"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The crisp sound of armor rubbing against armor, the soldiers, their voices hoarse with excitement, raised their spears high, letting out earth-shattering shouts.
Crimson tassels fluttered before each young, resolute face.
"Kill them! Drive them away! Let them know that every inch of our Great Jing's territory, every drop of our rivers, is inviolable! Because on this land stand the most loyal warriors, the most unyielding souls!
It is you! The finest sons of Great Jing! Your Emperor, with the Divine Woman, watches from afar, awaiting your triumphant return!"
As Mingde Emperor finished speaking, Ling Yao raised her hand, a simple, ancient black token resting in her palm.
"Xiao Shan, receive the order!"
Xiao Shan knelt on one knee, his hands raised high. He looked up at Ling Yao with devout reverence. In this moment, she was not his woman; she was the queen for whom he would give everything.
The token was enveloped in a red light and, as if with wings, slowly descended from the city wall. Under the awestruck gazes of a hundred thousand soldiers, it flew into the hand of the God of War in their hearts, General Shenwu.
"Your subject! Receives the order! I shall slay all wolves and jackals, and protect our mountains and rivers!"
"Protect our mountains and rivers!"
"Protect our mountains and rivers!"
"Protect our mountains and rivers!"
The great army marched, their families seeing them off. Civil and military officials, along with Emperor Mingde and the Divine Woman on the city wall, watched them depart. Xiao Shan rode at the front, his figure disappearing into the vast, dark mass of the army.
He had experienced scenes like this many times in his life, but this time was different. This time, he felt an unprecedented surge of spirit, his morale soaring.
Yet, he still felt something was missing, an emptiness in his heart.
About twenty miles outside the capital, Du Ling, who was on patrol, spotted something unusual.
"General, on that hillside, it appears to be a carriage."
Xiao Shan looked. The hillside to his left rear was quite distant, but the carriage bore a golden imperial banner, which was why Du Ling recognized it as a royal carriage.
A surge of emotion coursed through him. He knew what was missing.
He hadn't properly bid her farewell.
"Continue forward. This general will follow shortly!"
With the thunderous neighing of a thousand horses, Xiao Shan, his cloak billowing, his armor in place, sped like the wind. Between heaven and earth, a man and his horse roared past.
The felt curtain of the carriage was open. Through the distant swirling dust, a black steed powerfully appeared in view. The surrounding scenery vanished, leaving only the god-like, imposing, and majestic figure of the man.
He had come.
Ling Yao leaped from the carriage. Disregarding the guards flanking her, she held up her sweeping gown and ran towards the gust of wind.
From a distance of ten paces, Xiao Shan leaped down, catching her light, swallow-like form.
His armor was hard and cold. He used his hand to create a barrier, fearing he might hurt her. His tiger-like eyes blazed with an intense fire, almost consuming the person before him.
She had come to see him off, as his wife.
With such a wife, what more could a husband ask for?
In front lay mountains of knives, seas of fire, and hells of Asuras, and he feared none of it!
"I passed by a long street and bought a candied hawthorn. Eat it on your way back."
Xiao Shan took out a bright red candied hawthorn from his embrace. His heavy armor had flattened it somewhat, and the glutinous rice paper was crumpled.
This was her favorite. He didn't know if he would return, but seeing it, he couldn't help but buy one.
Ling Yao took it and took a bite, then offered it to his lips. Xiao Shan swallowed the part she had bitten in one gulp.
Memories flooded back, as if returning to the very beginning of their acquaintance. They looked at each other and smiled.
"Hurry and go."
Ling Yao finally pushed him away.
The hundred thousand soldiers were still waiting for him.
Xiao Shan gently stroked the hair that had fallen by her ear. She had come directly from the city wall, still in her ceremonial attire from the review stand, a golden crown atop her head, her dark hair coiled, a lotus blooming on her forehead, impossibly beautiful.
He removed his helmet and, lowering his head, kissed her forehead. Then, he turned, not looking back, remounted his horse, and departed as suddenly as he had arrived.
Where does sorrow find its root? In the autumn of a departing heart.
Patiently awaiting the blooming of a single tree, I hope for your swift return.
"Princess, the wind is strong. Shall we go back?"
Yu Liu and Yu Shan approached, draping a cloak around Ling Yao. Yu Liu, seeing the candied hawthorn in her hand, couldn't help but try to lighten the mood.
"The General dotes on the Princess like a child. Won't eating too many candied hawthorns give you a toothache?"
Ling Yao listened to Yu Liu's words, remembering when they were still in Bozi Village. She loved candied hawthorns, but he would always buy only one, and they had to share it.
She would get angry every time, calling him stingy.
What was even more infuriating was that after eating, he would always complain, saying, "What's so good about this stuff? It's sour enough to ache your teeth, and sweet enough to be sickening."
Then why did he always snatch it from her?
Only now did she understand.
He was afraid she would hurt her teeth by eating too much!
This overbearing yet heartwarming man!
"Yu Liu, if you ever meet a man who dotes on you like a child, you can marry him."
"How could that be!"
Yu Liu was startled. "Princess, I am your personal maid. I will not marry!"
"Why not? You are young. If you meet someone who truly cares for you, this Princess will ensure you have a proper wedding."
"Princess..."
Yu Liu knew she wouldn't marry, but she was still deeply touched by Ling Yao's words.
What fortune was it to have met such a wonderful princess?
She didn't want any scoundrel. She wanted to stay by the Princess's side her entire life.
She also wanted to watch the young prince and princess grow up.
"And Yu Shan, it's the same for you."
Yu Shan was older, like a gentle elder sister. At her age, she should have been married long ago, and her children should have been several years old.
Ling Yao didn't know her past, but she had heard Xiao Shan mention once that she was an unfortunate soul.
Yu Shan shook her head, her attitude the same as Yu Liu's.
"My entire life, I only wish to stay by the Princess's side, and go nowhere else."
Alright, Ling Yao said no more.
She didn't know when she would be able to live in seclusion with Xiao Shan. It was too early to say these things.
If that day truly came, she would certainly make arrangements for them.
The carriage avoided the bustling streets, with the Golden Guard flanking it closely, heading towards the Imperial Palace.
Passing through a narrow alley, a woman suddenly rushed out, carrying a child. Due to the child's weight, she fell in the middle of the road.
The carriage and horses stopped abruptly, and the heavy vehicle swayed.
"How dare you! Retreat quickly!"
Seeing that it was merely a panicked, ignorant woman, the guard drew his sword and shouted.
The woman seemed startled, frozen for a moment, then her eyes lit up, as if she had seen a savior.
"Your Grace, please, I beg you, save my son! My son ate something wrong, he's dying! Your Grace, please, please take us to Baohetang at the foot of the Imperial City, I beg you!"
The woman's nose and tears were all mixed together, crying as pitifully as possible. The child in her arms was motionless, and indeed looked to be in a bad state.
"You woman, move away quickly! Otherwise, you will be killed without mercy!"
The guard shouted again.
Although startled, the woman grew more desperate.
She cried out towards the direction of the Imperial City, "Divine Woman! Save us! Heaven has given us no way to live! My child, my poor child!"
"The ways of heaven are unjust! Why must you take my child? I am willing to exchange my life for his!"