Dandere General and his Lord

57. Warmth

“Brother Qiao Sheng, you’re here.” Xiao Qiu was very happy to see Mo Qiao Sheng.

Ever since Mo Qiao Sheng had lead along a horse overladen with heads and earned himself the nickname of ‘Mo Yanwang’, most of the palace maids and servants couldn’t help flinching in fear whenever they saw him.

This kind of fear made him, who had never been good at interacting with others, appear even more solemn and indifferent.

But perhaps due to the fact that they had already been acquainted with each other when they had still been of humble status, in addition to her young age, Xiao Qiu was still lively and enthusiastic every time she saw him.

This made Mo Qiao Sheng feel slightly relieved.

“Brother Qiao Sheng still hasn’t had dinner yet? Big Sis is making pancakes, I’ll go and bring some for you and Brother Feng to eat together.” At the mention of food, Xiao Qiu’s eyes started gleaming instantly. Before Mo Qiao Sheng even had a chance to reply, she turned and ran away.

Mo Qiao Sheng looked at the back of the little figure who was running into the distance with a smile in his eyes and sat at the table with Cheng Feng.

“It’s so noisy all day, I’m really annoyed. Fortunately, you’re here.” Cheng Feng grumbled impatiently.

“She’s only this tall.” Mo Qiao Sheng stretched out his hand to compare. “If you’re really annoyed by her, you can use a single hand to drive her away and make her too scared to come again.”

Cheng Feng pursed his lips and looked away.

“Your wound is all healed.” Mo Qiao Sheng took a small pot of wine and placed it on top of the table before flipping over the downturned cups resting on top of the table.

“You’re telling me?” Cheng Feng watched him pour the wine. “I’ve been lying down for more than half a month. Back then, when we got hurt, this…”

The two of them raised their cups and clinked them lightly. The liquor travelled down their throats, mellow and fragrant.

They remembered not long ago, they sat opposite each other just like this. The same two people and the same wine, yet it was so bitter and unpleasant at the time.

Alcohol stimulated a person’s nerves and made their thoughts more emotional.

In the past, every time they were seriously injured, they could only lie down alone in a cold and damp shack.

No matter how thirsty, there was no water. No matter how hungry, there was no food.

In the boundless silence, enduring, suffering, fearing that the god of death might descend upon them at any moment.

If you were lucky, there might be a brother who would come back at night and fill your mouth with a bite of food saved by themselves and feed you a sip of turbid water.

Barely dragging yourself away from the brink of death before continuing to struggle for survival in the dark swamp devoid of light.1

But now:

Cheng Feng looked at the empty bowl of medicine on top of the table.

Every time he opened his eyes, a pair of small, chubby hands were always held out to him, offering sweet, clean water and a bowl of warm porridge.

That child talked a lot which made him feel it was too noisy. For him who had always been used to nursing his wounds in silence, it made him feel very unaccustomed. 

He was unaccustomed to this kind of warmth.

Although she was just a child and she was often careless with her work.

But her sentiments were scorching hot, so hot that he—who had been in the icy cold for a long time—subconsciously wanted to resist it.

Cheng Feng closed his eyes and sifted through the memories of his bleak life. It seemed that he had only received such warmth and consideration when he had been young.

Recalling the warmth from that time, the memories that preceded it seemed even more hellish.

If I hadn’t encountered My Lord,

How can a person like me who has been dyed black from the inside out have the opportunity to be treated gently again.

Cheng Feng drank all the wine in his cup. “You came to look for me, did something happen?”

Mo Qiao Sheng fished out the small piece of tortoiseshell hanging around his neck and rubbed it for a moment.

Helan Zhen and Sima Tu were newly acquainted friends of his and they were both very warm and sincere towards him.

On the contrary, Cheng Feng had always been cold and sharp-tongued towards people.

But for some reason, when he came to Cheng Feng to discuss this matter, his heart felt calm and stable.

This was a brother who really knew him and could understand him.

“You said this was bestowed to you by My Lord?” Cheng Feng looked at the triangular pendant hanging around his neck.

Mo Qiao Sheng hummed softly, his eyes that were staring at the piece of tortoiseshell revealed a rarely seen tenderness.

“Qiao Sheng, once, I advised you to stay away from My Lord, but now it seems that I was wrong.” Cheng Feng spoke.

Mo Qiao Sheng’s angular facial lines softened slightly. “My Lord wishes for me to give him something in return, but I don’t have any strengths. What can I give him? What is there in this world that would be worthy of My Lord? Because of this, I’ve been worrying over this for days.”

“Are you stupid? My Lord is the monarch of a nation, how can ordinary things catch his eyes? What he wants is nothing more than your heart. I will accompany you to the market tomorrow, look carefully for something that can represent your feelings and offer it respectfully.”

Mo Qiao Sheng had been troubled for many days and finally found a solution. He breathed a sigh of relief, “Great kindness.”2

There were tens of thousands of troops stationed within Bianzhou.

Every day, in the evening glow of the setting sun, the soldiers who had set up camp within the city would come out in large groups to stroll around the market.

Hence, the market became even more lively towards the evening, with many shops lighting up lanterns and preparing to open for business for the night.

Although the streets were teeming with soldiers, Mo Qiao Sheng and Cheng Feng—who were walking side by side—were still very eye-catching.

One of them was dressed in a crimson robe with a gorgeous countenance and a frosty expression.

The other was clothed in plain black from head to toe, looking around majestically with a dangerous aura about him.

They were followed by a white and tender little girl who was looking around with her two, big eyes.

“Have you decided what to buy?” Cheng Feng frowned.

This was his first time visiting the market and the overly enthusiastic bosses lining both sides of the road made him feel very uncomfortable.

He exuded an aura of rejecting people for a thousand miles, scaring back a proprietress who was just about to step forward to greet him.

Mo Qiao Sheng was also very discomfited and spoke with some distress, “General Helan suggested that I buy some… jewelry and ornaments. Sima Tu suggested that… cough.”

Mo Qiao Sheng stayed in the jewelry shop for a long time.

Xiao Qiu squatted in front of a shop selling stuffed toys not far away, fumbling with this one and looking at that one with great interest.

Among them, there was an extremely vivid cloth tiger which she couldn’t bear to put down.

She remembered that when she was living in her hometown, there was a cloth tiger at her house. Even though it had been played with until it was shabby and mended several times over, she had still never gotten the chance to touch it. It was a precious toy that only her younger brother was qualified to play with.

“Little Girl, if you’re not going to buy it, don’t keep touching it. They’re all worth five copper coins, it won’t be easy to sell if it gets dirty.” The owner of the stall spoke.

Five big coins landed on top of the stall and a hand stretched out from behind Xiao Qiu and lifted up the cloth tiger.

“Feng, A’Feng, why did you buy that? Can you lend it to me to play with? Let me play with it once.” Xiao Qiu trotted over behind A’Feng, standing on her tiptoes the whole time as she tried to reach for it.

With a plop, the exquisite toy fell into her arms and the figure in red in front of her strode forward without looking back.

Cheng Feng walked forward with his head lowered; he was very dissatisfied with himself for his unclear behaviour. 

Whatever, it’s just a way to thank her for taking care of me during this period of time.

“Feng? Chu Feng?”

At that moment, a man’s voice sounded from not far away.

Cheng Feng froze instantly, halting in his tracks. A sense of terror and dread climbed up from the soles of his feet all the way to the top of his head.

It was but a part of the fear that arose from the innermost depths of his heart.

A man in his thirties stopped them.

The man had a white, bearded face and he was dressed in luxurious clothing.

“Feng, aren’t you Feng? I haven’t seen you for so many years, you’ve grown so big.” The man stretched out his hand and tried to hold Cheng Feng’s hands.

Cheng Feng seemed as though he’d been bitten by a snake and recoiled violently, taking two steps backwards. His eyes were red as he stared at the person in front of him with an unwavering gaze.

“Chu Feng, don’t you remember me? I’m Chu Yezhi, your former master.” The man rubbed his hands together, showing an expression of great joy. “Back then, the family was in decline and finances were quite tight; I had no choice but to sell you. I was also really sad and unwilling, I’ve thought of you often during these past years.”

“Things are different now, I had the fortune to serve in the court of Duke Xiang of Song as a guest minister.” Chu Ye spread out the sleeves of his robe, demonstrating his wealth and ranking. “Chu Feng, who is your current Master? Come with me, I will go look for him and buy you.”

He stretched out his hand to pull Cheng Feng, but halfway to its destination, a small, white hand violently slapped the back of his hand.

A little girl less than ten years of age who was holding a cloth tiger with one hand and holding A’Feng in the other was fuming with rage as she said to him, “His name is Cheng Feng, not Chu Feng, and he is our General. Who are you? In our city of Bianzhou, how dare you act so rudely towards the generals of our Jin Nation? Can’t tell good from bad.”3

“What General.” Chu Yezhi sneered. “Little Kid, don’t make noise in front of me. I am an envoy from the State of Song, and I will request an audience with Marquis Jin Yue of your Jin Nation. Pointing to a slave as a general, aren’t you afraid that your Lord will chop your little head off?”

Cheng Feng grabbed Xiao Qiu’s hand and turned to leave.

“Chu Feng! How can you treat your old master in such a manner?” Chu Yezhi stretched out his hand to stop them. “Have you forgotten my kindness towards you back then?”

He scrutinized Cheng Feng from head to toe with a frivolous gaze and assumed what he thought to be a refined and tasteful smile, “You were too small back then and might be unable to remember it. We were so close during those days, if it weren’t for the shortage of money and how we couldn’t afford to offend the people from those families, how could I be willing to part with you after raising you so cleanly with such great difficulty, only to send you away with my own hands?”

Chu Yezhi leaned over and added in a low voice, “I haven’t even touched you myself.”

Cheng Feng felt a layer of goosebumps erupt all over his body and he was barely able to keep himself from trembling slightly.

Such a person, I once even revered him akin to a God. Even if he pushed me into hell later on, I still continued to beautify him in my memory and find excuses to justify his behaviour.

He felt cold all over, as though he had fallen into an icehouse.

“Feng, what’s wrong with you?” Xiao Qiu looked worriedly at Cheng Feng whose face was drained of all colour and pulled his hand.

“Go.” Cheng Feng gritted his teeth. “Let’s go.”

“Don’t go!” Chu Yezhi’s face turned cold as he beckoned several of his followers to surround Cheng Feng and Xiao Qiu.

A hand stretched out from the shadowy interior of the entrance of a shop and settled on top of Cheng Feng’s shoulder.

The hand was both warm and powerful.

It was Mo Qiao Sheng.

Without saying a single word, he stood firmly behind Cheng Feng, his eyes gleaming as he looked coldly at the several foreigners in front of him who were dressed in the garb of the State of Song.

Cheng Feng’s heart—which had been immersed in a pool of ice—was dredged up by this hot hand.

He felt that his feet, which seemed to be floating, were gradually standing firm.

He pushed Xiao Qiu behind him as he grasped onto the hilt of his sword and pulled out a section of the saber with a swish, his eyes red as he confronted the person he hated who was in front of him.

“Commander Mo.”

“What are you doing here Commander?”

“A fight? Count me, Yang Sheng, in.”

Several soldiers of the Nation of Jin who had been strolling around in the street surrounded them.

The man in the lead who had a striking scar on his ferocious face rolled up his sleeves and pushed his way in front of Chu Yezhi.

“Misunderstanding, it’s a misunderstanding. I am an envoy from the State of Song, you mustn’t be so rude.” Seeing that they were dominating in sheer force of numbers in addition to having an intermediate general in their presence, Chu Yezhi was timid and knew that he couldn’t afford to provoke them. Hence, he stated his identity and called back his attendants, leaving in a hurry.

Mo Qiao Sheng and Yang Sheng greeted each other.

He put his arm around Cheng Feng’s shoulder and said, “Come on, let’s go back.”

Cheng Feng turned to look at him.

Mo Qiao Sheng understood Cheng Feng’s current state of mind.

He increased the strength in his hand. “Don’t worry. It’s fine. Everything will be alright.”

TL Note: Happy New Years Everyone! 2022 was quite a hectic (to say the least) year for me. This year, one of the things I’m hoping to do is to finish all my ongoing projects asap, so let’s see how well that goes! I hope you all had a good year, and here’s to hoping you have a better one this year! 

1. (暗无天日 – àn wú tiān rì) Idiom meaning; complete darkness – total absence of justice 
2. (大善 – dà shàn) Buddhist term meaning a great kindness / a really good thing, or a person with good value.
3. (不知好歹 – bù zhī hǎo dǎi) – used to refer to a person not knowing right from wrong; not accepting others’ kindness. It is also a metaphor for not weighing yourself when doing things and provoking those whom you can’t afford.