"Dangerous going west. Be like this arrow—rather break than bend," said Guo Xin's uncle Guo Ziyi, who broke an…
"Dangerous going west. Be like this arrow—rather break than bend," said Guo Xin's uncle Guo Ziyi, who broke an arrow to see Guo Xin off Chang'an.
Guo Xin nodded solemnly, engraving them in his heart.
The young soldier Chen Hu, following behind Guo Xin's horse, also nodded gravely.
Decades later, after enduring hardship and surviving battle after battle, Chen Hu was finally transferred to the 25th Garrison—closest to the general along the supply route. Holding an unyielding arrow the general had dropped in battle, he thought to himself:
"I will return it to the general myself."
"Dangerous going west. Be like this arrow—rather break than bend."
"The general did it. So did I." But a sharp whistle suddenly pierced the sky.
After a bloody battle came a tremendous roar.
No one walked out from the supply route of Whitecrown Fortress. Not the enemy, nor any soldier of the Anxi Army's 25th Garrison.
A grave of scattered stones buried deep the loyal bones.