บท 24: Loyal Supporter
Fei Li watched the group walk away silently. Ultimately, he had no better option than to trust Lu Qinyi so although he was on alert, he followed the other's instructions. True to Lu Qinyi's words, he ended up at the location the South had instructed his men to wait at without harm. They looked just as confused to see him alive and well, the two sides staring blankly for a moment. Xi Ming was the first to recover, rushing over to greet him. "General Fei! It's so good to have you back!" He bowed sincerely as he saluted him. The rest of his men that had been brave enough to follow the letter the South had sent them quickly followed suit.
Fei Li felt a sense of relief he couldn't describe as he looked at these familiar faces again. He waved his hand to release them of their salutes. "Mm. It's good to be back."
Xi Ming rose from his bow, looking Fei Li over anxiously. "Are you injured General?"
But to his surprise, Fei Li shook his head. "I'm not."
He could help his disbelief. "Really?"
Fei Li stared at him expressionlessly for a long while. Before Fei Li had been captured, Xi Ming would never question him. Xi Ming seemed to realize his mistake, hurriedly bowing his head again. "My apologies General."
"It's fine." Fei Li couldn't fault him. He himself couldn't believe General Lu had let him go, completely unharmed, even dropping him directly back to his soldiers. It was rather absurd. He walked past Xi Ming who was quick to follow just half a step behind him. "Let's go."
Upon returning back to where the Northern Army had set up camp, the first thing Fei Li wanted to do was change clothes. He disregarded the finely made garments in favour of his grey robes. Although the material was much rougher, it brought the comfort of familiarity with it. He felt the last strands of that slight but constant feeling of being on edge finally slip away. For the first time in a long while he no longer needed to be on guard, in a constant state of alert. In its wake was both a sense of ease and long developed exhaustion. However, he still didn't have time to rest yet.
"Throw those out." He instructed over his shoulder to Xi Ming who caught the thrown robes.
Xi Ming's brows furrowed as he felt the fabric but he nodded in acknowledgement, bundling up the garments in his arms.
"Sir… that earring…" He began, wanting to ask about it but unsure of how to continue. Fei Li paused, raising a hand to his ear. He had entirely forgotten it, having long gotten used to it in the months he had been wearing it. He pulled it free from his ear, rolling it between his fingers as he considered it. It was cold, unlike the previous times he recalled touching it. This was likely because he hadn't been exposed to the cold for this long since he had been under the care of the Southern army. Still, it was quite beautiful with its swirling golden colours and accentuating red detailing. Ultimately, he felt it would be a pity to waste it so instead of giving it to Xi Ming to throw out, he tossed it inside his still open chest of his clothes at the back of his tent.
"Something the Southern general gave me." Fei Li explained with an unbothered tone of voice, adjusting his robes before picking up one of the piles of documents Xi Ming had brought over for him. He had been gone a long time, there was a lot that needed attending to. Although Xi Ming and the various captains had done their best to manage affairs in his absence, plenty needed amending. Fei Li had a lot of work ahead of him.
"He gave you an earring?" Xi Ming was rightfully confused. "General Fei, if I may ask, what is the enemy general like?"
Fei Li looked up from his papers, frowning slightly as he tried to think of how best to describe General Lu, finally deciding on "Strange."
Xi Ming could definitely agree with that one, his decisions so far had seemed quite strange.
"Soft enough to let those he loves drag him by the ear, yet that can hardly be used against him as he is also hard enough to look his friend in the eye while ordering his death. Kind, yet ruthless. He has an eccentric, unconstrained way of thinking yet doesn't make decisions stupidly. He will yield to no one and no thing if he doesn't wish to," Fei Li continued while Xi Ming quietly listened, frowning further with each sentence.
"Such a difficult person to deal with. How do you intend to go against him, General?"
"Even if he is difficult, every person, plan and strategy has a weakness. What's truly challenging is that he doesn't stand alone. Lieutenant Zhao Mei is more brilliant and troublesome than I had thought. She truly seems to be a master of analysis and strategy, her ability to quickly determine the best course of action and organize resources accordingly really is something. That woman isn't to be taken lightly.
"Lieutenant Yang Xun works alongside her perfectly, he truly pays mind to each of their soldiers. General Lu and Lieutenant Zhao turn to him to select the right people to fulfil Lieutenant Zhao's plans. The soldiers seem to greatly trust him. From the few glimpses I've seen, he's able to manage the soldiers smoothly, without any issues.
"General Lu additionally has a sister working as a court official with influence over Revenue and Finances, she assists him to get funding. Despite bickering with them, General Lu himself works excellently with both his lieutenants and is quite adept at utilizing them. It's beyond even what I could have predicted." Fei Li stared at nothing in particular as he thought, rubbing at his temple to try and ease the oncoming headache. Although fewer and usually not as intense, Fei Li had never stopped getting headaches. However, he refused to let his discomfort show and definitely wasn't about to lower himself to ask for pain relieving medicine from General Lu or his servants.
Xi Ming's eyebrows raised just slightly upon finding out Lieutenant Zhao was a woman but there were far more important concerns. The situation truly didn't look good for General Fei, who worked alone. Even if he was talented, how could he compare? Xi Ming silently pondered this over.
"Xi Ming… Would you like the position of lieutenant?"
Xi Ming abruptly raised his head, staring in disbelief, his mouth falling open slightly. "G..General?" In all the years Fei Li had held a position, he had never named himself a right hand man. Although Xi Ming did everything he could do to assist Fei Li and was trusted more than ordinary subordinates, he still held no rank and Fei Li maintained some distance between them. Xi Ming was content with this and never asked about any position, let alone lieutenant.
Fei Li glanced up at him before looking down at the papers in his hand, seeming indifferent on the surface but his grip tightened just slightly. "Just say no if you aren't interested."
"N-no, it's not like that at all," Xi Ming hurried to explain, continuing earnestly, "I would be honoured to be your lieutenant, General Fei."
Fei Li was silent a moment before nodding. "Alright. You'll be my lieutenant effective as of today. I'll finalize the formalities at another time. For now I have two tasks for you." Xi Ming straightened, saluting and bowing his head slightly to indicate he was ready to receive his orders.
"First, bring me some medicine. Something to ease pain."
Xi Ming frowned slightly with concern but Fei Li wouldn't elaborate further so he could only acknowledge with a "Yes sir."
"Second, from now on we'll imprison soldiers left in any areas we capture. Only save the ones we can afford to, if they're too badly injured then don't bother. I'll leave the arrangements for you to handle."
This time, Xi Ming was utterly dumbstruck. He didn't dare question Fei Li's decision but he couldn't help his bewildered and slightly pale expression, pressing his lips together. Fei Li thought for a moment but even he wasn't sure how to explain this decision. He wasn't like Lu Qinyi. In the end, he couldn't offer any explanation, all he could do was ease Xi Ming's worries. "I understand the implications of this decision. I'll deal with the criticisms myself, just see to it."
Xi Ming merely nodded. Considering he was willing to support nearly any decision his general made, this somewhat strange order wasn't enough to make him waver. Fei Li would have his reasons. So he responded easily with a small bow. "Understood General. I'll start preparations immediately."
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mehasacupcake
mehasacupcake I'm officially resuming WWIO. I haven't finished writing the war scenes but I'm too impatient and I want to start uploading the ones I have. It will have no set upload schedule however.
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