Warning: light yaoi lime and lewd comments

Chapter Four: Nan Dan Soldier

Ping rode hard to the campsite and arrived at dawn. He could see that most of the soldiers had arrived and was mingling around, it was breakfast time. He pulled out the conscription note from his armor and felt the pendant that his grandmother gave him that morning. It was a simple circular pendant with the dragon on it.

"This was my husband, Mushu's pendant. It had always brought him luck. I want you to have it." She told him as she handed the pendant to him.

Ping shook his head, "no, I shouldn't. You always wore it."

"And it had brought me good lucks and long life. I want you to have it." She told him sternly and clasped it around his neck and slipped it in his tunic. "Stay safe."

"Thank you."

He slipped the pendant back in his shirt and looked up. He swallowed hard and entered the campsite, allowing a soldier to take his horse to join with the others for now. He was pointed to the center of the camp where he was to report.

He walked and heard whispering that surrounded him as he passed the soldiers.

"Isn't that Fa Ping? Fa Zhou's son?"

"He's too pretty to be here."

"Don't you hear, he's a nan dan. He is not going to last long."

"Isn't that the nan dan from Weizhuang?"

Ping sighed and stopped as three soldiers of different size. One looked like he had a black eye and another tall and lanky squabbling and punching at each other and the third, a large bald man stepping up and picking both up and rocking them to ease their bickering. His humming mantra seemed to calm the two soldiers down immediately.

The skinny one shook himself as he was settled down and spotted Ping, "Hey! You're new."

Ping chuckled nervously, "Uhm, I think we all are new."

"A smart one, aren't ya?" The short one with black eye growled as he peered up at Ping with his good one.

"Er, where do I report to?"

The large one gestured to the tent nearby, it was the largest one and more ornate than the rest around the field of tents. "The General and the Captain is in the tent, report there."

"Uh, thanks." Ping bowed and walked past them. He looked over his shoulder and shook his head to see the two soldiers began arguing again.

He reached out and started to pull back the flap, but a person stepped out, nearly running him down. He looked up and swallowed, meeting with a familiar set of steel eyes. "Captain Li, Fa Ping reporting to duty." He handed up the scroll.

Shang stepped out of the tent and looked down as he felt his chest hit someone and found the familiar face staring up at him with nervousness. He softened slightly and took the scroll and nodded, "Welcome to Mushang Camp." He then whispered, "you could've run."

Ping frowned, "and dishonor my family? No. I am here."

Shang tucked the scroll into his armor, "go and see about getting yourself settled. We'll talk later when I am free."

"All right." Ping stepped back and watched as Shang retreat. General Li stepped out and glanced at Ping and bowed his head at the smaller man and followed after his son. The scrawny scribe, Chi Fu, came out and sneered as his beady eyes darted around and landed on Ping. He narrowed his eyes and turned his nose up and chased after the two men. Ping gave a loathing look to the scrawny man, "ugh, that man."

"Yeah, you go that right." An arm landed on his shoulder, and he looked up to see the thin soldier from earlier. "Chi Fu is the snottiest man alive. Just keep clear of him, and you'll be fine. I'm Ling."

"And I am Yao." the short, burly man pounded his chest with his fist.

"Chien-Po, nice to meet you." The gentle giant smiled.

"Fa Ping." Ping murmured.

"Fa Ping?" Yao asked and roared in a laugher. Ling stifled his snickering and then lost it, rolling down on the ground laughing loudly.

Ping frowned, "What? What is so funny about my name."

"Ah, nothing… nothing. Fa Ping." Ling giggled and then laughed out loud again.

"Ugh." Ping scowled and went to search for someone to see about setting up his tent.

Chien Po shook his head, "I believe you both were rude."

"Oh come on! His name is funny!" Ling gasped in between breath.

Yao grinned, "Pretty boy with a funny name."

Ling burst out laughing again, "pretty boy! Bwahaha! Yes, everyone would be Fa Ping for him!"

Yao roared, laughing and slapping his legs as Ling laughed on the ground again. Chien Po shook his head but smiling.

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Ping had found be assigned a spot near the end of the campsite and struggled to set up his tent and gave up as it collapsed halfway. He threw down the stick and grumbled, settling on the ground. Khan had been returned to him and grazed the grass nearby.

"Need some help?" Ping looked up to see Shang and glanced back down in shame.

"I'll figure it out," Ping muttered and stood up, turning his back to Shang and started to pull at the string to straighten up his tent. Shang came around and silently helped to set up the tent. In a few minutes, the tent was erected and secured. It was a small one but just enough to give Ping privacy and room to store his armors. Shang noted it was Fa Zhou's armors and knew Ping father must have given it to him.

"I…" Shang started softly. He saw Ping look away and a tear was threatening to spill from the corner of his eyes. Shang sighed and grabbed Ping's hand and led him to the forest and they kept on walking until they reached the river. Shang then turned to Ping and embraced him. Ping finally let his tears free, basking in the warmth and feeling secure in Shang's arms.

"I'm pathetic, aren't I?" Ping asked as he rubbed his eyes free from the tears and looked up.

"No. You're being you," Shang replied with a small smile and wiped a stray tear with his thumb. "Why didn't you tell me you were sixteen?"

Ping was taken back by the unusual question. "I thought you knew. I mean, your father and my father are friends. I just assumed."

"How old do you think I am?" Shang asked.

Ping pursed his lips and thought, Shang nearly groaned at his expression because it was having an effect on him. "Twenty-three?"

Shang rolled his eyes, "you proved your point. You're right."

"Oh." Ping moved away from Shang and sat on the rock, watching the water trickle by. "I am sure you're not here to talk to me about my age. It does not matter, I am of age to be in the army, and here I am."

"I do not want you to be here, Ping. You do not belong here."

"I know. But fate made got here, so I am going to see it through." Ping looked up.

"Yes. About that… I am your Captain, your superior and I can't be seen treating you the way I have been with you back home. You have to treat me with respect, and we can not let anyone know of our…" he swallowed, "relationship."

Ping looked up and gave a sad smile. "I know. It was fun while it lasted." He stood up and saluted, "Captain Li, if I may be excused?"

"No." Shang murmured and grabbed Ping's hand and pulled him to his chest, capturing his cheek with another. "But we can do this…" He kissed Ping. Ping sighed and allowed Shang to ravish him. "Only if no one is watching. It won't often be as we want." Shang said against Ping's lips.

"Mm, okay," Ping smiled and kissed Shang again, sweeping his tongue into the older man's mouth and moaning as he felt his large hands knead his backside, grinding him closer.

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Ping made his way to the mess tent and got himself a bowl of rice and some eggs the next morning. He had sorely missed sleeping in his own bed, sleeping on the hard ground was not comfortable. He turned and saw Ling wave him over. He exhaled his breath more than necessary and went over to sit with Ling, Yao, and Chien-Po. They were the first soldiers he knew the names and figured he might start with them and get to know them.

Digging into his rice, he listened to the conversation float around him. It ranged from some soldiers talking about their family they left behind, to their anticipation of what would come in the war and there were some lewd conversations.

The men behind him were talking about sex and what they could do without women since there were none around. Ping scrunched his nose up at how disgusting they were going on about.

"you stick the sword in the chrysanthemum." a soldier told another and Ping frowned at the odd statement and glanced over his shoulder, wondering what the hell the man was going on about.

"What?" He muttered to himself and turned back to his breakfast.

Ling saw this and giggled, "you have no idea what that means?" He had heard the conversation and saw Ping's expressions.

"Do I want to know?" Ping retorted back.

Yao laughed, "You with the lewd name has no idea!?"

"All right, what the hell is with my name?"

Chien Po whispered into Ping's ear, and Ping's eyes went wide, and he shouted, "Oh gods! Why am I a joke to you, gods?" he buried his head in his hands and groaned.

Yao chuckled and went back to his breakfast. Ling nudged Ping and gestured to the table. Ping looked up and glanced to see a couple of rows of rice grains arranged in a circle like a flower, a chrysanthemum. Ping frowned and looked to Ling, feeling unsure what the thin man was going on about. Ling held up a middle finger. Ping realized what Ling was going on about with his finger and watched as Ling stuck his finger on the table in the center of the chrysanthemum flower. "That's the sword in the chrysanthemum. Now, I've broken your virgin mind." Ling giggled and stood up, taking his empty bowl with him.

Ping stared at the rice formation on the table, the center had been spread, pushing the rice out farther and he blushed horribly. He finally understood the meaning and covered his face, muttering to himself, "oh gods… oh, gods. Why me?"

Shang had seen the whole scenarios from a distance and wondered why Ping looked so embarrassed. He made a mental note to ask him later. He looked up to his father who appeared by his side and got up in silent to join the General for another meeting.

General Li pointed to a place on the map and moved his hand as he spoke, "The Huns has attacked. Here, here and there." He walked around the table and pointed to another place between the camp and the Imperial City deep in the mountain, "The Tung Shao Pass, I will be taking the main troops there and defend the Huns before they destroy the village here."

"Excellent strategy, sir!" Chi Fu exclaimed as he brushed some notes and waved his brush around, splattering inks, "I do love surprises."

The General bit back a grimace as he glanced at the short governor. He wondered why the Emperor had sent this scrawny man and felt sorry for his son. He turned to his son, "You will stay and train the new recruits as I have promised you. Chi Fu will be here, and when he decides your troop are ready, you will join us, Captain."

Shang bowed his head, taking in pride that his father acknowledged him as Captain for real. He had only recently received the title, but this would be the first time he would truly act upon the duty.

"Oh!" Chi Fu tittered, "This is enormous responsibility, General!" He turned to the older man, "Perhaps, a soldier with more experience would be better?"

"Shang will do. He is number one in his class, extensive knowledge of training technique and military lineage. My son will do an excellent job."

Shang gave a small smile to his father and deeply bowed, "I am honored, father. I will not let you down, sir."

"Very good." General Li replied with a small smile of his own and turned to Chi Fu, "I expect reports periodically. Please allow us some privacy."

Chi Fu sputtered and saw the intensive look in the General's eyes and bowed, swallowing his pride. "Yes, General Li." He turned and left.

The flap fell, and General Li sagged slightly, showing weariness. "Shang," he said as he moved to his son's side and placed his hands on the younger man's shoulders, facing him. "I know you can do it." He allowed his hands to drop.

"Thank you, father," Shang replied. His brow furrowed slightly in concern, "what is it?"

"I should've followed Fa Zhou's path and retired years ago. Ah, perhaps after this war I will make the request. Many fine officers can replace me, perhaps you would."

Shang shook his head, "let's not be hasty." He heard his father laugh softly and smiled at him. The smile fell from his face soon as he saw the seriousness on his father's face once again.

"About Ping, do watch after him. He is special, and I do not want Fa Zhou to lose his son." Shang nodded weakly. "Remember, you are the Captain, and he is your subordinate. No favors." He pointed the finger at his son's face and shook it lightly, "it is not uncommon for soldiers to share a bed, but I do not want to hear you have been distracted from Chi Fu, we will never hear the end of it."

"Father," Shang started but was silenced by the general.

"I can see it in your eyes that you do feel for the boy. Just heed my words. Just carefully consider how far you will take this with Ping. Our family looks to you to marry someday and bring us a son. Zhou does not have to expect this of Ping because his eldest son has done so. Ping is free to sleep with anyone he wishes. I just did not expect it had been you." He reached up and tilted his son's head up by the chin and grasped his head with strong, affectionate hold, "not even the gods can sway the hearts when love happens."

Shang bowed his head, "yes, father."

"Good. I expect good reports soon." General Li pulled Shang's head closer, and their foreheads touched for a moment before they parted. The two men stepped out, and the eldest Li mounted his horse and looked down to the younger Li, "Good luck, Captain! Yah!" He rode off, his own troop following after him.

Chi Fu appeared by Shang side and announced in his scathing voice, "Day one."

Shang closed his eyes in annoyance and stiffened his back, bringing himself to full height and shouted, "Soldiers!"

The men assembled and stood attention, making several rows of lines. Shang walked down the line and stated, "You will assemble swiftly and silently every morning." He turned and stood to face them, "otherwise, you will answer to me." He shifted his belt and pulled his tunic off and tossed it aside. He took the bow and an arrow from the rack nearby.

Ping had ended up standing in the front row and nearly to the end heard Yao several feet away mutters, "Ooh, tough guy." He leaned forward and peered to see Shang pulling back the bow with a powerful force of his arm. He swallowed as he felt his mouth go dry at sight. Shang looked powerful and commanding. He wondered then how he would make it through the training if Shang were going to be displaying his physique.

Shang let the string go, and the arrow whistled in the air as it soared high to the tall pole that was in the center of the camp. He turned back to the men, "Yao, thank you for volunteering. Retrieve the arrow."

The men stepped back, revealing Yao to the Captain. The short man grumbled, "I'll get the arrow, pretty boy." Yao pulled his arms together, tightening his tunic close, "and with my shirt on." He went over to the pole and prepared to climb up to retrieve the arrow.

Shang held up his hand, "hold on. You are missing something." He turned and pulled out two giant discs with silks tied to it. He held one up, "this represents discipline," then held another up, "and this, strength. You will need both to reach the arrow." He tied them to Yao's wrists and stood back, "go ahead."

Yao gaped at the heavy discs tied to his wrist and grumbled, turning back to the pole. He started to climb but found he could not, the discs weighed him down and he strained to hold onto the pole but slid down to his rump.

Shang shook his head and gestured for the next soldier to try. Many tried and failed. Ping was up next, and he watched as Ping held the discs, barely able to lift them. He felt a pang of guilt as he watched, knowing the younger man was lightweight and probably the smallest of all of the soldier in the camp. A nan dan soldier. It had sounded wrong in his mind.

Ping felt his arms strain under the weight of the discs and looked down to them, wondering how the hell he would be able to climb up the pole with them. Even the biggest soldier could not do it. He looked over his shoulder discreetly, and under his hooded eyes, he glanced at the Captain and wondered why he wanted them to be able to climb up the pole with the discs. Had Shang done it too in the past? Perhaps with that strong arms and chest.

"Come on, flower boy!" Yao shouted at him, "hurry up and get a move on!"

Ping narrowed his eyes at the portly man and turned back to the pole and reached up and tried to grasp on. He gasped and fell down. He sat there on the ground, defeated and humiliated. He could not do it, he could barely lift his arms with the discs. It was impossible. He sharply inhaled as he felt the discs being untied from his wrists and looked up to see Shang take them.

"You'll figure it out." the Captain whispered and stood up, handing the discs to the next soldier.

Ping frowned and stood to move out of the way and rejoined the line. Ling slapped his back, nearly knocking him off his feet. "At least you aren't alone in this."

"Yeah," Ping replied and watched on as the other soldiers give the pole a try.

Shang gave a long sigh, glancing to his men, "We've got a long way to go."

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Shang waited by the river, throwing a stone into the water and watch it make splashing ripples before settling again. He heard the twigs crack and snap behind him and smirked, "You need to learn to walk silently in the forest." He turned to see Ping emerge from the bush.

"Oh." Ping looked down to his boots and shrugged, "eventually." He groaned and rotated his shoulders and stretched his arms, wincing in pain.

"Sore?" Shang asked softly, feeling a pang of guilt because he was the cause of Ping's pain.

"Yeah," Ping replied and sighed as Shang moved around and started to knead his back and his arms. He groaned and moaned every time Shang worked on the knots he found.

"I see you are making friends today." Shang softly said into Ping's ear as he pushed against a partially stubborn knot at the base of Ping's back, "the three guys."

"Yeah. They're not that bad."

"You looked really upset at breakfast this morning." Shang sat down and pulled Ping to straddle his lap and continued to knead his shoulders face to face.

Ping frowned and tried to recall breakfast, and it came to him, and he blushed. "Ah, that was nothing."

"I can see the blush on your face, come on, tell me," Shang smirked as he pulled Ping close that they were touching chest to chest. Ping rested his hands on the larger man's chest and chewed his lips, considering if he should tell Shang.

Deciding to tell him after some moment of considering, "they laughed when I told them my name and explained to me why it was so funny."

Shang frowned, "how is your name funny?"

"Fa Ping?"

Shang took a moment to think, and it came to him, and he closed his eyes and shook his head. "Ah, I can see why."

"And I overheard something from the other table, and it was unusual, but Ling told me what it meant. I never thought it was possible." Shang looked curious, and Ping leaned forward and whispered into his ear, "sword in the chrysanthemum…"

Shang looked back at Ping with bemusement on his face, "what?"

Ping realized Shang might not have known too and remembered he had only been with women before. At least he wasn't the only one who did not know until now. He asked, "how often do you sleep with women in the past?"

Shang shook his head, "what does it have to do with the flower?" He saw Ping's insistent expression and replied, "I've only slept with few, but it was far in between. I am a busy man. You're the only one who I get to go about it often."

Ping nodded, "I learned today that it is code words that represented something else." He blushed, "It's something men can do together if there were no women around. It is also common among the soldiers in camp." He leaned forward that their noses touched and put his hand on the other man's crotch, feeling the hardness. With a free hand, he took the other man's hand and brought it around to settle on his backside and pressed it there. "That's how…"

Shang's breath hitched as he understood immediately, "seriously? Is it possible?"

Ping nodded. "I was horrified at first, but through the day, the soldiers would not stop talking about lewd things, and I picked up enough here and there to understand it can be…" Ping blushed, "pleasurable if done correctly."

"And you want to try?" Shang asked, realizing that he was also curious and squeezed Ping's bottom.

Ping shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. Maybe someday… only with you."

"Oh," the Captain murmured, "perhaps when we're both ready."

Ping smiled and nodded and rested his head on Shang's shoulder. "Mm. I am tired."

"Yes, so am I but I wanted to see you."

Smiling, Ping leaned forward and kissed Shang on the lips, enjoying the warm arms around his waist holding him close. He just wanted to fall asleep there with him but he could not, accepting what short time they had that night.


References/notes in this chapter:

Mushu: He will not be making any appearance in the story. His name has been given to Ping's grandfather and that's the end of it. This story is loosely a historical fiction and no mythical annoying wisecrack dragons will be included.

Chrysanthemum: in Chinese culture during the time, it is also used as a profanity referring to anus because of the shape of the hole that looked like the flower. "Sword in the chrysanthemum" basically mean homosexual act, no need to describe it. Ling had already painted a pretty vivid image.

Fa Ping: I couldn't resist the joke. Recently came across it by researching names and found a thread on Reddit and oh boy. Just combine the name and spell it out. Disney, you've done it again and I can't unsee it ever again. I know there is no such word during the time but it was too funny to not put it here.