18. The Beginning Of His Sufferings

After passing the somewhat gruesome night, Lui Xian could still picture all the blood splattered on the snow and all the bodies that had died with their eyes wide open unable to close themselves. And also the frightening wounds that had been inflicted on the deceased's bodies. He had no fear instead he felt some uneasiness that kept pressuring him to be a good leader. For them to win the war. In his sleep, Lui Xian would picture some martial arts and effective strategies he wanted to try. All of them made him excited.

The unbearable stench was still lingering in the air musking the coldness that was there. Making it even harder for everyone to relax. The snowflakes which had been falling all night, still couldn't cover it all up. It was so intense for first time soldiers, because none of them were able to eat that night. And some couldn't even sleep.

They had set up new tents that filled up the whole area. All were white in colour and only the main tent had a purple flag fluttering in the air with an imperial dragon motif at its center.

Lui Xian who had woken up not feeling too good, reluctantly started his day. He made his way to the main tent for an early morning meeting. He passed by the two soldiers who were standing on guard with a spear in hand. They were each at both sides of the entrance. Upon seeing him, the two saluted and then guided him inside the tent.

Seniority is always at the top in the imperial army so as Lui Xian was paid respect to by the two soldiers, he had to do the same as well to all the other people present inside the tent. He took a bow his armour making a slight sound. He greeted each and every person in front of him as he waited to be told what to do.

"Come sit."

One of the seniors sitting around the table invited him to sit on the free chair that seemed to be reserved for him. The meeting consisted of eight members each with a position higher than the other. Lui Xian had the least power amongst everyone.

He walked to the senior and sat beside him trying to sit comfortably with the light armour he had on. And holding gently onto the hilt of the sword sheathed close to his waist. He waited like everyone else for the meeting to begin.

"Lord Zhou please share some of your tactics, that my lord has used to accomplish all the victories my lord has earned during your years at war." One of the men who had a higher position than Lui Xian spoke to the senior who was sitting beside him.

Looking at the senior's age it seemed he was in his late fifties. But he was still fit and had quite an outstanding aura. The Senior Zhou Ding Fan stood up and went to the board that was in front for everyone to see. On the board, there was a simple map showing the layout of the border.

He grabbed a brush and dipped it into the black ink before drawing a circle at a mountain feature that was perceived to be close to their camp.

"The enemy is likely to attack from the mountains, so I urge you to establish strong defence at that side and send a few of your soldiers to attack head-on, whilst the remainder are stationed here so that they can wait to reinforce the ones ....." He went on sharing his ideas as all the people in the room listened throughout.

The poor piece of paper was left with small black ink dots all over showing the different areas the army was to be allocated.

Fortunately this time Lui Xian wasn't brought up and had to remain behind to safeguard the camp. He was given two hundred soldiers who were not too good at adjusting to war. He wasn't too disappointed for it was not the first he had led such a team. He was confident he would lead them well.

After a shichen when the seniors had long departed, he went out of the main tent to patrol around the campground alone. He paced at a relaxed pace as he looked around checking to see if everything was alright.

This time Lui Xian didn't feel sad after all he had been away from him for so many months. He was getting used to the distance little by little. At least on the good side, he felt good to be away from that stifling place. His emotions were still the same but somehow he couldn't picture out the image of the monarch marrying again.

Lui Xian engaged deeply in his thoughts as his mind went back to the wedding day. He had felt very let down. He could accept him sleeping with all the concubines but seeing him in love with another. No! He didn't want to think about it.

Suddenly out of nowhere, he heard a whizzing sound of something moving in his direction. He raised his head that had been staring at the ground and looked at something flying his way. He couldn't make out its shape but after encountering the same scenario many times. He was well aware that it was an arrow seeking his life. It had come to a point where he couldn't count how many times this had repeated over and over again in his life.

He quickly unsheathed his sword and deflected it to the ground. He picked it up and checked to see if he could find any clues. When he found none, he just clutched it in his hand. He looked up at the hidden spot where it had come from. Seeing no one in sight he swiftly headed to that spot only to find footprints imprinted on the snow. He followed the trail and ended up with nothing to follow as the track seemed to have converged with another path with more footprints.

It didn't take a minute before he heard a cry in the direction of the campsite. He hurriedly ran towards the cry sometimes leaping on the trees trying to see if the camp was under attack.

Before he could reach there, he felt so much impact on his shoulder. The aggravating pain followed and it made him almost lose his mind. He had paid no heed to another attack that was launched from behind. It was from the same place he had fled from. The arrowhead landed on his back shoulder burying itself deep in his flesh.

Lui Xian felt very agonized. He stopped and reached to remove it. It hurt so badly when he pulled it out letting the blood that had been waiting for an opening, gush at its maximum speed as if competing against each drop.

He had no time to turn and look at who had attacked him as worry of losing two hundred men urged him on. He couldn't fail on his first task.

Upon reaching the camp, Lui Xian felt so much relief seeing all of them look at him with worry as they rushed to catch him in their arms when he was falling.