Chapter Eighty-Seven Promotion

"What?" Hearing the soldier's words, Qi Jun froze.

"You uncultured fool, this is called mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Don’t you understand? I have no such twisted tastes. I was saving your life just now!" Qi Jun seized the soldier by the shoulders and shook him hard, then suddenly realized he was in ancient times now. Let alone mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, people in this era did not even know what bacteria were.

He gave a self-mocking laugh, let go of the soldier’s clothes, and lay back down on the ground. His throat tingled, and he coughed up several disgusting clots of black, viscous filth.

"My name is Xiang Yang..." The soldier turned his face toward him with a smile and told Qi Jun his name.

"So you weren’t unconscious just now?" Qi Jun knew the soldier had heard his earlier question, and could not help but find his own behavior rather amusing.

The sound of hoofbeats came from afar, drawing nearer. Qi Jun’s heart lurched, and he hurriedly propped himself up to look toward the noise, fearing the approaching riders were Qiang scouts.

The moonlight tonight was faint. Qi Jun stared warily at the rider drawing closer and only relaxed when he made out the outline of a warhorse.

"Captain Qin, where are the others?" Qi Jun struggled to sit up. Seeing Captain Qin come to rescue them alone, he had already guessed the fate of the two soldiers.

Captain Qin remained silent for a moment, then dismounted and came before Qi Jun. He placed one fist against his chest and dropped to one knee in solemn salute.

It was the military salute of Great Liang, a vow to repay another with one’s life.

Such a heavy salute in the army was usually reserved only for the emperor and generals. Captain Qin’s doing so before Qi Jun startled him badly; if anyone saw it, they might think he was plotting rebellion.

"Captain Qin, what is the meaning of this? Such a courtesy is not proper. Please, rise!" Qi Jun hurriedly knelt on one knee to return the salute, while reaching out with both hands to hold Captain Qin’s shoulders and stop him.

Yet Captain Qin stubbornly refused to get up. When Qi Jun turned his head, Xiang Yang, lying on the ground, had also placed one fist over his heart and was looking at him with sincere eyes.

"You two have had enough! Isn’t this just a lifesaving kindness? You can repay it slowly later! I’ll keep track of it for you..." Seeing that he could not stop them, Qi Jun simply sat down on the ground again.

"I am ashamed! I misjudged you before, and my disrespect has been..." Captain Qin still refused to rise, and with helpless sincerity he began to reproach himself before Qi Jun.

He spurred his horse and ran on ahead for a stretch, the frenzy in him slowly ebbing away. Beneath the night sky, man and horse moved through the desolate land, and with the night wind sweeping over him, he gradually calmed down and began to think over and reflect upon his mistake.

At first, seeing Qi Jun in that fine long robe and with his scholarly air, he had assumed at once that Qi Jun was merely a dandy riding some kind of family connection with the prefectural commander to profit from the reward money.

It was not surprising that Captain Qin would think this way; he had seen many such wastrels in the army.

They shrank back in battle, afraid to fight, unwilling to advance. Yet once the common soldiers had shed blood and sweat to win a victory, they came swarming like flies to seize the rewards. If they sensed the tide of war turning against them, they would be the first to abandon the men at the front and flee for their own lives.

For these reasons, he had always harbored a stubborn hatred and loathing for such idlers.

But today, everything Qi Jun had shown him left him astonished and ashamed. Especially in the face of that certain death, he had actually cut his way through and carved out a path to survive.

By now, Captain Qin felt sincere admiration and respect for him.

"Sir, you remain calm in the face of change and unruffled in peril. To choose life from such a desperate end—truly the making of a general!" Captain Qin rose and clasped his hands in a deep bow toward Qi Jun.

"Captain Qin, you flatter me too much... We should hurry back and report our mission." Qi Jun tightened the ragged clothes that had been burned through with holes, then glanced at the warhorse behind Captain Qin and said, "It’s a pity we have no Qiang heads as proof..."

"Sir, mount up! Once we return, I shall personally vouch for you before the prefectural commander!" Captain Qin struck his chest and, speaking thus, even bent down before the horse to signal for Qi Jun to step on his back and get on.

Qi Jun knew Captain Qin’s mind was now wholly occupied with how to repay his debt of gratitude, so he no longer refused the offer and swung himself onto the horse.

Captain Qin then helped Xiang Yang up onto the horse as well. After that, he took the reins and led the warhorse, carrying the two of them toward the county city.

The night road back was peaceful enough. Aside from a few wolves that followed them at a distance, they encountered no other threat.

Captain Qin led the horse all night, and Qi Jun supported Xiang Yang on the horse all night as well. When the sky began to brighten at last, they finally reached the gates of Ding'an County.

Seeing the towering city walls, Qi Jun’s taut nerves finally loosened, and exhaustion surged over him like a flood. His vision went black, and he toppled from the horse.

When he woke in bed, the first thing he saw was Mr. Tian’s pair of handsome eyes. The moment he saw Mr. Tian, he knew he would not die.

He reached up and found his face wrapped in bandages. Though a layer of sticky ointment had been applied, the burning itch and pain still would not subside.

"Could it be that my handsome face will be ruined?" Qi Jun knew these burns would likely not heal easily; with medical conditions like those in ancient times, he could only grit his teeth and endure.

Noticing that Qi Jun seemed to be sneaking glances at him, Mr. Tian deliberately pressed the needle in his hand into the Sun Well point, and the pain made Qi Jun hastily clear his mind.

He saw Mr. Tian’s eyes curve in a smile. Just as when they had first met, he wrote a note and then began packing his medicine satchel, ready to leave.

Qi Jun picked it up and glanced at it, and his heart grew warm. There were only four words on the note: Be cautious, and do not be hurt.

He looked out the window and saw that the sun was already sinking in the west, only then realizing he had slept through nearly the whole day.

"Damn it!" Qi Jun suddenly sat up. He did not know whether Magistrate Feng had returned to Anqi to deal with the mess, and then he thought of the sisters Chen Xiar and Chen Dong'er at the Drunken Wind House, still waiting for him to redeem them. His head began to ache.

Right now he did not have a single coin to his name. Let alone redeeming them, even eating outside would be difficult. He could not possibly bite the bullet and ask the prefectural commander to lend him money, could he?

"Sir, lend me some silver so I may redeem a musician from the Drunken Wind House?" If he actually said that aloud, he feared he would be thrown out by the county soldiers and dumped in the street to beg.

As he anxiously wrestled with his thoughts, the old servant at the prefectural commander’s side came in.

"Do not speak. I have come to deliver my lord’s message. I have already learned how matters unfolded, and I am greatly gratified. When your wounds are healed, that will be sufficient."