In later generations, he was also a soldier, a member of the army’s archery team. Horseback archery was a required training, which gave him a special affection for horses. Over the past month, he was almost never away from the saddle. Under the careful guidance of Matthew Harris, his riding skills improved rapidly, and he could now compete with excellent cavalrymen.

Arriving in front of a willow tree, Andrew Thompson stopped his warhorse. This was the site of another of his daily practices.

He took down his bow and arrows from his back, retreated a hundred paces, drew the bowstring to its fullest, aimed at the trunk, and released. The arrow shot out, tracing a beautiful arc, and struck the tree trunk with precision.

Andrew Thompson shook his head regretfully. His archery skills hadn’t changed, but unfortunately, this bow was too soft and didn’t suit him. He couldn’t find that powerful feeling he used to have. He thought to himself that he needed to get a good bow sometime.

At this moment, seeing that it was getting late, he urged his horse back to the fortress. The wind on the Gobi Desert was fierce, and the blowing sand made it hard for him to keep his eyes open, so he had to ride sideways against the wind.

Suddenly, he noticed something unusual on the distant wasteland—a white object. Andrew Thompson spurred his horse forward and was stunned to find that the white object was actually a human skeleton, face down, with an arrow lodged in its spine.

Andrew Thompson sighed softly. From the not-yet-fully-rotted leather boots, he could tell that this was most likely a merchant from west of the Onion Ridge who had fallen victim to bandits—dead and robbed. The body had probably been buried by sand, but the recent strong winds had exposed the bones again.

Andrew Thompson dismounted and used his dagger to dig a pit, burying the remains. Just as he was about to leave, he was surprised to find a red gemstone at the spot where the skeleton had been. Overjoyed, he picked up the gem, which was about the size of an egg, smoothly polished with rounded edges. In the sunlight, a cluster of flames seemed to rise within the gem, burning ever brighter, its brilliance dazzling in the sunset—an exceptionally precious stone.

He was a bit puzzled as to why the gem hadn’t been stolen. Looking at where it had been, he suddenly understood: the gem had been hidden in the person’s mouth, so it hadn’t been discovered. The skeleton was face down, and when he moved the remains, the gem had slipped out of the mouth.

“Heh heh! I’ve struck it rich!”

Andrew Thompson excitedly hid the gem, then found a long, flat stone and used his dagger to carve: ‘Grave of an Unknown Hu Merchant.’

He stuck the flat stone into the sand and, clasping his hands, said, “Brother Hu, you’ve given me a little fortune, and I’ve let you rest in peace. Now we’re even.”

Andrew Thompson mounted his horse, feeling elated, and even started singing loudly along the way, “The seventh son of the Li family, lucky enough to find a treasure!”

……

Back at the fortress, the soldiers were sitting in a circle outside the tents, eating dinner. Matthew Harris came out to lead his horse and laughed, “Seventh son, go eat!”

Andrew Thompson was indeed quite hungry. He squeezed into the crowd, sat down, and casually picked up a wheat cake, wrapping a piece of dried meat in it to eat. The Tang army’s rations were filling but very simple—basically just wheat cakes, dried meat, and black bean soup. If you wanted good wine and meat, you had to buy it yourself.

“Seventh son, have a drink.”

A handsome young Tang soldier next to him handed him a wine flask. This soldier was named Brian Foster, the youngest in the fortress, only seventeen this year. He was a second-generation soldier in Anxi. His father was from Chang’an and had volunteered in the twenty-fifth year of the Kaiyuan era as one of the first long-march soldiers, bringing his wife and children to guard the frontier in Anxi. In Bahuan City, they had fifty mu of tax-free land. Last year, old He retired to farm, and his son, young He, honorably took his place.

Brian Foster was a very clever young man, good at getting along with people. For example, he actually didn’t drink, but still bought a few flasks of wine to share with the older soldiers at meals, building relationships. Everyone in the fortress liked him.

Andrew Thompson took the wine flask and gulped down two big mouthfuls. The wine was Gaochang grape wine, sweet and mellow. Wiping his mouth, he praised, “Good wine! When will I have enough money to buy a couple of flasks myself?”

“Seventh son, next time those two women come again, I’ll be on top with them, and when they’re in ecstasy, you steal their money from below. Then we’ll split it—won’t that solve our money problem?”

An old soldier joked crudely, causing everyone to burst out laughing. William Sutton heard the commotion and came out of the tent, grinning, “Thinking of those two wretched women still makes me feel cheated. Two hundred wen would be enough to go to a brothel and listen to a love song.”

At that moment, a hawk was circling in the sky, waiting for the Tang soldiers’ leftovers. William Sutton glanced at the hawk, frowned, and cursed, “That damned bird is back again. Last time, it knocked over a good flask of my wine. Watch me shoot it down!”

He turned to grab a bow and arrow, drew the bow, and shot. The arrow whistled past the hawk, which, startled, flew higher but didn’t leave, still circling above.

William Sutton felt embarrassed and said to everyone, “I’ll put up five hundred wen. Whoever shoots down that damned bird gets the money.”

Five hundred wen was quite tempting. The Tang soldiers all jumped up, drew their bows, and shot at the hawk. For a while, arrows flew everywhere, but not a single one hit. The hawk flew even faster, screeching twice as if mocking the Tang soldiers. Knowing it was impossible to hit, the soldiers laughed, put down their bows, and sat back down to eat.