Chapter 43

The next morning, they left the Lingwu Mountain Villa and set out to the summit. Servants followed behind and prepared food and water for them.

When they walked halfway up the mountain, Feng Ye pulled out a hide rope from his collar. A signal horn made of milky white animal bone hung from the hide rope. It was only a finger long and looked very exquisite. He held it between his lips and blew it with some strength. The sound from that small object was not soft. It was sharp and piercing, and it immediately rang through half the valley.

Yan Sikong asked, "Are you summoning Feng Hun?"

"That’s right." Feng Ye spread out his palm and looked at the horn. "It's made of a piece of my wet nurse*’s thigh bone. I've brought it along with me for many years."

"It's a really strange fate between you and the wolf family."

"Our Feng family has worshiped wolves for generations. Wolves are loyal, proud, tough, and powerful." Feng Ye said with a smile, "The wolves are our teachers."

After waiting for a while, they saw Feng Hun running out of the forest. When he got closer, they could even feel the ground trembling slightly under their feet.

Yan Sikong found that he was not afraid of Feng Hun anymore, probably because he no longer looked at him with the eyes of looking at prey.

The two people and the wolf continued to walk up the mountain.

Yan Sikong asked casually, "How did he hurt his eye?"

Feng Ye stroked Feng Hun's back. “When we were young, we went to the mountain to play. In order to save me, he was scratched by a black bear."

"It’s good to have one eye. He can see things with more focus."

Feng Ye grabbed the fur on Feng Hun's neck and said with a smile, "Hun’er, he’s praising you."

Feng Hun turned behind to look at Yan Sikong, turned back again and continued to walk proudly. Yan Sikong couldn’t help laughing.

The summit was bright and beautiful with the sun shining. The grass was tall, and the nightingales were flying in the air. They could see all the colors of spring and smell the refreshing and sweet air, which made them feel good.

Feng Ye was like a child today, playing with Feng Hun all the way, which made Yan Sikong laugh. From time to time, he felt that Feng Ye really took advantage of the pleasant weather to go out with his friend, and temporarily had forgotten that his real purpose was to visit the Jingshan’s camp.

Feng Ye was tired of playing with Feng Hun, so he returned to Yan Sikong. His face was ruddy and full of vitality. “Are you tired?"

Yan Sikong smiled. “I'm not tired. I think you're tired instead."

"I'm not tired at all." Feng Ye blinked. "If you feel tired, I can carry you."

"Are you treating me like a weak girl?"

"Of course not." Feng Ye bumped him with his shoulder, "I care for you."

Yan Sikong ignored him.

"Feng Hun has already occupied this mountain, so this mountain is mine." Feng Ye said with a heroic spirit, "Every plant and tree on this mountain belongs to me, including you." He said with a playful laugh, "Now that you have gone up my mountain, stay here and be my wife."

Yan Sikong couldn't help but snigger. “Stop fooling around. Let me ask you, if you really dominate this mountain and have strong enemies outside, how should you deploy troops?"

"Are you testing me?" Feng Ye raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah."

Feng Ye smiled proudly. “If we march into this place, we should march along the valley when we pass through the mountains. If we are stationed in this place, we should face the South and the sun and occupy the high ground. However, troops engaged in frontal operations cannot camp in a centralized way. Instead, special troops should be stationed in places close to the road and cooperate with each other from far and near to prevent the enemy's siege and not be cut off from our route of retreat."

"Good." Yan Sikong pointed to the distance, "But you see, the mountain pass here is strange. If you enter the mountain pass from the south, it would act like an aperture*. What would you do if you had to cross this place?"

Feng Ye stood on a low stone and looked into the distance for a long time. He then threw a small stone with one foot, firmly caught it with his hand, squatted down, and started drawing a landform on that low stone.

Yan Sikong stood on one side and became more and more surprised from watching. Feng Ye only looked at it for a moment, yet he replicated the terrain very well. Even the proportions between the mountains and the roads were similar.

After Feng Ye finished drawing, he grinned. “You dare to test me as a scholar who only knew how to discuss military tactics on paper*? Come, let me tell you something. This aperture is extremely dangerous. If we are ambushed here, we will have a slim chance of surviving, but it is not unsolvable... " He slowly explained his deployment of troops.

"... I don't think this method would work. If the enemy set up an ambush here, they can work out your method of deploying troops."

"...The soldiers will know that there is no way out, so their morale will be flourishing. At this time, they can make a surprise attack and circle them..."

The two of them expressed their own opinions, talked about the battle, and debated on the rough and uneven stone. Yan Sikong had read countless scrolls and was conservative on the use of troops. He always adhered to the central concept of Sun Tzu's "win first and fight later". Feng Ye also read military books intensively, yet he could not be bound by the heart of a wild beast. On the premise of not violating the universal art of war, he dared to take risks. Although they had the same views, their disagreements were not small either.

Feng Hun looked at them on one side for a while. Finally, he just laid on the ground and slept due to boredom.

The two argued until noon and were already thirsty. They only stopped when the attendant came up and asked them if they wanted to have lunch.

That stone had been scratched out of shape. They looked at each other and smiled. Although no one could persuade anyone, a thousand cups of wine were not too much when best friends meet*. It was refreshing to be able to discuss it so happily.

Yan Sikong said helplessly, "I didn't even feel tired climbing up the mountain, but instead I’m tired after talking endlessly for 2 hours."

"You deserved it." Feng Ye urged, "Hurry up and eat."

The attendant had already set a short table. Although they were in the wild with the sky as the canopy and the earth as the mattress*, the dishes were still exquisite. The two were very hungry and ate quickly.

Yan Sikong suddenly asked, "Do you still keep the book on the art of war I gave you?"

Feng Ye paused and looked at him with a smile. “You finally remembered to ask me. I thought you forgot about this too."

"I wrote the notes in that military book word for word. It took a lot of effort, so how could I forget about it?"

"I still kept it." Feng Ye said, "I began to learn how to speak the human language at the age of four and began to read at the age of five. At that time, my teacher taught me the art of war. I could recite it, but I wasn’t sure whether I understood what it meant. I did it just to answer whenever my father tested me. The book of war you gave me was simple and easy to understand, which benefited me very much.”

Yan Sikong said with a smile, "In that case, I am honored."

Feng Ye looked at him deeply. “The fact that I can never forget you has something to do with it too."

Yan Sikong did not dare to look directly at those undisguised and sincere eyes for a moment, and his gaze became evasive.

"You were always special. Whether as a child or now."

Yan Sikong lowered his eyes. “Let's eat. We've climbed for a long time and haven't reached the summit yet."

After dinner, they continued on their journey. This time, they successfully climbed to the summit without delay.

The troops must be stationed in a low-lying land where dampness can be avoided and there’s plenty of sunlight so that the soldiers would not fall sick easily. Therefore, they must reach the summit to see the Jingshan’s camp which was facing south.

When Yan Sikong looked down from the high ground, he saw a tent a hundred steps down the mountain, and a beacon tower that was fifty steps away. With the main army tent as the center, it radiated in a ring around. Multiple sentry posts were set up around troops and horses. There was a river a kilometer to the west, which was enough for the soldiers in the camp to get water. This camp was in good order. The choice of land was remarkable, and anyone could immediately tell that the commander had great skills.

"General Zhao deserves a good reputation." Yan Sikong said.

Feng Ye nodded. “There are not many decent generals left in Dasheng. General Zhao is one of them."

Yan Sikong remembered that Zhao Fuyi had led troops to help Guangning back then. He appreciated Yuan Mao very much and even promised to ask the emperor to reward Yuan Mao when he returned to the capital. No one knew whether he asked or not.

"He was the one who brought the troops from the capital to Guangning, right?" Feng Ye asked, "Have you seen him before?"

"I happened to meet him once."

Feng Ye saw that he didn't want to say more and didn't ask again.

Yan Sikong stared attentively at the camp and wondered how long it would take for the main garrison to assemble into an army and enter the city to protect the emperor if there’s a change in the situation in the capital.

"Feng Ye, what did you do in the camp?"

Feng Ye's face became gloomy. “I'm only allowed to train troops. They won't let me do anything here."

"That's true."

"It's better than being idle." Feng Ye looked blankly into the distance. "I don't know how long I have to live like this. Ten years? Twenty years?"

"You must have confidence in the King of Jingyuan. If he can pacify the barbarians, the boundless universe is for you to soar."

"I hope so."

This sentence was just for comfort. The two already knew the obvious. If they considered it from the Feng family’s perspective, it might be better for the Barbarians to be in disorder, so that Dasheng needed the Feng family. Otherwise, with Feng Jianping's achievements, any emperor could secure their position as the emperor.

"Let’s just bask in the sun since we’ve come up here after so long."

"Yeah."

They sat on the ground and the attendant immediately set a low table, set up a fire, boiled water, and made tea for them.

Feng Ye said to the two attendants, "You guys go down the mountain first. We'll go down by ourselves later."

"I’m worried that Shizi will get lost."

"I will never get lost if I've walked through it once."

"It's cold in the mountains at night, so it's better for Shizi and Lord Yan to go down before dark. I shall retreat first."

Feng Ye waved his hand.

After the attendant left, Feng Ye replaced wine with tea and lightly knocked Yan Sikong’s cup. “It’s awkward to have him around since this is supposed to be our date."

Yan Sikong laughed. “How is this a date?"

"It is when I say it is." Feng Ye smiled naughtily, "Why, are you nervous again?"

"Why should I be nervous?" Yan Sikong took a sip of tea calmly. "It's refreshing to see the view in all directions from the summit. With a sip of tea, hmm…it’s so comfortable.”

Feng Ye echoed. “Comfortable."

The two chatted while drinking. They didn't decide to go down the mountain until the tea had been soaked tasteless and it was getting dark.

As the attendant said, with the sun setting in the west, the temperature also plummeted. It was originally cool in the mountains, but it actually felt cold now.

More bizarrely, it started raining cats and dogs without warning even though the weather was clear for more than a month. This rain came too suddenly, and the two could only hide under a tree. However, it didn’t help much, and they were half-soaked by the rain on the spot.

Feng Hun looked up at the sky, turned around and ran away.

Yan Sikong widened his eyes unbelievably. “He…he abandoned us to take shelter from the rain?"

"Nonsense, he went to find shelter for us." Feng Ye put his hand over Yan Sikong’s head. He was a little annoyed at the thought that God didn't give him face.

"No worries. It’s just a little rain." Yan Sikong wiped the raindrops off his face. Although he said this, he was drenched from head to toe.

They stood awkwardly in the rain. Neither walking nor staying was a choice. The road ahead was flat and exposed to the rain.

Yan Sikong looked up and saw Feng Ye's hand sheltering his head. He suddenly felt warm in his heart and teased, "What’s the point of sheltering me? I’m already wet." He pulled down Feng Ye's arm.

The two men looked at each other's wretched appearance. After a moment of silence, they suddenly laughed out loud. They seemed to taste a bit of sweetness when finding joy in their sorrows*.

After a while, Feng Hun came back and shouted at them.

They understood and quickly followed him. Feng Hun ran slowly. He seemed to have long been used to adapting to the speed of human beings.

Feng Hun led the two along the twisting and turning mountain road, and finally found a low cave.

That cave was shallow and small, and adults could not stand straight in it, but the dryness of it was very tempting for the two at this time.

They ducked in. Feng Hun laid down at the entrance of the cave and began to lick his fur patiently.

Sitting on the dry soil, the two breathed a sigh of relief. They were drenched from head to toe as if they had just been fished out of the water. They shivered as a cool breeze blew in.

Feng Ye said, "Take off your clothes. I'll set up a fire to dry them." Then, he began to take off his clothes.

Yan Sikong was watching Feng Ye removing his own clothes and was surprised. That should not have been the body of a teenager. Whether it was the large and small scars all over it or his hard and strong muscles, the dressed Feng Ye seemed to have the thinness of a teenager, yet he never thought that Feng Ye would be this well-toned when he removed his clothes.

Feng Ye suddenly paused and turned his head, just in time to have his gaze collide with Yan Sikong's.

Yan Sikong couldn't evade his gaze in time and could only pretend to be calm. “You have a lot of injuries...on your body."

Feng Ye rotated his shoulders and said unconcernedly, "There is no one who is not hurt when going to war."

Yan Sikong felt strange in his heart. In fact, he had always wanted to ask him about Feng Lie, but he also didn’t want others to ask him about Yuan Mao. Unless Feng Ye took the initiative to mention it, he could just pretend he didn’t know.

Feng Ye threw his clothes onto the ground. He squatted down with his bare upper body, sized up the drenched Yan Sikong, hooked his lips into a smile and spoke. “Aren’t you taking them off?"

Yan Sikong's Adam's apple slipped up and down. Although he’s extremely clever, he didn't know how to answer at this time.

"Or do you just like watching me take them off?" Feng Ye said and pulled down his pants.

 

 ----

wet nurse* [奶娘]---- a woman employed to suckle another woman's child, in this case is the she-wolf who brought up Feng Ye.

a thousand cups of wine were not too much when best friends meet* [酒逢知己千杯少]--- People of similar temperament never get tired of getting together

the sky as the canopy and the earth as the mattress* [幕天席地]---open space

finding joy in their sorrows* [苦中作乐]--- to enjoy sth in spite of one's suffering

discuss military tactics on paper* [纸上谈兵]--- theoretical discussion that is worse than useless in practice / armchair strategist / idle theorizing

Aperture* [天井之形]---- An opening such as hole, gap, or slit. This is the natural aperture that they are referring to

 

Edited on 13 Sept. 21 (Emzie)

 

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