Seeing that he could never catch up with the opponent’s speed, Xiahou Chun was so anxious that sweat covered his fat face.

He said, “Release the relay signal flares! Notify the palace city!”

Behind him, Tian Wu shouted loudly, “Relay signal flares can’t be released during non-wartime!”

Xiahou Chun shouted back, “Di Yiwei said if we can’t catch up, we must release them!”

Tian Wu: “Just because she said so, you listen? If she told you to rebel, would you go too?”

Xiahou Chun: “Yes!”

Tian Wu: “But in this weather, even if we release them, no one will see them!”

“Don’t worry about that, release them – red ones! As long as even one person can see them, it’s enough!”

With a whoosh, a red signal flare shot skyward in a streak, exploding into a rainbow in mid-air.

It was instantly swept away by the wind and snow.

Wave after wave followed continuously, extending across the sky in a blood-red line as Xiahou Chun moved.

The people of Shengdu covered their mouths, staring wide-eyed at this strange spectacle. An old man murmured, “The heavens are about to change… the heavens are about to change…”

“Old man, you’re talking nonsense again. The world is at peace now. Even the Xiao Family’s downfall caused no incidents – what could possibly change!”

“You don’t understand. Do you know what happened the last time such signal flares lit up Shengdu?”

“Please tell us, old sir?”

“It was the rebellion of Prince Tang and Prince Lu. That year, Shengdu was covered with rolling heads, and the blood hidden in the stone pavements was still attracting mosquitoes and flies the following summer…” The old man hobbled away, “The heavens are about to change… the heavens are about to change…”

…

In a wine house closest to Zhengyang Gate, people were gathered around a table drinking.

Green wine freshly brewed, red clay stove glowing warm.

Around a large round table sat many people of varying heights, most holding cups and drinking lightly while watching the signal flares fill the sky.

Some sat in silent contemplation, some coldly sharpened their blades, some chuckled softly.

Someone pointed at the line of signal flares and said, “Truly beautiful.”

Someone looked toward the Xiao Family’s direction and sighed, “Truly worthy of being Xiao Liheng – asking him to endure, and in such circumstances, he really did endure.”

“Enduring momentarily brings vast skies and seas. Only by enduring can one avoid revealing any traces,” someone said coldly. “Without letting Tie Ci have smooth sailing, how could we have today’s good show?”

“What kind of good show is this?” someone said, raising their cup indifferently toward the imperial palace.

“Tonight’s real good show is still inside there.”

…

The imperial palace still stood quietly in the wind and snow.

With a creak, the distant gate of the Imperial Medical Bureau opened.

A physician from the Imperial Medical Academy, carrying a medicine box, hurriedly emerged from the bureau, braving the wind and snow toward Ruixiang Palace.

On the way, he encountered someone who smiled and stopped him, saying, “Doctor Huo, where are you going?”

The physician bowed and smiled, “To check the Crown Princess’s pulse for her health.”

The person smiled, “I just came from Ruixiang Palace, and His Highness is not currently in the palace. Besides, didn’t the Crown Princess say she doesn’t need daily pulse checks?”

The physician hesitated slightly, “I still need to deliver medicine to the Crown Princess…”

The person extended his hand, “Perfect, I need to go to Ruixiang Palace again shortly. Let me take it for you.”

The physician was about to refuse when someone poked their head out from the medical bureau behind him, “Doctor Huo, Consort Liu has sent someone urging – why haven’t you gone to examine her yet?”

The physician had no choice but to hand the small box to that person, instructing, “Please deliver this to Miss Chi Xue at Ruixiang Palace.”

“I understand.”

The physician turned and left. The person took the box and departed, turning around a palace wall to find Yuye Pool ahead.

On this windy, snowy night, there was no one around.

He opened the box and indeed saw that there was no medicine inside, only a peach pit.

He smiled and flicked his finger.

The box and the peach pit fell into Yuye Pool.

…

Atop the palace city walls, soldiers stood with spears, snow quickly covering their armor, frost flowers forming on their eyelashes.

They could only squint their eyes.

So no one saw the first wave of red signal flares.

After a while, someone came up the city walls with several servants, carrying large buckets wrapped in straw, entering the guard station.

Soon the gate captain called out, “Minister Fang pities our hard work and personally brought people to deliver mutton soup. Those on duty take turns coming in to drink a hot bowl!”

Minister Fang was Fang Huai’an. Born into a Shengdu noble family, he had been compassionate to the poor and weak since his academy days, with an excellent reputation. After joining the cabinet as a secretary, seeing the soldiers working hard to guard the city these past few days, he used his own money to have his household servants make mutton soup to help them ward off the cold.

The soldiers guarding the city immediately came alive, joyfully taking turns entering the guard station to drink soup.

Because of this, someone looked up and saw a brilliant red streak suddenly flash across the vast white expanse.

Then wave after wave of red, streak after streak, pierced through the snow curtain and exploded across the horizon.

The soldier was stunned.

It took quite a while before he reacted.

He opened his mouth, his voice already cracking.

“Relay signal flares! Relay signal flares! Enemy assault on the palace city! Enemy!”

Everyone was still dazed. The gate captain, still holding his soup, looked bewildered at the vast white world, “How could anyone assault the palace city at this time? We don’t see any army either. If there were an army, it couldn’t possibly reach here without any commotion!”

Just as he finished speaking, another flash of red light appeared on the horizon, even closer this time.

Fang Huai’an suddenly rushed over and slapped the mutton soup out of the gate captain’s hands.

“Form ranks! Quickly form ranks!”

The usually stern and proper man was now shouting until his voice was hoarse.

The gate captain awakened as if from a dream, shouting loudly, “Form ranks! Close the gates!”

Amid the shouting, armor clashed, boots rang urgently, and countless soldiers rushed down from the city walls. Winches turned with grinding sounds as the palace city gates slowly closed.

Just as the palace gates had just closed and the soldiers had just finished forming ranks.

Behind the massive Zhengyang Gate, in the palace gate plaza, a human figure suddenly appeared.

He stood alone and solitary on the vast snow-covered plaza, looking up at the towering red palace walls and the gate studded with massive copper nails embedded between the palace walls.

The wind and snow from all directions avoided him, forming a huge vacuum around him, with only his light garments floating backward like trailing clouds.

Duanmu’s gaze slowly passed over the countless layers of galleries and flying eaves of this imperial household between heaven and earth.

This was a place where he had once lived.

This was the place where he had last left his footprints.

This was the place he had always been waiting for.

So he had always been waiting in the same spot.

Remaining at the end of that trail of light that had crossed from west to east through Shengdu that year.

But in the end, he had failed to wait for the one who had been hiding in the deep mountains of the southern lands.

Wind and snow lingered overhead, swirling above him into a vortex, with fierce winds howling and broken snow like knives within the vortex.

A soldier on the city tower watching him nervously suddenly cried out, “Look! What is that!”

The vortex above Duanmu’s head grew larger and larger, as if all the wind and snow from the entire plaza were being sucked to the top of his head, so much so that there was no more snow in the rest of the plaza. Because of this, the color of the vortex above his head also grew deeper and deeper, the snow denser and denser, forming a massive cloud mass. The cloud mass then began to shrink, becoming more and more solid, until it condensed into a giant pestle in the air above Duanmu’s head.

Duanmu said softly, “Ten years of life and death, boundless and vast, without thought, yet unforgettable.”

He waved his hand lightly.

The giant pestle descended from heaven, crossing dozens of zhang of plaza space, and thunderously struck the palace city walls.

Like surging waves crashing against shores, broken snow danced with green bricks.

The palace city walls, three feet thick with glutinous rice mortar filling the gaps – walls that even cannon fire might not breach in one blow – were smashed by this pestle formed from ethereal ice and soft snow, creating a gap half a zhang wide. Broken bricks flew out, and soldiers guarding by the city walls covered their faces, wailing as they retreated, blood flowing between their fingers.

Even more shocking was that the moment the broken snow pestle fell, it froze into ice, forming a curved and gleaming ice arch bridge from the palace gate plaza to the city walls.

Like a divine miracle.

“A thousand li of lonely grave, nowhere to speak of desolation.”

With a “boom,” large flames suddenly bloomed behind Duanmu, burning along Zhengyang Gate into a flaming archway. The firelight startled the war horses of the Shengdu Guard who had just galloped up. The horses panicked, neighing incessantly, throwing the Shengdu Guard into chaos.

Overhead, signal flares continued to bloom like blood lines cutting through the pale skin of the vast sky, while below Zhengyang Gate, great fires bloomed like red lotuses amid the misty vastness of all things.

“Even if we were to meet, we should not recognize each other, dust covering the face, temples like frost.”

Duanmu stepped onto the ice arch bridge. Behind him, the arriving Xiahou Chun ordered the frightened mounted warriors to dismount, archers to take position, and ten thousand arrows to fire together.

Before him, after a moment of panic, Fang Huai’an ran all the way, pushing through the dumbstruck guards on the city walls, shouting loudly, “Defend the city! Defend the city!”

The gate captain was awakened by him and instinctively shouted frantically, “Release arrows!”

From the corner towers and battlements, arrows fell like flying locusts over his head.

The two waves of arrows from front and back were about to connect into an arch bridge in mid-air, with Duanmu in the middle.

Before the people above and below the city could rejoice, Duanmu swept his sleeve.

In mid-air, tearing through the flying snow, the rain of arrows that had almost connected into a net suddenly froze.

Everyone watched helplessly as those arrows stopped, accumulated snow, froze into ice, then fell down in unison.

“In dreams at night, I suddenly return home, by the small window, just combing hair.”

Arrowheads stuck into the snowy ground throughout the palace gate plaza like a field of withered flowers.

Duanmu continued walking unhurriedly on the ice arch bridge. Behind him, Xiahou Chun directed soldiers to chop down the ice arch bridge.

He himself took the lead, seizing a heavy nine-ring golden saber, and relying on his great strength and power, thunderously struck the bottom of the ice bridge. With a crack, the huge ice bridge split in two at the base.

But before Xiahou Chun could rejoice, he felt a shadow overhead. Looking up, he saw that Duanmu, who had been in mid-air moments before, had already appeared ghostlike above him, looking down at him expressionlessly. At the same time, the dense red clouds in the sky suddenly brightened, then with a crackling sound, a bolt of lightning that absolutely shouldn’t appear in this weather suddenly appeared above his head!

Brilliant light burst forth, everything became blindingly white. In that moment, Xiahou Chun thought, “My life is over!”

The next instant his body felt light, suddenly flying up, then crashing into an embrace with a faint tobacco scent. The tremendous impact sent both rolling violently in the snow, finally crashing into something hard with a bang.

Xiahou Chun saw stars, unable to see anything clearly for a moment, but instinctively groped around in panic, “Is that you, Di Yiwei? Is that you? Yiwei? Yiwei? Say something, say something!”

With a “smack,” a pipe struck his hand, making him withdraw it. Di Yiwei’s slightly hoarse voice sounded, “Where are you groping?”

Xiahou Chun let out a long sigh of relief, his massive body immediately going limp.

Di Yiwei poked him with her pipe, “Get up, fight again. Are we really going to let him swagger into the imperial palace like this?”

“Fighting is useless. You should know who this person is.” Xiahou Chun felt around and got up, also helping Di Yiwei to her feet. “No amount of lives would be enough to fill the gap. Now we can only keep sending people forward, delaying step by step, until the Crown Princess and Princess Pingzong arrive – then perhaps there might be a chance to fight.”

“Isn’t this person our ally? Why has he suddenly gone mad?”

“This isn’t the time to discuss that.” Xiahou Chun used his nine-ring golden saber to support himself, clanging as it rang. He finally made out Duanmu’s figure approaching the palace city through the wind, snow, and flames.

He was at a high position where arrows couldn’t reach, and chopping the ice bridge was useless. Now they could only hope that the soldiers defending the city could hold out until the Crown Princess arrived.

At this moment on the city walls, the soldiers looked up at the figure walking along the ice bridge with hands clasped behind his back, almost completely losing their will to fight.

In all their military training after enlisting, they had envisioned countless siege methods and trained countless times on how to respond to various attacks, but they had never imagined there could be such a siege method in the world, or such a powerful person.

Even more terrifying than when the Crown Princess descended from heaven carrying a giant eagle.

“Looking at each other without words, only a thousand tears flowing.”

Behind Duanmu, the ice bridge disappeared inch by inch. The snow on the ground was also rapidly disappearing, turning into water that filled the surface of the palace gate plaza, with the water level continuously rising.

The pursuing troops saw the ice bridge disappear and charged toward the plaza, but as soon as they stepped in, they cried out in agony.

The accumulated water was actually scalding hot!

At the same time, the ice bridge suddenly vanished, turning into a waterfall rushing toward the heads of the pursuing soldiers.

Immediately there were screams everywhere as countless people clutched their heads and faces, desperately rushing out of the water curtain.

It was actually boiling water!

Di Yiwei was also in front, with Xiahou Chun one step behind her. Seeing the silver waterfall pouring down over their heads as screams arose, Xiahou Chun suddenly grabbed Di Yiwei’s back, spun her around with his other hand, and simultaneously threw himself forward to embrace her, using his back to shield her body.

The next moment, boiling water poured all over him.

Di Yiwei reacted extremely quickly, touching down with her heel and flying backward, carrying Xiahou Chun over the fire still burning under Zhengyang Gate, and once again crashing heavily into the snowy ground outside the gate. Ignoring the pain of feeling completely shattered from the fall, she rolled over and buried Xiahou Chun in the snow.

While cursing, “You need to lose weight! Dead weight, can’t carry you!”

The instant cooling greatly reduced Xiahou Chun’s burns, but even so, half his face and neck not covered by armor still developed many blisters.

Di Yiwei helped him up, and both looked worriedly toward the palace city.

On the palace city walls, the soldiers were again shocked by the scene they had just witnessed, holding their spears but continuously retreating.

Duanmu was now only steps away from the palace walls.

“I know that year after year, at the heartbreaking place, bright moon night, short pine hill.”

The final line.

His robes fluttered, revealing bare feet – he wasn’t even wearing shoes as he stepped on ice to ascend the palace city.

Only three steps away, and the imperial city would be under his feet.

He raised his hand.

Though his expression was blank, everyone on the city walls felt their hearts sink to the depths, as if seeing death’s summons.