“I need to continue my patrol. But we will send an escort with you to greet the general. I’ll speak to you all later tonight.” Liu Tsong gestured to the guard, who proceeded to designate two of his men to lead the group back to the army.
With a wave, Liu Tsong continued their patrol while Wu Ying and his team rode down the foothills. At least this part was going well so far.
***
“Unacceptable.”
Wu Ying winced as the lieutenant general stated his opinion without hesitation. Their meeting had started out well—until Wu Ying had detailed his needs. Obviously, Wu Ying had volunteered their group to help the army, to join them in their siege of the city. But he had also asked that they be allowed to enter the city when the time came to retrieve the manual.
“With respect, Lieutenant General, I—” Wu Ying began, only to be interrupted again.
“This is a military operation. Even if you are cultivators, you must abide by our rules. We will not allow you to flounce around, doing what you please, and causing havoc. Nor do you get to the make additional requests from us,” Lieutenant General Hao said. As he spoke, the edges of his large, luxurious mustache quivered. He leaned forward, the top of the crest of his helmet that he wore even now in the command tent almost touching Wu Ying’s face. He glowered at the cultivator. Scattered documents sat upon his table, forgotten after Wu Ying’s interruption. “You can either agree to work for us or you can leave.”
Wu Ying crossed his arms and glared at the lieutenant general only for the other to sneer at him. Wu Ying tried again. “At the least, I want an assurance that we will be allowed to look for the cultivation style when it is safe to do so.”
“Impossible. You will do as I say or not take part at all.”
Wu Ying sighed. “Then I think there is nothing more to say.” He turned around slowly, moving toward the exit.
“Where are you going?” Lieutenant General Hao snapped.
“Away. There is nothing here for us.”
“You can’t do that. This is a military encampment. You are under military law!” Enraged that his bluff had been called, the lieutenant general raised his voice and called, “Guards!”
The guards who stood outside walked in, their spears leveled at Wu Ying. Through the opened flap, Wu Ying caught a glimpse of the other guards that had been watching his friends level their weapons as well.
“We are cultivators from the Verdant Green Waters Sect. We are not military personnel. We have not joined, nor do we intend to join your army if our demands are not met. You have no authority over us,” Wu Ying said.
He ignored the guards and the spear points that glinted so close to his throat, doing his best to keep his voice calm and borrowing some of the arrogance that he had seen his noble friends carry unconsciously. In truth, they were both correct on some level. This was a military encampment, and by coming here, they were subject to military law. But they were also not in the State of Shen anymore, and as cultivators in another country, the reach of the laws was debatable. In addition, Wu Ying was from a respected ally. How far the lieutenant general was willing to push matters would depend on his arrogance and temper.
“We will see how long you are willing to be stubborn after spending time in our prison,” sneered the lieutenant general. At his gesture, the guards grabbed Wu Ying’s arms and escorted the cultivator out.
The guards outside noticed what was happening and gestured at the other members of the group to raise their hands too. Tou Hei raised an eyebrow at Wu Ying, who quickly shook his head. Already, Bao Cong and Li Yao had their arms in the air.
“What did you do, Wu Ying!” Yin Xue exclaimed.
“I refuse to make us a part of the army,” Wu Ying explained.
One of his captors shifted his hand as if he wanted to strike Wu Ying then thought better of it. Even if Wu Ying was a prisoner, he was also a cultivator.
“I knew one of us should have come with you to speak with him,” Yin Xue complained as the group was led away, spears leveled at their backs.
Not that the group was worried about the small number of guards watching over them. It was the larger number of soldiers all about that might be an issue. And of course, the repercussions when they got home.
Wu Ying had no reply to that accusation, because a part of him wondered as well if his friends could have done a better job at negotiating. After all, he was not a noble. He was just a peasant who cultivated. On the other hand, Lieutenant General Hao had seemed extremely set in getting his way.
Before Yin Xue could continue complaining, Tou Hei spoke up. “Amitoufo[10].”
Yin Xue gritted his teeth but still fell silent. The rest of the group also held off on commenting, knowing there was little they could do now. They could only hope that Liu Tsong and whoever was leading the Sect members in the army could smooth things out.
***
To Wu Ying’s surprise, they were not thrown into an actual prison but instead restricted to the tents they had been given. They were separated, left to stew in their thoughts. With nothing better to do, Wu Ying found himself seated cross-legged, meditating and working on his cultivation that evening. He did his best to remove the negative thoughts and the worries of the day, intent on progressing his cultivation exercise. Unfortunately, his progress in drawing in unaspected chi and working the chi circulation exercise had slowed ever since he had filled his dantian. It was unfortunate, but he would rather be slow in his progress than dead because he had insufficient chi during a battle.
Late in the evening, the food delivered for supper grown cold before him, another familiar presence intruded upon Wu Ying’s awareness. He cracked an eye open, surprised to see the Elder in his tent—especially considering Wu Ying did not notice his presence until he had moved the tent flap aside. In an encampment like this, the Elder should have lit up his surroundings like a bonfire to Wu Ying’s senses.
Wu Ying scrambled to his feet, bowing low. “Elder Po! I did not know that you are part of this army.”
“The Sect felt I should accompany this army as I have the most experience in the State of Wei. But it is not this matter that we are speaking about. What have you done?” The bare-fisted metal-aspected Elder glared at Wu Ying.
They had traveled together on the expedition—the one which had seen the Elder progress in his cultivation after his long years of being bottlenecked—and as such, they had some familiarity with one another. However, none of that familiarity could be seen on Elder Po’s face at this time.
“I have a small assignment that coincides with yours…” Wu Ying quickly explained to Elder Po what had transpired.
Elder Po shook his head after Wu Ying had done speaking. “Bad luck. Lieutenant General Hao is extremely strict about the rule of law. Military law. He is particularly angry that the army must rely on us. Like many of his compatriots, he feels that the army should have the right to enforce recruitment first, before the Sects.”
“Then… Elder?” Wu Ying let a little bit of hope into his voice.
“I will do what I can. But you’ll have to accept military law when you are here,” Elder Po warned Wu Ying.
“Of course.”
Warning given, Elder Po swept out of the room, leaving Wu Ying to his cold dinner and his cultivation.
***
Even after Elder Po’s assurances, nothing happened for days. Wu Ying was left confined to his tent, only able to cultivate. His days were only broken by the arrival of meals, for he did not receive additional visitors, forcing the cultivator to sit and stew by himself. All around, he heard the sounds of the army going on with its day, the talk of idling soldiers, the neigh of horses as they were led past, and the constant strikes of stones against the city wall as the trebuchets fired. If not for the years of training at cultivation; from school to Sect, at being forced to do nothing but sit still and focus within, Wu Ying would have gone insane.