The fortified city was seized, the initiative completely lost.

And behind them would be another round of speed competition – whose reinforcements would arrive first? If the Wei-Yan allied forces arrived first, the Xiliang great army would be caught between enemies front and back. If the Xiliang reinforcements led by Shan Shao arrived first and joined with the two hundred thousand advance troops, retaking Yunzhou and destroying the three hundred thousand allied forces in the city would be much easier.

This was a new round of racing against time, but the competitors were no longer Bai Yuan and Xiao Jue. Even they themselves had no control over the coming situation and could only wait for results.

During the earlier suspension gate crisis, almost the moment Qin Chang Ge and Xiao Jue were in danger, soldiers on the city head began attacking the troops below who wanted to enter the city. Fortunately, Chu Feihuan had fallen behind – his earlier absence from Qin Chang Ge’s side was to redeploy the entering forces, placing shield infantry at the very front to follow the imperial retinue into the city. When arrows flew from the city tower, except for one shield soldier who was distracted and got shot dead, the rest retreated in time without a scratch.

Seeing Qin Chang Ge safely withdraw, Chu Feihuan, who was guarding that side of the gate, relaxed his brow.

The Xiliang great army retreated in order, camping around the city and encircling Yunzhou. The three stepped out of the main tent, gazing at distant Yunzhou City where the banners had been changed – a huge character “Bai” fluttered provocatively in the wind, making Xiao Jue snort involuntarily.

Qin Chang Ge grabbed Chu Feihuan’s arm, her fingers gripping tightly, her gaze fixed on that half-fallen suspension gate as she said in a low voice: “Feihuan, Feihuan, did many people die in Yunzhou?”

Chu Feihuan’s gaze flashed. After a long silence he said: “Don’t think too much. Right now, the most important thing is retaking Yunzhou.”

Qin Chang Ge stared blankly toward Yunzhou, saying quietly: “On that door shaft, there was shredded flesh. At a glance, it looked like someone’s tongue. I don’t know who spat it there, but it warned me.”

She looked with bone-chilling coldness at the soldiers patrolling with large strides on the distant city tower: “When I was entering the city, I felt those soldiers’ gait and posture didn’t look like garrison troops who had been peaceful for years without fighting, but rather like people who had just experienced a blood-thirsty slaughter. Even from that distance, their gazes looked cruel… Feihuan, what did Yunzhou… what did Yunzhou suffer?”

The three looked at each other, each seeing that terrifying thought in the others’ eyes, all immediately averting their gazes, unwilling to face such a cruel possibility.

Xiao Jue shook his head violently, as if trying to shake that hateful thought from his mind, saying grimly through clenched teeth: “If he dares, I will repay him tenfold!”

“We can’t wait,” Qin Chang Ge looked coldly at that “Bai” character banner. “Who knows if waiting until the end means waiting for enemies to attack us from behind?”

She turned to look at Xiao Jue and Chu Feihuan. When their gazes met, all three nodded.

“Bai Yuan assumes I’m exhausted troops from afar who must rest first – I deliberately won’t rest!”

“If we don’t move now, tonight he’ll certainly send men to raid our camp. We won’t be able to rest well anyway.”

“Bai Yuan certainly has defenses, but the allied army isn’t his alone. As long as some people have negligent hearts, we have opportunities to exploit.”

“One vigorous effort, then decline, then exhaustion – since we’ve brought our momentum this far, there’s no need to let it dissipate and start over.”

Xiao Jue smiled and swept his sleeve, shouting loudly: “Attack!”

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Yunzhou Prefectural Governor’s Residence.

Elegant rooms were exquisitely furnished with brocade canopies and pearl curtains. When wind passed through crystal beads, they chimed melodiously.

Before the curtains, Bai Yuan stood with hands behind his back, smiling as he examined the four walls – not looking at famous paintings and calligraphy, but at the wall bricks.

After a moment he smiled and said: “This mansion built with Imperial Fifth Bricks seems not to have protected Magistrate Ma? The legend of Empress Ruiyi’s blessings extending ten thousand miles should have been shattered long ago.”

He spoke toward the wall as if talking to someone.

After a moment of silence, suddenly from behind the curtain came the sounds of “fairy” and “elder” notes – their tone clear and distant, even more brilliant than those crystal beads.

Bai Yuan listened with a trace of smile at the corner of his mouth, his brows showing slight longing. After a long time he said: “Your musical skill has improved even further. The world’s number one musician – probably no one else besides you deserves that title.”

Behind the curtain, no one answered, but the sound of plucking strings arose again. The tone was light and cheerful, like a young maiden playing on swings in spring, her clever laughter like silver bells floating on the wind.

Bai Yuan also laughed – actually with the bright smile of a young man, spreading bit by bit from his brows and eye corners, every arc rippling like spring water.

If someone familiar with him were nearby, they would surely be so stunned as to not recognize him, unable to believe that National Teacher Bai Yuan, who dominated vast territories with ruthless methods, could possess such a bright and pure smile.

With that brilliant smile, Bai Yuan said gently: “Why must you come? Battlefields are dangerous, and moreover… sigh.”

Behind the curtain, light and shadow were dim. The clear zither music arose again – this time starting bright and crisp, then turning low and winding, lingering and endless with inexhaustible joy and tenderness.

Bai Yuan first raised his brows helplessly, but listening further, his smile gradually faded though didn’t completely disappear. Some strange expression solidified between his brows. Reflected by the crystal curtain’s alternating bright and dim pearl light, half clear and half blurred, he actually looked somewhat chilling.

Yet his tone remained exactly the same as before without any change, even his light laughter didn’t alter in the slightest: “Since you insist, then this subject can only risk death to protect your complete safety.”

He turned around, his facial expression already completely normal, elegantly bowing slightly toward the crystal curtain.

“Your Majesty.”

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

On the evening of the nineteenth day of the first month in the sixth year of Qianyuan, after a failed assassination attempt, Xiliang and the Wei-Yan allied forces formally opened the curtain on the final battle for supremacy.

This time Xiliang adopted unconventional tactics. Having lost the initiative with the city occupied, having just arrived at Yunzhou after long-distance marching without time to reorganize, they boldly launched an attack against the Wei-Yan allied forces who held every advantage.

City gate guards were stationed every two meters, with Wei and Yan soldiers occupying half each. When first occupying the city, the allied forces had received orders from the National Teacher and Pure Consort to definitely strengthen defenses tonight without negligence. Eastern Yan soldiers had always viewed the National Teacher as divine, being cautiously respectful and not daring to disobey. But Wei troops didn’t have much favorable feeling toward Pure Consort because Dharma King He Buyu had once criticized this only woman among Northern Wei’s three great leaders: “Snake with woman’s face, demon of deep waters, spying in shadows – she will surely bring disaster to our lord.”

Northern Wei people worshipped He Buyu. With Dharma King’s definitive judgment, Pure Consort’s status, at least in common people’s hearts, was hard to recover.

Commands issued by such a nation-ruining demon were only half-heartedly followed by Northern Wei soldiers. They carried weapons and found sheltered places on the city tower to sleep. Those in better spirits gathered together enthusiastically, pulling from sleeves, pockets, and crotches the gold, silver, pearls and jade they’d collected the previous night, estimating each other’s values while beautifully intoxicated by their suddenly increased wealth.

So an extremely strange scene appeared on the city head. The side guarded by Eastern Yan soldiers had strict banners and solemn expressions, everyone standing straight as spears. The Northern Wei side was scattered and sparse – from a distance, that section of city wall looked like a toothless old woman’s mouth.

The Xiliang great army charged directly at that half of the city wall.

They deployed all the ballistas and catapults they could bring. The ballistas were formed by connecting eight crossbows, using arrows thick as cart axles with arrowheads large as giant axes. The stones used by catapults were as heavy as a ten-year-old child.

At Xiao Jue’s command, thick arrows and huge stones immediately whistled through the long sky, carrying fierce wind sounds as they viciously smashed toward the city wall, followed by burning mud balls wrapped in dry grass and a batch of finished explosive bombs rush-made and provided by Zhongchuan.

In the black night sky, blue light flashed. Deafening impact sounds almost simultaneously struck the heavy city wall. Every stone that fell immediately shaved off battlements on the city head, accompanied by screams of human bodies falling. The subsequent burning and explosive bombs further expanded the destructive power. Northern Wei soldiers hadn’t even finished stuffing their crotches when those glowing orbs of death light had already drilled into their pants, melting those gold and silver treasures along with their own treasures.

Xiliang’s stone-throwing effort was deeply characteristic of their emperor’s style – extremely frenzied. Ballistas and catapults poured endlessly toward the eastern city wall guarded by Northern Wei. Stone carts below repeatedly rammed the city gate. Countless soldiers came like black mad tide, swarming upward, desperately climbing the city wall using hook ropes. Under torchlight, only ant-like surging heads could be seen, constantly falling down then perseveringly continuing to climb.

Eastern Yan soldiers naturally wouldn’t allow the city wall guarded by Northern Wei to be easily breached. After the initial sudden fierce attack, Northern Wei soldiers who couldn’t react in time suffered heavy casualties, but Eastern Yan soldiers quickly provided reinforcements. They fought desperately to resist – shooting and stabbing, smashing and choking, burning and pouring. They systematically lit torches and extended them outside the wall. Dazzling firelight blazed, making the city head a blind spot. Climbing soldiers couldn’t see the wall head situation clearly, but wall head defenders could see attacking movements perfectly, creating a one-sided beating situation.

On the city head, soldiers who climbed up first engaged in face-to-face combat with allied soldiers. The sound of long blades entering flesh continued unceasingly. Fresh blood and muscle seemed like mud, stone, earth, and wood, being wantonly cut down, while lives were cheap as ants, constantly trampled under military boots.

The fierce assault continued all night. Xiliang’s ramming and burning caused some damage to the city wall, but unfortunately, except for that section of demolished wall, Yunzhou’s other walls followed beloved Empress Ruiyi’s orders and were built extremely solid. That large breach from the previous night had already been heavily guarded by Bai Yuan’s early orders. The forces inside the city already exceeded those outside. In siege warfare, attackers always faced higher difficulty. Thus, Xiliang advanced three times and retreated three times. After a whole night of slaughter, they still couldn’t ascend the city wall.

Originally, if this were proper siege warfare, Xiao Jue and Qin Chang Ge had plenty of methods to attack the city – building earthen platforms to occupy high ground and suppress the city wall, or digging tunnels to collapse walls were all good methods. But these all required time, and now, time was what they lacked most.

After a night of siege warfare, the three had also stayed awake all night. Near dawn, Qin Chang Ge fell asleep lying on the desk.

Looking at her, Xiao Jue sighed with infinite tenderness and tiptoed over wanting to put a cloak on her. But Chu Feihuan, who was sitting to the side reading military reports, suddenly shook his hand at him.

Xiao Jue paused and understood his meaning. Chang Ge was extremely alert – putting a cloak on her would wake her. He immediately gave up. Chu Feihuan gestured to him, and the two went out of the tent together.

Looking at the tragic battle situation ahead, Xiao Jue sighed helplessly and ordered retreat. The sound of gongs rang out, and Xiliang began orderly withdrawal.

The great banner with yellow background, red characters, and dancing double dragons on the city head immediately waved wildly, extremely arrogantly.

Xiao Jue snorted heavily. Chu Feihuan said: “Scouts report enemy forces three hundred li beyond Queshang Mountain.”

“In other words, we have at most one day and night to attack Yunzhou,” Xiao Jue frowned. “Shan Shao’s great army is also three to four hundred li away, farther than the Wei-Yan allied forces, but their road conditions are somewhat better. The time needed would be about the same – we really can’t determine who will arrive first.”

“Phoenix Alliance subordinates following the army have been dispatched to search for enemy traces in Queshang Mountain, trying to harass the enemy and delay their arrival,” Chu Feihuan gazed at the Xiliang army withdrawing to camp, his gaze sweeping over Queshang River outside Yunzhou City, speaking extremely slowly: “The enemy relies on the city for battle. Their forces and generals are not inferior to ours. Victory through assault alone is really difficult. Your Majesty, there’s one more method…”

“No, we can’t…” Xiao Jue immediately shook his head, long brows furrowing as he looked toward Queshang River’s direction. “I know you’re talking about water attack. Queshang River is upstream of Yunzhou City. If we break the embankment and divert water to flood Yunzhou, enemy forces would certainly be defeated. But, but… we can’t. Never mind me – even Chang Ge would absolutely never agree.”

“Diverting water to flood the city would destroy all living things. I know Your Majesty can’t bear to have Yunzhou’s four hundred thousand elders buried with them,” Chu Feihuan’s face was almost transparent white under the light, even his lip color was white, but his words were cold and hard as iron. “But, does Yunzhou now still have any elders remaining?”

Xiao Jue was shocked by this statement, whirling around with even his voice changing: “What are you saying? No, it wouldn’t go that far, it wouldn’t!”

“Your Majesty, you know it would, because that person Bai Yuan is completely capable of doing it. What’s more, there are Northern Wei leaders present. Whether Wanyan Chunzhen or the Wei family brothers, none would hesitate to massacre a city. To avoid future troubles, to motivate soldiers – this was always the best method,” Chu Feihuan still had the appearance of being cold as thousand-year ice crystal. “Your Majesty, you simply can’t bear to think about it, just like Chang Ge – Chang Ge is the same.”

Xiao Jue stepped back, looking toward Yunzhou’s direction, his fingers clenched tightly into fists that kept trembling. After a long moment he said: “Four hundred thousand, four hundred thousand human lives… If this is really so, Chang Ge will go mad with rage. Though she never lived in Yunzhou, it’s her ancestral homeland. She was brought into the sect as a child, not knowing her birth or parents. The only thing she knew was what the sect told her – that her ancestral home was Yunzhou. So toward Yunzhou, she always had special feelings. Because of this, I also showed extra kindness to Yunzhou, exempting taxes every year… No, it can’t be.”

“Your Majesty!”

A reporting shout interrupted Xiao Jue’s distracted murmuring. Xiao Jue looked back to see Feng Ziguang standing with lowered head three zhang away, a soldier covered in gray earth and black smoke, extremely bedraggled, behind him.

Xiao Jue stared at that soldier, suddenly feeling an ominous premonition rising in his heart. Who was this? If it weren’t a matter of great importance, would Feng Ziguang bring a small soldier to see the emperor?

Seeing Xiao Jue’s gaze sweep over, Feng Ziguang immediately knelt with a face full of shame, first asking forgiveness for the siege failure. Xiao Jue said lightly: “You did your best. The fault isn’t yours. Haven’t I also been personally supervising the battle? Who is this?”

Feng Ziguang opened his mouth, suddenly seeming to have difficulty speaking. But that soldier suddenly threw himself forward, kneeling at Xiao Jue’s feet in the dust, raising his face full of smoke and blood traces, crying loudly.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! This commoner is a Yunzhou garrison soldier who escaped in the chaos… Yunzhou… Yunzhou City’s four hundred thousand elders, all four hundred thousand elders have been massacred!”

…

Xiao Jue suddenly swayed, his face instantly turning sallow. Feng Ziguang caught him, anxiously calling: “Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty must not be troubled – the dragon body is important…”

“Bullshit!” The second curse word of Xiao Jue’s life finally exploded furiously from his mouth at this moment. He felt his entire heart cavity burning with fierce fire, what surged to his throat was the taste of blood and rust. Such overwhelming anger rushed over him that for a moment he didn’t know what to do.

Feng Ziguang’s panicked continuous calls rang in his ears. Xiao Jue only felt it was chaotic and noisy, viciously shoving Feng Ziguang away. Feng Ziguang was pushed several zhang, rolling far on the ground.

That soldier crawled forward on his knees a few steps, knocked his head once, heavily striking the dust. When he raised it, his face was already covered in fresh blood.

“Your Majesty! Last night in Yunzhou, blood flowed in streams with countless corpses. Human heads piled into mountains on Chengtian Street! In the entire city, not one person preserved their life, not one woman preserved their chastity. Yunzhou’s four hundred thousand elders were exterminated in one night!”

He wept profusely, knocking his head against the ground with banging sounds.

“I beg Your Majesty to avenge our Yunzhou elders!”

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Qin Chang Ge was dreaming.

Before her eyes, shadows wavered with misty vapors constantly wandering – seeming like shark silk curtains in Longzhang Palace fluttering, or like pearl curtains in her Grand Tutor residence’s inner chamber. Those curtains layer upon layer – she parted them layer by layer walking forward, but like entering a maze, she couldn’t reach the end no matter what.

Just as she was puzzled and anxious, suddenly the curtain before her lifted and Rong’er emerged from behind it with a grinning smile, holding red clothing in his hands: “Mother, let’s exchange clothes.”

The clothing in his hands was ordinary men’s clothing, just particularly large. She accepted it in bewilderment, thinking hazily: When did Rong’er grow so big? Needing clothes of this size? Exchange clothes? With whom?

Before she could think clearly, the scene before her eyes suddenly changed, as if she were on some boat. Rong’er was waving on the boat, having put large red clothing over his small robe, smiling: “Mother, still not changing?” Then with a leap, he jumped over the ship’s rail.

Water splashed up, standing like crystal walls – a familiar scene. It seemed something crystal-bright suddenly swept across the heart lake. Qin Chang Ge’s heart also trembled and brightened with a flash of inspiration.

With a “splash,” a human head suddenly surged up from the water waves – but it was a strange woman’s countenance, with dripping wet, fierce brows and eyes. She opened her mouth – full of fresh blood!

She cried out in the water:

“Empress!! Yunzhou is your phoenix-dwelling place – why don’t you protect hundreds of thousands of sisters in my Yunzhou!”

“Why! Why!”

…

Qin Chang Ge was startled by that great cry, her whole body trembling as she suddenly sat up. Her gaze swept around – military reports, desks, weapon racks, landscape maps, still the same imperial tent as before. Where were any Rong’er, boat, or strange crying woman?

It turned out to be but a dream.

Yet not entirely like a dream.

Qin Chang Ge supported her cheek with her palm, quietly thinking. Her heart alternated between light and dark. Some things she hadn’t understood before suddenly became clear due to this strange dream.

Her fingertips slowly traced across the desk, writing a few characters.

Dimly hearing voices outside the tent, she walked out.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Xiao Jue had already regained composure, only his face looked truly terrible. His hand kept pressing on the camp gate’s wooden beam – the rough wood’s thorns pierced his palm, but he seemed unaware of the pain.

Word by word, he listened to the complete account of Yunzhou’s massacre. He seemed to have just recovered from a great illness, leaning heavily backward and staring at the horizon without speaking.

Beside him, Chu Feihuan’s face had turned indescribably white.

After a long time, Xiao Jue finally said with infinite weariness: “I understand. This revenge, I will definitely repay. But,” he looked at Chu Feihuan, “let’s not tell her first…”

“I already know.”

A voice, clear and cold, carrying forest-like coldness and killing intent that only familiar people could perceive, suddenly came.

At the camp entrance, Qin Chang Ge stood quietly with dark, deep eyes.

Meeting Xiao Jue’s worried gaze, she slightly raised her chin – a firm gesture declaring determination and resolution.

She even smiled a little, only her smile was truly hair-raising.

“Since Yunzhou has no more Xiliang subjects, since my four hundred thousand elders have all perished, then if I continue to hesitate and waver, I would be too sorry for those four hundred thousand wronged souls, too sorry for those Yunzhou sisters who bit off their tongues and died with eyes wide open, whose heroic spirits didn’t disperse but entered my dreams to give me a blood-stained cry.”

She turned her head, looking toward Queshang River’s direction.

“Drown them all!”