Chapter 7: Cut Off from Food Supplies—Can Medicinal Herbs Serve as Meals?

“Don’t speak.”

“Breathe gently. You won’t die, you won’t die!”

Zhang Yuan gritted his teeth and tore open Young Master Tao’s armor. Nearby soldiers stepped forward, helping to bind the arrow wound piercing through Young Master Tao’s chest with strips of cloth.

Young Master Tao’s breathing was already faint, his eyes dim and lusterless. He whispered, “Military merit, military merit, military merit…”

Zhang Yuan took out the blood-soaked roll of linen and pressed it into Young Master Tao’s hand.

“Yuping, Tao Yulin, eight levels of accumulated merit, wish, wish…”

“Wish for a scholar’s robe and green shirt, a folding fan and gauze cap, to never dream of the pugilistic world again…”

Young Master Tao’s voice faded until it was inaudible. Zhang Yuan knelt on the ground, his body slowly collapsing as darkness engulfed his vision.

Noisy sounds erupted in his ears.

“The medical officer is here, and Deputy Commander Zhao is here too.”

“Quick, this little brother can’t hold on much longer. He’s a good man, he can’t die.”

……

“Monitoring: Host’s vital signs are dropping. Chaos is autonomously initiating repairs. Two Blood Essence Orbs consumed. Estimated time: two days.”

——————————————

In the South City of Fengtian County, a spacious courtyard had been requisitioned as a camp for the wounded.

Seven or eight medical officers draped in linen robes moved between simple wooden cots. The courtyard was filled with the heavy scent of medicine and the stench of blood, accompanied by low, painful groans echoing from all sides.

“I, Tao Yulin, owe you a life, kid.”

Lying on a wooden cot, Young Master Tao looked pale, the gauze wrapped around his body soaked in fresh red.

Though miserable, his life had been saved.

Beside him, Zhang Yuan leaned against another wooden cot, his shoulder and waist also wrapped in layers of gauze.

Hearing Young Master Tao speak, Zhang Yuan grinned, which tugged at his wounds and made the corner of his eye twitch.

This was the feeling of being alive.

Three days ago, it was Deputy Commander Zhao Changming of the Red Scale Army who had stepped in, using his innate true energy to protect Young Master Tao’s heart meridian and providing his own personal medicine to save him.

Even so, Young Master Tao’s heart meridian was damaged, and his martial arts cultivation was essentially ruined.

The good news: he was still alive.

The bad news: the South City was completely surrounded by the Yan army, and they didn’t know how much longer they could survive.

Zhang Yuan’s gaze fell on the black-sheathed long saber leaning against the edge of the bed.

This saber was a gift from Deputy Commander Zhao.

The Deputy Commander had already ordered that the medical officers must prioritize the treatment of Zhang Yuan and Young Master Tao.

Most of Fengtian County had fallen, leaving only the South City. During the retreat, Zhang Yuan and Young Master Tao had not only acted as the rearguard but had also supported each other to return alive.

For Zhang Yuan to carry Young Master Tao and survive a retreat under the hands of an innate expert was a miracle.

Saving the two and using them as examples helped boost the morale of the remaining soldiers.

Leaning against the cot, Zhang Yuan closed his eyes slightly, and a chaotic light screen rose in his mind.

【Zhang Yuan】

Identity: Ninth-rank Constable of the Great Qin Luyang Prefecture, conscripted soldier of the Red Scale Army

Cultivation: Mid-stage Postnatal Realm, 14 Blood Essence Orbs required for upgrade

Martial Arts: Cloak Saber Technique (Grand Completion, cannot be upgraded); Iron Armor Fist (Grand Completion, cannot be upgraded)

Battle Formation: Azure Wolf Formation (Minor Completion)

Chaos Space: 3 Blood Essence Orbs, 10 Enlightenment Orbs

Chaos Combat Support: Not activated

Zhang Yuan originally had more than three Blood Essence Orbs, but activating Chaos Combat Support and the subsequent automatic healing had consumed them.

He didn’t know if it could be considered a blessing in disguise, but his cultivation, which had been restricted from upgrading, had quietly improved as his body recovered.

It was similar to how cultivation improved rapidly after a great battle.

Zhang Yuan had two wounds: his waist had been pierced by a crossbow bolt, though the injury wasn’t too severe.

His shoulder had been pierced by an arrow from an innate expert.

Fortunately, most of the lethality of that arrow had been absorbed by Young Master Tao; otherwise, Zhang Yuan would have suffered lung and heart damage, or even shattered meridians.

After the Chaos healing repairs, although the two wounds on Zhang Yuan’s body didn’t look fully healed, they were actually no longer a major concern.

Clenching his fist slightly, he could feel his strength nearing a thousand catties.

A thousand catties of force was not something an ordinary soldier could possess.

In the army, a thousand catties of strength was enough to be a squad leader.

Duan Hong, the camp head of Zhang Yuan’s unit, only had a cultivation level of just over a thousand catties of strength.

“Young Master Tao, Zhang kid, recovering well?” A soldier in his early forties walked over carrying a clay pot. The aroma of meat drifted from far away, causing the wounded soldiers lying on the cots to open their eyes and lift their heads.

The soldier’s name was Chen Wuxiong, a former yamen runner from Fengtian County who had been conscripted into Zhang Yuan’s camp during the defense of the city.

Chen Wuxiong reached the space between Zhang Yuan and Young Master Tao’s cots, placed a stack of clay bowls on the ground, and used a wooden ladle to scoop two bowls of meat soup from the pot.

The meat soup was steaming, a thick layer of oil shimmering on the surface, making Zhang Yuan and Young Master Tao, who hadn’t seen animal fat in ages, swallow hard.

The mere scent of the meat made the other wounded soldiers on their cots sniff the air violently.

“The Commander killed his warhorse and boiled two big pots of hot soup. Our camp got two jars, and Old Duan told me to bring you half a jar.”

Red Scale Army Commander Yu Lin had a date-red warhorse, said to be a reward from a military competition in the Imperial City. He had always treated it like a treasure, personally tending to its fodder, and wouldn’t let other soldiers even touch it.

He hadn’t expected Commander Yu to kill this horse.

“Did we really get two jars of meat?” Young Master Tao looked at the meat soup in his bowl and spoke softly.

Chen Wuxiong chuckled twice and handed the bowls to them.

“Eat, eat quickly. We haven’t had oil in a long time; you’ll get diarrhea if the soup gets cold,” Chen Wuxiong grinned. “Those women from the laundry unit hate it when people soil their beds; they’ll nag and curse you.”

The remark was meant as a joke, clearly intended to distract Zhang Yuan and Young Master Tao.

In truth, both Zhang Yuan and Young Master Tao knew that with only a dozen men left in their camp, it was impossible for them to have been allocated two jars of meat soup.

This half-jar must have been saved from the rations of Duan Hong and the others.

Both were extremely hungry; they downed the clay bowls of meat and soup without even really tasting them.

As they slurped away, Chen Wuxiong wiped his face and turned his head away.

The other wounded soldiers nearby showed expressions of envy, and those who had been groaning seemed to have lost the strength to do so.

“Tastes good, right? Have another bowl.”

Chen Wuxiong took the empty bowl from Zhang Yuan’s hand, smiled, scooped more meat soup, and handed it back.

Zhang Yuan looked around, then at the bowl in his hand.

If he were to eat his fill, ten or eight bowls would barely be enough to fill the gaps in his teeth.

Not to mention that they hadn’t eaten meat in so long, but for those who practiced martial arts, who didn’t have a huge appetite?

“Is the camp short on food?” Zhang Yuan lowered his voice and looked at Chen Wuxiong.

Chen Wuxiong froze for a moment, then nodded slightly.

“We retreated in a hurry; we didn’t bring the grain.”

“Actually, there hasn’t been any grain in the city for a long time…”

Fengtian City had been under siege for three months; where would there be any grain left?

This time, they were truly out of food; otherwise, the Commander wouldn’t have been willing to kill his own warhorse.

Zhang Yuan wouldn’t have considered these things before.

But after that dream-like experience, and after contemplating the cultivation memories of many others, his mind was much sharper than before.

Many things had suddenly become clear to him.

“Medical Officer Hu, you said there are still quite a few unused medicinal herbs, right?”

Holding the meat soup, Zhang Yuan looked toward the medical officer not far away who was changing dressings for a wounded soldier.