CH 163

April 12, 2023Merchie

Qi Changyi quietly swallowed his saliva. He glanced at Zhao Litang and Yue Nu, who were sitting across from them, and whispered, “But aren’t you going to eat? It’s yours.”

Pei Zheng replied in a low voice, “My things are your things.”

Then, he smoothly slipped a pair of chopsticks into Qi Changyi’s hand.

Qi Changyi could not resist the temptation of the fragrance, “Then… then I’m going to eat now.”

He finished Pei Zheng’s bowl of noodles as well. His mouth was greasy, and his belly was round and bulging.

After the group finished their meal, they walked out of the little noodle restaurant.

Zhao Litang said, “All right, it’s getting late. We should go back now.”

Qi Changyi was full and satisified. He nodded obediently, “Okay.”

Just as the group was about to leave, a commotion sounded from nearby, and several children screamed as they sprinted in every direction.

One of the children seemed to have been scared silly; he charged straight toward the group.

Pei Zheng quickly pulled Qi Changyi out of the way, preventing the child from bumping into him. His hand even gripped the other’s waist to keep him from falling.

Zhao Litang saw that Qi Changyi was fine, so he grabbed the child who had almost run into them.

“Kid, what’s going on over there? Why are you running?”

That child’s gaze was blank with shock, and he mumbled, “They killed someone, they killed someone, a lot of people are dead, run, run-“

After he finished, he struggled with all his might, broke out of Zhao Litang’s grip, and ran off.

Zhao Litang and Pei Zheng exchanged a glance, their expressions equally serious.

“You all should go back first. I’ll go and take a look.”

Pei Zheng nodded, “Be careful.”

Then, Zhao Litang walked toward the area from which the crowd had rushed out, while Pei Zheng and the others returned to the barracks.

On their way back, they could see people packing up their things and fleeing. They brought their most precious belongings, before they all rushed toward the city gates. They wanted to leave this little border town, and go somewhere that was farther away from the barbarian cities.

Qi Changyi was worried about Zhao Litang, afraid that something might happen to him since he had gone alone.

After they returned to the barracks, Wu Quan happened to be leading a squad of well-equipped soldiers, ready to rush to the scene of the incident. When he saw Pei Zheng and Qi Changyi, he merely greeted them briefly.

When Cheng Feng spotted Pei Zheng and the others, he greeted them, before he gave a report of everything that had happened.

It turned out that earlier, a few barbarian assassins had appeared in the town, and they had killed quite a few innocent townspeople. After stirring up a panic, they disappeared.

According to the latest news, the barbarian army had already set out, and it was unknown when it would cross the desert and reach the border of the foreign tribe’s border. Once the foreign tribe fell, the border of the Celestial Dynasty would be in imminent danger.

It was no wonder that the townspeople had been so terrified when they saw the barbarian assassins; it was not their first time witnessing the might of the barbarian soldiers. When the two nations had fought previously, the bordering towns had flowed with rivers of blood.

Since Zhao Litang and his army were garrisoned here, it gave the people at the borderlands an overwhelming sense of security. However, war was about to erupt, and this sense of security was on the verge of disappearing completely.

“Give my order to lift the restrictions on the city gates and evacuate the townspeople as soon as possible. Which city is the closest to this one?”

Cheng Feng replied, “It’s Anli, under Lord Li Wu’s jurisdiction.”

Pei Zheng said, “Send a letter to Li Wu under my name, and have him open Anli’s gates to the refugees.”

“Yes, sir!”

Cheng Feng affirmed the order and retreated.

Pei Zheng took Qi Changyi back to his tent. Once the two of them were alone, Pei Zheng finally relaxed a bit.

“Is there… going to be a war here?” Qi Changyi asked suddenly.

Pei Zheng pulled him to sit on the side of the bed. He bent over and looked into the little prince’s eyes.

“Do you know what ‘war’ means?”

Qi Changyi nodded solemnly, “I know. It means that lots and lots of people will die, and there will be lots and lots of blood.”

Pei Zheng stroked his hair, “War can protect lots and lots of people, and allow them to shed a little less blood.”

Qi Changyi was a bit confused.

Pei Zheng continued, “The soldiers who go to the battlefield are all protecting the people they treasure the most. The more blood they shed, the less their loved ones will have to.”

His fingers gently brushed against Qi Changyi’s cheek.

“And you, I hope that you will never have to shed a single drop of blood.”

Qi Changyi blinked; there were tears in his eyes.

“Then what about you?”

Pei Zheng smiled, “Are you worried about me?”

Qi Changyi pursed his lips and nodded. He was worried to death.

“You also can’t shed any blood, not a single drop.”

His voice was soft and honeyed, but it was unusually firm.

Pei Zheng retracted his fingers and did not reply. Instead, he embraced the little prince.

***

Only at dusk did Zhao Litang and the others finally return.

They had expended great effort, but they had finally captured those barbarian assassins. Unfortunately, all of them had already bitten their tongues and committed suicide1, so they were unable to obtain any information.

Everyone in the army became even more nervous, and the atmosphere in the barracks suddenly fell into a state of solemnity.

A spy reported back, saying that the barbarian army was getting extremely close to the foreign tribe’s territory; they would probably reach the border by tomorrow night.

Although there were some Celestial Dynasty troops stationed at the foreign tribe’s border, there were far too few of them; it was not enough to resist the barbarian tribe’s elite troops.

Most of the civilians who could escape were already gone. A few elderly people still remained. They had lived in this little town for all their lives; they could not run, nor did they want to.

Within the span of a single night, the city had become almost a ghost town.

There were also a few foreign tribe citizens who had left for the territory of the Celestial Dynasty.

Zhao Litang urged Pei Zheng to hurry back to the Imperial City, asking him to take Qi Changyi with him and leave quickly, to leave the borderlands, to leave this dangerous place.

Pei Zheng and Zhao Litang stood side by side at the top of the town’s staircase, gazing at the barbarian cities in the distance. They could make out the foreign tribe’s boundary; there was a desert, and there was a group of prowling beasts in that desert, advancing toward them.

“Then what about you? Are you going to retreat?” Pei Zheng’s eyes were looking into the distance as he asked indifferently.

“Retreat? His Majesty gave me an order, so this word means nothing to me. Even if I die, I must stand here until the final hour. We cannot retreat, nor do we have anywhere to retreat to.”

Zhao Litang’s red cloak billowed in the cold wind, “Besides, I am the Great General of Zhenyuan, who has never lost a single battle. Once they see me, my enemies will be the only ones to retreat.”

“This time, it’s different, you don’t know? For the past few years, the barbarians have been stirring up trouble and trying to start a war with the Celestial Dynasty. They’ve been suppressing it for so many years, but their army has been training like a horde of savage beasts. This time, they are burning all their bridges to start this war. But right now, the Celestial Dynasty is already worn from battle.”

“Of course I know that.” Zhao Litang’s eyes flashed, “But what does that matter? As long as there is just a shred of hope, I’ll fight to the very end, until there’s not a single person left behind me.”

Pei Zheng could not help but glance sideways at the general beside him. Pei Zheng had to admit that the chivalry and devotion to his country that the man beside him possessed was something he never had.

To a certain extent, Pei Zheng had respect for Zhao Litang. This respect was probably greater than the kind he had for the Emperor.

“There is one more favor that I must trouble you with, Lord Pei. Perhaps… this will be the last time.”

“All right.” In truth, Pei Zheng had already guessed what he was going to say, but he still listened attentively.

“I have to… leave Changyi to you again. I don’t need to mention the things you did the last time I left him in your care. But now, I can only trust you again this time. After all, I can’t even be certain about my own fate, so how can I protect him?”

Zhao Litang paused, “Pei Zheng, truthfully, I really envy you. You can do whatever you want, and you are deliberate in your actions. You can follow your heart and make choices for yourself, but you also have enough power and ambition to take control of everything. I can’t. I have misgivings, I have confines, I have chains that bind me. What I carry on my back… is the peace and tranquility of the entire Celestial Dynasty.”

“So,” Pei Zheng rearranged his expression, and his eyes flitted toward the distance again, “General Zhao, you must triumph, and be victorious in every battle. If the war is won, I wish you freedom in this world. “

To live free and unfettered in this world.

When they returned to the barracks, it was almost noon. Tonight, the barbarian army would reach the border of the foreign tribe.

Jiang Yubai had already packed everything up, and Qi Yirou had already settled into a carriage. They were both going back to the Imperial City with Pei Zheng and Qi Changyi.

Zhao Litang had ordered someone to stuff Yue Nu into a carriage as well, but Yue Nu still hopped off regardless. Not to mention his sprained ankle; he was crying as though he were made of tears. No matter what anyone said, he refused to leave.

“General, I won’t go… I’m begging you, don’t make me leave, please? I can go on the battlefield, I can kill our enemies too, just don’t make me leave…”

Zhao Litang’s expression was livid. He stepped forward and grabbed Yue Nu, before he dragged him to an isolated area behind a tent.

“What did you tell me before? Huh? You said you would be obedient and return to the General’s Manor. So you lied to me?”

Yue Nu’s tears fell unstoppably, “General, b-back then, I didn’t know that a war was going to start. If I did, I wouldn’t have agreed to go back-”

Zhao Litang said coldly, “Stop crying. Do you really think I don’t know who you are?”

Yue Nu stiffened, “G-General, that’s not it, it’s not what you’re thinking, let me explain-”

“I would have never thought that I had actually saved a barbarian, and even kept him by my side this whole time. Now, since the barbarian army is about to arrive, you’ll see your fellow clansmen. You can’t bear to leave, can you?”

Yue Nu shook his head as he cried, his lips pale from being bitten, but he did not know how to explain it to Zhao Litang so that he would believe him.

Although he had barbarian blood in his veins, he felt nothing toward the barbarians. He had been born in the barbarian tribe, but he grew up in the Celestial Dynasty. Ever since he was a child, he had regarded himself as a citizen of the Celestial Dynasty.

Zhao Litang watched as he cried in heartbreak, and he steeled his heart, “If you regard yourself as a citizen of the Celestial Dynasty, you will return to the Imperial City now. If you want to be a barbarian, I won’t stop you. When the barbarian army arrives, you can go seek refuge with them.”

When he heard this, Yue Nu burst into tears, and the crescent mark at the corner of his eye reddened.

“I-I’ll go back, General, I’ll go back to the Imperial City.”

Notes

C-can I just say… that I ACTUALLY REALLY LIKE ZHAO LITANG AS A CHARACTER! Well, maybe not ‘like’, but I understand his predicament! Remember in Chapter 67,

“The duty of guarding the border and protecting the country was a burden he had no choice but to shoulder. It was impossible for him to take even half a step out of this desolate wasteland.

But the person that he held so dear to his heart, was now being taken away, placed in a carriage that was heading somewhere far, far away.

Who knew if they would ever be able to meet again?”

I know he gets flak for not protecting Changyi from Pei Zheng, and I was honestly frustrated by that as well. But he is duty-bound, and the safety of the country rests with him, and I JUST FEEL SO SAD FOR HIM AND I WISH HIM A FREE AND UNFETTERED LIFE TOO

DON’T FLAME ME FOR MY HOT TAKE OKAY, I JUST REALLY THINK THAT HE DID HIS VERY BEST AND HE DESERVES LOVE TOO

And THE PEI ZHENG CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, HE SAID “be careful” AND “I wish you freedom in this world” WHATTTT

Anyway, I’m sorry that you have to read that in order to get to the one (kind of useless) footnote of this chapter. But thanks for reading~~