The nineteenth day of the fourth month, in the seventeenth year of Ren Yi.

Fengxi led forty-five thousand of the Fengyun Cavalry toward Li City.

The twenty-third day.

Fengxi arrived at Qi City and left behind thirty to fifty thousand of the Fengyun Cavalry.

The twenty-fifth day of the fourth month, in the seventeenth year of Ren Yi.

Fengxi arrived at Li City.

In the study of the Li City official residence, Fengxi sat upright at the writing desk. A map was spread across the table before her.

Knock, knock.

A knocking sound came from the doorway.

“Come in.”

Qi Shu, Xu, Lin, Cheng, and Xiu Jiurong filed in one after the other.

“What has the King summoned us for?” Qi Shu asked.

“All of you, come over here.” Fengxi pointed to the map on the table, then tapped a spot just before Li City. “Counting the days, the Hua army’s vanguard should arrive by dusk tomorrow or dawn the day after. I intend to give them a small welcoming gift.”

“What does the King plan to do?” Xiu Jiurong asked.

“This here is Yi Mountain — a road the Hua army must pass through. The mountain is neither tall nor treacherous, and there is sparse woodland on it. Anyone hiding there would be easy to spot, so the Hua army will certainly assume we would not set an ambush here.” Fengxi tapped Yi Mountain with her fingertip, a quiet, calculating shrewdness in her slight smile.

“But the stretch of mountain road at the foot runs no wider than three chi.” Qi Shu also pointed at the map.

“Exactly.” Fengxi nodded approvingly. “With a great army moving through such a narrow road, their forward speed will be slow, and turning back will be even harder. So…”

Fengxi turned to look at Xiu Jiurong. “Jiurong, you will take only five hundred men and position them here… here… here… and here…” Her fingertip flew across the map in rapid succession. “When the thirty thousand Hua vanguard arrives, cut them into several sections. Remember — deliver only a small measure of punishment. Do not get drawn into a prolonged fight. Is that understood?”

“Jiurong understands!” Xiu Jiurong bowed in acknowledgment.

“The Hua forces come riding on momentum — we will cut the edge off their spirit!” A cold glint flashed in Fengxi’s eyes. She then looked toward Qi Shu. “General Qi, relay the order to all three armies: except for those on watch duty, the entire army is to rest tonight.”

“Yes!”

“General Xu, have all the civilians of Li City been evacuated?” Fengxi turned to Xu Yuan.

“In accordance with the King’s orders, all civilians of Li City have been relocated to Yuan City and Yang City.”

“Good.” Fengxi nodded. “Leave behind seven days’ worth of provisions and fodder. Transport everything else to Qi City.”

“This was arranged the day before yesterday. Li City now holds only seven days’ worth of military rations.” Xu Yuan answered with his head lowered.

“Oh?” Fengxi glanced at Xu Yuan, whose face remained as composed as ever — nothing readable in his expression.

“The King once spoke of fighting the Hua army to the death in Huihui Valley. I remembered.” Xu Yuan, seeing Fengxi’s gaze linger on him, added a word by way of explanation.

“Good.” Fengxi gave a slight smile. “Of the six of you, your mind is the most careful and your planning the most thorough. The provisions, medicine, and all other necessities for this engagement with the Hua army shall therefore be entirely your charge to arrange. This King will not involve herself further.”

“Yes!” Xu Yuan answered in his measured, steady voice.

“Li City has four gates. General Cheng will hold the east gate. General Lin will hold the south gate. General Qi will hold the west gate. And the north gate — that falls to General Xu.” Fengxi raised her head and swept her gaze over each of her generals, assigning them in turn.

“Yes!”

“Very well. That is all for today. All of you return and rest well.”

“Yes.” The four of them withdrew.

After all four had gone, a cloth curtain at the back of the study was pulled aside. Feng Xi stepped out, perfectly at ease.

“Does Young Master Lanxi have any brilliant stratagems to offer?” Fengxi folded the map and looked up at Feng Xi.

“I would not dare — you have long since made up your mind. I would hardly presume to show off before a master.” Feng Xi smiled and sat down before the writing desk.

“I’m going to walk through the city. Would you like to come?” Fengxi stood up.

“A beautiful person extends an invitation — it would be an honor.” Feng Xi rose elegantly, gesturing with a graceful sweep of his hand for her to lead the way.

The two of them stepped out the door only to find that the sky had already grown dark. They walked at an easy pace along the streets. Every household they passed was shut and locked. Aside from soldiers, not a single ordinary civilian was to be seen.

Neither of them spoke throughout. By the time they climbed to the south gate tower, the sky had gone completely black.

“Although ten thousand soldiers are stationed within the city, there is no clamor or disorder — every one of them is exactly where they should be. Your discipline over your troops speaks for itself. And the entirety of Li City is saturated with a sharp, penetrating killing intent. The Fengyun Cavalry truly cannot be underestimated!” Feng Xi looked at the sentries standing bolt upright and spoke with genuine admiration.

Fengxi heard him and smiled, then turned to face the boundless darkness outside the walls. “Huang Guo’s Zhentian Cavalry numbers two hundred thousand. Hua Guo’s Jinyi Cavalry numbers two hundred thousand. Your Feng Guo’s Mo Yu Cavalry also numbers two hundred thousand. Only my Feng Guo’s Fengyun Cavalry stands at a mere fifty thousand. The reason all of yours number in the hundreds of thousands is because you are all contending for the realm. I only need to protect my Feng Guo — and for that, fifty thousand is enough.”

“Your fifty thousand Fengyun Cavalry are the finest among the finest — a match for two hundred thousand troops. If you wished to contend for the realm, who would dare underestimate you?” Feng Xi fixed his gaze on her. In the faint lamplight of the gate tower, her expression was clear to see — cool and composed, her eyes like the night sky above — dark and without bottom.

“The realm?” Fengxi murmured the words softly, then exhaled a long sigh. “Rivers and mountains like a painting, beauties like flowers in full bloom — drawing countless heroes to bow their heads in devotion.”

“Contending for the realm is not always about rivers, mountains, and beautiful women.” Feng Xi cast his gaze toward that boundless black night. “It is the process of contending for the realm that is most captivating — commanding thousands and tens of thousands of troops to sweep across all under heaven, facing an evenly matched opponent in decisive battle on the battlefield, mapping out the world with a trusted companion at your side, watching as the land beneath your feet becomes yours inch by inch… that is what truly makes the blood run hot and the spirit rise!”

Fengxi looked at him at this moment. Clad in black, he stood upon the gate tower as though merging into the vast and limitless night sky at his back. Even as these stirring words left his lips, his voice remained calm and refined, his expression as unhurried as ever — and yet there was a quality about him, like a sovereign who holds all things already within his grasp: transcendent and self-assured. In that instant, she suddenly thought of that night in Hua Du, on the rooftop on the way to Tianzhi Mountain — Huang Chao, arms flung wide, meaning to seize the whole world in his two hands. Different faces, different words, different auras — and yet in this moment, he and that man were somehow so alike.

The realm… all for this realm…

“Whether you wish to contend for it or not, those of us born into royal houses have no other path.” Feng Xi raised his head to look at the sky.

Tonight only a scattering of stars appeared. The moon hid behind thick layers of cloud, peeking out only occasionally — as though slightly disappointed in the pitch-black world below — and quickly retreating again.

Fengxi looked ahead. In truth, the dark of night revealed nothing clearly. After a long silence, she said suddenly: “Once I have given my word, I will not go back on it. And besides, I…” She stopped mid-sentence. After a moment, she continued: “You have no need to follow me at all times. The battlefield is a graveyard. If something were to go wrong…”

“You seem like a different person. Ever since your return to Feng Guo, if I had not been with you the whole time, I would almost think I was looking at two separate people.” Feng Xi suddenly cut her off.

“Xiyun and Bai Fengxi have always been two different people.” Fengxi heard this and turned to look at him, then extended both hands and looked down at her palms. “What Xiyun holds and what Bai Fengxi holds are different things. One holds a kingdom in her grip — has dominion over every living soul within that land. The other holds a chest full of fire and spirit — has dominion over her own life. One plans with prudence and acts with cool deliberation. The other laughs and scolds and follows only her nature. Bai Fengxi lives only within the jianghu. Xiyun is the sovereign of Feng Guo.”

“Bai Fengxi always mocked and taunted me — but she never once used schemes against me.” Feng Xi suddenly reached out and clasped her right hand. “Princess Xiyun — now the Feng King — has harbored hidden calculation against me from the moment I set foot in Feng Guo. Is your concern for my safety genuine? You simply want me to leave — you don’t want me to see this battle clearly, don’t want me to take a clear measure of Feng Guo and the Fengyun Cavalry.”

“How strange — you scheme against everyone, and yet you won’t allow anyone to scheme against you.” Fengxi heard this and simply smiled.

“Anyone may scheme against me. But you alone…”

Feng Xi looked at her with a deep and intent gaze. Something in his eyes made Fengxi’s heart give a sudden lurch. Her thoughts went somewhat adrift as she looked at him — and the right hand he was holding grew abruptly warm at the palm. That warmth spread from her hand, flowing through her lungs and heart, reaching every limb and bone in her body.

“Woman…”

Feng Xi called out to her softly — his voice low, carrying an intoxicating gentleness. His eyes were soft as spring water. The hand holding hers slowly tightened its grip, and gently drew her closer… closer… closer… until they could each make out the row of shadows cast by the other’s long, thick lashes in the glow of the lamps. And behind those shadows — eyes dark and fathomless.

“Black fox!” Fengxi suddenly called out, her voice urgent.

That sound seemed to wake them both. Feng Xi released her hand. The two of them turned away at the same time, facing the open countryside outside the city walls.

After a long silence, Fengxi spoke. “Let’s go back.”

Hua Du Royal Palace. Jin Hua Palace.

Huang Chao and Yu Wuyuan were engaged in a game of weiqi. Huang Chao held the black stones; Yu Wuyuan held the white. The game had only just begun, yet the southwest corner had already been encircled by the white stones.

Huang Chao held a stone and sank into thought, taking a long time to place it. Yu Wuyuan did not press him — instead he pinched a stone between his fingers and turned it over repeatedly in his hand.

“The Hua King intends to send troops against Feng Guo. Why did you not try to dissuade him?” Yu Wuyuan suddenly asked.

“What?” Huang Chao had been too deep in thought and had not heard clearly. He came back to himself and asked in return.

“With the Hua King sending troops, what are your intentions?” Yu Wuyuan asked again.

Huang Chao heard this and smiled. He set down the stone in his hand and picked up his teacup, taking a sip before he spoke. “The Hua King’s character — you’ve seen it yourself. Inflexible and self-important, overestimating himself to the highest degree. He has always believed that Hua Guo is the wealthiest and most powerful kingdom at present, that his Jinyi Cavalry surpasses both the Mo Yu Cavalry and the Zhentian Cavalry, that no one under heaven would dare contend with Hua Guo for supremacy.”

He set down the teacup and pointed to the southwest corner of the board. “Do you see this? Right here — he will suffer a crushing defeat.”

“Even you say so. This Princess Xiyun, this Fengyun Cavalry — they truly must be formidably powerful.” Yu Wuyuan’s gaze settled on the southwest corner.

“The Fengyun Cavalry was built by Princess Xiyun with her own hands. Its great name has spread for ten years. They have crossed swords with Feng Guo’s Mo Yu Cavalry and with my own Huang Guo’s Zhentian Cavalry alike — and neither of us ever came away with any advantage. The Hua King looks down on women and believes Princess Xiyun and the Fengyun Cavalry are nothing more than an empty reputation. Hmph! I once dispatched people to investigate within Feng Guo — in that kingdom, everyone who speaks of Princess Xiyun does so with both reverence and fear. Would an ordinary person command such an effect? You and I have both read her essays and her poetry — those were certainly not the works of a mediocre and incapable mind. Even if Princess Xiyun is not quite as formidable as the legends say, she must have capable people assisting her at her side. Fifty thousand of the Fengyun Cavalry are more than enough to destroy one hundred thousand of the Jinyi Cavalry.”

Huang Chao picked up two white stones and placed them in the southwest corner. “You see — is it not settled just like this?”

Yu Wuyuan looked, and indeed it was — with those two white stones added, the black had already lost the southwest. He could not help but smile. “Don’t forget — it’s your stones that are black. Are you going to watch your own side suffer a crushing defeat?”

“Ha ha…” Huang Chao laughed. “I want to watch him lose!”

“Just as I thought!” Yu Wuyuan began picking up the stones on the board one by one and returning them to the box. “You simply cannot tolerate him.”

“It is not that I cannot tolerate him, Wuyuan — it is that he cannot tolerate me!” Huang Chao’s expression became serious. “He harbors delusions of seizing Feng Guo so that he might stand as my equal and rival. Hmph! This realm — I am determined to hold it within my grasp. I will share it with no one.”

“He is bound to suffer a crushing defeat in this war against Feng Guo. Even if he manages to come back alive, the Jinyi Cavalry will be nothing but a rabble of broken remnants — not even worth a single strike from your Zhentian Cavalry. And so without spending a single soldier or soldier’s effort, you will have those two thousand li of Hua Guo’s territory and its twenty cities all to yourself. He truly did pick himself quite a son-in-law.” Yu Wuyuan said with a sigh of admiration.

“Are you trying to curse me, Wuyuan?” Huang Chao’s expression remained pleasant.

“Of course not — cursing you would be the same as cursing myself for having no judgment.” Yu Wuyuan picked up the last white stone and held it in his palm, turning it over with his eyes. “You don’t merely want Hua Guo. You want Feng Guo as well — to take it in one stroke from this very situation. Is that not so?”

“Ha ha ha…” Huang Chao burst out laughing. He looked at Yu Wuyuan with unrestrained pleasure. “Wuyuan, you truly are my kindred spirit! After this battle, the Fengyun Cavalry will surely be severely depleted. That will be the moment for my Zhentian Cavalry to level Feng Guo. This is what they call the praying mantis stalking the cicada, with the oriole lurking behind!”

Yu Wuyuan shook his head and sighed as he looked at him. “Laughing this loudly — aren’t you afraid of drawing listeners, so that every one of these dark-hearted words gets carried away? Then your tender bride would hardly spare you.”

“Within ten zhang of us, if anyone were to approach, could that escape your ears?” Huang Chao was completely unconcerned. “As for Hua Chunran — she is a clever woman. She will know how to reckon things for herself.”

He finished speaking, then gave a sudden sigh. He looked at Yu Wuyuan and said: “I wonder where Fengxi is now.”

Yu Wuyuan’s hand — turning the stone over — paused for just a moment, then resumed. “She and Hei Feng Xi are both people who come and go like the wind. Right now they are probably at the top of some mountain somewhere, drinking wine and gazing at the moon.”

Both of them fell into a brief silence. The thought of that woman — free-spirited as the wind, unrestrained in all she did — made something in both their hearts suddenly difficult to still.

“That day on the lotus-gathering platform, a single performance of her Shuilian Yin left who knows how many people spellbound. The grace with which she descended from that three-zhang-high platform, the celestial shadow dancing among the red flowers on the green lake — I believe everyone who was there that day will never forget it for the rest of their lives.” Huang Chao said, his voice soft and distant, and then gave a rueful smile. “I have never felt for any woman the same fierce urge to possess her that I feel for her. I asked her to be my Empress, and she refused without the slightest hesitation. Truly, she gave me no face at all.”

“A person like her — free as an unbound wind. Who could ever catch hold of such a wind?” Yu Wuyuan suddenly flung the last white stone into the box. His gaze grew distant and hazy.

“Wuyuan.” Huang Chao fixed his eyes on him, a deep and puzzled light in his gaze. “You could cup that wind in your hands — and that wind clearly regarded you differently from others. So why did you not…”

“The night grows late. I am going to rest.” Yu Wuyuan suddenly stood and walked toward the door.

Huang Chao watched his retreating figure and suddenly let slip: “What a windfall for that Hei Feng Xi.”

Yu Wuyuan’s step faltered for just an instant — but he continued to the door and opened it. Before he left, he dropped one final remark: “That Hei Feng Xi has a deep and hidden mind — composed and unrevealing. He is not a person to be underestimated. You would do well to look carefully into his origins.”

After Yu Wuyuan had gone, Huang Chao rose and pushed the window open, looking out at the sky — pitch black as ink, dotted with a scattered few stars.

“Bai Fengxi… Hei Feng Xi…” Huang Chao let out a sigh. He thought of that woman who always wore a plain white cloth garment, her long black hair hanging freely down her back. A hollow feeling spread through his chest. “Drinking wine and gazing at the moon at the top of some mountain? With Hei Feng Xi? Ah…”

The twenty-seventh day of the fourth month, in the seventeenth year of Ren Yi.

Looking out, one saw that the south gate tower of Li City was covered by banners blotting out the sun.

Feng Xi, still dressed in his light, loosely sashed robe — handsome, refined, and at ease — climbed the gate tower one unhurried step at a time.

The soldiers on either side of him were all clad in armor, hands gripping blades and spears, solemn and ready. To pass through their midst was to feel a dominating force pressing down upon one — wave upon wave, overwhelming — enough to make every hair on one’s body stand on end.

Reaching the top of the tower, he looked out at the battle banners snapping in the wind. The most arresting sight was a pair of great black flags. Both were on a background of deep, ink-black cloth. The largest of them was embroidered with a white phoenix soaring among the clouds, its bearing carrying the supreme arrogance of a sovereign looking down upon all creation. The one beside it, slightly smaller, was also on ink-black cloth — traced only in silver thread was a wisp of soaring cloud. Simple — and yet as it billowed in the wind, it carried an unrestrained and wild defiance that bowed to nothing in the world.

But what most made it impossible to look away was Fengxi herself, standing beneath those flags.

She was clad in armor — silver-white soft armor, perfectly fitted, pressed close against her tall, slender frame, lending her a look of height and strength. Across her chest hung a silver lotus-shaped heart guard, with a blood-red gemstone set at its center. At her waist hung an ancient sword, a tassel of white silk hanging from its hilt. On her head sat a silver helm wrought in the shape of a phoenix: the phoenix’s head curved down to her brow, where it met a jade crescent moon; the two wings folded to shield her cheeks; long trailing plumes fell down behind. At her back, a white cape billowed in the wind. In the light of the sun, Fengxi’s entire form gleamed with a blinding silver radiance — like an ancient war god descended from the heavens, surpassingly beautiful and impossible to look upon directly.

He had seen Fengxi in many forms. The simple and free-spirited Fengxi of the jianghu. The alluring and captivating Fengxi of Lifang Pavilion. The quietly graceful and elegant Fengxi of Luohua Palace. The noble and strikingly beautiful Fengxi before Qianyun Palace. The dignified and commanding Fengxi upon the Ziying Hall…

But only this Fengxi — only this moment — gave him a feeling of not knowing where in the world he stood. Looking at her as she stood proudly beneath the flags, her gaze fixed ahead, he suddenly felt as though every other thing in the world had vanished in that instant. His eyes held only her — with the seven-colored battle flags snapping and thundering in the wind as her backdrop, she stood alone between heaven and earth, proud and without equal in this world.

As though sensing his gaze, Fengxi turned her head slightly and moved her eyes to look at him — then gave a faint smile.

“Do you see that flag?” Fengxi pointed upward at the ink-black white phoenix banner above.

“The White Phoenix Banner.”

“Yes — the White Phoenix Banner. The emblem of my Feng clan!” Fengxi raised her head to look up at the white phoenix with spread wings in the wind. “This was the emblem of our founding ancestor, Feng Duying! The one and only white phoenix in all of heaven and earth!”

“Feng Duying — the sole woman among the Seven World-Shaking Generals who bore the title ‘Phoenix King’ and helped Shi Di conquer the realm!” Feng Xi also raised his head to look at the White Phoenix Banner in the wind, his thoughts reaching back to that woman of magnificent bearing from those long-past days. “It is said that in those years, Feng Duying favored silver-white armor on the battlefield, and white robes when she stepped off it. For this, Shi Di conferred upon her the honorary title of ‘White Phoenix.’ After she was enfeoffed with Feng Guo, the people adored her and delighted in following her style of dress — and so the people of Feng Guo came to love white clothing, and that is how the name Bai Feng Guo came to be.”

Fengxi looked down at the armor she was wearing, then said: “When Shi Di conferred the title of ‘Phoenix’ upon our founding ancestor in those years, he personally commissioned skilled craftsmen to forge this ‘White Phoenix Soft Armor’ and bestow it upon her. The White Phoenix Banner became the emblem of Feng Guo and appears when the sovereign leads troops to war — but the soft armor has been kept within the palace since our ancestor’s time, because no one has been able to wear it.”

“And yet you are wearing it now — so it would seem your founding ancestor’s legacy has a worthy heir.” Feng Xi looked at her and smiled, then seemed to recall something and smiled with a hint of mystery.

“Why are you smiling so slyly?” Fengxi shot him a sideways glance.

“I have also heard another tale.” Feng Xi looked at her with an amused smile. “It is said that in those years, Shi Di had intended to take your founding ancestor as his empress — but she refused outright, and instead took an obscure and nameless scholar as her husband. On the day of the Feng King’s wedding, Shi Di reportedly sent the peerless ‘White Jade Snow Phoenix’ as a wedding gift — and then shattered every piece of jade in the Qilong Palace to pieces. And you — I recall Huang Chao himself once said that when he becomes Emperor, he will come and make you his Empress. You also refused him without a second thought. Tell me — do the women of your Feng clan simply not desire the position that every other woman in the world dreams of? You know, this is the position of mother and model to all under heaven.”

“You do know quite a great deal!” Fengxi gave a cold smile, then raised her head to look at the sky. “Mother and model to all under heaven? Hmph! It may appear to be the most exalted honor imaginable, but in truth one is living entirely at the mercy of a single man’s favor — and beneath the surface, constantly locked in a fight to the death with countless other women. Such honor — I would not want it even if it were handed to me. The women of our Feng clan carry phoenix blood in our veins. We are phoenixes who soar freely across the nine heavens. Why should we bow and kneel in servitude to any man?”

“Living at someone’s mercy — is that truly how you see it?” Feng Xi looked at her with thoughtful eyes. “Perhaps when Shi Di sought to take your founding ancestor as his empress, he wished to share all under heaven with her as an equal — otherwise, why would he have enfeoffed her as a ruler of a sovereign kingdom?”

“Share as equals?” Fengxi raised her head and looked at the sky, exhaling a long and leisurely sigh. “Such a thing does not exist in this world.”

“How can you say it does not exist? Why would it not? Without ever having tried, how can one declare…”

Fengxi suddenly raised her hand and cut off his words. Her gaze focused intently ahead, and she called out with a wave of her hand: “General Lin!”

“Here!” Lin Ji stepped forward.

“Send orders immediately to Qi, Xu, and Cheng — have them leave their deputy commanders to hold the gates and assemble the rest of their forces at the south gate without delay!” Fengxi commanded with swift decisiveness.

“Yes!” Lin Ji accepted the order and departed.

“Has the Hua army’s vanguard arrived?” Feng Xi looked ahead, where dust was rising in the distance — the unmistakable sign of a great army advancing.

“Just as I thought — they mean to strike the south gate!” Fengxi narrowed her eyes at the dust rising ahead, listening to the drumbeat of iron hooves striking the earth. “The thirty thousand Hua vanguard — every last one of them will find their grave here.”

“When do you think they will assault the city?” Feng Xi turned to look at Fengxi.

“Jiurong’s ambush succeeded yesterday — five thousand of the thirty thousand vanguard were lost. This vanguard commander must be desperate to take the city quickly. He needs to breach Li City before the Hua King’s main force arrives so he can atone for his failure through merit.”

Fengxi looked out ahead and stepped forward. She raised her hand in a signal. The signal officer atop the wall saw her gesture and immediately seized a black flag, swinging it through the air — and at once the south gate swung open. The Fengyun Cavalry soldiers inside poured out in a great surge and assembled before the city gate.

Feng Xi watched the movements of the Fengyun Cavalry without blinking. Six thousand soldiers — in less than a quarter of an hour — had each taken their assigned positions and stood still and silent, as though awaiting orders. He studied where they were placed, then looked at the overall formation they had taken — was that not…

“This is the ‘Blood Phoenix Formation’ — devised by our founding ancestor, the formation that won countless glorious victories for Shi Di!” Fengxi knew what he was seeing. “Originally, Shi Di conferred upon this formation the name ‘White Phoenix Formation’ — but our ancestor said that there is no such thing as white on the battlefield, only a sky full of blood-red. And so the name was changed to ‘Blood Phoenix Formation.'”

“To think that today I would have the fortune to witness this formation with my own eyes!” Feng Xi’s eyes shone bright as he looked at the soldiers below. “No wonder you said the entire Hua vanguard would find their graves here.”

“Over the years I have refined and varied this formation further. Only I do not know how well this vanguard commander can break formations — or whether he will manage to force me to deploy what I have added.” Fengxi turned back and smiled. That smile was proud and self-assured — blazing like a phoenix across the nine heavens.

“I shall watch with great interest.” Feng Xi looked back at Fengxi, dazzling with brilliance in this moment, and a faint smile rose on his face.

Ahead of them, a radiance of gold gleamed and flashed — blotting out the sky and covering the earth. The Hua army’s golden forces had arrived.

“General, Li City lies ahead!” The deputy commander reported to vanguard general Ye Yan. “Do we assault immediately, or rest for a day and reconsider?”

Ye Yan looked ahead at Li City, its flags swaying, with several thousand troops massed and ready before its gates. Feng Guo had clearly been prepared — and he found himself hesitating. His previous incident at Qu City had already cost him the Hua King’s goodwill, and this time he had barely managed to be appointed vanguard commander as a show of grace — the perfect opportunity to distinguish himself, restore his standing as a Hua general, and regain the King’s favor. But yesterday at Yi Mountain, they had been ambushed and lost five thousand soldiers. If he could not claim a victory before the Hua King’s main force arrived, then never mind royal favor — knowing the King’s violent temper, he might not even keep his life.

“Relay my order — all three armies rest for half an hour.” Ye Yan commanded in a measured tone.

“Yes!”

Ye Yan looked ahead. Those several thousand Feng Guo soldiers massed before the city gates did not move at all — no sound, not even a human voice to be heard from them. He then looked at the banners on the city walls. Those were… the White Phoenix Banner and the Flying Cloud Banner. Then the Feng King’s royal standard was personally stationed in this city. At the thought, his heart quailed — but then he looked at those mere few thousand soldiers before the gates, and turned to look back at his own tens of thousands of troops with their gleaming armor and powerful warhorses. The courage in his chest reignited. He refused to believe that thirty thousand troops could not best a few thousand — could not crack this small Li City.

Boom boom… boom boom… The war drums thundered. Ten thousand troops advanced.

“The formation is orderly enough — this Hua vanguard general is passably competent.” Feng Xi on the tower watched the advancing Jinyi Cavalry. “The Hua forces vastly outnumber the Feng forces. He holds his main force in reserve at the center while advancing the left and right flanks simultaneously — he clearly means to use the flanks to encircle the Feng forces, then drive the center straight through like a blade.”

“When a man’s intentions are readable at a glance, there is nothing surprising about him.”

Fengxi focused her attention ahead. When the two armies were only a few dozen zhang apart, Fengxi raised her hand. The signal officer on the tower immediately seized a red flag and swung it down through the air. Below, the Fengyun Cavalry also began to advance — from above, their speed was extraordinary, yet their formation held without the slightest change. When the two armies were no more than ten zhang apart, Fengxi raised her hand again. The signal officer swung the white flag — and instantly, all six thousand of the Fengyun Cavalry halted as one, footfalls perfectly synchronized, the sound ringing out as a single note.

The Hua forces, however, continued to advance at full force. The left and right flanks drove straight toward the Fengyun Cavalry’s formation.

Fengxi watched clearly from the gate tower. Her hand moved — the signal officer immediately raised the blue flag — and in that instant, the Fengyun Cavalry, which had been perfectly still below, suddenly extended outward to the left and right. Seen from the top of the tower, it was as though the phoenix that had been resting with its head low and its wings folded had suddenly spread them wide.

“Let’s see who moves faster — and who ends up surrounding whom!” Above the gate tower, Fengxi watched the two armies below and curved her lips into a smile of quiet confidence and pride.

“The Fengyun Cavalry is clearly faster than the Jinyi Cavalry.” Feng Xi watched the movements of the Fengyun Cavalry below with focused intensity. “If the Hua forces could move faster at this moment — faster than the Fengyun Cavalry can encircle them — then they might…”

Fengxi turned to look at him, her eyes bright and clear. “The Mo Yu Cavalry is the fastest of the four great cavalries. I wonder…”

“Your current opponent is the Jinyi Cavalry!” Feng Xi pointed ahead, a faint mocking smile just touching his face. “That you can let yourself be distracted in the middle of a battle — should Xi perhaps count himself as honored beyond all his lifetimes?”

Fengxi’s brow gave an extremely swift furrow at his words, then she turned her head and fixed her gaze ahead.

“Brothers — charge! We have thirty thousand troops — why should we fear a mere few thousand of the Feng forces? We will annihilate them within a single hour! Take Li City, and this general will personally petition for recognition of your merits before the King!” Ye Yan stood in his stirrups, raising his arm high. His rousing words stirred the fighting spirit of the tens of thousands of Hua troops, filling them with confidence.

“Charge! Kill!” In an instant the Hua army surged forward like a tide of gold, flooding toward the Fengyun Cavalry.

“Fold the wings!” Fengxi shouted aloud, her hand sweeping up at the same moment. The signal officer immediately raised the yellow flag.

In that instant, the phoenix that had spread its wings wide suddenly drew them back in — yet as they folded inward, they swept rapidly upward along a long, curving arc, then closed tight against its chest. The golden tide found itself drawn in and gathered within the phoenix’s embrace. In an instant the Hua forces were thrown into chaos. The left and right flanks, like flies that had been struck senseless, lost all sense of direction and charged blindly forward — and were swept entirely into the formation.

“Center advance!” Ye Yan cried out when he saw this, immediately issuing the command — hoping to use the center force to smash through the Feng army’s formation and relieve the left and right flanks from being encircled.

In an instant the reserve center force, which had been holding at the rear, lunged forward like a great straight wave of gold — driving straight toward the phoenix’s body, its momentum ferocious, intending to pierce through the entire formation and split the Feng forces in two.

“Strike with the talons!” Fengxi’s hand moved again. The signal officer immediately raised the green flag.

In a flash, the phoenix extended both its claws — opening the sharp iron hooks upon them — and seized the massive golden wave bearing down upon it. The wave shattered into four, then five pieces.

“General, this… this…” The deputy commander stared ahead, jaw dropped.

“What formation is this?” Ye Yan stood in his saddle, watching what was unfolding ahead with perfect clarity — unable to understand how, though his side had more than five times the numbers, it was the Jinyi Cavalry that had ended up surrounded. What formation was this? How was it to be broken? It was as though no matter how he adjusted and shifted, the opposing side immediately produced a counter.

He watched as the Hua forces ahead surged and pressed in every direction — left, right, forward, and back — and yet the Feng forces held them firm at every turn, without giving them a single inch of escape.

“General… perhaps… perhaps we should withdraw?” the deputy commander proposed. “The enemy is using some kind of sorcerous formation to trap our forces.”

Ye Yan said nothing. His gaze was locked on what lay ahead — watching the Hua forces trapped within the formation, watching the golden tide thin drop by drop, watching the Feng forces draw their formation ever tighter around them. He gripped the long spear in his hand so hard his knuckles went white. His mind was at war with itself.

“General! Withdraw!” The deputy commander cried out in desperation, watching the slaughter ahead, his heart hammering with terror.

“We cannot withdraw!” Ye Yan turned sharply to look at the deputy commander. The cold ferocity in that gaze made the deputy commander’s whole body convulse. “To advance is death — to retreat is also death. A true man had better die in battle on horseback!”

He turned back and raised his long spear high. “If there are warriors among you, then follow me and charge!” The spear leveled — and he led from the front, riding hard into the fray.

“We follow the General!” In an instant, the remaining several thousand of the Jinyi Cavalry were galvanized by his courage and charged after him — all except the deputy commander, who was quietly edging backward.

“Fighting to the last to win an honorable name? Foolishness!” Fengxi let out a cold scoff, her hand sweeping down. “The Phoenix raises its head!”

The signal officer immediately raised the purple flag. The phoenix, which had held its head bowed all this time, at last raised its noble head high. With eyes flung wide open, it let out one long cry — locked onto its target — and struck its beak down in a heavy blow against the foremost prey charging toward it. In an instant, the several thousand who had surged forward were struck in the heart by the phoenix’s sharp beak.

From above and afar, looking down from the tower, one saw only the white phoenix now spreading its wings to sweep against the golden tide, now extending its talons to seize the golden tide, now raising its head to strike the golden tide — and then the golden tide thinned thinner and thinner, slowly encircled by the phoenix, slowly devoured by the phoenix. And yet one could not see… within that white and gold was a vivid, fierce red — the color of blood. The clash of blades and swords — those laments and cries of anguish. The severed limbs and dismembered hands submerging into that warm, spreading lake of blood. Those agonized, wretched screams tearing at the heart and lungs.

“Thirty thousand of the Jinyi Cavalry — gone in an instant!” Feng Xi drew his gaze back, and exhaled in admiration. “The Blood Phoenix Formation truly lives up to its name.”

“Have you thought of how to break it?” Fengxi turned back and looked at him with a faint mocking smile.

“I once read in my ancestor’s diary his account of the Blood Phoenix Formation. The Blood Phoenix Formation was the formation that made the Phoenix King’s name — it is extraordinarily complex, with many variations. There seem to be more than just these three transformations. And the ‘variations’ you spoke of earlier don’t appear to have appeared yet?” Feng Xi glanced once more at what lay below, then brought his gaze back to Fengxi. His eyes were calm and deep.

“Evidently this Hua vanguard commander’s skill in breaking formations is not yet up to the mark — which saves me some effort.” Fengxi gave a faint and unhurried smile. “The true Blood Phoenix Formation is reserved for worthier opponents!” She then looked at Feng Xi. “Would you like to bring the Mo Yu Cavalry to try this formation?”

“You wish to do battle with me?” Feng Xi heard this and did not answer, but replied with a question of his own.

“With you?” Fengxi smiled — the smile light as drifting clouds, easy and unhurried — yet her eyes seemed to recede behind those soft clouds, misty and elusive.

Feng Xi gave her a glance, then turned his gaze toward the distance. “I wonder what expression the Hua King — who declared he would raze Feng Guo to the ground — would have on his face upon seeing this.”

“The purpose of this first battle was precisely to let Hua Yitian see clearly — whether Feng Guo truly has no capable people, and whether that sickly girl Xiyun is truly so easily crushed.” Fengxi raised her head and looked up at the vast sky. The blazing sun shone down on her body, yet it could not penetrate those still, expressionless eyes. “If he would only agree to withdraw his troops… how much the better that would be…”