Indulgence in passion was absolutely not fun, would absolutely shorten one’s lifespan, and was absolutely—addictive!
Those sensual hands, that masculine body, the feeling of skin rubbing intimately together—just thinking about it made her body involuntarily tense and her breath catch.
The most insane thing she had done in this lifetime was nothing other than this.
Yuan Cheng! Such a refined person, neither cold nor hot—who would have thought he had such a side: entangling endlessly, deeply passionate and sweet, insatiably greedy. What was that phrase to describe it? Inexhaustible in his demands! Him being unreasonable, playing dumb, acting spoiled, being domineering, catching her off guard, taking advantage of her at every opportunity—during these three days and four nights, he overwhelmed her with various personas.
Fine, she had moments of fighting back too, but compared to him, it was like a minor sorcerer meeting a grand master.
“Did you take medicine?” she suddenly suspected.
“Take medicine?” Several voices rang out around her.
Only then did Mo Zi come back to her senses—they had already come down the mountain. Heaven knew, the first thing she did upon returning to the ship was find a bed to sleep. If she weren’t afraid people would see she had exhausted her stamina, she wouldn’t want to move even after reaching shore. At this moment, looking at these sisters still waiting for the location of the bridal chamber, she couldn’t help but sigh. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell them, but Yuan Cheng wouldn’t let her. United as husband and wife, even though she had an “uneasy” premonition, she could only keep this secret in her heart.
“Luo Ying, where did you and Water Snake have your bridal chamber?” She narrowed her eyes. “Speaking of which, you two got married on the ship back then, but I didn’t hear any commotion.”
Luo Ying’s sudden blush attracted the attention of Qiu Shuang, Xiao Yi, and the others, who began questioning her.
Mo Zi withdrew from the scene.
“Brother Mo, Yuan Xiang requests your presence.” Chouyu happened to come by. Although Mo Zi had married, her status hadn’t disappeared from her brothers’ hearts. She would always be herself, not Yuan Cheng’s appendage.
“What’s the matter?” She was tired.
“We’re going to war.” Chouyu excitedly raised his eyebrows.
Mo Zi didn’t dare delay and hurried into the main tent.
Inside the tent, some people were familiar and knew her capabilities, so upon seeing her, they nodded in acknowledgment. However, there were quite a few unfamiliar faces who only knew she was Madam Yuan. Their expressions were doubtful, not understanding why a woman would participate in men’s affairs.
With so many people looking at her, she only saw the man sitting in the main seat—that is, her husband. It must be the aftereffects of those few days and nights. The smile he slowly drew made her mind waver, leaving her somewhat parched. Taking a deep breath and exhaling long, she cleared her throat with a dry cough, clenched her fists, her face smiling without revealing anything. Yuan Cheng’s gaze seemed to penetrate her thoughts. He raised one eyebrow, his expression full of interest, though his tone was serious. “Madam, please sit.”
Although they had only just married, he had been calling her Madam for some time. Now properly and legitimately, Mo Zi sat at his left hand.
“We’ve just received news that Nande’s sixty thousand soldiers and five hundred warships are heading toward Immortal Mountain. Scouts report their sneak attack on Yangcheng failed. Having learned of my location here, they’ve changed course to come annihilate us. They’ve already entered Ta River and are only a hundred li away.” With the situation so pressing, Yuan Cheng remained calm. “Does Madam have any good strategies?”
Mo Zi found it somewhat strange. With matters so urgent, they should already have countermeasures. Why were they still asking her? Looking around and seeing quite a few people with dismissive expressions, she understood—this was Yuan Cheng establishing her status before these people. Just like how Chouyu and the others still called her Brother Mo.
“From Chenzhou to Ta River there was originally only one waterway, but now there are two. The Nande army definitely doesn’t know this. We can use this advantage to attack from both sides. However, the other side has sixty thousand men and five hundred ships, while we only have thirty thousand and just over two hundred ships. The numerical difference is enormous. A pincer attack can only catch them off guard—we can’t fight a prolonged battle. We can also lure the enemy deep, using Cloud Ridge’s vast interior and complex passages to destroy them in batches.” Mo Zi looked at the map and offered her suggestions.
Those originally contemptuous gazes were withdrawn one by one.
Yuan Cheng saw this and smiled faintly. “Madam’s suggestions align with the plans we’ve deployed. However, large ships cannot pass under the waterfall. Apart from the ten ships specially made for the Zicao Army, there are Madam’s ships. May this husband borrow them?”
“Yes.” After marriage, her wishes were still respected and valued. She felt this was truly good. “Is this the only reason you sought me?”
“There’s one more thing.” Yuan Cheng paused, his eyes looking at her crystal clear and transparent.
Mo Zi observed his expression carefully. “You want me to captain my ships?” She hadn’t been proactive from the start precisely because she was considering his feelings. Previously, her own decisions were her own responsibility. Now one person’s decision required two people to bear the consequences.
“No one is more familiar with your ships than you.” For Yuan Cheng, this wasn’t an easy decision. Reason told him it was right, but emotion resisted. However, he couldn’t force her to stay in a safe place waiting for him to return in defeat. Moreover, this was a battlefield—there wasn’t really anywhere truly safe.
“Correct. I’ll go.” Four very brief words—this was exactly what she wanted.
“Five hundred Zicao Army soldiers will accompany you, all under your command.” He cleared any possible obstacles for her. “You only need to slow down their rear ships. No need to get entangled in prolonged fighting.”
“Yes, I’ll depart immediately.” Mo Zi received her orders.
“After success, you can temporarily take refuge via the secret passage. If things are peaceful on my end, I’ll naturally have someone inform you.” Yuan Cheng would remain at the frontlines.
Mo Zi nodded. She couldn’t even say “be careful,” because showing tender feelings would make Yuan Cheng appear weak before everyone.
Ding Gou stood up and requested orders. “Yuan Xiang, please let me follow Madam.”
“No.” Yuan Cheng and Mo Zi said in unison. After speaking, they both smiled together.
Yuan Cheng said, “For the plan to divide the enemy, our side also needs to split into several teams to lure them. You have your own mission.” Ding Gou was no longer Mo Zi’s follower but an important military advisor in the Righteous Yuan Army.
“My side has masters like clouds—no need for you.” After Mo Zi finished laughing, she clasped her fists to everyone in the tent. “I wish us great victory in this battle. Taking advantage of the momentum to capture two provinces, we’ll be able to stand as equals with the Nande court.” Nande had a total of eleven provinces.
Having witnessed her wisdom and forthrightness, and hearing such inspiring words, everyone no longer showed obvious contempt for her. Each person was filled with lofty aspirations, loudly voicing agreement.
Boarding the cargo ship, Luo Ying, Xiao Yi, A Hao, and A Yue all followed.
“I had Hua Ying take care of Wu Youyan, and Qiu Shuang is with Ding Gou’s troops. As for those servant girls, they can exchange a few moves on flat ground, but in naval warfare they might not be able to help. Better to simply leave them here where they can do some work.” Luo Ying explained.
Mo Zi was satisfied with her arrangements, but said to Xiao Yi, “You go with your senior martial brothers.”
Xiao Yi looked around, tapped her toes, and leaped into the lookout barrel, completely ignoring her.
Luo Ying laughed. “She says following her senior brothers is tiresome. Your side has more excitement to watch.”
Mo Zi looked up and shouted, “That barrel isn’t for lounging around. Keep your eyes sharp—don’t miss even needle-point-sized shadows of people or ships.”
Xiao Yi moved her chin up and down, indicating agreement.
The three ships now had names: Wind Ship, Cloud Ship, and Rain Ship. Mo Zi’s ship was Wind. She appointed Chouyu and Fei Xia as captains of the other two ships, Water Snake, Lao Guan, and Min Song as chief helmsmen in the lower cabins, and Ding Xiu, Niu Gao, and other craftsmen brought out by Hong Yu as emergency repair personnel for each ship. She kicked Wei Qing off the ship and handed him over to Yuan Cheng to assign suitable tasks. At the same time, she distributed colored flags and code phrases for communication to the Zicao Army’s ten ships. Using the shortest time possible for demonstration, they sailed toward the secret passage.
Entering Ta River from the other side of the waterfall, it wasn’t long before they caught up with the tail of the Nande navy. Waving flags and shouting, cursing from the rear battle line, they unsurprisingly enraged them and made them believe that if they couldn’t achieve victory over a mere dozen or so ships, it would affect morale for the next battle. Therefore, they dispatched a hundred ships to ensure victory.
Chouyu signaled with flags, “This tail is big enough. We’re halfway to successfully dragging them.”
Fei Xia said, “Kill or run? We definitely can’t kill them all.”
Mo Zi replied, “Lure them. Of course we’ll run. Just delay them, don’t engage in direct combat.”
The colored flags spun like windmill wheels in chaos, confusing the Nande navy.
Mo Zi also sent simple commands to the ten Zicao Army ships, but quickly discovered something was wrong.
The leader of these ten ships was called Pan Long, a fellow who was very good at currying favor. When He Hu was alive, he followed only his orders, but as soon as He Hu died, he immediately declared his position of severing ties. Because he privately had some connection with Ping Laosi and used soft tactics with his subordinates, he hadn’t been dismissed and detained as a He faction loyalist. He still managed the ships that exclusively used the secret passage. This person was a fence-sitter—not evil, but somewhat eager for quick success, especially during this transitional period. For Mo Zi, who had only taken command less than two hours ago, it was naturally impossible to understand this. He considered himself experienced and hadn’t expected to have to obey a woman’s orders—his heart was already resistant. Seeing Mo Zi order a retreat, he instead judged the distance still far and employed curved maneuvering.
This resulted in the three Wind-Cloud-Rain ships and the ten Zicao ships each going their own way. The three ships only needed to turn around the mountain to reach the waterfall, while the ten ships lagged far behind.
Mo Zi continuously signaled them with flags, but Pan Long ignored her and even retorted that she, as a woman, didn’t understand.
Zan Jin asked, “Brother Mo, what do we do?”
“The wind isn’t favorable for them. Although their ships are sturdy, they’re slow and can’t outrun the Nande warships.” Before departure, when she had coordinated with Pan Long, he had been quite agreeable.
Chouyu signaled over, “Don’t worry about them.”
“If we don’t worry about them, they’re dead.” Mo Zi muttered to herself. In her field of vision, a hundred warships formed an encircling formation and would soon surround the ten ships. Further away, the main Nande warships had already turned into black dots.
Fei Xia signaled, “Leave.”
Mo Zi raised her hand.
Everyone was watching, because if it was a fist, it meant wait in place; if it moved, it meant depart.
Back of hand forward, palm backward, she waved twice.
The instant the three ships turned around the mountain, distant cries of anguish rang out endlessly, until they entered the secret passage and the waterfall’s roar cut off the sounds.
This should have been a mission without bloodshed, but several hundred lives were gone. She could have gone back, but that would only let them die a bit later while sacrificing her three ships and two hundred brothers.
“Don’t be sad. It was them who didn’t obey your orders.” Luo Ying saw her silence.
But it wasn’t just Mo Zi who was silent—even the most raucous Chouyu crouched at the ship’s bow without moving. Until now, as long as Mo Zi was present, they had been invincible on water. Such heavy losses were truly a first.
Mo Zi quietly looked at the cave lake, her eyes dry. “I’m not sad about being heartless, but sad about why they refused to believe me. Is listening to a woman’s words shameful to the point of preferring death? And what right did Pan Long have to choose for those five hundred people?” Her decision wasn’t wrong. If it happened again, she would still do the same.
It was just lamentable—one thought to heaven, one thought to hell.