Mystery at Lanting Chapter 11

As night fell, heavy black clouds pressed down on a small town in the northern part of the Great Wall. The dark blue sky was so thick that water could be squeezed out of it. As the year was coming to an end, the bitter cold in the northern part of the Great Wall, coupled with the homesickness, was even more unbearable.

The soldiers guarding the city gate, Wang Er and Li Laosan, were leaning against the city gate with their spears in their arms. It would take them half an hour to close the city gate.

Wang Er used his sleeves, which were covered with dust, to wipe the snot that kept seeping out of his nose. "Damn it, my snot has frozen!"

Li Laosan was nearly fifty years old and could be considered a veteran in Youzhou. He stroked his long gray beard and said, "This is nothing. In the past few years, the Turks repeatedly invaded the border. We brothers followed General Wang Xiaojie in the northern desert and fought against the Turks in the cold wind. Once, in such weather, the blood from the wound on my face froze and formed a big lump of ice." As he spoke, he showed Wang Er the hideous scar on his left cheek.

"Brother Li, I've heard your stories so many times that my ears are almost calloused. Of all the brothers in your team, you're the only one left!" Wang Er said with a smile, "I've been here for a few months. When will we be able to fight the Turkic soldiers with real swords and guns?"