"You, what happened to your face?" Si Ning asked slowly as he felt his mental stability crumbling.
"It was a raid, seven years ago." The soldier replied firmly as he sheathed his bloody sword without wiping the blood off. His face was impassive like he wasn’t the one who just severed a man’s head.This was real.The head-on the floor was real, the thick stench of blood was real and this was no makeup or trick. Si Ning knew he would be nothing but a fool to deny it. He had truly transmigrated to another time and no amount of trick could cover up a severed head and he doesn’t need to touch the head to know it was real."Set the plan into motion, take the men. Tell me when you are ready." Si Ning's eyes didn’t leave the head once as the scarred face soldier grabbed the head and carried it like it was just a thing while the other carried the body.Si Ning retreated to his tent. His legs shaking and he was even surprised his voice didn’t shake when he gave the instructions to Chen An.This was real.He had never heard of the Great Xiu Nation, he was a bad history student in high school and he had transmigrated. As nobody but a General not a Second Prince of the nation. If he was among the foot soldiers, he would be escaping by now but what does this mean?Should he fake his death and run away? That would be impossible to carry out and he had not gotten used to this world yet.Why did he have to be the General?If he was a Prince, he would accept it and live his life to the fullest. Creating a harem filled with the most beautiful women in the country. He would depend on his Advisor, giving commands and never step on the battlefield and he would be eating the best dishes but now he was nothing but a General who seemed to be respected and having three Commanders follow him.Si Ning could feel bile rising in his throat but what scared him most was how composed he was and how steady his hands were. He should definitely be going crazy and screaming looking for a way to escape this fate but yet he had no time and a General named Shen Yu was after his head. This was a nightmare he never thought he would wake up to. He was an Actor and had seen more ancient settings dramas that he lost count of.The era he woke up was not good, He knew how well the Emperor would be treated which means one wrong word and his head might end up rolling on the floor just like the spy and no one would care to blink. Knowing he could be attacked at any time, knowing one of his subordinates could be a spy and planning to kill him. It was the same for the Emperor or Princes too but at least the Emperor would be considered as the son of heaven and many wouldn’t dare to even look at his face.Then as the General, he would have to report to him, the Emperor who was the most powerful person in the whole country. The worst part of this era was when torture would be seen as nothing and if he falls into this General Shen Yu's hands. Si Ning knew he would even faint before any torture would be inflicted on him and he doubted this General Shen Yu would spare him even if he fainted he would only wake up by more torture.Not even having a bit of memory of his time in this period leads to a disadvantage. The only person he recognized was Chen An and now he would be leading men to war and most to their deaths and the man called Ah Dai was wounded which means there would be no one to protect him on the battlefield.What should he do? Si Ning was still thinking and the way he was thinking fast about different scenarios that could happen if he makes one mistake didn’t make him aware of Su Heng that came in."General we are ready." Su Heng reported.What! According to Si Ning's calculation, he doesn’t think an hour had passed and they were already ready. Si Ning took a deep breath only to see Su Heng staring at the armor on the chair.Si Ning assumed the armor should belong to him and he moved towards it only to see it was different from the one on set which Chen An tried on him once. Anyone could tell the armor was special since it wasn’t boring looking like the Commanders but beautifully made and the color was glittering with a dragon emblem on the top left corner of his chest.Si Ning quickly changed to a fitting cloth accommodating the armor, glad he knew the basis as an Actor. He carried his sword that weighs a ton silently praying he doesn’t get to use it. "Helmet?" He asked after looking around to see there was none in the tent.The majority of the soldiers wore helmets apart from the Commanders."General, you do not like wearing a helmet." Su Heng told him.Si Ning doesn’t care, he was about to go to war and he would not jeopardize his life, he had to protect his face too and in the worst-case scenario he might have to hide on the battlefield and when hiding he needed the helmet to conceal his identity from this General Shen Yu."I will bring one." Su Heng bowed when Si Ning didn’t reply to him.Si Ning wasn’t disappointed when Su Heng came back and presented a good helmet to him that was even matching his armor and different from the one he sees the soldiers wearing. He would have loved to have like their helmet to make him blend in but his armor was enough to attract the enemy that he was General Si Ning and he had to prepare to fight this General Shen Yu of Xilie nation."General." Chen An called to lead him outside.To Si Ning's surprise. The leaves camouflage were already done and when he inspected it. It seemed perfect he was a little horrified at how well it was made."Did you brief them on the plan?" Si Ning asked glad his voice was steady and firm."Yes General." Chen An replied."Let’s go." Si Ning said securing the sword to his waist.Chen An nodded before facing the troops that were lined perfectly in rows and separated into two. "Men of Great Xiu! We are going onward to conquer our enemy and we will prevail!" He yelled at the top of his voice."Long live Xiu Empire!" They all yelled before they turned as the first set of soldiers began marching towards the side of the camp to start climbing the hill."Me and Ji Ran will lead the ambush." Su Heng saluted and Si Ning nodded at Ji Ran who bowed to him.A soldier was holding the reins of two horses and Si Ning mounted one while Chen An mounted the other one."Let’s go." Si Ning kicked the horse into motion to lead the rest of the army out of the camp down the dirt road.Only a few soldiers were left to safeguard the camp.Si Ning and Chen An were riding on horses. The foot soldiers running behind them and were able to keep up till they reached the pass. It was just as Chen An described. To avoid collision only ten horses would be able to pass through at a time.Some foot soldiers starting working fast setting up the wooden spiky barriers and it was astonishing how fast and well they work.The atmosphere was stiff and anyone could tell a big showdown was about to happen. Looking towards the sun, Si Ning could tell it was almost dusk and Shen Yu’s army would arrive soon.Si Ning took a deep breath watching for any movement at the top of the hill and it didn’t take long for him to see the half of his troops with the leaves running at the top of the hills, on each side. Su Heng leading the right side while Ji Ran leads the left side. They started setting out by lying flat on top of the hill using the leaves as a shield and Si Ning couldn’t even spot the arrows pointed at the pass. So
Si Ning spotted the man that yelled at the top of his voice, with a deep commanding voice and no one had to tell Si Ning it was General Shen Yu who was out for his head. With his shiny silver armor drawing out his sword swiftly and pointing it towards his direction, his beards straight and white.At times like this Si Ning knew he was supposed to reply just like how he had seen the Generals do in most dramas but he was not ready to let his voice turn hoarse by yelling since their distance was quite far. Keeping quiet would agitate Shen Yu and make him reckless which would be a good sign for Chen An to quickly take him out."Si Ning..... You die today!!!" Shen Yu yelled.Si Ning wondered if the man had a few screws loose since he acted like Si Ning didn’t hear him at first so he had to repeat his statement."I say! Si Ning... you die today!!!" Shen Yu pointed at him.Si Ning resisted the urge to roll his eyes and he could almost imagine a tint of a
Their swords clashed and Si Ning could tell Shen Yu was a skilled warrior. He watched as Shen Yu got the upper hand and move to strike at Chen An’s shoulder but Chen An was quick to somersault backward. Jumping down from his horse and slashed the hind leg of Shen Yu’s horse which made the horse to lose balance and Shen Yu rolled to the ground. Before Chen An could jump and slash Shen Yu to prevent him from standing up to regain his balance, Shen Yu met his sword before he could inflict any damage. For how heavy their swords clashed Si Ning could tell it was a battle of power and stability. This wasn’t something he could handle. He doubts he had the power to even meet Shen Yu’s sword without him losing his balance. "Si Ning!!! Fight me!!!!" Shen Yu yelled as he overpowered Chen An, his sword pushing at Chen An’s sword giving him space to extend his leg, and kicked Chen An on the stomach. Hell no. "Hell no." Si Ning had to voice his thought out as he wa
Si Ning was glad they were done with the tying when Shen Yu woke up to glare at him. "You know the way you call me, people might think we are long lost, lovers." He couldn’t help but comment as he stood above Shen Yu. Staring down at him, Si Ning could see the man was quite old, at least in his fifties and because his son died he made a terrible choice by leading his army blindly. Si Ning concluded that Shen Yu must have loved his son dearly. "Si Ning!!!" Shen Yu said between gritted teeth. This was another era. He was a General and would act as a General. "When did the occurrence of his son losing his life again?" Si Ning asked nonchalantly. "Si Ning!!!!" Shen Yu growled, his eyes glaring daggers at Si Ning's nonchalant attitude. "The last time we fought along the river five days ago." Chen An replied as Ji Ran started bandaging his bleeding arm. Five days ago... Does that mean he transmigrated to t
"What is this!!!" Si Ning yelled staring daggers at the water they didn’t change. Did they think filtering the water won’t make him notice? It’s been three days and he’d been trying not to complain about the little water they would bring for him to take a bath every morning but filtering the water he used previously was nothing but inhumane and as the General, he would not tolerate it. The least he could do in this world that refused to fade was to enjoy it. Soaking in a half-filled tub was getting on his nerves and he always choked down his complaint but seeing the filtered water was the height of his endurance. Chen An rushed in to see Si Ning beside the bathtub staring at it like it was an abomination. "General, what’s wrong?" Si Ning took a deep breath trying to calm his nerves before he jumps on Chen An to chew his head off. "This water is what is wrong, why isn’t it changed. This is the water I used to take my bath yesterday." He complained turn
Looking at the tea set brought by Ah Dai made Si Ning smiled. It was the first clean fine white ceramic tea set he would lay his eyes on in this world and to make things better Ah Dai set up a plate of snacks. "Young master I hope you like it, Ah Dai made it personally." Ah Dai poured him a cup of tea acting like he didn’t just lost his arm. "These herbs when added to the water to bath, will help soothing Young Master’s body." He said bringing out a small pouch to show Si Ning. The floral scent of the tea made Si Ning quickly took a sip and the bittersweet taste left on his tongue made him nodded in approver. Ah Dai proceeded to clean out his bathtub, this time Si Ning didn’t stop him. Instead, he decided neither to question Ah Dai’s miraculous change from a determined man eager to lay his life down for him to a polite docile servant. Si Ning closed the classic book he had been reading to take his mind off being annoyed by the absence of the internet and his
This wasn’t how Si Ning planned his night, he was supposed to have a long nice bath in the bath Ah Dai prepared for him and put on his sleeping robes, take a long nice sleep on the bed Ah Dai managed to spread a thick blanket on that made the bed a little decent making the body pains Si Ning do wake up to a little less but instead he had been reading reports and making the necessary arrangement for their journey back home. Just after Xiu TianZhao left to rest in his own tent and Si Ning’s bathtub was filled up with water. Chen An brought a lot of paperwork for him to go through, from the numbers of soldiers categorized into the ones who had few injuries that could ride a horse, to the ones who had heavy injuries that would have to ride in a cart. From those that had to sit to those that had to lie down in the cart adding them to the number of Xilie soldiers to the amount of the rations they had left, it was a lot of maths for Si Ning that he could almost see steam coming out
"I am not letting Ah Dai go." Si Ning said softly wondering if it was the best decision. Si Ning might not be a great person but he knows right from wrong and after seeing how Ah Dai had to work after losing his arm yet acting like he wasn’t in pain just to please him was something he couldn’t ignore and he wasn’t about to let Ah Dai go because he lost an arm. All the snacks and tea Ah Dai made for him was satisfactory, he had no idea of who made the meals he had been eating but it doesn't taste so good but after Ah Dai woke up and made him tea and the meal Ji Ran brought for him after was delicious and he suspected Ah Dai might have one or two things to do with it. "I heard the arm he lost wasn’t even your fault." Xiu TianZhao stood up. "I will leave you to sort out things but I will still leave Xiao Pei with you and also quit looking at me like that, if I didn’t know you well I will think you are trying to seduce me." Si Ning frowned at Xiu TianZhao’s last