The dark of night quietly retreated, and the white of day came rising once more.

At the foot of Mount Luoying, the seventy thousand troops, their strength and vitality restored after a night of rest, crawled from their tents and began to build fires and cook. Before long, the aroma of food drifted out — mingled with the fragrance of wine and the soldiers’ loud, hearty singing — scattering beneath Mount Luoying, carried by the morning breeze up into the ears and nostrils of the Fengyun cavalry on the mountain above.

“This whole roasted lamb is so crispy!”

“Just the smell of that stewed dog meat is enough to make a man drool!”

“Mongcheng wine — now that’s got some real kick to it!”

“Nothing goes with beef like a good drink!”

“Hey, you up there on the mountain — you must be hungry by now! We’ve got plenty of wine and meat down here!”

“That’s right — you can’t fill your stomachs gnawing on rocks!”

“Little dogs of the Feng Kingdom, come crawling down the mountain already! Your old man here will toss you a few bones to lick!”

And on and on it went — such temptations and insults came three meals a day without interruption. The Fengyun cavalry on the mountain heard every word, yet no matter how the Imperial Guards provoked, the mountain remained perfectly silent in return. There was no shouting back, nor was there any sign of anyone unable to bear the temptation and sneaking down. Had they not seen with their own eyes the Fengyun cavalry flee up the mountain, the Imperial Guards would have thought the mountain entirely empty.

So passed one full day, and night descended once more upon the earth.

The Imperial Guards — full of wine and food and with nothing to occupy them for the entire day — felt their pent-up energy with nowhere to go. As for the Fengyun cavalry turtled up inside the mountain, the soldiers’ contempt was immense. What kind of renowned army behaved in such a way? How could they possibly still deserve to be called one of the Four Great Cavalry Forces under the heavens?

“Why are we sitting here waiting? Why don’t we just charge up the mountain and wipe out the Fengyun cavalry to the last man?!”

“Exactly! With the advantage of our seventy thousand troops, we should just storm the mountain and eliminate the Fengyun cavalry in one move!”

“The Fengyun cavalry are supposed to be a celebrated force of this age, yet yesterday at the sight of us they still fled in complete disarray. I truly don’t understand why the Grand General won’t let us pursue them up the mountain. If we had chased them right in last night, we should have achieved a great victory then — and today we ought to already be on our triumphant march home!”

All manner of talk of this kind spread through the ranks of the soldiers. And in the tent of the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards, General Le, three deputy generals arrived one after another without prior arrangement. Half an hour later, all three departed from the tent wearing smiles.

Inside the tent, Le Yuan was pacing back and forth, his expression a mixture of hesitation and barely contained excitement. At last, he looked at the imperial-gifted saber hanging on the tent wall and said to himself with firm resolve: “As long as it succeeds, the Grand General will have nothing to say!”

The three deputy generals, returning each to their own tents, quietly assembled five thousand trusted soldiers apiece, and under the cover of darkness slipped away in silence toward Mount Luoying.

Mount Luoying, for all its name of “fallen petals,” had precious few trees or flowers. Aside from the lush, thick woodland that grew atop the Luoying Peak at the heart of the lake at its summit, the mountain walls were composed almost entirely of reddish-brown stone and earth. Viewed from a great height and distance, it appeared like a faintly reddish flower blooming upon the plain.

And now, in the dim and blurry dark of night, countless black shadows were crawling along the petals of this fallen flower — moving with painstaking care, for fear of making any sound that might rouse the sleeping Fengyun cavalry.

“Grand General.”

In the main commander’s tent of the Imperial Guards, the Grand General of the East sat in his command chair with eyes closed — whether deep in thought or simply resting, it was impossible to say.

“What is it, Li’an?” Dong Shufang opened his eyes. Before him stood the young soldier who attended him — a face still young and unweathered, set with a pair of bright, wide eyes.

“The three generals appear to have gone up Mount Luoying,” Li’an answered respectfully.

“Oh.” Dong Shufang gave only a calm, unhurried reply, seeming neither surprised nor the least bit angered at those who had defied his orders. A moment later, he added: “Young people simply cannot sit still.”

“Grand General, are you going to just let them go?” Li’an was somewhat worried.

“How many men did they take?” Dong Shufang’s gaze settled on the topographic map of Mount Luoying.

“Five thousand each,” Li’an answered.

“Hmm.” Dong Shufang gave a slight nod, then closed his eyes once more. “Let them go and have a try.”

The Imperial Guards crawling along the fallen flower — when they were nearly at the top of the first petal, a shout of extreme alarm suddenly rang down from above: “We’re done for! We’re done for! The Imperial Guards are attacking!”

The shout gave the Imperial Guards below a tremendous shock. Before they had any time to react, an endless stream of great rocks came hurling down from overhead.

“Ahh!”

“Ow!”

“Good heavens!”

“That’s going to kill me!”

This time, it was the Imperial Guards who were making the noise. The rocks crashing down from above struck their heads, fell upon their bodies, split their skulls, snapped their waists and legs — some were knocked clean off the mountain wall by the rocks and fell, smashing to pieces below. In an instant, the sounds of the Imperial Guards’ cries of agony rose one after another across Mount Luoying.

Yet rocks, of course, will eventually run out — and when no more flying stones rained down from above, the Imperial Guards gritted their teeth and made one final push up to the top of the petal. The Fengyun cavalry standing there, empty-handed and doing nothing, appeared to be utterly stunned and thrown into a panic by the Imperial Guards’ arrival. It was only when the Imperial Guards’ sabers and long spears were almost upon them that they finally reacted — but not by drawing their own blades to fight back. They tucked their heads in their hands and ran.

“The Imperial Guards are here! Run for it!”

“The Imperial Guards are attacking the mountain in force! Flee for your lives!”

“Ahh! Run!”

The Imperial Guards who had expended such enormous effort to claw their way up to the top of the first petal had not managed to cut down a single enemy when they saw every last one of their opponents take to their heels — with a nimbleness and agility that could only be compared to mountain monkeys — leaving the Imperial Guards staring in stupefied disbelief. But the Imperial Guards who had been holding in their fury all this while could not possibly let their quarry escape, and naturally plunged into an immediate pursuit.

Only now it was no longer a matter of climbing upward, but of running downward — for this was the unique terrain of Mount Luoying. To move from the first petal to the second, one had to descend the face of the first petal, then pass through the low-lying petal channel below, and then climb back up the second petal. And so at this moment, whether Fengyun cavalry or Imperial Guards, since all were charging downward, the speed was tremendous on both sides. Yet the Fengyun cavalry had done nothing more than stand at the top dropping rocks — compared to the Imperial Guards who had just expended every last ounce of their strength clawing their way up through a hail of stones, the Fengyun cavalry had considerably more strength in reserve, and so the Imperial Guards fell behind by a margin. Moreover, those fleeing for their lives always possess more stubborn, unyielding will than those in pursuit — and will therefore run all the faster — and so the gap gradually widened. By the time the Fengyun cavalry reached the bottom of the petal channel, the Imperial Guards were still somewhere along the mid-face of the petal wall — and at precisely that moment, a volley of arrows burst forth from the midway point of the second petal, flying over the heads of the Fengyun cavalry and shooting straight toward the Imperial Guards on the mid-face of the first petal wall!

“Ow…”

Another wave of screams erupted. A great swath of Imperial Guards on the petal face went down, while the Fengyun cavalry at the bottom of the petal channel, shielded by the cover of the arrow volley, crouched low and rapidly scaled the second petal.

“Fall back!”

Under that relentless, unceasing storm of arrows, the three deputy generals had no choice but to halt their pursuit and order the soldiers to withdraw temporarily to the top of the first petal. From that distance, the flying arrows could not reach them.

And so the standoff continued through the rest of that night. The Fengyun cavalry stayed on the second petal and did not stir, resting easy while they let their enemy exhaust themselves — but the moment the Imperial Guards attempted to charge downward, they met them with another volley of arrows. Yet for the Imperial Guards to withdraw back down the mountain was, under any circumstances, absolutely out of the question. First, reaching the top of this mountain had cost them enormous effort and the lives of a great many soldiers — and second, having accomplished nothing, how would they explain to the Grand General the reason for mounting a private, unauthorized attack? And so the Imperial Guards had no choice but to endure the cold of the mountaintop and huddle together through that long night.

When the morning sun rose and the Imperial Guards — stiffened to the bone by a night of cold in the late-tenth-month chill — at last managed to stir their limbs and rise, they got a proper look at Mount Luoying, which had made them suffer so greatly the night before. The Fengyun cavalry were nowhere in sight. But when the soldiers looked at what the Fengyun cavalry had left behind on the ground, the three deputy generals cried out in excitement.

What was laid before Dong Shufang was a heap of wild fruit pits and several crude wooden arrows fashioned from tree branches, with a few dried leaves still clinging to them.

“Grand General — the three deputy generals launched a night raid on the Feng forces last night and successfully occupied the top of the first petal! And the moment the Feng forces spotted our troops, they fled in complete disarray — this makes it clear that the Feng forces have had their courage utterly broken by our army’s might! Furthermore, they are already reduced to eating wild fruit and making arrows from tree branches — provisions and weapons are clearly at their absolute limits. This is precisely the moment for our army to wipe them out in a single stroke! Grand General, please issue the order for the full army to attack the mountain!” Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards Le Yuan reported to the Grand General in a loud, ringing voice without so much as a flinch.

But Dong Shufang said nothing upon hearing this. He only sat in silent thought, looking at the pile of fruit pits and wooden arrows before him. After a long pause, he finally spoke: “What time is it now?”

“Already near the hour of You,” Le Yuan answered.

“I see.” Dong Shufang deliberated for a long moment, then said with unhurried mildness, “Send some provisions up to them first — they probably had no time to bring any supplies up last night. Going hungry for a full day is no easy thing.”

“Yes!” Le Yuan lowered his head.

“But… Grand General, when do we attack the mountain?” Le Yuan pressed, unable to let it go.

“Attack the mountain…” Dong Shufang’s gaze returned to those few wooden arrows, his expression heavy with thought. Had the Fengyun cavalry truly been reduced to this? Was this the full extent of Feng Xiyun’s ability? The Mo Yu Cavalry had shown no sign of coming to support them — could it be that…

“Grand General.” Li’an’s clear voice sounded from outside the tent.

“Come in.”

“Grand General — scouts report that the Feng Kingdom army has set out toward Jiao City.”

“Jiao City!” Dong Shufang’s heavy brows gave a sharp twitch. “Heading toward Jiao City… then the imperial capital…” The rest of the words faded away. A moment later, Dong Shufang suddenly rose to his feet. “General Le — pass the order: the full army is to prepare. We attack the mountain at the hour of Xu!”

“Yes!” Le Yuan’s voice rang out loud and swift.

“When the first night passes, the Imperial Guards will not attack the mountain. Nor will they on the second day. But by the third night, someone will be unable to bear it and will sneak up the mountain on their own. For to defeat me, to destroy the Fengyun cavalry — what a glorious thing that would be. Such a sweet fruit is something anyone would want to pluck.”

“And even if the Grand General knows that someone has defied his orders, he will not stop them — because he himself also wants to probe us. And so as for those Imperial Guard scouts making their way up, we need only give them a small welcome, then immediately fall back to the second petal. At the same time, we must leave behind false signs to make the Imperial Guards believe we have reached the absolute limits of our provisions and weapons and that our army has completely lost the will to fight.”

“By the third day, whether the Imperial Guards or the Grand General himself, they will pour everything into storming the mountain. The Grand General’s loyalty to the imperial house is truly admirable — but that is also his weakness. Judging by the timeline, the Bai King should already be pressing close to the imperial capital, with the Mo Yu Cavalry’s great army close behind. The Grand General will be anxious at every moment about the safety of the capital and the Emperor. He will have no great deal of time to drag this out with us — he must seek a swift, decisive victory!”

In the gathering dusk, watching the jubilant Imperial Guards opposite them, Lin Ji already knew that the Queen’s second step had been completed without a hitch. He reached back and lifted the long bow from his back. “Men — it is time to begin!”

The Imperial Guards up ahead, now certain that reinforcements were on their way, had completely exhausted the last dregs of their patience — every man drew his saber.

“Brothers, let us earn another great merit before the Grand General’s eyes!” The three deputy generals shouted.

“Yes!”

The Imperial Guards roared as one, then surged forward in a great wave, charging down from the top of the petal — intent on delivering a savage blow to the Fengyun cavalry whose courage had been shattered, and writing the greatest achievement yet in the record of their military merits! Meanwhile, the Fengyun cavalry, who had been hidden all this time, now appeared at the top of the second petal. In the last light of the evening sun, their silver armor blazed — like divine soldiers descending from heaven!

“Men — let them see what the real Fengyun cavalry looks like!” Lin Ji shouted with equal force.

“Ha!”

In that instant, thirty thousand Fengyun cavalry poured down from the top of the second petal as one — like a torrent of silver crashing down from the heavens, engulfing everything in a flash. The ten-thousand-odd Imperial Guards had no time to feel fear before cold light swept across their throats, and heads went flying into the air. As they fell, those still-open eyes could see clearly how their own bright blood was seeping into the reddish-brown mountain stone, staining it into a flawless red jewel — like the blood-red sun hanging in the sky. Innumerable cries of anguish echoed through the low-lying petal channel; the sharp clang of weapons occasionally split those screams, reverberating through Mount Luoying in a grating din…

When the red sun finally sank entirely into the embrace of the western sky and vanished, the main force of the Imperial Guards at last arrived — only to find nothing but bodies strewn across the earth and a handful of barely conscious wounded. The Fengyun cavalry had already vanished like wind and cloud!

“Kill.”

Only this single word forced itself out from between Dong Shufang’s teeth. In this moment, he could not even summon the strength for anger or grief.

“Kill!”

The sky was dim and hazy, but the flash of blades lit up Mount Luoying. The grief-stricken, furious Imperial Guards surged in an unstoppable wave toward the top of the second petal, resolved to throw everything aside and fight the Fengyun cavalry to the death — yet their plans seemed to have met with failure at every single turn since the moment they encountered the Fengyun cavalry.

“Where are they?”

The Imperial Guards who had charged up from the east and north in one unbroken surge found not even half the shadow of a single Fengyun cavalry soldier. What greeted their eyes was a natural lake, with a small mountain peak rising from its heart. Beneath the faint crescent moon, the lake’s surface shimmered with ripples of light, and the clean, tranquil atmosphere instantly stripped away half the murderous energy that had been boiling through the Imperial Guards — while the lake embankment, formed of natural boulders, seemed almost to beckon them to come and rest for a moment.

But the Imperial Guards who had charged up from the west and south were not so fortunate. What waited for them ahead was not a serene lake and beautiful scenery — it was the fierce and invincible Fengyun cavalry!

The Fengyun cavalry had gathered into a single silver arrow, shooting straight at the mass of Imperial Guards concentrated at one point to the southwest. Countless Imperial Guards were pierced through the chest by that silver arrow; the vivid red blood stained the arrowhead, yet could not slow the silver arrow’s momentum by even a fraction. With razor-sharp precision and lightning-quick decisiveness, the silver arrow drove toward the foot of Mount Luoying. Beneath the pale moon, the brilliance of that silver arrow was colder and more blinding than the moonlight itself!

“Concentrating at one point to break through the encirclement — truly worthy of the name Feng Xiyun!” Dong Shufang was startled, yet could not help but exclaim in admiration. His hand came down hard. “Support them at once — close in from both sides and surround them! The Fengyun cavalry must be eliminated entirely within Mount Luoying!”

“Yes!”

At once, the Imperial Guards all poured toward the southwest. But the narrow petal top could not accommodate such enormous numbers moving abreast, and so a good number of the Imperial Guards moved along the petal face and petal channel instead. The flat, even petal channel was undoubtedly far easier and less demanding than the steep petal wall — and so the Imperial Guards gradually shifted their movement into the channel.

When the petal channel was packed full of advancing Imperial Guards, there came a sudden thunderous boom — a sound that set every ear ringing and buzzing. Immediately following, boom, boom, boom — more in quick succession. Before anyone had recovered their senses from the blasts, a towering flood of lake water had already reared up in massive crashing waves, surging forward with wild, roaring fury. That once-placid mountain lake had transformed in an instant into a terrifying water beast, its great jaws thrown open, lunging at them!

“Ahhhh…”

The Imperial Guards let out screams of terror and scrambled desperately toward the petal walls to get out of the channel — but the petal channel was already a crushing, panicking mass of bodies. Before they could even take a step, the torrent of surging water at their backs had already crashed over their heads! And some of them did not even have time to cry out before the merciless waves devoured them whole…

“Help…”

“Save us!”

“Reach out your hand!”

“Hurry…”

Whether those calling for help from within the petal channel or those on the petal top stretching out their arms to save them — all efforts were utterly in vain. The lake water that had burst through the embankment rushed out with violent, relentless speed, slamming the soldiers within the petal channel hard against its walls. And then one after another the whirlpools formed — drawing one life and then another down into their depths. Soldiers weighed down in their heavy armor twisted and thrashed their limbs helplessly and clumsily in the raging current, then sank one by one into the lake water… In mere moments, several thousand more souls plunged into that bottomless, frozen abyss.

“When they learn the Grand General is about to attack the mountain with full force, the Imperial Guards who were scouting ahead will be aching to win merit before the Grand General arrives — and in their minds, the Fengyun cavalry are nothing but a timid and useless lot. So they will certainly launch an attack before waiting for the main army. At that point, our army fights back with everything we have. Thirty thousand Fengyun cavalry charge at full speed — we must leave them with no chance to fight back! But remember this too — we must decide matters swiftly. Before their reinforcements arrive, our army must hurry and withdraw, slipping out of their sight from the middle of the petal face and converging on the southwest from both sides.”

“As our army moves southwest, ten soldiers remain behind to assist me in breaking the embankment. When the Imperial Guards, adopting a surrounding formation, commit their full army to attacking the second petal, our army concentrates at one point and breaks through with full force from the southwest — like a razor-sharp silver arrow, piercing straight through their chest and out the other side!”

This was the third step Xiyun had laid out. And up to this point, everything had unfolded exactly according to her plan.

The lake water that surged wildly through the breach in the embankment, after flooding the petal channel, was halted by the high petal walls on either side and could reach no further — could extend its pitiless hand no higher, toward the Imperial Guards atop the petals. And having swallowed countless lives, it slowly stilled.

Standing atop the high petal, looking down at the bodies of soldiers rising and falling in the lake water below, Dong Shufang clenched both fists tightly. His face was wracked with grief and fury — and yet not a single word could be forced out of him. He who had commanded armies his entire life had suffered miscalculation after miscalculation within the span of just a few short days, and always at the hands of a young woman who was not even half his age!

He gazed out toward the southwest. The sounds of battle cries had already gradually faded there — it appeared the Fengyun cavalry had broken through the encirclement. Seventy thousand troops — and yet that Feng Xiyun had toyed with them all in the palm of her hand! The lifetime reputation of Dong Shufang himself had, in this moment, been entirely shattered at the hands of the one known as “the Phoenix King” — Feng Xiyun!

“Feng Xiyun… Feng Xiyun… truly worthy of being a descendant of the Feng King! Truly extraordinary beyond all comparison!” Dong Shufang tilted his head back to look at the night sky. The crescent moon scattered its dim and listless light across the canopy of darkness above — just like his own dispirited and desolate heart at this moment. He did not know whether bright moonlight and shining stars would rise tomorrow night. But a vague feeling was growing within him that the brilliant moons and radiant stars of the future were all, from this point on, no longer anything to do with him.

Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to a flash of light on the mountain peak at the heart of the lake. In an instant, his dispirited spirit jolted — in light this dim, how could there be a gleam of silver so bright? There was only one explanation — it was the reflection of silver armor. He had nearly missed it entirely. After the embankment broke, there had been no time to flee. They must have concealed themselves within the peak at the heart of the lake!

On the mountain peak at the heart of the lake, Xiyun sat atop a large boulder. Standing around her in a ring were ten soldiers. To her left stood Xiu Jiurong, who had steadfastly refused to go with Lin Ji and had remained beside her without a word. Through the gaps between the pine branches, the situation ahead could be seen with perfect clarity. She looked at the Imperial Guards struggling and sinking in the lake water, and her expression was as still as an ancient, secluded pool — yet those eyes of hers, brighter than both stars and moon, were filled with a complexity and helplessness that defied all description.

When the lake water at last returned to stillness, Xiyun tilted her head to one side and listened intently into the distance. Then she said with a quiet, unhurried tone: “Lin Ji and the others appear to have broken through successfully.”

“Indeed.” Xiu Jiurong gave a nod. “The Queen’s strategy has succeeded!”

“It should be past the hour of Chou by now, shouldn’t it?” Xiyun lifted her gaze toward the northeast. “It should be time.”

“The Queen should have left with Lin Ji.” Xiu Jiurong’s gaze moved through the pine branches, looking out toward the Imperial Guards across the water. His finely shaped brows drew together in a faint, worried furrow. “If they discover us here…”

“If I had not remained, those soldiers would have been swallowed in the lake along with the Imperial Guards.” Xiyun shook her head slightly and smiled with quiet ease. “Besides, my staying behind…” She turned to look at Jiurong, her gaze clear and steady. “Jiurong — you already know why.”

“Yes.” Xiu Jiurong nodded vigorously, and a faint flush of red rose quietly over his fair face. “Jiurong understands.”

“Good.” Xiyun smiled once more — a smile of pure, unclouded clarity, carrying within it a gentle, faint warmth.

My Queen, Jiurong understands. To never place oneself in safety while leaving one’s soldiers in danger — this is the principle you have always upheld. In battle, you are always the one standing at the very front. And furthermore, after battle upon consecutive battle, our army is exhausted — yet as long as you remain here on Luoying Peak, here in this place of danger surrounded on all sides by the Imperial Guards, our army’s fighting spirit will burn high and unyielding. Because they must come and save you. My Queen — Jiurong understands it all. And so Jiurong will protect you. Jiurong swears it on his life — not a single hair on your head shall be harmed!

The hourglass of time poured its fine sand away without ceasing. The crescent moon in the night sky was quietly slipping sideways. The Imperial Guards on Mount Luoying and the Fengyun cavalry beneath it were each making their own preparations.

The Imperial Guards before the mountain peak showed no urgency to withdraw back down. They seemed to be waiting for something.

On the mountain peak, ten silver-armored warriors stood in wordless, vigilant guard before their Queen, gazes directed straight ahead. Xiu Jiurong looked at the one before him without a word.

Beneath the dappled, shifting moonlight was a figure like a sculpture carved from white jade — long black hair tumbling over white robes, flowing in the night breeze like strands of fine silk. The jade moon mark at her brow shimmered softly, illuminating that face of singular, clear beauty. The corners of her lips curved faintly upward; the trace of a faint smile flowed warmly across her features — those eyes like stars drawn from the depths of a cold, still pool, beautiful and gentle in their clarity… He moved his feet, softly, soundlessly, and his shadow drifted slowly closer… quietly drawing near… tentatively, tremblingly, a hand reached out — and her dark hair danced with quiet joy within his palm… My Queen… my Queen… a faint, contented, blissful smile rose to that flawed yet still handsome face… My Queen…

“Ah…”

A sigh suddenly escaped him. His hand dropped abruptly — a soft clink as the armor plates struck together. His face went crimson as he turned back; his heart was beating louder than any war drum, one thundering beat after another until his head swam and spun!

“The hour of Chou is nearly past — why has there still been no movement?” Xiyun drew her gaze back from the night sky, and her slender, composed brows gave a faint twitch.

Pressing a hand to the wildly leaping heart within his chest, Xiu Jiurong shifted slightly and opened his mouth — only to discover he could not produce a single sound. He breathed in deeply, and at last found his voice.

“Perhaps…”

“Jiurong — in a decisive battle, there are no perhaps.” Xiyun cut him off. She turned to face the northeast, her gaze passing through the gaps in the trees and settling somewhere far away. Her voice carried a long, quiet sigh — and threaded within it, a tremor that was almost impossible to detect. “The Mo Yu cavalry has not come.”

Xiu Jiurong said nothing. He only looked at his Queen with quiet concern — watching her lower her head slightly, watching her raise a hand to press against her brow, as though she meant to conceal every emotion within. Yet he could see it clearly — that look that flashed through her eyes went deeper than disappointment, far deeper. The fingertips pressed to her brow were trembling faintly. The left hand resting on her knee had clenched itself into a fist without her realizing it; the blue-green veins showed clearly beneath the pale skin. My Queen — are you heartbroken? My Queen — are you angry? Because Shizi Lanxi has let you down?

“I hope Lin Ji will act according to the second plan.”

A moment later, Xiyun lowered her hand. The expression on her face had already returned to the cold composure and dignified serenity of a sovereign.

Ten simple wooden rafts were set upon the lake. On each raft stood ten fully armed Imperial Guards. Then a group of soldiers who had stripped off their armor and bared their arms each gulped down several great mouthfuls of strong spirits, leaped into the icy lake water, and pushed the rafts forward, swimming hard and fast toward the mountain peak at the heart of the lake.

“I had assumed that in his shock and confusion he would not think to look for us hiding within the mountain — but it seems this Grand General of the East had no intention of withdrawing down the mountain straight away…” Xiyun watched the Imperial Guards propelling themselves across the lake and could not help but rise to her feet.

“It seems he intends to take us alive,” Xiu Jiurong said.

“That would appear to be it.” Xiyun smiled faintly. She bent and picked up a handful of small stones from the ground. “If that is all they have come with, we have nothing to fear.”

“Agreed.” Xiu Jiurong unslung the long bow from his back. The ten warriors needed no instruction; they reached for their own bows at once.

When the Imperial Guards’ rafts were no more than ten zhang from the mountain peak —

“Shoot.” Xiu Jiurong gave the command in a quiet, measured voice. Eleven long arrows flew out in an instant, and not one missed its mark.

“Ah!” Cries of agony broke out. On the rafts, eleven men went down in an instant, and a surge of deep crimson spread through the murky lake water. But hard on its heels, the night wind seemed to snap apart against something and let out a howl — and before the Imperial Guards in the lake had made any sense of what was happening, thud, thud, thud — another ten went down.

Arrows and stones flew toward the lake surface without ceasing. Screams and cries of pain never stopped. In mere moments, another hundred and fifty Imperial Guards had perished in the lake.

“Grand General…” Le Yuan, seeing that it was utterly impossible to draw close to the mountain peak, could not help but look toward Dong Shufang. “What is to be done?”

“Hmph! I had intended to take them alive — clearly that is not going to be easy!” Dong Shufang gave a cold, sharp sound. “This commander refuses to believe there is no way to flush you out!” He raised his hand and brought it down hard. “Fire arrows!”

The words had barely fallen before hundreds of fire arrows shot as one toward Luoying Peak.

Only… had Dong Shufang known that the person on the mountain was Feng Xiyun, he would not have ordered those fire arrows. He would have read out the Emperor’s decree of surrender to her — and perhaps… the night on Mount Luoying might have had a very different ending.

“I attacked with water; he attacks with fire. Truly a most courteous exchange of reciprocal gestures.” Xiyun swept a fire arrow out of the air with a flick of her long sleeve, her tone sardonic.

The fire arrows fell like a rain of shooting stars — some aimed at the people, some plunging directly to the ground. The dried yellow fallen leaves on the ground caught fire the instant a spark touched them.

“Jiurong — it seems this time we may very well die together.”

The fire arrows were still coming without pause. On the mountain peak, the fires began as scattered sparks and embers, then grew rapidly into great, billowing clusters of flame. Within the blazing crimson firelight, Xiyun turned her head and looked back at Xiu Jiurong with a smile — that expression of complete and utter unconcern, that wild and unrestrained grin. Those clear eyes of hers — whether it was the reflection of the firelight or the breath of the blaze — were blazing with a light that was reckless, even somewhat frenzied and ferocious…

The long sword in Xiu Jiurong’s swinging hand paused for a fraction of a second. His expression went blank — but only for an instant.

“My Queen…” Xiu Jiurong went down on one knee, his long sword planted in the ground. He looked at Xiyun with eyes as pure and pellucid as a glacial mountain lake. “My Queen — it does not matter that the Mo Yu cavalry has not come. Our Fengyun cavalry will certainly come! It does not matter if Shizi Lanxi does not need you — our Fengyun cavalry, our Feng Kingdom, needs you! In this chaotic world under the heavens, there are a thousand reasons a thousand people could draw their swords — but our Fengyun cavalry, I, Xiu Jiurong, fight only for you!”

His voice was not raised high with passion. He only spoke quietly, stating what lay in his heart — unhurried and utterly certain. A fire arrow grazed past his temple; a thin thread of blood seeped out. The hair at his temple caught fire in an instant — yet he did not move a single muscle. He looked at his Queen, with sincere and unwavering eyes, looked at his Queen!

“Jiurong…” Xiyun sighed, long and slow. The sleeve she had been swinging fell still. Her hand reached toward his temple — as though cold ice had been pressed there — and the fire was extinguished. And her hand was stained with that crimson, still-warm blood.

“General Xiu — the Queen is in your hands!”

A voice, held tightly in restraint, as though containing within it tremendous pain — she turned to look, and saw the ten warriors standing tightly together in a half-circle, forming a shield between the fire and their lord and her companion. The fire arrows that had been pouring in from behind them stopped — stopped deep within the warriors’ own bodies.

“Fools!” Xiyun’s voice rang out in sharp rebuke. Her hand swept out; white silk flew forth, striking down the fire arrows shooting toward them. “I never taught you to use your bodies to block arrows!”

“My Queen — please live! General Lin will surely come! Our Fengyun cavalry exists because of you!”

Flames had already caught on the warriors’ bodies. Blood seemed determined to outdo the fire in its brilliance — surging out first, staining silver armor into a vivid red of blood. Yet ten pairs of eyes still blazed with fierce, unwavering light as they looked at their Queen. Ten spines still stood perfectly straight as they shielded their Queen.

“Fools!”

The white silk became a howling white dragon. The force of wind it brought with it struck down every fire arrow within three zhang, sending them all to the ground. Her eyes stared hard and fierce at those ten standing figures wreathed in flame, and a glimmering brightness passed across her own face.

“My Queen — there is a cave over there. Let us take shelter.” Xiu Jiurong took hold of Xiyun and ran, and Xiyun let herself be pulled along.

The cave was lit by the firelight from outside. It was not deep — three walls of solid stone.

“Jiurong… if we are not burned to death, we will be smoked to death.” Xiyun leaned against the stone wall and looked at the mountain fire outside, which was burning more and more fiercely. The smile on her face was one she had never worn before — bitter and helpless. Yet those two eyes of hers were shimmering, bright with a trembling film of moisture.

She looked at the hand in her own — the only time in this life, holding hands, this close… once is enough. All the power within her body concentrated in her right wrist. Only one chance…

“Ji—” Xiyun had barely opened her mouth when her entire body went numb in an instant. She shifted her eyes — her left wrist had been seized in Xiu Jiurong’s firm grip. Before she had time to think, a flash of silver light erupted before her eyes, and the major acupoints throughout her entire body were sealed by silver needles.

“Jiurong… you…” Xiyun could not move; only her lips could still form sound.

“My Queen — Jiurong will protect you!” Xiu Jiurong moved to stand before her. Now he faced the mouth of the cave; the blazing firelight fell across his face, lending to that countenance — flawed and yet still handsome — an added quality of noble, radiant spirit. “Thirteen years ago, Jiurong swore an oath to forever be loyal to you, to forever protect you!”

“Jiurong…” Xiyun looked at him with calm eyes — yet within them was an uncontrollable panic and a sharp, urgent warning. “Unlock my acupoints. You are forbidden to do anything foolish. Otherwise… I will consider you a traitor!”

Upon hearing this, Xiu Jiurong only looked at Xiyun and smiled faintly — a clean and unblemished smile, without a single regret or complaint. Then he reached out both arms and gently drew Xiyun close. That embrace seemed to burn hotter than the raging fire outside. A flash of a blade — and in an instant, a warm, crimson rain fell upon her face. A dagger had been plunged deep into his own chest. Bright red blood poured out like a river whose banks had burst, flooding forth in a torrent.

Xiu Jiurong pressed one hand to his chest. The other formed a strange and solemn gesture raised above his brow. His face was grave and reverent. His voice carried the distant, ancient resonance of a chant sung slowly from a place beyond time: “Guardian spirit of the Jiu Luo, I am Jiurong, the eighty-seventh generation descendant of the Jiu Luo royal bloodline. I offer my soul as sacrifice. May the spirit grant power to my blood. May my blood meet fire and not burn. May my blood shield my Queen and bring her safely through this peril!”

“Jiurong…” Xiyun could only breathe these two words. After that, she could say nothing more. Her eyes were open wide, fixed and unblinking, staring at Xiu Jiurong like a doll carved from stone — completely and utterly still.

In that instant, a pale blue aura of spirit energy flowed between Xiu Jiurong’s hands. With one arm he drew Xiyun against his chest, letting the blood that surged forth pour entirely over her. With the other hand he cupped blood and let it fall from the top of her head, flowing along her forehead, the arch of her brow, the curve of her cheek… slowly downward, not missing a single inch of her — a hand passing over her throat, lifting away a silver needle; a hand passing over her shoulders, drawing out another needle. Over the bright crimson blood, a layer of pale blue spirit energy floated and drifted — moving across Xiyun’s body, sinking into her, vanishing…

Blood flowing down from above, the iron-sweet scent filling every breath… She had never known a person could hold so much blood. She had never known that a person’s blood could be so warm — as though one could drown in it, as though its burning heat could scorch into the very marrow of the bones.

“My Queen — please do not blame yourself… please do not grieve… Jiurong can protect the Queen… Jiurong is very happy!” The smile that rose on Xiu Jiurong’s handsome, now ashen-pale face was soft and gentle; he looked at Xiyun who was now struck utterly still and frozen, and reached out a clumsy hand to wipe away the tear that had slid soundlessly down to her chin. That tear was crystalline — just like the clear crystal gem he had always kept close to his heart. “My Queen — please go home safely. The Fengyun cavalry… everyone in Feng Kingdom… all of them… are waiting for you…”

The body that had been holding her so gently finally went limp and sank against her shoulder. Both arms finally fell slack and powerless, dropping to rest across her back — as though this were an embrace not yet finished, wings spread open for the last time, trying still to protect the Queen to whom he had sworn lifelong devotion.

“Jiurong…” The softest murmur slipped from those cracked, dry lips — so fragile it seemed it could bear no force at all, as though the faintest breath of air would scatter it away into the wide world. A hand reached out — hesitant, gentle, painstakingly slow — with something like reluctance, something like fear, touching that body which was still warm. The very instant the fingertips grazed the edge of his robe — she pulled him close, tightly, tightly, holding that body in her arms.