In Another Life - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Accept Ruyu

Translator: Lao Xinxian

Proofread by Yin Jing

Seeing the view behind his back, Heaven gets the hairs on his body stand up upright. Would not it be the Ox-headed and Horse-faced who will take me into the nether world, would they? I’m not lying this time! It’s my true feeling!

“Humph! Bastard! What did you do to sis?”

“Gosh! It’s you, Ruyu. You know, I am almost scared to death!” Realizing that it is not ghost, Heaven breathes a sigh of relief.

“Don’t talk rubbish! Just tell me what you did just now!” Even though the expression of Ruyu couldn’t be seen clearly in the dark courtyard, Heaven could still feel the anger from her tone.

“Nothing! I didn’t do anything…” Actually, Heaven is little bit afraid of being found out with a guilty conscience.

“Humph! I saw it all!”

“Oh my god! It’s midnight! Why do you come here instead of going to sleep?”

“I, I just intended to inform you of my dad’s situation! I didn’t expect you behave like a hoodlum! Towards my sister!”

My goodness! A hoodlum! It’s unbelievable that this word has already appeared in this society! Who is so bored to coin it?

“Ruyu, it’s…it’s not a hoodlum! I’m serious!”

“You bastard! I will let dad know this! And tell him to give you a thrashing again!” After that, Ruyu turns around and is leaving.

Gosh, Heaven catches her by the arm. “Listen to me, Ruyu.”

“Let me go. I won’t listen.”

Oh my holy God! If I let you go now, I must be dead soon. Heaven holds Ruyu tightly in his arms at a draught. However, his mood is totally different from which when he did this to Ruyan.

“You bastard! Let me go! Or I’ll yell! Help…”

Just before Ruyu shouts out the word of “me”, Heaven kisses away her yell. How can this all happen? I just kissed the elder sister affectionately, then I kiss the younger one roughly!

Heaven doesn’t know how long it takes. Finding that Ruyu struggles no more, he slowly stops  kissing.

“Boohoo!” Ruyu lets out a sob.

“Bastard! You tease not only sis but also me! I … I must tell dad! Boohoo!” She cries tearfully.

“My God, her brainless dad must kill me if he knows I tease his darling daughters! This is his territory and I won’t even get a chance to complain! Even though he won’t kill me, he may also turn me into an eunuch.”

“Ruyu, listen! Well, I have kissed both you and your sister. Once the news of this spreads out, the reputation of your family will be ruined. Do you think so?” It seems to work because the crying stops– – what nobles fear most is a bad fame.

“You just kissed me! Will … will I get pregnant?” Nervously, Ruyu asks in a low voice.

Gosh, how little knowledge this society has imparted the young about sex! It should provide sex education to teenagers!

“Well, actually, technically speaking, of course you won’t get pregnant. If you want a pregnancy, then you should take the second step — I can’t say more. How about this, I’ll promise you anything so long as you keep this secret.” He wishes she won’t let him look for a needle in a bundle of hay!

Ruyu doesn’t say anything. Heaven waits quietly, while still holding her tightly. He is really afraid that the girl will dash off to tell her father once she gets released – Heaven’s “duck walk” makes it impossible for him to catch her!

Ruyu thinks for a while, and finally makes up her mind, “All right. That’s what you said. No getting back.”

“Ok, what do you want?” So long as she has the requirements, she won’t tell the secret!

“I want you to marry me.” In the darkness, Ruyu’s big eyes are extraordinarily bright.

“Marry you?! Oh no, I have promised to marry your sister. I can’t go back on my words, otherwise, I will hurt her. Damn, I’d like to say yes, but what if I marry Ruyu and Ruyan comes to tell her father in her anger? I will also die miserably!”

“I’m not saying you can’t marry my sis! There’s no rule saying one can’t marry the sisters at the same time.” Ruyu whispers.

“The Great Sun God, this is the first time I praise you sincerely! Yes, in this society, there’s no rule saying monogamy. Hell, the one that enacted this marriage law was really brilliant!”

“Well …, as you please! Hey, am I so great that you have already had a crush on me long before? Eventually, there seem to have pennies from heaven for me!”

“Keep dreaming!” Ruyu says in a whisper.

“As for your sister, hmm … well, you’d better inform her lest … Jesus, am I too mean?”

“One more requirement.” Ruyu continues.

You see, this girl is not a soft touch. Heaven grits his teeth, “Go ahead. There will be no problem, so long as it’s acceptable.”

“You shall teach me the ‘miraculous song’.”

Heaven exhales out a breath of relief, “I thought it would be a big deal. No problem, you can count on me.”

“Then you should release me! You have been holding me for so long that my arms go numb!” Ruyu says, almost inaudibly. Her face can’t be seen in the darkness, but Heaven is sure that she must blush.

After releasing Ruyu, Heaven also stretches — It seems that giving continuous hugs is kind of manual labor!

“Ruyu, do you think we should go into a house together and make the second step so that I can teach you to get pregnant?”

“Go to hell!”

“Ouch! Don’t kick my ass!”

Does good luck fall from the sky today? Or how can he get such a dumb luck? It is just like buying a gold necklace which comes with a free diamond ring!

Everything is all right, then he should be ready for the wargame with his future father-in-law! As the saying goes, if a chopper is grinded before the war, even though it can’t be sharper, at least it will be brighter! “As the Marquis’s future son-in-law, I can’t let him belittle me! It’s a matter of ego. Even if defeated, it must be a victorious defeat!”

Lots of military men are seated in the wargame hall. Heaven is not sure of their positions, but it seems that all the renowned generals in Pingdu have arrived. Marquis Wang Ping sits in the middle.

“Heaven Li, I just want to let you know what battlefield is. You must do a good job in my army. I think highly of you, so don’t make mistakes!” Marquis Wang Ping smiles at Heaven.

It sounds like the Marquis has already predicted he will be the winner. Heaven asks quickly.

“My Lord, I don’t know if what you have said still counts?”

The Marquis gets a surprise. “What do you mean?”

“If I win, you will let me go to the capital city.” Heaven says carefully.

All those generals in the hall break into laughter, and the Marquis even laughs to tears. He finally stops laughing and says, “Good boy, so long as you win, I will not only let you go but give you a hundred taels of silver as travelling expenses.”

“Thank you, my Lord. I know it’s impossible to beat you, but could you do me a favor in case I win?” Heaven is setting a trap. Whether he can marry the two sisters all comes down to this wargame.

“Hahahaha, if you win, I will promise you. But what do you want?” The old fox is not brainless at all. He tries to trap Heaven into saying his goal.

Heaven merely stares at his saber. With an envious look he says, “That must be your most beloved treasure, and it has been with you for years.”

Seeing Heaven’s eyes, the Marquis laughs. “You’ve made a good choice! That’s my most beloved thing. But I’m just afraid that you can’t take it away!”

He thinks Heaven is really attracted by his sword, but how can he know what Heaven says is his two daughters?

The maneuver is pretty basic. It is a maneuver between the attacker and defender. There are 20000 soldiers in the army of the attacking side, while 5000 in the defending side. The casualty ratio between the attacking side and defending side is 4 to 1, which means if both of the sides take strong actions, the final result will be deaths of both armies. It is quite fair. But there is difference on the services’ quotas and the equipment. Both sides have a three-day supply. In other words, if the war can’t be over within three days, they will have to try to keep themselves from starving to death.

The quota of the defender is:

2000 light cavalries, 2500 infantries, 500 archers (including 20 scouts). Besides, there are 50 catapults (their effective distance is 300 to 500 meters, which will be increased by 100 meters while the catapults are placed on the wall), 10 barrels of burning oil.

The quota of the attacker is:

4000 heavy cavalries, 11000 infantries, 4000 light cavalries, 1000 archers (including 100 scouts). Besides, there are 100 catapults (their effective distance is 300 to 500 meters), 200 scaling ladders.

After knowing the quotas of both sides, the Marquis generously asks Heaven to choose first. Without hesitation, Heaven chooses the defender side.

Marquis Wang Ping smiles, “Boy, don’t let me down too much.”

“My Lord, it is already a privilege to play a wargame with you. But I’m still thinking about your treasure, so of course I won’t lose it all. After you, your excellency.”

Wang Ping nods, then walks into his command post.

Heaven also walks into his own command post, sitting there foolishly. Although he has spent a whole night in making preparations, he still knows little about the military situation in this society. He can just rely on the things he knew from the movies and magazines in his prelife. If Heaven wins, everybody will be happy; if Heaven loses, at worst he will work with Wang Ping for a few days.

At the staff’s command, the wargame formally starts. All personnel in the command post enter the state of war immediately.

Heaven gives orders at once. “Attention, every scout! Within 50 miles outside the city, any news about the enemy should be collected! Light cavalries, garrison at 500 meters inside the wall and wait for orders! Infantries and archers, all of you be on standby on the wall!” Considering the catapults take up too much room, Heaven orders to remove them from the wall. Seeing that his orders are issued one by one, Heaven really feels himself like a major general.

A few moments later, a scout comes to report that the enemy sets out camp five miles outside the city.

Outside the city, the attacking side lines battle formation in rows. The Marquis eyes Heaven’s formation on the wall, then looks at those swaying silhouettes behind the wall. At last he shakes his head and sighs, “Hey, layman is layman. I will show you something skillful, and end the battle tomorrow. Defeating you too early before my men will bring no honor to the victor, since I’ve praised you so highly.”

“Ready to attack! Catapults, move to 200 meters outside the city, set the target above the wall then launch three rounds! 1000 archers, move to 40 meters outside the city and shoot rapid arrow at full strength! 6000 infantries, lay siege with all your strength!”

The Marquis has 100 catapults. A round means three fires, so three rounds mean nine fires. As soon as 900 huge stones fall from the sky, the department of maneuver has judged that on Heaven’s side, 200 people died and 70 seriously injured, and they should quit the battle sequences.