In the dim prison cell, the tragic scenes from six years ago gradually unfolded before Li Ying and Ashina Jia.
At Luoyan Ridge, scattered wounded soldiers of the Imperial Force Army sat on the ground resting. A round-faced soldier of about seventeen years pulled an arrow from his arm and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. “He Jiu left to find Pei Guanyue twenty days ago, and we still haven’t seen any reinforcements. That Pei Guanyue, is he deliberately harming us?”
Another Imperial Force soldier stuffed tree bark into his mouth. Having been surrounded for twenty days, they had already eaten all the tree bark in the vicinity. He swallowed the bitter bark with difficulty and scolded, “Don’t talk nonsense. Pei General and General Guo have decades of friendship. How could he harm us?”
“I’m talking nonsense? Feng Prefecture has a garrison of thirty thousand. Add the ten thousand who escaped from Yongfeng and Jiuyuan, they could muster forty thousand men. If not forty thousand, couldn’t they spare five thousand to rescue us? At the very least, they could seek reinforcements from You Prefecture or Qing Prefecture. But we’ve waited until now and haven’t seen a single person!”
“Cao Five, shut up!”
Cao Five angrily retorted, “I refuse to shut up! We traveled light and marched secretly, planning to catch the Turks by surprise. Do the Turks have clairvoyance? How could they know our marching route so precisely? In my opinion, Pei Guanyue must be behind this!”
“Cao Five, the truth isn’t clear yet. Don’t make wild accusations that would dishearten General Guo!”
“Who’s disheartening General Guo? Certainly not me, Cao Five!”
As the two were about to argue further, they suddenly heard the sound of hoofbeats. A youth wearing golden armor galloped toward them. He had delicate features, with phoenix eyes that captivated the soul. He looked like a handsome, noble young master from an aristocratic family, yet he wore golden armor splattered with enemy blood. The killing intent between his brows diluted his delicate features. The winter sunlight cast a golden glow on his armor, making him resemble not so much an aristocratic young master but a young general in his prime.
The youth dismounted, holding an iron-framed bow, and strode toward Cao Five and the other soldier.
That was seventeen-year-old Cui Xun.
Cui Xun coldly looked at the two men. “At a time like this, you’re still arguing?”
Cao Five stubbornly said, “I’m not the one who wants to argue. It’s Lu Er who insists on speaking for Pei Guanyue.”
“Shut up!”
Cao Five seemed to listen to Cui Xun. He reluctantly closed his mouth. Lu Er asked, “Seventeenth Young Master, is there any news from Yunting?”
Cui Xun shook his head. Lu Er anxiously said, “It’s been over half a month. He should have reached Chang’an by now. Why is there still no sign of reinforcements?”
Cui Xun remained silent. He simply took out half a flatbread and tossed it to Lu Er. “Stop eating tree bark. Eat this.”
Lu Er caught it and asked in surprise, “Where did you get this?”
“Killed a Turkic scout and found it on him.”
Lu Er looked at the flatbread, which indeed had blood splattered on it. He asked Cui Xun, “Have you eaten?”
“I’ve eaten. Otherwise, why would only half be left?”
Lu Er smiled and began to devour it ravenously. Cui Xun then walked to Cao Five. He looked at Cao Five’s bleeding arm, pressed his lips together, and took out a clean, neatly folded silk handkerchief from his chest. He unfolded it and wrapped it around the wound. Cao Five exclaimed hurriedly, “Hey, isn’t this your mother’s keepsake?”
Cui Xun lowered his gaze. “Now’s not the time to worry about keepsakes.”
Cao Five fell silent. He glanced at Lu Er crouching on the ground, eating like a starved ghost, then quietly whispered in Cui Xun’s ear, “Hey, did you eat?”
Cui Xun ignored him. Cao Five clicked his tongue. “You didn’t eat. Lu Er is oblivious, but I’m perceptive.”
Cui Xun frowned slightly. His hand tightened as he tied the knot on the wound, causing Cao Five to cry out in pain. “Ah, it hurts!”
After securing the knot, Cui Xun patted Cao Five’s wound, eliciting another cry. Cui Xun asked, “Enough. Where’s General Guo?”
“Loy… Loyalty Shrine.”
The Loyalty Shrine was at the center of Luoyan Ridge. Inside stood statues of Su Wu and Zhang Qian from the Han Dynasty. Su Wu had herded sheep for nineteen years without changing his loyal heart, and Zhang Qian had been captured for ten years without forgetting his mission. The Han people built this shrine in memory of their loyalty. However, the Loyalty Shrine had fallen into disrepair over the years. Guo Qinwei, with a haggard expression and several arrow wounds on his body, was staring blankly at the statues of Su Wu and Zhang Qian.
Cui Xun entered the Loyalty Shrine. He slowed his footsteps, but Guo Qinwei still heard him. “Is that the Seventeenth Young Master?”
Cui Xun pressed his lips together and saluted with folded hands. “General Guo, there’s still no news from Yunting.”
Guo Qinwei turned around, slowly shaking his head, his eyes filled with grief. “I fear the worst.”
Cui Xun had never seen Guo Qinwei with such an expression. In his three years of military service under Guo Qinwei, no matter how perilous the situation, Guo Qinwei had always remained calm and composed. With such a steadfast commander, the soldiers felt secure. But now, Guo Qinwei’s demeanor had changed, showing a despair that suggested the end of a hero’s journey.
Cui Xun felt alarmed. Guo Qinwei murmured, “He Jiu went to Pei Guanyue’s side. I fear the worst for him, too.”
After days of sleeplessness, compounded by his wounds and the loss of two beloved generals, Guo Qinwei suddenly felt dizzy. Fortunately, Cui Xun caught him in time, preventing him from falling to the ground.
Cui Xun helped him sit down. Guo Qinwei leaned against a vermilion wooden pillar, took several breaths, and the darkness before his eyes cleared somewhat. He slowly looked at Cui Xun. The youth before him had a face like fine jade, with hands that bore only the calluses from drawing bows and wielding swords, without any other marks of labor. This was a noble scion raised by the Boling Cui clan, foremost of the Great Zhou’s five great clans and seven prestigious families. Guo Qinwei looked at him and said, “Seventeenth Young Master, when Lord Cui wrote to recommend you to the Imperial Force Army, I was quite concerned, fearing that a young master from an aristocratic family might find it difficult to adapt to our Imperial Force Army.”
His sudden mention of events from three years ago carried a sense of end-of-the-road melancholy. Thinking of the past, Cui Xun’s eyes grew hot with tears. He lowered his head and said, “No, I adapted well.”
Guo Qinwei smiled slightly. “When you first arrived, you didn’t like to talk. You barely acknowledged anyone who called out to you. He Jiu and others complained to me, saying that you, as a young master from an aristocratic family, looked down on them. But from my observation, it wasn’t that you looked down on them; you were rejecting everyone. So I asked Cao Five and Yunting to take care of you. Yunting was a bit older than you, and Cao Five was your age. Yunting was steady, Cao Five was enthusiastic, and neither of them minded the trouble. Before long, you were willing to talk to them, and after some time, no one came to complain to me anymore.”
Cui Xun gritted his teeth, tears falling one by one onto the ground. “Everyone was very good to me.”
Guo Qinwei nodded. “But these people who treated you well today are likely to perish at Luoyan Ridge.”
Cui Xun was visibly shocked. He looked up, tears in his eyes. “General Guo, we still have a chance!”
Guo Qinwei gave a bitter laugh. “Out of fifty thousand Imperial Force troops, only two hundred remain. Outside, over a hundred thousand Turkic soldiers surround us. There’s no chance left.”
Hot tears streamed down Cui Xun’s face. Although he had told Guo Qinwei there was still a chance, he knew in his heart there was none. Two hundred against over a hundred thousand—there was no hope of victory. Once Khagan Nidu launched his charge today, none of these two hundred would survive.
Guo Qinwei paused, then continued, “Although my Imperial Force Army perishes here today, we’ve killed sixty thousand elite Turkic soldiers. Fifty thousand for sixty thousand—it’s worth it.”
Cui Xun just gritted his teeth, unable to stop his tears. Guo Qinwei looked at him, seemingly reluctant to speak, but finally let out a long sigh and asked with difficulty, “Seventeenth Young Master, are you afraid of death?”
Without thinking, Cui Xun replied, “No, I’m not afraid.”
He said word by word, “To die alongside General Guo and the Imperial Force Army would be my honor, Cui Xun’s honor.”
Guo Qinwei smiled and patted his shoulder. “Good, you’re a fine soldier of my Imperial Force Army.”
Cui Xun was too choked up to speak. Suddenly, Guo Qinwei struggled to stand up and dropped to his knees before Cui Xun. Cui Xun was startled and was about to help him up when Guo Qinwei shouted sternly at him and at Cao Five and others who had rushed in after hearing the commotion, “Don’t help me up!”
Cui Xun froze, as did Cao Five.
Guo Qinwei looked at Cui Xun and slowly said, “Seventeenth Young Master, you’re not afraid of death, but I want you to live.”
Cui Xun was completely stunned. Guo Qinwei continued, “The Imperial Force Army’s marching route was known only to me and Pei Guanyue. How did the Turks know? We’ve held out for twenty days, our arrows depleted, our food exhausted, eating tree bark to survive. Why haven’t reinforcements arrived? Seventeenth Young Master, the Imperial Force Army’s annihilation is an injustice. You cannot die. You must live to find the culprit who caused our deaths!”
Cui Xun stared at Guo Qinwei in disbelief. Guo Qinwei was now in tears. “The Boling Cui clan, foremost of the noble families in the world, crown of the aristocracy. Seventeenth Young Master, you are a son of the Boling Cui clan, unlike Cao Five and the others. Even if you’re captured, the Turks won’t kill you. Only you can seek justice for the Imperial Force Army!”
With that, he knocked his head on the ground before Cui Xun three times. Cao Five and the others, tears streaming down their faces, also knelt. Cui Xun could no longer bear it. He knelt before Guo Qinwei and choked out, “General Guo…”
Guo Qinwei raised his head, his voice filled with sorrow. “Seventeenth Young Master, I know you’ve always been proud and would rather die than be captured. But at Luoyan Ridge, the mountains and valleys are filled with the corpses of the Imperial Force Army. Fifty thousand wronged souls, even if they enter the netherworld, cannot rest in peace!”
Cui Xun’s eyes were red. Being captured was indeed a great humiliation to him. He would rather die than be taken prisoner. But here at Luoyan Ridge, every inch was soaked with the blood of the Imperial Force Army—the army he had lived with day and night for three years, the army whose men had treated him like brothers despite his cold temperament. How could he, because of his pride, let these fifty thousand wronged souls die without peace?
Cui Xun was too choked up to speak. He solemnly kowtowed to Guo Qinwei. “General Guo, I promise you.”
Hearing his promise, Guo Qinwei felt even more sorrowful. He wanted to say much more but in the end only said bitterly, “Seventeenth Young Master, I… I have failed you.”
Cui Xun’s heart was also filled with immense grief. “No, General Guo has never failed me. If not for General Guo, there wouldn’t be the Seventeenth Young Master of today. General Guo, please rest assured, no matter what difficulties I face in Turkic lands, I will survive. I will live to return to the Great Zhou, live to seek justice for our brothers!”
Guo Qinwei was overcome with grief. He nodded. “Seventeenth Young Master, there’s one last thing I must instruct you.”
“Please speak, General Guo.”
Guo Qinwei pointed to the statues of Su Wu and Zhang Qian in the Loyalty Shrine. “You must be like Su Wu, like Zhang Qian. Even if you’re captured, you must never surrender. If you surrender, you’ll be like Li Ling, unable to return to the Great Zhou forever!”
Cui Xun looked at the solemn statues of Su Wu and Zhang Qian. With tears in his eyes, he nodded heavily. Guo Qinwei was finally at peace. He smiled bitterly as he drew his sword. “I, Guo Qinwei, have served in the military for thirty years, rising to the position of Deputy Protector-General of the Western Regions, and personally established the Imperial Force Army. My name is feared throughout the Western Regions. The Turks want to capture me, to humiliate the Great Zhou. How could I let them succeed? Today, I die for my country. Glorious! Glorious!”
With that, he slit his own throat. Blood sprayed onto Cui Xun’s face. The change happened so quickly that no one present had time to save him. By the time they reacted, Guo Qinwei had already fallen to the ground, his eyes wide open. The Loyalty Shrine suddenly fell silent. After a while, Cui Xun shakily reached out to close Guo Qinwei’s eyes.
Outside, the charging horns of the Turkic cavalry could already be heard. Cao Five and the others looked out. They exchanged glances, then all knelt and knocked their heads three times loudly before Cui Xun. Cao Five said tearfully, “Seventeenth Young Master, we’re leaving now. The road ahead is difficult. Take care of yourself.”
Cui Xun knelt beside Guo Qinwei’s body, his gaze vacant. In his ears, he heard Cao Five and the others drawing their swords to fight the Turks. The sounds of battle continued without pause. Cui Xun instinctively reached for the iron-framed bow on the ground. His fingers tightened around the bow handle, but until the battle sounds ceased, he didn’t go out. Two hot tears slid from his eyes, mixing with Guo Qinwei’s blood on his face, dripping onto the ground.