The road leading down to Jiangsu's village... Or more like the route that led down to Nanjing where the soldiers from the nationalist government were stationed had countless rough patches, rendering the tiresome journey nearly unbearable for the soldiers from Commander Wang Yi's base. And despite the jeeps stinking with vomit from soldiers who couldn't control their stomachs, the trip down the rocky road continued, exhausting even the bravest of them.

Xiao Fang knew Commander Yi's Red Army wouldn't be given a pardon to pass through Jiangsu because recently, soldiers from the nationalist government seized control over the small village. A part of him — the rational part preferred the nationalist soldier had never seized the village to begin with. Because whether or not he liked it, Commander Yi and his men needed to pass through the village to get to Nanjing to supply their base with more weaponry. And once they crossed Jiangsu's trench hold, they would open fire and more lives would unquestionably be lost.

During the painful three-hour drive cramped inside a jeep, Xiao Fang strained his ears and overheard a soldier beside him talking. Apparently, Commander Yi planned to kill off all the enemy soldiers stationed at Jiangsu and occupy the village for themselves.

The thought that more men would be killed at the hands of the dictatorial Communist Regime left a bitter taste in Xiao Fang's mouth. And as his eyes scanned outside where oak trees swayed from the gentle breeze, covering both ends of the road, and looking as depressing as the war itself, his eyes unintentionally landed on Commander Yi, sitting in the passenger's side seat in the jeep behind.

The young commander had this unexplained regalness about him despite his delicate features. It made Xiao Fang stare longer. Despite their differences, Xiao Fang somewhat enjoyed the conversation he shared with Commander Yi last night. In a strange sense, he wouldn't mind having the commander as a friend. What a shame the war made them enemies instead.

It took the communist soldiers several more hours to arrive near Jiangsu's border. Xiao Fang could feel his stomach dropping when the jeeps moved off the road, heading toward the deciduous trees surrounding the village. And although it was relatively challenging for the jeeps to pass through the slips and slopes, dodging unwanted boulders and fallen tree barks, the soldiers made it safe, parking at a spot where the trees served somewhat as camouflage. It was the perfect place to carry out an unexpected attack since the soldiers occupying Jiangsu were visible to the communist soldiers alone.

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Xiao Fang remained inside the jeep, watching all the soldiers huddled around themselves, talking in hushed tones. Commander Yi wasn't there, but it was visible the soldiers were discussing when and how they'll carry out their attack on their enemy counterpart, stationed inside Jiangsu.

When the obnoxious soldier, Zichen, approached the jeep, muttering profanities under his breath, Xiao Fang's body became tense. Why couldn't these communist mongrel soldiers leave him alone!?

"Get the fuck out." Xiao Fang stiffened when Zichen's death grip grabbed him by the arm and hauled him off the jeep. It happened so fast. He could feel his heart hammering inside his chest. "I don't know why we had to fucking bring you along," Zichen continued throwing insults. "I should've shot you earlier."

"I don't know either," Xiao Fang bit back as he smoothed out the wrinkles on his sleeve from where Zichen grabbed him. It was obvious Zichen didn't take too kindly to him. The soldier had been rude toward him since Commander Yi ordered Zichen to watch over him so he won't slip away. However, Xiao Fang had no plans to escape anytime soon — not without his comrades, at least. "Why don't you ask your commander?"

Zichen scrunched his nose, his eyes twitching in rage, and for a split second, Xiao Fang regretted backtalking the loudmouth soldier. "You dare talk back to me?" Zichen raised his arm, ready to strike Xiao Fang. "I'll teach you something to talk about."

"That's enough, Zichen," Commander Yi ordered from behind.

The commander appeared out of nowhere. Xiao Fang had seen him sitting inside his jeep earlier, though, watching the commotion between them erupt. The bastard must've enjoyed it, too. Yi paid Zichen no mind, his icy stare rested solely on Xiao Fang, making the hairs on the doctor's back stand straight. Xiao Fang couldn't help but wonder why he kept allowing Commander Yi to hold such might over him.

"Zichen, leave," Yi instructed.

Zichen gritted his teeth, despising the way Commander Yi disregarded his presence. He obeyed nonetheless, though, leaving Yi alone with Xiao Fang.

Yi took small steps near Xiao Fang, both hands behind his back — a habit, Xiao Fang observed. "I sent Zichen to fetch you," Yi said, inches near Xiao Fang. So close, he could feel the commander's ice-cold breath fanning his face. "And yet you resist."

"Is wasn't resisting." Xiao Fang eyed the ground, loathing how powerless he felt in the presence of the younger man. "Is there something you want, Commander Yi?"

"What I want is for you to look at me when I'm speaking to you, soldier," Yi ordered.

Xiao Fang lacked courage. However, he took a glance as commanded, and when his eyes clashed with Commander Yi's, he felt disgusted with himself because he had never looked a man in the eye before and liked what he had seen. And despite it must be a sin to like the eyes of another man, Commander Yi's eyes held such warmness to them, a drastic contrast considering how cold of a man he made himself out to be.

"You..." The tension between them felt thick, so thick, Commander Yi cleared his throat. It must've suddenly gone dry. "You aren't coming with us. You'll remain here along with Zichen. He'll watch over you until we get back from seizing the village. You understand, don't you?"

Suddenly, Xiao Fang's mind clicked, and he remembered where he stood and all that was happening, and the mountains of concern he had moments ago came flooding back in. "The soldiers in Jiangsu... Are you going to kill them all?" he asked.

"Of course," Yi replied, the pompous smirk never leaving his face. "Those soldiers chose to fight on the wrong side of the war... They've already killed enough of my people anyways. They deserve death."

Xiao Fang could feel his hatred returning in waves. "Those soldiers are innocent men — they only killed you communist dogs like you because you're all murderers! None of them deserve death and deep down... You know that."

"Those innocent men are blind men. Just like you, Xiao Fang," Yi fumed, his eyes blinding with rage. "You're just lucky you didn't face the same fate they'll be facing... Answer me this, doctor. Do you think things would be different if our situation was reversed?"

Xiao Fang opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Commander Yi had a point. Both sides were evil because both sides did despicable things to each other. He had seen it countless times. He himself had killed captured communist soldiers — shot them in their heads, and end their lives. Some of those soldiers were subjected to death in some of the cruelest ways imaginable, too.

"I guess not," Xiao Fang replied, head hanging low.

Xiao Fang hated war. Hated the fact he had to pick a side to fight alongside. But the communist soldiers slaughtered his parents senselessly and wanted his country for themselves to destroy. Vengeance was necessary. Needed.

"Tell you what, doctor," Yi chimed. "When I put a bullet between those cowards' eyes, I'll keep you in mind."

Bastard.

"You are indeed merciless." Xiao Fang gritted, recalling the countless unpleasant stories he heard about Commander Yi brutally slaughtering enemy soldiers — sometimes with his bare hands. "But remember this, Commander; All men have their day. When the time comes and your lifeless body is laid out for vultures, just know, many will be laughing, and —"

"I suggest you stop talking, doctor." Yi's eyes grew dark, and Xiao Fang believed he must've struck a nerve. That should've been a good thing, but the sudden thickness on Commander Yi's forehead said otherwise. "You're getting bold. I think it's time you remember your place... Zichen. Come, tie Xiao Fang to the tree, and make sure it's tight. I don't want him escaping."

"What are you going to do? Tie me up for what?" Xiao Fang's eyes doubled in size, his hands trembled, his stomach curled, and in an instant he realized the utter foolishness he had done when he decided to speak his mind, wanting to prove to himself that he was no coward in the face of the enemy. Utter foolishness indeed. "Commander Yi?"

Yi's face remained stoic, and suddenly all the soldiers' eyes were on Xiao Fang, wondering what had the medic's soldier done to upset the young commander in such a short time.

"Couldn't keep that mouth of yours shut, huh?" Zichen snarled in Xiao Fang's frightened face and laughed when he flinched back as Zichen's nails sank against his arm from where the communist mongrel grabbed him. "If it were up to me, I would've hung you on that tree instead," Zichen whispered in his ear only for Xiao Fang to hear. A frightening gleam in his eyes that Xiao Fang hadn't seen up until now.

All the soldiers' faces gleamed with laughter, and Xiao Fang felt small — like prey trapped between predators who enjoyed seeing him suffer. And despite knowing it would be pointless, his eyes searched for someone in the crowd, someone willing to help. There were none, though.

Zichen flung him to the ground. The twigs and rock pebbles scraped against his back, but what caused actual pain — making him bite his lower lip to stifle out any unwanted hisses — was his injured arm. At this rate, Xiao Fang believed the gunshot wound would never heal. Damn those communist mongrels.

Unfortunately, Xiao Fang's internal meltdown didn't last long. Zichen grabbed him painfully tight by the hair and dragged him over to a nearby tree. And although every inch of him screamed to fight back, he didn't resist when Zichen fastened the ropes around him a little too tightly, rendering it nearly impossible to move.

Commander Yi approached him, inspecting the ropes tying him to the tree while ignoring the dirt on his face, and disheveled hair. Yi stooped down, his eyes scanning the ground around Xiao Fang, searching for the spectacles that unfortunately slipped off when the doctor fell. "You drop something," Yi slipped a finger around the spectacles when he found it lying near Xiao Fang's feet.

Xiao Fang didn't flinch when Yi placed the spectacles over his eyes, giving him a clearer view. However, a split second of Yi's fingers brushing against his cheek made the doctor turn red.

Indeed, Yi was a cruel man... There was no denying his beauty, though. And when his fingers brushed against Xiao Fang's cheek, the doctor swallowed the sudden lump forming in his throat. Yi's touches had such gentleness to them, it was strange considering he killed men with that same hand.

"Doctor, I got you scared for a second there, didn't I?" Commander Yi chuckled, amused.

"I don't..." Xiao Fang's eyes went wide, realizing that Commander Yi never had any intention to harm him. Instead, it was all some sick joke to scare him. It wasn't funny. "You're not going to hurt me?"

Commander Yi gently tapped him twice on the cheek. "Of course not. Oh come on, doctor, I'm just messing with you. Although that mouth of yours needs taming, we need you, remember? I won't let anything bad happen to our doctor. Not yet at least."

Dumbfounded, the medic's soldier scanned around his surroundings, seeing all the soldiers were no longer watching. Instead, most of them were near the jeeps, unloading several crates filled with food supplies and weapons. "This isn't necessary," he gritted, wiggling against the restraints. "It's not like I'm going to run away."

"Xiao Fang, Xiao Fang." Yi stood up, no longer paying Xiao Fang any mind as he focused his attention on the grenades that were being fished out of the open crates and tossed around from one soldier to another. "Just because you said you aren't going to run away, I should believe you? What do you take me for? A fool?"

The minute those words left Commander Yi's mouth, the younger man strode off, leaving Xiao Fang tied up with a scold on his face.

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The nationalist soldiers stationed in Jiangsu were under-prepared, giving Commander Wang Yi's Red Army a lot of advantages. So when the explosions rocked throughout the center of Jiangsu, and the lights went out, drenching the entire village in eerie darkness, the Red Army, led by Commander Yi, stormed through the streets in the night and attacked with such force that the ground trembled and quaked, and cracked.

It was clear before the fight started... Victory for the Red Army was certain.

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Xiao Fang curled in on himself as best as he could through the binds whenever an explosion went off in Jiangsu. He knew the nationalist soldiers didn't stand a chance against Yi's Red Army. That thought left a gap in his heart, and despite wanting so badly to turn a blind eye toward the sounds of dying men, his attempts were unsuccessful, as the screams left a ghastly imprint in his head. So instead, he silently waited for the night to end. At least come morning, the fighting would — should — be over.