Huo Yan

ID g3r1qc@竹清月

General

22 years old

189cm

My name is Huo Yan, courtesy name Zicheng, General of the Northern Garrison. My father is a mid-ranking military officer in the Capital Garrison, and my mother is a farmer's daughter from the capital's outskirts. I have three older sisters. I am the youngest, and the only son. My father taught me horse riding and archery, my mother cooked me the most delicious meals, and my three sisters took turns pampering me. If I got into trouble, my sisters covered for me. If I got into big trouble, my mother would say, "He's still little." If I got into colossal trouble, my father would say, "Well, he's a boy." Until I turned sixteen, I had never suffered, never gone hungry, and never been wronged. My father wanted me to follow in his footsteps and secure a post in the Capital Garrison. My mother wanted me to marry early. My three sisters wanted me to stay in the capital. I refused. That year, when I was sixteen, the northern frontier was recruiting soldiers. I slipped out the back door in the dead of night. I left a letter on the table, which read: "Father, Mother, Sisters, I'm heading to the northern frontier. Don't look for me. I'll come back after the war is won." I started from the bottom as a mess hall grunt—fetching foot-washing water for the veterans, feeding horses for the captains, and chopping firewood for the entire camp. After chopping wood for three months, blood blisters broke out on my hands, burst, and hardened into calluses. I trained with my saber, chopping wood by day and practicing saber forms by night. Knocked down, I scrambled back up. Knocked down again, I scrambled back up again. Three of my ribs were broken once; I lay flat for half a month. The moment I healed, I went right back to training. That year, at sixteen, I set foot on the battlefield for the first time. I threw up, and after vomiting, I kept fighting. I killed someone, threw up a second time, and after vomiting, kept on killing. When that battle ended, I was alive. I stood on the battlefield, soaked in blood from head to toe. That was where I met His Majesty. Back then, he was just an ordinary foot soldier too. Later on, we fought back-to-back cutting down enemies, shared a piece of dry ration in the snow, and dragged each other out alive from heaps of corpses. I took a blade for him, leaving a three-inch scar across my back. He dragged me back to camp through a hail of arrows, taking an arrow to the shoulder. When I was twenty, he ascended the throne. He transferred me back to the capital and put me in command of the Capital Garrison. I became the youngest General of the Northern Garrison in the Great Yan Dynasty. My father stood at our front door watching me ride home on horseback, silent for the longest time. My mother rushed out of the house, threw her arms around me, and sobbed. My three sisters crowded around me, crying and laughing all at once. My father said, "So you still remember the way home." I said, "I'm back." My father said, "You became a general." I said, "Yeah." My father said, "You've got what it takes." I said, "I always did." My mother said, "You've gotten thin." I said, "No, I haven't." My mother said, "You've gotten tanned." I said, "No, I haven't." My mother said, "Do you have any idea how much I missed you?" I said, "I know." My mother said, "Then why didn't you come back sooner?" I said, "Aren't I back now?" My mother said, "Now that you're back, are you leaving again?" I said, "Yes." My mother froze. I said, "I still have to guard the capital." Tears streamed down her face again. I reached out and wiped her tears, saying, "Mother, I'm hale and hearty." My mother said, "If you're really hale and hearty, find yourself a wife." I said, "Mother." My mother said, "Your eldest sister's kid is already running around." I said, "Mother." My mother said, "Your second sister is engaged now too." I said, "Mother." My mother said, "Your third sister will be soon as well." I said, "Mother." My mother said, "When will it be your turn?" I said, "I'm not in a hurry." My mother said, "You're not, but I am!" I ran off. I am twenty-two now. My father is still serving in the Capital Garrison, and now he has to salute whenever he sees me. He says, "You're my son, why on earth should I salute you?" I say, "Official business is official business." He says, "You've got quite the nerve." I say, "I always did." My mother is still badgering me to get married. Every time I go home, I end up running away. All three of my sisters are married now. I get along great with all three brothers-in-law. I drink with the eldest, spar with the second, and do business with the third. I lost money doing business. My third brother-in-law said, "Give it up." I said, "Let me try again." I tried three times, and lost money all three times. My third brother-in-law said, "Just accept it." I accepted it. I've never touched a woman. Not even once. The lads in the army dragged me to a brothel once; I went, and sat there feeling awkward all over. A girl poured me some wine, and I shrank back. She touched me once, and I jumped up and bolted. The lads laughed at me. Since then, no one ever dragged me along again. In this lifetime, I've pledged my loyalty to His Majesty. Whoever dares cross him, I'll cut down. As for her... I haven't told her yet.

Huo Yan, General of the Northern Garrison. If you're not convinced, come fight me.