Defeating the Warrior Prince

➳𝕿𝖜𝖔

Near the chamber is a bridal flush of pink blooms, hummed over by a myriad of bees.

The Yangyue Chieftess keeps a sharp eye on everything that passes by the window. If she notices anything odd or out of place, she would never rest until she delves out the whys and wherefores thereof.

After dismissing the servants from the room, the Chieftess shuts the door and fastens the lock. Finally. They are alone.

"Qin Feng," she sighs with a hint of distress. The Madam takes a seat on a mahogany chair beside the tribesman. "Mother should have excused you from being enlisted in the Military Academy. I knew our visit to the Qin Empire would wreak havoc but the Emperor.. No-"

She contemplates for a second, "-The tyrant grinds down his slaves. If we turn against him, he is willing to crush anyone beneath him."

Yangyue Qin Feng's lips twitch understandingly: "Mother, there is no need to lay great stress in such a matter."

There are prominent lines between the Madam's eyebrows. She exhales noisily through pursed lips, "Why, I am fairly worried. Feng'er, what if-- what if your identity is exposed?" The muscles around her mouth tense up. "All my efforts to climbing up to the top will fall flat."

"Mother," Qin Feng consolingly pats the Chieftess' hands. "My identity has been hidden for the past eighteen years. This Military Academy will make no difference."

The Madam's expression eases as she exerts a gentle smile. Somehow, the pessimism, doubts, and fears disappear from her mind.

She moves a little closer, "Unassailable and crafty child, you are. We both know that in the Yangyue tribe, only males can yield power and become rulers. If you, my only child, does not rise to the top, we will be regarded with scorn and disdain. So I thank you for taking into account mother's selfish wish."

Yangyue Qin Feng expresses an enigmatic quirk of the lips, "I am indebted to your care. That is why I will always act in accordance with ways that would benefit us."

"Oh, Qin Feng. Come here," She wraps her arms around Qin Feng. "My poor daughter. You have endured too much. Never have you experienced what it is like to be a woman, despite being born one."

The scene fades away.

When the curtains open up, the sun appears, incandescing across a wide plain.

In the military base gathers thirty men who are similar in age, all dressed in the same suits of armor. Surrounding them are military tents, weapon stands, and soldiers on duty. Grass covering mounds spans miles long. There is little motion across the flat wide-open land, but the sound of chattering fills up the space.

The youths seem to have already developed their own little circles, apart from Yangyue Qin Feng and Yu Mu Rong. The two outcasts stand with serenity, warily observing their environment. All of a sudden, they hear someone loudly bellow, "Shut your face or I'll tear out your windpipe and make you eat it, fatty!"

Then a lad with a somewhat larger-than-average build is shoved down to the ground. The young man who screamed the phrase earlier saunters before the plump and round lad. "You are only a pathetic peasant who came from a small village. Who do you think you are, calling me out like that?"

The bully propels forcibly with his foot, kicking his victim in the abdomen. The other men circle around them, speaking in whispers. No one raises his voice, not even the victim. Soon, the kick got so violent that the bystanders have developed a bad case of flinching.

"Ah~" sighs Qin Feng, "Mu Rong, don't you hate it when weak people pretend they are strong?"

Yu Mu Rong lets out a short laughter, "Truly, Young Master."

Their brief conversation catches the attention of the bully, igniting his powder keg of emotions. "What did you two just say?" He halts all his movements and diverts his attention to Yangyue Qin Feng, "Aren't you that tribesman from the match yesterday?"

He approaches Yangyue Qin Feng, "This is your first time here in the Qin Empire, isn't it? Watch who you are speaking to. My father is a General in the frontlines. Should you mess with me, he will-"

A thunderous voice announces, "Who is creating all the ruckus?!"

The young soldiers allow the question to hang in the air for a few moments. The silence stretches between them, until it is shattered by the snapping of twigs. A masculine and well-built man arrives at the scene.

"Today is the first day of the Military Academy and there is already trouble? What do you all think this Academy is? A joke?!" He stabs his spear into the soil, "Enough of the jibber jabbing. All of you, line up in a straight horizontal line."

Once the men line up side by side, the Commander examines the posture of the future soldiers. "You can all call me General Wang. As I glance at all of you, you know what I am thinking?"

He takes a good look at each and every one of them, "'What a bunch of maidens!' is what I am thinking." He lifts up one of the youth's arm before squinting, "You. Do you even eat?"

"Y-Yes, General Wang. I used to eat five times a day but now that I am on a diet, I eat two times a day..."

The crowd responds with laughter.

"Shut up," the General hisses prior to continuing, "Did I tell you guys to laugh?"

"--And stop right there, Bai Xuan Ye." The General's eyes trace to the corner, where the Warrior Prince attempts to join the youths. "Clearly, you are late and yet you want to sneak in?"

The lads now glance at the Warrior Prince, who scratches the back of his head. "Uncle Wang," Woodenly, he speaks, "I was preoccupied with feeding the war horses."

General Wang's brows twitches in vexation: "In this Military Academy, it doesn't matter who you are or what background you come from. In the end, you will all become uniform with your brothers on your left and right. Do you hear me?"

With a frown, the youths nod and weakly reply to his closed-ended question, "Yes.."

"Do I need to scream louder to hurt your eardrums lines?" He reiterates with a hint of exasperation, "I'll ask again. Do you all hear me?!"

The young men stand up straight and roar, "Yes, General!"