Li Shang felt a surge of pride swell within his chest. He stood up as well and bowed.
With the Advisor's backing and his troops' defiance, he hoped to overturn the General's orders.
Aladdin calmly sipped his tea, pretending that none of this mattered to him.
General Li fixed his gaze on Mulan.
Mulan maintained her composure under the weight of his gaze.
"Are you going to disobey my orders if I demand that you return to the capital immediately?" General Li asked, glancing at all three of them.
Li Shang raised his head to stare at General Li. "No. I will swiftly execute the General's orders. However, I hope that you could reconsider."
A heavy silence settled within the tent.
"May I speak?" Aladdin's voice sliced through the silence.
Everyone refocused their attention on him.
Aladdin gently placed the teacup on the table and held their gaze.
General Li narrowed his eyes at Aladdin. "Go on." He gestured for him to continue.
"Thank you." Aladdin cleared his throat and said, "As the one who oversaw Li Shang's and his group's training, I can assure you that they are your best men for winning this war. Sending them to guard the capital will only result in a meaningless loss of lives."
"And what qualifications do you have to judge the capabilities of my men?" General Li asked. He respected Aladdin for helping free his men, most especially his son, from the Huns.
While the transformation of the troops, most especially that of Advisor Chi Fu, was immediately obvious, he was sceptical about the mysterious traveller's identity and capabilities.
Aladdin looked at the captains seated beside General Li and smiled.
The captains felt a shiver run down their spines.
"Since you doubt their efficiency, then why don't we test their strength? Captain Li Shang and Lieutenant Ping versus the best two that the Imperial Army of China have to offer. They will fight one-on-one to see who is the strongest," Aladdin replied.
General Li, Li Shang, Mulan, Chi Fu, and several others wore astonished expressions.
"I object! We are not barbarians," Captain Fan spoke out loud.
"I object as well. We are not meant to be fighting among ourselves while Shan Yu and his men are still out there," another captain interjected.
They all objected to Aladdin's suggestion one by one.
General Li nodded in agreement. "The Huns are still out there. To fight among ourselves would be nothing short of foolish. I don't know where you came from, but if it's discovered that you are working with the Huns, your end will not be good."
"I promise you that I have no such intention. I only made a suggestion that I thought would be beneficial for both parties. Whether you take it or not is up to you."
Aladdin turned his head to the side to look at Mulan and the others. He nodded at them.
They returned the gesture with a nod of appreciation. The fact that Aladdin had spoken up for them was enough.
"I can promise you that Mr Aladdin is not working with the Huns. If he were, there would be no reason for him to aid us in reuniting with the rest of the Imperial Army. That would be foolish and would not fit what we know about the Huns," Chi Fu said.
"A month with a stranger, and you are already picking sides with him," General Li snorted. "Aren't you supposed to be concerned about the well-being of the Emperor?"
"I am. And it's because of this I insist we remain here. I want to return to meet the Emperor with our flags raised in victory. Besides, I'm certain the Emperor would agree as well. I am the one closest to him, after all," Chi Fu rubbed the side of his moustache.
"Or would you wish for me to return to the Capital to inform the Emperor about how you sent our strongest force back and remained to fight a war with troops that would most likely end up defeated?"
"How dare you?" General Li slammed his fist against the table.
BAMM!!
The table shook.
"You really are Chi Fu. Not only did your muscles get bigger, but even your ego. The former Chi Fu would never dare raise his voice against the General." His tone and expression were fierce.
"I apologise for the offence, General. But I still stand on my word. Do you or do you not agree?" Chi Fu responded with his two thick arms folded under his chest.
General Li shifted his attention to the still-bowing Li Shang and Mulan.
He drummed his fingers against the table.
He sighed. "Are you that confident in your abilities?"
Hearing his question, Li Shang raised his head and replied, "Yes." His tone and expression remained firm.
"Good… Good… I will arrange for some of our best men to face you two. And if you fail, you will be stripped of your position as Captain, and you as Lieutenant. Is that clear?"
"Yes."
"Yes."
Mulan and Li Shang replied with unshakable resolve. They were certain that no matter whom the General brought, they would certainly emerge victorious.
"Hey? Hey?? How about me? I also want to fight," Chi Fu quickly said.
"This matter does not concern you, Advisor Chi Fu. You should be prepared to return to the Forbidden City once they lose," General Li turned to Chi Fu and said.
"You? Are you afraid that I might be able to defeat your men?" Chi Fu pointed a finger at General Li accusingly.
"I'm afraid of nothing."
"You are lying," Chi Fu retorted.
General Li snorted, ignoring Chi Fu's comment. "You may sit."
Li Shang and Mulan sighed in relief.
They straightened their backs and returned to their seats.
"Now, let's focus on another issue at hand," General Li said, unable to contain his curiosity. "Advisor Chi Fu, how did you get that big?"
Noticing his gaze, Chi Fu smiled brightly, but instead of responding, he picked up his teacup and drank slowly.
General Li waited patiently.
Moments later, he withdrew the teacup from his lips and said, "I will only give my answer to the Emperor. It is of no concern to you, General."
General Li sighed in defeat. He refocused on Li Shang.
Chi Fu glanced at Li Shang as well, as though warning him to keep his lips shut.
However, Li Shang pretended not to be aware of what was going on. He replied, "Mr Aladdin gave us an incredibly potent elixir used to increase the gains of one's training by several folds. It also reduced the strain on the body by several folds, allowing us to sleep for two or four hours before returning to training feeling stronger than yesterday."
"Advisor Chi Fu had drunk a much more potent dose, which is the reason for his transformation. We have discovered that it isn't harmful but beneficial for us in the long run, given the immensity of how different we were before the training and now."
The captains murmured among themselves after listening to Li Shang's response. They could hardly believe that Li Shang was telling them the truth.
General Li almost felt the same way as well. But he knew that his son wouldn't lie to him. "Is that true, Mr Aladdin?" He shifted his attention to Aladdin, who was the only one who could confirm this.
"Yes," Aladdin nodded in response.
"Can I see this elixir?" General Li asked.
"I am sorry, but it has finished. The only thing I possess here is this empty sack." Aladdin drew out a brown sack from within his robe.
General Li caught a glimpse of the fine purple garment beneath Aladdin's cloak. He swiftly realised that the individual before him was neither an ordinary man nor a traveller.
General Li would believe it if Aladdin told him he came from a prominent merchant family and was exploring new trade routes instead.
"I don't plan on selling it later on either, or handing out the formula. This is my family's heirloom," Aladdin added, noticing General Li's gaze.
Realising that his intentions had been read, General Li cleared his throat and said, "That's fine. You are our benefactor. We can't push you to do things that you don't feel comfortable doing. Thank you for making my men worthy of trying out such a potent elixir."
"General, you don't believe…"
"Enough!" General Li raised his hand at the captain beside him. "Whether it's true or not, we will uncover the truth on the training ground. I want to see just how much they have grown with this potent elixir."
The captain closed his mouth and nodded.
"The meeting has been adjourned. You may leave for your tents to rest. I understand that the journey has been long and wearisome. I will send men to summon you to the training ground once the preparations have been made," General Li said.
"Thank you, General," Li Shang replied. He stood up and bowed respectfully with his fist cupped, then exited the tent.
Mulan did the same and left.
Aladdin followed behind them.
Chi Fu snorted loudly before exiting the tent.
Once the tent was empty, with only General Li and the other captains remaining, General Li leaned his arm against the table and covered his face with his hand. He released a drawn-out, tired sigh.
"What do you all think about this matter?" He asked.
"It's hard to believe whether they are telling the truth or not."
"I agree. But I think you should have pressed him more about getting that elixir, General."
"I think we should focus on verifying Mr Aladdin's identity first. We can send someone to follow him when he leaves and have them report back if they discover anything useful."
The captains all spoke their thoughts.
"We will find out whether they are telling the truth or not soon. But one thing is clear: he is not an ordinary traveller. Besides, I doubt my son would lie to me. As for Mr Aladdin, pressing him further would have trespassed on our boundaries," General Li shook his head in response.
"If he can train our soldiers to possess astonishing strength, as they claimed, then it means that he isn't afraid of us. He has probably used such an elixir on himself or possesses men of his own."
He narrowed his eyes in thought.
"We are already fighting a gruesome war against the Huns. We don't want to poke the nest of another individual who may possess equal or greater power than Shan Yu."
"The meeting is dismissed. You may all leave. Summon Captain Li Shang to my tent. Inform him that I wish to speak with him privately."
He waved his hand dismissively at them.
The captains rose and bowed respectfully with their fists cupped before exiting the tent.
Once he was alone, General Li released another tired sigh. He took out a map of the region of China and began revising the plan that he had initially prepared beforehand.
Three hours later,
"Have you heard? The newly appointed Captain, Li Shang, disobeyed the General's orders. It turns out he doesn't want to return to the capital but stay here to fight the Huns with us. I heard that even his troops are in support of it."
"Isn't he General Li's son? Wasn't the General the one who appointed him as Captain? He's brave, but I doubt that General Li would have allowed any other Captain to walk away freely if they disobeyed his orders."
"He challenged the strongest soldiers in the army. If he loses, he's stripped of his rank and sent back to the capital in disgrace."
"I heard he was the one who proposed it, so it's still lenient. I doubt another captain could do the same."
"Are we talking about the troops that just arrived? Brother, I don't think those guys look like rookies. I saw them bathing by the river and thought they were the Empire's backup plan."