Qin An is only sixteen years old this year. As Qin Hu’s personal attendant, he is frail and thin, having long since been pushed to his breaking point; he looks as though he is down to his final breath.
In truth, Qin Hu is not much better off. For the past few days, the vanguard camp has been marching thirty miles a day, with duties that include clearing paths through mountains, bridging rivers, cutting wood for fires, digging trenches, hauling water, and pitching camp.
What could possibly happen to these two soft, pampered fellows when forced to live among hundreds of burly, rough-hewn soldiers? They are certain to do the hardest labor, eat the worst food, suffer the cruellest beatings, and endure the greatest insults. Qin Hu suspects his predecessor might have been tortured to death. Perhaps, in a sense, he deserved it. But now, this suffering is a burden he must shoulder; if he cannot hold on, he too will die.
Chapter 1125