The Card Apprentice - The Thoughts of Xi Weide

At the very front of the troops, a stalwart man’s eyes reddened, and his lips quivered as he saw Li Duhong. “Hey, Little Devil!” he said excitedly.
    

For such a sturdy fellow to rub the head of the kid and plop down bean-sized tears, all of the soldiers around were wiping their eyes, their spirits filled with grief. Xi Weide caught Li Duhong’s gaze with a look full of indulgence. He was the confidante of the clan elder and had always dearly loved Li Duhong since he was little; in Li Duhong’s heart, Xi Weide was like a family member.
    

Having put on such a display of strength for the last few days, Li Duhong couldn’t help but wail, “Wuwu, Elder Kitt has died, and we haven’t seen big brother Colin.” The more he reflected, the more aggrieved the little guy seemed, sobbing in spasms. Previously, everyone had anticipated the difficulties of the migration, but it now seemed crueler than they had thought.
    

The grief in the eyes of the soldiers deepened. Kitt’s position in the clan had been superior, and everyone respected him. Colin was well-known among the youth and might have taken Elder Bafu’s position. The two of them were important people in the village.
    

“Don’t be afraid, Little Devil! Xi Weide will protect you!” Xi Weide’s voice was choking, though he kept it extraordinarily steady. He looked around as he gradually calmed himself, but he couldn’t help but show his astonished expression.
    

“How did you get here, Little Devil?” Xi Weide couldn’t help but ask, not having seen a single soldier. Everywhere he looked were all children. That was impossible! Without an escort of soldiers, that crowd of defenseless children would never have been able to remain unscathed for so long in the jungle. All of the soldiers very soon discovered the same thing, which showed in their expressions of disbelief.
    

There was no one who understood better than they did the dangers and difficulties of the jungle. It had required going through many dangers for they themselves to have survived to that point.
    

“It was Mr. Teacher who guided us.” Li Duhong was wiping his eyes with his little hands as he stammered, “On the brink of death, Elder Kitt handed us over to the teacher, and then all along the teacher led us here.”
    

Mr. Teacher? There was only one person in the village who was called by that title, which was Chen Mu. Xi Weide’s gaze moved to Chen Mu in disbelief that he would be able to lead such a group of defenseless children there. Xi Weide wasn’t looking down on Chen Mu, but on the contrary, he really honored him. It was the consensus of the villagers that Chen Mu possessed a lot of knowledge. If they hadn’t been able to depend on the Blue Moon Guns that he’d made, not even half of them would have been able to survive.
    

Xi Weide seemed very forthright, though he was still very cautious as he pounded his head to understand how Chen Mu had led that gang of children here.
    

They had all prostrated themselves along the way to Bo Wen, who not only had great strength, but took great care in his thinking. He had unwittingly become the leader of the troop.
    

If what Li Duhong was saying was true, then Chen Mu and Bo Wen were on completely different levels. Chen Mu had been able to lead more than 2,000 children to that place, while Bo Wen had only led 200 elite troops there. The hardships along the way had made Xi Weide believe for a time that there was no one apart from Bo Wen who could lead them to survive the trip there. But, once he had seen the camp, despite its simplicity, he understood there was still someone more awesome in the world!
    

Elder Kitt’s insight had been sharp after all! Xi Weide felt heartfelt admiration toward Elder Kitt’s courage to make such a choice.
    

Alfonso walked over just then and smiled when he saw Xi Weide. “Xi Weide, it makes us really happy to see you!” Compared to before, the current Alfonso was a completely different person. His tempering during that time had wiped clean all his sourness.
    

“Alfonso!” Xi Weide said with surprise as he took a big stride forward and held out his arms to give Alfonso a big hug. “You’re still alive, my fellow! How wonderful!” The soldiers all around were smiling. So long as Alfonso was alive, there would always be weapons, and they could establish another village.
    

Alfonso and Li Duhong shot a glance at Wei-ah, who was not far away. Now that Colin was no longer to be seen, and Elder Kitt was gone, they were all the most important people in the village. Xi Weide, who was familiar with the style of the clan elder, could make out how important the unit was to him. It made Xi Weide inwardly apprehensive to find that Chen Mu had been placed in that unit. Could it be that Chen Mu was so important to the future of the Moqi line in the clan elder’s heart?
    

No one had thought someone as straightforward as Xi Weide might have so many thoughts in that one look around.
    

Xi Weide had considered the matter in that instant. His many years’ experience had taught him the clan elder wasn’t likely to be mistaken! When Xi Weide was very small, the clan elder had received the clan’s most powerful position from the hands of the previous clan elder. Xi Weide had been by his side for ten years, during which time he had come to fathom how much wisdom the clan elder had.
    

Moreover, the clan elder would certainly have undergone some serious pondering for such an important decision. Then, Xi Weide suddenly remembered a different matter about why the clan elder hadn’t put Bo Wen and Cheng Ying in the same place.
    

Could it be…?
    

He showed none of it on his face while those thoughts were flashing through his mind.
    

Alfonso was patting Xi Weide’s shoulder as he continued on to say to the rest of the soldiers, “Elder Kitt has turned us all over to the teacher, and Mr. Chen will act as our leader until the clan elder arrives. The little kid is to become our future clan elder. Is there any dissent?”
    

Bo Wen’s expression had become abruptly darker, not having imagined Alfonso could cut him off so. The soldiers were all looking at one another, a little restless. No one had any doubt the Little Devil would become the future clan elder, but it was hard for them to accept Chen Mu becoming their leader.
    

They had already gotten used to accepting orders from Bo Wen during those few days. Although they had heard of Chen Mu, they hadn’t really seen anything of his overall abilities. Naturally, they couldn’t put a lot of confidence in him. But, although Alfonso’s tone was bland, it had a note of not brooking any doubt. Moreover, Chen Mu’s identity had already been established by the elders. If anyone were thinking of opposing that, they certainly didn’t dare open their mouths. Though the crowd would sometimes fall silent, they were all gazing at Xi Weide. Before Bo Wen, Xi Weide had always been their head.
    

Xi Weide found it thorny as well, knowing the issue had a lot of importance for the future of the clan! He didn’t have a lot of ambition himself. If he did, he wouldn’t have been able to give leadership authority to the outstandingly powerful Bo Wen. He then caught a glimpse of the ever-silent Wei-ah, whose expression hadn’t changed in the slightest!
    

Since he had first seen Wei-ah, Xi Weide hadn’t paid much attention to him. Now, a chill abruptly arose in him. Seeing Wei-ah again, it suddenly became obvious the clan elder had been determined about the matter!
    

The clan elder—so widely known for his wisdom—wasn’t just someone who always tried to get along well. Xi Weide recalled anew the year the clan elder had used such bloody means. The clan elder had only made three moves his whole life, and blood flowed like a river each of those three times. That seemingly mild elder made fierce moves against those who opposed him. It was truly starting with his moves that the villagers’ discipline had been able to reach a relatively high place.
    

There wasn’t much difference in Wei-ah’s silence from normal, though Xi Weide detected a concealed hint of powerful chill. Wei-ah, the bodyguard who would never leave the clan elder’s shadow, had always carried out the clan elder’s orders faithfully. Would Wei-ah make a move if Xi Weide were to oppose them himself?
    

Xi Weide gulped down his saliva, struggling to keep his face calm. The pressure made him feel as though he were on tenterhooks! He knew his choice might directly affect the fate of the encampment.
    

Wei-ah’s two hands, which hung naturally at his side, rose almost imperceptibly. Xi Weide’s heart suddenly tensed up.
    

“What’s up, Uncle Xi Weide? Do you feel sick?” Li Duhong asked with guileless concern, in all innocence, though seeming to point something out. “Even Grandpa wouldn’t oppose what Kitt had decided. Grandpa had said the teacher could lead us onto a new path.”
    

Xi Weide seemed to have been enlightened. Yes! Whether it was Elder Kitt or the clan elder, he couldn’t compare his wisdom to theirs, so what qualifications did he have to oppose them? Xi Weide was abruptly awakened. Would this be the moment Bo Wen would display his utter superiority over him? Xi Weide became immediately vigilant. No matter what, he was a part of the clan; he couldn’t go against the orders of the clan elder and the other elders. That concept was already deeply rooted in him.
    

Xi Weide then bowed deeply with clasped hands and said with a worshipful tone, “Xi Weide will do as you bid!”
    

The crowd of soldiers looked at one another, bowing down at the same time. “Yes, sir!”
    

Bo Wen’s expression strangely dropped. After scheming so hard those last few days, he had not realized the power and prestige he had established among them could be so weak as to be toppled at the first blow.
    

Bo Wen felt he had lost his senses; he wondered how it might change the situation if he were to blindly kill Chen Mu faster than a thunderbolt. He suddenly saw Wei-ah staring at him, which penetrated him like an icy chill. He came to his senses right away. During his time in the village, he had been discovering Wei-ah examining him in the dark. Why was that guy staring at him? Bo Wen suddenly felt his hair on end.
    

Chen Mu had stunningly discovered that the matter he’d been worried about had been resolved in the blink of an eye. He was suddenly warmed seeing Alfonso smiling lightly at him, along with the heartfelt joy flowing from Li Duhong.
    

They had been supporting Chen Mu all along!