Chapter 241: Under the Same Sky (2)
The suffocating tension hanging over the Jinyang Plain grew thicker with each passing hour.
The standoff between the two armies dragged on, a volatile situation where a clash could erupt at any moment.
Only when night fell did the field finally quiet down. Even then, no one could truly let down their guard and rest.
The problem lay in the towering mountains flanking the plain. In those heights, search and reconnaissance patrols from both sides clashed in an endless, silent struggle.
Securing the high ground was vital; it allowed an army to easily spy on the enemy camp, making it well worth the effort to claim first.
“I think we’ve caught them all, Hyung-nim.”
Il-gwang was squatting on the ground, starting a campfire.
Looking back, he saw Songhwa, the youngest member of the Wolf Fang Squad, clutching his sword with both hands pressed together.
“Hmm. Are you sure?”
“We’ve been searching all day, and there’s not a single ant left.”
Il-gwang stood up, stretching his stiff limbs to loosen his joints.
Crack! Pop!
The threatening sound of his joints cracking made Songhwa instinctively take a step back. It was merely a primal reaction.
“See? I told you there are only small fry here. Deploying the Wolf Fang Squad to a place like this is like using a cleaver to kill a rat.”
“Still, if the Captain finds out we’re doing this…”
Ignoring him, Il-gwang turned his head to the left, where a massive wild boar he had hunted earlier lay limp.
“Quiet. Go gather the others. Soldiers fight better when they are well-fed.”
Drawing a dagger from his waist, Il-gwang squatted back down and began dressing the boar.
There was not a shred of tension to be found in him.
Songhwa shook his head and blew a soft signal on his whistle.
At the faint signal echoing through the mountains, the squad members scattered across the ridges began to gather one by one.
Two hours later, about twenty men sat in a circle around the campfire. They were the scouts assigned to tonight’s patrol.
“The smell is incredible, Hyung-nim.”
“It looks so good…”
The way the men stared with their mouths open, drooling, made them look like baby birds waiting to be fed.
It was a sight impossible to associate with the legendary Wolf Fang Squad.
Checking to see if the meat was done, Il-gwang sighed and muttered, “Maintain some dignity as Wolf Fang warriors. You’re drooling like beggars from the Beggars’ Sect.”
“Come on, Hyung-nim. If we’re beggars, does that make you a bandit king?”
“Pfft.”
“Hahaha!”
When a few men burst into laughter, Il-gwang glared at them fiercely.
“Why, you little…!”
“…”
The laughter died down instantly. In the quiet, Il-gwang began carving the meat.
“It’s grilled to perfection, so eat up while it’s hot. Here, youngest, take the first bite.”
Taking a chunk of meat, Songhwa took a tentative bite.
Instantly, his eyes went wide.
“Wow! It’s crispy on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside! This is amazing! And look at these juices!”
“Of course it is. Look who grilled it! All right, dig in!”
The wild boar was colossal, providing more than enough meat for the twenty scouts.
Holding large chunks in both hands, they began tearing into the meat with gusto.
The aroma of roasting meat in the wilderness could carry for ten li. Normally, cooking was strictly forbidden during reconnaissance missions. But if they had already cleared the mountain of enemies, it was a different story.
Everyone thought there was no harm in it. At least, until now.
“Hold it. Stay still, everyone.”
At Il-gwang’s sudden word, every man froze.
Still clutching their meat, they looked around until their eyes converged on a single spot.
Five figures emerged from the thick brush. They were a patrol from the Hui army that had somehow managed to survive.
Their faces were pale and their shoulders slumped. Haggard and exhausted, they looked as if they had been fleeing from the Wolf Fang Squad for days without rest. Drawn by the irresistible aroma, they had stumbled here without realizing it.
“Damn it…”
Finding themselves face-to-face with the Wolf Fang Squad, they gripped their swords in hesitation.
They knew they stood no chance in a fight. Yet, even if they tried to run, they lacked the strength to do so. They were as good as dead.
As the Wolf Fang warriors started to rise to deal with them, Il-gwang raised a hand to stop them.
“Stay seated, everyone. You don’t strike a man in front of food.”
Everyone looked at him, bewildered.
Il-gwang took a bite of his meat and gestured with his massive right hand. He was telling them to come closer.
“Come over here.”
The Hui patrol only flinched, not moving an inch.
When they did not approach, Il-gwang’s gesturing hand clenched into a fist as solid as a boulder. It was a clear warning that he would strike if they refused.
A moment later, a red energy even began to swirl around his fist. He was undeniably a master far beyond their league.
“I won’t ask twice.”
“…”
With his eyes narrowed and glaring, his face could not have looked more menacing.
One of the Hui soldiers shivered and slowly stepped forward. Following him, the others also walked over as if possessed.
“I won’t hit you for now, so sit down.”
At best, they were only second-rate martial artists.
Oppressed by the sheer aura of a Flower Realm master, they could not offer any resistance.
The Hui soldiers hesitantly shuffled forward, and the Wolf Fang warriors watched them blankly, making room for them to sit.
A moment later, the five soldiers sat huddled together in the gap.
Il-gwang carved a chunk of meat for each of them and handed them over.
“Since you’re on your way to the underworld anyway, you might as well fill your bellies first. Think of this as your final meal and eat up. It tastes pretty good.”
In truth, they had eaten nothing for days while fleeing from the Wolf Fang Squad.
There was no reason to refuse. One of them stuffing a mouth full of meat was all it took to start.
Without another word, they began devouring the meat ravenously. Their desperate hunger made the Wolf Fang warriors’ earlier eating look clean by comparison.
The scouts watched them in stunned silence, forgetting to eat their own food.
And it was not long before someone made a sound.
“Sniff… hic…”
One of the soldiers burst into tears while chewing his meat. The other soldiers were not much different.
No one knew what sorrow gripped them, or what exactly made them cry.
Then, Il-gwang pointed at one of them and asked, “Who are you, and where are you from?”
“…I used to run a small martial arts hall in Kaifeng.”
Faced with Il-gwang’s intimidating presence, the polite honorifics came out naturally.
Il-gwang opened his small eyes as wide as possible, looking perplexed.
“If you’re from Kaifeng, aren’t you originally a citizen of the Song Dynasty? Why are you fighting on the side of the Hui Dynasty?”
“None of us wanted to do this. If we don’t, our families will be killed.”
Il-gwang had heard of this before—that from the moment the Hui soldiers were conscripted, their families were held hostage.
He had dismissed it casually back then, but sitting next to them and hearing it directly felt different.
Il-gwang handed another chunk of meat to the man next to him and asked, “And why are you sobbing?”
“I can’t help but cry thinking of my wife, who will be left all alone after I die. She must be waiting for my return even now… sniff…”
Wiping his tears while chewing on the meat, the man looked incredibly pitiful.
Il-gwang rested his chin on his hand, remembering something.
“Hmm. I can relate. I also have about two people waiting for me. In any case, you’re saying it’s unfair?”
“…Yes. I resent this world so much. I only wanted to build a small house with my wife and live peacefully. Was my dream such a greedy request that even that cannot be allowed…?”
He was not complaining to Il-gwang. It was a lament and self-reproach directed at the heavens.
Just then, a wild stray dog was seen wandering in the distance, eventually lying down under a tree.
Lying flat on the ground to sleep, it showed no sign of worry.
“Perhaps it is happier to be born and live as a dog than to be a human struggling in the midst of war.”
At that moment, a soldier who had been hanging his head asked tearfully, “Could you spare us? My mother is sick and alone at home. Without me, our mother is… sniff.”
Seeing the soldier weep with meat in his hand was heartbreaking, but Il-gwang remained firm.
“Quiet. Just eat. If you stand up, you die.”
The watching Wolf Fang warriors sighed and turned their heads away in pity. Even though they were enemies, they could not help but feel compassion.
Ultimately, once they returned, they would have to point their swords at each other again. But at this moment, they did not want to do that.
As everyone fell silent, a tense quiet filled the air.
Looking around, Il-gwang grinned and tapped the wild boar skewered over the fire with his dagger.
“If you just leave, you die. Leaving behind this delicious food is disrespectful to the meat.”
“Pardon…?”
“There are no allies or enemies in front of a dining table. Only hungry bastards. Once you finish this, I’ll let you go. Come on, let’s eat!”
The atmosphere suddenly brightened. Warm smiles appeared on the faces of the Wolf Fang warriors.
“Let’s worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. Eat up.”
“When you think about it, we’re all the same. If only we weren’t enemies.”
The relieved Hui soldiers bowed their heads repeatedly.
“Thank you! Thank you!”
Amidst the brightened mood, the feast began in earnest.
There was enough meat to fill their bellies to bursting.
They chatted about their respective circumstances and stayed together until dawn broke.
Now, it was time to return to their camps.
Though it had only been a single night, had they grown attached to each other? There was a trace of regret in the eyes of those parting.
“Our position is at the vanguard of the central army, so don’t come that way.”
“Yes… Please stay alive.”
The soldier’s words were sincere, but they were not something to laugh about. Depending on the outcome of the war, one of them was destined to die anyway.
Il-gwang put on a stern face to cut off the attachment and sent them away.
“Get going before I change my mind. And if we meet on the battlefield, I’ll snap your neck, so keep that in mind.”
“We understand. Then, we shall take our leave…”
Il-gwang and his men stood on the peak, watching their retreating backs.
Then, Il-gwang shouted toward them.
“Hey, Yang-chil! When the war is over and you go home, take good care of your mother, you bastard!”
“Yes, Hyung-nim…”
It was a barely audible reply, but to Il-gwang’s ears, it was as clear as if it were spoken right next to him.
As they descended the mountain and headed back to their camp, they seemed very excited.
Their steps looked light, and their excited whispering was no different from children.
Il-gwang and the Wolf Fang warriors kept watching them as they approached the Hui lines.
After a while, when they reached the front of the Hui camp, someone came out to meet them. Seeing the soldiers part to make way, he was undoubtedly a high-ranking figure.
Wearing a black robe instead of armor and wearing a bamboo hat, his attire was not that of the military.
Having gathered intelligence in the enemy country for a long time, the Wolf Fang Squad knew his identity well.
“He is an elder of the Divine Demon Cult.”
“I know. I’m watching.”
He was one of the seven elders who advised the Emperor closely.
The five scouts who descended from the mountain were chattering to him. It was not hard to guess what they were saying. They were likely reporting that the mountain scouts were wiped out and the high ground had been lost to the coalition.
At that moment, Il-gwang’s eyes widened in surprise.
Only he noticed that in the blink of an eye, the elder’s sword had been drawn and sheathed.
All the Wolf Fang warriors saw were five heads flying into the air.
“W-What!”
“Oh no…”
Their shock was replaced by intense rage. The men they had eaten and laughed with just moments ago were dead. They had died as if their lives were worth less than ants.
Il-gwang’s veins bulged on his forehead in frustration.
Although the man’s face was not visible, Il-gwang did his best to memorize his build and features.
Suddenly, a heavy drumming sound echoed from the Hui camp. It was the signal to march.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
“It looks like the battle is about to start.”
“Let’s join them quickly, Hyung-nim.”
As the elite unit of the coalition forces, the Wolf Fang Squad could not miss this.
Once they joined the camp, scouts would be dispatched here to take over their post.
Nodding, Il-gwang turned away without a word. His eyes burned with fury—a look he only wore when he was truly enraged.
Meanwhile, on a hill about a hundred zhang away from where the Wolf Fang Squad had been.
A woman clutching a seven-string zither watched them descend with a quiet gaze.