Wei Ling rubbed his forehead and pulled over a chair, sitting down casually. "Fine, go ahead and sit. This isn't something I can explain in two words."
Ruhuahua sat cross-legged on the animal-skin rug, obediently and silently looking up at Wei Ling. Her small face was filled with earnestness, devoid of any trace of sleepiness despite being suddenly woken up.
"You’ll find out sooner or later, so I won't lie to you," Wei Ling said, resting his elbows on his knees and leaning slightly toward her. "Brother Ting went out on a military mission yesterday and got a bit hurt. But don't you worry—nicks and cuts are part of life in the army. Scars are a man’s medals, after all. Besides, it wasn't serious; just a scratch, and he’ll be fine after a couple of days of rest."
Ruhuahua cut straight to the point. "Is it because of me?"
"Well... not entirely," Wei Ling said, rubbing his nose and sidestepping the sensitive parts to mention only the non-disciplinary details. "Actually, he brought that on himself, so you can’t blame yourself. Truth be told, I wanted to jump into that fight too..."
The day Zhongli Ting had clashed with the commoners was not exactly a major incident, but military law was strict, and someone had to take the fall. Zhongli Ting had confessed voluntarily, escaping the military cudgel, but just as he did, a thorny issue arose, and he was sentenced to redeem his sins through merit.
Wei Ling didn't know much about the specifics—he had even had an argument with his father over it. He only heard that a group of bandits had suddenly flooded into Zhongrong from a "no-man's-land" bordering the territory of their arch-rival, Zhourao. The rumor was that the Zhourao general had suddenly launched an attack and razed the bandits' nest, forcing the survivors to flee into Zhongrong, where they had been raiding and causing trouble ever since.
By early spring, the bandits had reached the prefecture where their military garrison was stationed. The local civil officials, unable to handle the disruption, reported it up the chain of command, and the request eventually landed on the garrison's desk. They hadn't decided who to send when Zhongli Ting happened to be at the right place at the right time.
"...You have no idea how stubborn and arrogant Brother Ting can be. He claimed he was going to redeem his sins, but the idiot didn't even bring a single soldier—he went out there all by himself." Wei Ling was still visibly agitated as he gestured wildly. "I managed to catch up with him that day, and damn it, one second Brother Ting was acting all friendly, and the next, he tied me up! He actually tied me up!"
Wei Ling continued, "I have never been so speechless in my life! I was right there, handing myself over, and he still didn't want me!"
He thought of himself as a young man of such grace and stature, brave in the face of danger, upright and resourceful, well-versed and talented, outstanding and peerless—and he certainly wouldn't have been a burden!
As he spoke, Wei Ling grew so angry that he forgot to censor his foul language in front of the young girl.
Most people might have laughed at such a miserable tale, but Ruhuahua did not. Her thought process was perhaps truly different from a normal person's, as she focused bluntly on the outcome: "So, Brother Wei, did you catch up in the end?"
Wei Ling described it with great indignation. "No!!!"
After being tied up, he had spent over half an hour flailing around in a hidden dirt ditch yesterday, getting a mouthful of soil for his trouble. By the time he finally managed to break free and chase after him on horseback, he couldn't find a single trace of Zhongli Ting, which made him swear to ignore him for three whole days.
But when Zhongli Ting returned home with a glorious injury, his disobedient legs had rushed over to help anyway.
"It’s a good thing it was only a minor injury," Wei Ling gritted his teeth.
Zhongli Ting was not only the only legitimate prince of Zhongrong, but also the hope of the entire Wei Clan. If something had happened to him in the army camp, it wouldn't just be the camp that was shaken, but the palace itself as well.
Ruhuahua muttered softly, "Getting hurt is bad, too."
"Right, the injury... I almost forgot. I came back to get him a change of clothes. He’s still over at the medic tent." Wei Ling stood up and efficiently grabbed a couple of garments.
Hearing this, Ruhuahua stared at him, not even blinking.
Wei Ling asked, "You want to come with me?"
Ruhuahua, unsure if she would cause trouble for him, looked at him with a hint of guilt. "Is it allowed?"
Those pitch-black eyes looked straight at him, holding a mix of indebtedness and anticipation, like a cat hungry for a treat.
Wei Ling thought for a moment. "I suppose it’s not forbidden, but it’s quite late now, and the temperature is low at night..."
Ruhuahua jumped up in excitement, her eyes suddenly sparkling with clarity. "I'm not afraid of the cold!"
Wei Ling finally relented. "All right, let's go. I’ll take you to see him."
After walking through the twists and turns of the camp for a long while, Wei Ling pulled back the flap of the medic tent—which was a lighter color than the others—and bent down to enter.
Zhongli Ting had already removed his armor and was leaning listlessly against the low couch in the center of the tent. His skin, naturally fair and cool in tone, looked even more bloodless under the candlelight now that he was injured, giving his pale face an air of cold, murderous intensity.
It seemed he heard the movement, as he straightened slightly, just about to speak, when he saw the small tail following behind Wei Ling.
Zhongli Ting couldn't help but look at Wei Ling. "Why did you bring her..."
Wei Ling sold him out without a second’s hesitation. "Tell him, it was your own idea to wake up and insist on following me to see him."
Ruhuahua nodded vigorously. "Brother, I woke up by myself and insisted on coming with Brother Wei."
Zhongli Ting: "..."
Zhongli Ting leaned back, a faint smile playing on his lips, and the cold, murderous aura on his face melted away like ice in the sun, as if it had never been there at all. "Little one, you won't grow any taller if you don't sleep."
*Trying to grow taller than me? Dream on.*
Hearing this, Ruhuahua actually struggled with the thought for a moment before hesitating. "Then... then I guess I’ll take a break from growing today."
"Heh—"
Wei Ling jumped in, still speaking to Ruhuahua: "Ask him if he wants to change his clothes now."
Ruhuahua obediently repeated, "Brother, do you want to change..."
"Too much effort. Just leave them there, I'll change later," Zhongli Ting said, looking at the strange girl, then rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Wei Ling, would it kill you to speak to me?"
Ruhuahua answered for him: "Brother Wei said he swore an oath that he wouldn't talk to you for three days!"
"As if I care," Zhongli Ting scoffed. He pulled a bulging oil-paper parcel from his robes and tossed it toward Wei Ling. "Take it."
A dark shape flickered past his eyes, and Wei Ling caught it instinctively. He knew what it was the moment he felt it.
Candied pine nuts—his favorite.
He was the type of person who liked to pop a candy into his mouth during training; once the sweetness hit, he would forget all the bitterness and hardship.
It was rare for Zhongli Ting to buy him candy while out on a military mission. Wei Ling felt a bit embarrassed and his face flushed. He tried to feign composure, wanting to ask something but feeling awkward about it, until he couldn't help but grumble, "Did you buy this specially for me?"
"No, just picked it up while I was at it," Zhongli Ting said with a lazy curl of his lip. He hooked a small square stool from the side of the couch with his long leg and tilted his chin up. "Come here, little one. Sit."
Ruhuahua moved over obediently, sitting on the small stool with her hands resting on her knees.
Zhongli Ting raised his hand and pulled out another oil-paper parcel, placing it on the girl's lap. "There you go, little one. This is what I bought specially for you."
Wei Ling: "..."