MOONLIGHT NINJA

MOONLIGHT NINJA CHAPTER 23

Chapter 23

The sky was already dark when Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei went out of his tent. He dozed for several hours after drinking the broth that Tang Lao Fang brought to him. Amazingly, his body felt light and energized- ready to fight the Hsien enemies again.

As with the previous nights, the sky remained moonless and starless that you would lost your direction if you did not have a lantern or a lamp in your hand. He walked into the camp and saw his subordinates warming themselves by the fire. They greeted him as he passed which he too returned. 

As he looked around the camp, his heart was filled with remorse and regret upon seeing the damage and loss his command had had after the encounter with Hsien Army Hong se unit. A lot of his men had died and their reinforcements were almost useless; the bodies were buried in a mass grave to prevent the smell of the decaying bodies from spreading any disease among the remaining men in the camp. How would they survive with their meager number and resources? 

Some of his men even picked and piled all the weapons that were left after the skirmish, be it from theirs or that of the Hsein army Hong se unit.

He pondered deeply upon his and his men's situation. He needed more men. He badly needed them if he wished to survive the next encounter with the Hsien army. Although, he was a skilled warrior, he had doubts of surviving the campaign to the enemies base with just a few men.

He whistled through his fingers and, in a few seconds, a falcon swiftly appeared and landed on his outstretched arm.

"Shan de Tiangkong," he cooed to the bird. He tied a little parchment on its talon and whistled an odd tune before sending the bird drifting back to the wide dark sky. He greatly hoped that it would hastily send the message to the Imperial Palace.

Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei was staring at his falcon as it flew away when someone called him.

"Lu Wang Wei"

Lu Wang Wei stared to the direction of the voice and acknowledged the one who called him. "Lu Jinhai"

"I wish to speak to you-in private."

"About what?"

"I'll tell you but can we go to a more secluded place where no one from the camp can hear us?" Lu Jinhai suggested. There was something about the tone of his voice that indicated that they would be talking about a serious matter.

"Of course," Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei nodded and followed Lu Jinhai who led him outside of the camp to a secluded area in the forest.

When they were away from the camp, Lu Jinhai started to attack Wang Wei with questions and words, "Where had been during the start of the encounter with the Hsein Army? Why did you come in late? Did you see the damage those Hsien armies done to us? You are assigned as the Jinzhou of this campaign but it seems you are being lenient about it."

"I have to do something important." Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei merely replied in a voice devoid of emotion.

Lu Jinhai stared at Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei disbelievingly. "Important? You are not in the Imperial Palace; what other important thing should you attend than to lead us during the war? Instead of leading us to the war, you only came into action when a lot of our men had died. What kind of leader are you?"

"That is none of your business, Lu Jinhai," Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei said dismissively and started to walk away.

"None of my business," Lu Jinhai muttered with indignation. "How come it is none of my business when the success of this campaign means the safety the Empire and the people - including me? Do you think me a fool? Merely joining the war without any thoughts of our people's welfare? Oh, come on, Lu Wang Wei, admit it you are being lenient which resulted to the loss of our men and most of our resources. Who knows if we all died during the war while you are away. Stop being all superior and perfect. Admit your mistake."