MHNEB 27 (2/2)

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

Chapter 27: The First Companion <2> [Part 2 of 2]

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Hua Mulan looked at A-Dan ZhiQi who stood up.

"No! Did you think everyone has an uncle that knows how to write!”

"I heard that idiom when I was very young."

"We seldom lose in our battles with the Rurus, but even so, our sacrifice is never less than them. In Great Khan's eyes, we are like hard jade, while the Rurus are like mud-made tiles that are easily destroyed. As long as the great army arrives, the Rurus will fall apart and scatter into ashes…... " Hua Mulan rubbed his forehead.

"But whether one is jade or a tile, the tragedy one faces is the same.” 

He stood up and gazed at the sky.

"For me, regardless, I would want to live anyway. Even if my hands and my feet are broken, I will still return home alive... "

Under A-Dan ZhiQi’s disdainful eyes, he kept an upright posture of gazing into the skies. It appeared that he was sighing to the skies about the words that he just said:

"I'm not afraid of death. What I fear more than death is that my death will change the life of my family."

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A-Dan ZhiQi returned in a state of shock. The impact he suffered tonight almost subverted his outlook on life.

His brother died in the war, his father died in the war, his grandfather died in the war, his ancestors had all fought in a war. He was taught to be brave, fearless in the face of death, and loyal to the Great Khan.

Every dead man is a hero and the pride of Great Wei.

He also has a son. As long as he is still alive, his family will not lose the status of being a military family. Once his son reaches the age of enlistment, he is bound to head to a battlefield.

This is the fate of the people born in military families. 

He knew that Hua Mulan's idea was wrong, but he could not say anything about it.

Why do people who have already enlisted in the army, after heading to the battlefield, say such cunning words as "I'm not afraid of death, but I don't want to die"?

It felt the same as asking the thief "why did you steal it?" and the answer given was "I want it" instead of the reason behind “why did you steal it”. 

If one dies, would one’s family’s life change? 

What a foolish thing to say, that's something that will definitely happen, isn’t it?!

A-Dan ZhiQi's firm beliefs were muddled completely by the conversation tonight.

When wielding his halberd, this man who had hoped to build his career based on merits earned in the battlefield would begin to imagine. 

He would remember what his three-year-old son would look like after he died. 

He would wonder if his wife, the smiling and bright-eyed Xianbei girl, would remarry and become the bride of another family.

His eldest brother has died in battle, and so has his father. If he dies, who will take care of his mother?

If all the male descendants died in battle, a military family would lose their legacy. In the A-Dan family, without the status of being a military family, people would look down on them when they head out. 

It's really scary to think of the issue of life and death on the battlefield.

It's like a fierce beast that is being reined or a sharpened sword that had broken its edge. 

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"Fuck! Why do Lao Tzu have to think so much about it! " A-Dan ZhiQi fiercely chopped down a Rouran man’s head, "If Lao Tzu doesn't kill people, how can Lao Tzu live!"

Suddenly, A-Dan ZhiQi woke up and had just found himself standing on the battlefield. He began to wave his long halberd to reap the lives of the enemy troop. 

He's almost fooled by that lad, Hua Mulan!

If you want to survive, you must kill.

If you killed more people, you will definitely be noticed.

Hua Mulan, who had hesitated like a woman, will enter the vanguard camp one day as long as he does not die. It's just a matter of time.

The higher-ups are no fools!

He squinted at Hua Mulan that’s standing far away from him.

This is the first time Hua Mulan has officially participated in a "reaping". Unexpectedly, he does not appear afraid of war and death.

Originally, they had been in the recruit barracks. They were responsible for protecting food and grain crops and protecting the flank when the Rourans came to harass them. However, they had never seen such a bloody sight. 

There are red-eyed recruits and scared recruits who can't lift their swords everywhere. Currently, Hua Mulan, though not courageous, appeared extremely calm and striking.

This kind of person is born a warrior!

He’s worthy of being a child of the HuaiShuo Hua family.

He knew that the descendants from the He Rai clan would not be cowards!

The “cowards” in the same team Kun Da and Mo Huai’er appeared ghastly pale now. They can't even hold the reins of their horses. Usually, they were confidently rubbing their foot and complaining that they were not sent out to pursue the Rouran’s. Now, it’s obvious that their confidence was gone. 

There is no difference between the Rourans and the Xianbeis. If both ethnicities really got in a battle, both have to rely on whose strength is greater and whose martial arts are stronger.

He is only a captain, not a general. He is able to protect their food, but not their safety.

He wants to live!

Swoosh, swoosh. 

Two arrows sped here, one following the other as it shot into the backs of two Rouran-ren. 

When the Rouran cavalries who rushed to Kun Da and Mo Huai’er, the momentum caused Kun Da and Mo Huai’er to fall from their horses. The sharp pain on their shoulders and backs made them unable to hold the reins. The horses were the only animals who kept on galloping forward. After losing the horse rider, the horses galloped far away towards the opposite direction. 

Kun Da and Mo Huai’er were saved by this arrow that appeared from the skies. They gratefully looked towards the front. 

Straight ahead, Hua Mulan, wearing a complex expression, swept her gaze around the battlefield. She controlled the reins of her horse and directed her horse to turn around to head towards the rear. 

The Rourans in front have been defeated. The Rourans who have rushed into the array have also been shot and killed cleanly by the central army. There is no need to continue killing them.

"Hua Mulan, where are you going! There’s military merit to collect if we clean up the battlefield! "

"Go ahead, I'll go to the rear!"

"Hey, hey, hey, our task this time is to follow the central army to rush ahead to join the battle!"

"We are done reaping." Hua Mulan swept pass their shoulders like a gust of wind. 

“Forget it, let’s help him chop the heads of the Rurus that he killed to tabulate the number! How many did he kill? "

“Seven or eight?”

"Chop the heads of the ones who were shot down from the horses!" A-Dan ZhiQi ran towards the two companions. He didn’t manage to say much when he jumped out in shock when he saw the situation in front. 

"Hey, the one over there! We killed those two bodies in the fire! There's an arrow in the back. Can't you see it! Put the body down for Lao Tzu! "

“Lao Tzu said put it down!”

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Hua Mulan hated this kind of unilateral slaughtering.

However, Xianbei-ren did not let the “Rurus" captives on the battlefield live, while Rourans knew that they will not survive even if they surrender.

Therefore, as long as both parties fought, both parties will never stop till one of the party is dead.

How could she die this way?

If she died, her identity of being a woman would be exposed. It’s also hard to keep her corpse and bones intact. In order to allow the deceased to leave her personal belongings to bury in the tomb, her companions should take all the clothes and accessories of their fellow soldier back to the deceased’s home.

If her identity as a woman is exposed, she wouldn’t even qualify to be buried together beside her companions. 

Her family will suffer from the dishonourable future, and she felt suffocated when she imagined about it.

How can she immerse her father in the nightmare of "I forced my daughter to die"?

Hua Mulan said that she was not afraid of death, and that is not a lie. 

Every time she stepped on the battlefield; she would get a strange sense of peace. It seems that the battlefield is the place that she belonged, the most familiar place.

The sound of trumpets, the sound of fighting and the sound of weapons of gold and metal banging against weapons in her ears made her shiver. It also made her whole body excited, from her hair to her bone marrows.

The blood of the enemies is calling out to her. The whine of her enemies is like a cheering tune that is played by drums. She is like a sharp blade sealed in a box. She is eager to rush into the enemies’ array with the central army to join them in “reaping”. 

But the more excited she is, the more she needs to show a calmness that could suppress her excitement. 

She can't turn herself into a killing tool like everyone else. She wants to live, and not be a living target.

She just needs to live.

But when she saw her companions in danger, she could not help but raise her longbow and shoot the two enemies from afar.

Even if they are two wretched men who can only boast, escape, grind their teeth while they are sleeping, snore, have stinky foot, and scratch their feet. 

She was so disgusted with their every move, but she didn't hate them to the extent where she needs to see them die.

140 steps, she scanned the battlefield and noticed that almost no one had calculated that distance.

Father, it's too hard not to be outstanding. 

How can we be not outstanding, while living? 

She felt that she should have asked Hua Father in her letter that she sent home last month.

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Fleur's Corner:

Please note that the change in perspectives in this chapter would change how Mulan is referred to (he/she). 

Next update on Weds!

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