On the twentieth day of the first month in the sixth year of Emperor Qian Yuan’s reign, after failing to capture the city, Xiliang forces angrily breached the Queshang Embankment, causing the Queshang River to flood backwards into Yunzhou. The city’s more than one hundred thousand enemy troops were completely annihilated.
Though this was merely a small-scale battle in a localized theater of war, the Battle of Queshang Embankment truly became the key turning point in the Yunzhou campaign, historically known as the Battle of Queshang.
In this battle, Northern Wei’s Concubine Chun died. That ambitious woman had hoped that Yunzhou would see Xiliang’s grand army destroyed, allowing her to plunder and partition Xiliang’s heartland, thereby adding substantial weight to her claim over one-third of Northern Wei’s political power. Instead, she met her downfall at Queshang Embankment, her once-aspiring phoenix banner reduced to fragments, completely swept away by the torrential waters of the Queshang River.
In this battle, Eastern Yan general Yi Cheng was severely wounded but managed to escape with his life thanks to his subordinates’ desperate rescue efforts. He rendezvoused with Bai Yuan’s main force, which had preserved most of its strength by withdrawing from the city in time, meeting in the ancient mountain passes of the Queshang Range behind Yunzhou. There, the follow-up Wei-Yan allied forces had already arrived. Bai Yuan firmly rejected the generals’ suggestions to counterattack the Xiliang army, leading the grand army across the Queshang mountains into the plains.
Tai Chang Ge led twenty thousand Xiliang cavalry in hot pursuit. Unable to traverse the mountain range with cavalry, she took a direct detour through the nearby border territory of former Nanmin lands. For several days and nights, she herself went without food, never dismounting, never sleeping, while her cavalry only ate dried rations on horseback. On the second evening, they caught up with the Northern Wei forces, beginning continuous pursuit and harassment warfare. Sometimes they would skirmish with the Yan troops trailing behind, sometimes they would raid camps during meal preparations, or harass them in the dead of night when they slept soundly, leaving the Yan army unable to rest and constantly fleeing in exhaustion. Whenever the enemy tried to turn and form battle formations to deal with her, Tai Chang Ge would immediately flee shamelessly.
Tai Chang Ge simultaneously ordered the garrison forces at Dingyang ahead to march out in support, but she moved so quickly that the reinforcements couldn’t catch up for a time. The conflict shifted from siege warfare to continuous field battles, with the battlefield moving from Xiliang’s borders into what had been Northern Wei territory.
On the second day of pursuit, a guest arrived in the army, whom Tai Chang Ge joyfully welcomed into the camp.
On the third day of pursuit, ahead lay “Tiger’s Mouth Cliff,” one hundred li from Yucheng. Tiger’s Mouth Cliff formed a narrow passage with jagged rocks jutting like fangs in interlocking patterns. From a distance, it resembled a great tiger’s maw opening wide, ready to devour anyone who approached.
Wind passing through the cliff opening was torn to shreds by those fangs, creating fragmented sounds like low moaning.
Behind the mountain cliff lay layer upon layer of dense forest, dark and mysterious, stretching endlessly into the distance.
Scouts galloped back from ahead, reporting with raised eyebrows: “Report to the Grand Tutor, there’s no movement ahead. The front shows confused hoofprints and some discarded items. From the traces, it appears large forces have passed through the cliff opening.”
Tai Chang Ge reined in her horse before the cliff opening, raised her eyes to survey the passage ahead, then suddenly stretched lazily and said: “I’m tired. Pass down the order – no more pursuit. Time to sleep.”
The accompanying deputy general Tan Shuqing looked up at Tai Chang Ge in bewilderment. What was wrong with the Grand Tutor? Though the terrain ahead was treacherous, the allied forces had been pursued so urgently these past few days – where would they have had time to set elaborate traps? Moreover, the scouts had already investigated and found nothing suspicious. If they didn’t seize this opportunity to pursue, the distance between both sides would only grow greater.
Tai Chang Ge smiled and said: “Why are you staring at me? Did flowers grow on my face?”
Tan Shuqing was left speechless and didn’t dare say another word. He passed down orders layer by layer to set up camp and rest on the spot. Tai Chang Ge looked at how they pitched the camp and said: “Form a circle, station the crossbow units on the outer perimeter, stay away from that stream, and don’t camp too close to the cliff.”
Tan Shuqing felt helpless – clearly camping against the cliff would provide windbreaks and convenient water access, so why did the Grand Tutor insist on doing the opposite? But who dared disobey the Grand Tutor’s orders?
Once camp was established, Tai Chang Ge dove into her tent saying: “I’m going to sleep. No one is allowed to disturb me.”
Tan Shuqing watched resentfully as the Grand Tutor slept soundly while he dutifully went to personally stand guard and keep watch.
The night grew quiet and still, with only the wind passing through Tiger’s Mouth Cliff, carrying the lonely rhythm that had existed since primordial times, continuously singing through the cliff and dense forest.
A crescent moon hung atop the cliff peak, pale and cold like a dying candle flame suspended among the treetops.
Those diagonal tree shadows reflected in the moonlight looked like wounds that could never heal, while the iron-wall-like cliff face, with its folds and shadows alternately bright and dark in the moonlight, resembled a face that had endured countless vicissitudes and wars.
The cold moonlight illuminated that “face,” and suddenly tears seemed to slowly creep across it.
Looking carefully, they were actually small black dots moving rapidly.
The Xiliang camp remained utterly silent and motionless.
“Whoosh! Whoosh whoosh!”
Suddenly brilliant red light flickered like a shooting star shower of red descending from the sky, arrows shooting down from the cliff walls in droves, trailing splendid fire-phoenix tail feathers through the night sky.
Directed at the Xiliang camp.
From the pitch-black, motionless camp, hundreds of black shadows suddenly sprang up – agile and swift, their bodies like flying fish leaping over water. Hundreds of long swords flashed in unison, forming an enormous curtain of light in the night sky, impenetrable and brilliantly dazzling, deflecting and extinguishing all the fire arrows intended to burn the Xiliang camp and destroy the soldiers’ morale.
With continuous clanging sounds, the camp that had seemed dimly lit suddenly blazed with bright light. In the brightness, all the leather tents bristled with powerful bows and crossbows, all aimed at the Yan troops climbing down the mountain cliff – killing one for each they spotted.
With a long laugh, the main tent flap was suddenly thrown back, and Tai Chang Ge strode out fully dressed, her black cloak billowing in the wind. She looked up at the mountain cliff and laughed: “Couldn’t wait any longer? Don’t like the feeling of being chased like wolves and rats? This place has excellent feng shui – I plan to bury you right here. Are you satisfied?”
A pale golden figure flashed, and Bai Yuan appeared on the mountain cliff, standing perilously on the tip of a constantly swaying dead tree, smiling: “Wonderful. Shall we be buried together? You’ve been chasing me so fiercely – you must have much to say to me. Do you want me to take you as a concubine again?”
He waved his hand, and with a thunderous roar, teams of Yan troops poured out from behind the broken cliff, surrounding the Xiliang camp from the opposite direction.
“I don’t want to be your concubine. I want to be your life’s terminator.” Tai Chang Ge smiled with narrowed eyes. “These are Yan army elite heavy infantry, aren’t they? Seeing that my cavalry is disadvantaged in close combat and cannot utilize long-range penetrating charges in this terrain, you want to crush me in one blow? Tsk tsk, ten thousand crossbow troops, five thousand archers, ten thousand spear troops, five thousand sword-and-shield troops, five thousand mo dao troops… excellent tactics for dealing with cavalry.”
“Your eyesight is truly sharp, which makes me even more determined in my thinking,” Bai Yuan smiled. “Let our soldiers fight amongst themselves. Would you like to come up so we two can have a proper talk?”
“This has always been personal grievance between you and me. Now that we finally have the chance to speak face to face and settle things clearly, how could I bear to pass up this opportunity?” Under the moonlight, Tai Chang Ge smiled coldly, her gaze profound and deep.
She lifted her leg and leaped up like a sharp sword, reaching the cliff in two or three steps. She stood on the branch of a tree opposite Bai Yuan, choosing an angle where he couldn’t ambush her, and smiled: “Good evening. Is Her Majesty the Queen in good health?”
“Thanks for asking,” Bai Yuan replied gently. “I’ve already ordered the main army to escort her away, otherwise it wouldn’t be bad for you two to meet.”
“Where did she go?” Tai Chang Ge asked with the casualness of speaking to a pleasant guest.
“Wherever you go, she goes elsewhere,” Bai Yuan answered in an absurd manner.
The two conversed with scholarly elegance, showing none of the hostile atmosphere of drawn swords and taut bowstrings. Just from their expressions, those who didn’t know might think these two were chatting about family matters under the moon.
“What a pity,” Tai Chang Ge smiled. “I’d really like to meet someone who can make Minister Bai disregard everything to protect her.”
“To be able to deduce the Queen’s presence in the army from my actions alone – you truly live up to your reputation as someone equal to the Queen.”
…
A moment of silence, as the thin paper concealing alliance secrets was casually torn open by that person’s indifferent manner.
After a long pause, Tai Chang Ge smiled and said softly: “You’ve finally confirmed that I am who I am?”
This question was asked strangely, but Bai Yuan laughed and said: “Yes, just as you’ve finally confirmed that I am who I am.”
In their gazes, clouds and mist churned, and beyond the clouds and mist, infinite private grievances gradually surged up. Tai Chang Ge looked at Bai Yuan with emotion and said slowly: “The great fire at Changle, the Empress’s murder – the world thought it was nothing more than palace intrigue, political maneuvering, or estrangement between Emperor and Empress leading to mutual harm. No one could guess that all the planning actually extended beyond Xiliang, spanning six nations, and the killing net cast from behind was controlled by you, Minister Bai of distant Eastern Yan.”
Gently breaking the branch in her hand into pieces bit by bit, Tai Chang Ge smiled lightly: “You’re truly miraculous. Your reach is so long.”
Bai Yuan smiled with his hands behind his back, and after a while said: “You’re also quite miraculous. Someone who clearly died, someone whose eyes were gouged out and died thoroughly, actually revived years later and made a comeback, ultimately posing an enormous threat to the six nations… Such supernatural and bizarre events are hard not to believe!”
“Some people still don’t believe it to this day,” Tai Chang Ge said gently. “For example, Shui Jingchen.”
Blinking, Bai Yuan asked curiously: “How do you know?”
“In the battle at Feizhen, Shui Jingchen called me ‘Grand Tutor Zhao’ – he didn’t connect me with Ruiyi at all.” Tai Chang Ge said lightly: “At that moment I was certain he must have participated in the murder that night, because only someone who had witnessed Ruiyi’s death with their own eyes and had no opportunities for personal contact with me afterward would find it difficult to believe in her resurrection. As you said, Ruiyi died completely – even her bones were divided up. What basis would there be to think she could still be alive?”
“You guessed that Jingchen took one-third of your bone relics?” Bai Yuan raised an eyebrow. “Do you know where those bone relics are now?”
“I’m not interested in knowing,” Tai Chang Ge shrugged. “Bones are just bones. Whether you use them to line pig pens or feed them to chickens as fodder, it has nothing to do with me.”
“How could we so insult the remains of Xiliang’s founding Empress?” Bai Yuan chuckled lightly. “I gave them to my sister to pad her grave. Poor thing, after she died, I was young and had little influence, so I buried her too shallow. The next day her corpse was dragged out and gnawed clean by wild dogs before going into their bellies. I could only secretly burn her remains later without telling my mother. Such a small handful of ashes, contained in a box – I felt she was too lonely, and she must have wanted to see with her own eyes the bones of the Xiliang Empress, to see whether the bones of the person who caused her early death were the same as hers. So I had Jingchen bring them to me.”
His tone was calm, his expression flowing like wind, his demeanor remaining as casual and indifferent as before. He didn’t seem to be telling his mortal enemy about his sister’s tragic death, but rather chatting with a beauty under the moon and flowers.
A sudden cold wind rose on the cliff, swirling and lifting the hems of both their robes. The wind carried waves of bone-chilling cold.
Tai Chang Ge fell silent, and after a while said: “Battlefield victories and defeats, the victor becomes king and the loser becomes bandit – this is the most ordinary thing… Bai Yuan, you’re too extreme.”
After thinking, she added: “Wrong, I think I should call you Cheng Yuan… isn’t that right?”
Bai Yuan’s expression showed slight shock at that moment. The utterance of this surname caused his thoughts to drift slightly, remembering some past events he preferred to keep buried, recalling when the Cheng family clan had once been glorious yet suffered complete downfall overnight, thereafter wandering in foreign lands and enduring humiliation. He remembered his sister’s death and his mother’s night of sorrowful songs, remembered the distant fragrant sleeve hems of Jingyang Palace and that lifetime of missed opportunities.
All of this was bestowed by this woman.
Cheng Yuan, Cheng Yuan – what a strange name.
That once-noble surname had long since vanished in Northern Wei’s turbulent history, becoming the blankest page in the dusty records beneath the feet of nobles, never again to have glorious deeds written for it.
Those trampled and shattered things scattered in the wind long ago – family, surname.
When he left Northern Wei, he changed his surname to Bai, homophone for “defeat,” corresponding to that “Cheng” (success).
He had once sworn to himself that he would not change his surname until he had his revenge. But when he finally achieved his revenge, he suddenly felt that changing back was no longer necessary.
Because the Queen had said: “Bai Yuan, white as snow, deep as an abyss – a very good name.”
The Queen had said this sentence in three parts, which delighted him greatly.
Since revenge was achieved, what surname he bore no longer mattered. Let that Cheng Yuan die forever, leaving only the name the Queen favored.
Bai Yuan showed a mocking smile, his eyes still brilliant in the dark night as he glanced at Tai Chang Ge: “…I’m extreme? Your Imperial Majesty, if your father had been killed by me and your family had suffered disaster as a result, been stripped of property, been expelled, with the great king ordering that no one could shelter your orphaned family, making Northern Wei uninhabitable and forcing your family to wander in foreign lands, suffering endless bullying and cold shoulders, with noble ladies from then on kneeling on the ground, engaging in menial labor to feed their families, yet still unable to prevent the death of a weak daughter… tell me, would you remain unmoved? Would you be calm and indifferent? Would you not think of revenge? If you would, then you wouldn’t be Tai Chang Ge, just as I – if I didn’t seek revenge, I wouldn’t be Bai Yuan!”
Tai Chang Ge looked deeply at Bai Yuan. Back then, at the bottom of Yusuo Lake during those three nights sharing a bed, when she asked “husband’s great name,” he answered “Chen Yuan.” She asked “Cheng of success and failure, or Chen with ear and east radicals” – in that instant his changing expressions were all seen by her. After escaping danger, she pondered for a long time, finally thinking of Cheng Yu from the Yucheng battle years ago, who had been killed by her arrow in anger for launching a sneak attack that severely wounded Xiao Jue. She immediately asked Fei Huan to use all of Huang Meng’s power to investigate the whereabouts of the Cheng family clan. The final information was that after the Yucheng battle, the Cheng family had been purged by the Wei King, their property confiscated and the family expelled. The hundred-year noble clan had scattered like clouds, with clan members reduced to lowly Northern Wei commoners, mostly engaging in bottom-tier occupations for survival. The direct bloodline of Cheng Yu’s wife and children had left Northern Wei with unknown whereabouts. Through further investigation, eventually finding Cheng Lady’s close friends from her maiden days, they learned that the Cheng family descendants had ended up in Eastern Yan.
At this point, if she still couldn’t figure out who Bai Yuan was or who had plotted her death so meticulously, Tai Chang Ge wouldn’t be Tai Chang Ge – she’d be a pig.
With a gentle sigh, Tai Chang Ge said: “Your father was killed by me, but on the battlefield we were enemies – either you die or I live. Moreover, your father was purged by the Wei King because when the Wei King was in danger, your father didn’t go to rescue him but only focused on assassinating me. His intentions, I think both you and I understand clearly. Because the Wei King believed your father’s heart was damnable, it led to your Cheng family’s disaster. The reason he became the only general who died fighting for the cause yet didn’t have his memorial tablet placed in the merit officials’ shrine after Northern Wei’s founding, the only general who received no hereditary honors – the root cause lies in your father himself.”
Bai Yuan remained silent for a long time, then said lightly: “I only know that if my father hadn’t died, everything that followed wouldn’t have happened.”
“Right, if your father hadn’t died, given his prestige at the time and his patient, cunning calculations, who knows – perhaps the second-generation Wei King sitting on the throne now would be you.” Tai Chang Ge smiled mockingly. “In the end, it really was I who ruined your father’s grand scheme, directly causing the Cheng family to fall from heaven to hell. The hatred you’ve harbored for so many years naturally needs to be properly settled with me.”
“I’ve already settled this account – with you, and with Wei King Yuan Xian.” Bai Yuan looked up at the sky with his hands behind his back. “A gentleman’s private grievances are clear. I’ve already killed you once – paternal revenge has long been repaid. By rights, I shouldn’t kill you a second time. So after I vaguely guessed who you were, I didn’t completely go for the kill. But even if I don’t want to kill you again, you absolutely won’t let me go, will you?”
Tai Chang Ge didn’t answer, and after a while said: “Bai Yuan, I have three questions about you that I don’t understand. Are you willing to answer?”
Bai Yuan brushed his sleeves and said lightly: “I’ll answer what I can.”
“Why did you massacre Yunzhou?”
“That wasn’t my idea, but I also didn’t oppose it,” Bai Yuan looked up absently at the moon above the cliff. “Since it benefited our army, why would I oppose it?”
“Why did you send troops to aid Wei? Why choose to fight far from your homeland in another country? Even bringing the Queen along?”
Bai Yuan slowly smiled, this time giving her an expression indicating he didn’t intend to answer.
But Tai Chang Ge was shaking her head, making tsk-tsk sounds: “This is what I’ve always been puzzled about, but I no longer need your answer. Minister Bai, over these years your legends have been widely circulated – what playing with male favorites and avoiding women, what being domineering and overshadowing the Queen – I think it’s all nonsense, smoke screens you deliberately released. You harbor feelings for your Queen, don’t you?”
Bai Yuan smiled slightly.
“Unfortunately, the beauty Luofu already has a husband, her heart belongs to another.” Tai Chang Ge smiled wickedly and detestably. “Unreachable and unattainable, watching the woman you love nestled beside another while you can only swallow your jealous words – how does this fit Minister Bai’s style? You mobilized Eastern Yan’s entire army for distant warfare in another country, you instigated the Queen’s personal campaign while keeping it secret – what are you plotting?”
“What am I plotting?” Bai Yuan smiled. “My King’s personal campaign, with heavenly might and vast power to destroy your Xiliang – that’s my plot.”
“You’re a madman,” Tai Chang Ge ignored him, only shaking her head with a face full of cold meaning. “What family, country, and world, what annexation and conquest – none of it matters to you. What you care about has always been only your own private desires. What does Eastern Yan mean to you? What does honor mean to you? As long as you can exchange this life for a chance to have a beauty by your side, why not throw it all away!”
Bai Yuan looked at her with a smile, still not answering.
The moonlight grew even colder, like a huge piece of unripe ice suspended in the night sky. The high wind blowing past seemed to produce the sound of light tapping.
“Poor Eastern Yan, poor Queen – both turned into tools for your casual use,” Tai Chang Ge sighed with pity. “Whether the Wei-Yan alliance wins or loses, you don’t care at all. If Eastern Yan is destroyed, that’s perfect. When the Queen is no longer a queen, when her royal husband ‘dies protecting the country’ – of course, if he doesn’t protect the country you’ll still find a chance to kill him – then the Queen who has lost both husband and country is just an ordinary, heartbroken little woman. Who could comfort her better, who could give her happiness for the rest of her life better than Minister Bai, who has always sworn to follow and protect her devotedly?”
“You can’t usurp her position or destroy her country, because even if you gained her body, you’d never gain her heart. So you can only add fuel to the fire and create disasters, then protect the flower with all your strength during the disaster. With your martial arts, protecting her safety should be no problem. This world is vast – where can’t you go? I bet you’ve even arranged the escape route long ago.” Tai Chang Ge applauded. “Minister Bai, I’ve never seen someone like you in my life. What should I call you? A sentimental madman? A cruel lover? A tyrant who would disturb the world for a beauty’s backward glance?”
“You truly have incomparable wisdom, able to deduce so many things from just a few clues, even seeing clearly into others’ innermost secrets. Tai Chang Ge, I admire you,” Bai Yuan said gently:
“But you’re wrong about one thing. Don’t say I’m using Wanlan. Wanlan is different from you. Though she shares your reputation, what they share is only appearance. Due to her physical condition, she’s not obsessed with power. Strip away the Queen’s crown, and she’s just an ordinary mortal. Because of her physical condition, she can’t indulge too much in the pursuit of power. These years, I’ve watched her trapped by state affairs, thinking day and night about how to resist Xiliang, sleeping at the third watch and rising at the fifth, working tirelessly, her health getting worse day by day. That talented royal husband who only loves music, chess, calligraphy and painting just fills the Cloud Sunflower Palace with famous artworks from around the world, buried daily in piles of books – he’s truly useless. You see, she’s so tired. If I don’t help her, who will?”
“Come on, helping her find relief means destroying her country and killing her husband. Bai Yuan, your logic is truly outrageous. Being loved by you is truly eight lifetimes of bad luck,” Tai Chang Ge sneered disdainfully. “I’m too lazy to discuss your romantic history with you – that would only frighten me. Now I’ll ask you one final question.”
“How exactly did you kill Ruiyi?”
How, did, you, kill, me?
The cold moon was silent, clouds flew past in layers, the wind suddenly grew stronger, making the leaves rustle loudly. The battle below continued. These two highest-level power holders of Eastern Yan and Xiliang had already given their battle strategies to their subordinate generals beforehand, so now they just sat calmly high in the trees, quietly laying out past grievances, worldly situations, human treachery, and changing fortunes.
The shouting and killing sounds from below reached the cliff and were immediately scattered by the wind, along with the moonlight broken into thousands of pieces, compressed into powder by the peaceful yet coldly dangerous words.
“How did I kill you? I wanted to kill, so I killed.” Bai Yuan chuckled lightly, making a crushing gesture with his finger.
“With just your power alone, without even appearing personally, you think you could kill me? That underestimates me too much.” Tai Chang Ge sneered coldly. “Bragging also depends on who you’re talking to. Bai Yuan, I won’t underestimate you, but don’t make me feel that I overestimated you before.”
“Then who do you think it was?” Under the moonlight, Bai Yuan’s raised eyebrow was like an unreachable slanted high cliff, transmitting coldness and scrutiny from the darkness. “If I couldn’t kill you, then who helped me?”
Tai Chang Ge pursed her lips, and after a while said lightly: “Yu Zixi.”
Showing a mysterious smile, Bai Yuan said: “Oh?”
“That night six years ago was a night when heroes gathered and winds and clouds met.” Tai Chang Ge had half her face sunk in the dim moonlight, her slightly low voice floating eerily in the darkness.
“I was very honored that my death attracted the attention of many people. That night, Empress Dowager Jiang stood outside the long corridor, directing from afar to add fuel to the fire; that night, Prince Zhao Xiao Chen stood before Changle Palace, dismissing all the guards; that night, there were also distant guests waiting for that deadly outcome. But none of them were the real murderer.”
Twisting the branch in her hand into a circle, Tai Chang Ge smiled: “All things cycle, birth and death never cease. Where there is an end, there must be a beginning, just as things must be explained from even further back.”
She made a gathering gesture, as if stringing together those scattered clues that had rolled everywhere like pearls in unknown corners.
She said softly: “The wealthy merchant of Chen East, An Feiqing.”
Bai Yuan’s eyebrow imperceptibly twitched.
“This was your contact person arranged in Xiliang, wasn’t it? Specifically responsible for communication between you and Yu Zixi. An Feiqing left the city before and after the Changle incident – he was actually going to report relevant developments to you or Shui Jingchen. After that, he was eliminated, and my subordinates got some clues from a dismissed servant in his family’s separate residence in the capital, confirming that he originally came from Eastern Yan.”
“On the day of the incident, An Feiqing ordered his coachman to harness the carriage, saying he wanted to go to Tianheng Street to buy some gifts to take home. Departing from Nansi Street, there was clearly a shortcut to Tianheng Street, but An Feiqing insisted on taking a detour through Xifu Street. During the journey, somehow the well-traveling carriage suddenly tilted and crashed into the stone lion guarding a mansion gate. The gatekeeper came out cursing, and the coachman was busy apologizing and making nice. He was illiterate and could only vaguely remember that the plaque had four characters.”
Tai Chang Ge smiled: “It was the four characters of Prince Jing’an’s Mansion, wasn’t it?”
Bai Yuan smiled without speaking. Tai Chang Ge continued: “As soon as I heard this information, I thought of Prince Jing’an’s Mansion. At that time, there weren’t many mansions with four-character plaques on Xifu Street – there were two idle princes and a former dynasty’s Princess De’s mansion, which was even more unrelated. So the most likely candidate was Yu Zixi, who could enter and exit the palace without restriction. At that hour, what could he and An Feiqing do meeting on the street?”
“It’s just that,” Tai Chang Ge smiled self-mockingly, “at the time, I was unwilling to believe it. Yu Zixi had saved both Xiao Jue’s and my lives on the battlefield. Though he and I seemed incompatible, we actually appreciated each other greatly. I thought that even if he didn’t consider me a friend, he wouldn’t harm me. But who knows what might happen in this world?…”
“Yes,” Bai Yuan chimed in, his expression quite regretful, “who knows?”
“Who knows indeed? Killing people too hastily can also cause missed opportunities.” Tai Chang Ge also expressed regret. “I don’t know if it was you or Yu Zixi, but you silenced the An family too hastily. Do you know? An Feiqing should have been a very alert person, an excellent spy. He could actually discover we were investigating him and trace back to me through the source. At the Blazing Flame Gang, he arranged assassins to kill me, but didn’t succeed. Immediately after, he was silenced, not having had time to report his suspicions to you. That’s why I could continue hiding for so long. Honestly, after that assassin, I waited a long time for follow-up killing moves, never expecting that you yourselves cut off the clues leading to me.”
She glanced sideways at Bai Yuan: “Isn’t this called heaven having eyes, or bringing destruction upon oneself?”
Bai Yuan smiled as he watched her: “Tai Chang Ge, why do I feel like you’re going in circles without getting to the point? Why don’t you ask who devised the plan? Who made the mechanism? Who gouged out the eyes? Who made sure that even after death you bore infamy, making Xiao Jue think you eloped with someone and not seek revenge for you?”
“Who? You, of course.” Tai Chang Ge sneered coldly. “I only settle this account with you and Shui Jingchen. Even Yu Zixi, though he played a very important role in this, I still believe killing me wasn’t his original intention. He must have some weakness in your grasp. Bai Yuan, what exactly did you do to make such a proud and unruly person controllable by you to this extent?”
“I did nothing,” Bai Yuan casually played with the jade flute in his palm, his expression relaxed. “From beginning to end, I only used my brain and mouth. I didn’t get a single drop of your blood on me.”
“You just had others get it dirty, you just handed everything over to others to do, just like when I was questioning at the pavilion, Shui Jingchen released Yunhua, making Xiao Jue and me focus our attention on Xiao Chen – that was also your instruction, wasn’t it?”
“Tai Chang Ge, you’re clear as a mirror. Since you already understand everything – what you should know and what you shouldn’t know, you know it all – then why do you still come to ask me?” Bai Yuan laughed heartily, pointing his purple bamboo flute toward the cliff below. “After talking all this nonsense for so long, the battle should be finished, shouldn’t it?”
He gracefully stood up, making as if to leave.
Tai Chang Ge looked down at the cliff. The Eastern Yan army couldn’t match Xiliang’s fierce warriors, especially with Tai Chang Ge’s Huang Meng members assisting. They had already suffered seven or eight-tenths losses. With such heavy casualties, Bai Yuan showed no signs of anxiety or regret, just casually preparing to leave.
After thinking, Tai Chang Ge couldn’t help but sneer coldly: “Whose unlucky army is this that you’re using for expenditure again?”
Bai Yuan smiled with extreme elegance: “The thirty-five thousand heavy infantry, archers, and foot soldiers left behind to intercept today are the royal husband’s family’s private army. The Queen values the royal husband highly and specially granted his family the right to command troops. However, now facing powerful enemies, this concerns the fate of our nation. A little personal desire shouldn’t matter. The royal husband understands righteousness deeply and eagerly offers them up. How could I disappoint his good intentions and abandon them unused?”
He straightened up and stepped forward lightly. Ahead was empty space, yet he walked as if on solid ground, step by step treading through the mist halfway up the mountain. With his sleeves fluttering, he leisurely looked up at the cold crescent moon and said gently: “Tai Chang Ge, you yourself know that things are not so simple…”
He smiled and raised his hand. A flash of pale gold and light green, and he said extremely gently: “But you know about seven or eight-tenths of it. You can rest assured and die again.”
Tai Chang Ge sat motionless, picking at her nails, and said: “I’m not interested. You should be the one to die.”
Before her words finished, white light flashed.
Like a huge white mandala blooming on the dark cliff.
Thousands of strands, sword energy crisscrossing, cascading down like the Milky Way, all the light of stars and moon instantly gathered at the bottom of that magnificent sword, dragged up fiercely, whistling as it enveloped Bai Yuan.
One sword splitting the firmament, cleaving the long sky.
But Bai Yuan suddenly disappeared.
His strike toward Tai Chang Ge had actually been a feint. That palm wind suddenly changed direction midway, striking the mountain cliff. With a thunderous crash, large pieces of rubble fell. Tai Chang Ge and others couldn’t help but dodge, while Bai Yuan had already borrowed that recoil force to swing far away.
Almost instantly, his laughing voice was already several li away: “I knew you wouldn’t have the guts to be alone with me, and indeed you had backup… We’ll meet ahead, and then… haha.”
The final laugh was already so distant it seemed to cross mountain ranges.
Tai Chang Ge smiled helplessly and murmured: “Why are all the worst big bosses so ridiculously powerful? This rule is really annoying.”
Looking up, she smiled at the white-robed figure standing with hands behind his back watching her. He returned her smile, his expression containing some distant and remote flavor, yet still graceful and infinitely refined.
He said softly: “Sorry, once this guy gets a head start on escaping, even I can’t catch up.”
Tai Chang Ge waved her hand: “Su Xuan, it’s already good that you came to save me. Without you, how would I dare speak face to face with someone like that?”
“You also have things you don’t dare do?” Su Xuan smiled, but his smile quickly faded. His expression seemed troubled, with shadows across his brow, as if he wanted to speak but hesitated.
“What’s wrong?” Tai Chang Ge’s crystal-clear heart wasn’t grown for nothing – she looked at him with surprise.
Su Xuan pondered for a long time, appearing to weigh his words carefully. He had always been carefree and unrestrained – when had he ever shown such hesitant behavior? Tai Chang Ge stared at him, and somehow suddenly felt her heart racing and head spinning. That feeling was like when Wanyan Chunzhen had used her sound attack some days ago, striking the most vulnerable place in her heart – that suffocating pain, that feeling of her heart being gripped, lifted, and squeezed drop by drop of blood while being powerless to resist.
She swayed and nearly fell from the branch, quickly grabbing the treetop. Somehow she suddenly felt weak in her hands.
“What’s wrong?” She couldn’t help asking again.
“Chang Ge,” Su Xuan looked toward the rear, his gaze seeming to see some scene through barriers in the darkness, and said slowly: “I think you’d better return to the main camp.”