His breath was burning hot, still somewhat unsteady from his illness, yet the arms holding her used tremendous strength, embracing her tightly, so tightly that Shen Xiling even felt pain.
But Shen Xiling discovered she actually loved this kind of pain so much—only this way could she truly realize he had awakened, he had finally awakened.
He was still alive.
“Wenwen,” she heard him say in an extremely low voice by her ear, “…Thank you.”
Wenwen… Thank you.
Throughout Qi Ying’s life, he rarely showed emotions outwardly and seldom thanked anyone. In officialdom there might be false courtesy and snake-like maneuvering, but sincere gratitude was almost nonexistent—not because he was arrogant or rude, but because his entire life had been spent bestowing favors on others, with almost no one ever showing him kindness. Everyone felt that Young Master Qi dwelt high among the clouds and had no need for anyone’s assistance.
He had long grown accustomed to supporting everything alone, like traveling alone through deep mountains and valleys in the snow. No matter how difficult it became, he dared not fall, because he knew there was no one behind him, and once he fell, many people would face calamity from losing his protection.
He was someone who could not fail, unable even to seek help from anyone.
After such years passed, the expectations in his heart had vanished. He no longer hoped for any unexpected joy, no longer expected anyone to help him, not even the slightest bit—he had never harbored such expectations.
That was why he felt such despair upon first awakening—he knew that with his collapse, no one would continue walking his path for him.
But this time he was wrong.
His Wenwen… had caught him when he fell.
She was still so small, so delicate, clearly meant to be a young lady admiring lotus flowers in Wangyuan, meant to be a little kitten acting coquettishly and playfully on his lap. Of course he knew that after all these years she had grown tremendously, yet in his heart he had never truly believed she could stand on her own. He had always felt she needed his protection, needed his care.
Yet it was this very young woman… who had saved him.
And not just saved him, but also saved his family, his subordinates, and countless other people.
He truly didn’t know what to say.
When Shen Xiling heard him speak these words, she understood that she had done right. Even if not every link perfectly matched his arrangements, at least the direction was correct and the overall situation hadn’t been destroyed.
The tremendous boulder that had pressed on her heart for days was suddenly lifted. At that moment, Shen Xiling couldn’t describe exactly how she felt—her body nearly went limp, and she didn’t know why she began crying so hard at that moment.
Wailing loudly.
Just like that rainy night years ago when she finally waited for his return from Nanling Commandery, completely breaking down.
All her panic and tension instantly released. She held him and cried loudly, perhaps from fear, perhaps from the joy of surviving disaster.
She buried herself in his embrace, crying until she was hiccupping, speaking incoherently and brokenly: “When I was writing, I was truly so afraid, I was scared to death… After finishing, I didn’t dare send them out, afraid these things would get you killed… But, but I also thought… I understand you, I’ve loved you for so long, I must understand you…”
“I must be the one who understands you best…”
These words actually had no meaning at that moment, and sounded like mere emotional venting. Even Shen Xiling herself felt she was just venting. But Qi Ying understood—she was simply acting spoiled.
She had been very afraid, but seeing him awake made her feel happy and safe, so she urgently wanted to act coquettishly with him.
She wanted him to comfort her, and needed him to personally tell her: everything was alright now.
He understood her too well and had always been willing to indulge her. At this moment he held her tightly, soothing her over and over by her ear. His own emotions were also fluctuating intensely. Shen Xiling heard his voice trembling slightly as he said to her, “Yes… you understand me best.”
She understood him best.
Ten years ago, even when she was still half a child, she could see through his exhaustion and loneliness at a glance. In Wangshi, she had seen his annotations on Baopu Gong’s collected writings. That phrase “heart yearns toward it” was left by him in helplessness, and later even he himself paid it no mind, yet she had always kept it in her heart. From then on, she would often gaze at him with that hesitant expression, her eyes hiding a heartache that made him smile tenderly.
She understood him so well… Even after ten years had passed, even though they had each experienced so many different trials in the chaos, she still understood him best.
Qi Ying’s heart suddenly felt full to overflowing. None of the achievements he had accomplished before had ever given him such a feeling. He suddenly felt he truly possessed something, that he was no longer toiling for others, but had realized his own private wish: to have a lover who truly knew him, then regardless of consequences, to spend his life with her.
At that moment, Qi Ying’s expression was infinitely gentle.
Now at Xiaoshan, the night was vast and boundless. Countless torches formed a long dragon, crimson flames burning, clearly audible even in the mountain’s momentary silence.
In that night and firelight, Qi Ying’s expression no longer held any of the tenderness he showed when alone with Shen Xiling. Everyone only saw the Left Minister descending the mountain path, his phoenix eyes like tempered snow, his expression as steady as always. Though he looked somewhat pale then, as if having recovered from a serious illness, his aura inexplicably carried a cold, sharp, intimidating presence that made everyone present fall silent as cicadas.
As if… he were the true Son of Heaven.
All the people on the mountain then heard a “clang” that sounded especially harsh in the soundless quiet—it was General Han Shouyue’s son Han Feicong’s sword falling to the ground. He was staring at the Left Minister with wide eyes, both hands trembling, his expression looking as if he had seen a ghost, saying, “Left Minister? You, you aren’t already…”
Aren’t you already dead?
Han Feicong could hardly believe his eyes, unable to understand why the superior he had watched with his own eyes perish in the river and become fish food should suddenly appear out of nowhere today!
His father Han Shouyue now understood that his foolish son had fallen into Qi Jingchen’s trap—he wasn’t dead at all, but like a tiger or wolf lurking in the shadows, waiting for the most crucial moment to pounce and tear at people’s throats, devouring them completely without leaving a shred of flesh!
They had been deceived!
Han Shouyue felt great sorrow in his heart, followed by a sense of panic—now there were no more sounds of battle below the mountain, clearly his men had been subdued. Qi Jingchen would never appear until the last moment, and his appearance now meant he was certain of victory, didn’t it?
Thousands of thoughts flooded his mind at once, overwhelming Han Shouyue. His body swayed and he quickly propped himself up with his sword, feigning strength. At this moment he heard the Son of Heaven behind him laugh heartily. He turned to look at Xiao Ziheng, seeing his nephew’s eyes blazing with brilliant light, as if extremely excited, saying to him, “Uncle, you’ve lost.”
Not a rebuke, not a threat, merely a statement.
Yet it struck Han Shouyue like a heavy blow.
Before he could react, he heard Xiao Ziheng solemnly address Qi Ying: “Beloved minister, you’ve come at the perfect time! Quickly apprehend these Han family traitors for Us!”
As soon as the Son of Heaven finished speaking, everyone on the mountain saw their world-famous Left Minister lightly beckon with his hand. The momentarily silent mountain immediately resounded again with battle cries like mountain calls and ocean roars. Countless torches began moving, converging from all directions toward where Han Shouyue and Han Feicong stood!
Han Feicong was shocked and immediately picked up his dropped sword to guard his father, while loudly commanding his subordinate officers and soldiers to advance and fight.
He supported his father, who was overcome with rage and anger, barely able to stand steady, cold sweat breaking out layer upon layer on his forehead as he urgently asked, “Father! Qi Jingchen comes with ill intent—I’m afraid we’ve fallen into a trap! What should we do now?”
What should we do now?
Han Shouyue was so angry he almost wanted to stab Han Feicong full of holes!
He viciously slapped him across the face, cursing loudly: “What to do! What to do! Worthless thing! You’ve ruined your father’s great enterprise!”
Han Feicong was knocked to the ground by the slap. Knowing he had failed in his duties, he dared not retort, only cowered and quickly scrambled up again, supporting his unsteady father, saying, “Father, let’s leave first. Your son will protect you as we depart Xiaoshan. As long as the green mountains remain, we need not fear having no firewood to burn! Though we’ve lost today, we can plot for the future. As long as we preserve our lives, we won’t lack opportunities for a comeback!”
This reasoning was perfectly sound, yet Han Shouyue knew… he couldn’t escape.
What kind of person was Qi Ying? In appearance a gentleman, in heart an asura… He was not only far-reaching in strategy but also ruthless in methods, far from the refined noble young master he appeared to be. This damned civil official was even more cold-blooded and merciless than battle-hardened military officers. Now that he had bared his fangs today, he absolutely would not let him escape alive!
Everything was finished.
Watching the soldiers before him fall one by one, Han Shouyue’s eyes couldn’t help but show increasingly thick sorrow, along with bewilderment and unwillingness—he had clearly investigated all troop movements within Jiangzuo’s borders early on. Not a single army’s actions were beyond his expectations. No matter how capable Qi Jingchen was, he couldn’t conjure soldiers out of thin air to fight and sacrifice their lives for him. Where exactly had these suddenly appearing troops come from!
Just as he was most puzzled, he saw two figures suddenly appear beside Qi Ying behind the layers of soldiers.
…Both were old acquaintances of his, even connected by blood.
One was his own younger brother, Han Shouzheng.
The other was his own nephew, Han Feichi.
When weapons clashed, their sound was like thunder.
Qi Ying stood with hands behind his back, watching Han Shouyue’s forces about to be completely annihilated, yet his expression showed no sorrow, joy, or ripples, as if he were merely looking down at a chess game unrelated to him, watching it unfold step by step—nothing more.
Having just recovered from serious illness, his complexion was still somewhat pale. When the night wind blew he began coughing. Han Feichi at his side stepped forward to support him, asking with concern, “Second Brother?”
Qi Ying waved his hand, indicating he was fine.
At this time Han Shouyue was still making his last desperate resistance, but few soldiers remained by his side. He threw back his head and laughed wildly, his expression already somewhat crazed, looking at Han Shouzheng and Han Feichi standing beside Qi Ying and cursing loudly: “What misfortune for the family! To produce such evil roots! In vain have I devoted my heart to bleeding and sacrificing my life for the Han clan, yet you plot like flies and dogs behind my back to ruin my great enterprise! Evil spawn! Evil spawn!”
He was truly enraged beyond measure, probably never having imagined that the enemies who would ultimately cause his failure were within his own family. In his fury he couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of fresh blood, then seemed greatly injured in spirit and immediately collapsed to the ground, unable to stand.
Author’s Note: This chapter was really a bit difficult to write, so I wrote very slowly (stop making excuses for having limited ability!). Sorry to make everyone wait for updates, sob sob… I estimate the main text can be completed in early March!