Inlaid With Jade - Chapter 53

Chapter 53 
First meeting 

Yingtian Prefecture had several training camps, and when Li Heming was young, his father lived in the capital for several years and trained the army in one of the camps. 
  
Li Heming was only over ten years old at that time and should have been studying hard in school, but because he and his brother almost burned down the ancestral hall, he was whipped by his father and thrown into the barracks to train with the soldiers. On the surface, it seemed that a generation of generals was being taught, but Li Heming understood that he had made a mistake and had been tempered in the barracks. 
  
However, Li Heming was the son of a general after all, and he was still young. Even if he stretched his back straight, he was not as tall as the shoulders of the men in the army. Therefore, although he ate and lived with the soldiers, few people in the camp regarded him as a soldier who could fight, except for his brother, Li Fenglin. 
  
Li Fenglin was six years older than Li Heming. He was a handsome young general skilled in using a long spear. He followed his father to the battlefield at the age of fourteen. He had been with the soldiers in the army for many years and was much more popular than Li Heming, who had just arrived. 
  
Li Fenglin used restrained force when beating Li Heming, but he did not feel sorry when he ordered him around. 
  
Li Heming still remembered an unbearable afternoon in the hot summer. The sun was low, and the hot air seemed to dry people alive in this stuffy world. Li Heming was practicing his newly acquired bow at the shooting range. The shooting range was full of flying sand, and the strong wind raised the dust, making it difficult for people to open their eyes. Li Fenglin came to Li Heming with the stolen money from his father and asked him to run errands to the liquor store on West Street to buy two jars of strong liquor. 
  
Li Heming did not move. He held up the bow and the feather arrow, staring at the bull’s eye with his eyes, and said two words: “No.” 
  
Li Fenglin regrettably said, “Hmm,” but he did not leave. Instead, he took a heavy bow from the bow rack, pulled a feathered arrow from the quiver, and put the arrow on the string like Li Heming, aiming at the red bull’s eye. 
  
Li Heming frowned, thinking that his brother would do something terrible. Sure enough, as soon as the arrow left the string, he heard the sound of a long arrow breaking through the air. The long arrow flew out as fast as lightning. On the shooting range filled with wind and sand, there was a trembling sound of “swoosh–,” and Li Heming’s arrow had been knocked to the ground by the oblique arrow shot by Li Fenglin behind. 
  
Li Fenglin put away the bow, raised his eyebrows, looked at his dissatisfied brother, and laughed particularly happily. He stuffed the money into Li Heming’s hand and gave an offer he could not refuse: “Okay, okay, it’s not shameful to lose to your brother. Buy the wine, and I will teach you how to shoot arrows in this long sandstorm tomorrow.” 
  
Li Heming looked at the heavy bow in Li Fenglin’s hand, which was taller than his, thought for a moment, and left the camp with the money. Because it was hot, only a few people were on the street. The clerks of several shops could not attract customers, so they sat on the wooden floor at the door and took a nap with their heads tilted. There was a group of coolies working shirtless by the lake, washing their bodies with water to prevent the heat. 
  
Li Heming walked for half an hour and did not see the wine shop but saw a pretty girl standing in front of a pastry shop on the street. The girl was wearing a peach shirt and snow skirt, with two buns on her head, and nervously holding a silk cloud round fan. She looked timidly at the few passers-by who were hurriedly passing by, and it seemed she had lost her family. She looked pitiful. She was so small, not even as tall as the pedestrian chests. She looked like she needed help, but no one was willing to stop for her in the hot sun. 
  
Li Heming squinted and looked at the sun that could kill people above his head. He walked quickly to her and squatted down. He was about to speak, but the little girl stepped back nervously. She seemed to be frightened by his appearance. She looked at him helplessly with her clean and beautiful eyes. 
  
At that time, Li Heming followed the soldiers in the sun and rain daily, so he was thin and tanned. He was tall, and in the bright sunlight, he looked like a skinny monkey running down the mountain. The army soldiers lived a rough life. Daily training could rub them into rotten stones, even if they were pretty. Li Heming was no exception. After walking through the military camp, he had become a wild door god that could scare children. 
  
The little girl was well-behaved, with delicate eyebrows and eyes as clear as autumn water, like a beautiful petite jade Guanyin. 
  
Li Heming knew he looked ugly recently, so he did not speak rashly. He squatted before her and waited for her to calm down before speaking. 
  
“You can’t find your family?” he asked her as gently as possible, but it was hard to find the gentleness in his hoarse voice.
  
The little girl pursed her lips and nodded slightly sadly: “Yeah.” 
  
Unsure how long she had been standing here alone. The sun had reddened her face, and her forehead was covered with sweat. Li Heming saw a bead of sweat rolling down her brow and about to slide into her eyes. He raised his hand and wiped away her sweat with his thumb. After wiping, Li Heming showed her the water droplets on his fingers: “Sweat.” 
  
Perhaps because of his kindness, she thought he was a good person. She took a square handkerchief embroidered with flying clouds from her bosom and gave it to him. She looked at his sweaty forehead and said: “Brother, you wipe it too.” 
  
Her voice was very soft, and because she was young, her pronunciation was unclear. 
  
Li Heming glanced at the snow-white silk handkerchief in her hand and said: “No need.” 
  
As he spoke, he raised his hand to wipe his sweaty forehead and then shook the sweat on his hand to the ground. Several large beads of sweat splashed on the hot bluestone floor. He wiped his w*t hand on his knees, letting it dry. One could describe this behavior as casual. However, it was too rough for a young man from a noble family.