"Something's wrong! Something's wrong!"
Xuan Ci came dashing in, shouting as he ran. Even after he arrived, his whole body kept trembling, and his voice was hoarse.
Everyone turned to look at him.
What was it now?
They were already used to Xuan Ci's impulsiveness, so no one was particularly surprised.
Still, seeing him drenched in sweat and panting, having rushed in only to catch his breath instead of immediately explaining what was going on, Li Su couldn't help twitching an eyebrow.
The size of Xuan Ci's news was undoubtedly directly related to how he acted.
Over the past five years, his biggest piece of news had been that he hadn't cleaned the meat off a chicken bone properly and a disciple from the Discipline Hall had caught him.
But there was no doubt that even that incident hadn't been as frightening as this one.
Judging by his reaction, this had to be something serious.
At last, Xuan Ci caught his breath. A rare grave look crossed his young face as he said, "Western Xia has declared war on the Song Dynasty! They've assembled an army of a hundred thousand and are heading for Yanan Prefecture."
"What???"
Xuan Cheng and the others couldn't help gaping in shock.
A Song–Western Xia war?
Li Su froze, then frowned, a deep look of confusion in his eyes.
Historically, there had been quite a few wars between the Song and Western Xia.
But he had read Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, and once, when he was terribly bored, he'd even looked into the novel's timeline.
Going by Xuan Ci and the others' ages, this should be somewhere between 1050 and 1052 AD. By then, the Song Dynasty and Western Xia had already signed a peace treaty and entered a peaceful period that would last for decades.
If there was a war happening now, it should be the Nong Zhigao Rebellion over in Guangdong.
It shouldn't be a war with Western Xia, should it?
"Damn Western Xia dogs!"
Bang!
With a tremendous crash, Xuan Cheng smashed the bluestone beside him with one palm. A look of hatred unlike anything Li Su had ever seen appeared on his face.
Xuan Ji, Xuan Nan, Xuan Ku, and Xuan Bei wore the same deep-seated hatred.
"I'm going to find Master!"
"We're coming too!"
Xuan Cheng leaped to his feet, and Xuan Ku and the others immediately followed.
Watching them hurry away, Li Su couldn't help staring after them, bewildered. What was with these guys? What were they planning to do? They weren't thinking of going to the battlefield, were they?
Sure, in the mainland edition of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, Xiao Feng had led Beggar Sect disciples into battle against the Liao Kingdom's army right from the beginning. And the central theme of Jin Da's novels was national loyalty—Xiao Feng was like that, Guo Jing was like that, and Yang Guo was like that too.
But did they need to get so worked up?
How old were they? What could they possibly do on a battlefield at their age?
You'd say they had martial arts?
Heh. In a war with thousands upon thousands of people fighting in a chaotic melee, personal strength meant little unless you were a top-tier fighter. They weren't much better off than ordinary soldiers.
Huff, huff!
Xuan Ci took a few deep breaths, came over, and grabbed Li Su. "Come on. If we're too slow, we might get left behind."
As he dragged Li Su along, Xuan Ci said, "This is a rare opportunity. Damn Western Xia dogs! If it weren't for them, how would we have become orphans?"
We're orphans...
Following Xuan Ci, Li Su broke out in goosebumps, his face turning green.
Damn it...
Were they adding more drama to his backstory again???
The sudden visit from Putian Shaolin to challenge the temple had already been bad enough. Now there was a Song–Western Xia war, and this whole group of them were apparently orphans from the previous Song–Western Xia war?
Fuck, he was just here to pick up an ability. Did it have to be this complicated???
For the first time, Li Su felt the deep malice of this world. For the first time, he also understood the danger his teacher and classmates had kept warning him about before he entered it.
They wouldn't be satisfied until they killed him, would they?
It's fine. It's fine.
During the time of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, none of Xuan Cheng and the others had died in a Song–Western Xia war. So even if they went to see the old monk Tianming, he'd surely refuse to let them go, right?
Maybe the ones who went had been from the generation before them.
That would explain why Xuan Ci and the others had the highest seniority among the Shaolin Temple's disciples at the beginning.
Otherwise, given the situation now, there were dozens of elders above them in seniority.
As he thought this over, Li Su followed Xuan Ci to the Arhat Hall, to the room where the old monk Tianming taught martial arts.
"Master, the Western Xia dogs killed my parents and harmed my neighbors. I still remember the day those inhuman bastards stormed into our town. Those animals didn't even spare my little sister, still a baby in her swaddling clothes. They slammed her to the ground and killed her! This hatred is irreconcilable, Master. Please let me go!"
It was Xuan Cheng's voice, more emotional and furious than Li Su had ever heard it.
Hearing the hatred in his voice, Li Su couldn't help getting goosebumps. He'd never imagined Xuan Cheng had this side to him.
A once-in-a-century genius of Shaolin Temple, with a talent for martial arts beyond imagination. That was all the novel had ever said about him.
But the people in this world—even if it was only a projection that would vanish when Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils ended—were undeniably living, breathing people.
How could a person's whole life be summed up so simply?
Did a gift for martial arts mean he was destined to be nothing but a martial arts fanatic?
Surely not?
At least, in the early days, Shaolin Temple's atmosphere had encouraged its disciples to practice martial arts while still teaching them restraint. After all, Shaolin monks practiced Shaolin techniques themselves, so they understood their nature. If the older generation had kept a closer eye on Xuan Cheng, they wouldn't have let him practice until he suffered a qi deviation.
Besides, the Xuan Cheng in Jin Da's novel wasn't necessarily the same as the Xuan Cheng in this world.
After all, the Song–Western Xia war had happened.
"Master, let us go!!!"
As soon as he entered, Xuan Ci dropped to his knees. "The Western Xia dogs are wolves with wild ambition. If they invade the Song Dynasty, how many more people will end up like us?"
Li Su came in behind them. Though he was helpless and unwilling, he had no choice but to kneel too.
Clearly, he had no choice. This was even more outrageous than the White-Clad Buddhist incident.
After all, Xuan Ci had said that all of them had become orphans because of Western Xia. Li Su had no memory of any of that, but he didn't dare contradict them now.
Five thousand years of Huaxia history had recorded countless legends—and had enshrined the virtues of loyalty and filial piety.
In this world, anyone who was neither loyal nor filial would have a miserable time, no matter how strong they were. Just look at Ding Chunqiu and Quan Guanqing. They had both ended up utterly abandoned.
Still, Master wouldn't agree. No, he absolutely wouldn't.
They were far too young, and their martial arts had only just begun to take shape. They were still a long way from being second-rate fighters. What would joining a war between two nations accomplish besides getting them killed?
Li Su looked up at the old monk Tianming with an expression full of hope, waiting for him to say what he wanted to hear.
Yes. After that, he'd put on a slightly sad face and play along with Xuan Cheng and the others. Then, for the next few days, he'd refuse to eat or sleep and stop practicing martial arts. That should be enough to get him through this ordeal.
Looking at Xuan Cheng and the others, Tianming took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.
After a moment, he opened them again and said slowly, "I understand what you want.
"But you must understand that this is war.
"People will die in a war—and not just one or two. Thousands upon thousands will perish.
"Once you reach the battlefield, I'm afraid even I will have trouble protecting you. With your strength as it stands, going would very likely mean never coming back. Even so, do you still want to go?"
Xuan Cheng and the six others answered in unison, their voices firm as iron. "We'll go! We'll go even if it means certain death!"