Chapter 203

The clouds covered up the sunlight, causing it to slowly fade across the windy battlefield. Time passed ever so slowly; the autumn winds carried a chill special only to Yan Bei as it swept across the vast plains. From midnight to noon, from noon to dusk, fresh blood stained the entire Huolei Plains as the crimson-red Huoyun flowers were in full bloom, revealing its deep red petals. Living human beings, who were still in abundance in the morning, now lay dead on the icy, cold ground, like uprooted maize.

The land had lost its original color. The vultures circled around in the sky, awaiting the opportunity to enjoy the rare feast in front of their eyes. Corpses and bones littered the plains; the wounded soldiers were piled on top of them, crying in agony like wolves that had just been orphaned. The soldiers who were more heavily wounded could not even muster any shouts of agony, lying down on the ground like a dead dog. They were occasionally found by the combat medics, who discovered that they were alive when they let out a sound after being kicked by them. A slight drizzle occurred in the evening. The thin, cold raindrops landed on the piles of corpses which were being incinerated, forming a thin layer of white fog on top.

Cheng Yuan walked over as he stumbled across the piles of corpses. The seasoned war veteran had grown hardened throughout his years of battle; his sinister-looking face had a determined glow on it. His leg had been wounded by an arrow, and was bandaged with a white cloth as he walked with a limp.

On a low slope not far out, the man stood under a poplar tree. The ensign of the Black Eagle Army hovered lightly above his head. The wilted grass fluttered in the air under his feet, circling around him. The look in his eyes was blank, as if he was fixated on something further than the battlefield, further than the bloodshed, and further than the clouds across the horizon…

Cheng Yuan stood rooted to the spot in a daze, not walking in front.

“Is that Cheng Yuan? Come over here.” Yan Xun did not turn around as he muttered those words in a calm, soothing and composed voice. Cheng Yuan walked over, his back slightly arched. He knelt down on the ground with a single knee and said in a low voice, “Your Majesty, the Xiuli Army has breached through our formation through the Xuanyu Army at the southeast. The Xuanyu Armyust reached the battlefield to reinforce our troops. As they organized their formation hastily, they could not withstand General Chu’s assault. The troops of the Xiuli Army hvoided a direct confrontation with our troops, choosing to attack the Xuanyu Army instead. When we tried to stop them, it was too late already. They escaped from the left side and are headed towards the northwest.”

Yan Xun nodded silently, not saying a word.

Cheng Yuan licked his lips w, ich were starting to turn dry a,nd continued, “I have already ordered General Gao and General Lu to stop them. The First Army will dispatch 30,000 troops to attack them in the northwest regions. Longyin Pass is prepared for battle too. We have sealed the route at the southern waterways which leads to Tang. Even if the Xiuli Army has wings, we will be able to shoot them down.”

Yan Xun remained silent, seemingly remaining oblivious to what he had just heard. Cheng Yuan started to feel a little nervous as he probed softly, “Your Majesty?”

“Carry on.”

“We have suffered heavy casualties. The Third and Seventh armies have been completely wiped out. The leaders of the Fourth, Eighth a,nd Eleventh Armies have died in combat; over half of their forces have died along with them too. General Du Ruolin of the Thirteenth Army has refused to participate in the battle. We have taken him into custody, but his subordinates are still refusing to comply. They are useless to us, yet we still have to dispatch forces to keep them under surveillance…”

Yan Xun turned around slightly and raised his eyebrows. With a low voice, he questioned, “Refuse to participate in battle?”

“Y… -s,”.Cheng Yuan swallowed his words. Adopting a gentler tone, he continued, “The troops from the Thirteenth Army are all from Shangshen Highlands.”

The cold wind blew past Yan Xun, causing the raindrops to splatter on his face. He nodded slowly, not saying another word.

“Your Majesty, stopping the Xiuli Army is just a matter of time. I have another concern, but I don’t know if I should say it.”

Yan Xun replied emotionlessly, “Say it.”

“Yes. Your Majesty, if our troops succeed in surrounding General Chu, how should we attack? Do we attack at full force, or just surround them? Do we kill them, or capture them alive? Your Majesty, please enlighten me.”

The wind around Yan Xun’s ears started to howl loudly. He stood there quietly as it blew across his body and across his sleeves. In the battlefield not far out, small sparks of flames lingered. After the battle w,hich had lasted an entire day, the soldiers’ sharpness had been heavily affected. Presently, they were fatigued and slow to respond; their clothes had become torn and tattered. The entire army of 20,000, combined with 30,000 reinforcement troops, had lost to the Xiuli Army, albeit having retreated from the battle halfway. Chu Qiao and her army of 9,000 troops sliced through their formation effortlessly, achieving something that Huanhuan’s 30,000-strong Huoyun Army did not manage to. Yan Xun had to admit that AhChu was an undisputed genius in military warfare. Even he himself could not compare to the way she handled situations with confidence and her standing in the army.

He exhaled slowly; the heavy feeling in his heart starting to surface from within. At this moment, he was not sure whether to feel happy for her, that she had finally managed to escape and beat him without any emotions involved. He was not sure whether to feel sad or not, that she had left him for good.

A feeling of irony surged from within his heart, causing him to laugh coldly. He looked at Cheng Yuan and spoke, “Cheng Yuan, do you know why I value you highly, despite other people telling me not to?”

Cheng Yuan was shocked as he knelt on the ground, kowtowed, and replied, “I can never repay Your Majesty’s benevolence even if I die many times over.”

“Because you’re like the old me.”

Cheng Yuan looked up at Yan Xun in shock, but did not say anything.

“I know that your family was wiped out inothe battlefield. Your wife and sister was captured by the Xia troops to become prostitutes. Your elder brother was a commander in Da Tong, but he was assassinated by someone internally.”

Cheng Yuan’s eyes turned red slowly. He knelt on the ground without saying a word, as his lips turned pale.

“I know what you are going to say. Just like myself, I know what I’m thinking about.”

Y n Xun looked up at the dark clouds, which appeared red due to the sunset. He smiled and continued in a low voice, “A person can have a lot of wishes. However, he must survive first. If he dies, none of his wishes can be attained.”

Warm tears started to well up in Cheng Yuan’s eyes. The man, who had been despised and called a rat by the people of Yan Bei, clenched his fists tightly and lowered his head.

Big, white birds flew across the sky, across Yan Xun’s line of sight. Yan Xun looked at them as the focal point in front of him slowly disappeared. He remained silent for a long while before saying, “The Xiuli Army is an accomplished army. It will be hard to confront them head-on. Open up the borders and leak the news to Zhao Yang and Wei Shuye. Winter is coming. Let us use AhChu to break through this stalemate of a battle.”

Even a normally composed character like Cheng Yuan could not hide the shock on his face. After a while, he finally whispered, “The Xia troops at Yanming Pass are all heavy cavalry troops. General Chu’s army are all light cavalry troops. I’m worried that the Xia troops will not be able to stop General Chu.”

“Delay her footsteps then,” Yan Xun turned around and walked towards the direction of Beishuo City with his black warhorse by his side. The setting sun shone on him, forming a long shadow. A low voice echoed out slowly, drifting over to Cheng Yuan’s ear like the moving winds on the plains. “Inform the civilians near the districts of Beishuo, Shangshen a,nd Huihui Mountains that their General of Xiuli will be leaving Yan Bei.”

T e wind caused his sleeves to flutter in the air as the sword by his waist gave off a bright red reflection. The man’s footsteps were heavy as he walked slowly towards the majestic pitch-dark city. Figuratively, he had seemingly been bound with golden chains. Thick, black smoke rose slowly from far out as cries of agony echoed out and reverberated across the skies of Huolei Plains.

AhChu, I said this before. Anyone can betray me, except you. You are my only source of light. You are the sun which brightens up my dark sky.

P esently, my source of light is gone.

Will you think of me when you are surrounded on all four sides by enemies, isolated and not able to escape?

AhChu, I’ll be watching you from behind.

The war descended upon the land out of the blue. The various armies of Yan Bei remained stationary upon hearing the news of their arrival. Initially, Chu Qiao naively thought that Yan Xun could not bear to attack her, choosing to let her go instead. However, outside Longyin Pass, when she saw the civilians with their children and belongings, her heart sank as her hopes were completely extinguished.

In the daylight, a crowd had started to form. Some people pushed their heavy carriages along, with all their belongings clattering against each other in there. Some people waved their whips, directing their herds of livestock. Some women held their crying children in their arms as they breastfed them. Other people held their gunny sacks which contained sweet potatoes and corn, stopping to eat after walking for a certain distance.

T ey felt fatigued, hard done by, and panicked. However, when they saw the ensign of the Xiuli Army, the entire crowd broke out in cheers. The civilians swarmed forward and shouted in unison, “General is here! General is here!”

A white-haired elderly man dragged his young grandson along to the front, the child’s face red from the cold. They shouted towards Chu Qiao and asked, “General, where are we heading to?”

“That’s right. General, where are we heading to?”

“No matter what, I’m following General. I can’t let General wander alone.”

“General, why didn’t you inform us earlier? I haven’t packed my stuff yet. Luckily I acted fast, or I wouldn’t be able to catch up.”

…

The warriors of the Xiuli Army stood on the empty, vast plains. They did not say a word as they looked at Chu Qiao. She was dressed in a green cloak as she sat upright on her horse, like a javelin. Her expression was solemn, devoid of any shock or panic, which calmed the soldiers down as they thought that she had a plan prepared beforehand.

“General,” He Xiao rode forward on his horse and called out to her softly.

Chu Qiao turned around. He Xiao was close to her, to the point where he was seemingly able to detect her state of trance. He felt his heart ache as he felt for her. As they interacted with each other over all these years, he no longer believed the young lady’s abilities blindly. Over these two years, he had seen a lot. He had seen her when her spirits were down in the doldrums; he had seen her tears, her moments of weakness, and when she felt lost. She was not the living legend whicoad not tasted defeat in battle; she seemed more like an ordinary young lady who had stubbornly taken the responsibilities of the entire world ontoer shoulders. Even when she cried, she had to hide in a corner where nobody was able to see her. However, despite this, his loyalty towards her did not waver. They had bonded in a more complex way; he was more like a family member, an elder brother, a subordinate, and a confidant.

He reached out his hand and patted her shoulder as he said in a low voice, “General, He Xiao is here.”