Chu Qiao had not only underestimated Zhao Chun’er’s hatred toward her but also underestimated Zhao Che’s wisdom and her standing in the hearts of the Great Xia clans. After the imperial decree was issued from Zhen Huang, the formerly fractured Great Xia Empire suddenly displayed unprecedented unity. The regional governors and feudal lords responded actively to the empire’s call, eagerly preparing for war. More than ten military exercises involving over ten thousand troops were held. Passionate speeches, inspiring mobilization rallies, and spectacular civilian parades were held vigorously throughout Great Xia as if they were facing not a lone woman but an army of a million strong. The previously low morale in the face of the Yan Bei army instantly soared. Warriors sang battle songs and listened to war drums, marching proudly out of the city gates under the tearful send-offs of regional lords, plunging into the boundless wilderness to begin their arduous and dangerous hunt spanning thousands of miles.
Uninformed civilians thought the Yan Bei army was invading, and everyone panicked. Valuable household items had already been packed, ready to flee at any moment with the refugees.
Chu Qiao knew it wasn’t her prestige that made these Great Xia soldiers so terrified. The reason was that when the imperial call for aid was issued from the capital, no one in the entire empire had responded. Now, seeing that the Yan Bei army had no immediate plans to march east and that the Zhao family had established themselves in Yun City with an increasingly stable position, while Great Xia’s regional garrisons had gathered back to Zhen Huang under Zhao Che’s command, the turmoil caused by Yan Xun’s rebellion gradually subsided. These clan families certainly needed to find a way out for themselves. Just a few days ago, the major families—the Mu clan from Lingnan, the Zhuge clan from Western Hua, the Wei clan from Yin Chuan, and others—had sent envoys with large supplies of food and provisions to Yun City and Zhen Huang. At this point, if they still didn’t seek a loyal way out for themselves, they would be either fools or idiots.
So the various feudal princes and generals, who dared not directly lead troops against Yan Bei, all directed their forces against this woman who had boldly escaped from the Seventh Prince and Eighth Princess, as if killing her would cause the Yan Bei army to collapse. Even the southeastern imperial governors who hadn’t received notifications joined in showing their loyalty, dispatching large numbers of soldiers to search meticulously, determined to dig three feet into the ground to capture her.
However, this very show of loyalty by the southeastern governors for the capital caused Chu Qiao enormous trouble, because at this moment, she was in the southeast, at the border of Xia and Tang.
Her horse was exhausted, foaming at the mouth. Chu Qiao had no choice but to stop, letting the horse drink and rest. She had no appetite, but to maintain her strength, she still ate a piece of dry food with cold water, making her stomach uncomfortable.
Today was already the sixth day. In two more days, she would enter Bian Tang territory. But before that, she still had to pass through two prefectures, then through a large area of chaotic uninhabited land, and after that, the first northern gateway of Bian Tang—Baizhi Pass.
For thousands of years, Baizhi Pass had been an important barrier against the northern barbarians for the Eastern Continent’s orthodox powers. It had witnessed countless major battles, and its defenses were as strict as those of the Yan Bei Pass. Even now, Chu Qiao hasn’t devised a perfect strategy to pass it.
Lost in thought, the sound of hoofbeats suddenly rang out in the distance. Chu Qiao was startled, raised her head to look, and her expression instantly changed.
In the distance, dust rose as more than a hundred horsemen approached rapidly. Fortunately, unlike the northwest, the southeast hadn’t been cleared of vegetation to trap her; here, dense forests spread everywhere and the hills undulated. Otherwise, at such a close distance, she would have been exposed long ago. Gritting her teeth, Chu Qiao leaped onto her alert warhorse and galloped away.
Following streams for over three miles to lose the pursuers’ tracks, she had barely caught her breath when the deadly sound of hoofbeats sounded behind her again. Chu Qiao’s brows furrowed. Decisively, she grabbed two large stones, tied them with rope onto the horse’s back, then firmly slapped its hindquarters, urging it to leave.
This horse had been with her for many years, sharing life and death multiple times, and their bond was deep. The horse ran a few steps, then stopped in place, turning its head to look at her, swishing its tail repeatedly.
Chu Qiao shouldered her pack and turned to walk deep into the dense forest. Unexpectedly, after just one step, the horse followed devotedly behind her, trying to catch up. The young woman’s brows furrowed, and without looking back, she threw a knife that whistled past the warhorse’s neck. Startled, the warhorse gave a long neigh, turned, and galloped away!
Listening to the hoofbeats growing more distant behind her, Chu Qiao took a deep breath, shouldered her bundle, and walked into the dense forest.
“The six oceans of the king’s land, the education of peaceful virtues, the sacred way of the nation, benevolence, and righteousness as the model of transformation, the rise and fall of decay…”
On an early summer morning, amid birdsong and fragrant flowers, a verdant mountain path resounded with clear recitation. In the distance, a young man dressed as a scholar sat astride a mottled blue donkey, holding a slightly yellowed scroll, reciting with a nodding head.
It was truly fine weather—the sky was high, the air crisp, birds singing, flowers fragrant. It had just rained, and even the air wafted with a pleasant scent. Liang Shaoqing closed his scroll and slowly raised his head, slightly narrowing his clear eyes, his young and handsome face bearing a kind smile. He extended his hand, palm open, with several grains of rice on it. A yellowish lark, seeing this, immediately flapped its wings and landed on his palm, lowering its head to gently peck at the rice grains, while furtively rolling its small green bean-like eyes upward to look at Liang Shaoqing’s benign face.
“Heaven has mercy on all living things. Go now, and don’t fall into the hands of bird-catchers again.”
The little bird circled him, yet never left. The morning sunlight filtered through the sparse leaves onto the young man’s face, which was gentle, and wore a kind smile.
Just then, the sound of fighting suddenly came from afar. The scholar was slightly taken aback, pricking up his ears to listen. Clear shouts and fighting sounds immediately reached his ears. Liang Shaoqing frowned and muttered to himself: “When traveling abroad, avoid trouble and prioritize safety.”
With that, the scholar nodded vigorously, as if affirming the correctness of his thoughts, and turned his mount to retrace his steps, wanting to avoid this misfortune. But after just a few steps, he stopped again, thinking to himself that if someone was bullying the weak, how could he, a great man, ignore it? Wouldn’t that violate the code of chivalry? With this in mind, the scholar sat on his mount, silently contemplating, looking quite serious.
The fighting sounds continued, and Liang Shaoqing engaged in an intense inner struggle, fearing trouble yet unable to ignore it with a clear conscience. After hesitating for a good while, the young scholar suddenly gritted his teeth, thinking that perhaps it was just farmers fighting, and if he went forward to persuade them, they would surely come to an understanding. Even if the situation was dangerous, he could go report to the authorities without getting involved. So, with the attitude of going to take a look, the man gently patted his blue donkey and said softly: “Little Blue, let’s go take a quiet look.”
Heaven didn’t favor the good-hearted. At that moment, the little lark that had been circling nearby waiting for rice grew impatient. Who knows what provoked it, but it suddenly darted down and pecked at the donkey’s eyelid. The donkey named Little Blue was startled, gave a loud cry, raised its hooves, and frantically galloped forward!
“Ah! Little Blue! Little Blue! What are you doing? Wrong direction! Slow down!”
The fierce wind howled past his ears as Liang Shaoqing tightly hugged the donkey’s neck, nearly having his lungs jolted out. The lush forest flashed before his eyes. Liang Shaoqing never knew his donkey could run so fast, but just as he was marveling at this, the donkey shrieked and abruptly stopped.
Silence! Deathly silence!
The air carried the scent of raw iron, with hints of the bloody smell that comes after slaughtering a pig. Liang Shaoqing slowly released his grip, then raised his head like a thief, opening his tightly shut eyes, and looking around with a mix of caution, fear, and curiosity.
Everyone had stopped fighting. The bloodied soldiers turned to look at this uninvited guest, along with the young woman they surrounded in the center, who also looked at him with a strange expression.
After two consecutive days of pursuit and more than ten battles without rest, these men were exhausted both mentally and physically. At this point, any disturbance was enough to make them panic. A great achievement was right before them, and the key issue now was who could persevere to the end. Therefore, the appearance of someone who might be reinforcements from the other side seemed particularly significant.
“I… was just passing by.”
Liang Shaoqing, showing his white teeth, smiled at the bloody knives in everyone’s hands, his voice trembling as he explained: “I… I was traveling here, my mount was startled, I’ve disturbed you all… I’ll leave now, I’ll leave, please continue.”
Liang Shaoqing, trembling, sat upright, and turned his donkey around, wanting to quickly leave this troublesome place. In the last moment of turning, his eyes glimpsed the young woman surrounded by the crowd. His eyelid suddenly twitched, and a current surged through his entire body. At that moment, he didn’t have time to see the young woman’s appearance or clothing; he only saw a pair of eyes, eyes as clear and moving as autumn waters. Those eyes were still so young, yet already so calm and composed. She looked at him and watched him turn to leave, her gaze like a stream of cold water pouring over his head, chilling him to the bone.
“Little girl, surrender. If you continue like this, even if you don’t die by our brothers’ hands, you’ll die from blood loss.”
The soldier’s leader said coldly. Chu Qiao slowly moved her heavy feet. The enemy was indeed skilled at tracking; with just a slight carelessness, she had been caught. In two days, although she had killed over thirty enemies, she had not eaten for two days and had exhausted much of her strength, now too weak to fight anymore. What remained was just courage.
Her hand slowly moved toward the flying knife at her waist. She breathed deeply, like a leopard waiting for the right moment, ready to fight to the death.
“It seems you won’t drink the toast and prefer the forfeit!” The man shouted coldly: “Brothers! Attack! Promotion and wealth are at stake today, kill her on the spot, regardless of life or death!”
With a “swoosh” sound, heavy war knives came down overhead! However, at that moment, a stern shout suddenly rang out. The man’s clear voice called loudly: “Stop, all of you!”
In a flash of lightning, everyone was shocked and turned to look, only to be dumbfounded!
The young scholar had returned on his donkey. Though pale-faced, he righteously shouted: “All of you ganging up on a young girl is too disgraceful!”
The leader of the soldiers frowned and said solemnly: “Who is this gentleman? Why interfere with official matters?”
“You’re officials?” Liang Shaoqing seemed to notice the soldiers’ uniforms only then, frowning with some embarrassment: “I am Liang Shaoqing, passing through here. Seeing you fighting, I came forward to inquire. I didn’t realize you were government officials. My apologies.”
“Liang Shaoqing?”
The soldier leader pondered doubtfully, but couldn’t recall any noble family surnamed Liang that would dare to interfere with official matters. His face darkened instantly, and he angrily said: “Outsiders, get out of the way, or beware of the sword’s edge!”
“Yes, yes,” Liang Shaoqing hurriedly replied, about to turn away, but couldn’t help turning back to say softly: “Fighting and killing ultimately disgraces culture. I wonder if there’s a misunderstanding among you all. Could you tell me, so I might help reconcile?”
“You’re seeking death!” The leader roared, raising his knife to strike fiercely!
“Ah!” Liang Shaoqing was terrified, hugging his head, not even knowing how to dodge.
“Fool!” Chu Qiao called coldly, throwing a flying knife. A white light flashed swiftly, entering the leader’s neck with a “swoosh.” The man’s eyes widened, he staggered two steps, and fell to the ground with a thud!
“Sir!”
The soldiers were shocked and all rushed forward. Chu Qiao seized the chaos, stepped forward, leaped onto the scholar’s blue donkey, reached around the scholar’s waist from behind, grabbed the reins, and said sharply: “Hurry!”
“Ah! Miss, how did you get on my mount? Men and women should not be intimate. Miss, you should—”
With a “bang,” Chu Qiao struck the man’s chest with a powerful punch, kicked with both legs and shouted: “Go!”
The blue donkey proved spirited, running at a speed not much slower than an ordinary warhorse.
Before long, the sound of pursuing hoofbeats came from behind. Chu Qiao acted decisively, grabbing the luggage from the donkey’s back and throwing it to the ground.
“Ah! Miss! Those are my books, my luggage, my money, my poetry, ah! Miss, that’s my travel permit!”
The donkey was extremely fast. On such difficult mountain paths, its speed was even slightly faster than warhorses. After a moment, they had left the enemies far behind.