"Alright men, no dawdling!"
The yelps of soldiers as they thrust their weapons echoed in the base. They all moved in complete unison, It honestly, was amazing. The man with the eyepatch was leading them, pacing back and forth with his arms crossed intimidatingly.
I can't help but watch them. The soldiers themselves were hardworking and s=they trained with a calm head. Keeping up with one another, effortlessly.
"Isn't Xiahou Dun's exercises impressive?"
I jump a little and turn to Master Guo Jia who just came out from his tent. He runs his hand through his blonde hair and plays with the ends. I bow to him and stand back up.
"My apologies, Master. But I've never seen a group of soldiers so together. It's a little overwhelming."
He chuckles at my response as he starts to walk. I follow him closely.
"Well, yes, you do have a point. But having soldiers so together is what keeps Wei so powerful. Our strategies always carry out smoothly, because of their hard work. Speaking of which-" He turns back to me and pokes my chest, I can't help but blink in a confused manner. "We have to change your wear. You stand out like a sore thumb with that green and our men may believe you're an enemy."
I look down at my robe, the green does make me look suspicious. But change my wear? I can't imagine wearing anything different.
"I shall order some handmaidens over to measure you and sew you a new robe." Master Guo Jia speaks as if he can simply snap his fingers and they will do it. I shake my head in disagreement.
"Oh no! I Couldn't bother the maidens like that. They are already so busy and-"
"Let us go to their building now, they should be awake."
Master Guo Jia turns sharply and strides straight to the maiden's tents with no care. I awkwardly follow him, trying to convince him not to bother them, but he doesn't care.
He even just lifts their tents without a warning!
"Ladies, excuse us. But I require a favor."
Al the handmaidens lift their heads and look at Master Guo Jia, Most of them seem to blush at his presence alone. One stands and walks over to him. And they whisper a little. I can't really hear them but I stand and look away from the delicate women in the tent.
"Kya!"
What?! I look back and see Master Guo Jia peppering kisses onto the maiden's face. Her face is flushed and she squirms alittle under his lips. His hands sat delicately on her back and he seemed to rub down….and down….and- Heavens!
I reflexively grabs Master Guo Jia's arm and pull him away roughly. The maiden's robe laid on her body loosely and she used her arms to hold it up. Her neck was….marked.
Master Guo Jia looks up at me, his hazel eyes dulling as he pouts. I hold onto his arm as it sits beside my head and above his own.
"What did you do that for? I was simply giving her some incentive."
Incentive? That seems like some weird incentive.
"My apologies Master, but I don't think that was appropriate." I gather my thoughts and managed a sentence that made sense.
He simply chuckles and looks back at the maiden.
"Well then, do I have your word?"
She can only nod as the event of everything was still plastered in her mind. I couldn't blame her honestly, but I'm surprised she agreed. The other maidens in the tent simply looked away shyly and were silently squealing into their palms.
She fixes her robe and readjusts herself.
"R-Right this way Master Xu Shu."
Master? The foreign title stamped my mind as I walked over to her with a nod. I've never been called 'Master' before. In technicality, I am in a higher position than them, but it still feels weird.
My thoughts were interrupted my pairs of roaming female hands on my body. One hand lifted my right arm, another lifted my left. Another was making it's way around the collar of my robe. I look down to see a maiden undoing the hanging ribbons on my waist. I awkwardly stand there, holding back my nervousness. The ribbons fell to the ground and I feel the buttons of the belt on my sides go undone. My arm gauntlets are then removed and I was told to lift my arms. I do so and feels the maiden lift my robe and pull it off my body.
I hear a few gasps and I look at the maidens, my upper body now being exposed. The cool breeze from outside the tent flew in and i shivered, but it specifically felt cool on my-...
My side.
I quickly take back my robe and attempt to hide the healed wound with it. The maidens stared at me, almost scared by what they had saw.
"Oh my, what the battle scar." Master Guo Jia's voice had pierced through the tense air as he walks over to me. He gently pulls my shoulders to turn myself to him and he kneels to see the wound closer, only making me hide it.
"Come now, I've seen plenty of injuries. You could be no different."
He pulls the robe away and I do nothing but watch his expression as he observed the wound.
His face looked...as if he was theorizing, then mild concern, then acceptance.
" I got it," I started, "Before I came to Wei and even before the Battle at Xinye."
He smiles, "I would hope, it doesn't look new. With how healed it already is. Does it hurt?"
I shake my head. "Only with rough contact."
"Rough contact, hm."
I look at the maidens who seemed to be observing Master Guo Jia now. More interested in the scene, than the wound reveal.
Cold!
I look back down sharply to see Master Guo Jia's hand gently touching my wound. His fingers gently traced over the edges, then over every wrinkle from the burnt skin. He moved closer, as if he's identifying more discrepancies.
He looks up to me and moves away slowly, standing back up. He nods to the maidens and they snap out of their viewing minds to starts measuring me.
The measuring process didn't take too long. After measuring my sizes they gave me back my clothes and we left to go to the Barracks.
We came to small building, as if it's a small room in the base. Master Guo Jia Opened the door and inside the little room sat books. It was a little library, for those who wanted to read alone. It was silent, and a little dusty, but it had a rustic charm to it. I walk in and look around at the books.
Master Guo Jia walks in behind me and closes the door and walks to a specific shelf quickly.
"Now that we finally made it, we can start your training."
My training? Well I am his apprentice. I nod to him and he takes out a large black book. He blows on it, letting the dust collect and fall to the ground.
"Now , Xu Shu, You must've studied great strategies, to have been able to break through the Eight Gates. Have you ever studied under someone?"
"No Master, You're the first one."
He puts his thumb on his chin, contemplating.
"Well you knew the formation so well. But why study strategies? You don't seem to be an official strategist, well, until now."
I comb my hands into each other and walk over to the bookshelf.
"Well, I've also loved strategies and things of the like. I actually have been studying to become a scholar."
"A fighting scholar?"
I look away a little embarrassed that I haven't actually come far as a supposed 'Scholar'. Master Guo Jia chuckles and opens the large book in his hands.
"Now, We're going to go through some basic strategies and I want you to name them, alright?"
"Yes, Sir!"
Hours had passed, seamlessly. Master Guo Jia;s voice was all I heard and My mind was racing, with flooding memories of me studying strategies. The endless all-nighters of finding their weakness, their strengths. Countless hours of notetaking and hand cramps. And even testing them out in real battles as a lone fighter. I responded quickly and clearly and with as much confidence as I remember. There were some I didn't even know, but Master Guo Jia kindly reiterated or explained them. I had taken a seat on the floor as he stood in front of me leaning back on the wall, calmly.
The session ends with the dusty book slamming closed. Master Guo Jia looks up from under his bangs and smiles.
"You did well, I think we can start off with you organizing simple plans for little battles at least. Later on, I'll give you a squad to lead, and eventually, you might be able to make a strategy for the whole army."
I nod, happy with the results I have gotten. I'm glad I studied for so long, it almost makes all the hand cramps worth it.
"Oh, Master Guo Jia?"
He props himself off of the wall and puts the book away.
"What is it Xu Shu?"
I stood up and dusted off my robe, and I tried to speak this question easily.
"Well, I wanted to know...How do you make a strategy for once hundreds of people so easily."
His eyes snapped open and they looked at me unsteadily. I tense up, regretting my decision to ask. He looks away and back to the shelf.
"It isn't easy. There's never any sort of guarantees on the battlefield. We can only hope and plan ahead as much as we can when it comes to it. At its barest bones, strategy is nothing more than a game, but the risks are higher and the pieces are poeple."
He speaks with a voice of woe, but he continued his explanation.
"Every step a soldier takes could be their last. And as a strategist we must plan for that. Considering the possible casualities and failures, is what makes a great strategist. This is something even Jia Xu fails to see."
I nod, not knowing how to respond to such a thought-filled reply. Master Guo Jia walks by and past my shoulder in a friendly manner.
"You are good for today, I'm going to eat lunch and running some errands."
And like that...he was gone. Not a single word as he left and I stared at the door in disbelief. After catching myself I turn back to the books and remember more of my Scholar days. I pick up a red book on weaponry.
"This is a new edition…"
I look at the name and sit on the floor once more. I learn against the wall and get in a comfortable position. Opening the book and beginning to read.
"Weaponry is very essential to an armies success…"
[A/N] I know this chapter didn't have a huge cliffhanger or attention grabber at the end, but I thought it would be nice to end this one on a more calm note, to make up for all the feels in the past chapters. Here Xu Shu is ...One the floor….Reading a book, happily...he deserves it ^^ Also, man I am SO happy I finally got to Guo Jia. I have been awaiting this moment forever…..But now just more patience and everything will turn out fine! Anyway! See you next chapter!~
