When An Sun and two of the men returned to the cave carrying two pheasants in their hands, Fan Mingli and the others breathed a sigh of relief. Frankly, none of them were looking forward to starving tonight.
The men still felt conscious around An Sun and regarded him with apprehensive glances. An Sun didn't say anything and simply pierced the two pheasants through with wooden sticks after removing the feathers, before placing them over the fire to roast.
The pheasant cooked over the dancing red flames until its skin turned golden and crisp.
With the only source of light coming from the flames, most of An Sun's face was shrouded in shadow, and only his gray eyes shone with a profound glint. It was only then that the men started to realize not only was the man strong and mysterious, but he was also quite good-looking.
Why would someone like him want to join an army of new recruits?
Fan Mingli pressed his lips together and stared at the man sitting on the other side, flames dancing gracefully across his face.
"So...why did you decide to join the army?"
An Sun simply cast a calm glance at Fan Mingli and replied with his magnetic voice, "I wanted to grow stronger."
Fan Mingli and the other men were a little dumbfounded by these words. The man was already strong enough, how much more powerful did he possibly want to be?
After that, the men said nothing until the pheasant finished roasting and they all sighed with content. As usual, An Sun just chewed his portion silently, his movements rather fast and aggressive. The skin of the pheasant was crispy, and its meat tender. The juices within oozed out and filled his mouth with its savory fragrance.
The entire cave smelled of crispy, roasted pheasant.
When An Sun finished eating, he sat against the cave wall. His eyes were shut and it looked like he was resting. The men didn't say anything else and felt the urge to be as quiet as possible - as if not to wake the sleeping beast.
...
Morning came over the horizon. The second day of the hunt was over, and it was finally time for the men to retire. When An Sun and his group returned, they were third to arrive – there were four groups.
Naturally, they did not catch the most with Fan Mingli's injury, but they still caught a decent amount to be deemed impressive.
"Get a doctor to treat his foot before it gets worse. I'll turn in our catch and inform the general we lost a horse." An Sun hauled the bag full of caught animals and threw it over his shoulder. He didn't even spare the men a glance.
"Ah, wait...Sun!" Fan Mingli hobbled toward him.
An Sun's movements froze. He shifted sideways so he could look back and see not just Fan Mingli, but the other men looking at him with hesitant expressions.
"Thank you." Fan Mingli finally managed to say.
Dark, gray eyes stared at the men for a moment before they heard a low yet lighthearted chuckle. For the first time, the unreadable and cold look in An Sun's expression lifted. His gaze was now filled with amusement.
"Next time, don't be so reckless." An Sun said before he turned his back and left the group behind.
The men watched his broad back disappear into the crowd of troops, who looked at him with disdain. For the first time, they saw the faces of everyone else. The faces of envy they too once bore.
...
After delivering their catch, An Sun informed the officials they had one injured man and lost one horse. It was decided the horse was already dead by now, perhaps eaten by wolves or a bear. As for Fan Mingli, he would be treated properly, so it wouldn't interfere with the third day of the hunt.
That night, another celebration was held, this time it was a campfire. Like before, An Sun found a comfortable spot just beyond the noise of the camp, beside a stream with waters clear and blue as the sky. An old oak tree provided him a place to rest. An Sun sat with his back against the trunk and took a sip of the wine he brought with him.
The wine was cool as it trickled down his throat and warmed his belly.
"So you caught only six today. That's quite small in comparison to your last catch." A familiar voice sounded nearby
An Sun turned his head and just like before, saw the face of Bo Guozhi.
"I was informed one of your men was injured. It must have slowed things down a bit."
"A little." An Sun admitted casually while sipping his wine.
Bo Guozhi grunted and walked over. "I heard you stepped in and saved him. A bear was it? I don't think many men would do such a thing. New recruits, that is."
"Do incidents like that happen often?" An Sun's brows raised.
"More than you would imagine." Bo Guozhi chuckled.
He glanced over at the running stream for a moment before looking back at An Sun.
"To be honest, I see you a little differently from before."
"Oh? How did you see me before?"
"Well, in the beginning, I was quite impressed by your skills...but I also thought you were rather a showoff."
An Sun nearly choked on his wine to hearing the term 'show off.' He tried his hardest to hold back the twitching of his face.
"A showoff, huh?" An Sun repeated bitterly.
Bo Guozhi just laughed and leaned forward a little bit. "You ever wonder why the other men dislike you? It's already hard enough for them to be recruited here with little experience. To have someone so effortlessly skilled steal the spotlight before they had the chance can be frustrating. If you're not careful, rather than becoming your brothers, they'll become your worst enemies."
An Sun's eyes widened a bit. These words, no one had ever said them to him. For the first time, he began realizing the price of having power.
Inside he felt a little bitter. Not because he was called a showoff or disliked by the other men, but rather because he used his skills against those weaker than him. Even if the other men shunned him or mocked him, it came with an understanding but immature reason.
He was no different from his brother and father preying on weak lands.
This thought brought a clouded expression across An Sun's face. Bo Guozhi saw his change in expression and sighed lightly.
"But after what you did today, assisting the men alongside you rather than competing, I think you'll start to see improvements."
With that, Bo Guozhi walked away. An Sun stared at the bottle of wine in his hands and no longer felt the urge to drink.
An Sun sighed, leaning against the tree.
"Looks like I'm the asshole now."
...
That following morning, An Sun woke up bright and early for training. That day, the sun had broken through the clouds. He turned his back on it and shifted his eyes to the group of men already training. He felt their eyes look at him coldly before glancing away.
For once, An Sun observed something he never saw before in their gazes.
Fear.
Inwardly, he smiled self-mockingly to himself.
When they set partners up against one another, An Sun was faced with a young man with a crooked nose and small black eyes. He's seen him fight before. He was good in comparison to the others, and he knew how to bear a sword well.
The spark in his eyes was enough to show he was going to give this fight his all – even if he lost. An Sun looked his body up and down. He pressed his lips together before he lowered his sword to speak.
"Before when you fought...I noticed you never step back when your opponent attacks. While it restricts their movements when close, it can be too easy for them to strike. You need to bring your sword forward towards your opponent. Afterward, step towards your opponent and to some extent to the right. This will prevent your opponent from attacking you. You can bring your sword in a straight line and strike your opponent. This technique makes it difficult for the rival to launch a counter-attack."
As An Sun gave his very own opponent points, the other men guffawed. Silence fell. An Sun didn't pay any attention to their stares and raised his sword once again.
"Are you willing to test my words?"
The young man regained his focus and brought his sword up. He seemed hesitant but nodded his head a little eagerly.
A faint smile came to An Sun's face, his eyes lighting up brightly. A smile made that flawlessly handsome face look more intoxicatingly beautiful.
"Then show me what you got."
The young man nodded and charged forward. In the distance, Bo Guozhi watched the scene from above, a smile on his face.