"Remember to bring more clothes, the capital's weather is much more colder and humid." says Xiaowen.
I went down on my knees and paid respect before starting my journey towards the capital, Pu Ding. According to the village chief, I needed to travel on foot for 3 days to reach the eastern outskirt city of Pu Ding called, Cao Mei.
On the first day, I have travelled far across the grasslands to the higher plains. I could see the rough shape of Bing Guo Village, simple and cheerful village which I spent 18 years of my life in. Though not hearing any noises, I could visualise Xiaowen, waking up the other kids at the orphanage, nagging them to wash their teeth before eating, our neighbour, Auntie Li, who always give us fresh vegetables in exchange for helping out at her farm, bringing two basketful of cabbage and carrot and the village chief, Old Li, visiting us and having breakfast in the orphanage.
I will be back, and I will bring every fancy, fun and only the best thing back to the village. I promise, Xiaowen. I will let everyone know how great the people of Bing Guo Village is.
Halfway to Cao Mei, I saw a group of merchants, resting under the trees. They were loud but friendly. I was invited for a drink and they told me stories of Pu Ding. The stories sounded as if they were made up.
"Hey there, young lad, you mentioned about signing up as a soldier. Do you know, you will be tested for it? I heard that there are 8 different type of soldiers. First, the Royal Guards, most enlistee wishes to join them after they pass the tests. They maintain the order within the capital walls and lucky ones chosen to serve ministers within the palace, experiencing the best of things. Most notable person in the Royal Guards is Mo Sanqiu, also known as, Demon Blade Qiu (Chinese pinyin Mo Dao Qiu). Rumour has it that he holds a demonic blade that can create illusion to his foes. In the illusion, one will see their greatest fear repeated again and again until they loses their sanity." says Merchant Hua as he takes a big bite on the burned bread.
"That sounds exciting." The person probably exist, but not the illusion nonsense. He probably is a good fighter in the Royal Guard. "So, what about the other types?"
"Next, we have the three most honourable soldiers. They are the one which is said to be guarding the border of the Ye Kingdom. Preventing invaders. Though we are not sure who are the invaders. Knowledge of the border is only known to the soldiers, ministers and royals. I wonder who are outside the kingdom walls." utters Merchant Hua while sighing. "Anyway, they are Wolf Knights, specialised in defending and skirmishes, Fox Knights, specialised in scouting, inflitration and assasination and Tiger Knights, specialised in attacking and massive war. All three have a separate commanding general each. Currently, it is known that Tiger Knights is commanded by the Great General Jing Ji, Wolf Knights is commanded by a high member of royalty and Fox Knights commanding general is an unknown lady."
"Hey, there! What is for dinner? I can tell you more!" a sloppily dressed man in his thirties, in worn-out clothing carrying a long wooden stick, cuts in and squeeze for a space. Without asking, he grabs the half eaten bread from my palm and swalllows it whole before he starts. "The Fox Knights is led by Wang Xinyun, she is all about appearance, so no need to consider if you are serious about joining strong soldiers. The Wolf Knights, handpick their members, so you have no control if you want to join. The next two soldiers, are special units, the Red Robes and the White Robes. They are directly commanded and selected by the King himself. For the past 3 years, none of the enlistees has been chosen. You will need to impress the King. Too hard... Then, we have Ye Kingdom Guards, your normal guards that maintain order within the whole Kingdom. Anyone who is decent enough can join them easily. Lastly, if anything, it is the worst of all, Sword Dancers. Anyone that enlists to it is said to change to a different person and some said they even lost their sanity. Nothing much is known except, they are led and chosen by a man called Liu Yun. Sword Dancers are located at an old fort in the north mountains of the Kingdom called Yao Mountain, as name says it all, widely known as Devil Mountain (Chinese pinyin Yao Shan). No one knows why the King keeps this soldier."