I unravelled the scroll in my hand. It was freshly drawn on so the ink smudged a bit but otherwise, I could see the important details.
I finished memorising it in about half the time it took for the incense stick to burn so about fifteen minutes, but I didn't want the commander to know I had finished it so quickly.
It was immature but I didn't much care, especially since my bag filled with merchandise was still with his men.
When the incense stick burnt out, I placed the corner of the map over the fire of a candle and burnt it, right in front of the commander and Mo Jian's eyes. Another guard had already brought out my bag and weapons and handed it to Mo Jian, who gave them to the commander.
He started ruffling through them without a thought.
He opened his mouth to speak. Keeping his upper and lower jaws as close together as possible, "My, what a batch we've got here." He held up an arrow to his eye. Running a single finger over the arrowhead.
I sharpened those things myself. For anyone else, it should have been able to draw blood, but it just left a white line on the pink of the commander's skin.
He put the arrow back in the quiver, moving to the bag filled with goods and ignoring the dagger. He opened it with a sharp tug. Quickly removing the rope that tied the bag closed.
All my wares fell out.
He smiled.
"Mmm, don't tell me this is all for you?" He ruffled through the things that had fallen on the table. Going through them one by one.
He stopped at some alcohol. The kinds that were kept in small, wine gourds. He opened it and sniffed. His smile got bigger. "Aaah, you've brought me a gift?"
I shifted from one foot to the other. I didn't like this in the least. I wasn't sure wether or not I should speak. He had the air of one unaccustomed to having those below him question his words.
He swung the gourd in little circles, before taking a swig, then gave the other gourd to Mo Jian.
Now, I was only left with one. After the swig, he spoke again, "You know, I was hoping for some merchant to pass by, these sort of things are hard to come by this far out."
I looked at his armor, polished like a whetstone, then the silk garment just beneath it…somehow, I doubted that.
He went through more of my things, "Cheese! Oh my, well you came prepared little courier." He turned to Mo Jian again. "Here, have some." Mo Jian obliged, although he only took a small bite.
The commander finally looked at me. If my skin had been any lighter, I would have been red-faced.
"Don't tell me, these weren't for me?" He brought his hands up to his chest in false sincerity. The sheer weight of his hands creating a small wooshing sound as he did so.
If he were any smaller, it would have looked more like an act, but on him, it looked intimidating. I doubted he was doing it intentionally.
His eyebrows, or what I could see of them quickly fell back into place from its original mock surprise expression. His lips returning to a cruel, straight line. His face was all hard, chiseled rock now.
"Don't ever come through here, with merchandise, without me being told first. Understood?"
"Yes sir." I was shaking. Not out of fear, and I was sure it was barely noticeable but, to a man such as Wan Cheng, he most likely picked up on it. I was shaking from anger.
Not at him, but at myself. 'How long had I been in Lunis? How long ago had I made the promise myself to become a cultivator? But here I was, at the mercy of some sycophantic brute.'
I had to move fast. Do more. If I kept going like this, my life was going to run out before I could even talk to a cultivator, much less become one.
I kept in place.
"Good." He waved his hand and Mo Jian packed whatever the Wan Cheng hadn't taken and put it in the bag along with my weapons and quiver, before handing it of to me.
The commander spoke again. "Get out."
Mo Jian stood in front of me, his frame and poised stance indicating that Wan Cheng was to be obeyed.
I left. If I wanted revenge or some sort of respect, it would have to be on the basis of power.
I was starting to learn, more and more, the only thing that mattered in this world was strength.
I walked back through the camp as I put my bag and quiver back on, Camp Yi, where I was headed was at least a week away. But I didn't have the time to waste with that.
As part of the goods I took, I also had some smoked boar meat, and one singular gourd of rice wine. None of those would last if I took that long to get there. Not to speak of the money I would lose.
So, I did what I knew to do best. I used the forest. I stuck to the more sparse areas, where you could still see in between the trees and it was much harder for something to catch you unawares. The only thing I'd stop to do was to get water from a stream or river, as I'd forgotten to pack some water for the trip.
Hopefully, I'd be able to barter for some at Camp Yi. I had to stick close to the edges, and come out a few times to make sure I was still on track, but If I kept going at the pace I was going, I would only need four days instead of a full week.
I was hoping to get it down to three.
—--
Today was the second day of me speeding through the forest.
I dropped down from the tree I had slept in and took the last swig of water I had. It was still early morning, so I was sure I was safe. I took out my bag and checked on the state of my wares.
Everything was fine but the rice buns were starting to get a little soggy. I had to hurry.
—
Today was the third day, I hadn't noticed earlier but when Wan Cheng was going through my bag, he had broken through the seals of some of my goods. If I didn't arrive by today, I'd lose out on most of my profitable goods.
I put down my quiver and arrows into a place I thought would be unlikely to be touched by someone or whatever animals that roamed around here. It had a white, spotted birch tree, with the leaves already starting to fall off.
It was next to a stack of large boulders that looked to have fallen together, creating a crevice underneath. The perfect place.
I took my bag and dagger and hurried for the camp. Cutting straight across, through places I knew were inhabited with predators. I could only hope they were asleep or that I was fast enough to not get noticed.
That worked for only half the day, till I crossed paths with a pack of wolves. They looked lean, haggard, I was sure there weren't a lot of animals coming out anymore as they all prepared to hibernate or leave the forest.
'Damn it.'
They looked hungry. And I had a whole bag of food on my body. There were four of them.
I backed up slowly, keeping a tree behind me. I didn't dare look back. One stood in front, as the rest started to circle me. Two on one side and one on the left.
I kept stepping back then stopped abruptly as my back hit a tree. Droplets of water falling off the already thinning leaves like winter rain.
I was drenched, and it was cold, and now I was heavier.
'This was bad.'
I was upwind so I was sure they had already caught my scent a while ago. I sighed, 'The things I do for my goals.'
I hadn't been in this situation before, but I knew enough to know that I couldn't back down. I looked among the pack for the one I thought was the most aggressive. The leader. It was the one right in front.
All this while the wolves continued to circle me. Cautious.
In these cases I had been taught to shout and get as loud as I could, step forward, make yourself bigger, pretend you were the predator instead of the prey. I bent down, keeping eye contact with the head wolf of the pack and picked up a rock, throwing it as hard as I could at the wolf.
It tried to dodge but my aim was too good. Even without the arrows I was still a good shot. The rock had lodged right into the wolf's eye. It fell on the damp ground, yipping and howling in pain.
The other wolves stopped, looking at their leader then at me. They didn't know what to do now.
I shouted half worded, unintelligible sounds, raising my arms and throwing them about. I had to convince them they didn't want this fight.
One by one they yipped, letting their ears fall along their necks and running away.
I sighed in relief, but kept moving. I really needed to get to Camp Yi fast. I continued to run through the forest, this time avoiding any marked territories I saw. If I ran into another pack of wolves, I might not be able to make it.
—
It took me another three hours but I was finally at Camp Yi. I checked my bag and body to make sure I had everything I was supposed to. Especially the bamboo tube containing the message I was supposed to deliver.
If I walked over to the camp without it, I was sure they'd take everything I had with me, including my life.
This camp was noticeably bigger than the one with Wan Cheng in it. I was guessing it was because this one had far more people moving about. It was like a constant procession of men, moving in files and shouting in curt, serious tones.
…But that was only the leaders, those in proper military attire, everyone else was dirty, exhausted, and looked like they were terrified of being there.
The perfect place to sell my goods. I went to the guards keeping watch of the place, and showed them the bamboo tube, with the seal on it. They let me in, with one of them leading me to the head of this camp.
He didn't say anything, just nodding his head and taking the tube from me. After that, he just waved me off. Not even bothering to check my bag and quiver full of arrows.
I was assuming it was because of the seal, otherwise, there was no way any of the men in this camp were getting out of this war alive. But, since I was left free, I went to roam around. It was dark so my first stop was the military barracks.
Where all the starved, mistreated soldiers were.
They were all sat around a campfire, sitting in terms of rank and seniority. With those with the highest ranks sitting closest to the fire.
I set up right behind them, and at this point, more and more of them were starting to look at me. I took the chair and table that sat right next to me from under some sort of makeshift, wooden shade, and started to place all my wares. The ones that didn't have long left to spoil came first.
It was the rice wine that caught their attention… It looked I would have a bidding war on my hands.