MEET ME ON THE BATTLEFIELD

CHAPTER 4 - SMALL, UNKEMPT, AIR-HEADED

  QianDu stalked for the General's bathing area with YuLin following closely behind, often tripping over small things causing QianDu great grief. He wondered if this YuLin would accidentally drown himself whilst preparing the bath.

  As they entered a large tent YuLin marvelled at the large tub in the middle of the room, it was three times larger than the tub he had bathed in, it could probably fit three horses. Besides the tub were shelves lined with oils and herbs used for enriching one's bathing experience.

  "The coals are in the stone stove in the corner over there, fill up the tub with water from the spring outside and then add the coals in so the water is hot, make sure it's very hot but not to boiling point. Then add a few drops of these oils for relaxation, our General faces many stressful problems, bathing is one of the rare things that help him relax." QianDu instructed as he passed two vials to open-mouthed YuLin.

  "Did you remember everything I said?" QianDu asked with much doubt in his eyes.

  "Ah...ah yes, coal, water, oil, relaxation. Mnm, leave it to me QianDu ZhangBei!" YuLin said and thumped his chest giving QianDu a smile.

  QianDu's eyebrows twitched before he left. As he reached the tent opening he turned and said over his shoulder, "The General will arrive shortly, you best work quickly..."

  YuLin looked back to the tub and rolled up his sleeves and tied his hair back with a small rubber band though his fringe still covered most of his face. He lifted two empty buckets and began filling it up with spring water before dumping its contents into the tub. After several trips, YuLin's face and back were sweating and it showed through his clothes as they now stuck to him. Then he grabbed a poker and began lifting coals and dropping them in the water one by one, he stuck his hand in the water and moaned, "Ah... what a good temperature, I'd happily drown in this."

  Across the camp, QianDu felt a morbid feeling at his scalp.

  Then looking back to the two vials, YuLin unscrewed the caps and took a sniff before frowning, "Aiya... this stuff is only twenty per cent effective for relaxation... tutut, they don't know their stuff at all. Let this Laozi show off his knowledge hehe..." He set aside the two vials and looked on the shelves and began sniffing the herbs and other vials.

   He settled with rose oil, chamomile extract and lavender flowers. "Now this... relaxation seventy per cent." He added them one at a time into the steaming bathtub and stirred with his hands. YuLin patted his wet hands on his damp clothes and stepped back to admire his handi-work but instead bumped into something, or rather, someone.

  YuLin turned his head and saw a wide expanse of a metal chest plate. He looked up, and up and up, past broad shoulders, a tense, muscled neck, strong chin and jaw, proud straight nose to indifferent dark brown eyes, that stared right back at him.

  YuLin lept away and marvelled at the statue of a man before blurting out, "Wow mister... you have a good physique!"

  The man raised an eyebrow lazily at YuLin's remark.

  "Ah! You can't be in here! I'm preparing a bath for the General, perhaps you're looking for the common bathing tubs? they're on the other side of the camp." YuLin said, rather proud of how informative he sounded.

  "Name?" The man spoke, his voice deep and rumbling. YuLin's heart sped a little for an unknown reason, he raised his head and looked at the man closer, he was dashingly handsome but had an extremely heavy aura about him, as if he were always tense. His hair was tied in a high pony-tail and only shorter strands of his hair escaped and framed his angular face. His voice tugged at the back of YuLin's consciousness, the way only the beasts do which startled him a little.