[Dawn, The Day After the Battle]
Lujing Village Square
A tense silence enveloped the village square. Long Wei's words hung in the cold morning air: "...or... do you... want me... to save you... again?"
It was no longer a request. It was an ultimatum.
The village elders looked at each other, their faces pale. They were farmers and hunters; their logic was simple. To run meant death. To stay without him meant death. To stay with him... gave them a sliver of hope, however small.
They had seen the proof. The twenty steel swords and five horses that now belonged to the village were tangible evidence.
In the back row, Chen Fu, who had been clenching his fists, strode forward. He walked past the elders, ignoring their shocked looks. He stopped directly in front of Long Wei.
He said nothing.
Instead, he did something unexpected. He dropped to one knee, bowed his head deeply, and slammed his fist against his chest. An ancient, heartfelt soldier's salute.
"Teach... us... how to... fight," Chen Fu said, his voice thick with emotion. "I... would rather... die... on... my feet... than live... on... my knees. Teach... us, Commander."
The gesture broke the impasse.
"Teach us!" shouted Li Er, his arm in a sling. He also knelt.
"Teach us!"
One by one, the thirty-odd men who had fought in the night—the young, the fathers—knelt before Long Wei.
Only the elders remained standing, looking hesitant. The eyes of the entire village now turned to the one remaining man.
Healer Chen.
He was the moral authority, the village's conscience.
The old healer looked at Long Wei. He did not see the "Long-dage" he had nursed. He saw the cold, efficient, and lethal Commander. He saw the "thunder" on his shoulder. He hated what this man represented—war, death, violence.
Then, he looked past Long Wei, toward his own hut. He could see the shadow of his daughter, Chen Yue, peering fearfully from behind the curtain.
He thought of Ma Gou. He thought of the 200 bandits who would come.
Healer Chen took a deep breath, as if pulling the entire weight of the village onto his old shoulders. His oath was to heal, to protect life. And he realized, with a piercing horror, that the only way to protect life now was through the organized violence this man commanded.
He did not kneel.
Instead, he walked past Long Wei. He walked to his hut.
He opened the door. "Yue-er," he said softly. "Come out."
Chen Yue emerged, her eyes swollen.
"Come with Father," he said gently.
He took his daughter's hand and led her to the center of the square, right beside Long Wei. He did not hand his daughter over. He stood with her.
He looked at the elders. "Will we let our children fight alone?"
He looked at Long Wei.
Then, he bowed deeply, a full, respectful bow an elder gives to a leader.
"My oath... is... to protect... this... village," Healer Chen said, his voice trembling but strong. "From... this... day... on, that... oath... is in... your hands, Commander Long."
He turned to the entire village. "Commander Long Wei... speaks... with my... voice. Every... order... is law. Every... request... is a necessity. Do you understand?"
It was a total surrender of power. Lujing Village now had one leader.
Long Wei nodded once, accepting the burden. "Good. We... do not... have... much time."
[One Hour Later. A New Morning.]
Lujing Village had changed. It was no longer a village. It was a makeshift military camp.
Long Wei stood on a large tree stump, looking out over his new "army." The entire village—some 150 people, including women and children—was gathered in the square.
"From... this... day," Long Wei announced, his flat voice carrying clearly. "Everyone... is... a soldier."
He began assigning tasks. His logic was fast and ruthless.
"Chen Fu!"
"Yes, Commander!"
"You... are Captain... of the Militia. All... men... age... 16... to... 45. You... will drill... them. Every... day. At dawn."
"Healer Chen!"
"Yes, Commander."
"You... are Head... of Logistics. Food, medicine, supplies. I... want... every... grain... of wheat... harvested... this week. Dried... and stored. We... need... rations... for three... months."
"Li Er!"
"Commander!"
"You... are Head... of Construction. You... and... your team... will improve... the ditch. And... we... will build... a wall."
He divided everyone. The women became the logistics corps (cooking, sewing, rope-making). The older children (above 10) became the "Eyes Team"—scouts and messengers. The smiths and carpenters became the core of the "Armament Division."
It was an efficient machine.
But it was a cold one.
As he finished giving orders, he felt his stomach knot. He hadn't eaten since yesterday. He hadn't slept.
He turned, and found Chen Yue standing there.
The girl was holding a steaming bowl of congee. She was part of the "Logistics Team," assigned to feed the workers.
This was the confrontation he had dreaded most.
"Commander," she whispered, bowing her head. She didn't dare meet his eyes. Her hands, holding the bowl, were trembling slightly.
Long Wei, the man who had just re-engineered an entire village's social structure, now froze. His genius brain, which knew exactly how to build a fortress, had no idea how to accept a bowl of congee from a girl who was afraid of him.
"Thank... you," he said, his voice stiff.
He reached out his gloved hand to take the bowl. Chen Yue, seeing the hand that had held the "thunder stick," flinched unconsciously, nearly spilling the congee.
Long Wei pulled his hand back as if he'd been burned.
Damn.
He saw it. He saw her fear.
An awkward silence hung between them. All around them, a village was preparing for war, but between them was a chasm deeper than any ditch.
"I... will not... hurt you," he said quietly.
"I... know," she whispered. "But... it... it was terrifying."
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to be still. She offered the bowl again. "You... must... eat. You... look... pale."
This time, Long Wei took it carefully. He tried to smile, to reassure her.
The result was a stiff, awkward, slightly pained grimace. It was the smile of a man who had forgotten how.
Chen Yue looked at the failed smile. And in the midst of her fear, something unexpected happened. A tiny twitch appeared at the corner of her mouth. She almost laughed. The most terrifying man in the world... didn't know how to smile.
She quickly ducked her head again, hiding her reaction. "Excuse me, Commander. I... must... feed... the others."
She turned and hurried away.
Long Wei was left alone, holding a bowl of congee, feeling more confused than when he had faced 35 bandits.
Chen Fu, watching from across the square, grinned. "Well, Commander," he muttered to himself. "At least there's one thing you're not good at."
[Afternoon. "War Room" - The Storehouse.]
Long Wei had assembled his "staff." Chen Fu, Healer Chen, Li Er (Head of Construction), and Uncle Wang (the village blacksmith). The prisoner, Hou, was dragged into the corner, now a permanent intelligence asset.
On the floor, Long Wei had drawn a much more ambitious plan.
"Two months," he said. "60 days. These... are... our priorities."
"One: The Wall." He pointed to Li Er. "The ditch... is good. But... not... enough. We... need... stone. We... will build... a wall... behind... the earthen rampart. Man-high. Every... day."
"Two: Food." He pointed to Healer Chen. "Harvest... now. Grain, vegetables. Dry it. Salt it. We... fight... on full... stomachs."
"Three: Weapons." He looked at Uncle Wang, the blacksmith. "The captured... swords... are good. But... we... need... more. Your... steel... is soft."
"It's the best steel we can make!" Wang protested.
"No," Long Wei said. "You... just... heat it. You... do not... fold it. You... do not... add... carbon. Starting... tomorrow, I... will teach... you how... to make... steel."
The blacksmith's eyes widened.
"And," Long Wei continued, "we... will make... these." He took a piece of charcoal and drew something on a wooden plank. A complex design. A trigger mechanism. A thick, horizontal bow.
"What... is that?" asked Chen Fu.
"A crossbow," Long Wei said. "More... powerful... than a... normal bow. Can... pierce... armor. Easy... to use. I... want... one hundred... of them."
Everyone in the room was silent, staring at the ambitious plan. This was no longer about survival. This was about evolution.
Long Wei looked at them. "The Wolf King... gave... us... two... months. He... thinks... we are... sheep... waiting... to be slaughtered."
He stabbed his knife into the center of the map.
"When... he... arrives, he... will find... a dragon's nest."