Chapter 59

Gods have mercy! he panted, lying on the ground, facing Mei Yi, "Gods are merciful!"

But we need to keep the quotes and punctuation? The Chinese includes quotation marks 「」. We can translate to English quotes? Usually we keep the meaning; we can use English double quotes. The instruction: translate faithfully, not necessarily preserve Chinese punctuation style. We'll use English quotes.

Thus: "Gods have mercy!" he panted, lying on the ground, facing Mei Yi, "Gods are merciful!"

You actually look like a cultivator now. I'm curious how you ended up with this bunch of scumbags—or are you one yourself?

Sniffle, heavenly father, forgive my sins, I am too weak...

I'm not your dad, stop talking nonsense! She kicked his butt, he started wailing and couldn't stop for a while.

Hey, let's take it slow. First, tell me your name, cultivator? She touched the cultivator's arm with her still-bloody fervor.

A gentle touch can comfort or threaten, depending on how the receiver perceives it.

He stopped wailing as expected.

Oh, I'm Ete, they call me Ete the cultivator. He cried passionately but was at least no longer annoying.

Are you a proper cultivator? Which monastery did you uphold the Dao and observe precepts?

I was ordained and registered at the Starlight Holy Hall in Old Town by the former Bishop Olzi, later Bishop Dolce ruled my expulsion and exile.

What were you expelled for?

Gods have mercy, gods have mercy! I am too weak!

Speak quickly! I have no patience! The passionate sword blade pressed against his arm, pinning his sleeve to his skin.

Boys, because I played with boys, gods have mercy. Ete wept uncontrollably, "After they were humiliated, I feared exposure, so together with Cultivator Ke I sent them to the gods, gods have mercy."

How many boys?

Thirteen. Sniffle.

Just expelled?

They feared I would expose Cultivator Ke, so they offered me a light sentence on the condition I bear the guilt alone.

Who is Cultivator Ke again?

He is Bishop Olzi's son; after the matter was exposed, they pushed everything onto me. Sniffle.

Since that's the case, how could you possibly survive? Everyone knows only the dead can keep secrets; a guilty living person either commits suicide in prison or is killed by bandits in the Wild Boar Forest.

I knew I couldn't survive, so when they relaxed their guard I sneaked out, joined the Warrior Brigade that had landed in Old Town. The bishops sent people everywhere to look for me, but they never imagined I'd be in the Warrior Brigade, which let me escape death; afterward I followed the brigade to the Hejian Region.

Good. Your bishop lord is indeed merciful—merciful enough that I could hang him too. Now, tell me, why did you appear north of the Red Cross River?

Sniffle, after Sir Gregory took Herenburg, we scattered. We planned to head east to find a ship leaving Westeros for the Eastern Continent, but we ran into Bolton's army at Saltworks Town, were expelled, and had to recross the Trident River, reducing our forces to head south. Yet in the south of the river we were first driven off by Darrey City's Poor People's Assembly, then encountered wolves, and to avoid the wolves we could only choose to cross the river.

How many of you escaped?

Seventy-six people.

Lost many?

Sniffle.

What happened?

We plundered villages along the Hejian Grand Road, gathered boats, and when crossing at the ford we met Bracken's army returning from the north bank, suffering heavy losses. After crossing, in the north we were ambushed by bandits of the Brotherhood Without Banners, suffering heavy losses again. The survivors either scattered or fled together southwest, intending to follow the road south to find a crossing.

Mei Yi didn't care how they escaped; she only cared about the few words she heard.

Exactly where did the Brotherhood Without Banners attack? What did their banner look like?

The mountains northwest of Stone Fence City and west of Briarwood Valley. I didn't pay attention to the banner.

Why did you choose to cross the river when you encountered wolves?

They hate us. In the fog they appear and disappear mysteriously; earlier rains were abundant, the river swelled, we thought the wolves couldn't cross the river and could evade the Poor People's Assembly's pursuit, so we wanted to first retreat north of the river for temporary shelter.

Heh, just out of the wolf den and straight into the tiger's lair.

Do the wolves use fog in battle?

The leader is a giant wolf.

An Arctic wolf?

I don't know. Rumor says the beasts were released by House Stark.

Good, cultivator. Final question: do you have any last words?

Gods are merciful. Looking at Mei Yi holding her sword, he suddenly changed his tune, "I still have last words, I still do."

Mei Yi lowered her sword and waited for him.

Damn Ke, damn Dolce! He burst into tears, shouting loudly, "Tell them I curse them to hell."

There'll be a chance.

Mei Yi felt his head hadn't drooped yet, so she chopped down, making it easy to get blood on herself.

Sniffle. Gods have mercy.

Maybe. Kneel.

No, cultivators can choose their manner of death.

Is there such a rule?

Of course. This is the gods' courtesy to cultivators.

Perhaps the gods are truly merciful. Good, you may choose how to die.

Sniffle. He cried out in pain again.

Speak up. Mei Yi kicked him.

Strang... death. Sniffle.

No, I have no rope, and there's no tree nearby that could bear your weight. The rope on the horse is reserved for the three horses.

Poison.

I have no poison.

Drown!

It's too far from the river here; I'm in a hurry.

Wuwu. Bored to death.

I don't want to touch you.

Wu, chop... die. He burst into tears.

Good, you should have chosen this death earlier. Mei Yi gestured for him to stretch his neck.

You are the first cultivator I have executed. So, please inform your gods that I am Mei Yi Stark, future queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, protector of the realm, personally carrying out the execution of their mortal representatives.

He twisted his neck, glaring at Mei Yi, completely unaware that the blade had already cut his neck.

After spending some effort to tether the three warhorses, Mei Yi mounted Black Iron.

At that moment, a lone goose flew overhead, letting out a honk that echoed across the wilderness.

After Mei Yi roughly confirmed her direction, she headed straight northwest, leaving behind five corpses and two wounded who were waiting to die.

The three warhorses closely followed Black Iron, allowing her alone to project the force of thousands of troops and tens of thousands of horses.

Under the watch of the birds in the sky, even though the road twisted and turned, it was still entirely under her feet. By the time the sun reached its zenith, she had arrived at the valley the cultivator spoke of.

From a higher vantage point, all she saw were cliffs and gullies, overlapping mountain ridges; from any angle, it was a good hideout for bandits and robbers.

Mei Yi's perspective was slightly different.

If one cleared the weeds and chaotic trees within the mountains, and set up guard gates at several key passages, it could become a strategic stronghold like the Vale of Arryn. But if one wanted to accommodate a large population for survival, one would also need to examine the streams and rivers in detail. After all, mountain regions with hot springs flowing through like Winterfell are rare.

If humans have indeed inhabited this continent for tens of thousands of years, then any place suitable for survival and establishing a foundation would long have been occupied; this area still retains its primitive appearance, naturally because there are reasons she has yet to discover.

But considering that three hundred years ago, King's Landing was merely a small fishing village, Mei Yi felt this idea might not necessarily be correct.

Setting aside idle fantasies, she once again turned her gaze to the sky.

She felt she could smell cooking smoke and the presence of people, but whether from above or below she could observe no trace of burning, nor see any sign of people. Most of her view was blocked by towering trees.

She decided to temporarily give up.

If the Brotherhood Without Banners were indeed bandits, they would certainly not let a lone female warrior with four horses go, unless they had already heard the name of the She-Wolf.

The she-wolf slowed her horse's pace and slowly entered a narrow path that seemed to lead deep into the valley.

The forest was dark and damp, the muddy ruts on the road showing that many people had passed this way—something invisible from above.

Flanking the path were tall, twisted iron oaks, their branches sprawling wildly across the sky, layer upon layer blocking sunlight. Not a single birdcall sounded in the woods; it was eerily silent.

Mei Yi sensed hostility from the surroundings, but felt no danger.

She continued to ride, walking slowly along the path.

On the warhorses of the Dothraki behind her hung a small bronze bell that gave a dull chime with each step; at this moment the hooves stepped into the mire and pulled out, also producing a comical pop-pop sound. Mei Yi felt like she was on the lonely road where Yasuoyehai walks alone to slay the Others, not knowing who the enemy is, not knowing how the enemy will appear, but knowing the enemy can never be defeated.

She suddenly remembered what the crow had seen, feeling that she had overlooked something.

She instantly realized what she had overlooked was the fishbeam wood; the fishbeam wood beneath the crow's eyes was different from that seen by human eyes.

Thinking this, Mei Yi veered off at a small bend ahead, taking several horses deeper into the thicket.

After crossing a stretch of continuous reddish-brown stone hills and a rocky beach, she slipped through the cleft between the two peaks. The cleft could only accommodate a single rider; if a fortress were built ahead, it would naturally be a situation where one person could hold the pass against ten thousand.

This path was clearly not the one regularly taken by the people behind her. The rustling of shadows behind her could not escape her notice, but she paid it no heed.

Between the two peaks, the rocks were covered in green moss; water droplets continually fell onto the irregular stones and onto the patches of moss, adding a flowing hue to the dense green.

Black Iron's hooves struck uneven, hard rock, just as damp as the cliff faces; the ringing footsteps echoed repeatedly in the narrow passage.

Outside the passage, several fallen soldier pines lay askew; despite setbacks, their roots remained firmly planted in the soil, and the fallen trunks on the other side of the path began to sprout upward anew.

Mei Yi crossed through from a higher point beside the pines.

After pushing through several clumps of tangled shrubs, she finally saw red leaves on an entire uneven mound.

As she tried to go further, she heard human voices.

"Ma'am, you know this place well!" the man in a yellow cloak stepped out from the rocks beneath the mound, "We don't even recall ever having hosted you."

Who are you?

The brothers call me Lemon Cloak. He had brown short stubble and similarly colored long curly hair; beneath his yellow cloak was a suit of long chainmail, with a sword and dagger slung over it.

Brotherhood Without Banners, right?

Exactly. He stepped up from beneath the stone hill, standing to Mei Yi's front-left; simultaneously, warriors armed with swords took positions in the other directions.

I'm here to find someone. Mei Yi drew her dagger; seeing this, the nearby men drew their swords. Mei Yi smirked, cut the tether tied to the horses' hindquarters with her dagger, and said, "You lot had better not act like the fools of the mummers."

She sheathed her dagger.

Are you here to deliver horses? You know we're desperately short of mounts. He also laughed.

I certainly know you lack horses, so I brought three to fetch the people.

Having come here, do you still want to leave?

Your cloak isn't red, so you're clearly not a Red Priest; your face is also ugly, far too different from Ser Tyrion's, so you're certainly no lady. So why don't you just shout out your name? I don't want to waste words with you.

Red Priests no longer wear red robes. A dirty grey-haired man emerged from the rocks below to reply. He wore a tattered robe that had been mended countless times, beneath which was equally tattered chainmail.

Milor Soros, you've turned ugly. Mei Yi turned her head to look at the newcomer and smiled.

Life here is harsh. But you, you're becoming ever more beautiful.

Cut the chatter. Did you lot abduct Arya?

We encountered a wandering girl and were planning to take her to her mother and brother in Riverrun, but the hounds snatched her away.

Heh, just that alone is reason enough for me to kill you, isn't it? You let her fall into the hounds' clutches—do you know what consequences that entails? You'd better give me a good explanation.

In negotiations, one must firmly grasp the other's mistakes, apply pressure to the opponent, and thus gain the upper hand.

Mei Yi's hand had already rested on the sword hilt.

Hey, be careful. a bowman on the flank shouted.

An overconfident little brat. She didn't even bother to look up.

If I were you, I wouldn't worry about Arya. the Red Priest said.

Should I be worried about Sansa and Bran instead? She had already fled from King's Landing.

"Of course, Sansa and Bran." he smiled, "And, Rickon?"