At this moment, Gongsun Yuan didn’t dare to speak. Yuan Baifu and Wang Xinyong also lowered their heads deeply and didn’t dare to make a sound. Jian Qiao had no choice but to answer for them. “Y-Yes… it was General Qu’s remains.”

Gao Xunzhi’s head buzzed. Seeing this group of people stammering and hesitant, his fury rose even more. “Continue talking!!”

…

Qu Yue had been dead for over twenty years. His body had long turned into scattered white bones. The Xianbei had dug him up and strung every piece of bone together with iron chains. Some parts were broken, because they didn’t string them properly, which caused the bones to crack.

After stringing the skeleton into a corpse that wouldn’t fall apart, the Xianbei took out the spoils of war from back then—armor from the Northern Garrison—and dressed Qu Yue’s remains properly before placing them into a box. Then they sent it over on an old riderless horse. One could imagine how furious Qu Yunmie must have been after realizing whose skeleton it was.

At that moment, the Xianbei even climbed the watchtower and laughed loudly in Central Plains dialect at the Northern Army troops below. They said they meant well, and just wanted to reunite Qu Yunmie with his father. After all, he didn’t even remember what his father looked like. Oh right, they also had Qu Yunmie’s mother over there, but her clothes were hard to find. It seemed they needed to kill a few Butewu women in order to find her something suitable to wear.

Zhang Biezhi almost couldn’t believe his ears. “Are they insane?!”

Were they begging for a beating?!

Gao Xunzhi paced back and forth in fury. “What a vicious plan—such an obvious trap, just to lure the King out. Why didn’t you stop him?!”

Wang Xinyong said, “Chancellor, please calm down. When we heard the Xianbei insult General Qu and his late wife, the whole army was furious. At that point, there was no way not to fight!”

Yuan Baifu nodded. “The King led the charge. Who would’ve thought those people were so despicable—they even hung Chieftain Lady Qu bones from the watchtower. The King flew into a killing rage and gradually… broke away from the formation.”

Jian Qiao looked unshaven and seemed not to have slept in days. “The Xianbei had secretly arranged a divine archer. I’ve seen that person before—he was Rouran’s greatest warrior. It was he who shot the hidden arrow from the shadows. The arrow was also poisoned.”

Agusheja suddenly stood up, shocked, and stared at Jian Qiao. Seeing her expression, Jian Qiao quickly explained, “The physician said the King has already passed the most dangerous stage. Although the poison was deadly, it didn’t harm his vital meridians. The King has an extremely strong will to live. We also gave him Salted Ginseng. As long as he wakes up, he’ll be fine.”

Gao Xunzhi felt like he would die of rage. “What do you mean as long as he wakes up he’ll be fine—are you saying he might not wake up?!”

Yuan Baifu straightened up, wanting to comfort him. “The King is a blessed man. Heaven will protect him—he will wake up.”

At that moment, Xiao Rong, who had remained unresponsive the whole time, suddenly spoke, “Qu Yunmie isn’t exactly a blessed man.”

Yuan Baifu didn’t expect him to say that and looked surprised. Then Xiao Rong added, “but he’ll wake up.”

Gao Xunzhi looked at Xiao Rong, then nodded. “Yes, he’ll wake up. A’Rong…”

Xiao Rong ignored him and instead looked at the four men on the ground. “Why didn’t anyone tell me about this?”

He had traveled quickly along the courier posts. If a message had been sent, he would’ve seen it long ago.

Hearing this question, Jian Qiao pressed his lips tightly together and didn’t explain a single word to Xiao Rong.

Yuan Baifu, noticing Xiao Rong’s tone, as if speaking to subordinates, couldn’t help frowning slightly before finally saying, “Two days ago, the King hadn’t yet passed the critical stage. We feared complications, so we blocked the news.”

Xiao Rong wanted to ask, ‘Then what about today?’ but Gao Xunzhi suddenly asked, “Blocked? How could the news of the King’s serious injury be blocked?!”

Yuan Baifu lowered his head. “We couldn’t block it here, but we could hold it back inside the Pass. If we can keep it hidden for even one day, that’s one more day we don’t have to face disasters on both fronts.”

Jian Qiao was practically dying of anxiety. That wasn’t his intention at all! He had his own reasons for not sending the message!

Even so, he couldn’t say them in front of so many people. Now that Xiao Rong had heard Yuan Baifu’s explanation, it seemed he had already assumed Jian Qiao and Yuan Baifu shared the same idea.

Jian Qiao: “…”

I’ve been wronged!

Qu Yunmie was injured—nearly killed. The army was far more unstable than Gao Xunzhi had imagined. He no longer had time to check on Qu Yunmie. He needed to figure out exactly what had happened in the past three days. Xiao Rong, however, lost interest in staying any longer. He asked, “Where is Qu Yunmie?”

This was the second time he had called Qu Yunmie by name in front of everyone. Yet Gao Xunzhi and Agusheja didn’t seem to find anything wrong with it. Neither did the others. Yuan Baifu looked around and saw that only Wang Xinyong appeared just as surprised as he was.

Jian Qiao had already stood up. He said in a low voice, “This way. I’ll take you to him.”

Agusheja took a few steps forward. “I’ll go too.”

After the two of them left, the tent fell silent for a while. Yuan Baifu had intended to ask Gao Xunzhi something, but Gao Xunzhi spoke first. “Those two skeletons… were they really Qu Yue and his wife?”

Yuan Baifu pressed his lips together, then nodded heavily.

…

Entering Qu Yunmie’s main tent, Xiao Rong first smelled the scent of charcoal—along with the thick smell of medicine.

The tent was sealed tightly. The hot air inside was filled with both odors, making Xiao Rong feel stifled in his chest.

Qu Yunmie lay on the bed inside. He had been gravely injured, had hovered on the brink of death multiple times, yet at this moment, he somehow still looked alright.

The arrow had struck him right in the clavicle—the gap between pieces of armor. It was said that after being shot, Qu Yunmie immediately pulled the arrow out of his own flesh. The barbed tip tore him apart, causing excruciating pain, but he still did it decisively because he realized something was wrong with the arrow. It wasn’t his first arrow wound, but it was the first time it burned like fire.

When Jian Qiao spoke of it, he was full of relief. Luckily, the King had acted decisively. It was because not much poison remained in his body he had been able to survive.

Yet even that small amount of poison had nearly killed Qu Yunmie—showing just how determined the Xianbei had been to kill him.

Agusheja had already checked his injuries. She shook her head slightly. “His pulse is still unstable. I brought another piece of Salted Ginseng. I’ll decoct it and have him drink it later.”

Jian Qiao was stunned for a moment, then gave a vague “oh,” but secretly thought—’When did Agusheja know how to check pulses? Didn’t she diagnose people by feeling bones and rolling their eyes?’

After putting away her medicine box, Agusheja turned around. Seeing Xiao Rong still standing at a distance and not approaching, she bit her lip. Unsure what to say, she mumbled, “I’ll go make the medicine.”

Xiao Rong glanced at her and nodded slightly.

Agusheja left, and the tent quieted down. Jian Qiao didn’t dare speak for a while. He was trying to think of a way to explain things that might lessen Xiao Rong’s anger. He also secretly watched him out of the corner of his eye, trying to gauge his mood. However, in doing so, Jian Qiao suddenly noticed something.

He stared at Xiao Rong in a daze. “Mr. Xiao, your face—”

Why did it look worse than the unconscious, critically injured king?

Finally, the connection clicked in his mind. Jian Qiao remembered something else. “There was no military dispatch sent out—so why did you suddenly come here, Mr. Xiao? Don’t tell me something happened in Chenliu?!”

Xiao Rong didn’t answer. He stared at the sleeping Qu Yunmie and asked, “Has he been unconscious like this the whole time?”

Jian Qiao shook his head. “He stopped waking yesterday at dawn. The poison hit hard. The King has suffered greatly.”

Xiao Rong said: “I see. That’s good.”

Jian Qiao: “…”

It had only been a short time, yet Mr. Xiao had become even more terrifying.

Jian Qiao figured he might as well stop trying to explain and just tell the truth. Judging by how Xiao Rong looked now, he probably wouldn’t even remember to hold it against him.

So he spilled everything like pouring beans from a bamboo tube. “When the King was first shot, he was still conscious. He told me I absolutely couldn’t tell you. He said if he recovered, he’d tell you himself. If not, then I should temporarily take command of the Northern Army, consolidate the hundreds of thousands of troops, and bring everyone back to Chenliu. From then on, we’d all follow your orders, Mr. Xiao.”

Xiao Rong finally lifted his eyelids and gave Jian Qiao a proper look. His reaction was nothing like what Jian Qiao expected. “Hand it to me. So what?”

Jian Qiao replied, “S-So… I didn’t send out a secret letter. No one else could know this. I also feared that someone might sabotage it. If they found out the King’s dying wish was to give power to you—and used that to take action against you after you left Chenliu—then I’d never be able to face the King again.”

Xiao Rong stared at Jian Qiao, making his heart pound. After a while, Xiao Rong suddenly smiled. He had always looked stunning when he smiled, enough to daze even monks. Jian Qiao was no exception. His heart skipped a beat, and when he came to, he saw Xiao Rong looking at him coldly, saying, “Leave.”

Jian Qiao: “…”

Mr. Xiao was so strange. He’d go ask Zhang Biezhi about it later.

Now that there was no one else around, Xiao Rong watched the tent flap fall after Jian Qiao left. After a moment, he looked toward Qu Yunmie lying on the bed.

He slowly walked over and sat beside him. Staring at the cold, sharp lines of Qu Yunmie’s face, he looked like he might strangle him the next second.

He didn’t. He simply leaned back, crossed his arms tightly over his chest, and lowered his eyes to hide the redness in them.

…

Xiao Rong could sense Qu Yunmie’s condition through his own body, so he also vaguely felt that Qu Yunmie would wake up within two days.

During these two days, he acted like a hands-off supervisor. He ignored everything outside and just sat in the tent watching Qu Yunmie. Honestly, this version of Xiao Rong was much better than the one constantly on the road. At least he ate the meals Zhang Biezhi brought him, and when tired, he’d lie beside Qu Yunmie and nap. Gao Xunzhi thought this Xiao Rong was like a well-behaved child. He wouldn’t disturb him—better to let him stay like that.

Two days later, Xiao Rong was sitting on the bed, dozing off. As if sensing something, he suddenly looked up, and Qu Yunmie, who had shown no signs of life for days, slowly opened his eyes.

He didn’t move a finger. He didn’t whisper a word. He just opened his eyes calmly—without a hint of confusion.

Xiao Rong looked at him. He looked back at Xiao Rong.

Both their complexions were equally terrible—good enough to play refugees without makeup. Normally, Xiao Rong wouldn’t let anyone see him this disheveled, but he didn’t care anymore.

A silent stare. A silent entanglement. No one knew how much time passed. Eventually, Xiao Rong lowered his eyes.

He stood up, intending to leave the tent where he had stayed for two days.

Just as he was about to walk away, his hand hanging by his side was suddenly grabbed.

Qu Yunmie’s hand, once healthy like a vice grip, was now weak and trembling. Yet Xiao Rong could feel how hard he was trying—so hard his wrist was shaking.

After being gravely ill and silent for days, Qu Yunmie’s voice sounded awful.

“I’ve already come back from the gates of hell… so don’t hate me.”

Xiao Rong seemed frozen in place. Qu Yunmie’s words clearly struck a chord, but in the next moment, Xiao Rong twisted his wrist and easily broke free of Qu Yunmie’s grip.

Then he strode away—without looking back even once.

 

Edited by: Antiope

 

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