They had already been through heaven knows how many all-nighters.

Fortunately, both of them were young and still had the stamina to stay up late. When he lay down on a strange bed that he didn’t even know who it originally belonged to, Xiao Rong realized he wasn’t sleepy at all. His eyes were wide open like light bulbs. His hands slid awkwardly over the blanket, and then he turned his head to look at Qu Yunmie.

The latter truly carried out his promise. He leaned against the head of the bed, turning his head to look at him and keep watch over him.

Xiao Rong: “…”

He said to Qu Yunmie, “I missed the King’s residence.”

What he mainly missed was that luxurious big bed of his, layered with more than ten cushions. After the weather turned cold, the sheets had been replaced with a whole piece of thick Shu brocade, which had been confirmed by the most well-traveled Buddhist disciple in the residence to be a tribute item meant only for the Emperor.

Qu Yunmie hadn’t taken it from the Emperor—he had seized it from the Wusun people. No one even knew how many hands it had passed through.

Everyone else knew it was a good thing and couldn’t bear to use it, so they stored it away carefully. Xiao Rong’s view was: Everyone lived only once, so why couldn’t he use good things?

Gao Xunzhi nodded wildly at the side. Yes, leaving it there was a waste anyway. Come, little Rong, try on this plain gauze outer robe again.

…

As a result of being away for so long, Qu Yunmie had almost forgotten what the King’s residence looked like, but just hearing those words gave him a sense of peace. He tugged at the corner of his mouth and said, “I missed going back too.”

At that moment, Xiao Rong flipped over and sat up at the same time. Facing Qu Yunmie, he propped both hands on the bed. “Shen Yangrui ran away, and the people of Southern Yong won’t dare to attack again. Does that mean we can return to Chenliu?”

Qu Yunmie nodded. “After we finished dealing with the remaining rabble.”

Xiao Rong was about to smile, then he heard Qu Yunmie continue, “But I will not let this go.”

Xiao Rong froze, not understanding what he meant by not letting it go.

Before he could ask, Qu Yunmie explained. “When we return, I will reorganize the four armies. After the new year, I will lead the troops south. The seventh year of Shengde will be the time I have chosen for the people of Southern Yong to meet their end.”

Xiao Rong heard him say “the people of Southern Yong,” but his body didn’t react much, so Qu Yunmie was probably speaking generally. He looked away, thinking about something, while Qu Yunmie pressed his lips together and spoke again. “I remember you once said you didn’t want me to clash with Southern Yong, that you wanted me to assist the Emperor, but the Southern Yong court isn’t worth it. They wanted to use you to threaten me. I don’t know who came up with that idea, so I will kill everyone who might have come up with it.”

Just stating this idea so plainly made hostility surge in Qu Yunmie’s heart. He immediately lowered his eyes and stopped facing Xiao Rong. He had already had this thought last night. Even if Xiao Rong disagreed, he would still do it.

To his surprise, Xiao Rong didn’t disagree. Looking at Qu Yunmie’s profile, his expression shifted slightly. After a brief two seconds, he answered easily, “Alright.”

Qu Yunmie was stunned and turned his head back. “What did you say?”

Xiao Rong shrugged and repeated patiently, “I said alright. It’s mid-October now. If we attack again in early spring next year, there will be about two months to prepare. You don’t need to worry about anything else—just win the battle. The other advisors and I will support you.”

Two months was neither long nor short—just enough time to consolidate everything north of the Han River. Qu Yunmie has defeated the Xianbei and now heavily struck Shen Yangrui. The other cities were at their most obedient, and the scholars they were keeping could finally be put to use.

Moreover, attacking Southern Yong at the beginning of the year would also leave enough time to prepare for a change of dynasty. Some people seized the world and hurriedly changed the era name mid-year. The people couldn’t adapt, the scholars disagreed, and if the beginning wasn’t handled well, the rest would be even harder.

Xiao Rong calculated in his mind what he needed to do. Choosing a site to build the imperial palace was the top priority. He also needed to invite several highly respected Confucian scholars or Daoist masters to endorse Qu Yunmie in advance, and then create momentum. He needed to find someone skilled in reading the stars and find ways to fabricate auspicious signs to attach to Qu Yunmie and the Northern Army.

Right—he couldn’t kill all the officials of Southern Yong. Those like the Grand Astrologer, who had no real power but was very mystical, could be kept and even recruited. After all, if such a person lost their mind and cast a curse before dying, even if it didn’t come true, the common people would believe it had.

Xiao Rong opened his mouth to tell Qu Yunmie this, but Qu Yunmie also had something to say.

“Aren’t you afraid I would be condemned by everyone?”

Xiao Rong blinked. “That was then, this is now. If everything went smoothly, I would have preferred that you replace Southern Yong under the banner of assisting the Emperor, but things didn’t go so smoothly. Southern Yong brought this upon itself. Besides, your state of mind has already been affected. I’m here to assist you, not to torment you. If you truly want to do this, then of course I will support you. That’s called staking my life to accompany a gentleman.”

Halfway through, he realized that phrase wasn’t quite appropriate, so he quietly shut his mouth and stuck out his tongue at Qu Yunmie with a smile.

Qu Yunmie chuckled softly. Although he knew what Xiao Rong had meant, he wasn’t provoked. It was just an unintentional remark—he wasn’t that fragile. What could affect him were things that truly happened.

Xiao Rong still wasn’t sleepy—more than that, he seemed overly energized. Leaning against the headboard, he still wanted to talk to Qu Yunmie, and his speech was fast—much faster than usual.

Xiao Rong treated Qu Yunmie like a fragile glass doll, not daring to speak harshly and constantly observing his reactions. When Qu Yunmie fell into uncharacteristic silence, Xiao Rong suddenly grew anxious and angry. He thought the one who wasn’t normal was Qu Yunmie, thought everything he did was to comfort him—but in reality, there were two abnormal people in this room.

….

This was what a calm and composed Xiao Rong wouldn’t have done. He wouldn’t have suddenly lashed out at Qu Yunmie. After what had happened last night, everyone knew Qu Yunmie needed time to heal, but Xiao Rong was extremely anxious. In his eyes, it was as if Qu Yunmie stayed in this state, he would never recover and Xiao Rong couldn’t accept that. Especially not the idea that Qu Yunmie had become like this because of him.

Now that Qu Yunmie was willing to speak, Xiao Rong became overly excited again. It wasn’t that he was happy—he just didn’t want to sleep, didn’t want to close his eyes, didn’t want to relax, and even less did he want to let himself fall back into darkness. He wanted to keep talking with Qu Yunmie, even though everything he said could’ve waited until later.

Qu Yunmie watched Xiao Rong. At first, he didn’t interrupt him, but after listening for a while, he suddenly reached out and pressed Xiao Rong back down. Xiao Rong had been speaking enthusiastically. He froze for a moment, but didn’t resist. After pressing him back onto the bed, Qu Yunmie spoke in a commanding tone, “You should sleep.”

Xiao Rong said, “But I don’t want to sleep.”

Qu Yunmie asked him, “Why don’t you want to sleep?”

Xiao Rong opened his mouth, and only after a long while did he give an answer. “It’s too cold.”

…

There was a charcoal fire burning in the room, and it had been lit since the night before, when Gao Xunzhi arrived. Even though Gao Xunzhi didn’t know whether Xiao Rong would come back, he had still prepared a warm room for him. He had specifically instructed the soldiers to make the fire burn stronger, because he knew Xiao Rong was afraid of the cold.

By now, the room was warm enough to wear only a single layer of clothing, and Xiao Rong was even covered with a quilt, so his answer sounded a bit absurd.

Even so, Qu Yunmie didn’t point that out. He looked at his own hands, wrapped up like dumplings, and after a moment of silence, he moved closer to Xiao Rong. He kicked away his own quilt, then lifted Xiao Rong’s. A trace of cool air rushed in for an instant before being replaced by warmth again. Qu Yunmie turned onto his side, his tall frame now became a solid fortress that belonged solely to Xiao Rong. Xiao Rong was pressed into the small gap between him and the wall. He didn’t want to admit it, but he truly felt much more at ease.

At that moment, Qu Yunmie draped his arm over Xiao Rong. As if by instinct, he gently patted him and urged him again, “Sleep.”

“…”

Sleepiness seemed to come out of nowhere, suddenly making Xiao Rong’s eyelids heavy.

He resisted closing them and asked Qu Yunmie, “Aren’t you going to sleep?”

Qu Yunmie answered, “After you fall asleep.”

Xiao Rong smiled silently. “Then you probably won’t have to wait long.”

After saying that, he closed his eyes. Soon after, Qu Yunmie felt his breathing grow steady and deep.

…

Indeed, he didn’t have to wait long.

He stopped patting Xiao Rong and withdrew his arm. He bit the end of the white cloth wrapped around his hands and unwound it. Then, without waking Xiao Rong, he pressed lightly on his forehead and used his fingers to check the back of his head inch by inch.

Before he had seen any obvious wounds, Qu Yunmie still held onto a trace of hope—perhaps Xiao Rong had tied his hair differently and covered the injury. Now, after checking with his own hands, he finally knew it wasn’t an illusion. There truly  was no wound on Xiao Rong’s head.

His lips tightened. Ignoring the risk of waking him, he took Xiao Rong’s hand. It was pale and clean, without even a scratch. The only injury was on his knuckles, where there were already calluses—because whenever Xiao Rong grew too tense, he would pinch his own fingers, and if he suppressed his emotions too much, he would even bite himself.

Qu Yunmie steadied himself, set his hand down, then loosened Xiao Rong’s collar to check whether there were any bruises on his body.

There were none.

Xiao Rong was truly exhausted today. Even with all this disturbance, he didn’t wake up. Only when Qu Yunmie tried to take off his socks did he kick his legs in displeasure. When Qu Yunmie saw that his feet had no blisters or frostbite, he silently put the socks back on him.

After finishing all this, Qu Yunmie leaned back against the headboard again.

That couple had told him that the three of them had been forced up the mountain by Yuan Baifu. Xiao Rong had been bound and looked to be in poor condition—he had walked unsteadily, constantly twisting his ankle and falling. It had taken them an hour and a half to reach the place. The wife had said with certainty that the Young Master must have had blisters on his feet—because when she had blisters, she walked just like that.

It was true—Xiao Rong was the kind of person who would ride if he could, and sit in a carriage if he could. He avoided walking whenever possible. His stamina was poor. If given the chance, he would prefer to stay in one place and not move at all.

Yet Yuan Baifu had forced him up the mountain.

Before that, he followed Qu Yunmie on a hard ride for two days and one night.

Qu Yunmie began to feel regret.

Before this, he hadn’t had time to think about it. Now that Xiao Rong was back by his side, he finally had the space to regret.

He regretted agreeing to let Xiao Rong follow him to Ningzhou. He also regretted not agreeing to let him follow him to Zitong. He regretted trusting the wrong person. Even more, he regretted that although he had sensed something off about Yuan Baifu, he hadn’t taken it seriously.

It wasn’t only Xiao Rong who blamed himself—he did too. Even before Yuan Baifu set out, he had vaguely sensed something, but he had been arrogant and careless. He hadn’t thought deeply about it, and that was what led to the current situation.

He didn’t dare tell Xiao Rong this, because he had already made too many mistakes. He didn’t want to see disappointment on Xiao Rong’s face again.

A few days ago, Yuan Baifu’s betrayal had struck him heavily. He had been furious and confused—he couldn’t understand why Yuan Baifu had done it, so he had come in person to capture this traitor and get an answer.

Now, a few days later, he no longer cared about that question. He didn’t want to know the answer. He only wanted to take the cruelest revenge possible. At this moment, he desperately hoped that all those supposed rules of the afterlife were real. He wanted Yuan Baifu to never be reincarnated, to suffer torment every single day after death.

Still, things that couldn’t be seen ultimately lacked any real sense.

Qu Yunmie lowered his eyes, his expression growing darker and darker.

It wasn’t enough—still not enough. That man had died too easily, and Qu Yunmie felt no satisfaction at all.

He needed to do something else. Whether it was the father paying for the son’s debts or the son paying for the father’s—anything would do. Someone had to bear the price, or sooner or later, he would drive himself mad.

At that moment, Xiao Rong suddenly frowned in discomfort. He let out a muffled nasal sound, kicked off the quilt, then turned over and hugged the source of warmth beside him.

His hand rested on Qu Yunmie’s leg, and he buried his head into the space at his waist. Qu Yunmie froze for a moment. He was about to pull the quilt back over him, but when he moved, Xiao Rong’s expression grew even more displeased. Since Qu Yunmie was lying on his side, when Xiao Rong shifted, he ended up burying his head directly into Qu Yunmie’s chest.

With his eyes still closed, he murmured in his sleep, “Don’t move, I’m breathing oxygen.”

Qu Yunmie: “…”

He had no idea what “breathing oxygen” meant and began wondering what strange phrase that was. Then when he heard the next sentence, his expression changed instantly.

Xiao Rong said, “There’s so much smoke… it’s suffocating.”

*

When Xiao Rong woke up, the first thing he did was look at the person beside him. Contrary to what he had expected, Qu Yunmie hadn’t left—he was still there, fast asleep.

…

After a night’s sleep, Xiao Rong felt a bit better. He carefully got up, stepped over Qu Yunmie’s body, and then pushed the door open and walked out.

Xiao Rong didn’t even know where he was staying. After returning, he had hurried to have Qu Yunmie’s injuries treated and had followed a soldier to where they rested. Only after he stood outside did he take a proper look at the place.

It was a bit shabby.

There was no helping it. All the good houses had been requisitioned by Shen Yangrui and his people. After the Northern Army fought their way in, those residences became the hardest-hit areas. Especially the courtyard where Shen Yangrui had lived—it now looked like a living hell. That was all Qu Yunmie’s doing. He had cut down anyone he saw, even those who had once belonged to the Left Army. To scrub the blood off the walls, the prisoners of war had gone through a great deal of effort.

Xiao Rong wandered around a bit. When he saw Wang Xinyong arranging tasks with his soldiers, he walked over excitedly.

“General Wang! It really was you, General Wang!!!”

Wang Xinyong: “…”

It would’ve been one thing if you said that yesterday, but wasn’t it a bit strange to say it today?

In Wang Xinyong’s eyes, he had never been particularly familiar with Xiao Rong. After all, they had barely spoken a few times, and he always felt that Xiao Rong had something against him. Otherwise why did he always assign him difficult tasks?

…

He turned around and gave Xiao Rong an awkward smile. “Minister Xiao, are you feeling better?”

Hearing this, Xiao Rong froze. Suddenly, he remembered the attack he had encountered in Hanzhong. His mouth parted slightly, and after a moment, he asked Wang Xinyong, “General Wang, are you asking about the injury on my head?”

Wang Xinyong said, “Uh…”

Not that specific. Xiao Rong had been abducted—there was no way his body hadn’t suffered somewhat. Not to mention it had snowed last night. Who knew how much he had suffered at the hands of that bastard Yuan Baifu.

Wang Xinyong did know about the injury on Xiao Rong’s head, so he nodded. “Yes—and the injury on your head. Did the doctor take a look?”

Instead of answering, Xiao Rong asked back, “How did you know I had a head injury?”

Wang Xinyong: “…”

Although Xiao Rong’s expression hadn’t changed much, Wang Xinyong could just feel it—he wasn’t happy.

Jian Qiao was right. Xiao Rong really did like to change his expression.

That actually made it easier for him to deal with. It was better not to be too polite with him—this unpredictable mood suited him just fine.

…

Wang Xinyong answered honestly. “Yao Xian told me. Yao Xian took a slash to the shoulder, but it didn’t damage the tendons or bones. That was already fortunate among misfortunes. Yao Xian was very grateful for your life-saving grace, he—”

Xiao Rong impatiently cut off his rambling. “Besides you, who else did Yao Xian tell?”

Wang Xinyong: “…”

Though he didn’t understand, he still answered. “When I went back to report, the King just happened to be there. Yao Xian was put on a stretcher to be carried back. He struggled up despite his injury and told us about your injury. He wanted us to rescue you as soon as possible. At the time, the people who heard it, uh, were probably more than ten thousand?”

Xiao Rong: “…”

He fell silent for a long time, then suddenly turned and left without saying a word.

*

When Qu Yunmie woke up, Xiao Rong was sitting at the table beside him, lost in thought. Qu Yunmie looked at him, then lifted the quilt.

The white cloth on both his hands was still properly wrapped, and Xiao Rong didn’t notice anything unusual. Qu Yunmie sat down beside him and asked, “Have you eaten?”

Xiao Rong shifted a bit awkwardly, then answered, “Not yet. Are you hungry?”

Qu Yunmie nodded.

Xiao Rong stood up. “Then I’ll have them serve the food.”

Qu Yunmie gave a soft “mm.” He reached for the teapot on the table and then picked up two teacups. As Xiao Rong walked to the door, he turned back and saw the way Qu Yunmie was pouring tea. He felt a bit like asking him why, up to now, he hadn’t asked about his injuries.

Did he know something? Or had he just made some guesses?

What would happen after he asked? Xiao Rong didn’t want to tell the truth, but he didn’t want to lie to him either. Since Qu Yunmie didn’t ask him, then he didn’t need to ask Qu Yunmie either.

Pressing his lips together, Xiao Rong walked out.

…

The day passed just like that. It felt as if the room had a barrier around it. No one entered without tact except for Qu Yunmie and Xiao Rong. Even Gao Xunzhi didn’t show up. Everyone gave them space, even though things outside were still in chaos.

By the next day, everyone was ready to handle proper matters.

Xiao Rong had more or less fully recovered. He smiled at Gao Xunzhi and then took a seat.

The first priority was how to deal with Yuan Baifu’s remains. Qu Yunmie had insisted on bringing back those two pieces of the corpse, so he must have intended to do something with them. Ever since Gao Xunzhi learned that Yuan Baifu had broken into Hanzhong at night and abducted Xiao Rong, the complicated feelings he had toward him disappeared. Whether Yuan Baifu lived or died was none of his concern.

…

After Gao Xunzhi asked the question, Qu Yunmie said, “Chop him into pieces.”

Xiao Rong curiously added, “Then feed him to the dogs?”

Gao Xunzhi: “…”

Yuan Baifu was already burned like that—if he were eaten, it would probably kill the dog.

Qu Yunmie said, “Pave the road with his remains.”

Xiao Rong froze for a moment.

In this era, people often said that even if someone had committed such crimes, the Emperor still granted them a complete corpse. Without a complete corpse, there would be no reincarnation. Chopping a corpse into pieces was already considered a form of punishment—“paving a road”…

This meant Qu Yunmie wanted Yuan Baifu to be trampled by thousands of people, by tens of thousands, and to never find peace for hundreds or even thousands of years.

Regardless, in Xiao Rong’s eyes, once a person was dead, it was like a lamp going out. Torturing a corpse had no real meaning. Whatever—Qu Yunmie’s happiness mattered most.

He only added, “Put a stele at the entrance of the road, and find a skilled sculptor to carve a stone statue. On the stele, write Yuan Baifu’s life story and his crimes, so that anyone passing by can immediately understand who he was.”

Gao Xunzhi clapped his hands and praised. “Let him be infamous for ten thousand years!”

Xiao Rong smiled slightly. He would also turn Yuan Baifu into a typical example and add another play to his theater troupe.

The first play, “Wrapped Corpse,” had been to promote the origins and mission of the Northern Army. The second should promote the King of the North. It would be staged next year, just in time to be a part of their momentum-building. The common people needed to know why Qu Yunmie went to war with Southern Yong, and also who Southern Yong had been colluding with.

Yuan Baifu, rest in peace. I would turn you into an unprecedented traitor in history.

Wasn’t that your wish—to become first in some field, and to be remembered through the ages?

…

Another topic for promotion had appeared, and Xiao Rong felt quite pleased about it.

Next, Gao Xunzhi asked Qu Yunmie about other matters. For example, what to do with the prisoners in the city. Those men had once been part of the Left Army. Should they be screened and reorganized, or should they be shown no mercy at all and directly sent to do hard labor?

Xiao Rong only listened silently. He didn’t participate in military matters, and this question was somewhat sensitive. These men had once been Qu Yunmie’s soldiers, so there was personal emotion involved. Xiao Rong didn’t want to get involved. No matter what Qu Yunmie decided, he would support him. After all, there were only tens of thousands of people. Even if they weren’t reorganized, it would not hurt their foundation.

Then he heard Qu Yunmie say very casually, “No need. Kill them all and let them keep Yuan Baifu company.”

Xiao Rong suddenly choked, almost coughing out his lungs. Gao Xunzhi was about to pat him on the back, but Xiao Rong had already stood up in shock.

“All of them?!”

Qu Yunmie responded with, “Mm.”

Xiao Rong asked, “Thirty thousand from the Left Army, twenty thousand from the Shen family army—you plan to kill all fifty thousand of them?!”

Hearing him repeat the numbers, Qu Yunmie frowned slightly and gave another “mm.”

Xiao Rong took a deep breath, his vision going dark. This time it wasn’t a system effect—it was because he was about to suffocate from anger.

“‘Mm’?! What ‘mm’?! No!!!”

 

Edited by: Antiope

 

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