Chapter 55 – Ignorance

Editor: kllua

Proofreader: breaksbones

“Your posture is wrong. Your waist should not be bent like this and your back should be straight. You should also keep your gaze straight ahead with your arms held in this position.”

Feng Huan was seriously guiding Zhuang Zhong. However, what felt acutely inappropriate was how Feng Huan came forward personally to rearrange Zhuang Zhong into the correct posture.

“Like this?”

Feng Huan sighed. He walked somewhere behind Zhuang Zhong before promptly wrapping him up into his arms like he was giving him a partial hug. Due to their sudden, close proximity, they could clearly feel each other’s breathing.

“Your body should not be so stiff. Relax.”

Pa——

Zhuang Zhong’s bottom was suddenly slapped, making a clear sound and causing him to jump. “What do you think you are doing?!”

Feng Huan frowned and replied seriously, “Don’t raise your bottom so high. You are learning archery, not how to use the toilet.”

Zhuang Zhong’s face turned red. However, he was unable to get angry as Feng Huan acted like this was nothing out of the ordinary. Pursing his lips, he muttered, “Even so, you did not have to hit my bottom.”

Towards that, Feng Huan acted as if he did not hear anything and continued teaching him with a serious countenance. With such unwavering concentration and looking as if he was grooming a hero in archery, Zhuang Zhong found himself unable to say anything more and could only continue to learn diligently. However, he was consistently doing it wrongly, and his arrows ended up landing nearly anywhere except at the target.

Zhuang Zhong, who practiced until his hands were sore, felt slightly discouraged. “Forget it. Isn’t hunting a sport done just for fun? Besides, I will not be heading to the battlefield any time soon, so getting a gist of it is enough. Otherwise, if we linger on this any longer, the sun will set. I have been learning this for almost half a day, yet my arrow has never even made its mark. This is an embarrassment.”

Feng Huan disagreed. “Since you wanted to learn this, you have to be committed. Besides, it is still early so there is no need to worry. They have just entered the hunting areas and probably have not started yet.”

At this moment, Fang YingYing ran towards them from afar while holding a bloody pheasant in her hand. “Hahaha, little brother! I shot a pheasant! All by myself!” The mountains echoed with the sound of her crisp, boisterous laughter.

……

“Why are there only two private rooms again?”

Zhuang Zhong was surprised. For a substantial portion of the month, there would only be two private rooms available in the post house. As Fang YingYing was a woman, one would be given to her. Meanwhile, for the other room, Zhuang Zhong wanted to give it to Feng Huan but the latter did not agree. Citing that they were brothers, Feng Huan felt that it was unacceptable for him to stay in the private room while Zhuang Zhong stayed in an ordinary one as there were vast differences between the quality of the rooms.

As for the other option, for him to stay in the private room and let Feng Huan take another room, Zhuang Zhong did not dare bring it up.

So, in the end, Feng Huan made the final decision for them to share the room together. He did not allow Zhuang Zhong to disagree as he said it would be akin to not recognizing their brotherhood.

If it was before, the prospect of sharing a room with others would have been nothing for Zhuang Zhong as he had done it before. It was normal for several big men to squeeze into a small bed when they were investigating and the place was remote. However, despite his own self-assurances, he found himself feeling strange when it came to being with Feng Huan.

That’s right! How could he not feel strange when he kept feeling that thing poking him every morning!

Nonetheless, no matter how much he distanced himself, even to the extent of almost falling out of bed, he still found himself engulfed in Feng Huan’s arms, a person with such poor sleeping posture. This always left him feeling gloomy, especially because Feng Huan remained blissfully unconscious and unaware. Even if Zhuang Zhong brought it up clearly, Feng Huan’s expression would indicate that it was no big deal.

Feng Huan replied, “This type of room is not common in this kind of small post house. Most of them only have two of such rooms.”

Zhuang Zhong narrowed his eyes. “Why did we not stop at that big post house before then? Usually, at that point in our journey, we would have stopped to rest instead of continuing on.”

“The boundary of the Blackwind stronghold is in front of us. We will rest here for the night and then, early tomorrow morning, I will be leading the black cavalry troops to get some money for liquor.” With those words, the corners of Feng Huan’s mouth lifted up in an expression of complete determination.

Along the way, Feng Huan and his black cavalry troops had suppressed many bandits and confiscated all their belongings like usual. This, coupled with the local bounties, had meant that they had been able to earn back their travel expenses.

Zhuang Zhong asked suspiciously, “Really?”

Feng Huan put on an incomprehensible expression. “Can this be fake? I regularly suppress bandits, so how can I deliberately neglect this area? After the Blackwind stronghold lies the boundary of YunZhou. Before, I rarely passed by this way, so the bandits here should pose a greater challenge. Moreover, this area is a mountainous region full of caves everywhere. Once these bandits disappear into one, they will vanish entirely. You have no idea how many soldiers were dispatched to eliminate them but ended up annihilated. Even I dare not take it lightly and started planning long before I set out.”

Hearing this, Zhuang Zhong felt a little embarrassed. The person in front of him was here for business, and yet Zhuang Zhong had made such blind conjectures. Wasn’t he just holding Feng Huan back?

“Then be careful tomorrow.”

Although Zhuang Zhong had gone along with Feng Huan to suppress bandits before, those excursions had been nothing much, and it would not matter if he joined. However, from Feng Huan’s words, the Blackwind stronghold seemed dangerous, and he was afraid that he would become a burden if he went along.

Taking care to be out of Zhuang Zhong’s line of sight, Feng Huan breathed a sigh of relief and instantly smiled. “Don’t worry. Besides being brave and good at fighting, our black cavalry troop also has a very powerful ability.”

“What is it?”

“Running.”

The corners of Zhuang Zhong’s mouth twitched upwards. “It is good if you have a plan in your heart. Do not try to show off recklessly for as long as one is alive, there will always be hope.”

After going to bed, Zhuang Zhong woke up in the middle of the night and found himself being tightly hugged. He initially wanted to break free, but after some thinking, he gave up. Even when Feng Huan started rubbing his head on Zhuang Zhong’s neck, he just endured and ignored it. If this had been the past, he would have already kicked him aside.

In the dark, the corners of Feng Huan’s mouth raised with satisfaction and contentment.

Early the next day, Feng Huan led his black cavalry troops to the Blackwind stronghold. This was the first time that Feng Huan led all the soldiers to suppress bandits, leaving only about twenty guards to protect Zhuang Zhong and Fang YingYing.

Fang YingYing felt that something was wrong. “What kind of bandits require the entirety of the black cavalry troops to eliminate them?”

Zhuang Zhong, whose eyelid had been twitching since he got up early in the morning, replied, “The prince said that the Blackwind stronghold is vast and formidable. This, coupled with the enemy’s terrain advantages, means that he must act with caution.”

Hearing that, Fang YingYing also became worried. “I did not expect that YunZhou would be so chaotic. Will there be powerful bandits near Mei county?”

“I heard that because the folk customs there are strict, there are no powerful bandits running rampant. In the past, YunZhou was a place at the border that the former King ZhenNan and his officials had found it hard to intervene in. This caused it to become an unregulated boundary that allowed the bandits to flourish very well. One could also speculate that this was done deliberately by King ZhenNan with the motive of making the Blackwind stronghold his own barrier. Currently, several attempts have been made to suppress bandits at the Blackwind stronghold. Although they all failed, it has inflicted heavy losses on the bandits, and they are not as great as they were before.”

Fang YingYing frowned. “If so, why are you trembling so badly?”

Zhuang Zhong was stunned. “Ah?”

It was only then that he realized his hands were shaking unconsciously without him even knowing.

Fang YingYing shook her head. “There is no need for you to be so nervous. The prince is virtuous and auspicious, so nothing will go wrong. Besides, Prince Si Zhao’s black cavalry troops are not composed of simple, ordinary people, and they have annihilated stronger opponents in the past. I remember that he once suppressed sea pirates too. You have to remember that most of the black cavalry troops are northerners, and many of them are non-swimmers. If they can kill sea pirates that are known to vanish as soon as they enter the waters, the Blackwind stronghold will hardly be a challenge.”

Zhuang Zhong could not help but laugh at these words. “Thanks for comforting me. Actually, I am not that worried. It is just that I have no idea why my hands are shaking.”

Fang YingYing had an all-knowing expression on her face. “There is no need for you to pretend to be brave in front of me. After all, you have seen me at my lowest. Do you not trust me?”

“What do you mean?”

Fang YingYing rolled her eyes. “You are still hiding it from me. You men are really not as straightforward as us women.”

Zhuang Zhong became even more confused. “What am I hiding?”

Towards that, Fang YingYing did not answer and only said, “It is fine if you do not want to say it. Just remember that no matter what decision you make, I will support you. After all, this path is bound to be difficult. If you cannot hold on, I will lend you my shoulder, although it would not be as great. However, I will have you know that my offer to lend you my shoulder is only valid until I get my own husband.”

Zhuang Zhong did not know whether to laugh or cry. “The more you say, the more I do not understand.”

Fang YingYing stared at Zhuang Zhong fixedly. The latter gazed back at her with clear eyes.

Fang YingYing laughed in response. “Why am I feeling so happy all of a sudden?”

Lu Lian, who was standing to the side, also smiled. “Young lady, you are currently taking pleasure in other people’s misfortune.”

Zhuang Zhong helplessly asked, “Why is everyone talking so bizarrely?”

Fang YingYing let her smile slip off her face and said seriously, “They say those closely involved cannot see clearly. In this case, you are so intelligent and yet cannot acknowledge even the most blatant of clues. Do not indulge in self-delusion and convince yourself with an excuse you yourself do not believe. If you do not want to acknowledge it, you will end up making the wrong decisions when you are forced to face it head-on.”

As Zhuang Zhong fell silent, Fang YingYing did not deign to speak any further on the matter. After all, some things still had to be discovered and understood by only those specifically involved.

It was just like herself. In the beginning, Lu Lian and Nanny Li kept trying to convince her, but she was unable to understand anything except the revenge in her heart. It was not until later that she figured it out herself and came out of the fog shrouding her mind completely.

At sunset, Feng Huan and his party still had not returned.

The uneasiness in Zhuang Zhong’s heart became more and more prominent. Fang YingYing ordered Lu Lian to ask the man at the post house for news ahead.

The man replied, “The Blackwind stronghold is in the mountains. Unless the fight is brought out, no one will know what is going on inside. As His Highness is very powerful, there should not be any problem. In the case that something goes wrong, someone will send a report. Right now, no news is good news.”

Following the waning light of the setting sun came a thunderous sound that resonated through the ground. The black cavalry troops had returned.

Zhuang Zhong and Fang YingYing ran out of the post house. They spotted a group of people glowing in the evening light as the smell of blood filled the air. Even if one did not witness the situation first-hand at that time, they could imagine how fierce the battle must have been.

Feng Huan leaped down from the horse and walked straight to Zhuang Zhong. Grinning, he declared, “I have brought a mountain of riches back for you!”