Chapter 56

Coming to Youlan City again, Ye Rui suddenly felt a strange surge of emotion.

The last time she had come here, her heart had been set on going home; this time, she wished she could get as far away as possible.

In winter, Youlan City’s river waters were a deep green, mist drifting everywhere. Buildings with pink walls and dark tiles half-vanished in the cold wind; tea shops and taverns along the streets still breathed out warmth, their aromas spilling into the air. Wine banners snapped furiously in the chill; pedestrians hunched their shoulders and pulled their clothes tight as they stepped through the snow, giving the city a bleak sort of beauty.

As soon as Ye Rui entered the city, she headed straight for the Mu residence. Mu Xue had given her a token that could mobilize everyone in Youlan City who worked under her. Right now, Lu Yihua was staying at the Mu residence; Ye Rui needed to explain everything quickly, then take her people to Qingzhou as soon as possible.

This place was not far from the Capital City. If Xie Tinglan sent men chasing after them without stopping, she was afraid they would not be able to leave.

Lu Yihua was clearly delighted to see Ye Rui, and after asking after her, she finally relaxed once she confirmed Ye Rui was unharmed. Lu Yihua remembered kindness and had taken Ye Rui’s life-saving favor to heart; she even told the others not to spread the news that Xie Tinglan had massacred a village, because she could see how much Ye Rui cared about it.

Though it was impossible to keep people’s mouths shut entirely, Lu Yihua had at least done what she could. Right now, news of Ping’an Village’s slaughter had not spread, which was already the best outcome in a bad situation for Ye Rui.

Then Ye Rui told her about Mu Xue’s request for the two of them to take some attendants and go to Qingzhou to join the army.

“Join the army?”

Lu Yihua frowned, as if there was something hard to say.

“What’s the matter?”

Ye Rui and Lu Yihua were discussing things in the inner hall. Since everyone else was out working and no one else was around, Lu Yihua boldly told her about her background.

She believed Ye Rui was a righteous person, and that Ye Rui had done her a great kindness; she could entrust her life to her.

“My father and mother used to be generals stationed in Qingzhou. Back then, the Grand Princess, who commanded Qingzhou, was persecuted. My parents died fighting while protecting her escape from the Capital City’s pursuit.”

Grand Princess? Ye Rui had no idea there was such a person, let alone that she had been the commander of Qingzhou.

“I was only twelve at the time, and the Grand Princess had someone send me to a martial arts family to be raised properly. Even my name was changed, so I wouldn’t be hunted down by people from the Capital City.”

Lu Yihua gave a bitter smile and went on, “It’s embarrassing to say, but the Grand Princess entered the army at sixteen and became a commander by eighteen. Her battle achievements were illustrious, while I’m already twenty-eight and still haven’t accomplished anything.”

Twenty-eight...

Ye Rui suddenly thought of Xie Tinglan again. She was also twenty-eight, and had been tormented by cold poison for fourteen years. Now that the poison had been cured, her body should at least be able to recover some, right?

“It’s fine. This trip to Qingzhou; we’re going to make a real name for ourselves there, too.”

Ye Rui was actually not very confident. She had never fought in a war before; she had only read some military books at the Xie residence. Now that she truly had to go to the battlefield, she felt panicked. Who didn’t know how to talk big on paper?

“Alright!”

Lu Yihua agreed. “At first, revisiting Qingzhou would always bring back some bad memories. But that land was once protected by my parents, and with Miss Ye accompanying me, I think it will become another starting point in my life.”

“That’s right!”

It was right, but Ye Rui was still nervous. This wasn’t dealing with dozens of people anymore; it would be facing thousands of troops. No matter what, she was still tense.

Lu Yihua knew Ye Rui was Xie Tinglan’s person, and also why she had switched to working for Mu Xue instead. She did not ask. Ye Rui said they would leave today; seeing how anxious she was, as if someone were chasing her from behind, Lu Yihua did not dare delay.

Lu Yihua was very straightforward in how she did things. Once she agreed to Ye Rui’s request, she immediately called over several martial siblings with good skills and set out at once, riding hard toward Qingzhou City.

Qingzhou City was a month’s distance from Youlan City, passing through three cities: Jiangnan, Yuanzhou, and Wenzhou.

After chatting along the way, Ye Rui learned that the three people Lu Yihua had brought were all senior martial brothers who had trained with her since childhood. Though they were not as skilled as she was, they made up for it in loyalty and integrity. From the time Lu Yihua first left to make her name in the jianghu to the time she established a mountain stronghold on Yushan and helped the nearby villagers, they had always supported her and stayed by her side.

They were also deeply grateful to Ye Rui for saving Lu Yihua’s life. Along the road, they treated her with great respect and never mentioned Xie Tinglan’s massacre of the village.

After ten days on the road, the five of them arrived in Jiangnan. This watery land was as beautiful as a painting, just like Youlan City; little bridges arched over flowing streams, white snow covered the willows, and it truly seemed like a fairyland on earth.

Once they arrived here, the Chaoyang Sect and the Wangshu Sect could not be avoided. They had barely arrived when they began hearing rumors about the Chaoyang Sect.

It was said that the Chaoyang Sect had clashed with the court. They had confronted soldiers transporting grain, killed men, seized the grain, and distributed it to the people of Chen Clan Village. Naturally, everyone praised this. Everybody knew Chen Clan Village’s crops had failed for a year, the farmers had not had enough to eat, and there had even been horrific cases of people eating their own children.

Now that the Chaoyang Sect had fought and snatched grain, Chen Clan Village at least had food and warmth; however, the court had also come into conflict with the sect because of this. The Chaoyang Sect denied everything outright, but their good deeds had already spread among the common people, and the truth no longer mattered.

Later, some even said the Chaoyang Sect had transported the seized grain to Qingzhou City. Everyone knew Qingzhou City was a place the emperor had given up on; even if Qingzhou fell, Wenzhou City behind it could still be held. That city was not important to the emperor.

Those who knew the inside story understood even more clearly that Qingzhou City had originally been the place guarded by the Grand Princess. Back then, the struggle for the throne had stirred Emperor Yuan’s resentment, and Qingzhou City had been dragged into his anger as well.

For the Chaoyang Sect to act this way now was no different from slapping the emperor in the face.

It was also rumored that the Chaoyang Sect was now riven by infighting. No one knew what they were arguing about internally; in any case, the group had split into two factions and was close to falling apart.

Ye Rui sat at a roadside tea stall and listened as the tea guests argued endlessly. Some were even people from the martial world, speaking so passionately they practically sprayed saliva everywhere, as if they had been there in person when the Chaoyang Sect split.

After listening, Ye Rui understood only one thing: Xie Tinglan’s plan had succeeded.

The jianghu and the court had already been at odds ever since the earlier ban on martial arts. Now, as long as one side of the Chaoyang Sect was stirred into helping Qingzhou City, winning the people’s hearts and earning a reputation, it would be enough to challenge the authority of those in power within the sect.

Most importantly, this would drive a wedge between the Chaoyang Sect and Emperor Yuan. Not everyone in the Chaoyang Sect knew about the dealings between their leaders and Emperor Yuan. In the end, it was still Chaoyang Sect members who had made the move; with Emperor Yuan’s suspicious nature, he naturally would no longer place his trust in them.

Unnoticed, Xie Tinglan had already done everything she needed to do. Indeed, she walked this path with unwavering determination.

Ye Rui adjusted her veiled hat and kept her face hidden beneath it, so that no one planted here by Xie Tinglan would discover her whereabouts.

Before, she had not felt much about how deeply Xie Tinglan’s influence had spread; now that she was trying to flee, she realized there was danger everywhere. She even suspected that the tea master who always glanced at her a few extra times might be one of Xie Tinglan’s people.

Still, as she traveled into Jiangnan, what she heard was not only about the Chaoyang Sect, but also about that Grand Princess. The farther south she went, the more often she heard the words “Grand Princess.” It seemed the people of the south held this former war god of Qingzhou City in very high regard.

Ye Rui had also asked Lu Yihua about this Grand Princess. However, Lu Yihua had been deeply shaken by her parents’ deaths back then, and what she remembered was only fragmented.

She told Ye Rui that the Grand Princess was gifted in both literature and martial arts; she entered the army at sixteen and crushed the elite barbarian forces until they had no power to fight back. She excelled at strategy and was even better in combat. The barbarians saw her as a shura; as long as she was stationed in Qingzhou City, they did not dare advance even half a step.

She became commander at eighteen, a brilliant young general full of vigor, and the first female general in the history of Great Yan. Because her achievements were outstanding and she was deeply compassionate, she had tremendous popular support; in the south, she was almost like a little emperor.

However, more and more voices claimed she intended to seize the throne. In the end, she was eliminated by people sent from the Capital City, and all the generals loyal to her were slaughtered one by one. Qingzhou City ultimately became a thorn in Emperor Yuan’s side.

The female general the barbarians feared most died at the hands of a conspiracy, not on the battlefield; she was only nineteen when she died, and it was impossible not to sigh over it.

A red-clad horse and a beautiful woman charge across the battlefield; blood dyes the banners red in the sunlight.

A heroic woman with a silver spear shoulders the nation’s burdens; her long song does not betray Great Yan.

These two lines of poetry were written to describe the Grand Princess, but now they had become taboo; her slightest trace had not even been recorded in history books.

As though she had been completely erased from history.

Emperor Yuan really was not fit to be a human being.

The sky was gradually darkening. Ye Rui and the others could not continue traveling, so they had to find an inn and rest for the night.

Her main quest was already complete, and her spear technique had risen to beginner level, but Hu Tu still had not issued another main quest. This left her somewhat confused. Being suddenly told to go off and join a military campaign was confusing enough already; now, without any main quest guiding her, Ye Rui felt uneasy every day.

At first, the tasks Hu Tu assigned had made Ye Rui think she would throw herself into the jianghu. She had felt some longing for that too; tales of vengeance and deep affection all seemed like dreams. Now she knew she really had been dreaming. There was no jianghu; there was only a battlefield and warhorses she was unfamiliar with.

After washing up in the guest room, Ye Rui saw Lu Yihua walk in carrying a wooden basin and ask, “Has Miss Ye’s injury split open again?”

At the start of the journey, Ye Rui’s wound on her back would sometimes tear open on horseback. Lu Yihua had been the one to apply medicine, and when she saw the ugly scar on Ye Rui’s back, twisted like a braid, she felt guilty.

These were punishment for letting the people from their mountain stronghold escape, along with another knife wound she had received in the mountain melee. Lu Yihua felt guilty for all of it. Along the way, she watched Ye Rui’s injuries closely, and fortunately the wound had not split or bled again in the past few days.

“It’s fine. With you taking care of me all the time, how could it still split?”

Ye Rui said it half-jokingly. Lu Yihua seemed rough around the edges, but when it came to caring for others, she was especially meticulous and thorough. Spending time together, Ye Rui felt Lu Yihua really suited her; especially in the way they handled things, Lu Yihua disliked dragging things out, while Ye Rui was used to careful deliberation. They would not clash over it; instead, their strengths complemented each other and made everything more efficient.

“I came to Jiangnan earlier this year and saw Moon Immortal’s martial arts. It truly was an eye-opener.”

Lu Yihua began talking to Ye Rui about the jianghu, and the two of them had plenty to discuss, since both were curious about many things.

“How strong is she?”

Ye Rui started chatting with her as Lu Yihua described the Wangshu Sect’s Step-on-the-Moon movement technique, then went on and on about Moon Immortal’s Lunar Mist Swordplay, which was as fast as lightning.

Ye Rui sat cross-legged on the bed, listening so intently that she was entranced. Then, suddenly, an abrupt clash of weapons rang out from outside the window. Lu Yihua immediately stopped talking, and the two exchanged a look before almost simultaneously moving to the window and carefully lifting it to look outside.

They were staying on the second floor of the inn, and from the window they could see the roof tiles of the shops along the adjoining long street. A woman in white was standing on the tiles of one of those shops, a longsword strapped behind her back, her face flushed with an unusual red. She was glaring viciously at the black-clad man in front of her.

Something was wrong.

Ye Rui looked again at the woman in white; her breathing, her steps, and her flushed face were all terribly off, as if she had been poisoned.

“She’s been poisoned,” Ye Rui said softly.

Lu Yihua nodded in strong agreement. The two of them were not too far from the inn, but no one would have been able to hear what Ye Rui and Lu Yihua were saying.

At that moment, the man sneered twice and said something. The woman’s expression changed drastically; she had already raised her longsword and was preparing to fight to the death, but her stance was unsteady, and if she made one wrong step, she might fall straight off the roof.

Ye Rui hated that she still had not learned lightness skill. She would never be able to move as easily as this on the roof tiles. Judging by the man’s footwork and breath, his martial arts were probably above Lu Yihua’s.

What should they do?

“That’s Moon Immortal!”

Lu Yihua finally recognized her. Back then, she had seen Moon Immortal fighting from a distance, and her face had not been clear; only by her stance and footwork could she finally identify her.

“That man doesn’t look like he has any good intentions...”

After thinking it over, Ye Rui took out the gold-thread bow she had bought on the road and nocked an arrow. Her archery skill was the highest among her abilities, and this distance was just within her comfortable range for hitting a target; for someone who did not know lightness skill, it was the best choice.

Lu Yihua also held her breath. Just as the man was about to move, the arrow flew off the string in a flash; by the time the man reacted, it had already struck straight into the left side of his back.

Lu Yihua’s eyes widened; inwardly she marveled at how amazing the archery was.

Only then did the man let out a cry and turn to stare in shock at Ye Rui. He was a middle-aged man. Hearing Ye Rui say, “Are you not leaving? Do you want to die?”

Ye Rui nocked another arrow and drew the bow. The man staggered back two steps, staring in horror at the arrow, and in the end could only turn and leave unwillingly. Only then did Lu Yihua leap out the window and help Moon Immortal back into the inn room.

At this point, Ye Rui finally got a clear look at Moon Immortal’s face. Her features were cool and refined, her expression naturally aloof and proud; she seemed like the moon peering down from the cold sky. There was also a faint plum blossom fragrance about her. Her eyes were distant and chilly, like the moon itself, and she was truly beautiful enough to live up to the name Moon Immortal.

“Are you alright? What poison did you get?”

Ye Rui put a hand on Moon Immortal’s shoulder and found it scorching hot. Her body temperature was actually even higher than Ye Rui’s; could she be feverish?

Moon Immortal sat on the edge of the bed, forcing herself to steady her breathing. Her cold eyes even glistened with a little moisture, making her look pitiable and lovely; it frightened Ye Rui so much that she took a step back.

This...

Moon Immortal spoke with difficulty, her tone tight with pain. “I was hit by aphrodisiac powder.”

Ye Rui: “...”

Lu Yihua: “!!”

Ye Rui was the first to refuse. “I already have someone I like. I can’t help you!”

How was she supposed to know there would be such a melodramatic turn of events? If she had known the man had used a lust poison, she would have added another arrow and sent him to his death in Jiangnan then and there.

“I-I can’t either!”

Lu Yihua also waved her hands and backed up two steps, looking at Moon Immortal as though she were a wolf or tiger, terrified that she might pounce and eat her alive. However, Moon Immortal clearly had not lost her sense of proportion. After sitting on the bed and breathing heavily for a few moments, she said, “I can force the poison out with internal energy... and I also have someone I like.”

Even if that person was a fool, she would go to them without hesitation.

“I know a little internal cultivation; I can help you with that.”

Ye Rui still had confidence in this. If she were to count the only useful part of her golden finger besides Hu Tu’s muddle-headedness, it would be the scorching aura of her Heart-Scorching Art. As long as she did not rush and cultivated step by step, her progress would always be much faster than ordinary people’s.

Right now, her martial arts were probably about on par with Ri Xi’s. It was just that she still could not use lightness skill, so every time she sparred with Ri Xi, she suffered terribly.

Why... am I thinking about the Xie residence again?

“Miss, your internal energy is as continuous as an unending river; that one arrow nearly pierced through the lecher’s heart. How can you call that only knowing a little?”

Moon Immortal was not flattering her. Just now, that arrow had been shot out without the slightest sound, and it had even broken the lecher’s protective inner force. This young woman’s internal cultivation was by no means ordinary.

Being praised like that, Ye Rui felt a little embarrassed, but she still remained composed as she said, “You flatter me, Miss. If you trust me, I can help you circulate your energy and force the poison out.”

“Then I’ll have to trouble you, Miss.”

After some preparation, Ye Rui sat behind Moon Immortal, placed her palms against Moon Immortal’s back, and began circulating her internal energy to send it into Moon Immortal’s body, helping her expel the poison as quickly as possible. Lu Yihua stood guard nearby and kept an eye out for whether the black-clad man would return.

After only a quarter of an hour, Moon Immortal opened her beautiful eyes in surprise and asked in a low voice, “Miss, where did you study? Why does your internal energy carry a scorching aura?”

Ye Rui: “...”

The Wangshu Sect are Xie Tinglan’s people... should I kill her to silence her?