Chapter 132: The Scars of War

The August sky was azure and pure. White, snowy peaks were clearly visible under the distant firmament, looking holy and beautiful like the fabled dwelling place of immortals, forever beyond the reach of mere mortal men.

A green dragonfly darted quickly through the low-lying blossoms, coming to a leisurely halt on a purplish-red wildflower. A web-like net woven from spider silk swooped down from above, and the dragonfly’s wings fluttered a few times. A small, dirt-smudged hand deftly scooped up the insect and casually tossed it into a pouch.

"Master Wuhua, I've caught more than twenty dragonflies today. These things taste so fragrant when roasted; I'll share a few with you later."

The child who caught the dragonfly wore a brilliant smile, gazing obediently at the monk Wuhua sitting on the grass.

Wuhua pulled back his gaze from the distant snowy peaks, patted the child's small head, and felt a wave of bitterness well up inside him. Hundred Flower Valley had already taken in more than five hundred orphans, along with nearly a hundred wounded Tang soldiers he had rescued himself. Their food supplies had run low long ago.

If not for the large lake a few miles away from the valley where people could fish just enough to stave off starvation, the encampment in the valley might already have seen people dying of hunger.

Where could they find food? Wuhua raised a hand and kept scratching his bald head, utterly unable to come up with a solution.

"Master Wuhua! Master Wuhua!" A dozen half-grown youths came running hurriedly toward the monk.

"A caravan is coming from the direction of Xilu County, a long procession—must be no less than forty pack-horse carts. Er'gou has sharp eyes and spotted loose grains of rice along the road."

The leading boy was panting heavily as he pointed toward the distant trade route.

Monk Wuhua instantly leaped to his feet and rushed back to Hundred Flower Valley, leading the group of children.

Following the disastrous defeat of the Tang army at Erhai Lake, Xilu County had suddenly become tense, with extremely strict inspections of passing travelers and merchants. Wang Qi led his caravan on a wide detour around Xilu County town, costing them an extra day before they finally returned to the trade route leading to Nanzhao’s Great Hecheng.

Lu Liaoliao was traveling in low spirits, riding atop Big Black and chatting listlessly with Li Sansui, who was driving the carriage. Suddenly, the slowly advancing convoy came to a halt.

"The road ahead is blocked. Young Master, you'll have to go handle this in person."

Zhou Liuzi galloped over from the front, his expression looking rather strange.

Lu Liaoliao cast a startled glance at Zhou Liuzi, dug his heels into his horse's flanks, and charged forward.

Wuhua's snowy white monk's robes had turned yellowish, and the pretty face that had once made Lu Liaoliao envious had grown much coarser, yet that compassionate expression still filled Lu Liaoliao with annoyance.

After casting a glance at Monk Wuhua sitting quietly in the middle of the road, and then at the dense crowd of kneeling children behind him, Lu Liaoliao couldn't help but offer a wry smile.

"Wuhua! What is the meaning of this?"

"Nothing much, just wishing to purchase some grain from Benefactor Lu to save the lives of these poor children." The seated Wuhua raised his head, and upon seeing that it was actually Lu Liaoliao, he was momentarily stunned before expressionlessly placing two bags bulging with copper coins in front of him.

"Little Monk Wuhua, you really are something else—using the money I gave you to buy my own grain." Overcome with frustration, Lu Liaoliao angrily pointed a finger at Monk Wuhua.

As if suddenly enlightened, Monk Wuhua grabbed back the bags of copper coins, stood up, and turned to look at the sea of kneeling children.

"My merciful Buddha cannot bear to let you innocent children, displaced and destitute amid the chaos of war, starve to death. Thus, he specially arranged for the great philanthropist Benefactor Lu—who previously funded your rescue—to appear before us. Benefactor Lu’s party has brought plenty of grain, so you will no longer have to suffer from hunger."

Liaoliao stared in astonishment at this religious charlatan of a monk. His contingent indeed brought a fair amount of grain along. However, this grain was intended as a gesture of goodwill to Nanzhao King Geluofeng after the war. Yet out of this Wuhua's mouth, it had somehow transformed into the mercy of the Buddha, sending him to rescue children who had lost their homes and families in the war.

"Many thanks to Benefactor Lu for saving our lives! The Buddha will bless you!"

The children kowtowed uniformly toward Lu Liaoliao, shouting a chaotic chorus of gratitude.

Lu Liaoliao looked at these children from various ethnic groups across the southwestern borderlands, dressed in all sorts of attire. A pang of sorrow washed over him; he wanted to say something, but the words failed him.

"Distribute ten carts of grain to them." Lu Liaoliao commanded in a dry voice, waving a hand at Zhou Liuzi beside him.

Zhou Liuzi smiled silently, signaling a few men to follow him forward, and pulled out ten carts filled to the brim with grain.

Cang Si was leading one of the carts, his eyes gleaming. He kept glancing toward Lu Liaoliao not far away and shook his head with a trace of regret.

"Brother Zhou, benevolence does not rule an army. Your young general's heart is still a bit too soft."

Zhou Liuzi, who was busy directing the operation, turned to look at Cang Si. "If he were capable of having an iron heart and turning a blind eye to these children's deaths, the young master wouldn't be the young master."

"Though his heart is soft and he falls far short of those iron-fisted generals on the battlefield, a general like this is one Cang Si is willing to die for."

Cang Si straightened his posture and walked onward, leading the pack-horse cart.

"Brother-in-law is righteous and kind-hearted. Your act of benevolence today will save countless lives and naturally bring blessings of good fortune in return. Our dwelling, Hundred Flower Valley, is not far from here. I must ask you to honor us with your presence, visit for a day, and allow me to express my humble gratitude."

Wuhua pressed his palms together and bowed deeply to Lu Liaoliao.

"Bah!" Lu Liaoliao spat in disgust. "The moment the grain is in hand, I go from being Benefactor Lu to your brother-in-law. I'm only here to check on Sister Luoluo and my nephew; I don't care about any gratitude from you."

The caravan left the trade route and set up camp in a concealed mountain forest. Leaving behind a squad of guards to keep watch, Lu Liaoliao took his few remaining covert guards along with Zhou Liuzi and followed Monk Wuhua into the jungle.

Upon arriving at this small valley veiled by mountain forests, Lu Liaoliao saw no gorgeous scenery of blooming flowers competing in beauty. A few small plots of flat land had been cleared into farmland. On the hillsides sloping against the mountains, numerous earthen hollows had been dug out, crudely stuffed with dead branches and wild grass to serve as shelters against the wind and rain for the children. Near the cliff face, a few simple thatched sheds had been erected, presenting a rather poignant sight.

"You let Sister Luoluo and a child barely over a year old live in a place like this with you?" Lu Liaoliao glared at the calm-faced Monk Wuhua.

"Although Hundred Flower Valley is crude, for these children, it is already a paradise on earth. Since I have attained my own path and am using my own strength to deliver all living beings from suffering, the two of them, as my family, naturally follow me. The hardship in your eyes is, to us, a form of joy."

Wuhua swept his gaze across the valley, his expression calm and contented.

"You flashy monk, you're still much better than those fellows in the temples who only eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures. Where are Sister Luoluo and the mother and child? Take me to see them."

Lu Liaoliao gave Monk Wuhua an appreciative slap on the shoulder, his eyes scanning everywhere for Luoluo's figure.

"Over there." Monk Wuhua pointed toward a thatched shed not far away.

Lu Liaoliao rushed forward excitedly, shouting loudly, "Sister Luoluo, little nun Luoluo! Your Brother Liaoliao has come to see you."

Hearing no response from Luoluo, Lu Liaoliao dashed quickly into the shed. The scene that met his eyes instantly froze the smile on his face.

Inside the small thatched shed, more than ten gravely wounded Tang soldiers lay side by side. The cloth bandages wrapping their wounds were stained pitch-black, and annoying flies buzzed about, flying back and forth inside the shed and landing periodically on the blood-soaked wounds.

Luoluo had a toddler of a little over a year old strapped to her back as she intently helped a young soldier clean his wound. Her focused expression emitted a holy radiance, making her look breathtakingly beautiful.

Nearly all the young soldiers had their eyes fixed on Luoluo's face, filled with deep respect and reverence, without a shred of desecration. Not a single one of them bothered to look at Lu Liaoliao, who had just shouted so loudly.

An older soldier finally pulled his gaze away from Luoluo's face, turned, and stared calmly at Lu Liaoliao without uttering a word.

"Xilu County isn't far from here. Hasn't anyone come to search for you wounded soldiers?" Lu Liaoliao asked the soldier in a dry tone.

The soldier looked blankly at Lu Liaoliao and replied, "Some of the wounded soldiers here were actually shot by their own army while trying to flee back to Tang territory. We defeated soldiers have already been abandoned by the Great Tang."

It seemed that in order to prevent news of the defeat from spreading, Xianyu Zhongtong had not only sealed off the roads leading to the capital city of Chang'an, but wouldn't even allow fleeing soldiers from the battlefield to return. Anger burned in Lu Liaoliao's heart, reinforcing his determination to go to Nanzhao and fulfill his mission.

"Rest easy and recover from your wounds for now. Perhaps before long, you will be able to return safely to your hometowns." Feeling a bitter ache in his heart, Lu Liaoliao offered a word of gentle comfort.

A sarcastic smile appeared on the soldier's face as he slowly turned his head away.

"Brother Liaoliao, why are you here? I was so busy helping this young soldier brother clean his wound that I didn't even notice." Luoluo suddenly turned around, looking thoroughly exhausted.

"Just washing these wounds like this won't do much good; they need medicine to improve." Lu Liaoliao glanced at the pale wound of the soldier and shook his head.

"But we don't have those kinds of medicines to treat wounds here." Luoluo shook her head helplessly, looking quite lost as she gazed at the whitish wound.

"Go bring over the medicine we prepared. Confiscate all the medical supplies routinely carried by the Wang family guards and give them all to me. These men's injuries can't be delayed any longer." Lu Liaoliao didn't look back, but he knew Zhou Liuzi would handle the matter properly.

"Brother Liaoliao, how did you end up coming here? Did Sister Xiaoqi give birth? Is it a boy or a girl?" Luoluo opened her eyes wide, looking at Lu Liaoliao with curiosity.

"Uh!" Lu Liaoliao was left stammering by Luoluo's rapid-fire questions. "Sister Xiaoqi gave birth—it's a girl. I didn't come here specifically to see you two; I happened to run into Wuhua on my way to Nanzhao, which is why I came here."

"Sigh!" Luoluo let out a helpless sigh. "When we were burning incense before the Buddha back then, I advised her to give more merit money, but Sister Xiaoqi simply wouldn't listen and stubbornly stopped at ten copper coins."

The unspoken implication in Luoluo's words left Lu Liaoliao completely speechless.

"Actually, having a daughter isn't bad either; I quite like it."

"Our Great Tang is currently at war with the Nanzhao Kingdom. Young master, what are you going to Nanzhao for?" The older soldier strained to prop himself up, his eyes glaring at Lu Liaoliao with vigilance.

"I'm going to Nanzhao to stop this war from continuing." Lu Liaoliao took out his official plaque and flashed it in front of the soldier.