Chapter 133: The General Cannot Read

"No, I wouldn't dare!" The young soldier hurriedly waved his hands and shook his head. "I mean in the future... it startled this humble subordinate. This subordinate... this subordinate had no intention of offending the General."

"Alright, I was just joking with you. There's no need to be scared like this. Get up already!" She couldn't help but burst into laughter.

The young soldier trembling climbed up from the ground, stealing a glance at her. "Is the General's body completely recovered?"

"Mm." She raised her arm, feeling a lingering soreness. That night had certainly been exhausting. Her hand brushed against her arm, feeling clean clothing, and she paused slightly. Looking down, she realized she had indeed been changed into fresh, neat garments.

"Who changed my clothes?" Her voice had neither rises nor falls, completely devoid of emotion.

Terrified, the young soldier dropped back to the ground. "It was... it was this humble subordinate. This subordinate didn't mean to be presumptuous, it's just... this subordinate lost the dice game. With my eyes closed, I helped the Deputy General change! Please spare my life, Deputy General!" With that, he began kowtowing incessantly.

Kaiming found this even more amusing. Since when had she become such a terrifying superior in the eyes of her soldiers?

"I didn't say you did anything wrong, what are you doing?" she asked with mild displeasure.

Wiping away tears of fright, the young soldier asked in pleasant surprise, "The Deputy General is not blaming this humble subordinate?"

"You didn't do anything wrong," she said indifferently.

Overjoyed, the young soldier quickly scrambled to his feet, standing respectfully to one side with his hands at his sides.

Kaiming shifted her gaze outside the tent. Faint glimmers of light filtering through proved it was pitch black outside. "I slept... did I really sleep for a whole day?"

The young soldier nodded. "Yes."

"The Military Inspector and the others... they left a full day ago as well?"

"Yes."

After a brief silence, remembering something, she asked, "Where is my personal guard? Why isn't he here?"

The young soldier looked at her curiously. "Has the Deputy General forgotten? The personal guard received thirty strikes of the heavy staff and is lying in this humble subordinate's yurt to recuperate from his injuries."

Her voice trembled slightly. "Why wasn't he brought here?"

The young soldier quickly replied, "This humble subordinate will make arrangements right away."

"No need." She pushed herself up from the edge of the bed, drawing in a breath as she stood. "Where is your yurt? Take me there."

The young soldier said, "The Deputy General hasn't eaten for a day and a night. Shall this humble subordinate order the camp cook to prepare some thin porridge?"

"Take me to see my personal guard first."

"Yes."

Stepping outside, she found the night as dark as ink. Because the soldiers in the camp had all gone out to the West Palace, it was so quiet that even the chirping of tiny insects could be heard clearly. Walking less than two hundred meters, the young soldier lifted the felt flap of a tent and bowed, standing aside at the entrance.

Without standing on ceremony, she stepped inside first. The moment she entered, a strong, pungent mixture of fresh blood and medicinal powder assaulted her senses. Frowning, she covered her nose and swept her gaze across the room, instantly spotting a figure lying flat against the inner wall. Because he was lying on his stomach, his expression was hidden, revealing only a dark head of hair, his right hand hanging limply by the edge of the cot. His lower body was covered in dried bloodstains that had already crusted over, making it look slightly less horrifying than when he had first been carried in.

Even so, Kaiming felt her heart race and dizziness wash over her. She had never imagined that thirty heavy military staves could result in such severe injuries.

Staggering toward the cot, her legs felt so weak she nearly knelt right beside him. Xuan seemed to be asleep, his face turned toward the inner wall, completely motionless.

She softly called out Xuan's name, over and over again. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

Lifting her hand, she tremblingly stroked his dark, thick hair, her voice shaking. "It's my fault I dragged you into this. I'm the one who hurt you like this. Was I truly wrong to do what I did? You are like this, and Zhaoming is too. I genuinely wanted to help him, but in the end, it only harmed him... and furthermore, I implicated you in such suffering... I'm sorry..."

Tears threatened to spill over, but she forcefully blinked them back and turned to leave.

Xuan's fingers twitched, and reaching out, he grabbed her hand before she could pull it away. Kaiming turned back, staring at him in astonishment.

Xuan turned his head, revealing a pale face beneath his messy dark hair. Though completely drained of color, his expression remained steady. His translucent pupils moved slowly beneath slightly trembling long eyelashes.

"It is not your fault..." he spoke, his voice hoarse and deep, resembling a broken note on a lute string.

She gripped his hand in return, pressing it against the bed as she looked at him with emotion. "Xuan, you're awake? Did I wake you? Does your body hurt? Should we apply more medicine?"

Xuan twitched the corner of his mouth into a bitter smile. "With so many questions, which one should I answer first..."

"It's all my fault, blame it all on me..."

"No blaming you," Xuan cut her off. "If anyone is to be blamed, blame only war..."

Kaiming paused slightly. "Blame war?"

Looking at her, Xuan slowly said, "As long as there is war, there will be bloodshed and death; as long as there is war, there will be deceit and treachery. Even if you wish to change something with your meager human strength, how easily is that accomplished?"

"Xuan," she smiled faintly, "I never expected you could speak such scholarly words."

Xuan smiled. "It's not being scholarly, merely firsthand experience."

"Have you, like me, been lying here for a whole day and a night?"

Xuan sighed softly, fixing his gaze on her. "Don't do foolish things in the future. That kind of training is useless; you must progress step by step. When I recover, I will teach you..."

Kaiming gripped his hand even tighter, her surging emotions impossible to put into words. "You must get better soon."

The tight grip caused Xuan a sharp pang of pain, and he frowned. She quickly loosened her grip, asking with deep concern, "Does your body still hurt badly?"

Xuan managed a strained smile. "It's nothing. I've survived injuries far worse than this back then; what do a few stick wounds amount to? It's just that my backside is all red and raw, and lying here like this looks too unsightly."

Kaiming smiled. "How about we move you back to my yurt? I'll take care of you."

"There's no need to go to all that trouble—"

Before Xuan could finish his refusal, Kaiming had already stood up and called out, "Guard!"

The young soldier waiting outside the tent immediately ran in and snapped to attention. "What are your orders, Deputy General?"

"Call two men to bring a stretcher in and carry the personal guard back to my tent. Handle him with care and place him down gently, understood? If the personal guard so much as utters a single cry of pain, you're all dead!" she declared with an angry glare, furrowing her brows fiercely.

Daring not to delay, the young soldier hurriedly rallied some companions, calling over two agile, tall soldiers. They carefully hoisted Xuan onto a flat stretcher improvised from thick tree branches, carried him steadily to Kaiming's yurt, and laid him gently upon her bed before taking their leave.

Kaiming stopped the young soldier just as he was about to depart, instructing him, "Tell the camp cook to prepare some soft food, the kind that is easy to swallow, understand?"

The young soldier promptly acknowledged the order. "This humble subordinate understands. Please wait a moment, General."

Watching the young soldier run out of the tent, Xuan turned his head on the cot and offered a wry smile. "If I utter a single cry of pain, we're all dead—that hardly sounds like something General Kaiming would say?"

Kaiming couldn't help but laugh despite herself. "Anyway, they treat me like a yaksha and are scared to death of me. That's fine, too; without fear, how can one command respect?"

Xuan smiled. "That the General can figure this out is truly a cause for celebration."

She shot him an eye-roll. "Someone injured to this extent still has the mood to joke around."

"These are just superficial wounds; they will heal in two or three days," Xuan brushed off his own injuries.

Leaning her elbows beside him, she looked at him playfully. "What kind of training plan are you going to design for me after you recover?"

Xuan smiled. "We'll need to sign a military pledge first, so I can ensure you won't run away halfway through."