The soldiers cheered for Ping; for his intelligence and bravery.
They danced around; waving their fists in the air, announcing phrases like, "Let's hear it for Ping; the bravest of us all" and "You're king of the mountain!"
Captain Li Shang helped Ping to his feet.
Ping tightly gripped his right rib cage; wincing in pain.
"Ping!" the Captain exclaimed.
Ping fell forward, knelling in the snow.
"What's wrong?" the Captain ran to Ping's side.
Breathing heavily, Ping removed his hand from his torn armor.
His hand was covered in bright red blood.
It flowed quickly from Ping's open wound.
The Captain's eyes widened.
"He's wounded; get help!" the Captain commanded his men.
Ping began losing vision.
"Ping," Captain Li Shang stood over him, "Hold on. Hold on."
Ping's vision collapsed.
Ping blinked back to consciousness.
He found himself in a medical tent.
He winced and turned to the gray-haired medic, "What happened?"
"You had a large slice in your ribs," the medic spoke softly.
The medic sat quietly; cleaning the blood off his tools with a cloth.
Ping's eyes widened.
"Are you going to close it with those?!" He asked nervously.
"I already did," he spoke.
Ping lifted the blanket; he was wrapped from chest to waist.
Ping buried his face in his hands and exhaled loudly.
"They don't know," the medic spoke quietly; looking down, wiping his tools.
Ping lifted his head, "You mean...?"
"They do not know what you are," the medic repeated.
Ping inhaled nervously.
"And they won't."
Ping turned to the medic, "But if you don't tell the Captain and he finds out...you will..."
"You have fooled him this far."
"Why are you doing this? Why are you risking your life to save mine?" Ping asked the medic.
"Because I too had a stubborn daughter," the medic turned to Ping. "You remind me of her; brave and headstrong."
A tear streamed down the medic's cheek.
He quickly wiped it away.
The medic slowly turned his focus back to the tools, "The question is, why did you risk your life, in more than one way, to be here?"
"I told myself I was doing it for my father...but maybe I did it for myself..." Ping closed her eyes in sadness.
"How do you mean?"
"Maybe I didn't go for my father; maybe what I really wanted was to prove I could do things right; so when I looked in the mirror, I'd see someone worth while; I'd see someone my family could be proud of; someone who'd bring honor instead of disgrace," the injured soldier closed her eyes as she shed a tear.
"And you don't think you did that today?"
The woman opened her eyes and looked at the medic.
"The Captain told me you saved his life. Not to mention that you single-handedly took out an entire army with the one remaining cannon. If that doesn't bring honor to your family, what could?"
The woman gently grinned at the aged man.
"Put on your armor, I will inform the Captain of your condition," the medic placed his tools down on the tent floor.
"Thank you," Ping smiled at the man.