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Chapter 20: Wan Tanpei

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Duty at the Backdoor's Forest entry post could be said to be pretty tedious, but also important.

While one had to keep standing at the front of the forest's entrance at the mercy of whatever the weather threw at you, one also had to take note of everyone that came in, and of course, everyone that came out.

Any loss was a loss for the army, since these were soldiers developed with great amounts of precious resources.

As for the trainees, they were the future talents of the army.

And while this could be regarded as tempering these talents and separating the commoners, it was also a carefully calculated investment, so a detailed record of mortality was necessary.

This was the duty of the entry post's guards, and they executed it sternly.

Entering the army was a tacit agreement to the possibility that one might die one day. Whether it was at the line of duty, or even during training, there was no room for complains, and it was completely normal.

This didn't mean though, that the guards on duty at the entry post were completely indifferent to everyone who entered the Backdoor's Forest.

These were their juniors, so whenever someone failed to come out, they would feel it was a bit of a pity. They could also have a good impression of a trainee in particular, in which case the loss would be more of pity.

And then there was the important and talented descendants of the great powers, whose deaths were truly great loses. That was really a pity.

...

Well, in the end, it was still not something these guards lost their sleep over.

These several last days, however, there was one individual which had kept these guards continually with their ears at ends.

Especially one, Wan Tanpei.

Every hundredth of hour, his ears would flick in direction to the Backdoor's Forest's entrance.

Truth is, his time of service at the forest's entry post had finished a few days ago. But because he was too concerned, he'd asked to be allowed to stay longer.

The source of his worries, was the third son of the Blood General that every soldier respected and venerated: Third Young Master Kyu Cao.

It was probably only him who knew his name though.

Thinking of the Third Young Master, Wan Tanpei's heart couldn't help but clench.

He wouldn't dare to say he knew all the details, but he was greatly aware of the Young Master's situation these several last years.

It was simply unfair, and the only thing he couldn't agree with the Blood General with.

The Third Young Master had done nothing wrong, but because of what his mother did, he had to pay with the indifference of his father. One which had spread to the rest of the clan, the state, and the army.

Thinking of that female, even though she was the Young Master's mother, and the former wife of the Blood General, he couldn't help but feel great resentment.

Not only because what she did caused the Young Master's to suffer. The humiliation that she caused to the Blood General, who was respected and admired by everyone in the Wave Breaking Empire, was surely, simply the biggest this one had ever suffered. Were not for his prestige and the endless respect he'd earned due his services, the amount of ridicule the Blood General would had had to go through wouldn't have been small.

The sky was dim, the sun had begun to set in the horizon.

Yet, the Young Master had still to come out.

Now, the Third Young Master had exhibited a habit of coming as early as the rise of the sun, and exiting before it became dark, but anyone would agree that slight deviations would be completely normal.

Not Wan Tanpei though.

Each hundredth of hour the Young Master took longer, a little more he dreaded that something might have happened, until the point that he thought all his fur would fall off from worry.

That day the Young Master didn't come out for a whole night, the dog almost broke from his position to go in and look for him.

Maybe he was being too meddling, but according to him, the more times the Young Master came to look for herbs, the higher the possibility of a misfortune occurring.

The sound of movement coming from the forest made the dog's ears stand like the tips of two spears.

He didn't turn, since he couldn't be obvious, so he took a glance from corner of his eyes.

Much to Wan Tanpei's relief, there, was the Third Young Master, wearing an unblemished and beautiful long formal robe the color of fresh leaves.

The other two guards obviously noticed him too, the muttering from one of them signaling that he took note of the cat coming back alive, which somehow tickled a bad hair on him.

As it was usual when the Young Master came out, Wan Tanpei did a complete inspection of the cat.

His height was average. But another way to put it was that it was just perfect for a cat.

His body was slim, but evidently defined. The long robe did nothing to hide his strong silhouette, and actually only complemented it. The exquisite green and the beautiful orange emphasized each other in a stunning manner.

Objectively, it couldn't be said that he was exceedingly handsome, just right enough. But maybe because of his noble blood and rearing, a charming air of dignity and gallantry hung around him, impossible to be overshadowed.

The only pity, would be the cat's lack of expression. Or rather, the aloofness and indifference which he seemed to regard the world around him with.

Seeing that expression always brought a pang of sadness and bitterness to Wan Tanpei.

As the dog continued his inspection, his gaze suddenly narrowed, and a hint of seriousness emerged in his stern expression.

Kyu Cao saw the exit of the Backdoor's Forest, but his gaze was a bit absentminded.

He kept recalling the events at the mushroom rock, and the mutated thunderlightning gray wolf.

Of course, he was not regretting anything, it just... it'd been quite the unusual experience, he would put it.

Or maybe it could be said that he was actually regretting a bit, since things had to be a little rushed. Due to the time and locations constrains, his curiosity had not been satisfied fully.

He pushed these thoughts aside when he noticed the military post, and the three guards standing in front.

They looked just the same as this morning, seemingly not having moved all this time, like three inert red statues.

That must be a tedious job, Kyu Cao considered idly.

He wondered if they ever grew bored despite being trained soliers, and if they had some way to pass the time, like a go board hidden somewhere.

Like usual, he went on indifferently, passing under the stern glares of the guards, until a voice stopped him.

"Third Young Master, pardon my daring question, but is Third Young Master injured?"

Kyu Cao's ears twitched, and he halted his steps.

He looked back over his shoulder, and found that the one who had spoken was the dog guard with dark fur.

Kyu Cao actually had a bit of an impression of this dog.

When he came to the Backdoor's Forest for the first time, it was this same guard who stopped him to try to dissuade him from entering. And the other two guards had already been changed, but only him had remained here so they saw each other every day.

This impression wasn't bad, since he understood the guard's position in trying to keep him away from a dangerous place.

Kyu Cao had also noticed that this dog paid some extra attention to him each time, which made him silently praise his dedication to the Bloodstripe Clan, going as far as looking over the decorative third young master with such dedication and seriousness.

He fully turned around to face the three guards, and considered it a bit before speaking. "Yes, I indeed got slightly injured when collecting herbs. But how did you know? My injury is not exposed, and the smell of blood shouldn't be present." Kyu Cao had studied a bit of medicine and healing as part of his Apothecary training, so things like getting rid of the smell of blood was easy for him.

The other two guards also turned toward the dog, a bit confused. They hadn't noticed anything about the cat that was out of place, lest an injury.

But what they were most confused about, was the way their senior addressed him.

They actually didn't really know who this cat exactly was.

They had only gotten from the dog that he was an extremely important figure, whose status was enough to send the entire Bloodstripe State into a ruckus is something were to happen to him.

So this third young master, was he an important guest from some super family? Maybe a guest from other country?

Hearing that confirmation, Wan Tanpei glanced at the cat's left paw. "The Third Young Master is really trying to not move his left arm," he explained briefly, but respectfully.

Kyu Cao's eyes twinkled with a hint surprise.

The long sleeve of his robe fell over his paw, covering it completely, so he actually hadn't been worried that others would notice his bandaged paw. But it was still uncomfortable when his sleeve grazed against it.

This was more of a subconscious decision, but he was indeed actively trying to not move his left arm too much.

He never thought that this would stand out, since moving the arms too much was improper when wearing a long formal robe to begin with.

But this dog had actuality noticed, probably from minuscule clues, so Kyu Cao was impressed.

Wan Tanpei's two companions also looked at the dog with profound admiration in their eyes.

Kyu Cao observed the dog guard, taking note of this one's clothes.

His clothes were that of a soldier, like the other two, yet also slightly different in design.

It was a given, that not all soldiers could advance in the ranks.

A promotion in rank was something bestowed according to merits, talent, background, and future prospects, it could also be said that the positions were ultimately limited in number so only a comparatively few would actually rise in the ranks of the army.

It was perfectly common for many to remain in the rank of soldier for their entire military career.

This, however, didn't mean that the services from these theriopes went unappreciated.

Among the rank of soldier, there were official seniority levels, from ungraded, senior and uncle, to grandfather, old-timer and relic. Though playful, these were their actual official names.

This dog was a soldier with a seniority of uncle, despite only looking around thirty.

While time in service would naturally increase one's seniority, actual experience and service in the field could also increase it.

So, for this dog to be an uncle soldier at his age, it meant that he'd had his fair share of dangers and was quite experienced.

"Uncle, what would you say is the most important in a fight?" Kyu Cao suddenly asked.

When he heard the Third Young Master refer to him as uncle, Wan Tanpei's brow imperceptibly twitched. And although unexpected, he began to ponder the question seriously. "To know when to retreat. Being courageous and direct is fine and all, but one have to know when to take a step back. Even when complete retreat isn't an option, if a direct confrontation can be avoided, then that path should be taken."

"Is that so?" Kyu Cao responded wonderingly. Honestly, he had expected a more hot blooded kind of answer. "Thank you for your answer."

"Ah," seeing that the young master was about to leave, Wan Tanpei called out hesitantly, but soon collected himself. "Third Young Master, is Third Young Master's injury...?"

"It is fine. Keep doing a good job. Right, what is Uncle's name?"

"This lowly one's name is Wan Tanpei."

"Wan Tanpei. I will remember it." And with that, Kyu Cao turned and left.

The dog's two companions looked at him with both amazement and a hint on envy. Him having managed to make this young master remember his name was an extremely good thing. He might be able to receive some kind of goodwill later, maybe even be recruited and soar to the skies.

As for Wan Tanpei himself, nothing could be told from his expression, but his fists clenched slightly.

After a good night of rest, first thing in the morning Kyu Cao walked in direction toward the state's Infirmary, to let Old Che see his face.

He viewed his progress of late as good, so he didn't mind using one day to take care of other matters.

When he arrived, he noticed that the place was somewhat busy for being so early.

At least, even if they had work, they would usually do it more quietly.

Kyu Cao could think of very few reasons for the Infirmary to be this lively.

"Good morning, Young Master."

"Early greetings, Young Master."

As he passed by, the busy apprentices and medicine boys would stop what they were doing and greet him.

They didn't actually know he was the third young Master of the Bloodstripe Clan, only that he was some young master that even the Grandmaster Apothecary Jon Che had to be extremely courteous toward, so they didn't even dare to not greet him.

"Young Master, what an honor to receive Young Master today!"

From the middle of the bustle, a middle aged dog of short stature, short light brown fur, and naturally creased skin stepped out.

"Mister Pong," Kyu Cao nodded in greeting.

This was De Pong, a direct apprentice of Old Che, who often could be seen handling the administrative matters of the Infirmary. Kyu Cao had met him plenty of times, and the dog was somewhat easygoing, if a bit shameless, so he was not that stiff when dealing with the cat.

"Pardon the current mess. We are currently preparing to deliver this month's order of medicinal pellets, so we've been caught in quite the impolite situation. Did Young Master come to meet with Master?"

Kyu Cao nodded once. "Yes, though I have mostly come to pay a greeting."

"Huahuahua, I'm sure just that is enough to make Master overjoyed. Right, Young Master, I've heard from Master; please allow me congratulate Young Master for having reached the level of Personage Apothecary," De Pong deeply bowed, his chubby appearance like that of a bent dumpling.

When the close apprentices and medicines boys heard this some almost tripped, and they all turned to look at the cat with eyes full of shock.

A Personage Apothecary? Him?!

He didn't even look past a youth, yet he was already a Personage Apothecary?!

They could only sigh with praise. As expected from a young heir with noble blood.

"I thank Mister Pong for his words," Kyu Cao nodded once more in acceptance. "Then, is Mister Che here?"

"Well," De Pong revealed an apologetic expression, and spoke with soft words. "To tell Young Master the truth, Master had spent the last few days working tirelessly and without sleep, since otherwise we would've been late with the order. So right now he is resting. But if Young Master wishes to see Master right now, little old me will go and wake him immediately," he hurried to say.

"No, it is fine. Let him rest," Kyu Cao responded. Then, he took a look around, seeing the various young theriopes moving about carrying crates and vases, which obviously contained the vast quantities of medicinal pellets that the army needed just each month. "Mister Pong, these pellets, they are to be delivered to the military quarter, right?"

"Woo, yes, that is right." The chubby De Pong was a little surprised by the cat's question, but then a playful idea surged in his mind. "Oh! Could it be, that Young Master wishes to accompany us to deliver the order?"

"Un," the cat nodded impassively.

"... Eh?"