Xu Fengnian suddenly stood up, and Chu Lushan noticed something amiss a moment later. Xu Fengnian said softly, “It’s fine, no need to worry. Even in the worst-case scenario where things turn hostile, I can still handle it for now.”
A graceful figure suddenly swept into the courtyard—a woman with flowing black hair, none other than the Six Pearl Bodhisattva, the immortal master who once guided the hundred thousand wandering souls out of Xiangfan City.
However, the sight was shocking. The robe of this Western Regions master was stained with blood, her face pale. Upon seeing Xu Fengnian and Chu Lushan, she said sorrowfully, “A man named Zhong Tan arrived at Mount Lantuo with an imperial decree from the Northern Mang Emperor. With inside help, I barely escaped—only because two masters sacrificed their lives. Soon, an edict will likely be issued to the thousands of monk-soldiers in Liuzhou, ordering them back to Mount Lantuo. Xu Fengnian, you must prepare early. Even if you forcibly retain them, it will only leave a hidden danger.”
Xu Fengnian and Chu Lushan exchanged glances, their moods heavy. The advantage gained from the Dragon Eye Plains had been swiftly countered by this development in the Western Regions. Mount Lantuo’s twenty thousand monk-soldiers, though not decisive in the Liang-Mang war, now represented a swing of nearly forty thousand troops. The already numerically superior Northern Mang could afford Mount Lantuo’s defection to Northern Liang, let alone gaining an additional twenty thousand soldiers to pressure Linyao and Fengxiang. More critically, this would flank Liuzhou alongside Huang Songpu’s army, creating a pincer movement—a devastating blow to Northern Liang’s already outnumbered forces.
Xu Fengnian stood and asked, “How exactly did this happen? Did Zhong Tan really sway Mount Lantuo’s dozen enlightened monks with just a decree? Even with inside help, they should have hesitated longer.”
The Six Pearl Bodhisattva clutched her chest. “That decree not only appointed several masters as Northern Mang’s state preceptors but also promised to elevate Mount Lantuo’s teachings as a national foundation, helping spread Buddhism and placing it on equal footing with the Daoist Sect, sharing the Central Plains’ religious influence. Meanwhile, Zhong Tan ascended the mountain alone—but ten thousand elite Northern Mang cavalry were waiting below. Accept, and all would be well. Refuse, and after Zhong Tan’s death, both sides would perish. Xu Fengnian, what choice did they have? I tried to kill Zhong Tan to cut off retreat, but two traitorous monks gave their lives to stop me. Now, the only master still favoring Northern Liang…”
She pointed at herself with a bitter smile, “Is just me.”
After a moment’s thought, Xu Fengnian first ensured the exhausted Six Pearl Bodhisattva could rest, then turned to Chu Lushan. “Linyao’s governor Cai Anshan and Liuzhou’s deputy general Ma Liuke, stationed in Fengxiang, can no longer be trusted. Neither is content with small gains. Send an urgent six-hundred-mile dispatch to Liuzhou’s governor’s residence, ordering Xie Xi’chui to replace Cai Anshan as Linyao’s commander. Though Ma Liuke has been sidelined, his influence among old subordinates remains. Have Qingcang City send troops to ‘escort’ him to our Qingyuan Garrison in Liangzhou. Also, grant Xie Xi’chui and Kou Jianghuai full authority in the Western Regions and Liuzhou!”
Chu Lushan nodded. “Beyond that, Yu Luandao’s ten thousand Youqi cavalry alone won’t suffice for Liuzhou, even with Ning Emei’s replenished four thousand Iron Pagodas. We’ll likely need Shi Fu, the new Liangzhou general, to step in.”
Xu Fengnian sighed. “In that case, Xie Xi’chui’s suggestion will become Northern Liang’s major strategy.”
Chu Lushan grinned. “Battlefields aren’t imperial exams. Last-minute preparations can be surprisingly effective.”
The Six Pearl Bodhisattva lingered in the courtyard, listening to their unguarded conversation as if deciphering an oracle.
Xu Fengnian instructed Chu Lushan to take her to a quiet place to recuperate, then remained alone in the courtyard.
Soon, a familiar white-robed figure appeared at the gate—none other than White Fox, who had left and returned. Hands resting on the hilts of her twin blades, Xiudong and Chunlei, her expression was cold, yet her aura radiated unmistakable tension.
This martial grandmaster, peerless after eighteen strikes, wouldn’t adopt such caution for Xu Fengnian, whom she considered friendly.
Xu Fengnian took a deep breath and turned to see a tall figure standing silently by a coffin.
Clad in white like White Fox, the man carried two cloth bundles—one holding the shaft of his spear, the other its head.
The spear was named *Plum Wine*.
The man placed a hand on the coffin, murmuring as if to himself, “Before leading his troops to battle, Qi Dangguo wrote me a letter. He said that if he died, I should return to Northern Liang someday. He even naively hoped I’d serve Northern Liang, saying brothers shouldn’t hold grudges. When I got the letter, I knew his ‘what if’ was almost certain. So I broke my rule and came back, hoping to prevent his death. Yet despite all your years of hiding your talents, Xu Fengnian, and finally becoming a martial grandmaster, you couldn’t even save one man on the battlefield.”
The man, known for his silence—whether in the Xu family army during the Spring and Autumn War, as Northern Liang’s Protector for over a decade, or as the enfeoffed King of Western Shu—spoke more today than ever before.
White Fox’s thumbs nudged her blades an inch from their sheaths.
Xu Fengnian stood between the two white figures at the gate.
Meanwhile, the Six Pearl Bodhisattva remained outside the courtyard, and the entire Huaiyang Pass stirred to life, the clatter of armor echoing through its streets.
Chen Zhibao, who had returned to Northern Liang with *Plum Wine*, turned and asked bluntly, “Who killed Qi Dangguo?”
Xu Fengnian replied, “Hong Jingyan.”
Chen Zhibao countered, “Did Tuoba Pusa strike Qi Dangguo?”
Xu Fengnian remained silent.
Between him and the White-Clad Military Sage who had defected to the Liyang court, words had always been scarce—whether when the latter bid farewell to the young heir leaving Liangzhou or during their reunion battle on the Guangling River.
Chu Lushan, surrounded by a sea of armored soldiers, strode into the courtyard alone and tossed a jug of wine to Chen Zhibao. “Enough with the sarcasm, Chen. Pay your respects to Old Qi, then get the hell out!”
Chen Zhibao caught the jug of *Green Ant Wine*, knelt before the coffin, and slowly poured the wine onto the ground.
None knew that Chen Zhibao, proud and aloof, had only ever considered one man his true brother—not fellow adopted son Yuan Zuozong, famed across the Central Plains, nor the brilliant but ruthless Chu Lushan, nor even Shi Fu, the current Liangzhou general who once revered him.
It was Qi Dangguo in that coffin—a man of little renown in Northern Liang, Liyang, or Northern Mang.
In Northern Liang, Chen Zhibao had only his remote residence beyond the Yellow Sand Desert, which Qi Dangguo often visited. Their conversations were never lively—just silent drinking, with Qi Dangguo downing jugs and Chen Zhibao sipping sparingly. Whenever Chen Zhibao returned to Liangzhou’s capital, he never stayed at the Cool Mountain Palace, always lodging at Qi Dangguo’s home instead, despite invitations from Yao Jian and Ye Xizhen. Wei Fucheng and Dian Xiongchu, former commanders of the White Feather Cavalry and Iron Pagodas, could never understand why their revered General Chen would associate with a mere *Zhechong Duwei* who only knew how to charge into battle. Even when Qi Dangguo, drunk, “lectured” Chen Zhibao, the latter only smiled wryly without anger.
One New Year’s morning, Chen Zhibao was dragged out of bed by Qi Dangguo to paste spring couplets and blessings around the house. Wei Fucheng and Dian Xiongchu were furious at Qi Dangguo’s audacity, but Chen Zhibao simply followed along, correcting misaligned papers without complaint.
Chen Zhibao poured the wine slowly.
After emptying the jug, he set it down gently and gazed at the coffin holding his old friend, lips pressed tight.
In the early days of the Xu family army, when defeats required rearguards, a simple, honest young man would always step forward first: “I’ll do it!”
He’d argue with anyone who tried to take his place.
His reasoning? “My life’s worthless. Surviving the chaos was luck enough. Dying? No big deal!”
In the war-torn Spring and Autumn era, death was commonplace—for emperors and peasants alike. But few were as eager to die as that young man.
After joining the army out of desperation, Qi Dangguo rose through the ranks with sheer strength and fearlessness, eventually becoming Xu Xiao’s personal guard captain and, after countless brushes with death, the standard-bearer he’d always dreamed of being.
When the Xu family army entered the capital in triumph, rumors swirled that Chen Zhibao would be enfeoffed as a prince. It was then that Qi Dangguo, newly adopted by the Great General, barged in with wine, slammed it on the table, and growled, “Chen Zhibao, if you dare leave the Xu family army, I’ll never call you brother again!”
Chen Zhibao, then as renowned as the White-Clad Monk Li Dangxin, was both amused and inexplicably moved.
The blustering man’s underlying message was clear: “I know I’m not worthy of being your brother, but that’s your call. I’ll always consider you one.”
Chen Zhibao had retorted, “Leave the wine. Get out.”
Qi Dangguo obediently turned to leave, then rushed back to open the wine, saying earnestly…
Before leaving Northern Liang, Chen Zhibao had brought wine to Qi Dangguo, who seemed to sense his intent and asked bitterly, “Leave the wine. Can’t you stay too?”
Chen Zhibao shook his head.
Qi Dangguo drank in sullen silence, then said, “As long as you never oppose Northern Liang, we’re still brothers. But if you do, the first Northern Liang man you kill with *Plum Wine* will be me, Qi Dangguo. That’s no drunken nonsense.”
Now, Chen Zhibao pulled out the letter, crushed it in his palm, and let the fragments scatter. “I got your letter. But some things you asked—I can’t do.”
The tall, simple man, no matter how many enemies he’d slain or merits earned, never possessed Chu Lushan’s ruthlessness, Yuan Zuozong’s heroism, Yao Jian’s intellect, or Ye Xizhen’s pedantry. He always carried the air of the countryside.
Even his plain cypress coffin seemed as unrefined as the man inside.
Chen Zhibao stood, not turning, and sneered, “Thirty thousand Northern Liang cavalry died—just to preserve the Liyang Zhao family’s peace? Xu Fengnian, you’re truly remarkable.”
Xu Fengnian opened his mouth but said nothing.
Chen Zhibao turned, revealing *Plum Wine*’s shaft from its bundle.
The room chilled.
“If Northern Liang were mine, one day…”
Chen Zhibao’s lips curled in scorn as he glanced at Chu Lushan. “You wanted to be a civil official, to earn the posthumous title *Wenzhen*? I’d grant it.”
His gaze swept past Xu Fengnian and the courtyard gate, where Northern Liang’s armored soldiers stood. “Yan Wenluan, Yuan Zuozong, He Zhonghu, Chen Yunhui—all Xu family veterans would be enfeoffed as kings.”
“Shi Fu, Hu Kui, Han Laoshan, Ning Emei, Dian Xiongchu, Wei Fucheng—all Northern Liang generals would be dukes or marquises.”
“Even those who died before peace would receive glorious posthumous honors.”
Chen Zhibao finally met Xu Fengnian’s eyes. “And you? What have you given Northern Liang’s cavalry? Just thirty thousand tombstones?”
He assembled *Plum Wine*, attaching its head to the shaft.
“Though you killed Hong Jingyan, we both know Qi Dangguo died because of you. I don’t care how many of Northern Liang’s thirty thousand perish—but Qi Dangguo’s death? That, I’ll settle with you, the rightful King of Northern Liang.”
Xu Fengnian looked at the White-Clad Military Sage who had come for vengeance. “Chu Lushan, take everyone out of Huaiyang Pass. Bring the Six Pearl Bodhisattva.”
After a hesitation, the Six Pearl Bodhisattva left.
White Fox frowned at the gate. “I’ll stay—but I won’t interfere.”
Xu Fengnian shook his head. “You leave too. No discussion.”
The King of Shu, holding *Plum Wine*, watched impassively as Chu Lushan stormed out, followed by the Six Pearl Bodhisattva, and finally White Fox, who cast a deep glance at Chen Zhibao.
Chen Zhibao seemed to wait for the soldiers to depart before asking leisurely, “In half an hour, you’ll be dead. Any last words?”
Xu Fengnian closed his eyes, meditating until the last Northern Liang soldier left Huaiyang Pass.
Chen Zhibao fell silent, letting the young king gather his energy. His thoughts drifted.
The young King of Liang still wore his worn-out boots.
The King of Shu, who had rushed from Guangling to Liangzhou’s borders, wasn’t much better off.
A prophecy once circulated through the courts: “The rats of Western Shu and Northern Liang devour the grain. The white-clad dragon and serpent shall both be slain.”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage