Chapter 43: Night Training
He Yan sat with Shitou and Xiao Mai.
Hong Shan's face was so full of worry it seemed about to drip with water as he looked at He Yan and said, "Brother He, you can't even draw a bow now. What are you going to do in the future? How about we talk to Instructor Liang and have you switch to being a kitchen soldier? It might not sound glorious, but at least you’ll live longer, right, Xiao Mai?" He nudged Xiao Mai with his elbow, signaling him to chime in.
Xiao Mai stammered in agreement, "That’s right, Brother He. Even if you become a kitchen soldier, we’ll still come visit you often."
He Yan smiled but said nothing.
Hong Shan grew genuinely anxious watching her. Over the days they had spent together, he had found himself unusually fond of the young man’s temperament. Compared to his own spoiled and sometimes troublesome younger brother, He Yan was far more sensible. This was exactly the kind of brother he had always imagined having, and without realizing it, he had begun treating He Yan like family.
But if He Yan couldn’t even draw a bow, going to the battlefield would be a death sentence. How could he stand by and watch his brother walk into the fire?
"Brother Shan, don’t worry about me. Tomorrow, I’ll be able to draw the bow," she reassured him.
"You think you’re some kind of prophet, where saying it makes it true?" Hong Shan said, exasperated. "Why can’t you see reason?"
It was Shitou, who had been silent until now, who spoke after a pause. "Do you have some kind of trick?"
"No tricks," He Yan thought for a moment. "I’ve never been particularly talented. There are many things I can’t do, so I have no choice but to try again and again. Eventually, I realized that as long as I keep trying, I’ll succeed." After saying this, He Yan sighed to herself.
The world praised General Feng Yun as a born military genius, a prodigy of heaven. But in truth, it wasn’t so miraculous. In fact, being a woman, her natural physical strength was inferior to men’s—in other words, her innate talent was lacking. It had taken her many years to turn He Yan into the fearless general on the battlefield. Yet now, reborn, she had been given this frail body once more.
Was this the so-called "Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, but first tests their resolve, exhausts their body, and starves their flesh"? She didn’t expect to be outstanding—being reborn as a burly man like Wang Ba would have been enough.
At least things would be much easier that way!
The thought lingered in He Yan’s mind even as she lay down to sleep at night.
The recruits had exhausted themselves during the day and now slept soundly, their snores rising and falling in waves. He Yan waited until the dead of night, when all was quiet, before slipping out of bed again.
Xiao Mai turned over, mumbling something in his sleep. He Yan paused, making sure he didn’t wake, then tiptoed out the door.
Once outside, she headed straight for the Martial Arts Field. The field was empty at night, the summer mountain winds rustling the banners, making them snap and flutter. Under the moonlight, the forest swayed like waves of green, stretching endlessly under the silver glow.
The borderlands were often harsh and desolate, but Liang Province was relatively better. Scenes like this were rare in her past life as a general leading troops—most of what she had seen was barren wilderness. For a moment, her footsteps slowed, as if unwilling to disturb the tranquil night.Some of the crossbows from the day had already been put away, leaving only one or two that were difficult to move in their original spots. The straw targets lay scattered haphazardly, not yet straightened up. After the morning run tomorrow, new recruits would naturally tidy the place. He Yan walked over to the row of straw targets, searching for a long time before finally finding an arrow that had fallen to the side in the darkness. She picked it up and returned to the crossbow.
What others could accomplish effortlessly, she had to spend much more time to achieve. Yet she couldn’t help but persist—if she didn’t, she would remain stagnant forever.
She tried pulling the bowstring. The bow was heavy, and she could only draw it back a tiny bit—so slight it was barely noticeable to the eye.
He Yan set the bow down and rubbed her wrist.
After a while, she tried again, with the same result—just a tiny movement.
She repeated this five or six times before finally making some progress. This time, the draw was slightly better, at least visibly noticeable.
He Yan let out a sigh of relief.
Truthfully, she hadn’t been entirely confident when she spoke to Instructor Liang earlier. After all, the original Miss He had never lifted anything heavy in her life. When He Yan first arrived at the He household, even splitting a single piece of firewood had left her hands blistered. Drawing a bow was truly a struggle for someone like her. But given the circumstances at the time, she had no choice but to say what she did. If she failed to draw the bow tomorrow, well, that was another matter—she could always resort to pleading with the instructor for more chances.
In this world, effort always yields better results than none at all. She had no natural talent; the only thing she could rely on was hard work. Yet there were also things in this world that no amount of effort could obtain—like the human heart.
She had sacrificed everything for the He family, poured all her love into Xu Zhiheng, and still, despite her efforts, it had all come to nothing.
He Yan lowered her eyes, fingers nocking the arrow. This shot seemed to carry all her bitterness, slicing through the night with a sharp whistle as it flew toward the dark straw target.
The arrow didn’t reach the target—it lost momentum halfway and fell limply to the ground. Her strength was still too weak. She could barely draw the bow and shoot the arrow, but that was all.
Not every pain could be vented so thoroughly.
He Yan smiled wryly and stood to retrieve the arrow. As she reached for it, she suddenly sensed something and looked up. About ten paces away, a pair of embroidered boots gleamed in the moonlight, their golden patterns shimmering faintly in the dark.
Someone was here? She had been so focused on practicing that she hadn’t noticed. He Yan straightened and took a few steps forward, revealing the figure standing in the shadows.
It was Xiao Jue.
The Martial Arts Field was vast, illuminated only by moonlight. He had been standing behind the straw targets, clad in dark robes, blending into the night—so much so that He Yan had mistaken him for another target.
The elegant young man regarded her coolly, offering no explanation. He Yan felt an inexplicable pang of embarrassment. Steadying herself, she cleared her throat and decided to take the initiative. "What... what are you doing here?"
"Watching you practice."
His tone was indifferent, yet He Yan distinctly caught a faint trace of mockery.
"What’s wrong with me practicing? Now that you’ve watched, what do you think?" He Yan challenged.The handsome young man lowered his gaze, his long lashes trembling gently like butterfly wings under the moonlight. Yet his tone was cold, laced with a hint of mockery.
"I'm surprised that someone could work so hard yet remain so utterly weak."
He Yan froze.
For a moment, time seemed to overlap. The sound of the wind slowly faded away as stars filled the night sky, and the young man's figure before her gradually blurred, transforming into the silhouette of a youth.
Whose voice was it that echoed in her ears, carrying that same familiar mockery?
"Never thought someone could try so hard and still be such a weakling."
Yan Yan: All the other kids have gone home, and here I am still fucking studying.
(End of Chapter)
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