Enduring the heat with a grimace, Ling Zhang said, “It turns out I’m still too weak. I just hurled a saber and it drained my energy.”
Yuwen Tong wet a towel and gently toweled Ling Zhang’s face. Although it had been a single throw, given the long distance between the two of them at that time and the level of Ling Zhang’s internal energy, he had had to hurl it with all his might to make sure the saber traveled fast enough to intercept that arrow before it could reach Yuwen Tong’s back. Ling Zhang had subconsciously summoned all the internal energy he had, and this consequence was not really surprising, but although Ling Zhang was the one enduring the physical pain, Yuwen Tong’s heart ached for him.
At first the heat had been the only thing Ling Zhang had to put up with, but slowly the medicine permeated through his body and a mixture of numbness and anguish filled every fibre of his being, rendering him unable to speak, droplets of sweat trickling down his forehead and cheeks continuously. Teeth clenched, he had to concentrate all his efforts on fighting the painful and numb sensation.
Yuwen Tong wiped the sweat off Ling Zhang’s brow, eyes and cheeks without saying anything, stabs of distress sweeping over him as he stood beside the barrel watching Ling Zhang suffering from the aches.
‘I went too easy on Dong Gao. I should’ve given him the slowest and most painful death,’ thought Yuwen Tong, a flicker of resentment crossing his eyes.
As moments ticked away, the bathwater cooled down by degrees and the battle cries from the distance gradually lessened.
When the water had entirely gone cold, Ling Zhang’s whole body relaxed completely and he limply toppled backwards. Yuwen Tong, quick of eye and deft of hand, immediately caught him. “How do you feel?”
“Much better,” answered Ling Zhang in a weak voice.
In the beginning it had been itchy, agonizing and intolerably miserable, but that had been because the medicine was restoring his meridians. As his meridians had been repaired, the pain had ebbed, but it would take another medicated bath to nurse him back to health.
Yuwen Tong scooped him out of the barrel, quickly toweled him dry, clothed him in thin robes and then settled him onto a couch in the corner.
Ling Zhang had just sat onto the couch when Qiu Bing showed up in the doorway with a bowl of decoction in his hands, as though he had calculated beforehand how much time the process would take. “Young Master, Marshal, I brought the medicine here.”
“Come in,” said Yuwen Tong.
Qiu Bing walked inside and proffered the bowl of decoction which was quite black in color. “Young Master, the medicine is ready. It’s perfectly warm.”
Ling Zhang inclined his head, took the bowl and inhaled deeply before drinking the decoction in one gulp. Screwing up his face, he returned the bowl to Qiu Bing and said, “I’m very tired and could use some sleep. When am I supposed to take the next medicated bath?”
“When you wake up, Young Master,” answered Qiu Bing.
On hearing this, Ling Zhang directly sank down onto the sloping couch, feeling utterly exhausted. He was so weary that the only thing he wanted to do was have a sound sleep, his eyelids drooping. Before closing his eyes, he said to Yuwen Tong, “I need to sleep. Qiu Bing will be here taking care of me. There are still a lot of things you need to attend to out there. You should go right away. The soldiers need their commander-in-chief to be with them.”
Yuwen Tong didn’t want to leave, for Jiang Xi and his men were more than enough to finish up the fighting. Besides, right now the battle was probably almost over.
“There’s a difference between you personally being there and someone else being there. Winning a great victory in this war against the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom is extremely important for building up your reputation. I’m really fine. It’s just momentary overfatigue. I’ll fully recover after a rest cure. It’s nothing serious. Besides, I’ve just drunk the medicine and want to have a good sleep. If you stay here, I’ll be worrying about the situation out there and have trouble sleeping.” Ling Zhang was so drowsy that he had closed his eyes, struggling to finish speaking without drifting off.
Seeing this, Yuwen Tong came to know that Ling Zhang wouldn’t be able to sleep well if he stayed, so he said resignedly, “Okay. I’ll go and check. Set you mind at ease and sleep.”
It was after hearing this that Ling Zhang was relieved, his hold on Yuwen Tong’s hand gradually loosening, falling asleep.
Yuwen Tong covered Ling Zhang’s abdomen with a thin blanket, enjoined Qiu Bing to watch over Ling Zhang and then left.
…
The Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom had taken advantage of the civil strife in the Great Yue and waged an aggressive war, but now they had been defeated and almost wiped out, which gladdened the people’s hearts. Yuwen Tong gave the order to kill most of the surviving enemies, sparing only a small number of them to let them return to their respective countries to deliver a message: he would lead his army to attack the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom unless they sent envoys to the Great Yue to negotiate peace agreements with terms he found satisfying.
Scared out of their wits, the soldiers of the two countries who had been spared fled the battlefield as quick as they could and went back to relay the message.
If the conditions were right, Yuwen Tong would directly take the couple of cities of the Luohai Kingdom nearest to the border, but given the circumstances, he couldn’t stay in the north-west for too long. It was about time he returned to the capital city. No matter how many cities he took, he wouldn’t be able to keep them if the situation on the home front was not stable.
Yuwen Tong’s imposing and forbidding presence made every soldier of the Great Yue on the battlefield feel exceptionally proud and gratified. They heartily idolized Yuwen Tong, convinced that he would lead them to victory in this war, which he did. This was what raised their spirits the most.
After flattening the encampment of the allied forces of the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom and sending some men back to deliver the message, Yuwen Tong instructed the troops to clear the battlefield of the dead.
“Jiang Xi, you and the others are to make arrangements for the battleground to be cleared and establish the casualty number. On top of that, I need you to put up barricades where the encampment of the allied forces once was and wait there for the envoys of the the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom to come.”
“Yes, Marshal.”
“Shao Feng, you’re to return to the encampment with me.”
“Yes, Marshal.”
Beneath the gaze of large numbers of soldiers of the Great Yue, Yuwen Tong and Shao Feng went back to the encampment to loud cheers.
“Have our men strike camp and move back into the city after the clear-up is finished and the casualty number is established. Tell them the victory banquet will be held after they return to the city. There’s no point celebrating when everything is a mess,” said Yuwen Tong.
Shao Feng raised no objections, for these instructions from Yuwen Tong would actually make things easier for him. “May I go and start making arrangements straight away, Marshal?” he asked.
“Go. Ling Zhang hurt himself and I need to go back and check on him,” said Yuwen Tong.
Back on the battlefield, everybody had been engaged in the fighting, and Shao Feng had merely heard someone briefly mention this matter but didn’t know any details about it. He concernedly inquired, “How’s Childe Ling’s injury? Is it necessary to get him back into the city immediately?”
Yuwen Tong shook his head, gave a sketchy account of what had happened previously, and then said, “He needs to take a medicated bath on a daily basis in the next two days. For the moment there’s no hurry about getting him back to the city. I’ve had the required medicinal herbs delivered here from downtown already, so you may save the medicinal supplies for the troops.”
Shao Feng made no more remarks about it. “Okay. If there’s anything you need me to do, just give the word, Marshal. I can have them transport some medicinal herbs to this place from Youzhou very quick.”
Yuwen Tong inclined his head. “I see. You may go and get on with your day.”
“Yes, Marshal.”
With the clean-up in Shao Feng’s and Jiang Xi’s capable hands, Yuwen Tong didn’t have to personally intervene in it. He paid a visit to the infirmary and offered words of consolation to the many severely wounded soldiers before leaving. At this time, it was full dark already.
Yuwen Tong hastened back to his tent. The whole place was hushed, for his personal bodyguards were guarding the tent and nobody dared to approach. Ling Zhang’s tent, guarded by Wang Dashan and some others, was even quieter. From inside the tent issued the breathing of someone fast asleep, along with that of someone awake.
On entering the tent, Yuwen Tong saw Ling Zhang who was still sleeping, Qiu Bing sitting on the side, wiping his needles.
“Marshal.” Qiu Bing sprang to his feet at the sight of Yuwen Tong.
Yuwen Tong signaled him to keep his voice down, standing still. “He’s been asleep all along? Did he ever wake up?”
Qiu Bing shook his head. “No. Young Master’s body is still absorbing the medicine. I think it’ll be another two hours or so before he awakes.”
Staying a few paces away from the bed, Yuwen Tong carefully checked on Ling Zhang. It was after confirming that he was sound asleep and some color had returned to his face that Yuwen Tong said, “I’ll go and change clothes and come back later.”
Qiu Bing inclined his head.
Yuwen Tong, who was still wearing dusty and blood-stained armor, returned to the main tent in haste, changed out of the armor and into clean clothes before going back to the tent where Ling Zhang was sleeping. This was a “bath tent”, and a screen divided off the left part of it in which placed a couch on which Ling Zhang was sleeping at this time.
After entering the tent, Yuwen Tong first went to get himself some water to wash. Qiu Bing had already taken his leave.
When he had washed himself clean and changed into clean clothes, Yuwen Tong walked out from behind the screen and to the couch. Eyes on Ling Zhang’s placid sleeping face, the concern that he had been feeling all this time slowly ebbed away. He reached out a hand to hold Ling Zhang’s which was placed on his abdomen, then settled himself on a round stool beside the couch, looking at Ling Zhang with his deep gentle eyes.
…
It was two hours later that Ling Zhang woke up. On opening his eyes, he came in sight of Yuwen Tong who was sitting beside his couch, reading a handbook with his head down, a calm expression on his face. He cocked an ear at the outside and found that the battle cries could no longer be heard. There were only faint footsteps and the noises of soldiers breaking camp. Candles in this tent had been lit and there was no telling what time it was.
Yuwen Tong noticed the moment he awoke. He closed the handbook, put it aside and said, “You’ve woken up. How are you feeling now?”
Ling Zhang exhaled deeply, appearing languid. “Better than I did before the sleep. I’ll fully recover after another couple of medicated baths. What time is it now? How long have you been sitting here? Have you got everything handled?”
Yuwen Tong answered the questions one by one. “The night watchman has just struck Hai Hour (21:00–22:59). I’ve dealt with everything I’m supposed to deal with. Jiang Xi and Shao Feng will take care of the clean-up. Are you hungry? I had them prepare some food.”
Remaining on the couch, Ling Zhang stretched out a hand.
Yuwen Tong immediately took his hand, holding it tight. “What’s the matter?” he asked.
Ling Zhang replied, “Nothing. I just don’t feel like getting up. I’m indeed a little hungry, but I won’t starve anything time soon.”
Yuwen Tong could tell from Ling Zhang’s face that he was not experiencing any discomfort, that he just looked languid and a bit down. He said, “You’ve slept for quite some time and it’ll take a heavy toll on you if you don’t get something to eat right away. I’ll have them deliver the food to this tent. You may lie here for a while longer and wait until they bring the food here to get up and eat.”
Happy to hear that he didn’t have to get up right away, Ling Zhang slightly raised his eyebrows, shifted his position and breezily answered, “Okay.”
Yuwen Tong gave a smile, put Ling Zhang’s hand back onto his abdomen, rose to his feet and walked out. Before long, he returned, sat back onto the stool and held Ling Zhang’s hand again.
Ling Zhang looked at him. “Isn’t there supposed to be a celebratory banquet tonight?”
Yuwen Tong answered, “We need to clear the battlefield and establish the casualty number first, so the banquet will be held after we return to the city. On top of that… right now I’m not really in the mood for a banquet.”
Aware of what he was thinking about, Ling Zhang said, “Are you not worried your soldiers will be disappointed?”
“The battle has just finished and everybody is tired. Besides, we suffered rather heavy casualties as well, and those who have just seen the dead bodies of their close comrade-in-arms are probably not in the mood for celebrating either,” observed Yuwen Tong.
