Title:   Sentimental General  情煉將軍

Author :   Ji Geng   吉梗

Total Chapters:  20 chapters

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The yellow sand was rising up to the sky and the strong winds were twirling up clouds of the dusty sand.  Standing upright was a tall, burly man staring into the distance with his sharp eyes as if waiting for something.  His strong hands were holding a huge sword that was emitting an icy cold air and the tip of the sword was embedded in the dense yellow sand.

This place is the Mohan Sea of Sand which is also known as the Desert of Death.  In this sea of yellow sand, there are not only violent sand storms but also bloodthirsty raptors that are ever ready to snatch away lives.

The armies of the neighboring Xia Country would frequently pretend to be horse thieves and penetrate into the territory with the intention to rob the common people of their property and wealth.

The generations in succession that had guarded the Lan Country in the Desert of Death, keeping dangers at bay and keeping the people in the country safe were the great generals who were descendants of the noble He Mu Family.

At this time, the man standing in the strong wind is the present General, He Mu Li*.

(He means awe-inspiring, Mu means solemn or calm and Li means stern or strict.)

As his name suggested, it is said that he has a very cold personality, he is firm and resolute and an unforgiving man. He is well known in Lan Country and even in the entire continent. He is famous for his boldness and mightiness in warfare.  It is also said that he is the last barrier in Lan Country and as long as he is alive, the country will not perish.

Therefore, in the state of Haizhou where the Mohan Sea of Sand is located, the most admired and respected person in the hearts of the people of Lan Country was not the Emperor who was far away in the Capital but their Hou-ye* who is their most powerful general, He Mu Li.

(Hou-ye is an honorary title bestowed by the Emperor for acknowledging a person's contribution to the country and as a nobleman.  During the Zhou Dynasty, there were 5 honorary titles, namely, Gong, Hou, Bo, Zi and Men, and Hou is the 2nd ranking title bestowed upon the nobles.  This title is passed down through the generations.)

"General !" In the strong winds and sand clouds that were whizzing past from time to time, the Head of the Pro-military Team moved forward step by step, pushing against the winds with difficulty and respectfully greeted the General.

(Pro-military Team is a small battalion of specially trained guards who is directly under the General as in the elite force of an army.)

"Has the person been brought here?" He Mu Li's cold voice did not contain any anger but the Head of the Pro-military Team could feel a frightening numbness.

"General......." He reported with hesitance in the tone of his voice and he felt worried. The Forge Master * who the General had waited for a year was actually a liar who could not live up to her name.  She will not be able to repair the General's beloved sword 'Hurricane' and the General will be furious.  After thinking of what will happen to his brothers*, he felt a slight pain in his stomach.

(In this story, the swordsmith who is highly skilled is referred to as Forge Master. The Author has given this grand title to describe the person's mastery in the profession.)

(His brothers mean his comrades, his fellow guards.)

"Why are you not bringing that person over here?" He Mu Li's sword-like eyebrows raised and his sharp cold eyes swept towards him.

The target could sense the piercing coldness emitting from the Genera's body and the Head of the Pro-military Team swallowed his saliva, thinking that as long as it concerns his precious sword 'Hurricane', the General would lose his patience.

In the past, there were several swordsmiths who hoped to seek fame and came forward to offer their services claiming to be the real Forge Master.  However, after finding out that they were unable to repair 'Hurricane', their lives ended miserably.

Although this time, they had captured the person but to the General, it would still be the same. In his eyes, as long as the swordsmiths could not repair 'Hurricane', they were all useless people and they, the guards would also have to bear joint responsibility for failing in their duties.

Once the General is in a bad mood, the entire camp of brothers will not have good days ahead. None of them wanted to train in this kind of sandstorms which could shave off a few layers of their skin!

For the sake of everyone's destiny, he could only pray in his heart.  Demon woman!  You better have the ability and don't let us down!

Because the process of chasing the Forge Master was not smooth going, the guards in the hunt also had to bear the great burden of He Mu Li's command, so it was not known from when did they privately refer the Forge Master as Demon Woman.  In their hearts, they considered it as a way to vent out their frustrations.

"Yes!" The Head of the Pro-military Team gestured towards the back.

In the swirling wind and sand, two guards slowly brought a woman towards them.

De Xue who was tied up by the Five Flowers Gang* felt very angry. She had not provoked any General He Mu Li but this person had actually sent people to hunt her down for a year. Not only was she unable to do her business, but she was also forced to run around in hiding which had put her in a difficult situation.

(Five Flowers Gang is the name for the General's elite troop.)

From the first time she had met the people he sent over, she had told them that people who wished to repair their weapons would have to come to her.  For her to go to Mohan Sea of Sand to repair weapons was impossible.  No matter how much money they were willing to offer her, they could cast aside their thoughts!

She was not willing to go to that place called Desert of Death!

On top of that, she was not lacking in business at all.  She is the famous Forge Master.  People came from all corners of the country to seek her due to her reputation.  She could pick and choose from the batches of sheep that came and slaughter* them as she pleased.  Why should she make a special trip to the Desert of Death to help that He Mu Li known as the Fierce General to repair his weapon?

(Slaughter here means to charge high prices not to kill.)

And she had heard that the man is notoriously cold and ruthless, so she believed she would not have any good days if she were to go there!

With such thoughts, De Xue refused to accept their business but after her refusal, the people sent by the He Mu Family became aggressive.  They insisted that they had to take her back by force as they had to obey orders.

Can the General be so unreasonable and arrogant?  Humph, it is not so easy to capture her!

And so, relying on the two years of accumulated goodwill and connections of the many people who had sought her services, De Xue fled and wandered around Lan Country.

During her escape, although there were many wealthy families who had expressed their willingness to shelter her, their actual intentions were to convince her to become their private swordsmith but she refused.

Want her to be under a Master?  No way!

When she thought of the blood that was flowing through her was the blood of freedom, of course, she would not be willing to be a private swordsmith and forever be tied to a place!

Smelting and forging weapons had always been her interest.  After leaving home, she repaired weapons for others in order to survive.  Originally, she had everything nicely planned out.  After she had earned enough money, she would stop working and enjoy herself traveling to all the places her father had told her about.  All things in the future would have to wait and be dealt with in the future.

Unexpectedly, without reason, this group of mad dogs from the He Mu Family appeared.  For the past year, they had kept looking for her and in the end, she still fell into their hands.  They even tied her up like a dumpling!

(This is the kind of dumpling DX is referring to.)

Is she a criminal?  This is extremely evil!  They are a group of barbarians!  De Xue cursed fiercely in her heart.

He Mu Li looked coldly at the person covered in sand standing in front of him.  She looked awkward and very petite.  Is this person the famous Forge Master?  She lacks the aura!

In addition to the position of Hou-ye and the responsibility of guarding their home and country, the He Mu Family from generation to generation, from the generation of his great-grandfather to this generation, had also passed down a sword name 'Hurricane'.  It is a precious sword that can only be possessed by the person holding the position of Hou-ye in the He Mu Family and the position of General.

"Hurricane' is the famous sword, the sword that brought pride to its well-known Forge Master Ouyang Zi who had forged it a hundred years ago.  It is also a powerful sword that can destroy with a swipe and cut through iron like it is mud. When the General fights with the enemy, he wields the sword with swiftness and fierceness and would destroy all obstacles in front of him.

But even if it is the most powerful and unique sword in the world, it would still suffer damages on the battlefield. The average craftsmen were unable to repair it at all, so after the death of the swordsmith of the previous generation of the He Mu Family, for nearly two decades, they were unable to find a good craftsman with the ability to properly repair the 'Hurricane'.

Ever since He Mu Li succeeded the position of Hou-ye, he had not stopped searching for a qualified swordsmith.

More than a year ago, he happened to received information that a female forge-smith had appeared in Eastern Lan Country.  Forge-smiths are so called because unlike the ordinary blacksmiths, they are skilled at fusion, combining different types of metals to create stronger and sharper weapons.  But what aroused his interest in this female forge-smith was that she specialized in repairing a variety of weapons and the effectiveness of the weapons would be higher once she had repaired it.

Therefore, He Mu Li immediately sent someone to invite this female forge-smith over.  Because it was inevitable that this person must come, he gave another order that if the person was unwilling, the person must be captured.  In short, it was imperative he must have this forge-smith.

For the past year, he had sent out people to find her whereabouts but every time she escaped.  In the end, she was forced to flee to the borders of Mohan Sea of Sand and this time, he sent out his elite guards to capture her. The guards that he had personally rigorously trained were finally able to catch her.

Is it this little person in front of him?  She does not look capable.

Seeing the contempt and disdain in his pair of sharp eyes, De Xue raised her head to stare at him. Her green gem-like eyes were full of grievances and non-acceptance.  But because the sands were blowing from time to time, she had to narrow her eyes into slits.  However, she still tried to raise her face and refused to show any weakness.

Bastard!  Barbarian!  De Xue roared fiercely in her heart with her lips pursed. If it was not that she would be eating sand once she opened her mouth, she would have definitely cursed him loudly.  She is not even a slave in his family, how dare he treat her this way? Who does he think he is?

 At that moment, her emerald eyes flashed a bright radiance which made He Mu Li take another glance at her.  Seeing her grievous and rebellious attitude, he calmly said.  "Loosen her ropes and let her come over."

(This translation belongs to Catmeme6 from Wattpad. If you are reading this from another website, you are reading a copy extracted without permission. Please go to Wattpad to read the original.)

The Head of the Pro-military Team raised his hand and gestured.  After receiving his gestured instructions, the guards loosened the ropes on De Xue and then gave her back a push to make her move forward.

She stumbled forward with unsteady steps and almost fell down.  But when she felt the man in front of her was looking at her like he was watching a play.  She straightened her small body and tried hard to stand firm in the sand so as to maintain her posture.

When he saw De Xue's arrogant and unyielding appearance, He Mu Li's eyes flashed a light of interest.  Clearly, she is just a woman, but her strong unyielding nature attracted him.  Even though he knew she was putting up a false front, but unexpectedly, he did not find it disgusting.

She is like a little sand kitten throwing a tantrum in front of him.  Even her untamed bright green eyes are like the wild sand cats that are unique to Mohan Sea of Sand.

This inexplicable thought made He Mu Li feel like smiling.

"Are you afraid to come over?" He asked provocatively.

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Translator's Notes:

In this story, for De Xue to have features like green eyes is not surprising because there are more than 50 ethnic minorities recognized in China.  As the Northern Regions of China share borders with Russia, so it is expected that intermarriages will happen. As such, the children from these unions will inherit features from both parents.

The Desert of Death in China is actually the Taklamakan Desert, the largest desert in China and is also known as the Sea of Death.  It is situated in Xinjiang Region and in the local Uygur language, the name translates as 'You can go in but you will never come out'.  This desert is the second largest 'moving sand' desert in the world after the Sahara Desert in North Africa.

In this story, the Author had used the fictitious name of Mohan Sea of Sand for the Desert of Death.

The Author had mentioned three types of people in this story ~ the blacksmith, swordsmith and Forge Master.  Their products and services are different.  

A blacksmith is a person who produces and repairs things of metal like pots, pans, horseshoes, etc.

A swordsmith is a person who produces and repairs swords and weapons.

A forge master is also a person who produces and repairs swords and weapons but he uses different types of metal to forge and produce a single weapon.