Futile Devices Scans

With no pursuers behind them, Zhang San and Li Si hurried down along the official road. Before long, they reached the stretch blocked by the fallen rocks from the landslide.

The sky was already dimly bright. The morning breeze blew gently, the sunlight was faint, and sparse birdsong came from the nearby forest. In these cold, year-end days of wandering and hardship, there was unexpectedly a rare trace of peace.

The two found a large rock among the rubble and sat down to rest for the moment.

Li Si laid the saber he had been carrying flat across his knees and gently wiped the remaining blood from it with his sleeve, wanting to clean it before sheathing it again. His emotions came slowly. Earlier, he had been tense and excited the whole way and had not felt anything strange, but now that he had calmed down, the hand wiping the blade trembled slightly.

Zhang San suddenly pressed down on his wrist and asked, “First time killing someone?”

Li Si lowered his eyes to the saber and nodded.

Zhang San picked up the saber, wiped the blood clean against his own trouser leg, and helped him slide it back into the sheath. “Don’t think too much. That demon Daoist deserved to die. Just treat it as killing a pig or dog.”

Could a person truly be regarded like a pig or dog? Li Si did not understand. He did not feel the satisfaction of revenge. On the contrary, he had killed this man because of his second uncle’s death, and once this man died, his second uncle’s death seemed to have ended as well. Between uncle and nephew, there were no more ties of gratitude or hatred; the fate connecting them in this life was over.

His chest tightened painfully, yet no tears flowed. He only sat quietly, waiting for this unfamiliar, unbearable emotion to pass.

After sitting for a while, his stomach suddenly began to growl.

Li Si was young and easily hungry, and they had fought fiercely at night. The little food from the previous evening was not enough at all. He was very honest about his appetite. Being sad did not prevent him from filling his stomach, so he sat properly and took out the two steamed cakes he had hidden in his coat during the night.

After that fierce fight, both steamed cakes had been flattened. He did not mind and still remembered the delicious meat filling. He cherished them and stuffed one into his mouth, hesitating over whether he should share one with Zhang San—it was too delicious, so he was a little reluctant.

Zhang San sat carelessly beside him, one arm folded across his chest and the other propping up his face, head tilted as he admired Li Si eating.

Li Si handed him one steamed cake. Zhang San reached out to take it, but his hand paused in midair for a while before pressing it back into Li Si’s palm.

“You eat it,” Zhang San said.

He was not the sort who suffered just to preserve face, and with a simple child like Li Si, he was too lazy to decorate or conceal anything. The corner of his mouth pulled into an expression that was almost a smile yet not quite. “If I eat another one, I’m afraid I might cry for you to see.”

Li Si did not understand what he meant. He quietly chewed, only looking at him with clear, confused eyes.

“Is it good?” Zhang San asked.

Li Si nodded.

“Madam Zhang is my eldest sister,” Zhang San said. “She made those cakes.”

Li Si still looked at him, an obedient listener. Of course, his mouth did not stop chewing.

“There were three of us siblings in my family. Our parents died very early. Eldest Sister was strong, and after our parents died, she worked as a helper at a butcher’s stall, raising me and Second Brother. She often brought home scraps and made steamed cakes for us.”

Li Si blinked, able to imagine what kind of poor but delicious childhood Zhang San had spent.

“Eight years ago, Grand Preceptor Tong was Pacification Commissioner of Hedong. That old traitor was ordered to lead troops against the Western Xia Kingdom, but he suffered a huge defeat and lost tens of thousands of soldiers, so he came to Kuiyuan to recruit troops. In Ant County, he forcibly seized several hundred able-bodied men, and both my second brother and I were taken away. I had just turned fifteen at the time. Second Brother was nineteen, same as you…”

Li Si stuffed the second steamed cake into his mouth, taking small, careful bites. Zhang San continued, “He died in battle the next year.”

A mouthful of cake stuck in Li Si’s throat, and his eyes opened wide.

Zhang San patted his back several times. Though he was speaking of life and death, Li Si’s dazed look made him laugh, even if it was still only a half-smile.

He untied his water gourd and pushed it into Li Si’s hand. Li Si drank a mouthful of water in embarrassment, holding the cake as he waited for Zhang San to continue.

“I can’t read. In these eight years, I never sent a family letter. Eldest Sister probably thought I was dead too. And now I’ve deserted my unit without permission. You also know Great Xuan’s military law: deserters are executed immediately, and their families are implicated too. The tattoo on my face is so obvious that if I hadn’t followed you, I couldn’t even have entered Ant County. I would have been cut down by that constable at the gate, and I might even have implicated Eldest Sister. That was why I could only wait for an opportunity at the earthen fortress and did not dare enter the city rashly…”

Zhang San lowered his eyes. They were slightly red. After taking a long while to steady himself, he said, “Even after following you into the city, I could only look at her once, then immediately head for Kuiyuan. Whether I live or die on this journey is uncertain. Why let her know and add to her grief?”

Li Si suddenly pushed the water gourd back into his hands, as if it were some warm hand-warmer.

Zhang San rubbed the water gourd between both hands, and his emotions did indeed slowly settle. After a while, he said, “Do you know why I have to go to Kuiyuan?”

Li Si looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

“These years, I followed that old traitor Tong everywhere to fight. We fought the Western Xia Kingdom in the west, the Northern Lang Kingdom in the north, and also went south to suppress the Fan La Rebellion. The old traitor lost many battles. The old soldiers around me died in batch after batch, and new recruits came in batch after batch. The old traitor is skilled at deceiving the court, always describing crushing defeats as great victories. I heard he has strong backing in court, so no one dared complain about him to His Majesty, and in the end, he climbed all the way to Grand Preceptor. He has no ability to command troops, and he is greedy and corrupt. His subordinates all followed him in embezzling military silver, drawing empty salaries, and oppressing soldiers. My temper is hard, and his trusted subordinates disliked me. I fought for four years and earned quite a few merits, but I was still only a common soldier.”

“There was a general surnamed Wang, now Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Hedong Circuit. Four years ago, he took over the unit I was in. Commander Wang was different from that old traitor Tong. He was both brave and upright, a good commander. Only after gaining his appreciation did I finally rise to squad commander.”

“This time, when the Xiao Army invaded south, the old traitor Tong formed the Shengjie Army. Commander Wang and I were both in it. Later, when the old traitor wanted to flee with the army, Commander Wang volunteered to stay behind and defend Kuiyuan, and he kept three thousand Shengjie troops with him.”

“But I couldn’t stay, because the old traitor saw that my skills were good and selected me into his personal guard. I refused to follow him in fleeing, so I looked for a chance along the way to leave the army and come back on my own.”

Zhang San picked up a branch and used his foot to clear a small patch of ground among the rubble, drawing the terrain of Great Xuan. He drew the long, narrow Fen River Plain and the terrain of Kuiyuan City for Li Si.

“These years, Commander Wang taught me how to lead troops, how to read military maps, and the overall situation under heaven. He said Kuiyuan is the prefectural city of Hedong Circuit, and also the throat of Hedong Circuit. As long as Kuiyuan does not fall, even if the Xiao Army circles around Kuiyuan City and marches south, their grain and supply lines must pass before Kuiyuan’s gates. We can intercept and harass them from within, making their rear unstable so they cannot invade south with peace of mind.”

“Once Kuiyuan falls, a small county like Ant County definitely cannot protect itself, and every prefecture in Hedong will fall into danger. The eastern and western routes of the Xiao Army will also converge at the capital, and all of Great Xuan will face the danger of national collapse.”

“That is why I had to come back. I must follow Commander Wang and defend Kuiyuan. Only then can Hedong be protected, and only then can Ant County and my eldest sister be protected…”

When Zhang San finished speaking and raised his eyes, he saw Li Si holding half a steamed cake, looking fixedly at him.

He laughed and pushed the steamed cake to Li Si’s mouth. “Hurry and eat! These grand matters of state and nation probably aren’t something a little idiot ghost like you can understand.”

Li Si put the cold steamed cake back into his mouth and remembered his second uncle’s rambling while drinking at the roadside tavern. He remembered his second uncle’s anxiety and worries back then. At the time, he truly had not understood; he had only known that the fruit was sweet and fragrant. Now, he still could not say he fully understood, but his emotions surged along with Zhang San’s words.

It was as if something blazing like fierce fire had begun burning brightly in his chest.

This emotion was extremely unfamiliar to him, so he said nothing and quietly experienced it while eating. Zhang San stroked the top of his head and tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear, and Li Si did not notice at all.

Only when Zhang San opened his lapel to look at the wound on his left shoulder did he jump up like a startled horse. “You touched me again!”

“I’m looking at your wound! Besides, you ate three cakes from my family. I can’t even touch you?”

Li Si could not win an argument against him and did not know what eating cakes had to do with being touched. After struggling, he was still forcibly pulled over by Zhang San, who exposed his shoulder and took a look.

“Just a flesh wound. It’s not serious.” Zhang San dug a small bottle from his waist wrap and poured some powder onto the wound.

A burning pain flared for quite a while. Li Si was so startled his eyes widened, staring straight at Zhang San.

Zhang San pulled his lapel closed and said briskly, “Done! Let’s go!”

The sky was fully bright. At last, the two once again struggled over the rockslide and stepped onto the official road down the mountain.

On one side of the official road was deep mountain forest. On the other was a cliff against the mountain, from which the river-valley plain below could be seen clearly. As they walked, they looked toward Kuiyuan City standing in the distance.

“After going down the mountain and crossing the river, it’ll be twenty li to reach it,” Zhang San said. “There are some villages along the way. The people have all withdrawn, but the houses are still there, so we can use them to avoid the Xiao Army’s scout cavalry. By the time we approach the Xiao Army’s camps, it should be dark. Then we’ll look for a chance to circle around them.”

Li Si nodded, obeying almost every word Zhang San said.

As Zhang San walked, he said again, “Don’t you think it’s strange? Is delivering a single secret letter worth sending fifty of you? The Xiao Army has surrounded the city so tightly. The more people there are, wouldn’t it be easier to be discovered?”

Li Si thought about it and agreed. Now that they were only two people, they could hide easily by slipping behind broken walls and ruins. How were fifty people supposed to swagger through the Xiao Army’s encirclement?

Zhang San reasoned, “There should be some other requirement in the secret letter that needs capable manpower. Little colt, after delivering the letter, you might still need to come back and find those soldiers.”

Li Si listened to his reasoning and also agreed more or less, but he rolled up his sleeve and punched Zhang San in the shoulder. “Big tiger!”

Zhang San laughed loudly. “Then what do you want me to call you? Xiao Si? Si’er? Fourth Baby?”

Li Si did not answer. He did not know either. Since childhood, both his parents had died, and Grandmother and his second uncle had pitied and loved him. One called him “obedient grandson,” and the other called him “obedient nephew.” Even when his second uncle was furious, he only scolded him as “useless grandson” and would not call him directly by name. Li Si did not know what would be suitable.

Zhang San laughed. “We Hedong people like to say things in reduplication. That lackey token of yours is called a token-token, and insects in the fields are called bug-bugs. Then I’ll call you Sisi.”

Li Si called back, “Sansan.”

“Hahahaha! What nonsense are you calling me? I’m four years older than you! My courtesy name is a single character, Xiao. Commander Wang gave it to me. He said it’s the xiao from a tiger roaring through the mountain forest. Call me Brother Xiao.”

Li Si had no courtesy name. He would only come of age next year. His second uncle had always talked about finding a fortune-teller next year and donating money to have him calculate an auspicious courtesy name. Thinking of his second uncle, Li Si lowered his eyes again.

“What’s wrong? Don’t want to call me that?”

Li Si shook his head. “Brother Xiao.”

Zhang San was very satisfied. “Aiya, Sisi is so good.”

Brother Xiao took good Sisi down the mountain until they neared the Fen River. Ant County and the eastern plain were separated by this great river. Originally, there had been a stone bridge crossing it. After the Xiao Army marched south, the Ant County magistrate, fearing that the Xiao Army might cross the river, ordered people to descend the mountain and destroy the stone bridge.

This was also one reason Ant County had gone undiscovered by the Xiao Army for so long.

But where the stone bridge had once stood, stone piers still remained beneath the water, and broken bridge stones were hidden underwater as well. For someone who knew the way, it was still possible to step across. Zhang San studied the ice surface by the river for a while, took off his long boots and hung them over his shoulder, kept only a pair of cloth socks on for traction, and rolled his trousers up to the tops of his thighs. “The bridge piers are below. I’ll step in first and test them.”

He carefully stepped onto the ice. The thin ice could not quite bear his weight and creaked beneath his feet, cracks spreading like spiderwebs.

After walking ten or so steps, his foot suddenly sank. The ice broke open in a large hole, and his legs below the thighs dropped in. He could only bend over and support his upper body on the remaining ice.

“Brother Xiao!” Li Si shouted from behind.

Zhang San waved to show he was fine, using both arms to steady himself. He knew his foot had already found a stone pier below. He took off his waist saber and used the sheath to smash open a gap in the ice, slowly taking another step forward.

“Take off your shoes and get in the water! Follow me!” he shouted.

Li Si stepped onto the ice and tested his weight. This time, he did not listen. Instead, he retreated several meters, bent down to gather strength, then suddenly launched himself forward.

Zhang San turned back to look at him, greatly startled. “What are you doing? You’ll fall in!”

Li Si’s feet touched the ice, his figure like an arrow as he swept past Zhang San. The thin ice shattered piece by piece behind him, but it could not outpace his rushing steps. After dozens of leaps in succession, within only a few breaths, he had stepped onto the opposite bank.

He had run too fast and could not stop his momentum. He ran more than ten meters farther before turning his little horse head around and running back to stand by the bank, slightly panting as he looked toward Zhang San.

Zhang San was still soaking in the icy water on the other side of the river, staring at him dumbfounded.

“Hurry over! The water is cold!” Li Si shouted.

“You think I don’t know the water’s cold? Can I go fast? What kind of flying monster are you? Why don’t you just fly into Kuiyuan!” Zhang San cursed back in a long string.

Li Si did not know what he was angry about, so he obediently crouched by the bank and waited as Zhang San slowly smashed the ice and stepped along the stone piers toward him. By the time Li Si pulled Zhang San onto shore, he had been soaking in the water for almost half an hour, and his lips had gone purple from the cold.

Li Si took off his own outer coat and wrapped it around him. Then he tore a strip of cloth from his inner shirt, removed Zhang San’s icy, soaked long socks, wiped the ice water from his legs, and put his dry boots back on him. He also lowered the trouser legs and tucked them tightly into the boots. Zhang San sat on a rock by the river, openly enjoying being served, and teased him while enjoying it. “Little flying horse!”

Li Si answered quickly this time. “Big water bug!”

“Hahaha! Put your own coat back on! I’m not cold!”

The two tussled by the river, grabbing the coat and shoving each other for a while. In the end, they squeezed together inside Li Si’s outer coat, shoulder to shoulder, like two little beasts huddled together for warmth, sitting on the rock to rest.

Zhang San slowly ate a piece of dry ration and drank some water, and his complexion finally gradually warmed again.

The north was dry and the sun was also fierce. Before long, the cloth socks spread out to dry were ready. Zhang San put them back on. Once he had recovered his strength, he draped the outer coat back over Li Si and helped carry Li Si’s bow bag and quiver while Li Si properly put it on.

Li Si was halfway through tying his waist cord when his movements suddenly paused, and he sharply looked around.

Zhang San followed his gaze and began looking around too. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s a sound.”

The two lay on the ground together, pressed their ears to the earth, then stood together and looked upstream along the Fen River. About one li to the west, two figures were galloping from far away along the river. The plain was open, and they looked like two cavalrymen.

The two thought they were Xiao Army patrol scouts and quickly pulled each other behind a large rock to hide.

Li Si took down the longbow from his back, then dug a white thumb ring made of ox bone from his waist wrap and slipped it onto his right thumb. He immediately leaned out from behind the rock, drew the bow, and pulled the string.

Author’s Notes: A thumb ring is a protective finger ring worn while drawing a bow to prevent the string from snapping back and injuring the finger.

“Don’t alert them yet,” Zhang San said, pressing down on his arm. “If we can hide, hide.”

Li Si narrowed his eyes and looked carefully. After watching for a while, he suddenly released his strength and lowered the bow. “They’re not Xiao soldiers.”

Zhang San said, “Huh?” and climbed onto the rock to look out as well. He saw that the two cavalrymen truly did not dress like Xiao people.

But the Xiao Army’s composition was extremely complicated. It included not only Xiao people, but also foreign mercenaries and surrendered troops from the Northern Lang Kingdom, which had already been destroyed by Xiao, as well as surrendered soldiers from Xuan. It was truly hard to say whether the newcomers were enemies or friends.

“Don’t kill them. Catch them and ask,” Zhang San said.

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