MHNEB 26 (1/2)

Book 2: Generals die after a hundred battles; heroes return after ten years’ time.

Chapter 26: The First Companion <1> [Part 1 of 2]

-xxx-

He Mulan knew that she was dreaming, or rather, she is rapidly experiencing the memories of Hua Mulan that year. 

Therefore, although she felt that it was very painful, she could only knit her eyes tightly together and continuously accept all the memories. 

.

.

.

Unlike most people's what most people had thought, Hua Mulan's history in the military was not filled with brilliance from the beginning.

Hua Mulan has shown a kind of strength different from ordinary people since childhood. This kind of strange talent for Xianbei people can be said to be "a gift", but it’s a pity because it appeared on such a woman like Hua Mulan.

When she was three or four years old, she could easily carry her elder sister, who was four years older than herself. This strength became more and more apparent as she grew up, and the whole Hua family’s attitude towards Hua Mulan varied. 

Her sister was afraid of her. She didn't dare to fight with her too much when she was young. Her father is a typical Xianbei soldier and thinks that this is the best gift that heaven-sent to him. So, since the time when Hua Mulan was able to ride a horse, he began to train her in riding and shooting and taught her some fighting skills in the army. All these efforts are so as he could impart all his skills to her. 

And Hua Mulan's mother, Yuan-shi, silently asked for someone’s aid to buy a loom back home. 

"Do I have to learn this from tomorrow onwards?" Hua Mulan looked at the loom in surprise, "How can I do it! Look at how thin the thread is! I'll break it if I'm not careful! "

What she said is not an exaggeration. If you allow her, she can cut wood and cut trees, but why ask her to pick up the shuttle to a thread using the loom?

Does her family have such a huge amount of money to buy her thread?

"I bought the loom in order to keep you from breaking the thread." Hua mother displayed a serious expression that was seldom showed on her face.

"You're getting stronger and stronger now, and you have no idea exactly how huge your strength is. The day before yesterday, when you washed the dishes, you broke several dishes. A Han woman's weaving skill allows one to control their eyesight, hands and fingers. Subsequently, you must use two shichen (0) to weave daily. When you finish weaving cloth, you could go for horse riding then! "

Just like this, in order not to cause trouble because of her great strength, Hua Mulan who was had an enormous strength learned to maximize her strength while learning to control and minimize her strength to the minimum level when weaving. She grew up day after day just by accomplishing these tasks, as she gradually grew into a woman. 

She became a lass who can shoot arrows on a horseback, weave cloths and feed chickens.

She spent her days ordinarily, yet not ordinarily, until “But last night I saw the call to arms; the Khan is calling up soldiers. There were twelve scrolls of names, and each included Father’s name.” (1)

Hua Mulan's brother is only ten years old, and her father meets the recruitment age of "up to 45, no younger than 16" required to be enlisted. However, his legs are injured. He can't walk in winter. Dragging such a body to fight is undoubtedly sending himself to his death. 

In Xianbei families, it is shameful when there are no sons in the military families where Xianbeis have been soldiers for generations. It means that the glorious inheritance of your family will soon be cut off, your position as a military household will be deprived, your land will be reclaimed, you will start to pay taxes, start to work in the field all day like the Hans in exchange for a little food.

Hua Gu is lucky that he has a son in his family;

But he is also unlucky because he was going to enlist in the army again before his son grew up.

It's a very painful thing for the young Hua Mulan to watch her father walk down the road to death.

She knew that she was different from others since she was young, but she did not know why the Heavens gave her such strength.

At that moment, she knew.

Because "father has no eldest son, and Mulan has no elder brother". Therefore, she needs to be the "eldest son" of her father and the "eldest brother" of her younger brother.

Otherwise, why would the Heavens give her such an ability at such a young age?

Hua Mulan finally took her father's leather armour and weapons, went to the market in HuaiShuo, bought fine horses and riding gear, and arrived at the barracks under HeiShan one year before the Khan required enlistees to arrive at the barracks.

What’s scariest is not war, but the fact that war begins before you are ready.

Hua Father, who has experienced countless wars, knows the truth deep down. He is willing to let his daughter go to the military camp earlier to experience some hardships rather than send her at the last moment which will result in her death.

"You must always remember that you are a woman. So, you can't be out of the ordinary, you can't be too brave, you can't show your great strength. You simply have to survive. " Her father's voice still seemingly haunts her. "Once you get a chance, you can get a little injury, or you can find every opportunity you have to move to the rear. Once the Khan wins, you can find a way to get remove your armour and return to growing crops. You must return…... "

"You must return alive for me!"

.

.

.

Because she needs to keep the promise of "returning alive", Hua Mulan's beginning in the army didn't start with a bang.

Like all the children of Xianbei Military families, she was foolishly armed with clothes and armour. She led her horse and was sent into a camp called "Black-4" and became a recruit. 

Life in the army is undoubtedly filled with hardships, but for Hua Mulan, who has a unique talent, it is unexpectedly easy.

She spent her days and nights in training. From time to time, the Rourans would come to harass them, but that did not bring her too big of trouble. 

The most difficult thing to do is to maintain the terrible secret of her being a woman and to experience the terrible pain of her having the strength, but not being able to use it. 

Can you understand the actions of your teammates-removing their mantles, lying naked and baring their chests after the training, while you have to endure the sticky feeling on your body and pretending that you dislike the dirt on the ground while the people lying around the camp treat you as a joke?

Can you understand the feeling that a person who can score 100 points in a test must bear to only maintain the passing score, and get to see other children get 100 points to accept praises and silently look at their 60 points on their test paper?

Before that, even Hua Mulan didn't know that she was such a person with such fortitude. 

She got used to little by little over time. 

.

.

.

Gradually, Hua Mulan witnessed more and more battles and slowly understood why her father requested her not to show her presence and abilities. 

She saw too many young people who were born brave or eager to fight dying under the swords and arrows of Rourans. The greater one’s ability is, the more places one is put to use. These people that are idolized are people who could help to scout for military secrets, to carry out an assault on the enemy camp at night,  to resist the attack of Rourans. Such tasks allow the Rourans to sift out these people again and again, and only the true elites are left standing. 

As for the leftovers that were sieved, 

……who would remember them?

She still has to return home and not be the leftovers on the sieve. 

The Rourans regard the Great Wei as their garden in the backyard. In a fortress-like HeiShan that is often being harassed, although Hua Mulan has been in HeiShan for only half a year, she has experienced countless battles, both big and small ones.

Due to her deliberately concealing her strength, Hua Mulan did not show great talent in martial arts, but her horse-riding technique is really very good. However, that technique is hard to conceal as it the technique requires her bodily reactions.

Therefore, she was assigned to the "Black-4”, which was the place where the recruits had not yet assigned specific camps, and where the Wei Dynasty trained and cultivated the recruits from the military households who are the hope of the army. 

They expect these recruits to bring out their innate talents on the battlefield.

For a long time, Hua Mulan's "companions" lived well. This is even so that in the middle of the night, they would pick up their feet and complain that they went to guard the grains and grass again today. They were not sent to pursue those people who were harassing them and those stinky “Rurus”(2).

Before she could experience the coyness of a woman and several men in the same room, she had been experiencing their snoring, grinding their teeth, picking their feet and hiding in the quilt in the middle of the night making inaudible sounds that strike a blow to her and leave not even a shred for imagination. 

Being in the army barrack is so annoying. 

The companions are hateful as well. 

-xxx-

(0) Shichen: two hours in the current time. People of ancient Chinese use two hours to describe one shichen.

(1) From Mulan’s Ballad, translation from: here

(2) A derogatory term that the people of Wei call the Rourans because the “Ru (蠕)” used here, refers to a worm. 

-xxx-

Fleur's Corner:

I have decided to increase the frequency of release for this novel! 

Look forward to another update on Thursday. 

-xxx-

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter