Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteenth: Zhuoran

Li Bucai said: "There's nothing much today, everyone should rest well for a day. I'm planning to go to the opposite bank; the lord there is a friend of mine, and last night they suffered heavy losses, eight people were injured at once. Because they have no military doctor, two of them already left this morning."

The group of girls showed sympathetic expressions.

Li Bucai continued: "Speaking of military doctors, we must especially thank Zhuoran; if you hadn't invited Wan'er, I truly wouldn't have thought to request a military doctor."

Wu Zhuoran said: "Lord, you flatter me. Since there's nothing today, why not stay and rest, and let your subordinate go on a mission to South Bank for you."

Wan'er said: "Indeed, Lord, you've been busy these two days; you should rest properly. South Bank has no military doctor, and it's your friend's. I, Wan'er, am willing to go with Sister Zhuoran to see, perhaps we can help a little."

Li Bucai said: "You can't swim; can we cross this river?"

Wu Zhuoran replied: "There's a shallow ford downstream; we should be able to cross."

"Then fine, we'll trouble you. Also, Zhuoran, bring all your people along, so there's someone to look after us on the road. Today I won't leave the camp; I'll escort you to the opposite bank. We must return before nightfall; when we get back, just shout from the shore and I'll come fetch you."

"Understood, subordinate."

After breakfast, Li Bucai gave Wu Zhuoran a messenger seal and they set off immediately; Li Bucai accompanied Wu Zhuoran and the others downstream, and upon reaching the ford they sent the three girls to the opposite bank, then returned to camp to erect two more tents.

……

Wu Zhuoran and the other three crossed the river, walked west along the bank, and when they reached a spot about a mile from the South Bank camp it was already close to ten o'clock. The riverside meadow ended, and ahead lay a dense willow forest.

The three searched for a path through the forest; not far in, Wu Zhuoran suddenly sensed an odd voice: "Someone's there, everyone be careful."

She is an excellent archer; as an archer, the most basic skill is to spot enemies entering shooting range at the first moment.

The three immediately halted; the Blade Badge Warrior alertly raised a shield in front of the two.

Wu Zhuoran listened closely; suddenly, from the side came a faint whooshing sound. With her years of arrow practice she could tell it was a feathered arrow, flying toward the three. The surrounding willows hung countless branches, blocking her view.

The sound came from the left front; Wu Zhuoran quickly fixed the arrow's direction, leapt to the left front. As she descended, a black feathered arrow pierced the willow branches and flew out. Wu Zhuoran timed the incoming arrow, turned in midair, pinched it between two fingers, securely catching it. While still airborne she swiftly nocked a bow, drew, and shot an arrow back toward the source.

That arrow flew out; there was no echo on the other side, likely missing. Then another arrow came back from the opposite side; Wu Zhuoran planted one foot, leapt again, dodged the incoming arrow, and executed a move called "Chasing Clouds, Catching Moon", rapidly firing three consecutive arrows in the air.

Those three arrows flew, and a "thud" was heard as a figure on the opposite willow tree landed on one knee on the ground. It was South Bank's guard Shen Jun, who had evaded the first two arrows from the tree but couldn't dodge the third, which struck his calf.

Wu Zhuoran retrieved her arrow and demanded: "Huachi envoy Wu Zhuoran, sent by the Lord, has come to pay respects to your lord; why did you ambush us in secret?"

The "Huachi" name was given by Li Bucai to his camp, meaning that with beauties surrounding him like a flower pool, his camp was called Huachi.

"So it's the Wu family sister; I didn't expect after being apart for many days her archery has improved so quickly." The Sky City archers all come from the same school; although men and women train separately, Zhuoran's archery is outstanding, making her a celebrity among bow and crossbow warriors. Having left Sky City half a month earlier, she practiced on real targets, improving rapidly; her precision level is now near sixth rank, while Shen Jun, who has been here just over two days, is only second rank.

Shen Jun and his men had not yet returned to the camp; they naturally didn't know the arrangement Li Bucai made with Qing'er, so they treated her as an invading enemy, saying: "The princess never mentioned any visitors; the Wu family sister is not one of us, and our princess never interacts with people from Jiangbei, so we must be cautious. Wu family sister, leave at once, or we will meet on the battlefield."

He only knew that Wu Zhuoran had originally gone to the northern side of Shalanjiang's Qian Feng Territory, assuming the attackers were from Qian Feng. Of course, even if he knew they were from the north bank of Baima River, he would still act, because from that day's school-uniform girl's attitude one could see she didn't consider the north‑bank forces as allies.

Wu Zhuoran said: "Your lord is a friend of my lord. Last night your camp was attacked; our lord sent us to help treat the wounded, as allies. Yet you block us here; if it weren't for the neighborly ties between our families, this arrow would have killed you. Open the way."

Shen Jun gritted his teeth against the arrow wound, fought, but couldn't defeat the three of them, retreated, which was a dereliction of duty, and he froze there.

At that moment, a girl's voice came from the forest: "Who dares act so brazenly."

At the source of the voice, a girl in light yellow bronze armor stepped out from behind a tree; it was the school‑uniform girl. Early that morning she had led Shen Jun and two other guards through the wilderness for half a day without finding any Goblin trace, worried about the camp, returned from the southeast, happened to arrive here, saw Wu Zhuoran and the others, thought they were attacking the territory, and sent Shen Jun to ambush them in the forest.

The school‑uniform girl examined her and said with a snort: "What a Huachi envoy. When did this princess ever say she would ally with the Martian man? My affairs aren't for that Martian man to worry about. Tell your lord that in a year he'll meet his end; when that time comes I will definitely kill him, no mercy, let him take care of himself."

Wu Zhuoran and the others were startled by her words; the three exchanged glances, and Wan'er said: "Didn't we already agree? Why are we now enemies?"

Blade Badge Warrior Ru'er said bitterly: "Good deeds go unrewarded. Our lord sent us to help because we considered her a friend, but she doesn't accept it. Let's go back; after all the injured aren't ours."

Wu Zhuoran thought for a moment: If we report back to the lord that the other side didn't accept our help, that's not unreasonable, but it feels off. She bowed and said: "Your Majesty regards our lord as an enemy, while our lord calls you a friend. Something must have been misunderstood. We, as lowly servants, have no right to inquire, but saving lives is urgent. If Your Majesty still sees us as enemies, please finish the rescue first, then we can discuss."

Her words put the school‑uniform girl in a dilemma: sending them back would make her seem petty; asking them to help rescue would make her previous words seem unreasonable.

"Princess, Princess." While the school‑uniform girl was uneasy, Qing'er came from this side, saying: "Princess, you're safe back, Qing'er is relieved. You are from the North Bank."

Wu Zhuoran nodded.

The school‑uniform girl asked: "What's going on? Did you know they would come?"

"The princess left early this morning without a word; when the lord across the river heard the princess was seeking Goblin raiders for revenge, he wanted to cross the river to help. Qing'er didn't agree. At that moment Shuang'er said the wounded's wounds were still bleeding, so the lord wanted to come personally to treat them. Qing'er knew the princess disliked that lord, and refused. Seeing I wouldn't agree, he said only a military doctor would be sent. Qing'er thought we needed a doctor, and since he himself wouldn't come, it wouldn't upset the princess, so she agreed. Qing'er acted on her own, princess, forgive us."

Unexpectedly, the Martian man hadn't forgotten her. The school‑uniform girl, unable to hide a faint smile, said: "Ah, it's you again. Since you already agreed, this time we'll let it pass, but it won't happen again."

"Thank you, Princess. Then… how shall we receive them formally?"

"Since they are envoys, we should receive them as such. I'm tired, need to rest, Shen guard is wounded, leave them to you."

"Understood. Qing'er sees the princess off."

The school‑uniform girl returned to the camp alone. Qing'er followed behind Wu Zhuoran and the others.

Qing'er said: "Please don't take offense; our lord has never treated your lord as an enemy, only some misunderstandings inside; he's been in a bad mood these days, so his words sound harsh."

Wu Zhuoran replied lightly: "You speak heavily."

The three, accompanied by Qing'er, arrived at the main camp in the blink of an eye.

Unlike the makeshift opposite bank, this camp's wall is a fence made of wooden stakes over a person tall, arranged side by side. Since it's only the third day, many gaps haven't been filled yet, and Goblin raiders use these openings to slip in.

Outside the wall is a large open area; scorch marks show that soon this will become fertile fields. Through a gate over two zhang wide they entered the camp; inside are two rows of neat, elegant wooden houses on east and west sides, and in the center of the south side stands a tall two‑story building, the school‑uniform girl's residence.

Qing'er led the three straight to a room on the left side of the residence; this is a spacious reception room for envoys, with three large beds and a set of elegant tables and chairs.

Qing'er invited the three to sit; a maid named Ling'er served them fragrant tea with flowers.

Qing'er said: "Please rest here for a while; I'll go report back to the princess, then invite you to meet her."

Although they had met the school‑uniform girl in the forest, at that time she wore military attire; since diplomatic protocol requires civilian dress, military attire is not appropriate for receiving guests.

The three understood, replied, and watched Qing'er leave the doorway…