Wuxian Dies Again
It had already been a few days since Wuxian had 'returned' to the past… or was it the present? The whole situation was confusing enough to him, as the subject of the time travel, let alone Xiao Chong and Mian Ji who had never even heard of the concept to begin with.
Sitting by the campfire, Wuxian looked up at the starry night sky, feeling a sense of satisfaction. Having grown up his entire life in a rural area under the stars, the only time he had ever appreciated the beauty of nature was as a child. Now, after having lived a few months of hectic chaos in the future, fearing for his life at every turn, being able to take a break from things and enjoy the moment was something he couldn't help but relish with pleasure.
"I say big brother, what exactly is time travel?" Xiao Chong asked, still finding the fact difficult to accept.
Mian Ji tutted with a shake of his head, crossing his arms in a mock disappointed manner.
"It's such a simple concept, yet you still struggle to comprehend it even after this long. I'm beginning to worry that you might have caught the idiot's disease."
Turning red from embarrassment, Xiao Chong reached over to grab at Mian Ji, only for the latter to roll away with a chortle.
"Get away! Don't give me your idiot's disease!" Mian Ji laughed loudly, much to the younger boy's dismay.
The two quickly began a game of chase with Xiao Chong chasing clumsily after Mian Ji who scrambled across the ground, ducking behind logs and trees, diving over protruding sections of the neighbouring carriage and disappearing into a crowd of amused onlookers, only to reappear a few metres further away.
Eventually, the two's antics were put down by the annoyed escorts who brandished their swords threateningly, causing the two to return meekly to the campfire and sit. The three sat quietly. Unlike Wuxian, who had lived through the future, Mian Ji and Xiao Chong were living in the present, riddled with worries and doubts about their next steps forward, only, their uncertainties manifested differently.
For Xiao Chong, he was more erratic and excitable. Given the chance, he'd go off like a loose cannon, continuing until he ran out of energy, be it chattering away or engaging in physical activity. Mian Ji, on the other hand… never mind. He was the same.
Perhaps it was normal for boys their age. Wuxian remembered that previously, before he travelled through time, he was quieter than usual, mostly keeping his thoughts to himself, considering various possibilities and scenarios. Somewhere along the way, while he still maintained if not increased the number of speculations and plans within his mind, he also became more verbose.
Maybe it was because in the future, Wan Qiushou was so introverted and poor at conversation that Wuxian was forced to pick up the slack. Wan Qiushou's blunt and often seemingly uncaring words tended to elicit reactions, be they positive or negative, from the recipient. The number of times Wuxian felt compelled to speak after hearing the man's strange and opaque speech were too many to count.
Shaking his head, Wuxian returned his focus to the present. It turned out that while he was zoned out, Mian Ji and Xiao Chong had resumed their discussion.
"Basically, the future is that which has not happened yet. So technically, tomorrow is the future, as is next week. At the same time, a minute later from now, for us, counts as the future." Mian Ji explained.
"I'm still confused. How can a few minutes later be the future when once we arrive then, it'll be the present and then the past? Doesn't that mean that the future and the present and the past are the same things?" Xiao Chong asked.
"What do you mean? Clearly, the three things are different. Where did you get the notion that they're the same from?"
"Well, if you can travel through time to, say, tomorrow, that means that tomorrow, our future, becomes the present. Our present right now becomes the past, while the future becomes the days starting from after tomorrow. Does that make sense?"
"…I think so?"
Wuxian chuckled, feeling surprised at Xiao Chong's surprisingly articulate thoughts.
"I believe that makes sense assuming that it is possible for one to travel through time, which I also believe to be possible." He confirmed, giving Xiao Chong a thumbs up.
Xiao Chong seemed unsatisfied though, pinching his chin in thought, mimicking the action that Wuxian often did.
"Still, as you've just said, superimposable time relies on the existence of time travel. How does time travel even work?" He muttered, half to Wuxian and Mian Ji, half to himself.
Mian Ji shrugged, feeling disturbed by his inability to contribute to the conversation. However, after thinking hard about it while Xiao Chong had been speaking, he had managed to cobble together something he considered to be a relatively coherent train of thought.
"Technically we're travelling through time all the time with every moment that passes. Just by being here right now, our present becomes both the past and the future at once, no?"
The two younger boys sat there with looks of consternation, the crackling fire before them reflecting off their pupils.
Eventually Xiao Chong was the first to give up, slapping his thighs with both hands.
"Aihya, too confusing!" He exclaimed, standing up to stretch.
Rubbing his forehead, Mian Ji nodded in agreement, though he didn't say anything. Moments later, he turned to Wuxian.
"You said that an old official called 'sir Lv' would appear tonight, right?" He asked, desiring confirmation.
Wuxian nodded affirmatively. "Ex-official." He corrected.
Mian Ji shrugged in response. "Anyway, what should we do if he doesn't turn up?"
With a puzzled look, Wuxian scratched his cheek. "That shouldn't happen, right? Nothing much has changed since the past or uh, the future. If things have stayed even remotely the same, he'll still be in one of these nearby carriages."
Xiao Chong's head popped in from the side, his eyes shining brightly.
"Say, if you've travelled into the future and then returned back to now, does that make this the present for you, or the past? And since you were here a few days ago, does this also make right now the future?"
Pinching his glabella, Wuxian pushed Xiao Chong's head away.
"As we've established, the past, present and future are the same thing." Shaking his head with a slightly exasperated expression, he continued. "Anyway, the previous time, third brother was bad mouthing court officials, thus prompting sir Lv to appear. Perhaps we can try that again?"
"Hey! Why does it have to be me?" Xiao Chong complained.
"Because according to big brother, it was you who did it last time. For the sake of consistency, it should be you who does it this time too." Mian Ji explained with a poorly concealed grin.
After a little more convincing, Xiao Chong eventually agreed to the role. Mulling over the lines that Wuxian had given him, he couldn't help but feel slightly amazed.
"This… this is exactly what I think about court officials. Big brother, how did you know?"
"…Because I heard you say these words in the future." Wuxian replied.
"Third brother, stop dilly-dallying and get on with it. The sooner you do, the sooner we can unravel this time travel mystery." Mian Ji urged impatiently.
Rolling his eyes, Xiao Chong stood up and began reciting the things that Wuxian had told him to say.
"It doesn't make any sense. Why would an official come and mix in with us lot? Don't they all have upturned noses and a fear of dirt? Don't they all have snobby personalities and a disdain for commoners?" He said robotically.
After a few moments of nothing happening, he sat back down with a confused look on his face. The three sat in silence, mulling things over once more. As usual, it was Xiao Chong who was first to break the silence and voice his doubts.
"I say, big brother, if this is all an elaborate joke, I have to commend your persistence, keeping it going for two whole weeks."
With an uncertain expression, Wuxian clasped his hands in thought. Time passed quickly and soon they went to bed with no sign of sir Lv. The following days passed in such a manner, with Wuxian sweeping his gaze across the numerous heads around whenever camp was set up, searching for the fabled sir Lv, while Mian Ji and Xiao Chong were concerned about his mental health.
Minutes turned to days and days turned to weeks. The night they arrived at the city, Wuxian lay in bed expecting to have the same strange dream he'd experienced previously, the one where he and his two friends fought off wave after wave of faceless aggressor in their hometown, before finally falling under a wave of arrows, plunging into a bed of corpses.
But he slept soundly.
Then came the army examination. The weight lifting section was passed, same as before, but his results in the practical combat and scholar test improved dramatically, partially due to his own increased strength and knowledge, but knowing the pass criteria and the various questions that would be asked helped too.
And then came the month of training, Wuxian leading the same unit of himself as lieutenant, Mian Ji, Xiao Chong, Wu Wen and Sun Tao. Soon, the time came for their deployment.
Unlike before, Wuxian knew that there was a Han squadron deployed near the gorge, so did not participate in any acts of heroic self-sacrifice. He ensured that his squad remained unharmed and safe, long enough for them to rejoin the main column.
Soon after, things diverged from his limited knowledge. Having not survived to this point in his previous 'life', he returned to using his wits and experience to direct his courses of action.
But when the time came for a pitched battle, it was something even he couldn't avoid. The two big armies of Qin and Han stood face to face, several li apart. Liang's men roared and chanted to the rhythm of war drums, blood pumping with pure adrenaline, while Qin's soldiers were stalwart, staring forwards in a deathly silence.
Standing on the front line with his long spear, Wuxian felt a sense of trepidation. The whole point up till now had felt like a fever dream- everything had gone off the rails with the disappearance of sir Lv, his master's incarnation. He had been riddled with doubts.
Perhaps he had never time travelled in the first place? Perhaps it was just a strange hallucination that felt realistic as could be, like those rumoured lucid dreams?
Maybe right now, this was the present, the reality? Staring down at the cluster of Qin forces opposite him, Wuxian's emotions bubbled in turmoil.
In that case, wouldn't his death now be real? Standing on the front lines against the well-trained, well-equipped Qin army- wasn't this suicide? If this really was reality- the present, what could he do to survive? What could he do to allow his squad, his small band of brothers to make it out in one piece?
These were the thoughts that ran through his mind even as they began marching forwards. Their section advanced onwards onto the braced Qin army at a measured pace, their captain barking orders from atop his silver stallion, waving his halberd heroically.
With Xiao Chong to his left and Mian Ji to his right, with Sun Tao and Wu Wen behind him, the stakes were high. With the lives of his closest friends on the line, as well as his own, Wuxian expected to fight like a demon on the killing-ground, taking lives with every swing and stab.
But reality, if that was what it was, often proved to be different compared to fantasy. Even with the pounding of drums and the roaring of Liang's men, the steadfast Qin army appeared dauntless. Unlike the Liang conscripts who required shouting and loud noises to muster up the courage to advance onto the enemy lines, the Qin soldiers were indomitable, unfazed by the incoming Liang troops.
And there was not much suspense to the battle. Wuxian looked up, his back to the floor, as the Qin soldiers initiated their counter-push, slaughtering the Liang conscripts like farmers reaping swathes of wheat. Their tidal wave of conscripts shattered effortlessly against the unbreakable cliff that was the Qin army.