The personal guard carried Yun Ye on his back and returned to the camp tent. Old Cheng carefully placed him on the bed.
The moment his body touched the bed, Yun Ye let out a loud, anguished cry. Old Cheng anxiously rubbed his hands together. He knew very well just how much strength Niu Jinda possessed—a forty-two-pound iron mace felt as light as straw in his hands. While other people’s maces were mostly made from a mixture of rattan, horsehair, glue, and lacquer, his mace was forged from pure steel. Used for breaking through battle formations, it was unstoppable and could shatter anything. Just now, in his emotional turmoil, he hadn’t known his own strength. Just looking at the two dark bruises in the shape of handprints on Yun Ye’s shoulders showed the injury was serious. If this young man were left with any permanent disability, Cheng Yaojin would feel his sin was unforgivable.
Yet this couldn’t be blamed on Niu Jinda. Having partnered with him for many years, he understood clearly what kind of shadow the death of loved ones in his youth had cast over this iron-willed man. Just as he was at a loss about what to do, the military physician rushed in carrying his medicine box. Seeing the great general present, he hurried to offer his respects. Cheng Yaojin irritably waved his hand to stop him: “Dispense with the formalities. Quickly examine how serious young Ye’s injuries are.”
The military physician lifted Yun Ye’s collar and gently pressed on the two dark handprint bruises. Yun Ye immediately let out an anguished cry, his feet kicking about wildly. Cheng Yaojin glared at the military physician, who quickly cupped his hands: “Reporting to the Great General, Lord Yun has no major injuries. It’s just that the meridians in both shoulders have shifted somewhat. This humble one will apply needles to release the congested blood. With ten days of rest and recuperation, he should fully recover.”
Hearing the military physician say this, Old Cheng finally felt relieved. As long as there would be no lasting problems, this young man was still young—after nursing him for a few days, he would be lively and active again. When Old Niu had seized him, he had at least held back some of his strength.
The military physician held a triangular needle and lightly pricked Yun Ye’s shoulders several times. Several streams of dark red congested blood flowed from the needle holes. Yun Ye also felt the swelling pain slowly lessening. He couldn’t help but relax his brow and nod his thanks to the military physician. The physician wiped the blood traces from his body, said he needed to go prepare medicine, and withdrew from the tent.
Old Cheng sat at the bedside helping Yun Ye pull his collar closed, looking at him with difficulty. Seeing Old Cheng’s troubled expression, Yun Ye made a big funny face at him and spoke: “Uncle, what are you troubled about? Uncle Niu has always taken great care of this nephew. Just some days ago, he was even teaching this nephew how to ride a horse. The old man is already over fifty years old and still fighting on the battlefield. His whole life has never left the battlefield—what is it all for? Promotion and wealth? To secure titles for his wife and children? I’ve heard that in his household there’s only his elderly wife and a disabled son. I’m afraid even the most illustrious official position wouldn’t hold much attraction for Uncle Niu. Today, hearing about the miraculous properties of potatoes, he had such a wild outburst. It’s clear that ordinarily he forcibly suppresses the resentment in his heart. But he doesn’t realize that resentment in the heart is like floodwater—if you only suppress it, sooner or later it will break through the dam, and who knows what he might do. Now his grievances must have vented somewhat. It’s just that this nephew doesn’t understand—I’ve heard that Uncle Niu also came from an official family. How could there have been such a tragedy of his entire family starving to death?”
“Isn’t it all misery brought about by the campaign against Goguryeo? Three hundred thousand troops were buried in Goguryeo, and countless families throughout the realm were destroyed. Do you think that coming from an official family means you can rest easy? Ridiculous! At the end of the Sui Dynasty, there were seventy-two rebel kings and thirty-six bands of chaos plaguing the realm. Where in the human world could there have been any paradise? Old Niu’s father was a county magistrate. Routed soldiers returning from Goguryeo, plus bandits and unruly mobs, swept back and forth through the area. When there wasn’t a single grain of food in the household, starving to death was simply to be expected. Don’t think too much about it. Just focus on healing from your injuries. We still need to plant the potatoes properly and sell them to His Majesty. This matter cannot be delayed. This old man is still waiting to see grain that yields fifteen dan per mu. Chumo will return from Grand Chancellor Zhangsun’s place in one more day. When he does, we’ll have him take care of you. Rest well—this old man is going to check on Old Niu.”
Having said this, he lifted the tent flap and strode out. Yun Ye instructed the personal guard to scoop some ice from the jar, wrap it in oilcloth, and apply it to his shoulders. Only then did that burning pain finally stop. After being forced to drink a large bowl of some unidentified liquid, he leaned against the bedding and fell asleep.
The drizzling rain of early autumn seemed to be announcing to everyone the departure of summer. Wang Cai hadn’t gone to the riverside to drink water for some days now. It really disliked the salty, bitter taste of well water, but the roaring river water rushing before its eyes filled it with even greater fear. So it tried opening its mouth wide to let rainwater flow in, but after doing this a few times, it felt bored. Its master’s tent was right nearby. Inside, that fierce old man was holding a knife, skewering a piece of meat and stuffing it into the master’s mouth. Seeing the master helplessly begging for mercy, Wang Cai felt it was quite shameful. Swishing its tail, it sauntered back to the stable.
Yun Ye really couldn’t take it anymore. After Old Niu woke up, he had viciously slapped himself several times across the face, then grabbed a knife and came looking for Yun Ye. He planned to cut himself with the knife right in front of Yun Ye to express his apology. Just as he was about to do this, Yun Ye bit down hard on Old Niu’s wrist, not letting him be so ruthless with himself. With his fierce determination, one stroke of that knife would have carved off half a pound of flesh.
Military men had always been straightforward. Old Niu considered Yun Ye biting his wrist to be entirely a sign that his body lacked meat. Without another word, he had an entire sheep roasting under the awning. Old Niu personally wielded the knife. The golden-yellow mutton made Yun Ye’s mouth water profusely, but unfortunately, his arms couldn’t muster any strength, and he could only worry helplessly. Old Niu pressed Yun Ye down onto a bench, pulled out a small knife encrusted with gems, skewered a half-pound piece of meat, and forcibly stuffed it into Yun Ye’s mouth. The mutton had been roasted until the outside was crispy and the inside tender, its aroma wafting everywhere. Cheng Chumo, sitting alongside them, opened his mouth wide hoping to get a piece too, but ended up being kicked out of the awning with one foot.
Old Niu was still shouting: “Planning to have this old man wait on you? Young Ye was injured by this old man. His two arms can’t muster strength, so this old man lowering his dignity to feed him is acceptable. But you, boy—you also want to take advantage of this old man?”
Cheng Chumo, thick-skinned as always, just grinned foolishly. Yun Ye struggled to swallow the chunk of meat, tears nearly forced out. In his heart, he roared at Old Niu: “Is this how you take care of someone?”
Seeing him swallow the meat, Old Niu casually stuck the knife into the leg of lamb, rubbed his face with his hands, and solemnly asked Yun Ye: “Boy, this old man has never lowered his head to anyone in his entire life. Today is the first time. Now you’ve eaten the meat, and you’ve stopped this old man from stabbing himself. So shall we consider the matter of this old man injuring you settled?”
Yun Ye looked up in surprise at Old Niu’s serious face. After a long while, he finally opened his mouth to speak: “Uncle Niu, do you want this young man to have his lifespan shortened? You were momentarily blinded by past events, and accidentally injured this young man. This was also due to this young man’s body being too frail—how could it be blamed on you, Uncle? Hearing from Chumo that you paced outside your tent all night, this nephew has already felt uneasy in his heart. I had originally planned to go pay my respects to you today, Uncle. Who knew you would come see this nephew first? This nephew has already been discourteous to the extreme. That you don’t blame this nephew already fills me with gratitude—how dare I accept your apology, Uncle? Please, Uncle, don’t mention this matter again. Otherwise, this nephew will die of shame.”
“Heh heh, boy—of course you can’t bear this old man’s apology. This old man has roamed freely across the realm his entire life, with countless dead souls at his hands. Even when I do wrong, I don’t lower my head. At worst, it’s one life for another—this old man doesn’t even take life and death seriously.”
Saying this, Old Niu paused for a moment. In an instant, his eyes filled with hatred again. His fists clenched tight, his beard bristling, he said in a hoarse voice: “People can die of old age, die of illness, drown, burn to death, be cut down by blades, be trampled to death by horses—but they must not starve to death. That is the most painful way to die in the entire world. It is the greatest punishment Heaven inflicts upon the human realm. This old man has lived a military life, facing nine deaths in every battle without regret in my heart, all in the hope that the world would soon find peace and there would be no more people starving to death. You say these potatoes can produce abundantly even in barren soil, and in fertile fields can yield fifteen dan—just for this, this old man’s wish has hope of being realized. For the sake of no more people in the world starving to death, never mind apologizing—what harm would there be in this old man kneeling?”