How Can a Soldier Be So Fair? (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 15
The sprouts that had absorbed Haji’s vitality had by now grown into a lush thicket.
The recruits of Prince Gwang Ho’s unit had to endure lengthened training sessions, as daylight hours had grown longer.
To build stamina, the recruits ran across the training grounds—scorched by the blazing sun—with heavy sandbags tied to their legs.
Only after their bodies were drenched in sweat did the training finally come to an end.
Dae Bok, flinging off his sweat-soaked upper garment, approached Yeon Woo, who was sitting quietly in the shade, and spoke to her.
“I think I’ll go rinse off. Want to come along?”
In the nearby ditch, recruits who had finished training were washing away their fatigue with cold rinses.
Yeon Woo gazed at them with envy but soon shook her head.
“I’ll rest here.”
Dae Bok looked her up and down with a puzzled expression.
While others couldn’t wait to strip off even a single layer, Yeon Woo was bundled tightly in clothes, looking unbearably hot.
“Won’t you get too hot, always dressing yourself up like that?”
“It’s fine. It’s not as hot as it looks.”
Of course it was hot. Sweat was pouring from every part of her body, and the discomfort was indescribable.
Since she had concealed her identity as a woman to enlist, it was impossible for her to undress her upper garment and rinse off alongside the men.
Normally, she just used a towel to wipe herself down inside the barracks.
Occasionally, she’d sneak off to the river for a bath when no other soldiers were around, but she’d avoided going since running into Geon.
“Hey, you do wash up, right?”
“Of course. Do you have any idea how clean I am?”
Yeon Woo answered Dae Bok’s question with an air of obviousness.
“I’ve never actually seen you wash—don’t tell me you’re…”
Dae Bok narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her.
Under his penetrating stare, Yeon Woo gulped nervously, her feet tingling inexplicably.
“Don’t you have athlete’s foot or something?”
“…No, I don’t.”
Though relieved it wasn’t something she’d actually worried about, Dae Bok seemed especially fond of making silly remarks.
“Don’t worry! My cousin’s in-law’s in-law had athlete’s foot too, but he boiled some persimmon leaves, washed with that water, and applied mashed glutinous rice—cleared right up!”
“I told you, I wash plenty!”
“Oh! Maybe it’s useless if you don’t wash at all?”
It was already miserable enough being the only one who couldn’t rinse off, and now Dae Bok was teasing her too.
Fuming, Yeon Woo jumped up and swung a fist at him.
“Will you listen when someone’s talking to you!”
Annoyingly, Dae Bok easily dodged her punch.
“Hahaha! You really need treatment for that! It gets worse if you miss the right time!”
Even as he walked away toward the rinse area, Dae Bok kept babbling useless things—like how athlete’s foot wasn’t shameful, or how not bathing was a disease.
Even after Dae Bok left, Yeon Woo remained furious and plopped herself back down with a huff.
On days like today, when she sweated excessively, she especially longed to douse her whole body in cool water just like the men did.
“Ugh! What’s the point of sitting here alone like a martyr? I’d better go fix my armor.”
Since she couldn’t possibly wash right now anyway, she decided to use her break to prepare for the next training session.
As she pulled out her armor to mend torn sections and reapply lacquer, she felt an unpleasant squishiness inside.
“What’s this?”
Reaching into her armor, she pulled out a dead mouse no bigger than her palm.
“Eek!”
Horrified, Yeon Woo flung the corpse to the ground and fell backward, landing hard on her bottom.
At that moment, she heard a mocking chuckle behind her.
Turning her head, she saw Gap Dol staring at her with a sneering expression.
A wave of uneasy suspicion crept over her.
The dead mouse in her armor was no accident.
Among everyone in the unit, Gap Dol was the only one who openly disliked her.
Therefore, if someone had put the mouse in her armor, Gap Dol was the prime suspect.
However, without concrete evidence, she couldn’t confront him.
Moreover, reporting something as minor as a dead mouse to Bi Young would sound vague and petty.
Most of all, she shouldn’t give them the reaction they wanted.
Yeon Woo turned away from Gap Dol, disposed of the mouse corpse, and resumed tending to her armor.
***
It began drizzling in the late afternoon.
The rain poured down like a waterfall, as if a hole had opened in the sky, and showed no sign of stopping.
The morning sun had been so harsh, yet the weather today was unusually fickle.
The relentless downpour blurred everything beyond an arm’s length.
At that moment, two shadowy figures loitered in front of the food storage warehouse.
In-Young quickly checked the surroundings, picked the warehouse lock with practiced ease, and slipped inside—clearly not his first time doing so.
Once the warehouse door closed, one of the shadows spoke.
“Hey, did you see that guy Hong Yeon Woo’s face earlier?”
The voice, brimming with amusement, belonged to Gap Dol.
Responding to him, the slender shadow chimed in with a sly tone.
“I did. His face turned completely pale—might as well not have been a woman at all.”
The soldier who spoke was Chun Chul, Gap Dol’s fellow recruit.
Remembering how Yeon Woo had startled and tumbled backward earlier, Gap Dol couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.
“Heh heh heh. Just as I thought! That girly-looking bastard probably cried his guts out inside from fear.”
As he pondered how else to torment Yeon Woo, Gap Dol pulled a sack from his robes.
Then, together with Chun Chul, he began scooping one doe of each grain type from the warehouse into the sack.
“Selling this bit by bit brings in decent money.”
“Since we take only a little each time, no one notices. We’ve never been caught before, right? Gap Dol, you’re seriously clever.”
Siphoning off small amounts of grain from the unit’s stores to sell for seed money had long been Gap Dol’s nasty habit.
Having finished pocketing grain, Gap Dol and Chun Chul now turned their hands toward the alcohol jars.
The soju inside was meant as an ingredient for making emergency rations for Prince Gwang Ho’s soldiers.
Drying flour soaked in soju produced rations that could be stored for a long time—but to these two, soju was merely for amusement.
Stealing a little each night to drink was unbearably sweet.
Moreover, the high alcohol content meant even a small amount left them pleasantly drunk.
Gap Dol took out a flask and started filling it with soju from the jar.
Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, he paused.
“Wait… Chun Chul, tomorrow’s the march, right?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
“And the recruits are definitely joining too?”
“For sure.”
“Oh-ho!”
Gap Dol casually swirled the flask filled with soju.
The gentle sloshing inside sounded delightfully sweet to his ears.
“Heh heh heh. I just had a brilliant idea.”
“What idea?”
“You just watch. Tomorrow, you’ll get to see quite a show.”
Gap Dol grinned, revealing his yellowed teeth.
His unpleasant laughter echoed ominously through the food warehouse.
***
Morning at Prince Gwang Ho’s unit.
The sky, having poured rain all night, now boasted flawless clarity without a single cloud.
If the rain hadn’t stopped, the march would’ve faced serious delays—luckily, it cleared up by today.
The soldiers, having finished preparations, lined up neatly for departure.
Geon, who had recently taken unusual interest in the recruits, decided to join this march.
Every day, he visited Bi Young to ask about training progress and whether any soldiers had fallen behind or struggled to keep up.
Bi Young was puzzled—why had Geon, who never cared before, suddenly grown so concerned about the recruits’ training?
Still, he dismissed his doubts, thinking it a good sign for a ruler to care about his soldiers.
Bi Young quietly called out to Yeon Woo, who stood in line.
She hurried over, already wearing her armor.
Bi Young looked at her with pity as she bore the heavy equipment.
“Today’s march is thirty ri long.”
Even for a full-grown man, such a march was grueling.
Thus, his voice carried deep concern for Yeon Woo.
“If you feel tired or dizzy, absolutely don’t push yourself.”
“Don’t worry. Among all the recruits here, I probably have the best stamina.”
Yeon Woo rolled up her sleeves and confidently replied, trying to reassure him.
Thanks to Bi Young’s special training, her strength had improved beyond recognition, and she now felt confident in her endurance.
“I’ve even had your special training—I’ll be fine.”
“That’s a relief, then. Be sure to let me know if anything happens.”
Yeon Woo nodded firmly to reassure Bi Young and returned to her place.
Yet even as he watched her walk back with determined steps, a lingering unease remained in Bi Young’s heart.
She was already a grown adult. As she claimed, her stamina had greatly improved through special training.
Still, whenever Bi Young looked at her, he couldn’t help but feel as if she were a child set by the riverbank, helpless.
.
.
.
Soon after, Prince Gwang Ho’s unit began its march.
The weather’s fickleness continued even after the march started.
Yesterday had brought torrential rain; today, fierce sunlight beat down.
At this pace, soldiers would surely collapse from exhaustion, so the unit decided to take a short rest.
The soldiers settled in nearby shade to recover.
Even Yeon Woo, who had boasted strong stamina to Bi Young, couldn’t withstand the heat seeping through her armor.
Bundled in more layers than others, she felt as if she were being slowly roasted alive.
To cool herself, Yeon Woo took out her water flask and gulped down water eagerly.
“Cough!”
But the sharp, unfamiliar odor made her spit it out in panic.
“What—what is this? This isn’t water!”
The taste was far too strange to blame on heat-dulled senses.
Bringing the flask close to her nose, she smelled a sharp, pungent aroma.
“This is soju…?”
She’d never touched alcohol before—how did soju end up in her water flask? It made no sense.
Just then, Dae Bok nearby came over and asked,
“Hey, is something wrong?”
“When I opened my flask to drink water, it was filled with soju.”
“Soju? How’d you even get that?”
“I didn’t get it. I’ve never even drunk alcohol before.”
“Could you have mixed up flasks with someone else? Even then, it’s weird for anyone to have soju in a water flask.”
“No, this is definitely mine.”
Yeon Woo showed Dae Bok her name written on the flask’s bottom.
“Well, that’s truly baffling. I’ve got some water left—I’ll share it with you. We’ll pass a stream soon; we can refill there.”
“Yes. Thank you, hyung.”
Yeon Woo quickly quenched her urgent thirst from Dae Bok’s flask.
Just then, hearing laughter nearby, she turned her head—and again met eyes with Gap Dol.
Gap Dol smirked unpleasantly again at the sight of Yeon Woo.
Apparently, her flustered look delighted him greatly.
Between the dead mouse and now the soju, Yeon Woo had a strong hunch both incidents were connected to Gap Dol.
But without evidence, she couldn’t accuse him outright.
She decided she’d discuss the matter with Bi Young once the march ended, and deliberately turned her gaze away from Gap Dol.
The peaceful rest soon ended, and not long after, just as Dae Bok said, a stream appeared before them.
Normally shallow, the stream had swollen from last night’s rain—its depth increased, and the current ran strong.
Since this march included river-crossing drills, the soldiers had to cross the turbulent stream.
Forming a single line, they began wading across—holding tightly to a rope secured between trees on both banks, water reaching chest-high.
The previous day’s downpour had made the current forceful, so the soldiers gripped the lifeline rope tightly as they crossed.
Suddenly, as Yeon Woo crossed the stream, an overwhelming drowsiness washed over her.
Her body felt light and languid, as if walking on clouds—not unpleasant, at first.
But soon, the drowsiness turned into a foggy stupor.
The alcohol from the soju she’d drunk earlier was finally taking effect.
But since she’d never consumed alcohol before, Yeon Woo didn’t realize she was drunk.
Even holding the rope, she struggled to keep her balance and swayed unsteadily.
Her head kept nodding forward, as if she suffered from narcolepsy.
Watching anxiously from behind, Dae Bok shouted loudly,
“Hey! Don’t fall asleep! Keep walking straight! If you let go of the rope here, it’s dangerous!”
His voice jolted Yeon Woo slightly awake, and she shook her head to fight off sleep.
But the foggy drowsiness quickly returned, dragging her head downward again.
Barely holding on, she muttered,
“My body feels strangely sluggish.”
Hearing this, Bi Young—who’d been ahead—turned to look at Yeon Woo.
Her condition was clearly off.
Her eyes were half-lidded, and her body kept tilting sideways.
Bi Young grew anxious—she looked seconds away from toppling into the water.
He wanted to go back and support her, but the soldiers were single-file in the middle of the river—turning back was impossible.
Moreover, as the one responsible for leading the troops, he couldn’t abandon his post.
All he could do was burn with helpless worry as he watched her precarious state.
Yeon Woo, too, grew alarmed as her body increasingly refused to obey her will.
Yet despite her panic, strength kept draining from her limbs.
It almost felt as though the raging current was siphoning away her energy.
Afraid she’d lose her grip on the rope, she tried to clench tighter—but her fingers only loosened further.
Her vision began to blur.
‘Oh no… please…’
Darkness swallowed her sight, and her consciousness snapped like a thread.
Having lost her grip, Yeon Woo’s frail body was helplessly swept away by the rapids.
“Yeon Woo!”
“Yeon Woo-ya!”
Just as Dae Bok and Bi Young cried out in desperation—
—Splash!
With a thunderous roar, Geon leaped into the raging current.
The violent waves, like a ravenous beast, instantly swallowed both figures whole.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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