The blade of my spear shone brightly under the sunlight as I swung it across an enemy's neck from atop my horse. The head flew high up leaving an arc of blood before it landed somewhere where it be obscured by the feet of tens of soldiers running past it. The sound of my horse's hoofsteps not relenting as he dashed through the enemy forces from the front while I swing my spear from the side, not giving anyone a chance to get close enough for so much as to land a poke with their swords.
"Want some of that, bitches?! There's more where that came from!" I turned at the sound of Lord Zhang Fei just as his yells literally sent a few troops flying. To this day, I still remain baffled at the inhumane strength of that man's lungs. Even when not drunk, my fellow Tiger General sure displays unmatched insanity in the battefield. Just as he began swinging his twin spear in a small whirlwind of blades, I looked just as one of the soldiers jumped me from the side in an attempt to knock me off of the horse, only to get spear slapped to the side in a heap of blood. Can't afford to get distracted by Lord Zhang Fei and his promises to shove his blade up each and every one of the enemy soldiers' butts when I have a job to be done. So I galloped off in a little rampage of my own, my Dragon Spear sweeping through enemy troops to make room for more victims to be claimed. Even my horse, White Dragon, would aggressively stomp at them with his front hooves at a nudge from my feet.
"Zhao Yun! I spotted the enemy officer at the far side of camp!" I heard Lord Guan Yu relaying the piece of info to me as he casually speared five soldiers like they were the least of his worries, which they were. I nodded before running off in the direction he pointed me to, sweeping stray troops out of the way as my steed simply rammed those who tried to halt his movement. Only when I reached the enemy officer did I actually bother dismounting. Those ones are tougher than the lower ranking officers and thus trickier to beat from atop horseback.
I unleashed a flurry of staps at my adversary which he promptly blocked, before landing a more powerful finisher move that knocked him back. When he regained his footing, he swung his sword and I countered with my spear. The clang of our weapons mixed with the yells and screams of soldiers, enemy and ally. He aimed for my neck and I lowered my head then stabbed him in the leg. His scream attracted some of his fellow officers who rushed in to help. So I swung my spear in a full circle to send both him and the remaining enemies flying from around me. Before he had a chance to get up, I landed the final blow which left him lifeless in a pool of his blood.
And just like that, the battle has officially been won. Once the remaining troops witnessed the defeat of their higher ranking official, they had no choice but to retreat. However, the death of their leader was not the only reason for their escape...
"WHERE THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING! THE PARTY IS GETTING STARTED!"
"Run! That man is insane!"
"Run for your fucking lives!"
"We're all gonna die!"
I guess Lord Zhang Fei is not done with the massacre because he still kept on chasing the leftover troops who ran off in a panic from the behemoth in question. I watched the defeated soldiers run past me with an amused grin before quickly putting my spear in the way to block the path of the raging general.
"Alright. That's enough, Master Zhang Fei." I chuckled. "Those guys have seen enough terror to last them a lifetime of nightmares."
"Heh. Always the soft hearted one, aient ya?" he playfully scoffed then turned around to see Lord Guan Yu and Lord Lui Bei approaching.
"You have done well as per usual. I owe you this victory." Lord Lui Bei's praises are enough to make me do a mental puppy tail wag. "Thanks to this little battle, we'll have enough resources and loot to last us a short while. I'm glad our scouts spotted this camp."
"Those little wimps didn't know what hit 'em, brother!" boasted Lord Zhang Fei. "That will teach the Wu kingdom to fuck with us."
"Who said this small victory would teach them?" replied Lord Guan Yu. "This might actually yield quite the opposite results. They wouldn't appreciate one of their camps getting pillaged and they will more likely send more troops."
"Keep 'em coming, then! Hahahaha!"
"It is a huge possibility they will retaliate." stated Master Lui Bei. "While it wouldn't be instant, we have to be prepared for it. Meanwhile, let us enjoy the fruits of our labour. Shall we check what we collected?"
So the four of us made a survey of the resources our remaining soldiers gathered for us. You wouldn't be able to imagine my glee at the amount of meatbuns and riceballs stored in the carts, tents and food storage places. There were even bags of tea, herbs, medical supplies and some gold. Us generals helped ourselves to our portion fairly before leaving the rest of the loot for the other fellow soldiers to indulge themselves in.
"I believe this should be enough to make a nice dinner!" stated my lord with a smile. "Now let's get back to camp."
We slowly rode our way back to base under the gradually setting sun on the path carved through the landscape littered with scarce trees. Despite the potential danger of receiving a strike back from the Wu kingdom, we weren't that much in a hurry. It would take a while for those guys to recover before planning an attack, that much is safe to assume.
When we received word from our scouts that they spotted a Wu camp situated in those lands, we realized it could be an attempt from the enemy kingdom to expand its territory and we weren't having that. And so began our expedition that explains why we're camped out miles from Shu kingdom in the middle of nowhere. That being said, there's still a pretty good chance that there's more of them out there. But that would be a problem to worry about later. Not on an empty stomach at least!
I looked down with a smile at my horse's saddlebag containing my bag of provisions. Could alreay taste these meat buns freshly snatched from a camp littered in dead bodies. Nothing makes food more delicious than looting it from your enemy's cold dead hands!
"... and when you add more spice to the noodles, you might suffer a little heart burn but the taste is worth it!" I looked up to the sound of Lord Lui Bei discussing dinner with the other two generals.
"Just don't come complaining when you start pissing lava, brother!" retorted Lord Zhang Fei and we all laughed at the notion of toilet torture. "All this killing and talk about food sure can make your stomach rumble. Race you all to camp!" and he nudged his horse with a harsh kick that sent the animal into a full gallop.
"I shall follow him. Excuse me, brother." said Lord Guan Yu before he took off after the feisty general followed by a few of our troops. That left me with my lord Lui Bei and a few other soldiers who remained with us.
"Are you alright, Zhao Yun? You have not sustained any injuries, I hope?" asked Lord Lui Bei after a few moments of silence that was interrupted by nothing but the sound of hoofsteps and occasional snorts.
"I'm fine, my lord. thanks for asking."
"..."
"I'm serious!" I chuckled at the doubtful look he gave me. I guess he got concerned about my habit of concealing my pain. When I get sick or injured in the middle of a fight, I refuse to show said signs of weakness, even going so far as to deny it when confronted about it. One thing I refuse to be is to become a burden to my fellow officers. Only when all is done and settled do I actually confess my unwell state. I wouldn't be able to accomplish much in said condition after all and participating in battle while sick or wounded would do more harm than good for me and everyone involved.
"..."
"I'm alright! Really!"
"..."
"Not a single scratch on me! I promise!" that seemed to have satisfied him as he knows I never give empty promises. His silent interrogation wouldn't have lasted long though because we heard some noise up ahead.
"Uh, there are kids over there." announced one of the soldiers. I looked at the road ahead and noticed five children, their ages seemingly ranging between eight to twelve years, running and playing around. They were either playing mock sword fight with sticks or wrestle with their bare hands. Children? all the way out there?
My lord must have noticed the baffled look on my face because he was quick to offer an explanation. "Ah. Those must be the children from the nearby village. The scouts mentioned it when they found the Wu camp."
"You don't think the Wu forces would target it?" I asked in concern.
"I pretty much doubt it." replied my leader. "Even if it's for the sake of territory expansion, Lord Sun Jian is not a complete tyrant. He would not force his authority on a village of innocent folk. Much less if it has children in it."
"I suppose that's honorable on his part." I commented. "Even our enemy deserves credit where it's due." As we got closer to the children, a couple of them were staring in awe at the soldiers walking past them on horseback. However, in his haste to come witness the little parade, one of them tripped and fell among the bare bushes littering the side of the road. And when I saw the blood on his leg, I instantly got off the horse and quickly snatched a clean cloth and a bottle of sterilizer from the saddlebag and carefully approached the weary children.
"It's okay! I'm here to help." I assured them. And even though they still looked scared of a tall guy in armor, they stayed quiet as I picked the whimpering child out of the bushes and carefully sat him down. I took a hold of his leg while his companions brushed off the dust and branch remains off of his hair and clothes.
"That's a lot of bwood!" yelled a girl, seemingly younger than the rest. Probably around three or four years old.
"It's called blood, silly!" retorted an older boy.
I held back my amusement as I poured some of the liquid on the cloth and carefully cleaned up the kid's wound. As I was working on his injury, I couldn't help but notice how weird it looked. It was a clean cut as if it was the product of a sharp tool, which is something you wouldn't expect to find in the middle of this wilderness.
"What the - " I mumbled when I felt something light hit my head and the children giggled at the sight.
"Use this, Zhao Yun!" called Lord Lui Bei, barely holding back his chuckles, and I looked down to see a fresh wrap of bandages.
"Thanks, my lord!" I called back with an amused smile then went to wrap the child's leg with the bandage. Once I was satisfied with the kid's condition, I stood up and held my hand out for him. "Can you get up and walk?" I asked gently.
"Yeah..." replied the kid timidly when he used my hand for support. "Thanks, uncle!" I chuckled at the endearing title. When I looked back at the spot where the kid had tripped, I knew what caused the problem. It was the blade of a spear jutting out from the ground. Probably a remnant of a previous battle. I went and took it out from the ground before it could hurt anybody else. The handle was broken a few inches beneath the blade leaving barely enough space for a handhold. The blade was dirty and the tip was stained with the child's blood. Even though I quickly cleaned the wound, I hoped that eliminated any possibility of it getting infected later on because the metal surface looked like it has seen better days.
"Throw that thing somewhere safe." I heard my lord calling. I nodded but I had a different plan for it. I put the broken weapon in the saddlebag alongside the cloth and bottle when I felt one of the kids tug at my hair.
"Uncle! Uncle! Can we pet your horse?" requested a girl who seemed to be about ten.
"Pweeeaas?" requested the little girl who still can't pronounce her L yet.
"Uh, sure." I replied while eyeing my lord to see his reaction. It was getting darker and we need to get back to camp before the others start worrying. But he was staring off in the distance seemingly in no hurry to get back. So I took that as my cue to comply with the children's wish. "Just touch his head and neck. Don't stand behind him. Horses don't like that."
"Awww, he's so smooth!" gushed a boy who seemed to be around twelve as he ran his palm across my mount's neck.
"So adorable!" commented the 10 year old girl followed by the little 'bwood' girl. Another boy started petting and even the injured one limped over to join in on the affection. They ran their hands through the horse's white neck, forehead and mane. They even plucked some grass to feed him. He seemed to enjoy the attention which made me happy to see my animal companion relax after helping me with the earlier campaign. He deserves it.
"Alright, kids. It's getting late. Time for everyone to go home." I gently announced.
"Awww!" they all whined in unison but they seemed to be understanding.
"Thank you for helping us, uncle!" said one of the kids.
"You're welcome." I replied with a warm smile. "Now you need to hurry back. You don't want to be late for dinner, do you?" suddenly they went silent which made me frown from the mood shift. Did I say something wrong?
Just as I was about to ask that, the older girl spoke up. "There's no dinner for us."
"We barely have any food in our village." added the boy who's her age. Now that he mentioned it, they did look a little skinny.
"Our village is really poor, sir. So we don't have a dinner to look forward to." explained the injured one.
That tore at my heart strings. I guess I need to do something about it and I have just the thing. With my mind made up, I reached inside my saddlebag and took out the bag of food I collected at the Wu camp.
"Please, take this." I offered them what was going to be my soon-to-be dinner. Now it's theirs.
The five children - well four, the youngest one was too oblivious - were taken aback at the little tribute. "Sir, are you sure?" asked a boy.
"You need it more than I do. Don't be shy and take it. I won't take no for an answer." I replied in a stern yet gentle tone. The young ones hesitantly took the bag before I suddenly stopped them. "Oh, wait!" I put my hand in the bag. "I need this!" I smiled sheepishly when I retrieved a certain item from the bag before leaving it all for them.
"Wow! This looks delicious!" The kids seemed delighted at the contents of the food bag which made me further believe that I've made the right call. Poor things look deprived.
Smack!
"Hey!" I felt yet another item hit me in the head eliciting more giggles from the children. When I looked down, it was a bag of noodles.
"Give them this as well, Zhao Yun!" hollered Lord Lui Bei while making zero effort to contain his playful smile. I'm beginning to think throwing stuff at my head might turn into a habit later on.
I chuckled while picking up the food article and put it in the bag. "Now you have a dinner to look forward to." I smiled before mounting my horse.
"Thank you, kind sir!" yelled the kids in unison. Four of them did to be more specific. The little one was staring at absolutely nothing.
"You're welcome. Enjoy your meal and stay out of trouble!" I waved at them, they waved back, before nudging the horse in my lord's direction. I looked back at the kids one last time to find them walking in their village direction, the injured kid limping for a bit but didn't seem to need help.
"Thanks for your donation, my lord." I said soon as I reached his side and resumed our journey.
"Says the one who just gave up his entire dinner." replied my lord with a smile. "Didn't you keep anything for yourself?" I showed him the tea box with an awkward grin. "Haha! That barely counts as dinner, Zhao Yun!"
"Better than nothing." I mumbled while putting the tea in the bag.
"I'm not allowing you to go to sleep without dinner. I'm quite pleased with you for helping those children but I don't want you to fight on an empty stomach. You haven't had anything to eat since breakfast and our camp has run low on resources."
"That's alright." I said with a solemn smile. "I'll be fine." He still seemed concerned then switched to a more cheerful look.
"You know, I'm looking forward to trying that tea you brought! Let's make up for lost time and make haste!" he ushered his horse into a full gallop and we all ran off into our camp's direction for a night of relaxation, tea and no dinner for me...
"What took you guys so long?" barked Lord Zhang Fei as we all dismounted at the camp borders. "The camp isn't even that far ahead. You didn't encounter an enemy on the way, did you?"
"Let's just say we came across a little obstacle." replied Lord Liu Bei with a meaningful smile. "we shall discuss it over a nice hot bowl of noodles." then he went to whisper in my ear. "I'm ashamed to admit I got greedy and snatched extra!" we both chuckled. At least he made the right decision considering his earlier tribute.
Not long after, my lord and fellow Tiger Generals gathered around a large bonfire set up straight in the middle of the camp where the noodles were getting cooked. I excused myself before turning to my tent.
"Zhao Yun, where are you going?" I heard my lord yell after me.
"I'll rest in my tent for a while. I'll join you guys for tea after you've finished dinner." Lord Liu Bei sighed impatiently before getting up, grabbing my wrist and literally dragging me to my spot by the fire.
"When I said I won't let you sleep without dinner, I meant it." he said sternly before unceremoniously plobbing me down on my knees next to an amused Lord Guan Yu.
"What happened to your food, boy?" inquired Lord Zhang Fei across the fire from me. "Your gluttonous ass stuffed the hell out of your bag with meatbuns until it was about to burst. You lost it on the way back or something?"
"It was gone in the name of charity!" beamed Lord Lui Bei as he took his seat cross legged facing us all. Before he was able to further elaborate, the noodles were ready. Each of the three higher ranking officials took out his looted dinner bag then took some noodles into their bowls. Lord Lui Bei picked an extra bowl for me and began putting some of his own noodles in it with the chopsticks.
"You're sharing with me?" I gawked. "My lord, I would never-"
"Zip it!"
"Okay..."
I stayed there helplessly watching my lord share half of his portion with me. Even my other fellow generals seem to realise my 'food-less' state and offered a couple of their own meatbuns and riceballs as well.
"Enough! Please!" I said sternly raising an arm over my freshly placed dinner to disallow them from sharing more. "Thank you, my lords. I truly appreciate the contribution. But I will have no more. Please enjoy your meals."
"Master Zhao Yun?" I looked behind me to see one of the soldiers offering me a riceball.
"And here's one from me, general!" yelled another soldier.
"And me too!" came another with a meatball.
"This is for you, my lord!" approached another one who dumped some of his noodles in my bowl.
Despite my protests, half the camp shared whatever they could offer to me. Lord Lui Bei was swelling with pride at the tremendous display of generosity. The other two Tiger Generals, despite my gestures to quite them down, further encouraged the whole thing. After everyone was satisfied that I have enough to last me through the night, I vehemently thanked each and every one of them.
"You guys didn't have to do this." I addressed the fellow soldiers. "you have my deepest gratitude. Now please share no more and enjoy your dinner."
"Haha! why are you so shy, boy? the soldiers love you!" laughed Lord Zhang Fei.
"You have always treated them with kindness. They simply took the chance to repay you." nodded Lord Guan Yu with a small smile.
"Every good deed deserves a reward." smiled Lord Lui Bei.
"What good deed?" mumbled Lord Guan Yu after slurping a noodle.
"Yeah! How did that klutz lose his food?" said Lord Zhang Fei. So Lord Lui Bei briefly told them about the incident with the children and how I patched up the injured kid and offered my entire meal for them to take home.
"Ha! Told ya that guy is soft-hearted!" laughed Lord Zhang Fei holding a half eaten meatbun.
"Or maybe Lord Zhang Fei's brain is soft..." I mumbled, but my voice was high enough to be heard by the others and they cackled like madmen. Nothing feels like playful banter with your comrades. Naturally, Lord Lui Bei is the only one who's safe from my casual yet rare insults.
The rest of the conversation felt like background noise as I was deep in thought. I couldn't get that village out of my head. While we are here enjoying a warm meal, there are villagers out there sleeping on empty stomachs. Probably wondering if they're gonna survive another day. Probably wondering when they're gonna put something in their stomachs. The sight of those underweight children further elaborates their poor upbringing. Not if I can help it...
Maybe... Just maybe... I thought chewing on a mouthful of meatbun. There might be something I can do after all. Something I can do to, as my lord says, help their suffering.
Then I began formulating my plan. There are deer in the forest, right? And there are also berries, right?
Hmmm...
If I hunt a deer every night...
Hmmmm...
And a bag full of berries...
Hmmmmm...
Not necessarily deer. Maybe rabbits, too. Luckily, there are lots of game in the forest. If I hunt - say, one deer and some berries, maybe a couple rabbits if I didn't find deer, then place them in the village in the dead of the night...
Hmm -
"Zhao Yun!"
"Huh?"
"Are you okay?" asked Lord Lui Bei. "There's a noodle hanging from your mouth.
"Oh... Slurp!"
"And he says I'm the one with the soft brain! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" guffawed Lord Zhang Fei. Lord Guan Yu chuckled while stroking his beard.
Lord Lui Bei shot them an amused look before paying his attention back to me. "Something on your mind? It must be really concerning if it makes you forget how to chew! Haha!"
"Heh." I chuckled awkwardly. I was about to tell my lord what I plan to do then I shut myself up with a riceball in the mouth. The man has enough to worry about; between strategy meetings, campaigns, and supervising the provisions, the last thing he needs is the additional responsibility of an entire village. I decided to take matters into my hands and my own hands alone. So I sat there chewing and trying to think of a good excuse before I swallow but my imagination failed me! So I just settled with the usual 'don't worry about it' then stuffed the rest of the rice into my mouth. Luckily, my lord didn't press me for an answer and the rest of the dinner went by smoothly. And I must say, the tea tasted great!
Now where was I? oh right!
Hmmm...
I laid down staring at the roof of my tent. My armor sat by the corner leaving me in just the clothes beneath. I stretched inside my cot then relaxed again with a heavy sigh.
Get the deer and berries... place in the village square... preferably at dawn where everyone would be asleep...
Hmmm...
If I'm going to help the village then I need to do it incognito. It's best to stay anonymous so I wouldn't draw unwanted attention. If they found out who's behind all these sudden food offerings, they might come visit our camp. We might even be obligated to offer some of our provisions when we barely have enough of our own. The villagers might develop intrusive behavior and demand more than we can offer. Perhaps even talk to Master Lui Bei, potentially involving him - no. They mustn't know who I am. If I'm going to help someone, it shouldn't be at somebody else's expense. Best course of action is to be Mystery Do-Gooder and everyone would be none the wiser. But how do I keep myself hidden?
I wondered that as I rolled on my side. It's not like I have a cloak or anything. Maybe just go without it and hope for the best? I'm gonna do this thing when it's dark and empty after all. No, maybe they have torches. Maybe someone would be awake at that hour and come investigate the weird guy leaving a dead deer in the middle of their village.
Soon, my eyelids became heavy. You know what, maybe I should just give up on the whole thing. Maybe helping the village would just further complicate things. Might be for the best to just mind my business and let those guys survive on their own. They have their own problems just as I have mine.
There's no dinner for us.
We barely have any food in our village.
Our village is really poor, sir. So we don't have a dinner to look forward to.
The words of the starving children echoed through my head as my eyes closed. As if my own mind is reminding me that I can't forget about someone in need. That, in this very moment, an entire village is suffering the pains of famine; waiting for either slow death or salvation.
We don't have a dinner to look forward to.
I choose salvation.
I'll figure something out. I won't let a single obstacle stand between me and saving those souls. If it's within my power then I'll do it. If the only thing I'm lacking is a way to conceal my identity then I'll think of something. I have to.
Luckily, the solution came to me next morning.
The moment I got out of my tent decked in full armor under the early sunlight and I knew something was wrong.
"General! Our scouts spotted bandits surrounding the village!" that was all I needed to hear before dashing to the village at full speed led by the scouts. The neighs, snorts and hoofsteps from our horses echoed through the early morning air as we went on our rescue mission.
I felt my anger and determination increasing as we got closer. Fucking bandits. I'll show no mercy to those who get what they want through murder and terrorism. My hand tightly gripped the spear as if to emphasize what I plan to do to them.
Thankfully, the village isn't that far from our camp. As we got closer, I did spot a few hooded figures threatening the villagers. As if those poor folk have anything to offer to begin with. The moment we arrived and, without introduction, we started to lay waste on the thugs. I went for the one who was just about to hit a woman protecting her child. My spear sliced clean through his back spilling a decent amount of blood. My horse snorted aggressively as I dismounted and aimed for a thug running in my direction. Two seconds later and he was dead.
My fellow soldiers were doing a good job at cleaning up the human filth. Everywhere I look, an officer claimed a bandit. One of them tried to attack me from behind and I kicked him, sending him flying to be pinned to the ground by a sword to the neck by none other than Lord Lui Bei.
I didn't have time to feel surprised at his sudden presence. I surveyed the battlefield and found more thugs coming from the woods. With a growl, I ran at them and literally speared them out of existence. Men, women and children were running around in different directions making it kinda tricky to swing a weapon without fear of accidentally hurting one of them.
"Everybody take cover in your houses!" yelled my lord as if sensing the dilemma. The villagers were cooperative enough to do as he said. But in his brief distraction, a thug ran to his direction without him noticing. Just as I was about to intercept the attack with a hundred murderous ways on mind, the bandit received a sharp blade to the throat by Lord Guan Yu. I speared a thug in the guts. Lord Lui Bei expertly took out three using his dual swords. Lord Guan Yu rescued an officer who was about to get jumped by a sword wielding bandit. Soon enough, the village was littered by bodies. Luckily all of them belonged to the thugs. Since they weren't as well trained as the military officers, they were much easier to take out, leaving no casualties on our end. However, some of the soldiers suffered cuts and injuries. Even bandits can be strong fighters given enough experience.
"I think that's about it." stated Lord Guan Yu, casually stepping over a body. I silently disagreed when I spotted a figure in my periphrals. One of the bandits was making a run to the forest. Oh no you don't. None shall survive on my watch...
I sped off after him and when I became close enough, I hurled my spear at him. The weapon flew at breakneck speed, effectively impaling the criminal in the thigh. His screams scared the birds off the trees.
"EEAAAAAAA! YOU BASTARD!" he wailed as he tried to crawl away. Knowing he won't succeed with a spear straight through his femur, I took my sweet sweet time walking over to him. "You bitch! Fuck you! You fucking dipshit!" but I was barely paying attention to his beautiful compliments as I was more focused on what he was wearing.
A black poncho.
That's when I knew what to do next.
"You cock sucker! you piece of shit fuckhe - hey, what are you doing? NO!" I forced him on his stomach then held his neck in a chockhold. "You son of a -"
Crack.
With a simple yet harsh twist of my arms and his neck got twisted at an odd angle promptly shutting him up forever. I yanked the spear from his leg then stripped the body from the poncho. The weapon could have easily finished the job but breaking his neck ensured no blood would get on my newly acquired article of clothing. I couldn't hold back a grin as I held it up at arms length to inspect it.
Perfect.
This should do the job just fine at keeping my face hidden. The hood is big enough to keep my head concealed and, for extra precaution, I have a mask in my tent to cover my mouth and nose for when it gets cold. I whistled for my horse and when he was at my side, I stuffed the poncho in his saddlebag then grabbed the reins to take him with me back to the village.
"Relax, we might be soldiers but did I mention we're a clean-up crew as well? haha!" I heard my lord in the distance speaking to the villagers who gathered near him and Lord Guan Yu. Specifically the adults. The children weren't allowed outside just yet, not when it is still a gruesome scene.
I exchanged a look with my lord before letting go of the horse then approached the soldiers.
"Injured ones get back to camp! The able-bodied ones scout the perimeter for any remaining bandits, the rest stay here to remove the bodies!" I commanded.
"Sir!" they all said in unison before they scattered to do as told.
"Zhao Yun." I turned to my lord's direction as he called for me. An older man stood next to him looking at me with intensified interest, and I think I know where this is going. "This is the village chef." he introduced.
"Hello, sir." I greeted with a slight head bow.
"So this is the fine young man who fed my grandchildren last night?" said the chef.
"That was nothing. It was the least I could do."
"You may humbly disregard it. But to us, it meant the entire world." he said while the soldiers were carrying the bodies off in the background. "You have not seen how excited the children were yesterday when they walked in carrying an entire bag of food. It has been a good while since we've had a meal this fulfilling."
"I'm glad I could help." I replied then remembered something. "One of the kids injured his leg. How is he?"
"He's okay. Thanks to you." replied someone from behind me. I turned around to find a woman approaching me among the small crowd. "If it weren't for you, my son wouldn't have been able to run around freely like he usually does."
"I highly recommend checking his wound once in a while, ma'am." I advised. "and... here." I retrieved a fresh roll of bandages from the saddlebag and handed it over to the kid's mother. "Give it a couple days then change his bandages."
"Thank you..." the woman whispered in gratitude as she took the bandages. I nodded then turned around to check the soliders' progress. Besides the blood stains, the entire village became clean of bodies. I looked towards Lord Lui Bei to find him engrossed in a conversation with the village chef. Lord Guan Yu standing next to him looking like he'd rather be somewhere else. When I went back to them, I began to wish the same thing as I heard the whispers.
"So this is the guy that fed the cousins."
"Lucky little rascals. Wish I was the one who met him."
"For a war general, he's not scary at all!"
"His superior said he's the nicest one among his colleagues."
"Is he the best looking too? because he's quite handsome!"
"Look at that shiny long hair!"
"His skin looks smooth!"
"Those sparkling eyes and pink lips! Awww, he looks so cute!"
That was my que to skedaddle before I get jumped by someone. So I headed over to my lord and whispered in his ear. "We have to go, my lord." he nodded. He bid everyone farewell before we got on our horses and took off.
"One of the soldiers at camp told us you went to rescue the village from a bandit raid. Thought I could come over and help." explained the lord.
"Brother Zhang Fei stayed at camp to guard it in case more thugs went there." added Lord Guan Yu.
"The chef sounds like a good man. He sure talks a lot though. Hehe." said Lord Lui Bei.
"REALLY a lot..." grumbled Lord Guan Yu.
"Can't exactly blame him. The man was venting."
"What has he been telling you this entire time?" I asked. And what I heard was really disturbing. According to what my lord has been told, the village folk are too weak and malnourished to hunt for themselves. So they have been living off of scraps and carcass leftovers they find in the forest by the wolves. They wait until the predators were done with the meal then help themselves to what's left, which isn't exactly much nor is it even the healthiest option but it's what kept them alive so far. When they get desperate, they'd attempt to fight the wolves off when the kill was still fresh and while it offers a bigger reward, the risk was even higher. Some got badly injured during the fight for survival. Even killed. They do occasionally eat berries but... what good would that do when even meat leftovers is far from enough? Sure, they're better than nothing but can't sustain an entire village.
"I told him they could move to one of the kingdoms so they won't have to hunt for food." explained my lord as we dismounted at the camp. "But they have no money and they're too weak to travel."
Money, huh?
Hmmmm!
My brain was formulating more and more of the plan as I went to the forest a few hours later to retrieve the poncho I left hanging on a tree branch. When we got back to camp earlier this morning, I snuck to a nearby river to give the cloth a decent wash then left it to hang where it faced sunlight the most. Considering the kind of person the previous owner was, there is no way I'm putting this thing on without some proper cleaning! Not to stereotype but thugs aren't exactly known for personal hygiene.
Once I snatched the poncho off of the low branch, I took a good whiff and was pleased that it doesn't reek of body odor anymore. It dried up completely and is still warm from the constant noon sunlight exposure to ensure complete sterilization so it looked like it was brand new. Now that the poncho is safe to put on, I took it back with me to camp and snuck it into my tent while no one was looking. Once inside, I tried it on and, I must say, it's cozy! And just as predicted, the hood covered my head all the way to my forehead. Only the front and back are covered leaving my sides exposed which is a good thing because I sure as hell am gonna need access to my arms. All in all, the poncho is gonna do just fine. I took it off then put it away in the corner next to my mask and... let's say it's a really special tool. One from outside this world.
I got out the tent to do a general survey. There were remains of an eaten roasted deer hanging over the dead flames of the spit, caught while we were cleaning up the village from the thug infestation. I checked for status report. The soldiers reported no sight of anymore thugs. However, another Wu camp has been spotted and we need to get ready for another invasion. Now that Operation Village Rescue plan is ready to execute, all I have to do is wait until it's nightfall. Meanwhile I gotta focus on our own problems.
Soon, everyone. Soon. I thought as I rode off with my lord, fellow generals and some other soldiers to our destination. Ready to erase more of the opposing kingdom threat. And when I get back, there will be another threat for me to take care of; The threat of starvation.
Starting from tonight, those villagers will be hungry no more.