A long sigh escaped Fan Zhong as he laid down in his own bed for the first time in what felt like forever. Throughout the journey home he, and the surviving members of the decimated legion, had ample time to rest their bones while under the watchful eye of the alliance reinforcements. This rest, however, could never shake the bone-deep weariness that had suffused them all during the months on campaign.
Coming home had never felt so comforting to Fan Zhong and he basked in the simple enjoyment of a familiar surrounding, watching the fading light of the late-day sun. As the last of the light seemed to hover over the wall surrounding his courtyard within the Fan clan compound, shuffling could be heard from the entrance. In a great rush, an almost invisible blur shot forth across the courtyard and through the open door to Fan Zhong's bedroom in a single bound, colliding with him and pressing down his body to the bed.
Panting sounded in his ear as hot breath rolled over Fan Zhong's face. Bewilderment and terror warred inside of him until a large tongue started bathing him. Following this, the cloak of water Qi around the assailant quickly fell and the form of Little white appeared in Fan Zhong's sight. Whimpering sounds echoed through the room as the, now quite large, water wolf pressed himself into the young warrior as if afraid to lose sight of him once more.
All thoughts of battle and hardship left Fan Zhong at that moment, only the happiness of seeing his dear companion filled his mind. Looking closer at Little White it was clear that he had matured into a powerful and proud spirit beast. Estimating he figured that the once small wolf now stood almost half as tall as himself.
Judging from the pain he felt from the bounding jump just a few moments ago and the impressive amount of force pressing into him at the moment, Fan Zhong noted that Little White would likely have no trouble holding anyone in the second-grade realm down. Combine that with his nigh invisibility and the amount of destruction his adorable companion could unleash on a battlefield would be terrifying.
Shaking his head, Fan Zhong inwardly chastised himself for thinking of Little White as some sort of battle asset. Whatever capabilities the young spirit beast may have he was first and foremost a loyal friend and ally to Fan Zhong, not some weapon to be wielded to destroy the Wei clan. Rising with some effort he managed to broker enough of a reprieve from the constant affections of Little White to walk into the courtyard.
While leaving he palmed a small ball from a shelf near the door and soon both of them were engrossed in the simple pleasure of playing fetch. Soon Fan Zhong lost all track of time as he moved to his room to retrieve a whole stack of leather-bound balls that were normally used for mental technique training. A smile rose on his face as memories of dodging these balls while Fan Cheng mercilessly hurled them his way came to mind. Thinking on it dodging was a charitable word to describe the exercise as it mostly consisted of his elder brother building a small mound of balls at his feet by bouncing them off Fan Zhong's face.
It had been one of the more advanced exercises used to train observing the roaming earth as each time Fan Cheng said that he would subtly move to throw the ball before rapidly completing the action. In theory, since the technique emphasized observing the tiniest changes and reacting to them a user should be able to see the beginnings of the throw thus predicting how to dodge. Practically, this was something Fan Zhong had only ever achieved a handful of times, and shortly after Fan Cheng resumed the box exercise afterward.
At the time he had told Fan Zhong that this level of training would become much easier once his body had a wisp of mental energy in the second-grade realm. Internally he thought to ask about repeating the exercise now that he'd broken through, maybe the results would be different. Thoughts of such things carefully tucked away for another day Fan Zhong began playing the juggling fetch game with Little White that the two had enjoyed on Sir Teng's ship.
As they played he started humming the tune of music that represented the mental technique in his mind. Consistent melodies that repeated over and over again each time with only minor variations, changes in rests, and pitch. Hours passed but Fan Zhong seemed not to notice as he started throwing the balls in every direction around him
Little White panted happily as he blurred in crisscrossing patterns across the courtyard. Each cycle of the song it seemed to grow clearer in his mind, the sounds blending together into the background as the changes became beacons in an ocean of noise. Thoughts appeared as if being unobscured by mist, the image of a tall tree towering in a field of swaying grass.
A mortal stood within a host of celestial immortals from legends, plain as day amid a legion of splendor. Inside the deafening roar of a busy city market stood a man who was deadly silent. That man looked back at him, it was him, it was Fan Zhong.
Realization dawned from one moment to the next, each ball going from blurs to shapes to almost standing still. Motion came back into focus and the flying balls moved no faster than someone would walk. A twitch of Little White's hind leg showed he was about to turn and jump past Fan Zhong's right shoulder, chasing a ball he had just thrown.
With casual ease, he threw a ball in the opposite direction just as the lithe water wolf passed by as if some cosmic thread had tied the two events together. The ball hit the floor, the only one that had dropped since they started playing. Quickly Fan Zhong's hands blurred, catching the other balls that were mid-flight. It was only now that he realized Little White had started throwing the balls back to him instead of taking them to a pile by his feet, he had been simply catching and throwing them so naturally, his mind hadn't caught up.
At that moment, silence settled on the courtyard as Little White stopped and looked back at him as if confused for a moment. Soon though the adorable wolf started panting happily again and grabbed the ball off the floor before bringing it to Fan Zhong's feet and depositing it with an expectant look. Smiling, he palmed another ball and started the game anew; however, he wasn't able to make Little White miss another catch for the rest of the night.
"Seems as though you've received a warm homecoming, after all, little brother." Fan Cheng's voice preceded him as the ever stalwart young master of the Fan clan walked into Fan Zhong's courtyard the next morning.
"Indeed elder brother, where are little Jingi and Jia? I had thought little sister at the very least would have accompanied my fluffy companion here" Fan Zhong replied as a small smile formed on his face, hand running through Little White's glorious coat of fur.
Fan Cheng's stoic demeanor seemed to falter for just the briefest moment as if it were armor giving way for a brief moment before returning once again.
"With father calling the clan to full war muster everyone is doing their own small part. Last I heard they were running messages between the various supply outposts that are supporting the front between us and the Wei dogs." Saying this Fan Cheng took a seat across from him at the table that had been set up near the center of the humble courtyard.
Little White respectively presented himself in front of Fan Cheng and was quickly greeted with calm petting and head scratches. Seemingly content at being acknowledged he quickly faded into transparency and ambled over to Fan Zhong before sitting down, the only sign of this being a small cloud of air pressing dust outward as the large wolf laid down. Had untrained mortals been in the room it would seem as if Little white had simply vanished from all trace with no sign of passage; however, to the two trained warriors, the signs were clear as day.
"A shame, even they are being dragged into this horrid affair. It makes me dream of the days when I thought the clan warriors encompassed heaven and earth, able to destroy such evil with a simple turn of the hand." Fan Zhong's tone turned somber as he spoke, his expression and gaze relaying the pain that had been imprinted on his soul.
Fan Cheng visibly shook at the sight, until now he had many things to do that had kept his mind adrift. Now he could see how much Fan Zhong had been forced to grow on the battlefield. Anger warred with worry and pride in his chest, pride in his little brother for weathering such things and growing from it surely.
That anger felt dangerous though, blind anger that threatened to imprint itself on anything that came within striking distance. It was the kind of feeling that drove good men to do terrible things and Fan Cheng had felt it before. This time it had a new tinge though as if he was tasting a familiar sour medicine that had something potent added to it.
Hard discipline clamped down on that feeling, crushing it and grinding the thoughts into a resolve. This firmed into his conviction to better himself so that someday his strength would keep all of his family, not just Fan Zhong, away from such pain. With a deep and calm breath Fan Cheng steadied himself. A brief lapse that had only lasted the time of that breath, a mere moment for others, an eternity for the perception of a master.
"Well said, were that it was so simple. Now though, I have the great pleasure of your company so that we might work to quicken the end of this nightmare." Fan Cheng resumed his ever stoic demeanor, imparting as much jovialness and camaraderie as he could into the words. "You'll love the team, I'm sure of it. Kang Ah and Su Heng are both excellent warriors who'll be happy to share drinks around the fire just as you like. Fan Jiahao and Mo Ming tend to keep to themselves, you know how observers are, but there are few others I'd trust my back to more than those two."
"Of course elder brother, it's this one's honor to serve under your command within the core legion" Fan Zhong forced his expression into the best semblance of a smile he could, images of dead comrades lurking in his thoughts.
Fan Cheng's expression turned to an apologetic one and he nodded as their conversation turned to less contentious topics.
"Indeed, your respect has never been in question. Something else that you may be interested in learning. After pulling a few favors this humble sage has secured permission for the proud king of this valley, who you so flagrantly treat as a mere puppy, to act as your guardian and companion while acting in the field." The older warrior bowed in an exaggeratedly humble way as if gifting a king some grand treasure.
For Fan Zhong this news was grander than any gift he'd ever received, a weight that he'd sparsely known existed lifted from his shoulders, and without thought he leaped from his chair, embracing his brother.
"Thank you… thank you so much!" It was all Fan Zhong could do to keep himself from sobbing tears of joy.
The thought of having Little White's comforting presence to stem the tide of suffering and misery that poured from this war brought him a peace of mind that hadn't seemed possible even just a month ago. A hole that had been drilled into that place in Fan Zhong's mind, the place he dared not delve into, slowly started to heal. Slowly the two brothers broke away from one another and turned to talking of truly lighter topics, exchanging words about travels and the things they had seen.
Before he knew it, Fan Zhong had spent most of the night simply speaking with Fan Cheng and they ended the night with smiles on faces that had seen them far too rarely of late. Come morning the new battle squad met and checked over equipment as well as got everyone introduced. From the brief conversation Fan Zhong had with his new comrades he learned a few things.
Firstly the warrior that he had replaced had been a master realm martial artist named Fan Wu, someone who was his far removed cousin if Fan Cheng's hazy recollection of clan lineage was to go on. The man in question had been promoted to the headquarters unit of Fan Ping's decimated legion while Fan Shun had been assigned to stay the commander. It seemed that they would be recovering in the village while newer warriors, who had been held in reserve due to lack of experience, were armed and integrated into the various squads making up that legion.
Since most of the officers had died during the siege of Forest Depths Village several master realm experts had been pulled from core legion positions to fill that gap. Meanwhile, elders who had been managing logistical and reserve positions were added to the core legion to supplement it. This point had confused Fan Zhong until it had been explained to him that since the core legion was never actually assembled unless the majority of the clan assembled as a singular army, their squads were normally used to fill various logistical and flexible command positions.
Command of permanent legions were assigned so they could act as guaranteed fighting power that could be stationed for long-term missions such as defending a village or holding. Core legion battle squads on the other hand would either stay split apart fulfilling duties as individual experts or be assembled to provide flexible aid to the permanent legions. A good example was the palm that Fan Cheng had led to reinforce Fan Ping's legion.
That unit had been formed from several permanent legions who gave a temporary command to Fan Cheng for the duration of the mission and then the normal commanders of those legions resumed their positions afterward to take up more extended missions. Other than this core legion battle squads would sometimes be used to guard smaller, more key assets. Places or locations where strong groups of individual warriors would have an easier time than more spread out legions that needed large amounts of supplies.
After some discussion, it seemed that this would be the mission for Fan Cheng's squad going forward. They were to guard a mine used to harvest low-quality mortal natural treasure stone which was used by the clan en masse to refine low-quality earth-aligned treasure essence. This had many uses in the construction of walls, buildings, and even the occasional earth-aligned magical treasure for warriors who advanced to the master realm and thus would earn such a treasure upon becoming an elder.
According to local maps, the mine itself was rather small and located in a ravine a day and a half west and a bit south of Little Green Bamboo village by foot. Surrounding the mine were also three small farming villages that belonged to the clan which each housed around 30-40 people. These were only another half day west from the mine.
For a core legion squad, this made an ideal defensive location as both the village and farming communities were within easy reach allowing them to defend the mine while also assisting if any enemies happened to attack some of the clans' smaller holdings. As an aside, the distances for travel on the map only accounted for normal people traveling at a walking pace, a martial artist pushing their body could easily make it to the farming communities or Little Green Bamboo Village much faster. Their task would continue until either the war stopped or new orders were issued and so the unit set out the next morning to make way for the mine.
All of this went without fanfare and they soon arrived, settling camp inside some of the small buildings the miners had used while living here. The camp itself was humble as it only spanned some 50 square meters with the small buildings lining five a side to a central path that led into an opening in the side of one of the cliff faces. Above the sides of the ravine formed natural walls that loomed 15 meters on either side with the approach to the small camp being a ramp that sloped gently for 100 meters before meeting the top of the ravine walls.
In quick order, the squad set up inside three of the squat bamboo hut-like buildings that lined the camp with two members to each. Although Fan Zhong's head almost reached the ceiling the inside was quite roomy compared to the appearance and after a quick dusting both bedding and supplies were set down. That night blurred away and soon the days started to as well.
A routine began to form where the older warriors would tutor Fan Zhong, encouraging him in morning training routines and technique exercises before settling down to exchange small talk over dinner and a fire. Days turned into weeks and he felt his technique sharpening, instincts that had been born in the heat of battle being honed into a fine edge. Soon months started passing with no sign of an enemy attack or new orders, by this time six months had come and gone with no further assignments.
No one outwardly showed it or even revealed any hint of frustrations however, Fan Zhong could feel the beginnings of conflicted gazes on his back now and then. That is until eight months later the unit received orders to provide emergency aid to a small fishing village near the border of Wei loyalist territory. Everything seemed to happen in a blur as the core legion squad was packed and ready to move within a minute of receiving the order.
Then they marched like Fan Zhong never had before, marching until exhaustion threatened to overtake him. Normally to reach the village they were traveling to at a normal pace one would need to take a month however, significant time could be saved by traveling over the hills and cliffs between roads if you could traverse them safely. The core legion squad blazed over this difficult terrain and Fan Zhong typically found himself falling behind the group before finding them waiting in a clearing ahead.
Little White enjoyed the running, never before had he been allowed to run so free and far. Every time Fan Zhong would feel shame in his chest while panting inside those clearings a wet snout would nudge his forehead, happily panting and smiling at the exhaustion. By the fifth day, Fan Cheng carried his little brother over his shoulder for the remainder of the journey, his Qi-enhanced body having no trouble carrying the younger warrior, although he did have to use around ten spirit stones a day to keep up such expenditure of energy.
Night had fallen and Fan Zhong looked on, face red with shame as he was set down on the final day of the trek. Finally, he found his bearings and looked at the village in front of him. Fire ran from buildings as screaming echoed in the distance. Tendrils of black smoke curled into the air, ephemeral and soon unseen amidst the backdrop of night. Flames licked the air, providing a canvas to see the destruction that lay before them. Terror filled his thoughts for a moment, images of dead enemies and friends alike as well as the locket with a picture of a little girl on her sister's shoulders.
A voice as steady as the mountains brought him back to reality as it carried over the squad, anger, and righteousness tempered by discipline and training.
"Spread out, find any survivors, and lead them to the square. Enemies are to be killed on sight however if they surrender remember your honor as a warrior. If anything, perhaps one of them will know how this group slipped mother's notice. Go!" Fan Cheng finished with a breath before shaking his head and blurring into the center of the small village
"Brother White, please make sure our junior brother is well taken care of!" Kang Ah's booming voice sounded out as the master realm warrior followed suit and split off toward the northern edge of the community.
Fan Zhong felt a small piece of paper be placed into his hand as a whisper entered his ear while silver moonlight seemed to curl to either side of him, traces of the observers activating their movement techniques.
"Junior brother Fan Zhong, please use this if you need aid. Sister Mo Ming and I shall scout the surroundings for additional enemies" Fan Jiaho's voice seemed to drift into the night as her form was nowhere to be seen.
Steeling himself, Fan Zhong started running to the southern set of burning buildings. Long hours of training activated by instinct and his momentum built no longer limited to the ten steps worth that he had been so long ago. Now his speed continued to rise, ten, then twenty, and soon fifty steps worth of momentum carried Fan Zhong down the small hill the group had been standing on outside the small village.
This village had no wall like Forest Depths Village as it was too small for such a thing, only bamboo fences and simple dirt roads outlined the community and soon Fan Zhong found himself running down a simple road that led to a set of two houses. Fire blazed in the windows and on the roof while a group of ten or so villagers was exiting the buildings. Behind them, three warriors with short swords wearing emerald robes sautered imperiously, as if taunting rats to scurry as far as they could.
A different kind of fire blazed in Fan Zhong's mind, one of rage and blood that screamed to tear apart these dogs simply for being born as Wei filth. Little White was running alongside Fan Zhong and suddenly disappeared, a line of small dirt explosions the only thing marking his passage. In what seemed like a single explosive charge the water wolf zipped forward and ripped a large bite out the arm of one enemy, spilling blood on the ground.
Movement happened fast and before Fan Zhong even crossed half the distance to them a dozen blows had already swung and missed Little White as he blurred in and out of sight like a ghost, always at the enemies flanks. Soon two of the Wei clan soldiers were forced to retreat around the corner of one of the houses as the proud spirit beast lured them away from the villagers. Just as the third was about to follow as well he spotted Fan Zhong.
Curiosity sparked in the Wei dog's eyes before his expression shifted to contempt. Fan Zhong could understand why, his mental energy could feel the presence of his opponents and it dwarfed his own. Guessing from experience he estimated the enemy must at least be a decently experienced first-grade realm warrior if not stronger.
Gritting his teeth Fan Zhong took up position in front of the villagers, prepared to do his duty. His mind ran through possible ideas, perhaps the talisman could help. Quickly Fan Zhong dismissed this idea as the communication talisman would take too long to activate, he had to fight! Sadness passed through his mind, of all the things he had yet to experience, of the nights spent simply speaking and enjoying life with his brother and friends. His father had always said that the heavens had their own will, it was simply up to mortals to live through it the best they could.
Perhaps he would die here today, but it would no longer be as someone who shirked his duty. Today if Fan Zhong were to die, he resolved that it would be on his feet, just as Su Fen had. His staff spun into a void gate stance, still moving with all the momentum he had built.
Each of them tensed, Fan Zhong's mental technique working better than ever before, he saw the twitch of the swordsman's foot and then a blur. Steel streaked toward his face blindingly fast as his staff seemed to move through molasses in comparison, would it make it in time? At that moment, the enemy's head exploded and halfway to Fan Zhong his corpse fell lifeless to the floor.
In an even faster blur, as the corpse was falling to the ground, Su Heng's form appeared standing over the enemy with his weapon held over the corpse.
"Junior brother Fan Zhong, it seems I arrived at a convenient moment. Your stance has improved since we last sparred however, I dare say this opponent may have been too much for you. I finished clearing the extreme western end of the village and so commander Fan Cheng asked me to check up on you, apologies if I was interrupting." Su Heng smiled, a mix of playfulness and apology written on his face.
As the senior warrior finished speaking Fan Zhong saw yet another blurring figure as the half-transparent form of Little White rushed to him, dropping an arm at his feet. Ferociousness seemed to appear in the water wolf's eyes as he stared at Fan Zhong before confusion replaced it followed by happiness at seeing his longtime companion. The conflicting emotions in his companion's bestial eyes worried Fan Zhong however, he had complete faith in Little White.
It had been proven time and time again that the spirit beast was his most loyal companion and he wouldn't start questioning him now.
"No apologies are needed, senior, thank you for the assistance." Fan Zhong said while bowing.
He knew that Su Heng had mostly either just saved his life or at least stopped him from being mortally injured. How could he be ungrateful given such a thing? No, Fan Zhong knew that it was a blessing to have such strong warriors at his side. They were not the ones to blame for his conflicting emotions on this assignment. With a nod, the older warrior walked to the villagers and began organizing them to retreat to the town square where the squad was gathering.
Several enemies were captured and sent away for interrogation once a nearby legion arrived the following morning to assist in cleaning up the village and providing aid. In all, over half of the residents had died in the siege and it was estimated that a majority of the enemy forces had been able to escape before Fan Cheng's squad was able to arrive. Like this, the incident passed and the unit was once again assigned back to their protection duty of the mine.
Months passed and another assignment did not arrive until 11 months later when the squad acted as the head of a legion to assist another border town caught up in the war. This time they arrived far too late and only a handful of survivors remained. Fan Zhong felt helpless, unable to join the more experienced master realm warriors in chasing down enemy remnants and unable to help those that had already passed. That night he played a song in the town square of the burnt-out village as the pyres burned to honor the dead.
This song spoke of the loss his heart had felt, of the innocence that had been slowly removed the more life had eroded his soul. Of lost friends and lost passion, of those things left unspoken. For some reason, even music could not stem the feelings inside of him, the feelings that kindled his burning hatred for the Wei.
Time continued to pass, and several more assignments came and went. Each time Fan Zhong barely engaged as part of the squad as if he was simply some ornament, there to look the part and fill a spot. During a particularly blood encounter he found a group of second-grade mercenaries who had hidden in an alley.
Here they had found a girl and her father while fleeing from the fan clan reinforcements. In their haste the men had gutted the father and stabbed the little girl, a small thing only tall enough to come to their waists. In a flash before he could engage the men Fan Jiahao's flying daggers had struck as she moved over the rooftops searching for enemies nearby.
There, in a dirty alley full of dead bodies and despair, a little girl had pressed herself to Fan Zhong.
"Why is it so cold, big brother, why is it…" the girl had said.
Like this, she faded from the world into the house of her ancestors.
Following this Fan Zhong threw himself into training as he never had before training with all of his might to just be a bit faster, a bit stronger. Things that used to give him joy seemed hallowed, every happy moment cut short by a mental hammer of guilt and shame. Three years had passed in this total time, guarding this mine. Safe from the war in this guarded unit he had been assigned to.
He felt close to something as if infinity lay just beyond his grasp if only he could take it.