Chapter 195

It was meaningless to say anything more. Chu Qiao turned around coldly to leave, only for Yan Xun to grab her arm. The cold, emperor-like look on the man’s face disappeared as he raged, “What do you want? Are you going to find him? Have you fallen in love with him?”

Chu Qiao turned around and looked at Yan Xun’s familiar face. In that instant, the young man by the riverside seemed to appear in front of her again. She shook her head slowly and replied in a low voice, “Yan Xun, I don’t know if this counts as love. I only know that I care about you. I can’t bear to see you get hurt by other people. Your dreams are my dreams. I follow in your footsteps. Whatever I do, I put you first. If you’re happy, I’m happy. If you’re sad, I’m sad. I can forgive your mistakes, your failures, I can even help you to atone for those mistakes. My biggest wish is to see you get what you want. I am a nomad with no kith or kin. Over these years, you were the reason that I continued to live on. You’re the most important person in my life.”

Yan Xun was moved as he heard those words; his hands become warm. He grabbed Chu Qiao’s arm tightly, quivering and appearing slightly agitated.

Subsequently, Chu Qiao continued, “However, I question myself now. Is what I’m doing now worth it? Did I misjudge you? Yan Xun, you have become a slave of power. From the moment you came back to Yan Bei, you started to doubt everyone around you. Myself, Mister Wu, Lady Yu, the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison, Da Tong Guild, everyone who could possibly threaten your power. I don’t believe that you are not aware of my loyalty towards you, how Mister Wu protects you. You’re just scared that our existence will threaten your position. Hence, you find tons of excuses to exclude us. Your resentment and your worries are but a product of your selfish interest, and a reason to cover up what you have done. Even if Zhuge Yue did not exist today, you would still try to find faults with me. Yan Xun, I don’t blame you for killing Zhuge Yue. I only hate the fact that your methods are too despicable. You shouldn’t have trampled on my loyalty for you, and our relationship. You shouldn’t have used these despicable tactics on me.” Chu Qiao climbed on her warhorse. As she departed, she looked at Yan Xun deeply in the eye and said sternly, “Now, as per your wishes, I am going to find him. This is my last warning. If he dies in Yan Bei, I will not forgive you for the rest of my life.”

The winds raged on and lifted Chu Qiao’s cloak into the air. The young lady shouted, and the warhorse started to gallop. The warriors of the Xiuli Army followed behind her and blended into the heavy snow.

Yan Xun stood rooted to the spot with a cold expression. For a long while, he could not move, just like a stone statue. He suddenly felt a part of his heart shatter; he could seemingly hear it break into pieces. That moment, an unrestrained murderous aura erupted within him, staining his eyes red.

Someone crept behind him and whispered, “Your Highness, General Cheng has sent a scout. He says that he is stuck at the opposite shore of Moli River, and that General Chu is responsible for that. What should we do now?”

The cold winds blew across Yan Xun’s sleeves. In that instant, he seemingly saw his parents’ faces, and the noble aristocrats standing in front of Jiu You Platform…

“Inform Cheng Yuan to lead the troops to Minxi Mountains. We have to trap Zhuge Yue at the ice lake.”

The man hesitated and probed, “What if General Chu manages to rush there?”

A sharp look flashed across Yan Xun’s eyes. After a long while, he spat out a few cold words, “We must kill Zhuge Yue, regardless of the price.”

The war eagles let out a long cry. Under the dark skies, a bloodthirsty ray of light started to glow. Tragic sounds of fighting and killing came from the front. He Xiao, with his eyes red, rushed back and shouted, “General, Cheng Yuan’s army is stationed in front of Minxi Mountains. Your Highness’s army is rushing over. General Zhuge is on the surface of Qianzhang Lake.”

Gushes of cold wind drifted past in succession; its savage howls could be heard repeatedly. Chu Qiao stiffened her lips and lowered her head to look at He Xiao, who was covered in blood. Slowly, she said, “He Xiao, can you make a path for me?”

“General,” He Xiao knelt down with a determined look and said sternly, “our lives are yours. Go ahead. The 2,000 soldiers of the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison will not let you down.”

Chu Qiao felt immeasurably moved. Looking at the determined faces of the soldiers behind He Xiao, she felt as if her heart had been scalded by burning oil. She had only saved them once because she feared that Yan Xun would lose the faith of his people. Subsequently, they had followed her without any complaints or regrets, saving her a few times. As long as she issued instructions, they would execute it regardless if it was right or wrong. They were her subordinates, her weapons, her closest family. Regardless of what she did, they would not abandon her, standing by her side with everlasting loyalty, pointing their swords at anyone who threatened her. This favor was too heavy a burden for her to bear, causing her to be squashed under its weight. Chu Qiao jumped off her horse’s back and grabbed He Xiao’s hand. Restraining her tears, she blurted out a few heartfelt words, “He Xiao, thank you.”

“General, your safety is more important than the entire continent of West Meng in our eyes. The heavens and earth can be annihilated; the empires can collapse. If General is still here, we will have the confidence to persevere on. Hence, for our sake, take care of yourself.”

Chu Qiao nodded silently and looked towards the faces of the soldiers, who had never been eloquent or expressive in their words. Finally, she looked in the direction of Minxi Mountains with a determined look. A sacred temple stood on its peak, with two statues of goddesses erected beside each other, standing back to back. They watched over the entire land of Yan Bei, like two beacons of light in the darkness.

Chu Qiao climbed on her warhorse and said sternly, “Everyone! I’m counting on you!”

The soldiers echoed in unison, “Take care, General!”

The cold winds lifted their cloaks up. Chu Qiao hollered, causing the warhorse to gallop away into the distance, while He Xiao led his troops towards the piece of snowy ground.

The sounds of the horn reverberated across the landscape. Cheng Yuan, together with the troops of the Black Eagle Army, stood at a dam outside of Qianzhang Lake, surrounding Zhuge Yue’s army of less than 10,000. Dense flurries of arrows, like erupting volcanoes, landed on the frozen solid surface of the icy lake. Those arrows had been personally modified and improved by Chu Qiao herself. Their prowess was terrifying. Yue Da led his guards and shielded his chief marshal. The person in front became a human sieve as numerous arrows pierced through his body, creating many holes. Cries of agony reverberated across the land. Yue Jiu surged forward with his sword and let out a warcry. Cheng Yuan ignored him with disdain and continued to issue orders to fire arrows.

The guards of Yue collapsed like wilted straw, row by row. Faced with such a powerful force, they had no room for retaliation. However, despite this, the warriors surged forward without carrying any shields or protection, using their bodies as human shields to buy valuable time for their chief marshal to survive.

Blood stained the surface of the lake a bright red as it spread across the icy plains. Due to Huo An’s information, the Black Eagle Army, consisting of 200,000 people, lay in wait way beforehand for an ambush. This was no longer a war, it was a bloodthirsty massacre. The arrows flew towards Zhuge Yue’s army like hornets; the sounds of them slicing through the air could be heard. The guards of Yue were at a disadvantage in terms of their prowess and where they were trapped at, causing them to lose their ability to retaliate. The aura of death descended upon them as mountains of corpses piled up. Those that were alive but wounded let out painful cries of agony as their existence was made known to the enemy forces once again.

Cheng Yuan licked his lips slightly and turned back to look at Yan Xun, who was standing amongst the crowd. He was about to achieve an impossible feat. The marshal of Xia’s army, which had taken West Meng by storm, was about to die in his hands. Thinking of this, his palms started to break out in sweat.

Suddenly, a loud sound of warhorses neighing broke out from the southeast direction. Their formation had been breached; soldiers dashed in as they wielded their swords. They were dressed in black. Yes, they were the soldiers from the Xiuli Army.

“The Southwest Emissary’s Garrison!”

Gasps sounded out from within the army. The look on Cheng Yuan’s eyes cooled as he exclaimed, “It’s them again!”

As Cheng Yuan was about to issue the orders for the archers to deal with the Xiuli Army, a low voice sounded out beside his ear. Yan Xun, who had unknowingly walked to his side, ordered slowly, “Surround them, but don’t kill them.”

Cheng Yuan obliged and replied, “Yes, Your Highness.”

“Stop it!” a sharp voice echoed out. Everyone raised their heads in surprise, only to see a solitary warhorse approaching from the southeast. It leaped high up in the air, flying over the heads of the soldiers who were engaged in combat. As it landed on the ground, the young lady jumped off the horse’s back and ran to the space separating the two armies, shouting, “Stop it!”

The soldiers from the Black Eagle Army recognized her. They stopped in their tracks for fear of hurting her, then looked at Yan Xun in a state of panic.

“Yan Xun! Stop it!” Chu Qiao stood at the center and shouted, as she looked at him with a determined expression.

Yan Xun’s expression was solemn. After a long while, he said calmly, “AhChu, get out of the way!”

Chu Qiao reached out both of her arms and stared at him as she retorted, “Kill me first.”

“Xing’er, get out of the way.” A low voice boomed out from behind her. Chu Qiao turned around, seeing Zhuge Yue standing in a pool of blood. The wound at his chest was bandaged, but blood continued to ooze out non-stop. He looked at her ever so calmly; his face was devoid of any generosity before death, of any anger from being ambushed. He stood proudly amidst his wounded entourage, looking at the troops from Yan Bei without any fear in his eyes.

Her eyes turned red as she shook her head stubbornly while saying softly, “I’ve let you down.”

The snow blanketed the entire landscape, with bright elements of red coloring the landscape. It appeared like flowers in full bloom, disregarding the icy climate. The wind howled close to her ear. An arrow flew through the layers of fog. As she turned back, she saw Yan Xun release it. The golden arrow flew towards her at full speed; the sound of it slicing through the air could be heard clearly. She had nowhere to hide, nor was she able to stop it. The cold wind blew across her sleeves, turning her heart icy cold. She watched on as he released the arrow which condemned his destiny to the path of no return; the hand of fate had flexed its muscle amidst the snowstorm.

The scene seemed to play itself out in front of her eyes in slow motion, scalding her eyes with each movement. The arrow brushed across her neck and left a trail of blood on it, before embedding itself in the wound on Zhuge Yue’s chest, which had just been bandaged. Another gush of blood spurted out into the air in spectacular fashion; her cold cheeks felt warm even without the blood touching her. Her breath stopped in that instant. She stood there, dazed, as her gaze fixated onto Zhuge Yue’s lonely, isolated shadow. Her eyes started to turn red, and so did the scene in front of her.