Chapter 56: Chi Wanqing
Translator: Tim Editor: Tehrn/Carolin
“Captain, that bomb exploded, but nothing else followed. What was that gunshot? Did we get reinforcements?”
“I don’t know. I’ll go outside and check. You stay here! Wanqing, are you alright?”
Wanqing, pale-faced, murmured, “Mmm, I’m fine, but… leave me a grenade…” The others understood: ammunition was low, and if she couldn't defend herself, she would take as many enemies as possible with her.
Guo Qi burst in, yelling, “Captain Lu, are you alright?”
A youth with a machine gun exclaimed, “It sounded like Brother Guo… It is Brother Guo! Reinforcements? Are the Yue devils finished?”
The woman, the Captain, shook her head, saying, “Fang Wei, you’re right! How did he get in? No way!”
Captain Lu asked Guo Qi at the cave entrance, noticing Chi Wanqing leaning against the wall. “What’s going on?”
Guo Qi, relieved, replied, “I requested reinforcements, and we’ve eliminated all the Yue devils outside. Are you alright?”
Captain Lu eyed him suspiciously. “We’re fine, except Wanqing’s been shot in the thigh. Which squad saved us? Even reinforcements wouldn’t have gotten here this fast… Was it Wolf Howl’s people?”
Guo Qi gasped, “I met a…friend in the forest. He saved me and took out twenty or so Yue devils.”
Captain Lu exclaimed, “What? One person killed over twenty special ops? A friend you just met? Guo Qi, you’re kidding!” Chi Wanqing and Fang Wei also looked at him suspiciously; if they didn’t know him so well, they might think he’d betrayed them.
Guo Qi hurried to explain, “It’s true! He ambushed them, killing them one by one in the shadows. I saw it clearly. Only the last few discovered him and opened fire.”
Fang Wei realized, “I heard the Yue devils firing at the end. That’s what it was.”
Captain Lu said, “Even an ambush, that’s incredible strength. Come on, Guo Qi, show me this ‘friend.’ Wanqing, I’ll carry you.” She hoisted the injured woman onto her back without waiting for a response.
Guo Qi continued, breathlessly, “Wanqing’s gunshot wound? My friend can cure it in minutes! Look, I was shot this morning, and it already has a scab! He’s amazing! I met him while escaping—you won’t believe what he was doing!”
Fang Wei, staring at Guo Qi’s scabbed wound, exclaimed, “That’s amazing! It did form a scab!” Then, remembering Guo Qi’s last statement, he asked, “What was he doing?”
Guo Qi smiled. “Leisurely roasting a rabbit! He gave me half after quickly taking care of three men and healing my wound. He’s the strongest senpai I’ve ever met!”
Fang Wei’s eyes clouded. “People that strong really exist! I want him as my master! He must be old. Sigh… if only Liu Chen and Yu Nan were still here…”
A heavy silence fell.
Emerging from the cave, they saw twenty-four corpses piled high. Ye Mo was gone.
Fang Wei exclaimed, “He killed that many?! He’s unbelievably amazing! I must bow to him as my master!”
Guo Qi called out, “Brother Ye! Brother Ye!” then said, “You’re all out? You can leave. I have things to do; I won’t be staying.”
Ye Mo appeared, smiling calmly. Guo Qi, startled, said, “Brother Ye, you’re leaving? Let me introduce you: Captain Lu Lin of the Eagle Hunter squad, Chi Wanqing (on her back), and Fang Wei (he admires you greatly). Captain, this is Ye Mo.”
Lu Lin extended her hand. “Ye Mo, thank you! I never expected you to be so young. I imagined someone thirty or forty.” Her gratitude was clear.
Fang Wei’s eyes shone. “Brother Ye, you’re so strong and young! Will you take me as a disciple?”
Ye Mo waved his hand. “It was all ambushes. I’m only half-learned. I can’t take disciples.”
Chi Wanqing’s eyes brightened. Her admiration for strength, stemming from her grandfather and father’s military service, and her own ambition, had led her to the Eagle Hunter Squad. She'd even argued with her father and joined the military, using Hua Mulan as her role model. If Ye Mo was as strong as Guo Qi said, he might earn her respect—something she rarely gave. She’d only slightly admired Xu Shi, an instructor who'd briefly visited the squad. Ye Mo felt different, although she couldn’t explain why.
Guo Qi looked desperately at Ye Mo. “Brother Ye, this is Chi Wanqing. She’s wounded; could you treat her?” Ye Mo looked at the woman on Lu Lin’s back: a beautiful, pale young woman in her early twenties. He shook his head, thinking, Why is this girl fighting on the border?
Note:
- Hua Mulan was a legendary female Chinese warrior who disguised herself as a man to fight in her father's place. Joan of Arc is another famous female historical figure who fought in battles dressed in men's clothing.