In the darkness, Xi Lin Chen’s eyes were bright like stars, brilliant and sparkling.
Qing Xia had long expected this journey wouldn’t remain calm and peaceful. Those hidden dangers and disasters would always find the most opportune moment to deliver a devastating blow. However, she never expected everything to come so quickly—so fast it caught people completely off guard.
Overwhelming arrow rain shot forth like locusts. Shi Xing’s defensive formation was utterly worthless shit. In his misguided cleverness, he had broken the large unit into scattered small teams, reducing individual combat capabilities to an impossibly low level and giving the enemy an opportunity to exploit. Qing Xia deflected a row of arrows with her blade, grabbed Bamber’s sleeve, and shouted sternly, “Follow me!”
The newly conscripted civilian soldiers had absolutely no combat capability to speak of. The so-called squad leaders were all bluster and shouting in peacetime, but when they reached the actual battlefield, each one was scared witless and fled with their heads covered. Shi Xing’s personal guards were somewhat presentable, but unfortunately Shi Xing had sent them out as military supervisors, leaving very few by his side. Qing Xia couldn’t worry about others—she had the warhorses form a circle to block the surrounding arrows and said to several pale-faced youths, “Follow me and charge out in a moment. Don’t look back—run forward desperately. Understand?”
“Brother Xia,” Li Xian frowned and said, “Where should we run? It’s plains everywhere—the enemy can easily catch up.”
Qing Xia’s brow furrowed tightly. After thinking, she said gravely, “Run backward—seek refuge with the Qin army!”
“Become traitors?”
Qing Xia’s eyes flashed as she said sternly, “First save your lives!”
Having said this, she quickly mounted her horse and shouted to everyone, “Go!”
Overwhelming screams filled their ears as Xichuan’s grain transport troops became chaotic as boiling water. Qing Xia led everyone in charges left and right, actually managing to break out of the crowd.
The sounds behind grew increasingly distant. The White Deer Fort people indeed had extraordinary courage and insight. Their successful ambush of the Xichuan grain convoy must have involved someone secretly infiltrating the ranks, thoroughly understanding Xichuan’s itinerary and defenses to devise such an extremely meticulous ambush plan. They caught the Xichuan people completely off guard, leaving them almost no power to fight back.
“No good!” Just as they were about to shake off the crowd behind them, Qing Xia’s heart suddenly tightened. She hurriedly turned back, her phoenix eyes sweeping, immediately feeling as if a basin of cold water had been poured over her head.
“You go ahead first—I’m going back!”
“Xia Qing!” Nakdo grabbed Qing Xia’s hand and shouted loudly, “No!”
Qing Xia shook off his palm and said gravely, “Xi Lin Chen is still inside!”
Only then did everyone realize Xi Lin Chen wasn’t with them. Qing Xia turned her horse around and said sternly, “No one is allowed to follow!” Then she spurred her horse toward the flames of war.
Suddenly a volley of fire arrows came flying from ahead. Qing Xia nimbly leaped up and rolled to the ground. The warhorse whinnied mournfully, struck by several arrows, and collapsed to the ground with agonized cries.
“Xi Lin!” Qing Xia shouted loudly, stood up, and rapidly ran through the rows of fire arrows. Her form was agile like a swift cheetah, her eyes searching through the crowd, but where was any trace of Xi Lin Chen?
With a whoosh, she deflected an oncoming war blade with her sword. Her gaze turned cold as she kicked the opponent’s abdomen. Taking advantage of the enemy’s fall, she instantly pounced forward, the dagger in her sleeve flashing cold as she slit the opponent’s throat with one stroke.
“Xi Lin!” Qing Xia shouted sternly, her brow tightly furrowed as she charged into the chaotic flames of war. Along the way, she killed anyone who blocked her path—whether human or divine—like a crazed tiger, unstoppable as splitting bamboo. Seeing this, the remaining Xichuan soldiers all moved to rally around Qing Xia.
“Brother Xia!” Shi Xing was protected in the middle by his guards. Just as he was about to lose support, he suddenly saw Qing Xia’s figure—truly joy falling from heaven—and shouted loudly.
Qing Xia turned back to see Shi Xing and the others, chopped down an enemy with one stroke, and ran toward Shi Xing’s group.
“Have you seen Xi Lin Chen?” Shi Xing was stunned and didn’t answer.
Qing Xia’s eyebrows rose as she shouted sternly, “Have you seen Xi Lin Chen?”
One of Shi Xing’s guards stammered, “Just now, I saw him heading toward the western slope.”
Qing Xia turned to look, only to see the western slope densely packed with enemy shadows. Countless archers stood ready in formation, forming a pocket-like net. In the sky, bloodthirsty cold light flickered slightly. Qing Xia gritted her teeth, seized a masterless warhorse, and leaped onto it.
“Brother Xia!” Shi Xing was greatly alarmed and shouted loudly. A guard beside him quickly held him back.
“Brother Xia, that’s the enemy camp over there…”
Shi Xing’s voice became increasingly blurred and distant in the air. Cold wind whistled in her ears as Qing Xia raised her whip and spurred her horse, galloping across the battlefield filled with corpses and slaughter. Her mind echoed entirely with Xi Lin Yuqiao’s wide-open eyes before death and her broken, devastated corpse.
Must not let anything happen!
Qing Xia silently chanted in her heart. Her face was nearly numb from the cold wind, her entire body seemed to tremble slightly, yet she still sat firmly on the warhorse, charging up the western slope without the slightest trace of fear!
“Someone’s there!” Enemy soldiers suddenly shouted loudly. A silver gleam instantly arrived. Qing Xia’s body suddenly leaned to one side, abruptly raising her hand to catch the flying arrow in mid-air. Without thinking, she threw it back with a reverse motion. A scream immediately rang out—the archer enemy soldier had a large bloody hole opened in his forehead. He stared with unbelieving wide eyes and rolled down the slope with a thunderous crash.
“Tough opponent! Swarm him!” Another urgent shout, and overwhelming arrow rain came as densely as locusts. Qing Xia leaped up, supported herself on the horse’s body, and dodged the deadly arrows. Just then, the horse whinnied mournfully, its front legs weakened, and it collapsed. Qing Xia instantly jumped down to the ground, landing on hands and feet like a wildcat, flying forward.
“Release the rolling stones!” Enemy soldiers shouted loudly. In an instant, almost all attention focused on this seemingly thin and weak young soldier. Qing Xia’s gaze was cold as frost, her eyes sharp and severe between her brows. Suddenly she threw the hook and chain from her waist—with a whoosh, the sharp iron claw pierced into the abdomen of the middle-aged man giving orders. The enemy army immediately fell into chaos. Qing Xia pulled hard on the chain, using the leverage to climb upward. In a short time, she reached the midst of the crowd. Countless enemy soldiers swarmed toward her. Qing Xia was quick-eyed and nimble-handed, yanking back the hook and chain. Her hands moved like the Thousand-Armed Buddha, spinning the sharp hook and chain in dance throughout the sky, like a brilliant red lotus instantly blooming around her, carrying bloodthirsty sharpness, keeping all who wanted to rush to her side blocked at the periphery.
“Xi… Lin… Chen!” Qing Xia looked around, seeing the slopes covered everywhere with countless corpses of Xichuan soldiers who had tried to charge up the slope to counterattack. Xi Lin Chen was a frail scholar, young in age, with no martial arts skills—falling into such chaos among troops, how could there be any way to survive? Despair slowly rose in Qing Xia’s heart. She looked around frantically but couldn’t find half a trace of that frail youth.
Xi Lin Chen, you cannot have an accident.
Qing Xia silently chanted in her heart. All along, she had thought she was the one protecting the several of them. Only at this moment did she understand how they had supported each other through this journey. Without Xi Lin Chen, without Bamber, without Nakdo, what meaning would everything she had done have? In this world, she had no direction, no position, not even a name—no relatives, no ties, no connections. She didn’t even know what today or tomorrow was for. If she lost them too, where would she go?
Xi Lin Chen, you cannot have an accident. Back then I was powerless and couldn’t save your brother and sister. Now, how can I allow you to disappear before my very eyes?
I’ve grown accustomed to waking up every morning and seeing your clear eyes first thing. I’ve grown accustomed to watching you smile gently as you bring me a steaming basin of water and face cloth, with a small spoon of green salt powder beside the rinsing cup. I’ve grown accustomed to you neatly arranging my armor on the clothing rack, those thick cotton robes always placed by the fire basin, warmed until they’re cozy and comfortable when I wear them. I’ve grown accustomed to getting up every night to tuck your blanket corners, accustomed to moving the fire basin you’ve moved to my feet back to its place.
This heaven and earth are so vast and lonely. You and I are the same kind of people—without country, without family, without a single relative. So how can I let you trek alone in darkness once again?
“Xi Lin Chen!” Qing Xia wielded her long blade, screaming shrilly, her voice piercing the clouds and echoing distantly across the ten-thousand-li snowy plains!
More and more people gathered around her, layer upon layer. Qing Xia was wounded all over, her stamina exhausted, but still that thread of firm belief supported her there, letting her stubbornly hold her position without falling for a long time.
From noon to sunset, the entire snowy plain was dyed red. Shouts and killing sounds gradually grew distant. Xichuan soldiers were dead or fled—no one remained. On the western slope, the blood-soaked woman finally, with the disappearance of the last ray of sunlight at the horizon’s edge, fell to her knees on the cold ground with a thud.
Intense bloody smell emanated from her body. Sticky liquid was everywhere—no longer distinguishable as her own or others’. Her face was pale as paper, her hands no longer showed their original color. The helmet on her head had long fallen away, black hair scattered behind her, some stuck to her cheeks with blood. Her breathing was rapid and heavy, as if she wanted to pant out her lungs too. Her eyes had turned blood-red from killing. Her legs no longer had any strength to stand up. She supported herself with her war blade, kneeling on the ground with slightly lowered head, yet her eyes looked forward slowly through the gaps in her black hair.
A force of over two thousand men trembled and stepped back before this weak, exhausted person.
The north wind blew bleakly, sweeping across her thin, frail shoulders. She seemed about to collapse at any moment, seemed about to fall down immediately, yet after a long time, she still maintained that posture, coldly watching this group of stone-like men across from her.