Chapter 92: In My Life, I Love the Wind-Swaying Melody Most

His life story is quite the tale.

Dou Gu, a poor scholar who failed the imperial exams time and again.

He boasted of possessing “ten thousand scrolls of wisdom within his breast, a thousand ravines in his belly,” yet in this court where family background ruled, he could find no place.

Eventually, unable to survive, he took to banditry in the north, rising through wit and cunning until he became the strategist of a thousand-li water fortress.

In just a few short years!

He turned the scattered bandits into a force of seven to eight thousand men.

Even with his “loose troops,” he held his own against northern cavalry, winning and losing alike, earning fame across the north.

After meeting Lu Chen, he lost all seven battles and sincerely submitted, joining his ranks.

Dou Gu looked at the four characters “Wenwu Quancai” and found them jarring; he shook his head:

“Wenwu Quancai? The Young Protector would find that laughable.”

Wei Hui had already fallen to the ground.

He dared not speak; his back was soaked through.

He had heard every word clearly.

His lips trembled; he thought of something utterly terrifying.

Feng Haiping’s gaze shifted to Wei Hui, then swept over the imperial decree before him.

He burst into laughter.

“Marquis of Gaomi!”

“The court truly shows me, Feng Haiping, boundless grace.”

Wei Hui hurried to say:

“Marshal, do not do such a thing. His Majesty has long placed great hope in you.”

“If you now abandon this, I, Wei Hui, swear I heard nothing. As for General Sun’s matter, I know nothing at all.”

“Lu Chen is merely a Daoist from Mount Zhongnan.”

“How can he compare to the Son of Heaven’s grace?”

Feng Haiping smiled.

Long ago, in Lingcheng in the north, he had faced the southern rush of the northern winds.

No one expected the Daqing garrison to flee at the first sight of danger.

Eight hundred northern iron cavalry surrounded the Feng family compound.

The entire Feng clan—old and young—were slaughtered by northern raiders; only he survived.

He was hung naked in the courtyard, his vision blurred by blood.

“At that moment, I, Feng Haiping, had already summoned the courage to die!”

But the Young Protector raced three thousand li, fighting like a man possessed to save me—he killed everyone he saw, drenched in blood.

In the end, the northern reinforcements were too many; even his blade grew dull, his horses all died.

The Young Protector carried me for three days and three nights.

Three hundred and eighty li!

What debt can I ever repay for such kindness?

What can I possibly give in return?

Feng Haiping drew his icy longsword.

“You, a mere eunuch, dare speak ill of the Young Protector?”

“Who gave you the nerve?”

“You’re not even worthy!”

Wei Hui had barely opened his mouth to beg when his head rolled off—a single stroke severed it.

Feng Haiping coldly wiped his blade and stepped out of the tent.

Without warning!

Outside the tent stood several battle formations, fully armed and ready, armor gleaming coldly in the moonlight!

The Zhenbei Army’s banners were torn down; in their place, countless “Lu” banners fluttered.

Tens of thousands of troops surged with a spirit that pierced the heavens, their eyes burning with fervor.

Feng Haiping nodded in satisfaction.

Only such a vast, awe-inspiring army!

Could wage fifteen years of war in the north, winning every battle.

Could keep the northern winds from daring to touch Daqing for fifteen years.

Could let southern Daqing burn in chaos while the north remained untouched.

Could give Daqing the standing to make the other four nations, seeing its tripartite division, dare not even rein in their horses at its borders!

Feng Haiping smiled:

“In my life, north and south of the river, I love the Wind-Swaying Melody most.”

The Wind-Swaying Melody is a tune from the southern water towns, often sung by gentle women facing the river wind.

The horn sounded!

“Army, march south!”

Dou Gu, known as the Confucian General,

was honored in the Lu family army with the saying: “When the Young Protector is absent, ask Dou Gu.”

He gazed at the hundred thousand troops assembled—most of them former Lu family soldiers.

Men who had truly walked through mountains of corpses and seas of blood with the Young Protector.

Men worthy of entrusting one’s life to.

Twenty thousand troops still waited in the north, standing by to guard against the northern winds.

For twenty years, the north had endured humiliation; under Lu Chen’s deliberate shaping, the past fifteen years had never seen the army neglected—even the people were all soldiers.

Thanks to the Young Protector’s prestige, soldiers and civilians were united as one.

Ten thousand civilian militia in the north could don armor and take the field at any moment.

Dou Gu smiled faintly, gazing at the bright moon on the horizon.

The Young Protector guards Mount Zhongnan.

Good—iron armor still stands.

“Young Protector, we’ve come to bring you home!”

The next morning.

One hundred thousand Lu family troops marched south.

The thunder of hooves shook the earth like a sudden storm, surging like a flood.

The army moved in perfect order, disciplined and strict.

The Lu family iron cavalry, dormant for fifteen years,

began crossing Jianmen Pass.

Slowly, they marched south along the Jiangnan Road!

…………

…………

You and Lu Yu ride side by side, galloping through the towering mountains of Mount Zhongnan toward the capital.

【Descending Jiangnan Road, mist and drizzle intertwined, blurring vision and adding a touch of poetry.】

【You don your conical hat to shield against the pouring rain, glancing back.】

【The southern water towns flickered in and out of the mist and rain.】

【You froze, stunned.】

【The rain grew heavier.】

【Three hundred more li, and you’d enter the capital.】

【Yet as the distance shortened, the autumn rain grew fiercer.】

【Raindrops the size of beans pounded the ground, turning the already rugged road into a quagmire.】

【Horses struggled through the mud, each step bearing the weight of a thousand jin.】

【Thunder cracked overhead; men shouted, horses neighed on the imperial road.】

【Lu Yu sat atop his horse; with his current cultivation, the rain never touched him, repelled by a thin qi membrane.】

【You could only use your internal true qi to steam the rain from your clothes—it was ineffective, and you still felt a chill seeping in, though your current realm made it bearable.】

【Lu Yu looked up at the sky—the light, though still noon, had dimmed to twilight; he frowned: “Brother, with this weather, we won’t make it across Yuetangjiang today.”】

【Yuetangjiang is a major river within Daqing, originating in the western lands and entering Daqing under the name Yuetangjiang.】

【At its widest, it stretches over two hundred zhang, twenty zhang deep, with swift, treacherous currents impossible to cross.】

【You nodded, unable to suppress a flicker of worry.】

【Yuetangjiang is the only route to the capital; if we can’t cross tonight, we’ll be delayed. But with this weather, there’s nothing to be done.】

【You knew Lu Yu had traveled far and wide over the years, intimately familiar with the terrain beyond Mount Zhongnan.】

【You asked: “Can’t you fly over?”】

【With Lu Yu’s current cultivation, he could leap seven or eight zhang into the air; if there were floating logs on the river, he could step on them to cross.】

Lu Yu said: “There’s something strange in this river.”

“But it shouldn’t be too troublesome, Brother. You decide.”

You looked up.

The nearest wine pavilion was crowded with people seeking shelter from the rain, many of them martial artists.

On the nearby low hill, by a mountain stream, stood an abandoned shrine to the Mountain God—dilapidated and worn—but through the rain, you could see several figures taking shelter inside.

So… you decided.

1. Cross the river today. (Tip: Possible danger.)

2. Take shelter in the wine pavilion. (Tip: Ordinary and uneventful.)

3. Take shelter in the Mountain God shrine. (Tip: Possible encounter.)

4. Participate personally (1/3)

The light and shadow on the tripod paused; the text on it froze.

Yu Ke found this strange.

He had encountered a choice option here.

And!

Since his latest reincarnation, he had noticed that most of the options after the simulation now carried tips.

There hadn’t been any before!

“Ah Ding, are you secretly growing stronger behind my back?”

Fortunately, with the tips, the choices had become much simpler.

Yu Ke did not hesitate at all.

Choose 1: Since there’s danger, eliminate it.

Comparing Option 2 and Option 3, neither carried danger.

Just charge ahead!

Yu Ke chose—3. Take shelter in the Mountain God shrine. (Tip: Possible encounter.)

With your choice made.

You led Lu Yu into the Mountain God shrine, bringing the horse inside.

Outside, the slanting wind and pouring rain slammed fiercely against the eaves, making the shrine’s roof tiles tremble as if they might be ripped off at any moment.

At the entrance stood a green-robed Daoist, hands behind his back, calmly gazing at the rolling thunder beyond the horizon.

Inside, four others were already present—two men and two women—some whispering softly, others meditating with closed eyes.

The firewood burning in the shrine blazed brightly, the charcoal crackling with a soft pfft.

PS: There should be another chapter tonight!

There’s another chapter tonight—maybe the subscription came too hastily, so I stayed up all night writing two chapters. Next weekend, I’ll unleash a burst.



(End of Chapter)