Chapter 41: Calculated Strategy

Sunset, majestic pass, border city.

A thousand miles of sunset, heavily overlapping the peaks. The city entrenched in the middle was like being bathed in residual blood, showing a kind of breathtaking majesty among the towering mountains. In the distance, as far as the eye could see, the White Tiger battle flag of the Mu State army fluttered in the wind, and the mythical beast preparing to fight stood in opposition to the fiery bird Zhuque spreading its wings, accompanied by the vast mountains, gradually drowning in the dark red color of the world.

Abandoning three cities in ten days, the Mu army seemed to have witnessed the invincible power of the Liefeng Cavalry. Changing from their previous arrogance, they abandoned the cities they had once occupied one after another, retreating until they were out of Chu territory, finally stationing themselves at the Cloud-Piercing Pass, which was known for its steepness, between the two countries.

The war situation at the front changed day by day, and war reports flew like snow. However, Huang Fei, who had issued a military order in the court, was traveling and having fun with Princess Han Xi, without armor, his sword locked in a red building, a leisure that made the ministers envious.

The King of Chu issued an imperial decree for a golden banquet. Before the Shao Yuan Jun Mansion, carriages were like flowing water and horses like dragons. Dukes, ministers, and generals were drunk in the doorway, and the sound of silk and bamboo reached the clouds.

Within a few days, the war boats of the Xi State passed through the Lu Ling, crossed the Qing River, and entered the Luo River. Ten thousand good horses were delivered as promised.

Singing and dancing on a flowery night, three thousand miles of troops marching.

On the auspicious day of Shangyang, twenty-eight golden-masted, colorful-carved Danfeng imperial boats set off westward, followed by thirty-two Tiger-Brave warships to clear the way. Along the way, thousands of sails avoided them. Shao Yuan Jun was ordered to accompany the Queen and Princess to offer incense at Qingtai Mountain. Two days later, he appeared in the Chu army camp at Chuan Yun Guan without any warning.

Steep peaks and isolated pavilions, cold streams and flying clouds—the person was elegant, and the wine was as green as jade.

Huang Fei had never liked drinking alone. No matter how good the wine was, drinking it alone always felt like it lacked aftertaste. Unfortunately, there were very few people in the world who could drink together. He played with his cup alone, looking at the ancient mountain path, his gaze seeming to be waiting for something.

Not long after, a soft sedan chair with eight bearers and a golden roof traveled slowly along the ancient mountain path. The sedan chair did not move fast, but it arrived in front of him in a turn. The sedan bearers were all young boys in light yellow cloud-silk brocade clothes, with purple-sheathed dragon-pattern long swords inserted on their backs. Their steps were light in the mountain wind, all of them beautiful and handsome.

The soft sedan chair stopped by the pavilion. The two leading sedan bearers first took out a long brocade carpet with pure white background and golden cloud patterns and spread it all the way into the pavilion. Then two people held mutton-fat white jade bottles, and drops of clear dew pressed down the flying dust. The sedan bearers behind followed and lifted four nine-colored glazed lamps, standing on both sides.

Sniffing deeply in the wind, it was familiar and had been seen before—the scent of the Manjusri flowers on the peak of Chifeng Mountain, blooming quietly in the night. Huang Fei curled his lips, watching the sedan bearers carefully dust their sleeves and bow to lift the curtain.

The curtain hung half-down. Inside, on a soft couch covered with a whole white tiger skin, a person in red clothes and black hair lay obliquely. A gold-plated incense burner with a beast pattern emitted a wisp of light smoke like mist.

Huang Fei's pitch-black pupils shrank slightly.

Gold tassels, jade hooks, the vermilion robe dragging on the snow carpet was like clouds and sunset, and the exquisite gold-thread embroidery between them burned out gorgeous patterns like fire, shining with golden brilliance in the twilight, making people's eyes dazzled.

The thin gauze curtains sprinkled with gold hung on all four sides, and bright lamps hung high in the octagonal pavilion, suddenly revealing colorful brilliance. A head of ink-black hair hung over his shoulders, like cold silk woven from the night. The person walked slowly as if stepping on a magnificent heavenly palace, and his whole body faintly exuded a suffocating momentum. The moment he stepped into the pavilion, the surrounding curtains danced without wind, while Huang Fei maintained a sitting posture from beginning to end, his Zhuri Sword deeply sheathed, cold as autumn water.

The eight yellow-clothed boys standing outside couldn't help but take a step back, but only one step. Looking at the lamp in the pavilion again, one person was drinking and smiling, and one person was brushing his clothes and sitting down. The cold sword Qi just now seemed to be just an illusion in an instant.

"Huang Fei, three years apart, your Zhuri Sword is still so intoxicating!"

In the brilliant lamp color, a low and moving voice was like a whisper at dusk, distant yet clearly entering his ears. Huang Fei laughed, "Three years without seeing you, King Xuan's pomp and momentum have increased rather than decreased. No matter where you go, you are always so eye-catching!"

This person in front of him was precisely the master of the Northern Domain, King Xuanji Cang, who stood in opposition to Chu and Mu and shared the world equally.

Across the stone table, a pair of smiling eyes were the color of glaze, "Watching a play in the hall, one must be cautious. If it is too simple, I am afraid you will complain that I am not attentive?"

Huang Fei raised his sword-like eyebrows and finally faced those enchanting eyes that did not look like a man's, "Since you are here, wouldn't it be boring to just watch from the sidelines? Why not accompany me to play a game to relieve fatigue and boredom?"

Ji Cang said slowly with a smile, "Whenever you open your mouth, when have I ever refused? I just don't know which act it has reached?"

Huang Fei raised his chin and pointed to the Chuan Yun Guan opposite, "With your eyesight, can't you see?"

At this time, it was the night shift change of the Mu army. The city walls were shadowy, and teams of soldiers were coming and going, lasting for a full half-cup of tea before restoring the previous silence. Ji Cang's eyes swept across the majestic pass carelessly and said two words, "Slow."

"For two consecutive days, at this time, the shift change in front of Chuan Yun Guan has been a quarter of an hour slower than usual."

"Wei Yuan leads troops strictly; how could there be such negligence?"

"After the Mu army retreated into Chuan Yun Guan, they sent troops out of the pass to harass the formation every day, but each time they stopped at the point and never had a head-on confrontation with my Liefeng Cavalry."

"Oh?"

"Yesterday, three teams of Mu troops guarding the pass west pass were missing."

Traces led to the surging smile in his eyes. King Xuan suddenly covered his lips and laughed lowly. He was clearly a tyrant who was arrogant and wild, but in the flick of his sleeves, he was more charming than a delicate woman. That moment of world-turning charm made people almost unable to breathe. Even though he was no longer a friend or foe of one night, Huang Fei still couldn't help but feel his heart tremble and secretly held his breath.

"Huang Fei, three years ago you invited me to gamble with swords on Chifeng Mountain, forcing me to give up the Jiuyi dispute with a half-move victory. Today, why are you willing to be controlled by others? This is not your style."

Half-provocative and half-doubtful, Huang Fei glanced at him, "Only winning by half a move, yet you have been brooding over it for three years?"

"Naturally brooding over it," Ji Cang's narrow eyes swept, and waves surged in the darkness, "That day you used a move called 'Sunset Over a Thousand Mountains'. Watching it in the shadow of flowers and dark fragrance, it made people unable to make a move. How could I forget it?"

"Really?" Huang Fei raised his eyebrows and turned his head to ask, "In that case, you let me win by half a move?"

Ji Cang took the wine pot and poured the wine himself, "That may not be so. If I really want to win against the sword in your hand, I only have nine points of certainty at most."

A line of clear flow splashed into the ice cup, cold light shooting everywhere. Huang Fei suddenly reached out to the jade pot and smiled, "The host is present, why let the guest pour the wine himself?"

Ji Cang flicked his fingers, like an orchid bursting, his fingertips pointing directly at Huang Fei's Laogong point, "Why be polite between you and me?"

"How dare I trouble the King!" Huang Fei raised his handsome eyes, his palm changing direction halfway, his five fingers spread out, and he buckled his wrist in return.

Ji Cang lowered his wrist, let him go to the side, and two fingers shot out from his sleeves, still pointing at Huang Fei's palm, "Too much etiquette makes one feel distant. Why not let me toast you a cup!"

The smile in Huang Fei's eyes did not diminish. "How could I dare trouble your royal carriage?" He cupped his palms to meet it, striking the jade pot with a *bang*. The pot hung suspended in mid-air, and a burst of wine fragrance overflowed. Under the impetus of his palm power, the nectar within boiled and churned incessantly, transforming into waves of water vapor that drifted around the pot, while the body of the pot suddenly froze with thick ice, coated in a thin layer of frost, its cold air oppressive.

The two were in a stalemate, the mist became thicker, and the cold became more intense. Finally, there was a crisp sound of crackling, and the ice jade splashed. They flew and fell all over the table. The two shook their sleeves at the same time, their eyes collided, their elegant demeanor remained the same, and their long eyes still contained smiles.

Ji Cang looked at Huang Fei meaningfully, "Since the first time we fought on Shaochong Mountain, we have had a hundred and eighty battles, big and small, over the years. The wins and losses have come and gone, and until now, it is still a tie. You still don't consider my proposal from back then?"

They had fought among thousands of troops and horses, and drank wine under the moon shadows. After so many years of friendship that was like an enemy and a friend, with hidden and dark thoughts, Huang Fei remained calm, "I am a Chu person; you wouldn't have forgotten that, right?"

Suddenly, a low laugh came. Ji Cang brushed his hair with his hand, his scarlet clothes and golden sleeves half-covering his face. At that moment, his charming posture was enough to make beautiful and affectionate women feel inferior. He slowly raised his head, and his low, dark voice melted with a bit of charm, "Do you know, every time you say this, it makes people want to destroy the Chu State."

Huang Fei laughed loudly, "I really want to see, with me, Huang Fei, here, who in the world dares to move the Chu State by even a fraction?"

King Xuan's narrow, charming eyes were as thin as cold blades, but in the depths, there seemed to be ghostly flames jumping wildly, burning with the desire to devour everything, imprisoning the restless and bloodthirsty beast, shining on the arrogant and magnificent style of the man in front of him. Suddenly, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then smiled as he turned, "With Huang Fei in Chu, it is truly not in vain for my painstaking efforts, thinking of you day and night!"

Huang Fei also smiled, "It is a great honor to be favored by King Xuan."

Ji Cang brushed his sleeves and stood up, his long eyes drooping, "Wei Yuan set up an empty city formation. Since you arrived at Chuan Yun Guan, this play has already ended. I will wait for you in the Chu capital. After you return to the army, we will calculate the account of the 'Secret Records of Smelting' properly."

The night curtain sank, and the golden curtain lamp shadows flickered slowly. It was empty, leaving only a wisp of dark fragrance. Huang Fei sat quietly with his cup, looking faintly at the broken jade ice crystals sparkling in the darkness. A Manjusri flower, as beautiful as dripping blood, bloomed enchantingly in the breeze, its silk stamens trembling and bewitching the dark currents hidden in the night. He curled his lips and smiled, suddenly pouring wine into his throat. The winding lamp lights of Chuan Yun Guan opposite suddenly pierced through the bottom of his eyes.

Cold moon and green lamp, it was past three in the morning.

Half a volume of military books rolled back, and a cup of light tea was slightly cool. The night was quiet, and Zi Hao stood alone under the lamp, looking at the "Map of Royal Rivers and Mountains" hanging on the wall with his hands behind his back. His slender figure was slightly lonely, leaving a cold trace on the side of the long desk.

It was clearly a sleepless cold night, but he never felt it was long. The weariness in his eyes revealed a solemnity that was hard to see in front of people during the day, deep and heavy, even the moonlight like water could not melt it. The wind passed through the corridor, blowing down a ground of yellow flowers. Except for a few light low coughs, it was silent in the darkness. Suddenly, his eyebrows moved, and he said, "Come out."

I don't know when, but there was one more person outside the curtain. The lamp shadow couldn't see his face, only a black-robed figure who was majestic. Although he was kneeling in the hall, he had the posture of a dragon and a tiger. "The guilty minister learned that the Master had entered Chu and acted on his own. I hope the Master will forgive me!" The steady voice contained power, which should be accustomed to giving orders, but at this time, it carried a strange suppression. The person lowered his head in the darkness, his rock-like figure half-hidden behind the curtain, deep and blurred.

"You shouldn't have come." Zi Hao didn't even turn his body, saying another sentence faintly.

The person held his breath and didn't speak, but didn't dare to get up. His lips were tightly pursed. After a long time, he said in a low voice, "Yes, the guilty minister will go back."

Zi Hao raised his head slightly, his gaze sweeping across a corner of the map of rivers and mountains, and sighed, "Get up first. By the time you rush back from here, Chuan Yun Guan will have long been planted with the Zhuque royal flag."

The person was shocked, "Why does the King say this? Chuan Yun Guan occupies natural dangers and has heavy troops guarding it. Unless Huang Fei personally leads the Liefeng Cavalry..." He stopped suddenly.

"Even if Huang Fei personally leads the Liefeng Cavalry, with you, Wei Yuan, guarding the army, it is not enough to worry about. But you entered Chu alone, which is handing Chuan Yun Guan to others." Under the shocked gaze of Wei Yuan, the Upper General of the Mu State Tiger Guard, Zi Hao turned slowly. The lamp light in front of the map of rivers and mountains was slightly bright, unable to illuminate the quiet and deep eyes of the Eastern Emperor.

Wei Yuan said, "The guilty minister thought that Huang Fei was at Qingtai Mountain a few days ago. Even if the Liefeng Cavalry had any movements, there would still be time to deal with it."

Through the shadowy deep curtain, Zi Hao looked at him quietly, "Wei Yuan, harboring luck and not planning properly—this is a great taboo for soldiers."

Wei Yuan stood up and remained silent.

Zi Hao's voice seemed to carry three parts of cold indifference, "You have not fought Huang Fei for the first time; you should not have such omissions. Huang Fei has always been arrogant. Xichuan was blocked by others, and four cities were lost at the border. How could he be willing to let it go? A few days ago, Huang Fei was feasting and playing in the Chu capital, but secretly mobilized thirty thousand Chu troops to go west secretly, and then added twenty thousand light cavalry to sneak into Changgu along the Jing Chuan and Lu Ling. At this very moment, he would not go to Qingtai Mountain at all. If my guess is correct, he is already at Chuan Yun Guan."

The news held by the Eastern Emperor all came from the intelligence network of the Mingyi Tower spread across all countries. Wei Yuan had long learned of its precision and accuracy. He couldn't help but believe this speculation, knowing that he was anxious for a moment, not only missing the opportunity to duel with Huang Fei but also putting the border area in danger. He frowned, "It is the guilty minister's negligence."

Zi Hao curled his lips silently, "You have something on your mind, and you are in a mess."

Wei Yuan's hand on his side tightened, and suddenly he knelt on one knee, "The guilty minister took the risk to come here because I wanted to beg the Master to allow me to meet my wife, children, and elderly mother. I hope the Master can fulfill this!"

Zi Hao's face was cold and calm, without any movement. He only said faintly, "Do what you should do, and don't think about what you shouldn't. I told you this five years ago."

Wei Yuan raised his head suddenly, suddenly meeting the Eastern Emperor's cold and clear gaze. In his heart, it seemed that a sword that crossed the autumn water in the depths of the dark hall flashed again.

A sword as bright as a startling electric, bright red blood splashing on the phoenix screen.

A sword piercing the darkness, illuminating the snow-like face of the young monarch.

The sword light was cold, only three inches from the eyebrows of the demon empress. If he had stabbed it down back then, the master of the Yong Dynasty today would have long been the Fifth Gongzi Yan.

The blood-stained blue blade wound down, condensing into a bone-deep scar on the Eastern Emperor's arm at this time.

The rebellion in the second year of the Eastern Emperor started with the Fifth Young Master fleeing in a panic, until that once noble head with a terrified expression was hung outside the Yongmen. However, what was most clearly engraved in his heart was a pair of clear and cold eyes.

Through the uncertain lamp light, those eyes appeared and disappeared in the depths of the moonlight, having long seen through all ambition and struggle. Five years ago, in the deep and cold side hall of the Changming Palace, it was also this lonely lamp, also this white-clothed plain robe. The young Emperor's pale smile carried the unyielding pride inherited from the royal family, sharper than the sword light and colder than the blood.

At the critical moment, the Eastern Emperor, who blocked his must-kill sword with his flesh and blood, wiped away all traces that could expose the assassin's identity, leaving only a White Tiger jade pendant in front of him.

Green Dragon Ribbon, White Tiger Pendant—the personal items bestowed upon the Upper General of the Yong Dynasty. When the two matched at the moment of crisis, they could be used to mobilize troops.

In July of that year, Gongzi Yan was executed, his head cut off and hung at the Yongmen, his eyes not closed until his death. Since the founding of the Yong Dynasty, there had never been such a precedent for dealing with princes. Even for the crime of treason, it was nothing more than a cup of poisonous wine or three feet of white silk, buried with a whole body, not damaging the dignity of the royal family. The officials in the Di Du were shocked, but under the iron-blooded means of the Phoenix Empress, no one dared to remonstrate. Only Prime Minister Bocheng Shang and Upper General Wei Yuan submitted a memorial, requesting to bury Gongzi Yan in the Royal Mausoleum.

In the Jiu Hua Hall, Wei Yuan argued his case before the court, infuriating the Phoenix Empress on the spot. Driven by anger, he drew his sword, fought his way through the encirclement under the joint attack of Left Guard General Mo Heng and Right Guard General Jin Wuyu, and fled the Di Du. By the time the Royal City Forbidden Guards arrived at the Grand General's mansion, the wives, children, and elders of the Wei family had long since vanished without a trace.

The Phoenix Empress was furious and ordered the execution of the nine clans of the Wei family, slaughtering three thousand "rebellious party" members, not sparing even children, and the inside and outside of the Di Du were as red as dye.

At the top of the Dan Que Golden Palace, the red phoenix clothes covered the sky and the sun, red silk flying, blood brocade soft silk, the hand that held life and death without mercy had also gently touched the young man sleeping in the brocade tent in the Changming Palace, his weak face.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 42 =====