She wanted to speak. There were many things she wanted to say, yet she could only utter incomprehensibly, as though she was a mute.

Li Ce, did you know? Mister Wu is dead, Lady Yu is dead. Many others are dead. Yan Xun killed many people. Do you think he will kill me too?

Li Ce, Zhuge Yue is dead too, I caused his death. Did you know? It was my fault that he died.

Li Ce, you were right. Yan Xun is really cold-hearted. His heart, even his promises, has been frozen over.

The world felt vast and hollow as Chu Qiao leaned into Li Ce’s embrace and fell asleep, an exhausted look on her face. Li Ce gazed down at her, seeing that she was so pale and gaunt. Even he himself thought that he had gone crazy, thinking about what would have happened had he arrived even a single moment later. Even a single moment later…

The wind blew upon them and he took off his overcoat, wrapping Chu Qiao in his embrace. She appeared ever so skinny and was curled up into a tiny ball, as though she were still a small child. Li Ce lifted his head and looked at the sky filled with snowflakes. He looked at the opposing army emanating an intense bloodthirstiness, then gazed at the towering Longyin Pass. As he looked at the surroundings in front of him, his heart was filled with an anger that could not be suppressed.

Yan Xun, how could you have the heart to do this? How could you be this stone-hearted?

“Your Majesty, Xia has sent messengers to question if Tang intends on interfering in their domestic affairs. How should we reply?” The imperial bodyguard dismounted his horse and rushed forward.

Li Ce carried Chu Qiao and said with a frosty voice, “Tell Zhao Yang that I have taken her away. If he wants her back, I will be waiting for him in Tang Jing.”

“Your Majesty, I’ve brought the person here.” Tie You said as he walked up; a middle-aged man covered with tattoos followed behind him. The man was the leader of the group of men that had jumped down from the snowy mountain peak to save Chu Qiao earlier on.

Li Ce’s countenance softened a little as he nodded towards the man and said, “My thanks to you.”

The tattooed man lowered his head and replied, “Our numbers are limited. If it wasn’t for Your Majesty, General Chu would have been in critical danger.”

“Regardless, it was you who delivered help in time. I will remember this debt of gratitude and repay it in the future should the opportunity arrive.”

“I do not dare. I was only acting upon orders.”

Li Ce’s eyebrow twitched as he asked probingly, “Who is your master?”

“My master has already stopped the Yan Bei troops and has arranged for reinforcements at each pass on your way out. Your Majesty, please make haste and be on your way, we will be the rear guard.”

Li Ce slowly nodded his head. With a deep look in his eyes, he spoke with a heavy tone, “Words can’t express my gratitude for the favor you have done. Take care.” As he finished his words, he swiftly departed with the Tang army and the troops from the Xiuli Army.

There were not more than 60,000 soldiers at Longyin Pass. Upon seeing Li Ce and his army of 200,000, they did not know whether to pursue them. The garrison general took some time to think before saying, “Quick, hurry and ask for instructions from His Majesty.”

The soldiers let out a long breath as they thought: This is a good sign. Once instructions from His Majesty comes, there should be no trace left of this ill omen.

In less than an hour, the contingent made its way to Shichuan Junction. A group of around 2,000 people was waiting quietly for them. Li Ce’s men rode up and negotiated with them, whereupon they left behind a horse carriage and left.

Tie You came back and said, “It’s still that same group. They’ve prepared horses and rations for us ten kilometers ahead. They also left behind a horse carriage and advised Your Majesty to travel inside it, as Yan Bei is cold.”

Li Ce brushed aside the carriage curtain and looked inside. The inside was rather large, furnished with soft bedding made from brocade. There was a metal plate across the large bed, with two charcoal braziers on it. The inside of the carriage was as warm as spring. There was even a small stove in the middle, emitting steam that smelled richly of a medicinal fragrance. When he opened it, a pot of piping hot and nourishing ginseng chicken soup had been placed inside.

“Your Majesty, where exactly did this King of Qinghai come from? He has been so enthusiastic in helping us this time. Does it only stem from a pure desire to do Tang a favor?”

Li Ce stared quietly at that pot of chicken soup for a long time and remained silent.

Chu Qiao laid in the carriage, her complexion pale and wan. As though she felt the warmth from the charcoal braziers, she let out a breath, before shrinking into the embrace of the bed, looking like a rabbit that had fallen sound asleep.

“Tie You, if it was you, who would do these things for you?”

Tie You was stunned and thought for a while before replying, “I’m afraid only my mother would be able to do it. Not even my wife could do it.”

The corners of Li Ce’s mouth rose as he chuckled, “Indeed, there are not many people who would do such a thing.”

“Your Majesty, have you figured out his identity?”

“I now know.” Li Ce nodded his head, and turned towards the distant mountain ranges hidden beneath the white storm of snow. With a tinge of uncertainty in his voice, he mused, “If it was just a suspicion previously, I’m certain of it now.”

No matter how contradictory fate was, no matter the doubts, everyone was a puppet moving along a predetermined path. Since one was not able to escape from it, why would he spoil the show that was to come?

Li Ce let out a slight smile as the gentle expression on his face let out a hint of vicissitude and calmness.

Zhuge Yue, I’m not as good as you.

The blizzard finally stopped before daybreak. Before the sun had come out, the earth was still shrouded in the murky darkness. A man dressed in a green robe stood on the summit of the mountain. A snowy owl flapped its wings as it flew from afar; the vicious apex predator of the mountains landed meekly on his outstretched hand. Its body was pure white, with only three red feathers on its tail, glistening like the crimson of fresh blood. Opening up the letter case attached to the owl, the handwritten words caught his attention: The Tang emperor has brought his troops and returned to the Tang border. I am well. No need to miss me.

The man’s countenance was calm as his eyes maintained their cool demeanor. He could naturally see that his subordinate was teasing him. Who was the one who had been doing well, and who exactly missed who? Hence, he replied: Don’t bother dispersing, just die over there.

The young general laughed heartily when he received the reply, revealing the whites of his teeth. He waved his hands and said to his men, “Let’s scatter, it’s time to go home.”

“Seventh General, you must be missing your wife right now.” A man in his forties said as he guffawed. His shoulder had been pierced by an arrow and had just been bandaged up, yet he was laughing as though he was perfectly fine. The tattoos on his face moved about like a small snake.

“Shoo! You old bachelor, I hope that you never have to experience such yearning for the rest of your life.”

“These Yan Bei whelps are too savage!” A general in his thirties exclaimed as he walked in half-naked, despite the cold weather. There was a bandage wrapped around his chest. It could be seen that he too had recently sustained that injury.

“It’s not like I stole their wives, yet they tried to kill me.”

The seventh general laughed and replied, “You didn’t steal his wife, but Master did. Let’s go, it’s not like we came to fight a war. Give instructions to Qi Lang to arrange for the retreat path. Let’s all prepare to get out of this place.”

The commander who the seventh general had termed “Old Bachelor” grumbled as he stood up, saying as he walked out, “I feel that this battle fought by Master wasn’t appropriate. He didn’t even lay eyes upon his wife before she got taken away by another person. It’s not like we can’t win against them. We’ve really lost this time.”

The number of people in the tent thinned as they left. The seventh general stood in his original position, stunned for a moment from what he just heard. After ruminating, he said to himself, “Master truly cannot afford to take such a risk!”

Indeed, once the fighting reached a stalemate and dragged on, if anything untoward happened on the other side, it would be meaningless even if they won eventually.

The seventh general thought of the person he saw on the battlefield a while back as his eyes squinted with hatred. Back then, if not for the help that Yue Da’s aides rendered, he would have been killed in that massacre two years ago. This score was to be settled sooner or later.

It was three days later when Li Ce took Chu Qiao onto a boat at Tangshui Pass. The sun had risen from beneath the horizon, covering the land below with its golden radiance. The sky was clear; no clouds could be seen for miles. Tangshui Pass was near to the southwest; the climate was warm, rivers were gushing, and the land was a rich aquamarine. The large boat led the fleet of thousands of boats as it set off with a thunderous sound. Waves surrounded them in all directions like an avalanche; the horizon glowed a bright green. The huge masts of the boats pointed up towards the heavens, unfurling their massive sails one by one.

“Set sail!” Tie You shouted, his voice carrying a few hints of elation.

Li Ce stood on the ship’s stern, wearing a loose green robe. He had a devilish glint in his eyes as he appeared strikingly handsome. He looked up ever so slightly, staring at Cuiwei Mountain which stood in the distance. He vaguely made out the lonesome figure standing at the summit.

The humans and the tides intertwined; the climates changed repeatedly. The wind blew towards them from the direction of the mountain summit. It brought with it a light fragrance, lightly numbing the people’s arms all the way to their bone marrow. In that instant, their thoughts cleared up at once.

Li Ce suddenly laughed, sounding as cunning as a fox. He was grinning from ear to ear. To the shock of his subordinates, he blew a passionate kiss towards the peak of the mountain. Everyone who saw it was embarrassed at this sudden action. Tie You asked despondently, “Your Majesty, did you see the village girl collecting firewood?”

Li Ce looked back with an expression of surprise and replied, “Ah! How did you know?”

The audience sighed helplessly as they thought to themselves: Your Majesty, who wouldn’t know?

The river was as smooth as silk; the ships meandered on into the distance towards the rising sun. Everything was satisfactory. The man silently stood on the summit. He had clearly witnessed Li Ce’s provocative actions. He wrinkled his eyebrows slightly, but did not turn to leave.

The ships gradually disappeared into the distance, yet he still remained standing there for a long time after. His heart was silently calm. There was no sorrow nor exhaustion. The wind blew against his back wistfully; his shadow cast against the ground had a faint glow to it. The mountain was filled with the smell of dust mixed with fog. As the wind swept across his face, his expression remained gentle, as though nothing had happened. He absentmindedly reminisced about her gaze, feeling as though he had been transported back to the barren, weed-infested grasslands in his memories. Abruptly, he saw a lone tree standing tall. It looked gentle and accepting, which caused him to lose his coldness.

That was the 29th day of the ninth month in the year 778. It was the season for chrysanthemum flowers to bloom in Tang Jing. The wind whistled as it blew through the capital city, while the sun sprinkled golden light over the ground. The ships sailed towards the south, slowly making their way back towards that area of sweet extravagance. Autumn had passed; it was now winter. Only in the warm lands of Tang did the difference between autumn and winter not seem significant. The chrysanthemum flowers had fallen; the blossoms withered black on their branches. When the strong night wind blew, the ground was covered in yellow blossoms, lightly swirling with the wind.

Chu Qiao was dreaming again. At that moment, both her feet were once again on that barren wasteland. The sun was a rosy red as strong winds gushed towards her, scooping up the loose weeds covering the landscape, causing them to look like a withered yellow wave as they billowed in the wind. The young man was galloping happily on his horse, giving off his usual laughter and appearing like his initial self in her impressions. The Huoyun flowers bloomed brightly on the blood-stained soil, swaying extravagantly as they were trampled beneath the hooves of the snow white horse. Suddenly, she heard the hearty laughter of the young man. He laughed and said, “AhChu, hurry and catch up!”

She took off, chasing behind him, the sun beating down upon her body, the wind screeching as it blew past her ears. The bright yellow landscape in front of her was her hope, just like the fantasy she had been endlessly dreaming of over the past eight years. However, just as she was about to catch his hand, heaven and earth suddenly became a ghastly white, and a blizzard buried all her hopes and dreams. The jovial young man had grown up in the blink of an eye, his face now cold and unfeeling as he stood before her. Countless Yan Bei soldiers dressed in black body armors stood behind him. The soldiers held ice cold arrows which were aimed in the direction behind her. She turned around hastily, only to see blood blossoming out from his body. As the icy plains disintegrated, the cold water started to spread. She followed and jumped into the deep lake as she finally saw that pair of lonely eyes. He kissed her gently beside her lips, the icy corners of his mouth nuzzling at her temples. His hands were so big and strong as he dragged her bit by bit, passing on the hope to live into her hands.