Fine snow drifted down from the sky.
Ji Yu stood quietly beside Song Chuyi for a while. When he saw that she had remained motionless for so long, he could not help asking, “Is something troubling you, sir?”
“Something troubling me…” Song Chuyi had been troubled for far longer than a day or two. But this was not the sort of burden that could be eased simply by putting it into words. She gave a faint smile and said lightly, “Go to sleep. Troubles in dreams aren’t troubles at all.”
Ji Yu watched her retreating figure, silently repeating her words to himself. He did not give much thought to their deeper meaning. He simply felt that Song Chuyi was not, in truth, as carefree and frivolous as she seemed. There must be depths to her that ordinary people could scarcely fathom, and an oppression within her that she could find no way to relieve.
They slept soundly through the night.
By the time the sky had begun to lighten at dawn, Ji Yu was dressed and ready to leave. Just as Song Chuyi had predicted, the snow had stopped long ago. A layer blanketed the ground, like a thick coating of white frost.
After getting the convoy ready, Ji Yu called for Song Chuyi for quite some time, but received no response. In the end, he ordered someone to pry open her door and carry her out, bedding and all, before tossing her onto the carriage.
Seeing this, White Blade leapt onto the carriage as well and curled up at her feet to continue sleeping.
The carriage rattled along, swaying gently as it covered an unknown distance. Only when the first rays of sunlight filtered through the narrow gaps in the windows did Song Chuyi begin to stir from sleep.
“Sir!” Longgu Buwang’s excited voice rang out from outside the carriage.
Song Chuyi rolled over and mumbled a vague response.
“Sir, the scenery is absolutely beautiful! Come out and have a look!” Longgu Buwang called out, followed immediately by a burst of hearty laughter.
Song Chuyi lay there for a little longer, until her drowsiness gradually faded. She got up and dressed, then rinsed her mouth with green salt and washed her face before finally opening the window.
In the morning light, Longgu Buwang had just ridden past the carriage on horseback. His horse’s hooves sent snow flying from the ground, while his cloak billowed behind him. He was the very picture of youthful confidence and spirited ambition.
Song Chuyi threw on her cloak and patted White Blade. “Come on. Let’s get down too.”
White Blade was growing quickly. After nearly three months, its body had reached almost two meters in length, making it roughly the size of an adult wolf from the mountains.
During this time, White Blade had probably sensed the goodwill Song Chuyi had shown it. She had never tethered it, yet it had never run away.
“White Blade, let me have a ride,” Song Chuyi said, stroking the wolf’s fur as she hoisted herself onto its back.
But how could a proud snow wolf tolerate someone riding on its back? White Blade did not throw her off. Instead, it simply lay down on the ground and stubbornly refused to get up.
Longgu Buwang came galloping over like a gust of wind, laughing loudly. “Sir, are you planning to admire the scenery right here on the ground?”
Song Chuyi was already irritated at her inability to get White Blade to move. Hearing Longgu Buwang poke fun at her, she immediately roared, “I’ll give you a bird!”
The entire group burst into laughter. It was hardly surprising that they couldn’t hold it in; Song Chuyi’s words were far too open to misinterpretation.
Longgu Buwang gritted his teeth, sorely tempted to hurl an insult back at her. But for all his wild and unrestrained ways, he had received a Confucian education from childhood. Propriety, righteousness, integrity, a sense of shame, and respect for one’s teacher were ingrained in his very bones. He simply could not bring himself to swear at her.
Song Chuyi continued struggling with White Blade for quite some time. Eventually, Ji Yu led a horse over to her. “You should ride a horse instead. A snow wolf may be impressive, but it isn’t a mount, after all.”
“I’ll butcher you tomorrow!” Song Chuyi glared furiously at White Blade.
White Blade had no idea what she was saying. It happily rolled around on the ground, sprang back to its feet, and shot off like an arrow, frightening the merchant caravan’s horses half to death. They all neighed in alarm.
“Sir, you really should do something about White Blade,” Ji Yu said.
Do something about it? How, exactly? Song Chuyi cleared her throat a few times and smiled. “I like its innocent, carefree nature just the way it is. It’s still young, so, Commander Ji, surely you wouldn’t want to cruelly snuff that out?”
Ji Yu’s stern face took on a faint bluish tinge. “It may be innocent and carefree, but at this rate, we won’t reach Xianyang even in a month’s time.”
Song Chuyi nodded in agreement. Then she called out loudly, “White Blade!”
She had only been calling for show and hadn’t expected much. To her surprise, White Blade appeared at her side in the blink of an eye, drooling over her horse.
The horse beneath Song Chuyi took several steps backward, every muscle in its body taut, as though ready to flee for its life at any moment.
Song Chuyi was already nursing a headache when she suddenly heard the sharp whistle of something cutting through the air.
She glanced up and saw a feathered arrow hurtling fiercely towards White Blade. She cried out in alarm, and Ji Yu’s entire body tensed as he drew his sword with lightning speed.
Clang!
The bronze sword met the arrowhead with pinpoint accuracy in midair, sending sparks flying. The arrow was knocked several yards away, and the force behind it was so great that half its shaft sank into the earth.
White Blade sprang into the air, every hair on its body instantly standing on end.
Immediately afterwards, the ground began to shake violently. The thunderous pounding of hooves approached like war drums beating in unison. Song Chuyi followed the sound with her gaze and saw a vast black cloud rapidly drawing near. The horses’ hooves kicked up the thin layer of snow on the ground, raising a pale mist that swept towards them like a raging storm. In the blink of an eye, it was upon them.
The black-armored cavalry halted not far from the merchant caravan. More than a dozen crossbowmen stood among their ranks, their powerful crossbows already loaded and aimed, ready to fire.
“Hold your fire!” Song Chuyi shouted at once.
Every soldier in black armor stood as rigid as a monument, and not even the warhorses beneath them stirred. An overwhelming aura of bloodshed and killing intent swept across the area.
As the standoff continued, Song Chuyi was about to speak again when a burly general in black armor slowly rode out from one side. The black wolf pelt draped around his neck obscured half his face, leaving only a pair of eyes as cold and keen as blades visible. His thick, dark eyebrows slanted sharply towards his temples, fierce as two drawn swords.
The general’s gaze shifted slightly, settling on White Blade and Song Chuyi. He raised a hand a fraction, stopping the armored soldier beside him who was about to call out. His cool, piercing gaze eventually came to rest on Ji Yu, and he offered a word of praise.
“An impressive warrior, and fine swordsmanship!”
His voice was as cold as his gaze, yet it carried an unmistakable boldness and grandeur.
Ji Yu sheathed his sword and cupped his hands in a salute.
The man gave Ji Yu a slight nod, flicked his riding crop, and galloped away like a drifting cloud. The black-armored troops immediately followed, sweeping around one side of the merchant caravan in a swift yet orderly formation.
“What an imposing display!” Longgu Buwang watched the retreating troops, his eyes shining with excitement.
Song Chuyi breathed a sigh of relief. She dismounted and patted White Blade on the back to reassure it. The black-armored soldiers who had just passed by had probably mistaken the situation for a snow wolf attacking the merchant caravan and intervened to help. After all, there couldn’t be many oddballs in this world who kept wolves for fun.
Longgu Buwang rode forward and asked the Qin soldiers in plain clothes who were guiding them, “Gentlemen, may I ask which army just passed us, and who was the general leading them?”
“Young master, you’re too kind. We’re common soldiers, hardly deserving of such a respectful address. Judging by their armor, they were probably troops from Xianyang. But that general looked rather young. We’ve been stationed at Wuguan for ten years and know little of the changes at court,” replied the Qin squad leader in a thick local accent.
Under Song Chuyi’s soothing touch, White Blade gradually calmed down. She mounted her horse and glanced back. A faint haze of dust still hung in the direction in which the black-armored troops had disappeared. She lowered her eyes, concealing the turbulent emotions within them.
“The Qin army’s reputation for being formidable is certainly well deserved,” Ji Yu remarked with a sigh. There was no need to witness them fighting on the battlefield; their sharp, formidable presence alone was enough to give one an idea of their prowess.
When Song Chuyi raised her eyes again, her gaze had returned to its usual calm.
“Sir, did you see that?” Longgu Buwang could barely contain his excitement.
“I’m not blind,” Song Chuyi replied irritably.
Buwang, oh, Buwang, she thought. The Qin army may indeed be impressive, but as envoys of Wey, couldn’t we at least try to keep our composure?
Longgu Buwang gave no thought to whether he was an envoy or not. He was an earnest soul who spoke from the heart. In his eyes, if someone was truly impressive, then they deserved praise. There was nothing shameful about acknowledging another’s strengths.
Song Chuyi did not reprimand him. For one thing, in front of so many people, she could hardly afford to wound Longgu Buwang’s pride. For another, the people of Longxi were generally straightforward and unpretentious. Seeing his reaction, they might even feel a sense of pride welling up within them, rather than mock the envoys from a small state for their ignorance of the wider world.
Come to think of it, although Song Chuyi had not gotten a clear look at the black-armored general’s face, his sheer presence had certainly been formidable enough to command respect.
Longgu Buwang was still caught up in his excitement and paid no attention to Song Chuyi’s tone. Gazing into the distance, he said wistfully, “If only I could command an army like that in battle one day, I would have no regrets in this life.”
Song Chuyi frowned slightly, beginning to understand why Longgu Buwang admired Pang Juan so much.
Pang Juan was like a double-edged blade, with his strengths and weaknesses both exceptionally pronounced. One particular trait of his could be seen as either a blessing or a curse: his near-obsession with building a powerful army. It had enabled him to train the Wei Warriors, a force that seemed invincible on the battlefield, bringing Wei’s military strength to its peak for a time. Yet that very obsession had also led him into a dead end.
In this respect, Longgu Buwang was remarkably similar to Pang Juan.
As the convoy continued on its way, Song Chuyi rode alongside Longgu Buwang.
“Buwang, have you ever heard the story of Tian Ji’s horse race?”
Longgu Buwang nodded.
“It teaches us that strategy can turn a disadvantage into an advantage.” Song Chuyi looked at him as she spoke.
Longgu Buwang was momentarily stunned, but he soon understood what she meant. A powerful army was certainly important, but one must not pursue military strength blindly.
“I understand. But suppose Tian Ji were racing against someone whose horses were all superior steeds. No matter what strategy Sun Bin employed, surely he would still have little chance of winning?” Longgu Buwang asked.
Perhaps Pang Juan thought the same way back then, Song Chuyi mused.
She shook her head. “You have a point. But warfare is different from horse racing. Why do military strategists speak of assessing war through the Five Factors? Even within those five factors, there are countless variables. Far too many things can influence the outcome of a battle. Do you remember what I once told you about taking advantage of Heaven’s timing and the natural course of events?”
“Of course,” Longgu Buwang replied.
Song Chuyi asked, “No matter how powerful an army becomes, can it defy the will of Heaven?”
The answer was obvious. “No,” Longgu Buwang said.
“The word soldier, meaning warfare, does not refer merely to soldiers. A powerful army is certainly desirable, but military strength alone does not guarantee victory.”
Seeing the confusion on Longgu Buwang’s face, Song Chuyi realized that the awe-inspiring sight of the Qin army’s black-armored troops had left him too stirred to think clearly. She did not wish to say too much. Instead, she offered one final reminder.
“Qi’s military strength was by no means weak, yet it was nowhere near that of the Wei Warriors. So why did Pang Juan’s mighty army fall to Sun Bin’s forces from Qi?”
Longgu Buwang gradually regained his composure and sank into thought.
His mind was torn between Song Chuyi’s words and the breathtaking sight he had just witnessed: the imposing general leading the black-armored troops, whose formidable bearing had been enough to shake him to the core.
Song Chuyi said nothing more, leaving him to work through the question on his own.
The convoy gradually entered a narrow, rugged mountain road. Another twelve kilometers along this difficult route would bring them to Shangyu and Wu. Judging by the passage of time, the day Shang Yang was executed could not be far off.
