Qing Xia gripped her dagger and held her silver spear horizontally, leaping through the camp like a leopard, her sharp eyes surveying the surroundings alertly. All along the way, she discovered that large-scale warfare seemed to be concentrated only in some camps in the southwest region, with the camp of the Xi Lin clan from Heng City being the most brutal—blood had accumulated over a foot thick, and stepping on it felt like smashing into a blood basin. The air was filled with the stench of putrid liquid. Qing Xia frowned tightly, walking slowly through the northern camp where deathly silence pervaded all around. Occasionally, wounded soldiers would emit a few low, mournful cries, but these were quickly suppressed and hidden.
The central military tent that had originally been burned to ash had been rebuilt in just this short while, standing brightly lit like a massive tent in the center of the camp. Qing Xia tore off the binding cloth from her small feet, bit one end with her teeth, and wrapped it around the arrow wound on her arm, pulling it tight to stop the bleeding. The cold helmet covered her head, and her green leather armor was covered with congealed dark red blood. The cape on her back had been discarded during her recent escape. Qing Xia was covered in wounds all over, yet she still stood straight with determination. She slowly exhaled, hiding in the shadows, her eyes fixed like a hawk on the direction of the central military tent, while her heart bled like a river.
Qin Zhiyan, is it really you? At this very moment, the person commanding the northern camp of Southern Chu, the person who could overturn clouds with one hand and rain with the other, the person who annihilated Southern Chu’s heavy troops, who captured Lady Zhu Lan and killed Xi Lin Yuqiao—is it really you?
Qing Xia bit her lips tightly, staring fixedly at that large tent. But if it’s not you, who else would show mercy to me?
Qing Xia gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, then suddenly sprang up and charged fiercely toward the central military camp.
“Who goes there!”
A sharp shout suddenly rang out. Several lightly armored soldiers flashed from the shadows, raising their long blades to slash at Qing Xia. She charged like thunder, suddenly leaping into mid-air and delivering a fierce kick to one soldier’s abdomen. Her right hand swept out, the dagger slicing across another soldier’s wrist as he gripped his blade. The entire sequence took less than three seconds. Qing Xia landed steadily and leaped up again, continuing toward the large camp without obstruction.
“Help! There’s an assassin!” A cry of alarm suddenly rang out. Qing Xia was startled and immediately looked up in surprise to see Xu Quan running out from the large camp. Upon seeing Qing Xia covered in blood from head to toe, he was visibly shocked.
Joy instantly surged in Qing Xia’s heart. Looking around, she saw that those surrounding the area were all subordinates of the Black Guard—this group of soldiers who couldn’t be found anywhere during the warfare were now all gathered here without any injuries. Seeing them stationed around the central military camp, Chu Li must certainly be here as well.
However, this joy didn’t last even one second before Qing Xia was struck as if by lightning, standing frozen in place. She slowly furrowed her brow, seeming to have thought of something, widening her eyes and looking at Xu Quan with terror and disbelief.
The armored guard looked at her disheveled appearance and only turned his head slightly away, not daring to meet her eyes directly.
Enormous shock instantly rose in her heart. Qing Xia gripped her blood-stained silver spear tightly, her face full of anger, as if seeking confirmation of something, and strode toward the camp entrance.
“Miss!” Xu Quan’s face showed sorrow as he stepped forward to block her, urgently saying, “Miss, please listen to me.”
“Move aside!” Qing Xia’s expression was gloomy, like eternal ice. She coldly raised her head and said in a deep voice, “I’ll only say this once!”
“Miss, let me explain…”
With a thunderous sound, Qing Xia raised her long spear above her head and brought it down in a furious strike. Xu Quan couldn’t dodge in time and was pulled away by a guard beside him, but still received a large wound on his arm. Qing Xia’s bloodthirsty gaze slowly turned to him as she said in an icy tone, “Who else dares to block my way?”
The girl’s bloodthirsty eyes were like those of a maddened fierce beast from Southern Frontier, yet carried even more terrifying rage and hatred than such beasts. Her eyes were firmly fixed on everyone present, sliding across each of their faces one by one, filled with anger, heartbreak, despair, and deep accusation.
These were all her comrades from recent days. She had spent great effort training them, invested much heart and soul in teaching them. She had treated them as friends and family. But at this moment, all she could see were cold, heartless faces. Everything here was so piercing to the eye; everything from the past was so heartbreakingly painful. She slowly turned around, looking at that brightly lit tent, and walked toward it slowly, step by step.
“Miss!” Le Song suddenly rushed out from the crowd, falling to his knees at Qing Xia’s feet with a thud. The stubborn man’s eyes were red, and he knocked his head heavily against the muddy ground.
“Miss! We have wronged you. Please don’t torment yourself like this. Go bandage your wounds first.”
With a loud “bang,” Qing Xia suddenly kicked Le Song heavily in the chest. Le Song grunted and rolled backward, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, but he still quickly struggled to get up and knelt before Qing Xia.
“Miss!” A uniform thunderous roar rang out as all the Black Guard soldiers knelt on the ground, shouting loudly. These stubborn men blocked Qing Xia’s path with their knees. Looking at this fierce woman who had fought alongside them shoulder to shoulder for many days, seeing her covered in blood with wounds all over her body, seeing her eyes filled with pain and hatred, they could only feel the fierce aura of death permeating between heaven and earth.
A sudden gust of wind arose, stirring up sand all over the ground. The sand particles struck Qing Xia’s cold leather armor, making crisp, ringing sounds.
Qing Xia’s hair was disheveled. Looking at this group of men kneeling before her, she remained completely unmoved. She only stubbornly raised her neck, her gaze coldly fixed on that golden, glittering central military tent, her eyes filled with deep desolation and inexpressible hatred.
“Let her in!” A deep voice came from within the tent. All the Black Guards were stunned, and only after a long while did they, led by Xu Quan, slowly make way.
The cold, harsh wind swept up sand and withered grass from all over the ground. On both sides of the path knelt Southern Chu’s most elite troops. Qing Xia gripped her silver spear, looking at the path before her that led to the large tent, her heart aching beyond measure, as if someone were chopping at it piece by piece with a giant axe. She clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging into her flesh, her brow almost twisted together, her eyes narrowed, containing too many emotions surging like storm clouds. The blood-stained long spear dragged on the ground, carving out a deep trace. She lifted her foot and slowly walked toward the camp entrance that was so close at hand.
One step, then another.
Everything seemed like slow-motion replay. The Black Guards on both sides anxiously raised their heads, watching this petite girl, watching her walk step by step toward the central military camp. Each step was so heavy, as if treading on everyone’s hearts. In the darkness, fierce torches crackled and burned. In the vast northern camp, only Qing Xia’s heavy footsteps and everyone’s heavy breathing could be heard.
Though it wasn’t a long distance, Qing Xia felt as if she had been walking for so long. The surroundings seemed to suddenly become empty, leaving only the ancient wind howling. That night when Xi Lin Yuqiao threw herself into her brother’s arms and wept loudly echoed before her eyes again—such a fierce and resolute girl, such a girl who loved and hated clearly, such a girl who dared to love and hate, what was it all for? And what exactly had drawn her into this storm of blood and violence?
The heavy curtain was slowly lifted, and Chu Li’s handsome, ethereal face appeared before Qing Xia’s eyes.
He sat in the main seat of the central military tent, the golden chair gleaming brilliantly. Lights blazed brightly at the four corners, so dazzling that Qing Xia could barely keep her eyes open. The finest dragon ambergris incense wafted through the air, and the entire tent was warm, comfortable, filled with rich fragrance and imperial nobility. Chu Li wore a bright yellow brocade dragon python robe with a jade belt, almost merging with the chair behind him. He was graceful as a jade gentleman, with black hair flowing over his shoulders, completely uninjured and so clean he seemed to have just bathed.
This—was this the Southern Chu Emperor that she and Xi Lin Yuqiao had risked death nine times to rescue from the camp?
This—was this the beloved that Xi Lin Yuqiao remembered even unto death?
This—was this the person she had thought of constantly, the one she would die to return and warn, the one she wanted to protect?
A large teardrop suddenly slid from her wide-open eyes. She was covered from head to toe in yellow mud and fresh blood, her face streaked with filthy blood, almost unrecognizable. She had wounds in multiple places on her body, her arms still seeping blood. Under the cold helmet, her small face looked like a ghostly scrawl, dirty and stinking. Her clothes were torn beyond recognition, and she looked like a hungry ghost crawled out from a pool of blood, so exhausted that her legs were almost trembling.
Yet she still looked at him, stared fixedly at him, watched him intently. All those past events, those bygone years, those details she had to face every time she opened her eyes, came flooding over her like a deluge. The entanglements from beginning to end, the inexplicable feelings that couldn’t be cut or unraveled, the repeated escapes, the repeated reunions, the repeated times of weathering difficulties together, and his words when he stood before her—words that seeped with endless heartblood and had echoed repeatedly in her heart these days:
“Qing Xia, this might be the last time in my life that I want to believe in someone.”
But Chu Li, did you really ever believe in me? When did you ever believe in me?
In the past, you didn’t believe in Zhuang Qing Xia, pressing her relentlessly, using her as bait. Later, you proclaimed to the world, granting me the name of the world’s most wanton woman. In the imperial prison of the capital, you firmly believed in my betrayal, capturing me with intent to strike and kill. Today, you still concealed the tacit siege battle between the desert lands and the Qin state, designing on a large scale to slaughter the eight great families. And now, you’ve set up a death trap, completely eradicating all forces that rebel against you. But was there ever a time when you thought to believe in me, to tell me all of this?