Yun Qiang looked at the sun that was slowly setting behind the Shard fortress. From the distance, the Shard looked like a mirage; the red colors reflected in a curious way, making it seem like the fort was shining with red sunlight.
Under different circumstances, he would have spent some time looking at it and admired its splendor, but now he didn't feel like it. They had marched for the entire day, and while he had managed to suppress his unease by focusing on the repetitive movements of the walk, now that they had stopped to set up camp, he couldn't suppress it anymore.
Just follow the order. We are just recruits; they won't send us into danger.
He constantly repeated Sun's advice like a mantra to calm his mind and distract himself from the boring wait for his next orders.
He stopped staring at the Shard and turned around. Their camp was formed by four medium-sized tents and a campfire at its center. He looked at his companions; most of them were like him, slowly wandering around the tents or simply staring at the trees that surrounded them. Their mood was clearly lower than this morning, and tension could be seen in the way they slowly shifted and talked to each other in a low tone, as if a normal tone of voice would reveal their position to the enemies. The only ones who seemed calm were Sun and Voss. Sun was peacefully meditating on a small rock nearby, while Voss was in his tent, probably doing the same.
Yun Qiang picked a rock close to Sun and quietly sat down. He sighed as he went through their situation in his mind.
According to Voss, they were one day away from the border, in an area that was usually covered by the long-range array of the Shard.
At first, the notion that this area was covered by the array had calmed Yun Qiang down; he firmly believed that the array was still active and it was just a big conspiracy to trap the enemies. However, he soon realized that being covered by the array meant nothing. The fortress lord wouldn't destroy this facade just to save them. The rational course of action for the Fortress Lord would be to sacrifice a bunch of teams to bait a huge attack and kill them all with the array.
Sun slowly opened his eyes.
"Don't worry. We're stronger than the average recruits. We'll be fine," his voice sounded calm and reassuring, as always.
"Are you sure?" Yun Qiang murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.
Sun was about to respond when Voss called for the group's attention.
"Everyone come here!"
Voss' voice was like thunder in the almost silent camp. In less than ten seconds they formed a line in front of him.
"We will organize the night watch" he looked at them with expectation. "The night watch will be formed by two people that will change every 45 minutes, for a total of 7 and a half hour of sleep."
Voss stepped closer to the small stack of logs at the center of the camp, and pointed at it.
"The two guards will be the pairs formed during patrols. Yun Qiang and Sun, Guang and Hai, and so on. They will stand at the two opposite ends of the fire while giving the back to each other. Any questions?"
Lee's pale hand shot up.
"Go on"
Lee slowly put his hand down and spoke, his voice was even lower than usual and was almost completely covered by the wind that traveled through the small forest.
"Sir, I don't have a companion"
Voss didn't hesitate and quickly responded, "Sun you guard with Lee, Yun Qiang will guard with me"
Yun Qiang inwardly breathed in relief, even if he questioned the logic behind this decision he didn't voice his doubts, he firmly believed in Voss' strength and he would definitely feel safer doing the night watch with him.
He responded in unison with Sun and Lee, their synchronized voice almost sounded confident when together.
"Yes Sir"
Afterward, Voss explained the order in which they would take turns guarding the camp. Yun Qiang's turn was fifth, which meant he had plenty of time to eat and rest before his watch. Once Voss finished his speech, the group quickly scattered, returning to aimless wandering and whispered conversations. The only one doing anything productive was Voss himself, who started cooking their dinner in a black cauldron.
Yun Qiang wandered around the various tents for a while before finally settling on a rock close to the center of the camp. he groaned, walking aimlessly had only amplified his unease. He looked at Voss with envy.
That man looks in control even when mixing soup...
The way Voss mixed the soup was almost hypnotic, as if he had spent most of his life training and practicing nothing but mixing soups. The circles he drew with the spoon were perfect and the way he added spices and meat in the cauldron looked smooth and natural.
I wonder if he was a chef before coming here.
Yun Qiang continued watching him, trying to capture every detail of his movements as if he could somehow absorb his calm. it wasn't a riveting activity but it was better than endlessly walking circles, at least he could focus his mind on something. However it wasn't long before the soup was ready and the call for dinner interrupted his session of time wasting.
They ate in silence. The tension was starting to get to them, and aside from a few strange jokes and nervous laughs, nobody talked.
After eating his bowl of soup he moved towards the tent where he would spent his time until it was his turn to stand guard. The inside of the tent was spacious however Yun Qiang couldn't occupy all of it, they had set up four tents so he would share this one with five other people. Still it wasn't that bad at least if they got attacks they could wake each other up easily.
He selected the sleeping bag that was closest to the entrance, put his spear in a place where he could reach it easily then closed his eyes and tried to sleep. For tonight he had decided to sleep while wearing armor. He knew that it wouldn't protect him much from a surprise attack but even if there was a slim of chance to have an advantage or some kind of defense Yun Qiang was definitely going to take it.
It didn't take long for the rest of his companions to come in and take the remaining spots, when he heard their steps Yun Qiang didn't try to talk to them, nor did he open his eyes to see if they slept in armor or not. He knew that any attempt at conversation would only result in an awkward exchange that would amplify his unease.
So he just laid there silently waiting for sleep to come. However, his mind was too active and neither his tired body nor the comfort of the sleeping bag could force him to rest. In fact, before he could even realize it, he found himself listening to the surroundings, waiting, searching for any suspicious or discordant sound that signaled the arrival of enemies.
As he listened to them, he found out that their camp sounded rather lively: the popping fire, his companions' yawns and shifts, the sound of leaves moved by the wind. It all combined to paint a picture far different from reality. For a moment, Yun Qiang felt back home. He remembered the summer nights spent trying to sleep while full of energy, his brother's heavy snorting, his little sister's constant shifting, and the wind that gently entered from the window, cooling the hot room. It was a different time, a peaceful time with no preoccupation nor worries. Even the dreams about his counterpart were different; they were more mundane, more normal, and somehow felt more familiar to him.
A cold breeze pushed his mind back to reality. He wasn't in his quiet village anymore. He was in a tent just a day away from the chaos of the border. The wind and the rustling of leaves weren't there to comfort him; they were there to signal him of potential threats and movements.
And his dreams... Yun Qiang thought about his dreams. After breaking through, he didn't have any dreams, nor did he receive any kind of knowledge when sleeping; the only time he had received some knowledge from who knows where was when he saw the array of the Shard for the first time. Excluding that episode, nothing strange had happened to him after his breakthrough.
Maybe I'm healed, I was too obsessed with becoming a cultivator and my mind made up dreams to soothe me.
No. It doesn't make sense. I received a cultivation method from them. It's not something that I can come up with. Besides, all of the knowledge that I received about the Yellow Flag Carp and the Shard's Array was correct. It can't be a coincidence...
The sound of boots coming towards his tent instantly drew his attention. He opened his eyes and gripped his spear. His body tensed, ready to assault whoever entered the tent. He waited, his mind solely focused on the sound coming closer. When it reached his tent, the sound stopped and Yun Qiang's heart started beating faster; his forehead was already filled with cold sweat. A hand slightly moved the curtain of the tent, revealing Voss' face. They locked eyes, and he nodded towards the direction of the campfire. Their turn had arrived.
Yun Qiang breathed a sigh of relief and exited the tent, while hastily cleaning the sweat with a small rag he had carried with him. When he exited the tent, he took care to not move the curtain too much as to not wake the others; he walked toward Voss, who had already taken position beside the campfire. Voss was standing there, his back facing the fire while his eyes were carefully scanning the camp surroundings. He pointed at the opposite end of the fire.
Yun Qiang took his position while regulating his breath. Right now, he had to stay calm and pay attention to his surroundings. Enemies could attack them at any moment and the lives of others depended on his performance. He started scanning his surroundings; his view was only obstructed by the tents where his companions slept. He understood why Voss had chosen this spot to position the night watch. From here he could guard half of the camp, while Voss could cover the other half. There was no need to move towards the forest where the possibility of getting silenced in a surprise attack was higher.
Voss spoke in a low voice, not wanting to disturb the sleeping recruits.
"Sleept in armor?"
Yun was startled by him, and almost attacked him out of reflex. He loosened the grip on the spear.
"Ah Yes Sir, I want to be ready if there are enemies at night."
Voss hummed in approval. "Good choice, just try to sleep on your back. Your back will hurt if you sleep on the side."
Yun Qiang felt a little awkward; it was the first time he had a casual conversation with Voss.
"Uhm Yes Sir, I will."
After that he straightened his back, tightened his grip around the spear, and continued watching the trees and shadows in front of him as if they were ferocious beasts ready to pounce. Voss let out a long breath.
"You don't have to be this tense, we are guarding against soldiers not assassins."
Yun Qiang was taken back by this. "Excuse me sir?"
"Yun Qiang, do you really think that a group of ten or more soldiers can move without making any sound? Haven't you heard all of the sound you make while walking?"
Yun Qiang shook his head. He knew Voss was trying to calm him down; he sighed before responding.
"Yes.... but you don't make any sound when you walk."
"That's because I have experience... a lot of it."
A rustle came from a nearby bush. Yun Qiang immediately took a defensive position. He was about to give the alarm when Voss calmly said:
"Rabbit."
Yun Qiang lowered his spear, still keeping it halfway so he could immediately return to a fighting position.
"Rabbit?"
Voss grinned. "Yes, good reaction though. Even if you are a bit too jumpy."
When a small rabbit exited the bush just to rush back in when it saw them, Yun Qiang relaxed. It was just an animal. Suddenly he heard a low metallic clank; his heart started beating faster as he instantly turned around, ready to strike.
However, he didn't find any enemies. He only found Voss sitting on the ground, the pot containing the remainder of today's soup was in front of him. Their eyes met.
"Sir? Uhm shouldn't you… look out for dangers?"
Voss added some herbs in the cauldron.
"Yun Qiang, I'm almost at the end of the foundation realm. Do you think a bunch of Qi gathering cultivators could sneak up on me? Only a golden core cultivator would be able to sneak up on me." His voice was calm; he didn't seem irritated by Yun Qiang's question.
"But Sir, what if a golden core cultivator attacks us?"
Voss started to stir the soup. "Then we die."
Yun Qiang was shocked by this. How could he say something like that so easily? Shouldn't they retreat or at least try to fight back? He stared at him with his mouth wide open, only to receive a calm look from Voss.
"Yun Qiang, you came from the Skyward sect, right? They should have taught you how big a realm gap is, right?"
Yun Qiang looked down.
"No, I have a first-level root, so they didn't pay attention to me..." He thought that Voss would comment on it or mock him, like Jin, his old instructor, had done in the past. Instead, the only response he got was a calm:
"Oh."
Yun Qiang blinked in surprise.
"What, did you expect something else?" Voss continued to stir the soup. "Anyway, the gaps from one realm to another grow larger as you advance. Killing a foundation realm from the Qi gathering realm is still a possibility if you are extremely experienced or have set up some kind of trap. But dealing with someone at the golden core realm with foundation realm strength? Not happening. Not now, not in a million years."
He briefly stopped mixing the soup before adding:
"Obviously, if someone at the Foundation realm attacks us we will fight, but if we meet a golden core cultivator, it's better to just surrender. Maybe if we find him in a good mood he will let us go or give us a fast death."
He took out two wooden bowls, filled them, and gave one of them to Yun Qiang.
"Eat up, tomorrow will be a long day."
Yun Qiang hesitantly took the bowl and sat down. What Voss said brought him some relief, but he still couldn't fully relax since Voss had plainly admitted that they would directly die or surrender if they encountered a golden core cultivator.
He stared at floating pieces of meat in the soup. They looked inviting, but he couldn't bring himself to eat them.
"Don't worry, we won't meet any golden core cultivator. All golden core cultivators are company lords; do you think it's so easy to find them? We only have three of them at the Shard."
Yun Qiang looked up, only to be greeted by Voss' understanding smile.
"I have done it thousands of times, we will only run into small fights."
He briefly paused, then asked:
"Sir. Is the border dangerous?" Yun Qiang immediately regretted it. He felt it was such a stupid question. Of course the border was dangerous; however, part of him hoped to hear otherwise. He wanted to hear that it wasn't dangerous, that all of the stories were something invented by drunkards and travelers to impress their friends.
Silence fell between the two. For a while, only the sound of Voss eating could be heard. After finishing the bowl he spoke. His expression was serious; he looked directly in Yun Qiang's eyes.
"I won't lie to you. Yes, the border is dangerous. If you get caught by surprise you die, or your friends die. If your leader dies, you die. If you are caught alone, you die."
He looked at the stars above them; the sky was particularly clear tonight.
"But in a way, it's an equal field. What the others do to you, you can do to them. Excluding some particular individuals, everyone is playing on a leveled play field, roughly the same numbers, the same strengths, the same motivation for being here..."
His reassuring gaze shifted back towards Yun Qiang.
"It's normal to have fears, but just know that I will do my best to make all of you survive."
He patted him on the back before filling his bowl again. It was half empty; the remaining soup was finished. He moved it towards him like people usually do with drinks.
"Come on, eat your soup."
Yun Qiang looked back at him, then moved his bowl forward, making them clank. A small smile happening on his face; knowing that Voss cared about them made him feel better.
They spent the rest of their watch talking about lighter topics like cultivation, hobbies, passions. Voss even promised him that he would offer him something to drink once they went back to the Shard.
Once their turn was finished and he got up to go sleep, Voss called him out with a smile:
"Qiang, you have my congratulations."
"For what?" His response was natural; when talking to Voss he didn't feel awkward anymore.
"You are about to advance a small stage. Can't you feel it?"
Yun Qiang was confused. He didn't feel anything when he had meditated the night before. Considering his root quality, he was years from advancing in the Qi department, and he hadn't started to train his soul yet. Was he about to complete the second stage regarding the body department?
He smiled back and responded in an almost cheerful way:
"Thank you! I will continue to train hard, Sir!"
After this last conversation, he entered his sleeping bag and swiftly fell asleep. His talk with Voss had managed to clear his mind and dispel some of his more irrational fears. He was glad to have him as a leader.