Chapter 794: Why Is the Young Man Laughing?
The signatures on both paintings were the same five characters.
Ban Ya Yi Da Jiang (Ban Ya, One Great General).
Upon seeing these five characters, Chen Changsheng’s first thought was one of immense boldness, but after a moment, he found it profoundly lonely.
I am a great general—how proud and self-satisfied that sounds.
Yet, alas, it was the great general of the remote Ban Ya Horse Ranch.
And moreover, a single great general.
These two feelings—boldness and loneliness—which were difficult to combine, emerged together, leaping vividly off the paper.
Chen Changsheng looked toward the back of the desk, where the wall racks were filled with books. There were profound Daoist commentaries and ordinary storybooks. Their common trait was an extraordinary cleanliness. In a place where wind and sand raged year-round, achieving this was very difficult, yet he understood why.
—He had often used that same method to clean the books in the National Academy’s library.
He had already guessed that this was Luo Bu’s room. Thinking that this man carried a rare spatial artifact with him only deepened his curiosity. Just then, he caught a whiff of a fragrant scent. Following it, he found half a bowl of leftover yogurt on the bookshelf. The yogurt was white, soft, smooth, and tender, topped with a cherry and sprinkled with some sesame seeds. Just looking at it made his mouth water. He couldn’t resist picking up the half bowl of yogurt to examine it, confirming it wasn’t military rations but likely a snack Luo Bu had made himself last night.
At this point, Chen Changsheng was truly impressed, even feeling a twinge of inferiority.
From Xining Town to the capital, he had met countless outstanding youths and cultivation prodigies: Senior Brother Yuren, Gou Hanshi, Zhe Xiu, Xu Yourong, and even himself. But he had never met such a polymath—a genius in every field.
Yes, in Chen Changsheng’s eyes, this young officer named Luo Bu was nearly perfect.
—Fortunately, though this man’s medical skills were good, they were still inferior to his own, he consoled himself.
The howling wind and the sound of sand and stones striking outside gradually subsided. In the distance, a few sharp notes from a bamboo flute could be faintly heard, followed by footsteps.
Outside the wall, several clicking sounds rang out. The horizontal wooden bolts behind the doors and windows sprang open automatically, and Luo Bu walked in.
Sunlight once again shone into the room, diffused by the lingering wind and sand, painting the entire scene with a layer of aged charm. It was quite beautiful.
Everything happened too quickly. Chen Changsheng hadn’t had time to put the yogurt bowl back on the shelf.
Anyone seeing this scene would think he was about to sneak a bite of the yogurt.
Luo Bu probably thought so too.
The atmosphere in the room grew awkward.
A moment of silence.
Luo Bu turned and walked out of the room, saying, “I’m going to check on the grass.”
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The reason the Great Zhou court had established a horse ranch in the remote mountains of Ban Ya was because the meadows there were covered with frost grass, the favorite food of Dragon Stallion horses. As the commanding officer, it was only natural for Luo Bu to check on the grass after the windstorm. But Chen Changsheng, holding the yogurt bowl, knew this was just an excuse. Just as he quickly said he also wanted to see the grass and followed the man out of the room, it was merely a pretext to put the yogurt bowl down as naturally as possible.
The wind and sand had stopped, but the traces of its ravages were still clear. The main structures of the camp and stables were unharmed, but the two distant arrow-crossbow towers needed repairs. More troublesome was the fact that the frost grass covering the mountains and fields was now coated with a thick layer of dust.
Aside from having a slightly bad temper, Dragon Stallion horses were nearly perfect war mounts. But no cavalryman would overlook their need for clean fodder. The frost grass in the mountains couldn’t be fed to them without washing, and given the number of soldiers at Ban Ya Horse Ranch, it was impossible to wash it all by hand. Both men and horses could only wait for rain to fall from the sky.
Perhaps because of this, the hundreds of Dragon Stallion horses on the meadow by the stream were restless, neighing from time to time and kicking at the stones among the grass. The soldiers, while cleaning up, also cursed under their breath.
With the appearance of a single figure, the Dragon Stallion horses immediately quieted down, and the soldiers fell silent as if struck dumb.
That figure was Luo Bu.
Luo Bu didn’t give a speech. He waved his hand, signaling for everyone to continue their work.
The men knew the general wasn’t in a bad mood today and relaxed again.
Just then, a soldier who had once delivered medicine spotted Chen Changsheng beside Luo Bu. Surprised, he called out.
To the soldiers at Ban Ya Horse Ranch, who had nothing to do year-round and had never even seen a demon, rescuing two medicine merchant siblings who had fallen off a mountain was the most exciting thing in recent years. Many knew about it and had even secretly gone to the room to see Chen Changsheng. Those who had chatted with him were already familiar with him, and they came over one after another to congratulate him.
“Little cripple, finally out of bed?”
“Little cripple, finally on your feet?”
“Little cripple, able to get some sun?”
The soldiers at Ban Ya Horse Ranch had always called Chen Changsheng “little cripple” because he was young, naturally baby-faced, and had been seriously injured in bed. The nickname wasn’t malicious. Having grown up with his senior brother Yuren, Chen Changsheng didn’t have much resistance to it. But he felt that since his meridians were only temporarily severed, he wasn’t truly disabled, so the nickname was inaccurate and unacceptable. Thus, he always earnestly corrected them.
But the more seriously he refused, the more the officers and soldiers at Ban Ya liked to call him that, as if deliberately teasing him. What frustrated them, however, was that lying in bed, his face never showed any anger, always remaining so calm.
Just like now.
“I’m not a cripple,” Chen Changsheng explained, looking at the people. “As you can see, I can get out of bed and walk now.”
Someone teased, “Aren’t you still limping? Why don’t you take two more steps?”
Chen Changsheng obediently took two steps, supporting himself with a tree branch.
Having only just managed to get out of bed in the night, he had been moving around constantly, which was a considerable burden on his still-weak body. Now, taking a few random steps, he wobbled unsteadily, startling the soldiers, who quickly stepped forward to support him.
A personal guard shouted nearby, “Don’t push yourself. Besides, even if you can walk a few more steps, what does it matter? This is the front line, a horse ranch. When you can get on a horse, that’s when you’ll truly be better.”
He meant well, but to everyone else, it sounded like mockery, and they burst into laughter.
The Dragon Stallion horses raised at Ban Ya Horse Ranch were the main mounts of the Black Armored Cavalry. They were extremely fierce in battle, had strong tempers, and were very wary of strangers. Even the most elite cavalryman needed a hundred days to build a stable relationship with a Dragon Stallion horse before taming it as a mount. How could Chen Changsheng, who needed support just to stand, ever ride one?
Luo Bu had remained silent until now. At this moment, the corner of his mouth hidden beneath his beard twitched slightly upward, and his eyes grew somewhat indifferent—only those closest to him knew this meant he wasn’t in a good mood.
He was displeased with his subordinates’ jokes at Chen Changsheng’s expense.
What surprised him was that Chen Changsheng still hadn’t gotten angry. His face was still full of smiles.
Though faint, the smile wasn’t fake. It was genuine.
Hundreds of Dragon Stallion horses moved from the stream toward the depths of the meadow, reflecting the growing morning light, and drew near the crowd.
One horse suddenly stopped, turned its head toward the crowd, and seemed puzzled about what was happening.
Finally, its gaze fell on Chen Changsheng, as if wondering: Why is this young man laughing so happily?
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(After half a year, finally back in Daqing. There’s joy, and even more emotion. A myriad of feelings, nowhere to express them. I just hope we’re all well. Blessings to you.)