The Innocent Heart - Chapter 89

“There is another survivor here!”

Suddenly, a cry of surprised joy rang out from within the village. The heavy atmosphere from a moment ago was invigorated, and a disorganized flurry of footsteps began to rush toward the source of the sound.

Out of curiosity, the trio of Huo Qubing, Guan Yueyao, and Chen Zhi also converged toward the gathering crowd. They saw a young soldier carry a child out from a collapsed dwelling. The child was currently covered in grime, with dust and blood smeared across their face, making it impossible to discern their gender. Though the child was still breathing, it appeared to be very faint.

“Quick! Find a fast horse and send them back to the Pass! Order the physicians to begin treatment!” Commandant Li Ting was the first to react. After a brief inspection of the rescued child, he issued the command. “The rest of you, fan out! When moving the bodies, look carefully to see if there are any other living souls!”

Upon Li Ting’s order, the soldiers all answered with a crisp “Yes!” Their steps were significantly swifter as they returned to their respective areas. Everyone seemed to harbor a spark of hope—since such a young child had survived, perhaps… perhaps there were even more survivors in the village!

While the soldiers in the village worked with fiery enthusiasm, Guan Yueyao and her companions were not assigned any tasks. They stood in the middle of the dirt road, watching the people coming and going around them, feeling a sudden sense of helplessness.

“How about we walk around the perimeter so we aren’t in the way?” After stepping aside several times for soldiers rushing past with the remains of villagers, Guan Yueyao made an uncertain suggestion.

“Mm. It’s a good time to check the surroundings. Since those Xiongnu were able to come once, they might come a second time. We shall stand guard outside the village,” Huo Qubing nodded and led the way out.

A village shrouded in the stench of death was both infuriating and heavy enough to make one gasp for breath. Now that they had left that environment, the three could not help but take a long, deep breath of relief.

“Guan Yueyao, I’ve realized that although you don’t have much ‘ink’ in your belly, you certainly know how to say things that stir people up,” Chen Zhi remarked. Perhaps finding the atmosphere too stifling, he turned and teased Guan Yueyao.

However, on the face of this youth who was accustomed to a pampered life, the joy did not reach his eyes, making the smile he forced out appear somewhat strained.

“Chen Zhi, if you don’t want to laugh and don’t find it funny, don’t force yourself,” Guan Yueyao said, lifting her eyelids to glance at him. she was in no mood for bickering.

“Nonsense! It’s just a few dead commoners. I… I… I won’t be sad!” Chen Zhi glared at Guan Yueyao, his mouth remaining stubborn, yet his reddening eyes betrayed him. Realizing he had lost his composure, he turned away quickly, wiped his face harshly with his sleeve, and shut his mouth completely.

Standing by and watching, Guan Yueyao actually found this version of Chen Zhi much more agreeable. Seeing the deaths of so many innocent people moved him as well; he could empathize with the tragic plight of these people.

“Ayao, listen. What is that noise over there?” As Guan Yueyao was thinking, Huo Qubing, who had been watching the mountain forest ahead, suddenly lowered his voice to alert them.

Guan Yueyao looked over. The vegetation here was dense. In the empty mountains, aside from the intermittent voices of people from the village not far away, there seemed to be only the chirping of birds and insects.

What other noise could there be? She was puzzled and turned to her friend, only to see Huo Qubing reach back to unsheathe the longbow from his back. He took a feathered arrow from his quiver and notched it.

Could there be another wild beast? The incident with the ferocious tiger in the outskirts of Chang’an still made Guan Yueyao’s heart pound when she thought of it. Seeing her friend so guarded, she also became alert.

Quieting her mind to listen carefully, she realized that amidst the various ambient noises, there was indeed a faint rustling sound moving bit by bit around them.

“Who goes there! Come out!” Guan Yueyao drew her blade and shouted toward the void. In truth, she wasn’t certain if someone was actually there; she was merely blustering, hoping to scare away any people or animals that might be lurking and watching.

To her surprise, as soon as she finished speaking, the noise did not stop but grew even louder. At this point, even Chen Zhi, who was still sulking to the side, heard the abnormality. He drew his blade and stood beside Huo Qubing and Guan Yueyao.

However, what followed were several weak and anxious cries from a woman.

“Officers! Officers, help!”

It was the Han tongue. The three felt a wave of relief and lowered their weapons, stepping forward to meet them. They saw several people—adults and children—emerge one after another from the thick shrubs on the hillside to their northwest.

“This… what is going on?” The three looked at each other and then at the group walking toward them, feeling somewhat bewildered for a moment.

Before the three youths could react, Guan Yueyao’s shout had not only drawn out the people hiding in the forest but also attracted the soldiers still clearing the village. In an instant, the people who had just walked out of the mountains were surrounded by fully armed soldiers in armor.

“Who are you?” Li Ting frowned as he looked at the people within the circle. Leading them was a woman in the prime of her youth, with quite delicate features but a very disheveled appearance. Likely because she had hidden in the mountains for several days without a grain of rice, her lips were cracked and her face was gaunt. Despite this, her gaze remained clear and resolute. Hearing Li Ting’s question, she curtsied before answering.

“Pray hear me, Lords. We are villagers from the Zhuang Family Village just ahead. When the Xiongnu suddenly attacked that day, we fled into the mountains in the chaos and managed to escape. Fearing the Xiongnu might return, we did not dare go back to the village. Today, we heard voices from the village and realized they were Han, so we showed ourselves to seek refuge. We beg you, Lords, for the sake of the elderly, the weak, and the children among us, please help us.”

The woman’s voice was neither humble nor arrogant, and her explanation was logical and convincing. After speaking, she involuntarily glanced toward the village. From her vantage point, the deep pit used to bury the remains of the villagers was still faintly visible. Perhaps unable to bear the sight, she turned her head away, only to have her gaze meet Li Ting’s searching eyes in mid-air.

“Zhuang Yan, come here and identify them. Are these people from your village?” Li Ting turned his head expressionlessly toward one of the men standing in the crowd, who was one of the survivors from the previous day.

Zhuang Yan stepped forward as ordered. He did not need to look closely; he recognized the people before him at a single glance. The tears he had just managed to stop began to fall again.

“They are from our village… they are all from our village…”

The group labored for an entire day, barely managing to bury the deceased. A mound of pure earth became their final resting place. The soldiers formed ranks before this massive grave. With heads bowed, everyone observed a few moments of silence for the victims before Li Ting ordered the troops to return to camp.

As for the dozens of survivors from the village, they would be temporarily settled at Juyong Pass until a final decision could be made after consulting with the magistrates of several nearby counties.

The three youths returned to Juyong Pass with the column, their hearts heavy with thought. Despite having only been away for a day, stepping back into the military camp gave them the illusion that a lifetime had passed.

The ranks soon dispersed. Everyone felt physically and mentally exhausted, and they were eager to wash away the stench of death clinging to them. The three had no desire for play. After parting in the courtyard, they returned to their respective rooms.

As night fell, the vast Juyong Pass seemed to regain its usual tranquility. Huo Qubing lay in bed, the scenes he had witnessed over the past few days flashing rapidly through his mind. He had thought he was mentally prepared for the cruelty of war, but the horrific sights in the village today still delivered a massive shock to him.

This wasn’t even true war; it was merely a one-sided slaughter of unarmed Han civilians by a band of brutal Xiongnu. If this is the case, what is real war like?

He couldn’t help but think of his uncle, currently marching into the heart of the prairie held by the Xiongnu. He wondered how they were faring. Yet, thinking about war now, the pure fanaticism and longing in Huo Qubing’s heart seemed to have vanished.

Before this northern journey, war to Huo Qubing had seemed more like a means to prove himself—a way to repay the Son of Heaven’s favor and preserve the Wei family’s prosperity. However, now that he had truly faced such a scene of devastation, those words about fulfilling his ambitions could no longer be spoken with a clear conscience.

I beg you, speak not of titles and honors; a general’s success is built upon ten thousand rotting bones. Pity the bones by the Wuding River, still the men appearing in the dreams of their wives in the spring boudoirs.

The meaning of war seemed to have found a new answer in Huo Qubing’s heart.

The night wind in the northwest was always strong. At this moment, the silence inside the room only served to highlight the sorrowful wailing of the wind outside, sounding like the resentful cries of the unjustly killed. Suddenly, a figure flickered outside the door, followed by several soft knocks. “Qubing, Qubing, are you asleep?”

It was Ayao. Huo Qubing’s tense heart suddenly eased. He draped a robe over his shoulders, stepped into his shoes, and went to the door to open it for his friend.

“Ayao, it’s so late. Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“I woke up from nightmares several times, and the sound of the wind is frightening. I truly cannot sleep. Qubing, let me sleep with you tonight,” Guan Yueyao’s ice-cold hand gripped Huo Qubing’s sleeve, her tone pleading.

Huo Qubing intended to tease her, but the scenes from the day flashed through his mind again. He eventually nodded and climbed into the bedding with Guan Yueyao. The two youths lay facing each other, yet both remained silent. The candlelight flickered, and the room was excessively quiet.

Perhaps the atmosphere provided by having the other nearby was too reassuring. Eventually, the two youths broke free from their myriad thoughts, gripped each other’s hands, and drifted into their respective dreams.