“Never die in battle, never remove armor, valiant sons of our homeland.”
The singing from within the wounded soldiers’ camp drifted outside. More soldiers turned their heads toward the wounded camp, setting down their chopsticks or dumpling soup one after another, joining in the loud singing…
“Donning armor that protects me, sharing common enemies and common hatred with you.”
“Grasping the long blade that slays enemies, sharing life and death with you.”
“Defending rivers and mountains, protecting the people, fearless true elite warriors.”
“Never die in battle, never remove armor, valiant sons of our homeland.”
Under the swirling snowfall that shrouded the entire Pingdu City, brilliant lights illuminated everything. The soldiers’ singing lingered long in the sky above the city walls, expressing the Bai Family Army’s unwavering determination, singing of their mission, and even more so, voicing every single soldier of the Bai Family Army’s… resolve to protect the people.
Yang Wuce had heard of it before but had never listened completely to the Bai Family Army’s military song. At this moment, seeing Bai Qingyan, Bai Qingyu, Bai Jinzhi, and Shen Kunyang singing this song with tears in their eyes, the震荡 in his heart could not settle for a long time.
So this was the reason why the Bai Army was deeply beloved by the common people. Defending rivers and mountains, protecting the people, never dying in battle, never removing armor—how could the people not feel at peace being protected by such an army?
After the singing gradually stopped, Bai Qingyan looked at the soldiers whose eyes had reddened, slowly standing up…
The soldiers turned their heads toward Bai Qingyan’s direction, setting down their chopsticks one after another.
Only to hear Bai Qingyan speak: “This year, we are celebrating the New Year outside, so let’s gather together to eat dumplings and make it lively! For protecting our homeland and Kingdom, I thank all of you for your hard work… following us onto the battlefield, unable to reunite with your families! But your hardships will not be in vain. We will drive the Tianfeng Kingdom’s elephant army back beyond the snowy mountains, protecting our loved ones and children, enjoying eternal peace! Here… Bai Qingyan thanks everyone on behalf of the common people!”
The soldiers clenched their fists and nodded in acknowledgment.
“We are soldiers, born to protect our homeland and defend our Kingdom! Today is New Year’s Eve, but His Majesty is here, and our blood-sworn comrades who fight alongside us are also by our side. We are all each other’s family! How can there be any talk of not being able to reunite with family?” A lightly wounded general picked up the dumpling soup before him, raising it toward Bai Qingyan. “We have military law—we cannot drink alcohol during marches. This subordinate will use dumpling soup in place of wine to toast His Majesty! May His Majesty lead us… to pacify the realm! Complete the grand achievement of unifying the world! Make it so that within the four seas… There are no more wars! Let all common people live stable and prosperous lives! May the seas be calm and rivers clear! May the world be at peace!”
The soldiers in the wounded camp were infected by that young general’s spirit, raising their dumpling soup one after another, shouting three times…
“May the seas be calm and rivers clear! May the world be at peace!”
“May the seas be calm and rivers clear! May the world be at peace!”
“May the seas be calm and rivers clear! May the world be at peace!”
Bai Qingyan’s eyes moistened. She picked up her dumpling soup, supporting herself on Shen Qingzhu’s hand as she stood up, proclaiming loudly: “Bai Qingyan will never fail everyone’s trust!”
After drinking the dumpling soup, she smiled again and said: “Alright… everyone, eat your dumplings! Today we made many dumplings! And they’re made with filling from the giant elephants everyone hunted. Everyone eat to your heart’s content!”
The soldiers responded loudly and happily began eating dumplings again.
The festivities continued until late into the night. Bai Qingyan and Bai Qingyu, bringing Bai Jinzhi along, made rounds to inspect everything. Some soldiers had already fallen asleep together after eating dumplings. When young generals discovered Bai Qingyan and the others, they originally wanted to wake people up, but Bai Qingyan quickly smiled and stopped them.
The soldiers had fought all night without rest, then came to clean up the mess in Pingdu City. They were utterly exhausted and deserved to rest well.
After the camp inspection, it was already late into the night. Bai Qingyu felt sorry for his elder sister: “Elder Sister is still pregnant now and cannot stay up without rest like before. It’s also bad for the child in her womb! In the future, tasks like camp inspections can be done by me and Xiao Si.”
“It’s fine, I’m in good spirits, and the child is also well-behaved…” Bai Qingyan touched her abdomen. “Don’t worry!”
“Elder Sister’s health was already weak to begin with. For our Bai family, this child… is a gift from heaven. Even though the child is well-behaved, Elder Sister cannot always be careless. You should take good care of yourself!” Bai Jinzhi also looked worriedly at Bai Qingyan’s abdomen. “You must take good care of my little nephew or little niece!”
After speaking, Bai Jinzhi suddenly had a whimsical thought and asked Bai Qingyu: “Fifth Brother, I notice Elder Sister’s belly has been growing quite quickly lately. Could there be two little ones!”
Bai Jinzhi didn’t know that Bai Qingyan’s pregnancy was a month further along than what was known outside. Bai Qingyu knew this, and his brow furrowed tightly as he slapped away Bai Jinzhi’s hand that was about to touch Bai Qingyan’s abdomen: “Don’t be so rash and touch carelessly. Whether it’s one or two, they are gifts from heaven to our Bai family!”
Bai Jinzhi grinned and nodded.
Shen Qingzhu helped Bai Qingyan back to her bedroom. As Bai Qingyu and Bai Jinzhi walked along the corridor on their way out, Bai Qingyu handed Bai Jinzhi a red envelope, his hoarse voice carrying affection and indulgence: “You’ve grown another year older. In the future, you should be steadier!”
Under the red lanterns that illuminated Bai Jinzhi’s delicate features, she looked up at her Fifth Brother, smiling so her eyes curved into the shape of a new moon: “Thank you, Fifth Brother!”
·
The disciple of Tianfeng Kingdom’s Grand Shaman was covered in blood, collapsed in the damp and moldy dungeon, his entire body so numb with pain that he couldn’t feel anything, unable to move at all. Under hair matted with sticky congealed blood, his eyes could still move slightly, looking toward the snowflakes continuously falling outside the window under the lanterns.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t loyal to Tianfeng Kingdom, but rather that these Zhou people’s methods of interrogation were too cruel. Their Tianfeng Kingdom had never heard of such things—it would be better to kill him with one blade.
But what he had said… were all things important to Great Zhou, yet for Tianfeng Kingdom, even if they knew these things, it wouldn’t matter much. Except for the jade cicada information—he had truly only revealed that because he couldn’t endure anymore…
But now, without being tortured, thinking back on it, for Tianfeng Kingdom… for their sovereign Sa’er Khan, the most important thing right now was precisely this jade cicada. He had even told the Zhou people about this. He truly didn’t know what face he had left to meet His Majesty!
He was the Grand Shaman’s eldest disciple, the future Grand Shaman of Tianfeng Kingdom. From childhood, what he had learned was how to communicate with the gods and listen to divine oracles. He had never learned how to resist the torment of such cruel punishments.
Although ashamed, although feeling he had wronged His Majesty, he was also helpless and without alternative.
Just as the Grand Shaman’s disciple was about to faint, he heard the sound of the prison door’s iron chains being opened.
In his dizziness, he was lifted by two Great Zhou soldiers. His scalp tingled wave after wave, not knowing what kind of cruel punishment awaited him. He wanted to tell the Great Zhou soldiers that he had nothing left to say, but he couldn’t even lift his head.
“Your Majesty, the person has been brought!”
Hearing this, the Grand Shaman’s disciple struggled to lift his head, his blurred vision making out Bai Qingyan sitting on an interrogation chair to the side, holding a hand warmer and looking at him with a smile.