As Jiang Fuding departed, the falcon above and spies below moved accordingly. Huang Xiaokuai led the Pearl Cavalry in pursuit eastward, accompanied by Han Laoshan to maintain order. Orders were swiftly dispatched to the northern commander Ren Chunyun and the Fengqiu commander Zhu Boyu. Xu Fengnian handed over the corpse and skin of Yue Zhang to several attendants, instructing them to deliver it to Fengxi City, the easternmost city of Beiliang Dao.
As he slowly ascended the mountain, the frosty commander Ma Jinchai passed the Pearl Cavalry and hurried toward the peak with several personal guards. Upon reaching the summit, breathless, he saw the heir apparent, sword at his waist and another in hand, preparing to enter his carriage. Ma Jinchai hastily dismounted, knelt, and begged for forgiveness.
In the past, Ma Jinchai would not have approached unless the heir had executed or expelled someone. If the master and servant had instead wreaked havoc in Beiliang, he would have left the mess to his elders. The Ma family, from grandfather to father, had earned merit in battle and served the Xu family loyally. Ma Jinchai doubted the prince would strip him of his rank entirely. Even if the prince did so, his familial ties to Yan Wenluan, a prominent general of Beiliang, would ensure his eventual return to power.
However, Ma Jinchai knew his Frosty Cavalry had fared poorly in this campaign. Initially seeking credit, he ended up exposing his naked failure to the prince and two deputies from Lanzhou. He hoped a scolding from the prince would suffice to vent his frustration and save his position. Although he understood the rules of court politics, he believed his family’s reputation would protect him.
As Xu Fengnian lifted his foot to enter the carriage, he heard Ma Jinchai feigning sobs behind him. Turning back toward Ma, who quickly glanced up, he noticed the prince’s calm expression. Having heard many rumors about the prince, he couldn’t gauge his temperament accurately. Fortunately, the prince didn’t seem openly angry, which slightly eased Ma Jinchai’s anxiety. He thought, “Our Ma family’s reputation must have some weight, even the prince hesitates to vent his anger on me.”
Just as Ma Jinchai believed he had escaped unscathed, Xu Fengnian suddenly stepped on his fat head, driving half of it into the mud, knocking him unconscious. The three attendants accompanying the commander, kneeling on the ground, were stunned into silence, immediately lowering their eyes and staring at the ground, their hearts racing. Then they heard the cold, harsh voice of the ruthless prince: “Take this waste away. When he wakes up, tell him the Frosty Cavalry is disbanded entirely. All six hundred of you are recorded and will never be employed in the Beiliang army again! If you wish to rejoin the military, you must redeem yourselves with your ancestors’ merits. If you refuse, remain obedient Lanzhou nobles for life. Should you ever commit offenses, you will be severely punished. Don’t blame me for not warning you. The now-commoner Ma Jinchai is your example.”
Wei Shaqing and Xin Yinma, lingering on the summit, exchanged glances and found neither could smile. Previously, the Lanzhou generals had laughed at the civil officials, including the governor Li Degong. Now, the tables had turned, and civil officials might enjoy the misfortunes of the military. Fortunately, the two commanders at Tongmenguan had remained aloof from Lanzhou politics and were still trusted by Beiliang as close advisors. Otherwise, they too might have faced serious consequences. Witnessing the plight of fellow officers in the same province, Wei Shaqing and Xin Yinma couldn’t help feeling a sense of shared vulnerability.
After knocking Ma Jinchai unconscious, Xu Fengnian turned to Wei and Xin, bowing with a smile: “I entrust Tongmenguan to you both. In the future, with Beiliang’s reforms, the titles of Wei Commander and Xin Commander might be adjusted, but your ranks will remain unchanged. Moreover, as Tongmenguan holds strategic importance, the soldiers’ salaries will be increased accordingly. If you require superior horses or weapons, you may directly request them from me.”
The two commanders immediately knelt to express their gratitude. Maintaining their ranks meant no fundamental changes to Tongmenguan. The prince’s verbal promise was a tangible benefit. Previously, Lanzhou officers could only dream of competing with border provinces like Youliang and Liangzhou for horses and weapons—those were scraps others had already used. Even Wei Shaqing and Xin Yinma, occasionally meeting with comrades who returned home in glory from the border, felt inferior even when facing lower-ranking officers.
Clearly, the prince had recently promoted new Lanzhou officials, signaling his dissatisfaction with the Lanzhou bureaucracy. However, he seemed to value Lanzhou’s military garrisons more, which delighted ambitious officers like Wei Shaqing and Xin Yinma.
Xu Fengnian intentionally left his words ambiguous, allowing the commanders to savor the implications. He entered his carriage, still driven by Xu Yanbing. Pursuing Jiang Fuding, with Han Laoshan, a master of the Fingers’ Realm, as the stabilizing force, was sufficient. There was no need for Xu Yanbing, who could rival even Hong Jingyan, to be employed for such a minor task.
He was heading north to the border to meet Xu Shao.
Pei Nanwei noticed Xu Fengnian now carried a white-sheathed long sword, piquing her curiosity. Previously, she hadn’t seen clearly the events on the Posthouseroad. From the rough conversation of the two Lanzhou deputies and two commanders beside her, she learned he had killed a seemingly invincible first-rank Master of the Diamond Realm. This didn’t surprise her much. Once, this young man had led two hundred riders against the thousand of the old Jing’an King Zhao Heng and dared to kill in the front lines with a spear.
Pei Nanwei moved to a corner, sitting with the sword across her knees, blood seeping from her seven orifices. It seemed the earlier killings had not been easy, and only now, in solitude, did he show signs of fatigue. Pei Nanwei smiled, almost mocking herself—wasn’t she human too? But Xu Fengnian misunderstood her smile as mockery. He glanced at her coldly. Pei Nanwei, unfazed, asked, “Why don’t you chase the beaten dog?”
Xu Fengnian drew the sword “Over the River” only two inches, yet the carriage seemed to glow. Even Pei Nanwei couldn’t help glancing repeatedly. When Xu Fengnian fully unsheathed “Over the River,” Pei Nanwei felt a chill seeping into her skin, prompting her to instinctively wrap her arms around herself to ward off the cold. Perhaps noticing her own disheveled reflection in the blade’s mirror-like surface, Xu Fengnian wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve. He tapped the middle of the blade. Surprisingly, “Over the River” did not react like other heavy swords, lifting its tip. Instead, ripples spread along the blade, quietly dissipating the vibrations from Xu Fengnian’s tap. To an outsider, “Over the River” appeared like a haughty, supremely beautiful woman, unmoved by any man’s flattery.
Xu Fengnian lifted “Over the River,” nearly touching it to his eyes, and noticed intricate, obscure talisman-like patterns etched on the blade, swirling like clouds, vibrant with life.
Astonished, Xu Fengnian couldn’t help exclaiming, “This sword is alive.”
Pei Nanwei genuinely mocked this time, smiling, “Is there anything that can move you, the prince?”
Without turning his head, Xu Fengnian focused on the shifting scenery on the blade, calmly replying, “There are two things in this carriage.”
“Over the River” was one, and the other, of course, was Pei Nanwei herself.
Pei Nanwei sneered, “How honored this humble girl feels.”
Xu Fengnian sheathed the sword and laughed, “You, ‘humble girl’? You’re over thirty. If you were in a village, you might already be a grandmother by now.”
In the realm of mutual verbal sparring between men and women, this remark was as damaging as a sword strike from a sword immortal. Pei Nanwei indeed grew furious, her chest trembling slightly. One hand pressed firmly on her heart, while the other clenched into a fist on her thigh, attempting to steady her emotions.
She smiled sweetly, “Looking at how much blood you’ve lost, I wonder if it weighs several taels. Does it hurt?”
Leaning against the carriage wall, Xu Fengnian said nothing. He extended two fingers, pinching her thigh with considerable force. Pei Nanwei furrowed her brows but stubbornly remained silent. Xu Fengnian released his grip, and Pei Nanwei exhaled heavily. Unexpectedly, Xu Fengnian repeated his action, causing Pei Nanwei to gasp in pain. The face that had earned her the title of “Jing’an Queen” on the “Beauty List” for its dignified and charming qualities now showed intense pain. Xu Fengnian became addicted, repeatedly doing this. Eventually, Pei Nanwei, who no longer protested aloud, became numb, her hatred for him growing boundless. To her, this young man, whom she wished to see suffer a thousand deaths, treated her just like that white-sheathed sword he had seized from another’s hands—merely an object to be played with when bored, and ignored when busy, left in the sheath, gathering dust without a second glance.
Finally, Xu Fengnian ceased deliberately inflicting pain on Pei Nanwei. Without needing to look, her long thigh was already bruised in several places. Xu Fengnian switched to placing his hand on her leg, gently stroking it. Pei Nanwei’s pain melted away like snow under spring winds. However, this made Pei Nanwei feel even more humiliated as a “plaything.” She bit her lip, drawing blood from the thin, delicate flesh.
Xu Fengnian chuckled softly, “The first time hurts a lot. Eventually, it’s just like that. When you asked if I felt pain from bleeding from seven orifices, it’s the same principle. I say these things, but you probably won’t listen. I had to make you feel it yourself. So, how about now? Don’t you realize that not feeling pain is already a kind of happiness? So, we’re all lowly beings. Standing and talking without knowing the ache of not having a waist is a blessing. I once heard a joke: poor people imagine the emperor eating scallion pancakes every meal, finding it ridiculous. When I first traveled the jianghu, eating steamed buns and roasted sweet potatoes, I realized being full was enough to feel satisfied, even happy enough not to think about delicacies. A person’s happiness and suffering differ based on their position, but the depth is roughly the same. So no one should look down on anyone else. No one should mock anyone else. Anything can be pursued, except where one is born from. That’s something no effort in this life can change. When facing injustice, accepting fate is a skill, and fighting against it is even more remarkable. However, those who refuse to accept fate but are willing to fight are not good, because they often have no Bottom line and like to harm others. Yuan Tingshan, who has risen rapidly in Jizhou, is one such example. I’ve seen all kinds of people at the bottom of the jianghu and met the three teachings and nine streams at the heights of Qingliang Mountain. I’ve never liked associating with those without a moral compass.
Pei Nanwei scoffed, “If you weren’t the hereditary prince of Beiliang, who would bother to be polite to you? Let alone flatter you! You’re just lucky with your birth, which allows you to speak these truths.”
Surprisingly, Xu Fengnian didn’t argue back but simply said, “Hmm.”
However, Pei Nanwei didn’t feel victorious but rather found it tasteless. Zhao Xun, the heir of Jing’an King, was also lucky in birth, yet what did that bring him?
Suddenly, Xu Fengnian asked, “I’m going to the Youliang border adjacent to Beiman. Do you want to see the desert scenery? I’ve been to Beiman before and witnessed the clouds descending, resembling a single line between heaven and earth—it’s truly magnificent. In the far north of Youzhou, there’s also a Crowing Mountain. At dawn and dusk, the sand roars like a rooster’s morning call.”
Pei Nanwei didn’t answer directly but asked casually, “Are you going to the border for military exercises? What’s the matter? Has the general already started preparing for you to inherit his Beiliang King title? Are you afraid you won’t gain the support of the Beiliang border troops, so he will personally back you up?”
As soon as these words were spoken, Pei Nanwei fell silent. It wasn’t out of fear of the young man beside her, with whom she still had the confidence to stand on equal footing, but out of deep reverence for the old man she had encountered several times in the Beiliang Prince’s Mansion—a hunched, smiling old man.
The old man had aged, but Pei Nanwei could never imagine a day or place where he would die.
If the old man finally died, could the eight fallen Spring and Autumn states finally rest in peace?
Xu Fengnian silently left the carriage, requested a warhorse from Tongmenguan, and rode off alone.
Without Xu Shao, would Beiliang still be Beiliang?
At this moment, a simple carriage quietly entered the Beiman southern border, ravaged by Beiliang cavalry.
The coachman was the second strongest man in the world, Tuoba Pusa.
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