1.15

The last ray of the sun escaped the horizon, and the twinkling stars and the crescent moon slowly appeared in the sky. The forest turns dark and the crickets start to sing their songs, filling the silent night. The wood burning by the fire produced some crackling sounds as the pot on top of it started to boil its contents. the forest is full of life even at night, creatures big and small wander around the forest in leisure.

There were two people near the source of the fire, one was watching in amazement while the other cooked. This was the coachman and Bai Zhishi near the calm river. The coachman just finished setting up the tents and fed the horses. He was now watching Bai Zhishi cook their dinner. the alluring smell of the fish soup and fired pork meat made the hungry coachman drool as he waited at the side. After cooking, Bai Zhishi used his prepared clay bowls and poured the soup in, before giving one to the coachman, then getting rice and pork to another set of bowls, and with a pair of chopsticks, he gave to the coachman with a kind smile.

"Here you go, Uncle Tan. It must be hard on you,"- Bai Zhishi said and started to eat his food too, when he tasted the soup, he sighed in bliss, soup in the evening really helps in warming one's body in bitter cold.

"Thank you, Xaio Zhishi. You really are a wonder cook, no wonder Owner Lan keeps praising you to the heavens,"- Uncle Tan said and laughed, making a sound of surprise and joy after taking a bite of his food.

"Ahaha, Uncle Tan, Big Brother Yu will knock my head if he heard of this, after all, he is my teacher,"- Bai Zhishi said to him. They talk in small amounts and focus on eating their food. Uncle Tan took the task of washing the bowls before putting them back. Uncle Tan was tired all day and Bai Zhishi let him sleep while he guarded the both of them. 

The chilly wind blew through the forest, making the tree branches and shrubs rustle. The night sky was shrouded with clouds that hid the stars and the Moon's glow making it dark on the ground. Bai Zhishi cuddled himself as his thin robe didn't do a good job against the cold. within the radius of the fire, the warmth helped him survive the night.

The morning sun peak through the horizon and Bai Zhishi was done cooking porridge when Uncle Tan woke up. Uncle Tan embarrassingly apologized to Bai Zhishi and thanked him for the food. after they freshened up, they started the journey toward the Zou Kingdom. Bai Zhishi fell asleep till it was lunch time and Uncle Tan helped him set a fire and cooked rice with crystal shrimp and mushroom soup. While they were packing, Bai Zhishi casually asked Uncle Tan about how long will journey be and it made him take back for a moment before his expression returned to normal.

"With our pace, we will get there in four more days."- Uncle Tan told him. Bai Zhishi just asked Uncle Tan to hasten their journey before they resume. Before the sun started to set, Uncle Tan told him they covered 1/4 of the journey toward the Zou Kingdom. He could only nod and look at the sun that is open through a nearby slope. 

"Uncle Tan, I will head to the river to catch some crabs and fish. Please wait here and set our tents,"- Bai Zhishi told the old man and he nodded. He took a wooden pail with him and his dagger before heading deep into the forest. Bai Zhishi caught three crabs, ten prawns, and two salmons from the river. He was lucky enough that a school of salmon was trying to go to the upriver. 

Before Bai Zhishi could walk back to their camp, he heard a loud noise from across the river that made him quickly take cover from the tall shrubs and peek through the eaves. 

There were a handful of men wearing silver chest plates and red robes underneath. They all look tired and beaten up, in the middle of their small flank were two soldiers supporting an injured person that seems to have a higher rank. From the distance between them, Bai Zhishi cannot see their faces clearly but he can speculate that these people just escaped a war? or something similar to that.

"General! Wake up and don't fall asleep! or else that poison will never be cured!"

"General please stay awake! We are still far from Kingdom!"

"You idiot! We need to go back to the base first! There's a doctor there remember?"

The soldiers argued as they let the said general sit upright against a large tree and rest for a moment. Bai Zhishi thinks it's time to leave when the said General looks at his way- deliberately at his eyes.

Their eyes clashed for a moment, mismatched eyes of blue and violet stared into his brown eyes. 

And then everything happened in a blur.

With a light rustle of the leaves because of his robe, the soldiers quiet down and in an instant, his running self was caught by two soldiers. Bai Zhishi lightly struggled before letting them drag him back, eyeing his pail of seafood before he looked back at those pair of mismatched eyes. 

Quin Lei stared at the bored look from those brown eyes and thin lips. The sharp eyebrows make the phoenix eyes look more mature and sharp and, at the same time more cunning. His long hair in a simple ponytail and his bright green clothes blend in with nature. This man is a natural beauty- He can compete in terms of face with their Zou Princess, but that is not the case at the moment, and remembered the man back from the Zen Kingdom that his pet Zhuazhi was guarding out of goodwill before running back to him.

"Why are you here?"- Quin Lei's voice naturally was deep and stared into the man's eyes.

"As far as I know this is a forest and not private property, also I was just fishing. The river is clean and the water is fresh, why would I not be tempted to fish?"- Bai Zhishi asked with a raised brow and a hot-cold temperament. The soldiers were slightly agitated at the address he made to the General and couldn't help but reprimand the man of their general's identity. Bai Zhishi looks at them with disinterest and looks back at the General himself.

"You all were disclosing his identity while he is weak and vulnerable in the middle of a lush forest. It is good that there nobody close and no spies are around, or else before you go back to your camp, you're nothing but scavenged corpse by vultures"- He said as a low warning and they shut up. 

Bai Zhishi looked closely at the General and found that aside from the poorly wrapped wound from his right arm and left thighs, his torso was also covered in bandages and the blood stain was big. He can't help but look at the tall soldiers in contempt before looking back at the General and pointing his bandages.

"Those bandages are already soaked in blood and wrapped very poorly. Let's clean that first and make a new dressing before you leave this place."- Bai Zhishi said and reached inside his sleeves to get a large roll of thick white bandages. While he started to slowly undo the bandages from the General, he casually asked the soldiers present.

"Are you being chased?"- He asked them while his eyes were focused on his hands working.

"No, we lose them before we get here in the forest,"- one soldier said as he carefully held a white pristine handkerchief Bai Zhishi owned to soak in the river water.

"Oh, since you are all going to the base as you said, avoid creating fire, even if the spies or the people running after you are out of sight, if they are on a high ground then they can chase you back on track,"- Bai Zhishi also told them some more survival tips that he learned before in his original life regarding the military knowledge. The soldiers were all dumbfounded as they tried to absorb the man's teachings and stare at his meticulous work cleaning and bandaging their General's wounds. They were momentarily stunned that they seemed to forget that they had thought about this from day one. Quin Lei was a bit taken aback but was staring at Bai Zhishi with calm eyes. He didn't know that this regular citizen was that educated about survival skills in war. How curious.