Transmigration: of Mysteries and Songs

Chapter 83: Selfishness

Feng Luodi never expected Situ to do that for her. Yes, she did know that he had feelings for her, but she knew that such feelings were nothing in the face of the greater good. She was not one to put herself down, but neither was she overconfident of her own charm. She thought she'd understood Situ: a clever man whose every move is calculated and carefully examined. That was the General of the North she knew.

But this time, his actions were not calculated nor examined in advance. Suddenly, she felt the weight of his unspoken feelings on her shoulders.

The army slowly started to redraw from the maze, under orders from Cheng Shifei. The entrance of the maze was slowly getting submerged by the quicksand flowing into it, but Situ was yet to be seen. Everyone watched the entrance carefully, worry apparent on their faces.

Finally, the long awaited figure appeared in view.

Feng Luodi looked at him. Other than the dust in his hair and his ruffled clothes, Situ seemed fine. In one hand , he held Remembrance.

"General, are you alright?" Cheng Shifei and the Covert Guards rushed over quickly.

Situ shook his head, and walked over to Feng Luodi, passing the Guqin to her. Without stopping, he continued onwards. "Let's head back. It's been a tiring day for all of us." The soldiers followed behind him. Feng Luodi looked at the Guqin in her hands, a mixture of feelings welling up in her.

"General! You are injured!" A soldier cried out.

Feng Luodi's head shot up and looked for Situ. Indeed, his entire back was covered in wounds. Some were deep gashes, and some were puncture holes where black fluid oozed out slowly, the injuries from the poisoned arrows and darts.

Suddenly, she could not hold in her tears any longer. How could I be so selfish? All I'd been thinking about was if I could get back to the 21st Century - I never thought of him at all! Why did this have to happen to me? Why do I have to come to this world at all? Why am I the one who always had to make such difficult decisions? Why must I be in such pain?

Remembrance suddenly felt heavy in her hands, so heavy that she felt herself falling to the ground along with the Guqin.

"Miss Feng!" Quattor, who stayed by her side all the while, cried out. Situ spun around, just in time to see Feng Luodi fall to the ground like the heart-breaking sway of a willow tree in the wind.

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The neighbouring countries that had stationed their troops to watch over the movements of the Northern Army were irritated by the three days of inactivity of the troops, then surprised by the sudden withdrawal of the Northern Army. Their surprise quickly turned to shock as they felt the ground rumbling beneath their feet, tremors caused actually by the sinking of the maze. Believing it to be the result of Situ's discovery of the "invincible weapon" that he was rumoured to be looking for, the generals of the other armies panicked and were at a lost of what to do.

Before they could report the situation to their kings, Zhang Xin appeared before their armies with a mere troop of ten thousand strong. The generals quickly questioned him.

"General Zhang, what is the weapon that General Situ had discovered? Are you not willing to share it with all of us?"

"Hmph! There is no such weapon, and even if there is, why must we share it around? This is in the lands of the Xuan Kingdom, and the territory of the Northern Army." Zhang Xin's face darkened. "If you think you can best us, go ahead and try by all means. But I can tell you that your attempts are futile, even if you combine forces with each other. Our General Situ is back, and you can tell that to your kings. Tell them that the General of the Northern Army is back, and it's time for them to snuff out their shady plot themselves."