“Good!” Chu Li roared loudly, then said in a deep voice: “If I win, then what?”
“I will never force Yima’er to do anything she doesn’t want to do. If Your Majesty wins, this prince will, in the name of Yima’er’s brother, send her to Southern Chu in a grand red bridal sedan, and give you all the lands south of Mount Tianmu as her dowry.”
Chu Li laughed heartily: “If you win, then all lands north of Wei River shall be a gift for Prince Xuan when he ascends to the throne in the future!”
The two men looked at each other and burst into laughter, their voices echoing through the clouds with boundless heroic spirit.
“Farewell!” Chu Li said in a deep voice, turned around and returned to the Southern Chu army, leaping onto his black horse’s back. His spine straight as a rod, his gaze sharp as ice and snow, his eyes fixed intently on the magnificent carriage amidst the ten thousand troops, waves surging and rolling within his pupils. Finally, he suddenly turned his head back, wheeled his horse around, gave a fierce shout, and swept away southward with the swirling white snow and large contingent of Chu troops.
Qin Zhiyan stood tall and upright like jade, his eyes profound and deep. The long wind swept over his body, blowing across his snow-white long fur coat as snowflakes drifted all over the sky, covering all the footprints beneath the white snow.
“Prince Xuan,” a clear, crisp voice respectfully sounded beside his ear. Qin Zhiyan slowly turned his head. He saw a man in purple robes with long disheveled hair, standing casually and unrestrained on the grassland, cupping his hands in salute: “I shall escort you only this far. Please take good care of my master, Your Highness.”
Qin Zhiyan nodded and smiled faintly: “Please rest assured, Envoy Zhu. Yima’er’s injuries are too severe to be delayed. I’ll leave the matter of searching for Yang Feng and Lie Yunji to you.”
Zhu Yuanqing nodded in agreement, leading a group of Penglai disciples as they mounted Northern Qin warhorses and galloped toward Bailu Plain.
A bamboo umbrella suddenly appeared above Qin Zhiyan’s head, shielding him from the heavy wind and snow. A woman in gray fur with cold eyebrows and an expression like still water said impassively: “Your Highness, it’s time to depart.”
Qin Zhiyan nodded, slowly walked to the carriage and glanced inside without boarding it. Instead, he leaped onto his warhorse and led the mighty procession toward the direction of Great Qin. After leaving the Qiuping mountain region, they entered the vast Jialing Plain. After five days of hard riding, the border city of Xifeng between Great Qin and Xichuan finally came into distant view. From afar, Xifeng City backed by the Canglang Mountains looked extraordinarily grand and magnificent. Xichuan officials who had been escorting the Qin army out of their territory finally parted ways with the Qin forces thirty li outside Xifeng City.
The grassland was like that – you could see a tree in the distance and think it was close, but when you actually reached it, it might take a full day.
They had seen Xifeng City’s imposing walls in the morning, but didn’t arrive until evening. At the torchlit city gates, Xifeng City’s governor Meng Tianhongze, along with all the officials high and low of Xifeng, had been waiting in the wind and snow all day. Upon seeing the great banner of the Yan Division, they immediately knelt to the ground, devoutly and respectfully welcoming this young Prince Xuan of Qin who, despite his youth, had already become a pillar of Qin’s military.
Great Qin had been founded for over twelve hundred years. During this time, it had repeatedly faced peasant rebellions, foreign invasions, fragmentation among feudal lords, and clan uprisings, yet it had never been divided by different surnames as it had been for the past three hundred years. Now the world was split four ways, with various vassal state powers occupying territories, countless small political entities mostly dependent on the four great empires, checking each other. On the surface all seemed calm, but underneath undercurrents flowed constantly, with power struggles, conspiracies, and cold arrows filling every corner. The common people lived trapped in the crevices of this turbulent chaotic world, suffering indescribably.
A lean camel is still bigger than a horse. Though Northern Qin had retreated to defend the northern territories of the continent, with an economy and resources inferior to Eastern Qi, land fertility not matching Southern Chu, and warhorses far behind Xichuan, it was also the nation most directly facing the Xiongnu blades, possessing a long and unstable northern frontier defense line. Yet it was precisely this harsh, cold land of constant warfare that had trained Northern Qin’s most powerful cavalry. Northern Qin followed ancestral will, emphasizing military merit over civil examinations. Warriors who fought desperately on battlefields would earn opportunities for advancement. Thus, Northern Qin men all strove to join the military upon reaching adulthood. Even if they couldn’t become court officials, they considered it a lifetime honor to have fought the Xiongnu on the northern frontier. The Northern Frontier Garrison had protected Qin for many years and enjoyed extremely high prestige domestically. Among them, the Yan Division personally trained by Qin Zhiyan was the most famous.
As a royal descendant who had been defending against enemies on the northern frontier since age fourteen, and over ten years had transformed from passive resistance to active offense, beating the Xiongnu into pathetic retreat with no ability to fight back, Qin Zhiyan’s reputation among the people was even higher than the Qin King’s. Under his brilliance, the current Crown Prince seemed like a grain of rice among pearls, utterly unremarkable. Looking at all twenty-eight princes of Great Qin, only Second Prince Qin Zhiyi could stand as his equal.
During the hunting gathering at Bailu Plain, the Xiongnu had taken advantage of Qin Zhiyan’s absence to repeatedly assault the Northern Frontier Garrison, even destroying some nearby small towns. In this time of wind, rain, and anxious hearts, Qin Zhiyan’s return was undoubtedly like giving the Qin people a strong stimulant injection.
Xifeng City bordered Xichuan and was the last barrier of Qin’s western region. It was also one of the world’s largest horse trading markets, prosperous and flourishing, never implementing curfews. At this moment, it was Xifeng City’s liveliest time.
As soon as the carriages and horses stepped through Xifeng City’s gates, thunderous cheers arose calling out Qin Zhiyan’s royal title. Though Xifeng City’s people didn’t need to worry about northern frontier Xiongnu reaching Xifeng, Qin Zhiyan had recently eliminated Bailu Fortress at Bailu Plain. Those mercenaries and bandits who had roamed the western regions for years had long been despised by Xifeng’s horse merchants. Combined with their gratitude toward Qin Zhiyan and his reputation among the people, the scene was naturally grand and the momentum shocking.
In the magnificent carriage, a pale woman lay among layers of silk quilts. The carriage moved extremely steadily, neither bumping nor swaying. The foot warmer burned calming tea fragrance, and two plainly dressed, well-behaved maidservants knelt nearby, staring unblinkingly at the woman’s every movement. Hearing the noisy sounds outside, the beautiful woman’s eyelids moved slightly and her brow furrowed gently.
“Ah! Miss is about to wake up.” A small maid in blue with a plain face exclaimed joyfully, quickly saying to another green-clothed maid: “Hurry and notify His Highness that Miss is waking up.”
“Now?” The green-clothed maid asked doubtfully: “Perhaps we should call Master Baishi first to take a look. We’re still on the road – we don’t want to cause trouble.”
“Alright then, go quickly.”
Soon, an elderly man with graying beard and pale yellow eyes tottered in, lifted the woman’s eyelids, then took her pulse for diagnosis. His brow furrowed as he shook his head: “Strange, truly strange.”
“Master, what’s strange?” The green-clothed maid was obviously quite lively, her voice crisp and clear, her large round eyes black as lacquer as she gazed at the elder, asking urgently.
The Baishi witch doctor frowned: “The Great Roc Yellow Bird is an ancient fierce bird that has lived underground for years, feeding on poisonous snakes, rats, and ants, with yellow, toxic blood. This young lady was inside the Yellow Bird’s belly, her internal organs severely poisoned. Even combining the power of our eight witches, we could only temporarily preserve her life. I imagine that in this world, aside from the destroyed Western Lin family head Xi Linyu and the elusive heir of Shangqiu, only our witch medical clan’s Grand Elder could provide treatment. But now it seems the toxins in her body are not only not continuing to corrode, but actually showing signs of retreat. Truly strange and wonderful.”
The blue-clothed maid blinked and smiled: “Master, perhaps Miss has great fortune and destiny – this illness will slowly heal itself.”
“Child’s talk.” The Baishi witch doctor said: “She has multiple severe injuries – ribs, arm bones, leg bones fractured in multiple places, severe head trauma, plus severe poisoning. Such injuries would have killed an ordinary person long ago. That she can preserve her life now is already tremendous luck. Though the poison is temporarily suppressed, she still needs careful nursing in the future, supplemented with medicine. It may take eight to ten years before complete recovery is possible. I tell you to read more books regularly, but you just won’t listen.”
The two little maids stuck out their tongues at the Baishi witch doctor, giggling without the slightest trace of fear.
The Baishi witch doctor sighed: “Watch her carefully. Within the next day or two, she may wake up. If there’s any change, notify me immediately.”
With that, he lifted the curtain and walked out.
That night, the Xifeng City governor hosted a banquet at the governor’s mansion to entertain the Yan Division officers and soldiers, which Qin Zhiyan attended. During the feast, all the officials and merchants of standing in Xifeng City who were entitled to attend all wanted to glimpse the peerless demeanor of this legendary war god. Various rare treasures flowed like water into the Xifeng traveling palace. Qin Zhiyan was gentle in manner, courteous in advance and retreat, possessing both royal noble bearing and no trace of arrogance or domineering attitude. For a time, both host and guests were delighted, the gathering jubilant, continuing past the second watch without signs of ending.
At this moment, Qin Zhiyan’s personal guard Lian Zhou suddenly entered the great hall and whispered a few words in Qin Zhiyan’s ear. The originally gently smiling Prince Xuan suddenly changed color dramatically, immediately withdrew from the banquet, frightening the Xifeng officials and merchants so much they dared not close their eyes all night, not knowing what great matter had occurred.
Xifeng City was Northern Qin’s important western city. Ten years ago, Xichuan’s Great Emperor Yun Liangye had been militaristic, ambitious and fond of grandiose projects, launching three wars against Northern Qin. At that time, Northern Qin’s Great Emperor Qin Zicheng was in his prime and had built a traveling palace in Xifeng to personally supervise the front lines, finally crushing Xichuan’s offensives three times. Xichuan had never recovered since then, unable to initiate major wars again. Yun Liangye had also lost popular support because of this and was later replaced by his younger brother Yun Liangxi.
Qin Zhiyan led his personal guards rushing urgently into Yaosheng Hall, forcefully pushing open the doors. He saw Qing Xia wearing a snow-white cotton robe, her plain face like a painting, her black hair loosely scattered as she sat on the couch, sipping medicinal soup from a maid’s hands one mouthful at a time.
Seeing Qin Zhiyan enter, Qing Xia smiled weakly and said softly: “The banquet is over.”
Qin Zhiyan’s expression was profound, his eyes deep as the sea, staring unblinkingly at Qing Xia without speaking. Qing Xia was slightly stunned and asked in confusion: “What’s wrong? What happened?” But Qin Zhiyan suddenly strode forward and pulled her tightly into his embrace.
Qing Xia was held in his arms, listening to his heavy breathing above her, her heart gradually relaxing. His warm breath sprayed on the top of her head, the pleasant Sichuan fritillary medicinal fragrance lingering around her nose. Everything seemed like a dream. Qing Xia felt as if she had fallen into the ocean, letting warm seawater surround her completely, her whole person feeling light and floating. Her hand gently patted Qin Zhiyan’s back, repeatedly saying softly: “I’m alright now, I’ve returned.”