The rain had been falling on and off for almost half a month.
It was as though the sky had sprung a leak.
The rain was light, but its pitter-patter never stopped.
Gloom shrouded heaven and earth, with only the campfire giving off light.
Li Ping'an sat on a fallen, broken log, playing the Erhu.
The lingering notes of the Erhu were plaintive and desolate.
They wound on in silken strands, almost breaking, then joining again.
Just like the weather.
Ma Yuan held a book, listening quietly.
"Ma! Yuan!"
The first two characters Ma Yuan learned were those of his own name.
Watching his clumsy attempts to recognize the characters, Kitten could hardly resist rushing over to show off several times.
But Kitten was afraid that speaking would frighten him.
So Kitten could only hold back.
Little paws drew on the ground, while round, bright eyes watched Ma Yuan.
...Mm.
The army spent most of its time stopped.
It was simply impossible to travel in the rainy weather.
Ma Yuan also took advantage of this time to learn characters from Li Ping'an.
With nothing to do on rainy days, the bored soldiers played cards and finger-guessing games.
Or they took their pay to visit the women in camp.
Camp prostitutes had been around for a long time, and while it allowed the prostitutes to earn money,
it also gave the men in the army an outlet.
Lao You walked out of a camp prostitute's tent, pulling up his trousers and sighing as he went.
"I really deserve to die!!"
As he spoke, he slapped himself twice.
But less than two days later, he took what little pay he had left and went to see the camp prostitutes again.
Sometimes, Li Ping'an thought this was truly a clever move.
They paid