75
Wanzhou, on a hill beside the official road.
At the break of dawn, Mu Peixuan squinted at the faint pale light emerging in the east. With spring’s arrival, daylight had begun to come earlier. The long convoy was already beginning to stir. They had camped here overnight, and now, before the sky was fully lit, they were packing up to prepare for departure.
The air was piercingly cold, sharp as a blade, carrying a biting chill.
Mu Peixuan was anxious about the battle in Fuzhou. He had been traveling day and night under the stars, and if not for the concern that such a forced march would exhaust the soldiers and horses, he would have rushed toward Fuzhou without rest. Along the way, they encountered many refugees. Mu Peixuan sent Fen Mo to question a few of them about the situation in Fuzhou. But when the refugees caught sight of the soldiers, fear overtook their pale, emaciated faces, and they trembled so violently that they could barely form coherent words.
After much difficulty, they finally found people coming from the direction of Fuzhou. But at the mere mention of Fuzhou, their expressions changed drastically. Panic-stricken, they spoke of a deadly epidemic sweeping through the city, terrifying and fatal. Anyone who caught it was as good as dead. They said Fuzhou was on the verge of becoming a ghost city.
Mu Peixuan’s face darkened instantly. The situation was worse than he had expected. Whether or not the plague in Fuzhou was truly that severe, the fact that such rumors had spread this far meant that the surrounding cities must also be aware. Fuzhou, a city that had just been retaken from rebel forces, would undoubtedly be lacking in supplies. And now, with the plague on top of that, it was unlikely that neighboring cities would be willing to send help.
A sudden unease tightened in Mu Peixuan’s chest.
Fen Mo, who had been with Mu Peixuan for a long time, saw the shift in his expression and quickly handed out some rations to send the refugees away.
In a low voice, Fen Mo said, “Your Highness, Lord Marquis is a good person, he is favored by the heavens. He will be fine.”
Mu Peixuan exhaled deeply and said, “En.”
“Let’s go.”
He said no more. From that point on, aside from necessary breaks, they didn’t stop again. Their large numbers and the gleam of their armor made it clear they were a formal imperial force. Even large groups of refugees and lurking bandits steered well clear of their path. The journey was, all things considered, smooth and unhindered.
Inside Fuzhou city.
“Military Physician He, how is it?” As soon as they saw Military Physician He rise to his feet, Zhou Ting and Xu Ying couldn’t hold back. They stepped forward anxiously and asked in urgent voices.
Military Physician He appeared to be in his thirties. He was the last and most trusted disciple of Military Physician Deng, having inherited his master’s skills almost in full.
A few days ago, Military Physician Deng had contracted the plague.
Military Physician He instinctively took a step back. He glanced at Mu Peizhi, who lay with his eyes closed, then lowered his voice and said, “Commander Zhou, Xu Qianhu, please don’t come any closer.”
At those words, both men’s faces changed dramatically.
Military Physician He shook his head and sighed, “It’s the plague…”
“…How is that possible?” Zhou Ting cried out in disbelief. “Lord Marquis… how could Lord Marquis have caught the plague?”
Military Physician He remained silent, unsure how to respond. He was a physician, no matter how unwilling he was to accept it, he understood better than anyone that before a deadly illness, all lives were equal. Whether noble-born or commoner, no one was immune.
Xu Ying stared blankly at Mu Peizhi lying on the bed and said, “Military Physician He, no matter what, you must save Lord Marquis. If something happens to him, it’ll all be over.”
Zhou Ting lifted his gaze and fixed it sharply on Military Physician He. “What about Military Physician Deng?”
After contracting the plague, Military Physician Deng handed over the hut to Military Physician He and began experimenting on himself with various medicinal herbs, trying to formulate a cure for the illness.
As Military Physician Deng was being mentioned, a shadow passed over Military Physician He’s face. He shook his head and said, “Last night, Master concocted a new remedy. After taking it, he began bleeding from the mouth and nose. If not for timely acupuncture, I fear…”
Zhou Ting fell silent. After a moment, he said, “No matter what, I ask that the Military Physician do everything you can to save Lord Marquis.”
Physician He replied earnestly, “He[mfn]fyi, it’s not he, it’s “He”, his surname[/mfn] will give it my all.”
Zhou Ting exchanged a glance with Xu Ying, then added, “Lord Marquis’s infection must not be leaked to the public.”
Xu Ying understood immediately and said in a low voice, “This subordinate understood.”
Physician He also nodded. “He understand.”
At that moment, Mu Peizhi woke up. Groggy and dazed, he opened his eyes and glanced at Military Physician He, who was by the bedside, then at Zhou Ting and Xu Ying. His head throbbed painfully, his mind felt heavy, and in a hoarse voice, he called out, “…Military Physician He.”
“Lord Marquis.” All three turned toward him.
Mu Peizhi closed his eyes briefly before asking, “I’ve caught the plague?”
His tone was calm, but the question made all their throats tighten, they couldn’t bring themselves to answer.
Mu Peizhi stared at the silk tassel hanging from the bed canopy. After a moment, he gave a faint smile and said, “Commander Zhou, make sure the news of my infection is sealed off. For the coming days, I’ll have to trouble you to take charge of everything in the city.”
Zhou Ting’s eyes turned red as he murmured, “Lord Marquis…”
Mu Peizhi continued, “Xu Ying, I know you are brave and fierce. Because of Li Yue—” He paused to catch his breath, then said, “You harbor deep hatred toward the traitors. But don’t act on impulse. You must assist Commander Zhou.”
Xu Ying turned his head aside, his voice hoarse as well. “Heaven will watch over you, Lord Marquis. You will surely pull through.”
Mu Peizhi raised a hand to knock on his aching head. As his sleeve slipped down, a few red rashes on his pale arm became visible. He seemed briefly dazed, then after a moment, he said, “Don’t worry. I won’t die this fast.” He smiled faintly and added, “The plague at least grants a person ten or so days to live.”
Then he said, “Prepare brush and ink. I need to write a letter to be sent to Ruizhou.”
If he were to die, with so many matters in Fuzhou left unresolved, someone would need to take charge.
Mu Peizhi deliberately concealed the fact that he had contracted the plague, gradually handing over the affairs of the city to Zhou Ting. Fortunately, Zhou Ting was an experienced general with considerable skill in handling matters.
In just a few days, Xu Ying had matured significantly. He learned to endure and no longer behaved as unruly and playful as before.
This battle had cost him too much.
He had lost the brother who had grown up with him, and now, before his eyes, another close friend’s elder brother hovered between life and death.
In the midst of it all, even Xu Ying couldn’t be sure if he would make it back alive.
Zhou Zijin was a promising talent. Mu Peizhi promoted him to the rank of Baihu. He had originally served as a minor official in the city and was well acquainted with the affairs of Fuzhou. With him assisting Zhou Ting, their efficiency in handling matters improved significantly.
Zhou Ting also entrusted the defense of the city to Xu Ying. After observing from the sidelines during two operations, he saw that although Xu Ying harbored deep hatred, he no longer acted impulsively. Zhou Ting felt greatly reassured.
The battlefield has always been this way, one must constantly confront life and death. If someone can’t pull themselves together or is driven to extremes, they’ll never accomplish anything.
Both Xu Ying and Li Yue had been capable generals under his command. With Li Yue already lost, how could he bear to see Xu Ying ruined as well?
Seeing that the city remained stable, Mu Peizhi finally breathed a little easier.
But the plague was relentless. Mu Peizhi had suffered several days of high fever, drifting in and out of consciousness. He had been force-fed countless bowls of bitter herbal concoctions by He Junyi just to bring the fever down. Even so, the heat would return from time to time, and the coughing never ceased. The red rashes spreading across his body only increased in number.
Mu Peizhi was going out even less frequently.
He no longer appeared on the city walls, and Sun Qing, ever perceptive, intensified the siege the very next day. Fierce fighting erupted without pause outside Fuzhou City, blood splattered across the ground, and the city walls were stained in red.
Thick black smoke billowed into the sky. Boiling water was poured down from above, scalding the rebel soldiers climbing up the siege ladders. Their screams rang out as they fell from the walls. Xu Ying stood atop the battlements, half his face blackened by smoke and fire, his expression grim and cold as he stared at Sun Qing and the masked warrior wielding a spear in the distance. In the past two days, the rebels’ attacks had only grown fiercer, as if they intended to seize Fuzhou City in one fell swoop.
Ever since the plague began spreading, even the army had not been spared, some soldiers had fallen ill, and many others were suspected of infection. With the sick and potentially infected removed from the front lines, the city’s forces were drastically reduced. But more critical than dwindling numbers was the plummeting morale of the border troops.
In military campaigns, the soldiers’ morale must be high, for only then can they fight bravely and fearlessly, unshaken even in the face of death.
“Fuzhou City has almost become an isolated fortress, and sooner or later, Mu Peizhi won’t be able to hold it. Why rush to attack?” Lan Duo said.
Sun Qing looked at the city from afar and replied, “I just feel something’s off. At present, the city is being defended by Xu Ying, but in the past, it was always Zhou Ting who personally oversaw its defense. Why the change?”
Lan Duo pondered, and Sun Qing continued, “According to the scouts, Mu Peizhi hasn’t left his residence for three days already.”
Lan Duo asked, “Do you think Mu Peizhi is sick?” He considered, “Is it serious?”
Sun Qing lightly stroked his blade, chuckling softly, “There’s that possibility. And with the plague ravaging the city, perhaps Mu Peizhi has contracted it?”
Lan Duo sucked in a cold breath, his gray eyes suddenly gleaming with excitement as he clapped his hands, saying, “If Mu Peizhi has contracted the plague, then all we need to do is kill Zhou Ting, and the southern army will become a disorganized mess.”
Sun Qing smiled but didn’t respond.
Lan Duo paced back and forth, then said, “But many of the common people in Fuzhou are suffering from the plague. Even if we take the city, what then?”
Sun Qing casually replied, “Burn it down.”
Lan Duo gave Sun Qing a glance, smiling meaningfully, “Since General Sun has made up his mind, we might as well attack the city early and take Fuzhou back!”
This was a bitter battle.
The rebel forces suddenly launched a full-scale assault on the city. Xu Ying had lost count of how many rebels he had killed under his spear and how many of his own soldiers had been carried down. He had never seen so much death.
Having seen so much, Xu Ying had already become numb to it.
The battle raged on, with the deafening shouts and screams of killing filling the air. On the city wall, Xu Ying wielded his spear to knock away a soldier trying to climb up. His vision was a blur of crimson, and his hand gripping the spear trembled slightly from the exertion.
Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream pierced through the chaos, a rebel who had climbed up unnoticed had driven a blade through the chest of the soldier beside him. Xu Ying gritted his teeth, and with a swift motion, the spearhead shot forward like a snake, slashing across the rebel’s throat.
Blood splattered.
Xu Ying expressionlessly wiped the warm blood from his face. He thought to himself, No matter what, Fuzhou could not fall. Even if he had to die, he would defend Fuzhou.
Below the city wall, the siege weapons slammed against the city gates with a thunderous crash, and arrows rained down like a storm, barely hindering the rebels’ advance.
In the distance, Sun Qing looked at the tenacious Southern army resisting and said to Lan Duo, “Two more days. If we can hold out for two more days, we can take Fuzhou City.”
Lan Duo gripped the reins of his horse and replied, “By then, I will personally take Mu Peizhi’s head and deliver it to Mu Peixuan.”
Suddenly, the ground trembled, and the warhorse under him started to whinny uneasily. Sun Qing’s expression tightened, and he turned to see what was happening. From the right side, a large number of well-armored Southern soldiers appeared. Their black banners fluttered, and the enormous “Mu” character on the flag gleamed with a brilliant, intimidating light.
Sun Qing raised an eyebrow and said, “Southern army?”
“Where did they come from?”
Beside him, Lan Duo straightened in his saddle, staring intently at the flag and the black-armored soldiers. His voice was filled with recognition. “Those are the Mu family’s Black-armored Iron Cavalry.”
The Arles tribe and Marquis Annan Mansion had been at odds for decades. Lan Duo had once witnessed with his own eyes the battle between his father and the old marquis of Marquis Annan Mansion. The Black-armored Iron Cavalry had swept through the battlefield like a force of nature, slaughtering the warriors of the Arles tribe.
The gleaming cold light of the black armor and the bloodstained spears were forever engraved in Lan Duo’s mind, leaving a deep and indelible mark.
No one who had witnessed the Black-armored Iron Cavalry charging across the battlefield could ever forget the sight.
Sun Qing stared in surprise at the cavalrymen wielding long spears. Having served in the Northern Army, he had heard of the Mu family’s Black-armored Iron Cavalry. However, since the old marquis of Marquis Annan Mansion had passed away six years ago, the once formidable Black-armored Iron Cavalry had seemingly vanished. It was said that the cavalry had been absorbed into the frontier army, never to be seen again.
To their surprise, the Black-armored Iron Cavalry had suddenly appeared here.
“Where are you going?” Sun Qing was still thinking when he saw Lan Duo already spurring his horse and charging forward. Lan Duo’s voice was cold as he said, “The Black-armored Iron Cavalry has appeared. Whoever is coming, it must be Mu Peixuan.”
His voice was filled with a chilling fury. “I will kill him with my own hands.”
Sun Qing furrowed his brow and immediately followed.
On the city walls, seeing the Black-armored Iron Cavalry, Xu Ying widened his eyes. Then, he sniffled, his nose suddenly stinging. He clenched his long spear tightly and shouted angrily, “Reinforcements are here, drum the war drums!”
“Brothers!” Xu Ying raised his voice, “Xiao Junwang has arrived. Follow Laozi out of the city and kill all these traitors. We will welcome His Highness into the city!”
Mu Peixuan held immense prestige within the garrison forces. When news spread that he had come to their aid, and coupled with the awe-inspiring momentum of the Black-armored Iron Cavalry, hearts across the battlefield were stirred, and elation surged across their faces.
With a deafening roar, the city gates burst open, and Xu Ying rode out at the front, leading the charge as the troops surged forward in full force.
The one leading the reinforcements was indeed Mu Peixuan.
As he neared Fuzhou City, Mu Peixuan had deliberately avoided the main roads and instead approached silently and stealthily to catch the rebels off guard.
The Black-armored Iron Cavalry had always been the fiercest elite unit within the Southern Army. Even after lying dormant for six years, the moment they drew their blades again, their edge remained as lethal as ever. Following Mu Peixuan’s command, and having been suppressed for six long years, they now struck like starving beasts. Wherever their warhorses charged, blood followed every thrust of their spears.
Mu Peixuan rode atop Ting Lei with his long spear in hand, cutting a path of destruction wherever he passed, enemies scattered in disarray, men and horses alike falling before him.
Suddenly, a lone rider charged straight toward Mu Peixuan. The man wielded a spear and wore a fearsome demon-faced mask, exuding a murderous aura. Mu Peixuan narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the mask, and with a loud clang, their spears clashed in a flurry of strikes.
Mu Peixuan enunciated coldly, “The Chiluo clan.”
Lando grinned widely. “Good memory, Xiao Junwang.”
Mu Peixuan sneered. “A clown like you dares to posture before this prince?” With that, he leapt into the air, his spear crashing down with unstoppable force as he shouted, “Courting death!”
The blow came down with brutal power. Lan Duo dared not take it head-on and narrowly avoided it with a deft twist, but the shock still numbed his hand, and blood seeped from his torn palm.
Mu Peixuan had personally raised his steed, Ting Lei. Even amid the chaos of battle, horse and rider moved in flawless harmony, as if crossing smooth, even terrain. In the blink of an eye, he and Lan Duo exchanged dozens of blows, evenly matched for the moment.
Suddenly, a broad saber came crashing down toward Mu Peixuan’s back. Reacting swiftly, he spun around and met the strike with a backward thrust of his spear. As the weapons clashed, the two locked eyes, and in that instant, both sensed the danger in the other.
At that moment, Xu Ying arrived. Without sparing a glance at Mu Peixuan, his eyes already bloodshot with hatred, he launched a flurry of deadly strikes, all aimed at Sun Qing. Mu Peixuan and Lan Duo clashed once again in a fierce melee.
Sun Qing, seeing his forces overwhelmed by the unexpected assault of the Black-armored Iron Cavalry and having lost the upper hand, realized that continuing the fight would only result in more needless losses. Seizing a brief opening, he called out “Retreat!” to Lan Duo and swiftly withdrew from the battlefield.
Their retreat was covered by soldiers who stayed behind to delay the pursuit.
Having just arrived at Fuzhou City, Mu Peixuan wasn’t eager to press the advantage. When he saw Xu Ying preparing to give chase, he called out, “Xu Ying, never pursue a desperate foe.”
Xu Ying was well accustomed to following his orders. Upon hearing this, he instinctively pulled his horse to a halt and glanced back at Mu Peixuan. “I want to kill them!”
Mu Peixuan replied calmly, “Definitely. But first, we have to return to the city and rest. There’s no need to rush it.”
Xu Ying opened his mouth, ready to blurt out what they had done to Li Yue, but upon meeting Mu Peixuan’s gaze, his eyes welled up with heat, and for a moment, he didn’t know how to speak. Seeing him so disheveled and weary, Mu Peixuan urged his horse forward and clapped him on the shoulder with a smile. “Why are you crying just because you saw me?”
Xu Ying blinked hard, his voice muffled and rough. “I’m not crying.”
Mu Peixuan said, “Let’s go. Back to the city.”
The order to withdraw was sounded.
Riding side by side with Xu Ying as they entered the city, Mu Peixuan asked, “Where’s Li Yue? Why isn’t he here?”
Xu Ying tightened his grip on the reins and lowered his head.
Mu Peixuan urged his horse forward half a step and continued, “I heard there’s an epidemic in the city. How’s the situation now? I brought many physicians, medicine, and food. Go handle the handover later—”
“Let Li Yue handle it. He’s careful and steady,” Mu Peixuan added. “Is my brother at the yamen?”
Xu Ying didn’t respond. Mu Peixuan sensed something was wrong, pulled the reins, and turned to look, only to see Xu Ying’s face already streaked with tears. His shoulders shook with silent sobs, his sorrow restrained yet utterly overwhelming.
“Li Yue… Li Yue is gone,” Xu Ying choked out. “Lord Marquis is at the yamen, but he’s contracted the plague…”
