Chapter 14 Diamond Cut Diamond, A Protracted Battle
1868 Words
The Beggar g**g could enjoy peace in the short term. However, there was not a moment of peace in the places where were in the flames of the war.
The battle in the Frostless City was fierce.
Many Dongqin soldiers in armor carried a big log, hitting the gate hard.
The strong gate stayed absolutely still.
The soldiers tried again and again, but they failed every time.
The iron gate was tightly locked and a wall of large square stones was built inside close against the gate, making the gate as firm as the walls.
Many soldiers fell down and others made up for their vacancy.
Some soldiers worked in teams to carry ladders to the wall, dashing against the rain of arrows. Some people fell and others took their places.
They fought hard until the ladder was accessed to the wall.
The soldiers scrambled up the ladder.
On the wall, Zhongwu archers went on shooting arrows at the enemies. Strong Zhongwu soldiers rolled stone balls to knock the enemies down.
Bodies piled up outside the city and a river was formed when blood came together.
Chen Potian, a general of Zhongwu, stood on the wall edge with a suit of armor and a long knife, looking at the battlefield coldly.
He was as firm and strong as an aged pine.
His standing upright there injected endless motivation to his soldiers.
Having been accustomed to the brutal scenes on the battlefield, General Chen's mind was as hard as iron.
At the edge of the wall, his soldiers were brutally hacking at the enemies who were climbing onto the wall from the ladder with large knives.
One group of enemies was killed, and another group was climbing up.
A constant stream of Dongqin army kept attacking the wall.
Finally...
Some Dongqin soldiers climbed onto the wall.
They fought with cold steel on the wall with Zhongwu soldiers.
As the saying went, it was hard to defend the city, but attacking the city was even harder.
The besiegers paid a great price for Dongqin soldiers to reach the walls.
As there was a gap in the defense, Dongqin soldiers swarmed up.
With some men fought in the front, the soldiers behind climbed faster.
There were casualties on both sides in the close combat.
In general, Dongqin soldiers were more well-trained. There were not many of them, but they fought bravely.
Zhongwu soldiers fell one after one.
At last, Chen Potian joined the fight with his long knife.
Roaring, Chen Potian rushed to the enemies, raising his knife.
He was as fierce as a tiger springing down from the mountain.
The first group of Dongqin soldiers who fought their way onto the wall was soon killed by Chen Potian like withered leaves being swept away by the autumn wind.
Chen Potian's taking the lead called forth Zhongwu soldier's morale. Dongqin soldiers that climbed up onto the wall behind the first group constantly fell.
Zhang Xiaoting, a Dongqin general who was watching from the distance, shook his head and sighed.
He dressed in white, making him look like a scholar more than a general.
However, those who knew him well knew that he was by no means a weak bookish man.
He was the only one who championed imperial examinations both on civil service and martial art.
He was a once-in-a-century military genius.
However, nobody expected that they had been battling with Frostless City for such a long time.
They met Chen Potian, a tough veteran.
Frostless City was as strong as iron.
Did his fame really have to end there?
Dongqin lost a lot of soldiers in the fierce attack before. The hope of conquest was soon dashed by Chen Potian.
Zhang Xiaoting was familiar with the art of war. He knew the truth of "at the first roll of drum, the martial ardor of the combatants is violently excited; with the second, it begins to flag; with the third, it is exhausted" very well.
Therefore, he had to order to withdraw when he found Dongqin soldiers were out of the mood to fight.
The martial ardor of Zhongwu soldiers was at its peak. Zhongwu soldiers were excited to see their enemies withdrawing.
"General Chen, as we have won, why not pursue and attack them, and kill them all?"
A young military officer got dizzy with success.
"Look at their retreating army. Are they in a panic?"
General Chen asked calmly.
The officers looked at the retreating army and found they were not escaping.
Looking at the ruly withdrawal of Dongqin army, General Chen ordered to clean up the battlefield and rectify the city.
In the headquarters of the Beggar g**g afield, Mu Qianmei was deep in thought after she had read the letter she held.
The war, which was supposed to be overwhelming, ended up in such a situation.
A military genius met an experienced veteran on the battlefield. It was like a diamond cutting another diamond.
It seemed that Chen Potian wasn't so mindless as they said; and Zhang Xiaoting, who was said to be a man of both civil and military virtue, couldn't take everything into account.
Then she thought, "There will be more and more people joining our Beggar g**g as the war continues, so how to arrange them?"
Mo Huan and Mo Chou were accompanying Mu Qianmei. They found their Sister Butterfly was brooding on something and Mo Chou asked, "What happened, Sister Butterfly? What are you worrying about?"
"Well... I'm fine. I remember we talked about going to Lingyin College today. Let's go and have a look. Now that college is finished, you two can stay there and learn knowledge and skills to be useful when you grow up!" Mu Qianmei smiled.
"We two? Sister, won't you study in the college?" Mo Chou was surprised.
"We... I'll go to college if I have time, but now I have more important things to do, so I won't stay in the college every day." Mu Qianmei tittered.
"We don't want to be apart with you, Sister Butterfly! You are the nicest to us in the world!" Mo Chou was sentimental.
Mo Huan stayed calm that nobody could detect his mind from his flat countenance.
"Don't worry, I'll come to see you very often. Let's go, it's a little late now. We have to arrange your accommodation." Mu Qianmei urged.
"Okay. You must come to visit us often! We'll miss you." Mo Chou said resignedly.
They went into the carriage and headed to Lingyin College.
On the way, Mo Chou kept talking as if she could never stop, and Mu Qianmei patiently talked with her, smiling.
While Mo Huan remained silent. His eyes were cold, not like a 9-year-old boy's.
"Is he a time-traveler, just like me? Hahaha... How else could he be so prudent?" Mu Qianmei was curious.
So she asked Mo Huan, "Mo Huan, why don't you talk with us? Do you have any objection to my arrangement?"
"I have only one request. You're going to teach us martial arts no matter where we are." Mo Huan said coldly.
"What kind of martial art skill do you want to learn?" Mu Qianmei asked him, smiling.
"I want to learn sword skill, the best sword skill in the world!" Mo Huan replied firmly.
"But I don't know how to use swords! I only know how to use sticks, so how can I teach you with swords?" Mu Qianmei was a little surprised.
"I know you'll find a way to teach. I'll wait for you in the college." Mo Huan insisted.
"Well, fine, I'll find a way. You can learn martial arts, but you can't slack off on the study, you know? By the way, what kind of martial art does Mo Chou want to learn?" Mu Qianmei asked Mo Chou.
"I'll learn sword skills with my brother!" Mo Chou answered without hesitancy.
"Good! I hope you will become martial art masters in the future! Hahaha..." Mu Qianmei chortled with delight.
"We will become masters!" Mo Huan answered seriously and then shut his mouth.
It was strange to see calmness and seriousness on the face of a 9-year-old boy.
However, Mu Qianmei knew that it was because Mo Huan was a precocious child.
He had experienced war early and have seen many brutal scenes on the battlefield. His grandpa's death forced him to feel the pain of loss. Therefore, he had understood that life was hard for everyone.
No one should help others for free.
Because nobody owed anybody anything.
However, they had become a burden to Sister Butterfly.
Mo Huan didn't like the feeling of receiving help for free. Otherwise, he would feel more and more indebted to Sister Butterfly.
He hoped to help Sister Butterfly someday.
After days of observation, he found that Mu Qianmei was vital to the Beggar g**g, although she was not much older than him.
Now that a girl had such great ability, there was no reason for him, a male, to be raised by others.
So, he determined to share part of Mu Qianmei's burden anyhow.
However, he couldn't do anything. How could he help Mu Qianmei?
He had very little schooling and knew only a few words, so he could offer little help with civil affairs.
Watching Sister Butterfly practicing martial art skills hard every day, he got an idea.
He decided to learn martial arts, too. What's more, he aimed at the most powerful martial art skills. Only when he had become a master of martial art could he provide effective assistance to Sister Butterfly.
Even if he could offer little help, he could protect Sister Butterfly and Mu Chou from danger.
But what kind of martial art skill could he learn?
When he was free, he often watched and observed disciples of the Beggar g**g practicing martial art skills such as palm skills, leg skills, and so on
He thought sword skills were the most handsome kind of skill, so he looked forward to learning an ingenious sword skill.
Meanwhile, he found that Mu Qianmei enjoyed a high status in the Beggar g**g. Although she was not the g**g master, she had helped to analyse and to deal with many affairs no matter big or small.
She even had the right to make decisions much of the time.
As an observant and thoughtful boy, Mo Huan knew that he could only turn to Mu Qianmei to learn powerful martial art skills.
She must have the ability to find him a very powerful sword skill script.
So he said those words to Mu Qianmei.
Looking at this thoughtful child, Mu Qianmei could guess his mind, so she said with pity,
"I hope you can grow up happily and healthily. It is better not to enter the circle of martial artists. It's too dangerous."
Mo Huan insisted,
"How can we live happily if we can't help and share burdens with you? Now that the circle of martial artists is dangerous, I will learn more and practice more martial art skills to offer you what you need."
Mu Qianmei sighed. She understood Mo Huan's determination and she knew it was no use to keep persuading him, so she no longer spoke.
- Writer
