Chapter 66

“Kill——!”

Ye Rui raised her longsword, reins in hand. Beneath her horse’s hooves, dust billowed up thick with the stench of blood; she was already ready for the next charge.

The blade cut through flesh and took lives. Ye Rui no longer trembled at the thought of killing. They were simply each fighting for their own cause, each defending the people that mattered most to them.

Her black armor was stained with blood. Fresh blood kept layering over the blood already on her sword, and the green grassland had been turned red. Watching one enemy after another fall before her; seeing her sword pierce their bodies and her horse’s hooves crush their bones, Ye Rui did not like this feeling, but she also did not want those beneath her feet to be her own people.

The people of the Flying Horse Tribe retreated once more. The Phoenix Army did not pursue. Ye Rui believed this should be their last raid for the time being. Next, it would be their own internal strife.

Back at camp, after briefly tending to her wounds, Lu Yihua walked into the wounded soldiers’ tent, dusty from the road.

“Arui, it’s been done as you said. The rumors should spread through the Flying Horse Tribe and Silverstone Tribe over the next few days.”

Lu Yihua had not taken part in this battle. She had been ordered to take people out to spread the rumors; presumably, the merchants entering the tribes would soon carry the news onward.

“Mm. Tell the troops to rest properly. These next few days, they can finally get some good sleep.”

After Ye Rui said that, Lu Yihua cupped her fist and went off to carry it out at once. Watching her back, Ye Rui felt reassured. Lu Yihua could now stand on her own; even putting her in charge of a unit would not be a problem. The issue was that the Phoenix Army didn’t have that many soldiers.

They could draw troops from other units as well, but then it would take time to rebuild coordination. That was why Lu Yihua had refused Li Yan’s offer to promote her two days ago.

Lu Yihua thought the current squad leaders were all very capable; if they broke up existing units just to form one team for her to command, it might even hurt morale. For Lu Yihua, her own glory was not important. What mattered was that the Phoenix Army could keep winning.

Thinking of that, Ye Rui suddenly remembered Mu Xue. That woman’s eye for talent was truly vicious; if Lu Yihua stayed in Youlan City, it would be nothing but a waste of her ability.

She belonged on the battlefield; carrying on her parents’ legacy was the path she should take.

Just as Ye Rui had expected, the Flying Horse Tribe remained quiet over the next few days. No news came out, and there was no sign at all of another incursion.

The Phoenix Army finally had a chance to recover, and also time to hold a simple funeral for the sisters who had fallen in battle, while sending their families pension payments.

In these two months, fifteen members of the Phoenix Army had died in battle. Their bodies had already been sent back to Qingzhou City for cremation. In addition, there were more than a hundred severely wounded and three hundred and sixty-odd lightly wounded. After two months of attritional warfare, the Phoenix Army had indeed suffered considerable losses. Even though the Flying Horse and Silverstone Tribes had lost more, the Phoenix Army’s rate of replenishment was simply unable to keep up.

Three more days passed, and sure enough, conflict broke out between the Silverstone Tribe and the Flying Horse Tribe; a major, bloody clash. In one battle, the young chieftain of the Flying Horse Tribe was beheaded by the Silverstone Tribe’s chieftain, and the blood feud between the two sides was thus set in stone.

News also came from Nan Zhenchuan’s side: one of the Western Barbarians King’s most capable generals, Kayani, had already set out with ten thousand soldiers, heading for the Flying Horse Tribe.

The show had already begun.

The weather was beautiful today. Golden sunlight washed the grassland into a bright, vivid green, wiping away the red that had stained it before. In the distance, the Canglong Mountain Range could be seen like a sleeping beast, as if waiting beneath the clouds and sunlight for the moment it could soar skyward.

Today was Ye Rui’s day off.

She first went to an inn to bathe and have a meal, then went out with Lu Yihua to browse the market. Ever since the Flying Horse Tribe had kept up its relentless attacks, the two of them had not had a proper chance to rest. At last, they had found one.

“Is your hand all right?”

Ye Rui noticed that Lu Yihua was trying her best not to move her left hand. On the battlefield, that unlucky girl had been hacked in the same wound over and over again, and her bandages had only just been removed. The streets were crowded with people coming and going; if she got bumped into, she might be injured all over again.

“I’m fine. A few more days of rest and I’ll be all right.”

Lu Yihua moved her arm, then took the initiative to suggest they stop by the bookshop. She had already finished the military treatise from last time. Though finishing it didn’t mean she had learned it, she had at last found the joy of reading; if there were more illustrated books like that, even better.

Ye Rui also happened to want to find some books to read, so the two of them went to the bookshop together.

Coincidentally, Mu Xue was also on the second floor of the bookshop, still burning incense, brewing tea, and reading.

The sunlight today was just right. A few rays slipped through the crack in the window and landed on the black lacquered desk. Wisps of white smoke curled upward, and in the sunlight it actually showed hints of rainbow color, reflecting onto that peerlessly beautiful face and giving her a somewhat divine air.

So that was what “the sunlight on the incense burner creates purple smoke” meant.

Lu Yihua withdrew her gaze a little awkwardly. She subconsciously glanced at Ye Rui, who was carefully selecting books and did not notice her unusual reaction.

The shopkeeper was still dozing behind the counter. Ye Rui picked out only a few light reading books, paid for them, and was about to leave, but Lu Yihua was still standing by the corner where Mu Xue had browsed for books last time, selecting left and right, with no sign of leaving.

“I’m going to the weapon shop for a bit. I’ll come back and find you later.”

Ye Rui said this, but the one who answered her was not Lu Yihua; it was Mu Xue.

“Go on. She won’t get lost in my place, and besides, she’s a little pauper. No one would rob her anyway.”

Ye Rui smiled, silently cursing Mu Xue for being sharp-tongued, then left the bookshop. She wanted to go to the weapon shop and have a weapon made that suited her hand. The weapons in the barracks were good, but they always felt awkward to use. The purple blade could only fully unleash its power in close combat.

She needed her own longbow and longsword; if she could get a long saber made too, even better.

Inside the bookshop, though Lu Yihua’s eyes were on the pile of books, her thoughts kept drifting, unexpectedly, to Mu Xue. That tea fragrance, that faintly bitter rosemary scent, seemed to have become the woman’s unique marker.

“Nothing to your liking?”

Though Mu Xue was upstairs and could not see Lu Yihua, seeing that she had spent so long browsing without paying, she assumed she had not found anything suitable.

“I just don’t read enough, so for a moment I’ve lost my bearings.”

What Lu Yihua said was true. She had come to the bookshop hoping to see if there were any more illustrated books, but she couldn’t find anything about military strategy in picture-book form, and so she didn’t know what else to read.

“Come up then. Since you can’t decide, keep me company and chat.”

Upon hearing that, Lu Yihua’s heart somehow skipped a beat again. She obediently went upstairs. Seeing the desk piled high with books, neatly stacked, and the yellowed scroll in Mu Xue’s hand, with incense smoke curling around it so that the dense text seemed to fade in and out like heavenly script, she sat down.

A cup of tea was already waiting by her hand, steaming.

“I’ve got a few pretty good books here; they’re all light reading from the jianghu. You can take them and read them.”

Mu Xue pushed three stacked books toward Lu Yihua. Under the sunlight, those slender green fingers were almost translucent, like jade.

“Thank you.”

Lu Yihua was just about to pay when Mu Xue smiled and said, “Forget it; I don’t want your money, little pauper.”

Lu Yihua frowned at that. Last time Mu Xue had already refused her silver; how could she not accept it this time either?

“You can just bring them back after you finish reading. Think of it as borrowing them from me.”

Mu Xue knew Lu Yihua’s stubborn nature, so she offered a solution. Then she lifted a hand and fiddled with the small wooden carving Lu Yihua had given her last time.

A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Lu Yihua’s eyes. Her gaze fell on Mu Xue’s hand as it toyed with the little carving, and she saw that the hand, so jade-white under the light, had obvious calluses; not just from writing, but also sword calluses, the same as hers from training in martial arts.

“You’re very skilled.”

Lu Yihua was not asking; she was stating a fact. She had already seen it in their accidental exchange at Rain and Mist Tower last time. When Mu Xue moved, her aura was extremely strong, yet in an instant she reined it all back in; that presence, that movement, and even the technique of her hands were all first-rate.

“What, you don’t just want books from me; you want to take me as your master too?”

Mu Xue’s eyes curved with amusement. Looking at Lu Yihua’s earnest expression, she suddenly found herself wanting to tease her. “It’s not impossible, but I’m very picky about who I take in.”

For a moment, Lu Yihua was speechless. She had merely complimented Mu Xue; how had this turned into wanting to take a master?

“Miss Mu, I already have a teacher. I can’t take another master.”

After Lu Yihua said that, Mu Xue gave her a disgusted look. “Being so inflexible won’t do. You’ll suffer for it on the battlefield.”

Lu Yihua was choked speechless again. How had she become inflexible?

“Well then, how about this? I’ll give you a chance: take me as your master, and I can teach you very powerful martial arts.”

Mu Xue raised an eyebrow. Lu Yihua clenched her teeth, but in the end she still held back from giving in to the temptation.

“No, that won’t do. I can’t.”

If Mu Xue became her master, then... after that, Mu Xue would only ever be her master.

Seeing Lu Yihua’s flushed face, Mu Xue found it even more amusing. She softened her voice and asked, “Why? Do you think I’m not qualified?”

“No.”

Lu Yihua denied it immediately. After a moment of awkward breathing, she said in a voice so soft it was barely audible, “If you became my master, then in the future... you would only be my master.”

When Mu Xue heard that, she first froze for a moment; then she burst out laughing, laughing until tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. She said “good” several times.

“Little pauper, you’re from the jianghu, so you speak much more straightforwardly. But to win my favor, that won’t be easy.”

Seeing Lu Yihua’s face grow even redder, Mu Xue couldn’t stop smiling. In her heart she thought that this person could plainly express bold feelings, yet she was so easily embarrassed; how interesting.

“I... I’ll definitely do my best!”

Lu Yihua was not someone who dragged her feet. Once she decided on something, she would see it through to the end, even if it was liking someone.

Mu Xue said nothing, only smiled. For some reason, she thought of Ye Rui again; of the person whose heart had never really been on her side. The corners of her mouth couldn’t help but turn bitter.

Shaking off those thoughts, Mu Xue then asked, “Little pauper, do you admire the Eldest Princess very much?”

Resting her chin on one hand, Mu Xue’s narrow, alluring phoenix eyes watched Lu Yihua without blinking. Lu Yihua suddenly straightened and said earnestly, “Yes. She is a hero, my role model, and a godlike presence in Qingzhou City.”

Hearing that, Mu Xue’s nose stung, but she quickly laughed again. “But she couldn’t protect her subordinates, and she couldn’t protect the families of many of them. Do you know that the one in the Capital City purged her subordinates and their families? She couldn’t protect a single one of them.”

Mu Xue lowered her eyes slightly, hiding the faint redness at the bottom of them, and smiled. “By my reckoning, she was nothing but a failure. She couldn’t even protect the people around her; what country could she possibly protect?”

At that moment, Lu Yihua’s expression changed. It darkened.

She said solemnly, “I don’t agree with what you’re saying. If anyone is to blame, it can only be those who toy with power. In my heart, she is a hero. She did not fail, because it was she who gave rise to the Qingzhou Army we have today.”

After saying that, Lu Yihua stood up, the books Mu Xue had given her in her hand, ready to take her leave. But Mu Xue smiled and said, “You’re angry?”

Lu Yihua said nothing.

“You’re so easily provoked. If an enemy said even one bad thing about the Eldest Princess, would you not grab a spear and go kill someone all by yourself?”

Lu Yihua’s heart sank, and the anger from before gradually subsided after Mu Xue said that.

“You... don’t like the Eldest Princess?”

After Lu Yihua asked that, Mu Xue shrugged indifferently. “What does it matter whether I like her or not? She’s already dead anyway.”

Mu Xue paused, then lifted her eyes to meet Lu Yihua’s. “Still, if she were alive and could hear what you just said, she would probably be very comforted.”

Only then did Lu Yihua break into a small smile. “If she were still alive, and I could have fought side by side with her, then I would have no regrets even in death.”

Looking at Lu Yihua’s hopeful expression, stupidly sincere like a fool, Mu Xue suddenly felt her eyes turn red.

No regrets even in death...

But I don’t want you to die at all...

**

Inside Golden Phoenix Palace, Yan Mu ruined Helian Shaohua’s mood for chess. Hearing Eunuch Zhaosheng’s sharp voice, Helian Shaohua could only set down the piece in her hand, steady her emotions, and go out to receive him.

He had not come for a long time. He had already been lost in the soft comfort of that palace maid’s tenderness; why had he suddenly come here?

Helian Shaohua curtseyed in greeting. Seeing the Emperor stagger in, his bright yellow dragon robe swaying as he walked, the sight made her irritable, but she could only suppress her frown and replace it with a gentle smile.

Yan Mu seemed to be in a good mood. As soon as he came over, he took Helian Shaohua’s hand and said happily, “Shaohua, today I made a wager with Consort Liu, and I won. Do you know what we bet on?”

Helian Shaohua had no interest in it at all, but she still kept a smile on her face and played along, listening to the Emperor enthusiastically describe how he had been amusing himself with Consort Liu.

He talked for half an hour. Only when Eunuch Zhaosheng reminded him did Yan Mu realize it was time for bed. Just before Yan Mu spoke, Helian Shaohua coughed lightly twice and started to breathe unevenly.

Yan Mu immediately looked at her with concern and asked in a low voice, “Shaohua, what’s wrong? Should I summon the imperial physician?”

“Your Majesty needn’t worry. It’s just that I’ve been feeling tightness in the chest and shortness of breath lately. The imperial physician said it’s only exhaustion, and that I need good rest.”

Yan Mu was first startled; then he breathed a sigh of relief, though he also gave up the idea of staying the night. After instructing Helian Shaohua a few more things, he stood up and was about to leave.

Unexpectedly, when he lifted his eyes, he saw the palace maid who had always stood quietly by the side. In his drunken haze, his gaze suddenly lit up.

How had he never noticed before that this palace maid’s looks... were so exceptional?

Yan Mu walked a few steps toward Shen Zhuiying, not noticing the look in Helian Shaohua’s eyes as she watched him, a look of venomous hatred she had never shown before. It was like a blade drawn from the dark of night, a single strike that sealed the throat with blood.

Yan Mu walked step by step toward Shen Zhuiying, his black eyes, colored by wine and lust, glowing with a beast-like light.

“Your Majesty?”

Only when he heard Helian Shaohua’s call did Yan Mu come back to his senses. Even so, as he turned away, he still couldn’t help glancing at Shen Zhuiying again, and only then did he leave.

Once that bright yellow figure could no longer be seen, Helian Shaohua’s expression instantly fell. Her face turned so dark it was almost corpse-white.

Turning around, she looked at Shen Zhuiying, who was now somewhat fearful and uneasy. Her thoughts were a mess, as if something had shattered the calm she had originally maintained. She asked, “If it were for this palace, would you be willing to serve the Emperor?”

Shen Zhuiying’s face turned instantly pale. Cold sweat broke out all over her body. After two beats of silence, she said, “As long as it is Your Grace’s command, this subordinate will certainly obey.”

After saying that, Shen Zhuiying felt as though all her strength had been drained away; she nearly went soft on the spot. An inexplicable feeling of suffocation tightened around her throat, making it hard to breathe.

She... was to serve the Emperor? Really...

Seeing Shen Zhuiying’s dazed and forlorn expression, Helian Shaohua’s heart inexplicably ached, and that made her a little more lucid. “No. You are mine. Even in death, you are mine. Your master will always be only me.”

Helian Shaohua’s gaze swept toward the palace doors. Her eyes, cold as poison, grew even colder as she said, “Anyone else? Don’t even think about it!”

**

Late at night, there was an unadorned carriage parked before the Xie residence. Xie Tinglan, dressed in simple white training clothes and wearing a veiled hat, quickly climbed inside.

Before departing, she still turned back, lifted the curtain, and said to the person outside with the same face as hers, Huan Jing, “Leave the rest to you and Ri Xi.”

“Don’t worry, Your Excellency.”

After Huan Jing said that, Xie Tinglan also gave Ri Xi a few more instructions. Only then did she lower the curtain and lean back against the carriage cushions.

“Set out.”

The coachman gave a shout; then the carriage slowly moved forward. The rumble of the wheels echoed through the silent night. Along the road, there were only one or two drunks so intoxicated they were out cold. A vendor hastily packing up his stall glanced at the carriage once, then hurried on. Who was in the carriage didn’t matter; what mattered was getting home to rest.

Inside the carriage, Gong Yinzhi asked softly, “My lord, this trip to Qingzhou will probably keep you from returning to the Capital City for quite some time. Are you truly certain there won’t be a problem?”

Xie Tinglan slowly lowered her beautiful eyes and sighed. “This prime minister is also somewhat worried, but right now we need the Qingzhou Army. What I needed to explain and what I needed to do, I’ve already done. From here on, it will be up to that one and Helian Duanhua to cover for me.”

What Gong Yinzhi was really worried about was Huan Jing. She had disguised herself as Xie Tinglan to attend court; though this was not the first time, this time it would be for far too long. Huan Jing had been raised by her. The child was clever, and she was never sloppy when it came to serious matters, but sometimes she simply lacked patience. This trip might take months. Disguise was always false; what if she were seen through?

Still, since Xie Tinglan herself was confident in Huan Jing, she should not doubt her either.

Xie Tinglan looked out the window. As the curtain swayed, she could clearly see the night outside. Was the night on the day she left also this deep and dark? Though she was worried, her eyes were full of anticipation. She was going to look for Ye Rui; she did not want to miss this chance.

She had already fought this sky and this world for so long. This time, she wanted to fight for her own fate as well.

If she gave up now, she would regret it for the rest of her life.

-----------------------

Author’s note: Prime Minister Xie is setting out now~ [doge]

TL Note:

"the sunlight on the incense burner creates purple smoke" (日照香炉生紫烟) is a famous line from Li Bai’s poetry, evoking sunlight and mist turning a mountain peak purple.