Dreams Beyond the Battlefield

“Lin Yu, Lin Yu! You’ve got nothing to do, right?”

Lin Yu, lost in thought on the sofa, was spotted by her senior colleague.

The senior colleague pulled her into the kitchen.

“Why don’t you help me with the dishes?”

Though she detested washing dishes, having enjoyed a meal prepared by another, she felt obliged to offer some sincere gratitude.

“Alright.”

Icy water cascaded over the greasy bowls and chopsticks.

The soap swiftly emulsified the oil clinging to the porcelain, which then sloughed off with a single swipe of her slender fingers.

‘Soap truly is a marvelous invention,’ she mused.

‘It excels at everything—laundry, bathing, and dishwashing.’

“Lin Yu, have you heard about the offensive on the eastern front these past few days?”

Her older senior colleague spoke, rinsing bowls beside her, mentioning the massive offensive launched days earlier, after Diacla had formally declared war on Lanfos.

She knew, of course.

The continuous explosions from dawn till dusk on the left flank were unmistakable; if it wasn’t a large-scale offensive, what else could it be—a celebratory salute marking the passing of His Royal Highness?

“He said that if things go smoothly, this war will be declared victorious once the offensive succeeds.”

“After the victory, after the war ends, what do you plan to do?”

“Me, I…”

Withdrawing her hands from the basin, she habitually rubbed her palms together.

Having gone over a month without manual labor or exposure to sun and wind, her skin was steadily improving, and the calluses at the base of her fingers already showed signs of softening.

Lin Yu wasn’t entirely sure what aspirations she held beyond healing the sick and saving lives in the medical tent.

“Perhaps, perhaps… it’s to help my mother and father move out of the mountain village.”

Her parents, who had given her life and raised her in this world, had never once left that mountain village, nor had they ever witnessed what a ‘city’ truly was.

The advancement of magic technology had introduced many convenient inventions to this otherworld.

There were trains, magic-powered lamps, and even magical radio stations.

A wide array of daily necessities was readily available; apart from the somewhat primitive sanitary pad designs, she was quite content with the current state of affairs.

Yet, in the mountain village where she had grown up, none of these conveniences existed.

Travel depended on one’s own two feet, transport relied on human and animal labor, oil lamps were unaffordable, cotton cloth was a luxury, and even a full meal was a rarity.

Countless mountain villages like hers dotted the vast, towering ranges of the Inland Province.

She had been unluckily conscripted into the army (TL Note: ‘Zhua zhuang ding’ refers to forced conscription, often targeting able-bodied men during times of war), yet fortunately became a medic, enjoying a stable salary and considerable benefits.

If she were to be discharged from the army now, she wouldn’t know how to return to her small mountain village and resume life as a village girl—having experienced ‘modern’ living, she found the thought of reverting to a primitive existence unbearable.

“I hope to save enough money to buy a house in the city, and then use my medical skills to earn a living there.”

“That way, Mother won’t have to weave bamboo baskets to supplement the household income, Father won’t have to toil in the fields, and I won’t have to witness so much death anymore.”

After hearing Lin Yu’s aspirations, her senior colleague shared her own thoughts.

“Is that so? As for me… I hope this war keeps going.”

“It would be best if it stayed like this, a stalemate for another three to five years.”

“…Huh? Why?”

Despite being a medic, despite so many dying because of the war, despite witnessing countless tragedies and partings of life and death, she… she actually…

…hoped the war would continue?

“It sounds incredible, doesn’t it? Selfish, even. But I love him.”

“If the war ends, he’ll return to his wife, and that woman would never allow her love to be shared with anyone else.”

The senior colleague bravely articulated her feelings for the Lieutenant Colonel.

“That’s why I hope this fight continues; I want to stay by his side.”

“You’ll probably understand once you fall in love with a man yourself someday.”

‘Sorry, but I don’t really want to understand.’

Nevertheless, Lin Yu genuinely wished her senior colleague’s dream would come true.

If the war remained deadlocked for another three to five years, she could accumulate enough salary to buy a house in the city, paying in full without needing a bank loan.

Moreover, with three to five years of medic experience, she would undoubtedly be immediately hired by any hospital or clinic.

By then, her healing arts would also be quite proficient, and as a ‘healer’ in this burgeoning blue ocean industry, she was sure to earn a substantial income.

‘Perhaps she, too, might try to fall in love with a man?’

‘Not for financial gain, nor to conform to others’ expectations.’

‘But that was a consideration for many years down the line; for now, Lin Yu had no desire to fall in love with anyone.’

“Mhm.”

After helping her senior colleague wash the dishes and scrub the pot, Lin Yu returned to her idle state, sitting on the sofa like a ghost, cradling a teacup.

Three people were bickering over some seasoning at the dining table, arguing and blaming each other, while the last senior colleague yawned, enjoying the Lieutenant Colonel’s lap pillow.

The lively chatter and squabbles seemed distant to her.

Her mind and body were relaxed, her stomach warm, and she could feel the fully digested meal settling comfortably within her.

‘I need to absorb nutrients well, grow taller and bigger quickly, and find the right moment to confess to the Lieutenant Colonel that I’m actually a girl, once I’m out of his ‘preference’ range.’

‘It’s almost time to leave anyway.’

‘With an outsider like me lingering, the senior colleagues probably can’t relax and enjoy their private lives.’

Just as she was pondering what excuse to use for her departure, a sudden knock sounded at the door.

All four senior colleagues were occupied with their own affairs.

The Lieutenant Colonel himself was tenderly stroking the soft hair of his beloved resting on his lap, showering Lin Yu with another dose of ‘dog food’ (TL Note: A Chinese internet slang term, ‘gou liang,’ referring to public displays of affection that make single people feel jealous).

‘Alright, it seems I’m the only one free to open the door…’

Setting down her half-empty teacup, Lin Yu walked to the door, pressed the handle firmly, and opened it.

“Can I help you?”

The visitor, upon seeing Lin Yu’s face clearly, instantly narrowed their pupils and quickly hid the paper bag they were carrying behind their back.

Lin Yu, for her part, wondered why he had come to visit.

The person at the door was the quartermaster from the neighboring tent.

In recent days, he had occasionally sought her out for conversation; though they weren’t close, their frequent encounters had firmly imprinted his face in her memory.

“I… I need to report a situation to the commander, and I require a private audience with the Lieutenant Colonel.”

Lin Yu stepped back a couple of paces to clear his line of sight, then pointed her thumb towards the middle-aged man behind her, who was currently doting on the medic.

“Can’t you see the Lieutenant Colonel is busy right now?”

‘Tsk…’

‘He’s giving me that dreadful look again.’

‘There was definitely a reason why this quartermaster wasn’t well-liked, and one of them was undoubtedly his gaze, which would inexplicably turn strange from time to time, as if she suddenly owed him tens of thousands of coins.’

“In that case, I shall return another day.”

He bowed slightly as if in apology, then turned and departed from the doorway.

As he did so, he casually moved the paper bag he had hidden behind his back to the front, as if its contents were something illicit.

‘He’s even worse than that guy.’

‘That other guy, at least, hadn’t caused Lin Yu any actual harm, but this quartermaster had given her a brutal kick; the hardness of his military boot remained vivid in her memory.’

Lin Yu shrugged, closed the door once more, and settled back onto the sofa, slowly sipping her tea.

‘It’s exactly three in the afternoon now, a perfect time for tea.’

‘Last time, I took some tea back with me; this time… perhaps I could borrow a couple of books?’

‘There were books in the tent too, but most were medical-related, suitable for study but not for passing the time.’

‘The Lieutenant Colonel’s place should have plenty of popular novels, perfect for whiling away boring hours when there were no wounded to attend to.’

‘Then, I’ll say my goodbyes.’

Much as she wanted to, she couldn’t stay for dinner.

After all, her reason for visiting was to discuss plans; if she were to discuss them all day, Nangong would likely suspect she had ‘discussed’ her way right into the Lieutenant Colonel’s bed.

Even though she knew she hadn’t done anything of the sort, being suddenly questioned about it would be utterly embarrassing.

****

At the Lieutenant Colonel’s residence, Lin Yu peacefully spent a warm afternoon filled with ‘dog food.’

Yet, in a distant place unseen by her, death clung to the red earth beyond the mountains.

Someone had to be held responsible for the failure of the first and second assaults.

That person, of course, would not be His Majesty the Emperor, who commanded and planned the offensive.

In the blind spots of their vision, a web of conspiracy slowly began to creep up the legs of the young, ordinary medic.