Doomed to be Cannon Fodder

“Bai Xiangxiu, have you ever thought about giving birth to a son for me...” Smack, the medicine bowl had somehow smacked straight onto Yu Kuang’s head. He caught the falling bowl with his hand and flashed a cute smile.

“It’s already extremely late, so go scare others with that kind of nonsense.”

“You only speak loudly like this when you’re by my side, but you’re always cautious when you’re by his side. Doesn’t that kind of life make you tired?”

So Yu Kuang could indeed feel that. She continued to lie there, staring straight up, “I’ve gotten used to it. And it’s gotten a lot better. His temperament has also warmed considerably, and he is very good to me.”

“Don’t you like people like Song Jiaoyue?”

“What nonsense. I was only admiring him, get it?”

“He said it himself. We drank too much wine once, and he said that the original person in your heart was him, but it was a pity he did not cherish it.”

“Eh, that was also something of the past. I’m very happy right now. I will be the happiest woman in the world as long as nothing happens to Long Heng.”

“Is it because you have a child with him?”

“Of course not,” Bai Xiangxiu became nervous. Why was Yu Kuang speaking such ambiguous words today?

However, Yu Kuang looked into the distance, a faraway look in his eyes as he said, “I grew up in White Cloud Mountain. Even from my earliest days, I’ve never cared about anything else besides martial arts. I knew I had a responsibility to bring the White Cloud Mountain to its greatest height, and in order to do that I even sealed my own heart.”

“Thus, Yu Shū was born, right?”

“I do not know, but when I am Yu Shū, I am truly happy, because he could do things that I would be forever be afraid of doing. He really misses you. I can feel it on the eve of every full moon.”

“He’s only a child,” Bai Xiangxiu didn’t want to delve too deep into this topic, but Yu Kuang had already gotten a full headstart. He spoke of Yu Shū’s feelings and then of his. Even he himself didn’t know that he was such a talkative person. He wasn’t just looking for a chat, he had a rather peculiar feeling of wanting to protect Bai Xiangxiu but being unable to draw close to her. His heart had been unclear in the past, but when he began to open up, he naturally spoke his mind.

“I also feel differently about you. I will do my best to help you get whatever you want. It doesn’t matter if you are Long Heng’s concubine or someone else’s wife. I only want to be good to you, because you really are too cruel to yourself.” He reached out to touch Bai Xiangxiu’s face. She looked a bit perplexed, but then again, she had also sustained injuries.

“Yu Kuang, I think it would be best if you leave now. I need to get some rest.” This wasn’t good. Right now, it almost seemed like he was about to declare his love for her. It’d been only Yu Shū in the past, but it seemed that Yu Kuang had developed these feelings for her. She really didn’t understand these men. She’d been so ugly lately that even she couldn’t bear to look at herself. It was up and down mountains and hills everyday, growing steadily darker beneath the sun. Shouldn’t men who like beautiful women run far, far away under these circumstances? Why were they all flocking to her instead?

“If I was the one by your side, I could allow you to be as free as you’d like your entire life, with no restrictions whatsoever.”

“Please leave,” Bai Xiangxiu tugged on the quilt, deciding she didn’t want to hear his words. But no matter how she tried to sleep, her thoughts kept her awake, running through her head like a herd of galloping horses. After all, Yu Kuang was an excellent person. He was a vaunted wulin Alliance Head, but here he was protecting a little concubine like her. His feelings were never destined to be reciprocated. She could only hope that he would give up soon and go find a woman who was worth his love and protection.

As her period had been particularly fierce for the past few days, she found herself in a drowsy state of mind all day. It didn’t get much better even when she drank some medicine. However, Long Heng’s troops were advancing quickly. They were remaking camp every two days as they advanced a few kilometers every day.

Bai Xiangxiu ran through a few mental calculations. They had breached three or four enemy camps thus far. According to this speed, they would be at the enemy headquarters soon. Even Long Heng felt it strange why his own soldiers and officers were this gungho. It seemed like each battle was one fought on the line of life and death. It wasn’t until one day when Bai Xiangxiu walked out of the tent and stretched, basking in the sunlight that she saw all of the patrolling soldiers pass by with looks of terror.

She touched her face, and asked, baffled, “What’s the matter?”

A little soldier somewhat emotionally said, “Madame Bai, you’re still alive...”

“Ah!? I was never dead!” What does this mean? It was almost as if she’d come back from the dead.

The soldier immediately felt that he had said something wrong and scratched his head, “I heard everyone say that you’d been assassinated by the enemy. I didn’t think that you were safe and sound. Everyone will stop worrying now. Hehe...”

Long Heng immediately understood. It turned out they thought that his wife was dead, which was why they all looked at him with such strict expressions. It would also explain the fervent style of battle he’d been seeing lately whenever they engaged the enemy. They thought they were avenging the death of his wife!

As he kneaded his forehead, he reflected that for some reason, his luck was always terrific when Bai Xiangxiu was with him. Everything would always turn out for the better. For example, this unexpected mishap had actually expanded his nation’s territory by several thousand kilometers. It really was a wonder.

“I came out of the tent before when we set up camp. Did you all not see me?”

“Oh, we were too focused on killing the enemy and didn’t notice what was behind us.”

“...so, I was randomly dead for so many days?” Bai Xiangxiu glanced at Long Heng, at a complete loss for words.

However, Long Heng suddenly frowned, “Why are you up and about when your injuries haven’t healed yet? Go back and rest.”

“Injuries...” Bai Xiangxiu subconsciously clutched at the corner of her dress. Did her monthly period count as an injury?

“Yes, I will have my revenge on them for daring to be so violent towards a weak girl like you!”

Sure enough, the little soldier nodded sagely when he finished. The group of patrolling soldiers then walked off.

Bai Xiangxiu forced a smile, “Aren’t you... being too devious?” This wasn’t quite how one encouraged another person!

“They really respect you!” Long Heng felt a bit proud. His little wife was unexpectedly a great help!

“Yes, they are very cute.”

“What nonsense. How can you call a group of rough, burly men cute?” He really didn’t know what to say to her. They couldn’t engage in any intimate gestures either with so many pairs of eyes on them. He could only urge her back into her tent to rest.

Bai Xiangxiu began to ask about the situation of the state soldiers. Long Heng pointed out their location on the map he had drawn, “Most of the enemy troops will be left behind after we cross this mountain. There are poisonous fog, various vipers and fierce beasts protecting the outskirts. It will be a bit difficult to charge through them.”

“It’s almost like a tropical rainforest,” she nodded as she absorbed Long Heng’s explanation. She began to think quickly; because this forest was extremely vast, it would take them around five days to travel through it. The most crucial thing was that it was extremely dangerous inside. If one wasn’t careful, the army could be completely wiped out.

“No wonder their scattered troops could provoke us with such impunity before. It turns out that they had every confidence in this layer of natural protection,” Bai Xiangxiu pointed at the map as she spoke.