"Shitou, where are you going?!"
A woman who was not particularly pretty cried out.
The man at the door raised the saber in his hand and gave a smile uglier than tears. "I'm a soldier of the Shang Army. The enemy's already stormed the palace. How can I not go?"
"But..."
"Haven't you been clamoring to join that Women's Federation thing? Those women all headed toward the Armory. Looks like they're going to fight their way to the palace!"
"If even the women are doing that, how can I cower at home?"
"Aren't you afraid?" the woman asked anxiously.
She was one of the "Meng Jiangnüs" You Hun had taken to the Great Wall in the Northern Territory some time ago. Her husband had died during its construction, and she had later gotten together with Shitou. When Shitou returned to Chaoge, they married, and his contributions to building the Great Wall earned him a place in the Slave Army.
The recruits received extremely high pay, and the couple had begun living comfortably. She was content. Now that rebel troops had entered the city, most of the soldiers in Shitou's Slave Army were like him: concerned for their families and cherishing the good lives they had won so painstakingly.
Even if King Zhou wanted to punish them afterward, could he really punish every last soldier in the Slave Army?
Better to stay home in peace and hide properly. Their child was still asleep!
Shitou stretched out his callused hand and counted on his fingers. "Guihua, listen. The Northern Territory was bitter cold, but I held on till now. I've got a good life, I've got you, and I've got a child. You ask whether I'm afraid of dying out there fighting the enemy? How could I not be?"
"I'm afraid. But