Chapter 206

The Xia army ceased their attack but did not make way to let them leave. The merciless siege had truly begun. At this moment, Zhao Yang fully understood the accuracy of the intel that he had received. Chu Qiao had truly fallen out with Yan Xun, and wished to leave Yan Bei. The gates of Longyin would no longer open for them, and apart from heading to the Tang Empire through the Waterway of the Southern Borders which Yan Xun had already sealed up, they could only pass through by the Xia defense line. With increasing certainty, he was sure about her escape.

September 20th, it snowed. At this juncture, snow would not be too heavy yet, but it continuously snowed for two days. Xiuli Army’s rations had been almost depleted, and if not for the fact that some of the civilians had brought some food, they may have started starving long ago. All the tents were allocated to the civilians, yet every night, there were elderly and children who froze to death. Medicine had run out as well, and injured soldiers could not even get a sip of warm water. Chu Qiao could only helplessly watch as the coldness and injuries robbed the lives of those soldiers who could withstand even the tremendous might of the Xia Army.

Each time she saw that a soldier had died, or a child was trembling in the wind, she felt an urge to rush back to the Longyin Pass to apologize to Yan Xun, and plead for him to save those innocent people. Helplessly, she smiled, and could only feel that strength had left her body. Yan Xun was really the one who understood her the most. Perhaps, he had knew long ago that this would happen. She was never scared of war, killings, or even death, but her Achilles heel was that she would never allow people who loved and supported her to die meaninglessly. In the past two days, she attempted to break through the encirclement four times, and she had been unsuccessful. Zhao Yang adopted a full defense formation. Not only did Zhao Yang not face them in front combat, he did not bother with their attacks either. Each time the Xiuli Army charged up, they were merely welcomed by a barrage of arrows, resulting in dozens of bodies being left behind.

On the night of September 22nd, a snowstorm begun. The temperature dropped drastically. In just half a night, there were over 50 deaths among the injured soldiers, and over 80 deaths among the civilians. The civilians finally reached their limit, as a middle age woman left the camp and rushed to Longyin Pass to request entry. Following which, more and more civilians left, as they tumbled in the frigid winds towards the fort.

In this life and death situation, the fear of death had finally won their conscience. The civilians abandoned this army that had fought to the end to defend, and charged back to their homeland. The soldiers of Xiuli Army silently watched as everything unfolded. No one said anything, and no one tried to stop them. They merely watched these people who were crying, and emotionlessly let them go.

A sobbing elderly walked over to Chu Qiao. In his embrace was a child whose breathing had already weakened to the point that one could barely hear it. With his face full of humiliation, he tried to say something, but all that came out were weeping sounds. The child was already completely pale. Chu Qiao could tell that if he did not quickly go someplace warm, he would die very soon. Chu Qiao felt as though her throat was being choked by something. She was not angry, neither did she feel sad. Of course, she did not blame them for abandoning her. As a soldier, she had no excuse when all she could do was watch her countrymen die one by one, unable to protect them. She could no longer bear to see that guilty gaze of the old man, because she felt even more guilt ridden deep down. She could only lower her head in silence, expressing her emotions.

Sorry.

Atop Longyin Pass, torches gradually started to light up. Under the pass, there were countless elderly, children, women, tumbling forth. People shouted, “Open the gates! Open the gates!” in unison, with a sense of despair and fear in their voices. At the end of the day, they were normal civilians. Their only wish was to survive, and sometimes they merely wished to live a better life.

In the intensifying snowstorm, the entire landscape turned white. The officer atop the city walls shouted, “Do not approach! Back off! Back off!” Yet, no one bothered. His voice had been drowned out by the rowdy civilians. While crying, the civilians pounced onto the gates, and with all their strength, they knocked on it while roaring, “Open the gates! We are the citizens of Yan Bei, why do you refuse to open the gates?” The sound pierced through the heavens. The warriors of Longyin Pass were dumbfounded. They had all witnessed the battle that had taken place two days ago. At this very moment, none of them hoped to point their weapons at their past comrades. In addition, the ones knocking at their gates were mere civilians. They stood rooted to the ground, conflicted between their morals and duty.

“Open the gates!” The civilians bashed themselves against the city gate. Some lost their balance and fell down, only to be trampled into a bloody mush by the ones who impatiently charged up. The sounds of wailing and shrieking echoed on the plains as the heavy snow continued to drift down, seeming endless.

“Back off! If not, we will shoot you!”

“Do not shoot us! We are mere civilians!”

“Please! Please, save my child!” The women who ran off first knelt on the ground, holding up her child who no longer had the energy to complain, as she wailed, “You can refuse to save me, but please, save my child!”

“Open the gate! Open the gate! Let us in!”

….

“Master Chu!” The officer in charge of the garrison shouted, “Come back! If you do not return, we cannot open the gates! His Majesty’s orders! As long as you come back, your past mistakes will be forgotten!”

“Your past mistakes will be forgotten!” With the hundreds of guards on the city walls shouting in unison, their voices were like thunder rumbling across the plains. The civilians looked as though they had found their savior. Suddenly, everyone turned in the direction of Xiuli Army, and started crying.

“Master! Let’s go back!”

“Master! Save us! Go back with us!”

“Master! Go back and apologize to His Majesty!”

“Master!” The woman rushed out from the back of the crowd. In her hurry, she tripped and fell. The child in her arms was hurt, and suddenly started to cry with all its strength, with a pitch that seemed to be sharper than even the blades of the Xia Army. That woman shrieked, “Master! I beg you! Save my child! Master, please! Save my child!”

In that chilly darkness, the Xiuli Army stood frozen as they looked to their leader. Chu Qiao’s heart seemed to have been torn into a million pieces. Biting into her lips, the taste of iron suddenly spread throughout her mouth. With her hands icy cold, even her fingertips were trembling.

Yan Xun, Yan Xun, you expected all this to happen, right? You expected all this to happen. Right now, are you waiting on the plains outside Beishuo, quietly waiting for me to go back to apologize to you?

With the shrieks sounding wave after wave, thousands of civilians knelt before her. With their heads on the ground, they cried. Just a few days ago, they swore unwavering loyalty to her, and had shouted “Long live freedom” with her. Yet, they were now kneeling and pleading for her to apologize to Yan Xun.

Reality was so cruel, yet she could do nothing about it.

With her eyes dry, she could no longer cry. The bitter taste of defeat lingered in her chest. Fate had pushed her into the abyss of despair. No matter what she did, every step she took led to a dead end.

“Master.” He Xiao walked over and stood firmly behind her while gazing at her in worry. In his gaze, one could see worry and sympathy. “Master…” He wanted to comfort her, but he did not know what to say. The entire incident was so ludicrous and bizarre. The world was so vast, yet they had no place to go?

“He Xiao.” Chu Qiao sighed. At that moment, she felt as though all of her blood had frozen up. She was in such despair that she wanted to die, yet she held on and ordered, “Order for the entire army, we will…” It was then, at this very moment, the sound of a flurry of horses galloping resounded from behind. The warriors of Xiuli Army spun their heads around, only to see the Xia Flags waving behind, closing in on them. Zhao Yang had attacked again!

“Orders for the entire army! Intercept the Xia Army!” For the first time in her life, Chu Qiao felt that the Xia Army was so adorable. She did not know if thinking that way was morally correct, but she felt a desperate urge to leave this dilemma. After all, if the Xia Army was attacking, the top priority was to fight! She thanked the heavens in her heart that she did not have to make such a decision at that very moment, even though she may have to pay a hefty price later on.

“Your Highness! The enemy is ready to fight!”

“Call off the attack!” Zhao Yang calmly instructed, “We will leave after closing in.”

“Huh?” His subordinate was taken aback, and could not help but to ask, “Why?”

Zhao Yang had not spoken for a long while, as he gazed into the darkness, and quietly said, “We cannot let her return to Yan Bei.”

Back and forth, the chase continued through the entire night. The Xia Army seemed to treat Longyin Pass as a playground. After a while, they would pretend to attack. Only when the sunlight pierced through the thick morning fog did they finally sound the horn of retreat and went back to their camp.

Bringing back her exhausted army, Chu Qiao only saw countless pairs of eyes that merely looked on in silence, along with rows of bodies that were neatly arranged before the army. Those that were still alive and breathing the day before were now lifelessly lying before them on the ground. The snow had started to pile up on their faces, covering their features.

Seeing how the battle had stopped, people started to leave. The stream of people increased and eventually turned into a river, then an entire ocean. They did not walk toward Longyin Pass. Instead, they headed towards the Yanming Pass of the Xia Army.

“Come back!” Pingan stood beside Chu Qiao and called out. He attempted to pull those people back, only to be brushed aside and pushed into the snow. On the ground, he shouted, “Come back! Do not go!”

Yet, no one bothered. The crowd faded into the distance and walked to Zhao Yang’s army. Raising their hands up high, they surrendered, and repeatedly emphasized that they were merely civilians.

From Zhao Yang’s formation, a troop of soldiers came out. The thousands of civilians knelt down, and while raising their hands, they kowtowed to them. In the distance, their weeping and the sound of the Xia soldiers’ laughter could be heard. The warriors of Xiuli stood rooted to the ground, some crying silently. Yet, they could not say anything. What could they say? Could they possibly encourage these unarmed people to fight the enemy? Could they possibly promise that they would definitely save them? The snow resumed, and Chu Qiao’s heart seemed to have become the permafrost that had not seen the warmth of the sun for centuries, as she looked on at everything with hollow eyes. In the fluttering of the war flags, the heavens were completely silent as the winter of Year 778 finally started.

September 25th, there were big winds. Snow fell like cotton as they floated down with the air currents. The dungeon exit had been covered by snow, and the ancestral graves had long readied the white lanterns. The walking maidservants all donned plain white clothes, with white silk floating in the breeze, and dust drifting through the air. In the hall, there were no torches that were lit, and the only source of light was a lone candle. In the darkness, it shone alone, casting long, flickering shadows of the surroundings.

In the ancestral hall, a lone figure that sat in the darkness. It was as though light could not ever illuminate the gloom on his face. He back faced the candle, his appearances obscured by the darkness. There were many bottles of wine, some already empty and lying on its side, placed on the small desk before him. The smell of alcohol wafted in the entire hall. He had never liked alcohol, yet he had drunk continuously and alone in this hall for three whole days.

In the past three days, even though the smell of alcohol had already permeated this entire place, why did he not feel the slightest bit of intoxication?

Despite the huge winds that were bellowing outside the doors, blasting waves and waves of snowflakes that battered the walls, the palace was quiet and dark, with only the lone candle flickering. Silently sitting alone, he felt as though he could hear the rumbling of the drums, the sounds of blades clashing as the warriors lifted their blades and charged at each other, and the pained cries of the civilians calling for their homeland. As blood flowed and convened into a river, it stained the majestic walls of Longyin Pass, colored the grass of Yan Bei, and washed away the last bits of emotions between him and her.