Chapter Eighty-Seven: Blood-Brother Oath

By the time she had finished turning it over in her mind, the long road had somehow been covered in no time at all.

The male guards at the camp entrance wore odd expressions as they watched this troop of women stride into the garrison with aggressive confidence.

Across the vast drill ground, the various squads were scattered about, some training, some resting, and every one of them made up of men. The moment Kaiming entered, the drills ceased and a murmur of whispering spread among them.

Kaiming dismounted. The nearest guard scanned the yard, then stopped a passing soldier and demanded, "Where is Commander Changgeng?"

The soldier answered at once, "Commander Changgeng was just here, drilling the men."

"Go find him for me. The Lord of War has a message."

The soldier hurried off.

"Kaiming!"

A loud shout rang out from beside her, startling her. Before she could turn, someone rushed from behind and threw themselves at her in excitement. "Kaiming, is it really you? It really is you, isn't it?"

Caught off guard by the sudden embrace, she stood there dazed for a moment.

"How did you end up here? Did you come specially to see me?" The man did not even wait for her to speak, firing off words at a breakneck pace.

She twisted her head with effort before she could make out the man's profile. "Doggie?!"

"It's me!" Doggie's narrow face glowed with excitement, as though he had just seen his own mother.

"Could you let go of me first?" Why was he just like Spring Blossom? The instant they met, he clung like a wolf to a lamb.

Spring Blossom and the other women stared in stunned silence at the sudden scene before them, unable to understand how this slight male soldier dared to hug their own commander so openly.

"Doggie!" came a sharp rebuke from the front.

The guiding soldier had brought over the young commander. His skin was the color of bronze, and he wore a loose short jacket with narrow sleeves. Sweat glistened across his face, and his deep dark eyes were full of reproach. "Mind your behavior! Kaiming is a commander now, not the comrade you used to joke around with at will!"

Doggie seemed to fear their commander quite a bit. He quickly let go and stood properly at attention.

When the escort saw Changgeng approaching, he hurried forward and said, "You must be Commander Changgeng. The Lord of War ordered me to bring Commander Kaiming here. I have delivered her. I will return to report."

Changgeng nodded to show he understood. The escort completed his task and rode away.

Kaiming smiled at him. This boy always liked to put on airs in front of outsiders; he never could shake that annoying habit. Changgeng smiled back at her as well.

"The world truly is impossible to predict. Who would have thought you'd twist and turn your way back to my side after all?"

"Yes!" she said brightly. "I never expected it either."

Spring Blossom could not help asking from the side, "You two know each other?"

Kaiming introduced her. "This is Commander Changgeng, the one I served under when I first joined the Death Squad."

Changgeng smiled. "We are all equals now. Why keep calling me commander?"

Kaiming teased, "Now that I command troops too, Commander Changgeng will have to work hard to outdo me."

"Naturally." He gave a proud smile.

Spring Blossom stared at Changgeng, eyes wide, and whispered to Kaiming, "Commander Changgeng is quite handsome. Find a chance to introduce me, will you?"

Kaiming blinked in surprise. "Spring Blossom, where has your loyalty gone? Weren't you always in love with Brother Xuan?"

Spring Blossom blinked furiously. "Brother Xuan is a dream lover. Commander Changgeng is a real man standing right in front of me!"

Kaiming could not help laughing at her. She kept sneaking glances at Changgeng, and he looked back at her in confusion.

Suppressing her smile, she changed the subject. "Commander Changgeng, where do you plan to quarter my troops?"

"There are plenty of empty rooms. You may choose freely." He waved over his escort. "Arrange lodging for Commander Kaiming's unit. Follow my instructions, do you understand?"

The escort took his orders and led the women away to be housed.

Spring Blossom kept looking back every few steps, casting flirtatious glances, but Changgeng, that block of wood, understood none of it.

"Is that big woman one of yours?"

"She is the captain of the Thirty-Sixth Squad."

"Then why is she staring at me like that?"

Kaiming could no longer hold it in and burst out laughing. "Because she has taken a liking to you!"

Changgeng's face immediately darkened. Doggie, too, laughed so hard he nearly choked, and, gathering his courage, he teased, "Anyway, Commander, you're already old enough to be thinking about a wife. She's not married, and you're not wed..."

Before he could finish, Changgeng barked, "It is training time now. Who allowed you to spout nonsense here?"

Doggie shut up at once and did not dare make another sound.

"Run ten laps around the drill ground and then come back!" Changgeng's voice was like thunder.

Doggie looked to Kaiming for help. She quickly waved him off, signaling she was helpless. He had no choice but to run off pitifully.

"Commander Kaiming." Changgeng turned his cold face toward her.

She lowered her eyes at once and replied submissively, "Yes."

"During training, you are not permitted to make such vile jokes again. Especially not jokes at my expense..." Catching sight of the corners of her mouth twitching higher and higher, he grew even more annoyed. "Is it really that amusing to make jokes about me?"

"I wouldn't dare." She could not control the twitching at the corners of her mouth; holding back laughter was truly painful.

"Commander Kaiming..."

"Yes."

He fixed her with a look and said half-seriously, "Compared with that woman just now, isn't Commander Kaiming actually a more suitable match for marriage?"

She giggled. "Changgeng, since when did you learn to make jokes like this?"

He gave a huff and turned his face away, refusing to speak.

"We are sworn brothers. When have brothers ever married each other?" she said with a smile.

"Brothers?" His expression grew even darker.

Then she seemed to remember something, slapped her forehead, and cried, "I should go and keep an eye on them. Commander Changgeng, we'll talk later. We have plenty of time."

"Plenty of time?" He suddenly broke into a smile. The dark skin of his face took on a faint flush, and the burly young man somehow revealed the shy tenderness of a maiden.

Kaiming suddenly found his smile disarmingly innocent and sweet. For a moment she was so taken aback that she could not quite recover herself.

More than a dozen women had been given the special privilege of two rooms. The commander had a room to himself, complete with washing facilities, a bed, a table, and chairs. The ordinary soldiers, however, had to squeeze into the communal bath quarters.

At last she no longer had to live in the general's residence, and could stay in the training camp under proper authority. Separated, for the time being, from Big Voice and Spoon, she did not know whether to feel relieved or concerned.

Jade had once warned her to beware of Big Voice and keep an eye on Little Wan and Spoon, but she had no idea where to begin. Big Voice attended Little Wan with meticulous care each day, looking entirely sincere. Spoon, meanwhile, was eating himself glossy and round, dressed and outfitted like some young master, and did not seem to have been mistreated in the least.

Perhaps Jade had simply been overly worried. Could a mother truly harbor ill intent toward two infants still wet behind the ears?

She rinsed the agitation from her body again and again with clean water, sorting through the chaos in her mind. As her emotions gradually calmed, her body too seemed to cool and settle. Only then did she slip on her outer robe and step out, wiping at her damp hair.

The instant she stepped through the doorway, it was pushed open by voices outside, and a loud, hearty voice boomed in. "Kaiming! You are here!"

She looked up to see a solid little ball of flesh squeeze through the doorframe. She sighed. "Spring Blossom, next time don't push so hard. Fixing a door is a troublesome business. And also, please knock before you come in next time, all right?"

"Got it." Spring Blossom answered briskly, shut the door at once, and then crept in with a sly look.

Seeing her like that, Kaiming knew at once there could be no good reason for her visit. "Want to report something to your leader?"

"So quickly and you already have official airs." Spring Blossom snorted loudly through her nose, then shifted her bulky rear onto a stool and peered around at the room's furnishings. "This place you live in is pretty good. Much better than mine. Can I come here and mooch a few nights?"

"Forget it. Your size and your build are more than I can handle." With a woman that enormous, one careless turn and she might crush her to death.

"Don't be so heartless. After all, we used to be such good sisters." Spring Blossom wore a beaming smile and did not take offense at her rude words in the least.

"Spit it out. What is it you actually want?" Kaiming had no intention of wasting time with her.

Spring Blossom's eyes lit up with admiration. "Kaiming, you're just as clever as ever..."

The more she spoke, the more impatient Kaiming grew.

"It's just that I was curious, don't take it the wrong way. Only a tiny bit of curiosity." Spring Blossom wriggled her ample backside and winked. "After my careful observation, you and that... Lord of War... is there perhaps something going on between you?"

"What do you mean, something going on?" She deliberately put on a stern face and flung the dry towel she had used to wipe her hair onto Spring Blossom's head. Then she stood up and said, "If you have time to make wild guesses about things that do not even exist, you'd be better off going to train."

"Now, now!" Spring Blossom pulled the towel off her head and looked at her with a smile that was half playful, half serious. "People are naturally curious. Tell your sister, is there anything to it or not?"

"Who are you calling sister?" Kaiming was somewhat annoyed, and her tone sharpened. "You hear one rumor and start believing it. Believe me if I punish you by making you run laps!"

Spring Blossom quickly begged for mercy, beaming as she apologized. "My mouth deserves punishment. How about this: punish me by treating you to drinks, Commander. What do you say?"

"Drinks?" Her cheeks ached, and saliva began to gather in her mouth again.

Damn it. Did she really think herself so stupid that she would leap straight into such a transparent trap? She waved a hand and said solemnly, "No, no. That's obvious bribery."

"Suit yourself. Anyway, I've already agreed with the sisters that to celebrate the first day of our new unit, we're going to drink our fill! We won't stop until we're drunk!" Spring Blossom enunciated each word with a clack of conviction, while her eyes roamed up and down over Kaiming. "That fragrant wine, that delicious meat... only a fool would refuse such a thing."

Spring Blossom's words stirred her cravings until they crawled and churned in her belly, and even her tone softened somewhat. "You know very well that soldiers are not allowed to drink."

Seeing her wavering, Spring Blossom chuckled. "A clever hermit has his own plans, Commander. Just set your mind at ease."

Kaiming gave a cold snort. "What clever plan could you possibly have?"

"Commander Kaiming will know once she goes." Spring Blossom's face really was growing thicker by the day, and she only grinned wickedly.

At the hour Spring Blossom had mentioned, when several women swaggered out of the camp, no one actually stopped them.

That only made her curiosity burn brighter. What sort of clever trick had Spring Blossom used to make the guards stand there and watch these women, each as bulky as a load of cargo, pass before their eyes like ants hauling a nest, while treating them as though they did not exist?

Not even a perfunctory challenge?