It had been over a year since the brothers had seen each other, I realized. Even little Jiang Sheng had grown taller, the fourth and fifth younger brothers had also shot up a bit, and the eldest had fully grown into his tall, slender frame. I wondered whether the third brother had grown any taller, or gotten thinner from his time in the northern borderlands.
Zheng Ruqian grew more excited the more he thought about it. He tidied his clothes several times and wiped the blood from himself, afraid to make his younger brothers worry.
But he waited and waited, and though the tremors grew clearer, nobody appeared.
Beside him, Wang Xiaosong grumbled, "With so many people, it would be fine if it were the army, but what if it were the Northern Nomads instead?"
Not just Zheng Ruqian, even Fifth Jiang was shocked enough to turn back to stare at him. The young woman curled up even tighter in fear.
Wang Xiaosong quickly covered his loose lips, "I was just rambling, just rambling!"
Fortunately, the team gradually grew clearer ahead of them, and the figure at the lead was extremely familiar. Otherwise, Zheng Ruqian would have chosen to turn and flee instead.
In the blink of an eye, the team came to a stop.
Fifth Jiang knelt on one knee, guiltily reporting in, "I apologize for arriving late. The entire village has been massacred, with only one young woman left alive."
"These Northern Nomads," Fang Heng gnashed in hatred. "Dispatch two additional soldiers to patrol each area, we must detect the enemy's movements at the first opportunity. We cannot let them continue to run amok unchecked."
"Yes, sir!" Fifth Jiang acknowledged the order. "Captain, my subordinate rescued two people on the way here."
Only then did Fang Heng turn to look at the two figures standing by the carriage.
One had a wrap around his neck and was covering his mouth, rendering him unrecognizable.
The other, dressed in tattered clothing, had a roguishly familiar grin. The square face seemed so familiar, brimming with righteous spirit, yet the thick brows and large eyes also contained a cunning glint. If this wasn't his second elder brother, then who was it?
The person on horseback was stunned speechless for a moment, thinking he must be in a dream.
Until Zheng Ruqian laughed out happily, "What's wrong, little brother? Can't recognize your second elder anymore?"
Only then did Fang Heng realize that his silly second elder brother had truly come to the borderlands. And at such a chaotic time, with only a single attendant at that, daring to venture deep into the borderlands' belly.
"Second elder brother," Fang Heng the third was both anxious and angry. "Do you have a death wish, daring to come to such a dangerous place?"
But when he dismounted and came face to face, all that was left was a fiercely tight embrace.
Thankfully, they had arrived just in time.
Thankfully nothing had happened to him.
After the two sides separated, Fang Heng's expression immediately hardened. "Don't ever come to the borderlands' belly again in the future. It's far too dangerous, with Northern Nomads liable to appear at any time. What if something really happened?"
"How was I to know a war would break out so suddenly?" Zheng Ruqian complained aggrievedly. "I slowly made my inquiries as I went along, and eventually wandered deep into the belly not realizing anything was amiss. We had intended to set off back already."
The danger had struck just as they were trying to make their way back.
Fang Heng still intended to reprimand him a few more sentences, but his gaze landed upon the deep ruts left by the carriage wheels, and his words turned into sighs instead. "Don't let this happen again in the future."
"I absolutely won't, I absolutely won't!" Zheng Ruqian nodded quickly. "I won't dare to anymore."
Fang Heng then instructed the main force to go bury the villagers' corpses, as there were too many people without any registry of names. They could only be buried in a mass grave, with the young woman left behind to record the village's name, before they erected a wooden tablet to mark that people had once lived here.
With that done, the team set off back to their stronghold.
Zheng Ruqian and Wang Xiaosong drove the carriage to catch up. The rescued young woman was badly injured, so she had been placed inside the carriage.
Fang Heng had originally taken the lead at the front, but now he dropped back to take up the rear instead, coincidentally ending up right in front of the carriage.
Zheng Ruqian stared longingly at his younger brother, feeling that he had grown much taller, his frame filled out and sturdier, and somewhat darker in complexion. He seemed much steadier and composed, only occasionally revealing the wild arrogance unique to youths.
Without warning, Fang Heng suddenly turned back, and his gaze collided with that of his second elder's. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he swallowed the words back down instead.
To think the hot-headed Fang the third had learned to keep his words to himself too.
Zheng Ruqian couldn't help laughing, though his laughter soon turned somber.
Over the course of hundreds of days and nights, everyone had done so much growing up.
The team walked for around half an hour before finally arriving at the campsite with the tents.
The sentries maintaining their position roared out excitedly to greet everyone, and directed the weary soldiers to go eat and rest.
"This isn't the main force," Fang Heng explained after dismounting. "It's only my Fifth Platoon's temporary camp. Going back to the main force would be troublesome, requiring identity tokens and passphrase checks for entry. Most importantly, outsiders are barred from entry."
Zheng Ruqian nodded in understanding. Stretching his neck, he scanned his surroundings. "Jiang the third told me the last time that your platoon had over a hundred men. Why do I see so many more now?"
He tried counting, but no matter how he counted there had to be at least three to five hundred people here.
Could Fang Heng have gotten promoted? But he was still leading the Fifth Platoon, without any news of becoming a captain.
Fang Heng just smiled without replying. Beckoning them along to the center of the crowd, he waved his hand and called out, "Lads, we have preserved meat and sausages today!"
The previously weary soldiers instantly perked up, bellowing and whooping loudly.
"Excellent, I've been missing those sausages and preserved meat!"
"Captain is the best, to actually share these with us!"
"I wasn't here last time. I've got to eat more this time round."
Several brawny fellows came over and peeked into the carriage, swiftly offloading the few dozen jin worth of preserved meat and sausages that Jiang Sheng had prepared. They washed the goods briefly before dumping them into a huge cauldron to stew.
Zheng Ruqian was stunned speechless.
He would never have imagined that the stuff he brought all the way here for his younger brother would just get divvied up like this.
"Don't be angry, elder brother." Fang Heng turned back with an apologetic smile. "These lads stake their lives alongside me daily. I can't just eat alone."
"I, I..." Zheng Ruqian was lost for words.
Fortunately the soldiers had only taken the preserved meat and sausages without touching anything else. He hurriedly took out the sets of new clothes and shoes.
But unexpectedly Fang Heng bundled them up as he headed straight for a large tent, inside which laid dozens of injured soldiers and civilians who had lost limbs.
"Wear these padded jackets first, all of you." He distributed them to the frailest individuals. "Make do if they don't fit properly. Swap around if they're too large or small."
By the time Fang Heng left the tent, all that remained was himself.
He wouldn't let his elder brother have any of the food, nor any of the new clothes either. What exactly was this silly boy up to?
Zheng Ruqian refused to back down. Fuming, he brought out the carefully packed pastries that Jiang Sheng had made. High in oil and sugar, they were hard blocks that couldn't be considered tasty exactly, but were still better than nothing.
Surely he couldn't let these get divvied up too?
Seeing his elder brother's bulging eyes, Fang Heng helplessly accepted the packages. He fiercely bit into a date and sesame seed mooncake, seemingly reminiscing his distant loved ones as he ate.
Zheng Ruqian heaved in relief, but before he could even fully exhale Fang Heng had already torn open two packages and stuffed them into the hands of passing sentries. "Share these out in small pieces for everyone to try."
They were all people who had left their families for years. Who didn't miss their distant loved ones?
Zheng Ruqian completely deflated. Sitting back onto the driver's seat sullenly, he pointed at the remaining large bundles in the carriage and huffed, "Those are gifts from Jiang the third and fourth for their brothers. You'll split those up too, won't you? Just take them all then!"
