said haughtily, “I’ll go.”
Shen Han on the other side was amazed when he heard the words. This person who looks like a gentleman is Lin Shuanghe and he will be treating He Yan now? If that’s the case, then the relationship between He Yan and Xiao Jue is really extraordinary. Thinking about the fact that he had put He Yan into the prison, Shen Han couldn’t help but feel a headache.
This was really stirring up a hornet’s nest!
A few people went to He Yan’s room together. In the house, Song Taotao was sitting in front of the bed to wipe He Yan’s sweat. The mattress under her body was stained red with blood and she didn’t know where she was hurt. Song Taotao wanted to help, but she didn’t dare to do it easily. At this moment, when she saw Xiao Jue coming over with a young man, she immediately said joyfully, “Second Young Master Xiao!”
“The doctor is here.” Xiao Jue said, “You can go out.”
Song Taotao looked at Lin Shuanghe and was stunned for a moment, “Mr. Lin?”
Shuojing was not small, to say the least, but also not large, Song Ci knew Lin Shuanghe’s father, and the two had met before, so they were considered old acquaintances.
“Miss Song, long time no see.” Lin Shuanghe shook his folding fan, “I’ve come to see this little brother.”
“But you are not, not…,” Song Taotao said hesitantly.
“It’s true that I only see women,” Lin Shuanghe sighed, “but I’ve been entrusted by others to be faithful. So I’ll make an exception, just this once, and it won’t happen again.”
Song Taotao wanted to say something else, but Xiao Jue said to her, “Miss Song, if you have nothing to do, please go out first, so as not to delay the doctor’s treatment.”
“…Okay.” The young girl got up and went out of the door, Xiao Jue closed the door behind her, and Song Taotao looked at the closed door and suddenly reacted. Xiao Jue himself was still inside, why was his presence inside not delaying the doctor’s treatment?
How could this be!
Inside the room, Lin Shuanghe walked to the front of He Yan’s bed and put his box on a small table. While opening the box, he said, “What is the origin of this brother? How did he live next to you? Are his skills excellent? He looks a little thin.”
Xiao Jue, “Cut the crap.”
Lin Shuanghe didn’t think so, “You didn’t have to let Miss Song go out. She seems to like this brother. Even if she watches from the side, she won’t be in the way, so why did you have to drive people away and leave her anxious outside the door?”
Xiao Jue was speechless for a moment, “You’re thinking too much, I let her out because I was afraid of scaring you.”
“Scare me?” Lin Shuanghe said curiously, “Why would it scare me? It’s not like it’s a difficult disease.” As he said that, he was about to reach out and take off He Yan’s clothes.
Xiao Jue held his arm.
Lin Shuanghe lifted his head, “What?”
“Take his pulse first.”
“What for? His injuries are external. I can tell what’s going on at first glance. I have to dress the wound first!”
Xiao Jue looked at him, “I said to take his pulse first.”
“What’s wrong with you now, Xiao Huaijin?” Lin Shuanghe was confused, “Do you even care how I practice medicine?”
“Are you taking or not?”
“I’ll take!” Lin Shuanghe was overwhelmed by Xiao Jue’s gaze and had no choice but to reach out and take He Yan’s pulse first. Once he felt the pulse, his expression changed. At first he couldn’t believe what he was feeling, so he took it twice more. At the end, he looked at Xiao Jue, “She is…”
Xiao Jue raised an eyebrow, “That’s right.”
Lin Shuanghe propped up, “Xiao Jue! You’re hiding a woman in a golden house!”
Xiao Jue frowned and looked out the door, “You’re so loud. Are you afraid that not enough people knew?”
“No one else knows? Who are the ones that know?” Lin Shuanghe asked in a low voice.
“Just you, me, and Fei Nu.”
“This sister is extraordinary,” Lin Shuanghe used to call all the girls “sister”, but looking at He Yan, his gaze was different, “I said, why would you let someone live next door to you, so the intention of the drunken man is not wine. What is the relationship between you two? We haven’t seen each other for so long, do you finally have a girl you like? Why don’t you tell me where this sister-in-law is from? Why did she come to Liangzhou Guard? It must be for you, right? You too, of course, a girl might not know much about this place, but to make her suffer in such a deserted place, are you still a human being?”
Xiao Jue couldn’t stand it, “Are you finished? If you continue a few more words, she’ll die.”
“How can you curse a little girl like that?” Lin Shuanghe scolded him, “Come here, help me take off her clothes, find a piece of cloth to cover the rest of the body, and just reveal the waist.”
Xiao Jue almost suspected that he had heard wrong and asked, “What did you say?”
“Come and help. Although there are no parents before the doctor, if it was just an ordinary girl, I wouldn’t care so much. But this is your person, of course, you have to help. Otherwise, if there is something wrong in the future, you might have a dislike for me and bring me trouble.”
“What ‘my person’?” Xiao Jue’s forehead veins throbbed, “I have nothing to do with her.”
“You both live together. What do you mean you have nothing to do with her? Since you already know her identity, you must have a great relationship. Hurry, I just felt her pulse. Her situation is not good. She’s already very weak.” Lin Shuanghe urged, “I’ll use hot water to clean her wounds first. Her wound is on her waist.”
Xiao Jue thought of the blood that had stained his hand when he helped He Yan, took a deep breath, and just walked to He Yan’s side. He washed his hands, and then slowly undid He Yan’s clothes.
He turned his head to the side, his eyes fell on the other side, and did not look at He Yan, even so, he inevitably touched He Yan’s body. The skin under his hands was delicate and smooth with a very different feeling from the touch of the men from military camps. It was only at this point that he seemed to realize that He Yan was indeed a woman.
This person is usually lively, and the Liangzhou Guard people called her brother. She has a cheerful nature and was no worse than a man. Over time, although he knew she was a woman, he still treated her as a man.
The first thing that came to his mind was the night when the identity of this woman was discovered at the county residence in Liangzhou City, as his autumn sword cut up He Yan’s clothes, and at that moment, it was discovered that the body that looked so tough in the day was originally clad in such glistening white skin.
Fragile and vulnerable.
He pulled over a thin blanket next to him and wrapped up half of He Yan’s body, his hand went to untie her belt, and as soon as he did, he felt surprised. He Yan’s belt was bound too tightly. Was it because girls loved beauty? Looking at this person’s usual behavior, it is absolutely impossible.
He untied the belt and instantly felt that his palms were moist and the mattress underneath He Yan was stained red. Lin Shuanghe also put away his joke and reached out to check, and was stunned at first glance, saying solemnly, “She’s got a blade inside her.”
Xiao Jue, “What?”
Lin Shuanghe took out the tiny gold pliers and silver needles from the box and gently probed in with the gold pliers. When they probed in He Yan frowned in her coma, seemingly awakened by the pain, but did not wake up after all.
The small pliers carefully clip out a thin blade from the wound on her waist.
Xiao Jue frowned.
Lin Shuanghe said, half with pity, half with admiration, “This sister, she can really hold up!”
Xiao Jue looked at the blade that had been thrown into the plate – thin and sharp. She had been carrying such a thing on the stage? When had this been inside her? Was it from when Ridamuzy was fighting her, or before that? If it was before that, then during the previous two matches, as she fought with people, the blade must have pierced deeper, like a cutting flesh while being alive, only giving unspeakable pain. How did He Yan endure it when ordinary men couldn’t? That’s not all. Xiao Jue still remembered that when he arrived, the boy’s face even had a smile on it, not even a hint of wrong could be seen, fooling everyone.
Liars are used to pretending, but it would be pitiful if she had to deceive even herself.
“What is this girl’s origin?” Lin Shuanghe asked Xiao Jue without raising his head while helping He Yan clean her wounds.
“The daughter of the city gate captain.”
“City gate captain?” Lin Shuanghe’s hands moved, “Why did she come here? For you?”
“You’re thinking too much,” Xiao Jue snorted, “It’s to build a career.”
“What?”
“She said it herself.” Xiao Jue looked out the window.
Lin Shuanghe chewed on those words for a long time, but couldn’t make out a meaning, so he said, “This girl is really remarkable. She can endure what ordinary people can’t. I’ve been practicing medicine for so many years, and I’ve treated countless women, but this is the first time I’ve met one like this.”
Lin Shuanghe took out a clean white cloth and bandaged the medicated He Yan. He had treated more women than he could count in Shuojing, with all kinds of strange diseases – some looked for him to get rid of their ugly birthmarks on their face, some looked for him to prescribe prescriptions to nurture their weak bodies, some looked for him to seek a miracle formula to bear a child after years of marriage, and some looked for him to modulate some recipes to nourish their beauty only to win their husbands’ favor.
The people who could afford him were mostly women from wealthy families, who have suffered nothing in terms of health. Therefore, he was used to seeing the rich flowers on earth, such scarred dogwood was particularly special.
“What is your relationship with her?” He asked.
Xiao Jue, “There is no relationship.”
“Without a relationship, would you take care of her like this? Even I’m at your beck and call.” Lin Shuanghe shook his head, “Tsk, tsk, tsk,” and said, “Forget it, what are you going to do with her afterward?”
“Do with her?”
“Don’t take that because a girl is wearing the clothes of your recruits, she is really your soldier. I see that she is a beautiful girl but now she is tortured into who knoows what. You can’t just let her stay in your barracks as a new recruit, right? How about sending her to Shen Muxue’s side to give Shen Muxue a hand. Not only will she be able to stay by your side, but she would also not have to go to that kind of dangerous place. This girl is soft and weak and should be placed in the house to take good care of. You are superb. You can destroy flowers with your hands and drive away swallows with cruelty….”
“Weak?” Xiao Jue seemed to be amused by his words, hooked his lips, and said slowly, “Before I rushed back, she had just cut off the heads of two Western Qiangs.”
Lin Shuanghe, “…”
“If I had come a little later, she would have chopped off her third.”
Lin Shuanghe’s bandaged hand shook for a long time, before he laughed, “…That’s what they mean to not judge a person by their face. Haha, haha.”
