“Chu Li, whether you believe it or not, tonight’s events were not my doing. From now on, we are separated by vast distances and will never meet again.”
“Zhuang Qingxia, you cannot escape.” Chu Li’s expression was grave, as if he could only say this one phrase, speaking in a deep voice.
“Qing Xia, let’s go.” Yang Feng took hold of Qing Xia’s reins and turned to speak.
Qing Xia nodded and finally turned away with determination, raising her whip and striking hard at the horse’s rump. With a delicate cry, she followed behind Yang Feng, galloping northward like lightning.
“Your Highness!” Xu Quan and the Black Guards spurred their horses and galloped over, calling out loudly: “This minister has brought the archers of the Divine Machine Battalion. We’ll capture them and bring them back immediately.”
The archers of the Divine Machine Battalion used bows specially made by Nan Chu—strong bows that were tough and massive, requiring four men working together to draw them. Their range reached over 2,800 steps, making them the ultimate long-range weapons of the age. The Divine Machine Battalion members quickly drew their bows, aiming at the two figures galloping in the distance. With just one command from Chu Li, they could shoot these two traitors dead beneath their horses.
“Your Highness?” Xu Quan frowned, looking at Chu Li in confusion.
Chu Li’s hands, just freed from their bindings, were raised halfway in front of him, but he just wouldn’t bring them down. His palms trembled slightly, as if a tremendous battle was raging within his heart. Time passed bit by bit, the distant figures growing farther and farther away—800 steps, 1,000 steps, 1,500 steps, 1,800 steps, 2,000 steps…
Finally, they disappeared on the plains, leaving only two trails of dust lingering in the air.
Chu Li slowly lowered his hands—not with the force of issuing commands, but simply letting them fall.
“Zhuang Qingxia, you cannot escape.” His low voice echoed across the plain of wild grass. The cold moonlight in the sky cast down pale radiance, illuminating this man’s figure. On the empty, desolate field, white mist drifted slowly. Chu Li slowly turned around and walked step by step toward the capital, his footsteps heavy like those of an elderly man of seventy or eighty.
Suddenly, Chu Li stumbled, and traces of blood immediately overflowed from the corners of his mouth.
Xu Quan was greatly alarmed and was about to rush forward, but Chu Li’s gesture stopped him in his tracks.
He didn’t mount his horse, nor did he accept anyone’s support. He still stubbornly walked slowly toward the heart of Nan Chu. Initially, he staggered and nearly fell, but gradually he became more and more composed, more and more determined. Finally, he completely straightened his spine and returned to being that arrogant monarch who looked down on everything.
The long night was about to pass; the horizon was already growing slightly bright. Today was his coronation ceremony, the day he would become the Emperor of Nan Chu. Step by step, he walked toward that golden, splendid throne, behind him lay the corpses of his opponents and thick blood, along with some things he had no choice but to cast aside and abandon.
Carrion eagles circled in the sky, devouring the last bit of tenderness in the depths of human hearts, gradually forging an arm as hard as iron. This arm could support the entire empire’s territory, could support the entire southern sky, but it could not support the slightest trace of tender feelings, the slightest weakness, or the slightest hesitation.
“Qing Xia, it’s been a long time since I trusted anyone. This time, I wanted to try.”
“The world is vast. If you have nowhere to go, stay here.”
“I only hope that the current you can stay in Nan Chu, stay by my side.”
“I am afraid, so don’t betray me…”
A large bird flew across the northern horizon—a snow-white crane that always lived on the peaks of the far northern snow mountains. It didn’t belong here and would finally return to those high, cold mountain peaks. The sun slowly climbed above the horizon, its golden light illuminating the earth, casting down myriad rays of brilliance.
The weather in the south was always quite strange. Just moments ago the sky was clear for thousands of miles, but now it was already overcast with dense clouds. A few thunderclaps struck, and torrential rain came pouring down. The rain was extremely heavy, creating a mist on the ground that looked white and hazy, resembling the miasma of southern jungles.
On the vast earth, five carriages slowly progressed along a rugged road, with eight guards before and after wearing rain capes and bamboo hats, riding horses in the rain. The large raindrops striking them seemed like gentle drizzle, causing no reaction whatsoever. A sturdy coachman sat in front of the middle carriage, vigorously cracking his whip and occasionally wiping his face with his hand, flinging rainwater aside.
This rain came quickly and left just as fast. In less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the rain had passed and the sun was high, with a beautiful rainbow hanging in the sky.
Without the heavy rain, everyone’s mood seemed to improve. After traveling for about half a cup of tea’s time, they actually saw a tea pavilion in the distance. Its pale green sign showed an elegant emerald refinement in the fresh post-rain air. In this region of Nanjiang, encountering tea pavilions and taverns had to be considered good fortune.
The convoy stopped about twenty steps from the tea pavilion. An elderly man with a slightly hunched back emerged from the second carriage, walked toward the third carriage, lifted a corner of the carriage curtain slightly as if asking for instructions, then turned back to gesture to the guards and walked toward the tea pavilion.
Everyone gave a quiet cheer. Leaving eight people to guard the convoy, the others, along with the coachmen, walked into the tea pavilion, occupied two tables in the corner, ordered tea and some country food, sent some to those staying behind, while the rest sat down in the tea pavilion. Though everyone remained silent, they all looked cheerful and seemed very relaxed.
After all, having emerged from those southern jungle regions full of poisonous insects and miasma, sitting in this dry, clean tea pavilion, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
“Speaking of the young heroes of this world, we must look to our Great Chu’s Great Emperor. Those sea barbarians of Qi Kingdom are treacherous and duplicitous—what kind of good person could their crown prince be?” A boisterous voice suddenly rang out. The hunched old man in blue robes turned slightly at these words, only to see a middle-aged man with a face full of fierce features. This person was extremely tall, wearing short practical clothing, with a heavy, thick blade beside him, looking rather like a highway robber.
“Brother Yu, you just returned from escorting goods to the capital. Tell us, what was the Great Emperor of Nan Chu’s coronation ceremony like?” Besides the convoy members, the tea pavilion also had three or four other tables of guests. Two tables seemed to know each other, sitting close together and chatting.
This road was the necessary route from Nanjiang to the border city of Haichao Yi in Chu Kingdom. Passing through Haichao Yi led to the main road to Northern Qin and Xichuan, so merchant traffic was extremely prosperous. Now it was winter in Nan Chu—if it were summer, it would be a hundred times more lively. The big man surnamed Yu laughed heartily at this question and said loudly, pretending to be worldly: “Speaking of it, I, surnamed Yu, have traveled north and south for so many years and seen quite a bit of the world. But returning from the capital this time, I finally learned what it means to be a frog in a well. My previous days were really damn wasted.”
“Brother Yu, what you’re saying is making us all itch with curiosity. Quickly tell everyone what the capital of Nan Chu is really like, and what kind of person our new Great Emperor is!” A thin, small man with a crafty voice pressed forward eagerly.
The big man surnamed Yu laughed loudly and said mysteriously: “What the capital is like, I don’t know, but anyway, I rode for three days and didn’t even cover half of the capital. The streets were full of people—you couldn’t see far ahead at all. Especially with our Great Emperor’s coronation this time, people from all countries across the entire continent came to offer congratulations—Xichuan, Eastern Qi, Northern Qin, Nanjiang’s Flame Kingdom, Phoenixtail Kingdom, Witchcloth Kingdom, and from the Eastern Sea: Ryukyu, White Ice, Qingqiu, Rhino Pool—basically all the countries you could name were there. When waiting for the new emperor to go to the ancestral temple on Vermilion Bird Avenue, the procession stretched seven or eight li. That scene still makes me wake up excited from dreams.”
“Ah!” Sounds of amazement and admiration rose one after another, as if these people could also witness the capital’s spectacle with their own eyes. The thin, small man spoke again: “Brother Yu, what kind of person is our Great Emperor? Did you see him?”
“How could I not have seen him?” The big man surnamed Yu raised his eyebrows and said: “You’d say the Great Emperor is a god descended from heaven, and we common people normally have no chance to see the imperial countenance. But this time the Great Emperor publicly ascended the throne at the Heaven-Granted Platform, and all people could go worship in groups, so I saw him too.”
“Oh! Really? What great fortune!” Everyone exclaimed loudly in praise. The big man said proudly: “Speaking of our Great Emperor, he really is young—just over twenty years old—but you can’t underestimate him. He just stands there, doing nothing, just sweeping his eyes around, and I couldn’t help wanting to kneel on the ground. That bearing and presence was truly beyond words.”
“So Brother Yu, did you see what the Great Emperor looked like?”
This big man surnamed Yu looked fierce but turned out to be quite honest. When asked this, he scratched his head and grinned: “Didn’t see. I was too busy kowtowing at the time—where would I have had time to look up!”
“Alas!” Everyone sighed with regret. The thin, small man continued: “They say our trusted new Great Emperor, though young, is a capable person with backbone. From now on, we no longer need to fear those sea barbarians from Eastern Qi.”
“That’s right, that’s right,” the big man surnamed Yu agreed: “The Crown Prince of Qi Kingdom is utterly shameless. This time when he came to the capital to offer congratulations, before the ceremony even began, he took a fancy to one of our prince’s discarded consorts. While His Majesty was busy with the coronation ceremony, he actually abducted our Great Chu’s imperial consort. Simply insane.”
“What? There was such a thing?” Everyone was immediately enraged, and curses about the grandmothers and great-grandmothers of the Eastern Qi sea barbarians filled the air. The old man in blue robes relaxed his brow and smiled gently, saying kindly to the guards: “Eat quickly. We still need to continue our journey shortly.”