Jirgal's breathing was ragged. Though the air in his lungs exchanged with the icy draft, his body felt no cold.
He had only a scant seven or eight soldiers by his side, whom he had left far behind.
He had but one thought in his mind: to cross the Moshen River at the border, escape the territory of the Northern Frontier, and run away! Run as far as he could!
As long as he could stay alive, there was hope.
But whenever he turned his head, he could see that ghost-like figure right behind him, pursuing him relentlessly.
Back when they besieged Zhongyi City, Qu Dubian had fled the encirclement with Xu Jin, running desperately for his life just like this.
Now, the hunter and the hunted had switched places.
-
On the other side.
The Left Worthy King was not nearly as difficult to catch.
After all, he was not the King of the Northern Frontier; almost no one was willing to lay down their lives to protect him at the very end.
The Left Worthy King was betrayed by his own men. A few of his subordinates tripped him and offered him up on their own accord in exchange for their lives.
"Bastards! Cowards!"
The Left Worthy King cursed vehemently.
Xia Fuyang felt it was quite a pity. Pressing his long spear against the side of the Left Worthy King's neck, he said, "I suppose they have temporarily saved your life. Otherwise, I really would have loved to chop your head off."
The Left Worthy King shivered at the touch of the icy spearhead.
"Since that's the case, you shall be taken captive back to the Great Zhou along with Jirgal, to be offered as sacrifices to our Great Zhou's ancestors!"
During the New Year and festivals, offering the heads of two Northern Frontier kings would surely bring joy to the ancestors.
Xia Fuyang raised his hand. "Tie him up."
The Left Worthy King and his men were tightly bound and tethered behind the horses. Xia Fuyang instructed his deputy to take them back to the grassland camp, while he himself spurred his horse in the direction Qu Dubian had gone in pursuit.
"Second Brother, your squad come with me! We're done here, let's go find our Little General Qu."
"Yes, sir!"
"This time I caught my target first. He wasn't as fast as me."
Xia Fuyang intended to thoroughly brag about this in front of Qu Dubian, so he excitedly chased after him.
But when he caught up with Ye Lianyang and the others, he didn't see Qu Dubian. He couldn't help but ask, "Where is Little Seventh?"
Ye Lianyang replied, "This whole area is riddled with pika burrows, and Jirgal clearly knew it. That son of a bitch led us here through a winding path. The horses couldn't run anymore, so the boss dismounted and went after him on foot."
He was exhausted, still panting as he spoke. "We wanted to follow, but our speed really couldn't keep up."
In areas of the grassland heavily burrowed by pikas, one couldn't ride horses, as they could easily stumble, sending both horse and rider tumbling.
Xia Fuyang asked, "Which way did they go?"
Ye Lianyang pointed to the north. "Over toward the Moshen River."
-
By the Moshen River.
Jirgal looked back once more. That nightmare-like shadow was still closely tailing him. Enraged yet on the verge of a breakdown, he yelled:
"Are you sick in the head?!"
The Great Zhou had already won. On such a freezing day, wouldn't it be better to go back and sleep? He promised that once he escaped, he would absolutely never return!
Qu Dubian blinked hard, and his blurry, dark vision slowly cleared up a bit. He replied, "Yes, I am sick."
The complications from stimulating his sphenoid sinus to block his sense of smell were getting increasingly severe, yet his sense of smell stubbornly retained its last trace—even though he could barely smell anything anymore.
Because the simulator could not stand his prolonged self-harming behavior, he felt that it wasn't his body recovering so well, but rather the simulator secretly teaching him a lesson.
These faint thoughts fleeted through his mind without leaving the slightest trace.
Even though it was snowing tonight, the moon was visible—a rare sight.
The edges of the Moshen River had already frozen thick, with only the middle still flowing with crushed ice. Moonlight and snowflakes intertwined as they fell into the pitch-black river.
It was approaching the early hours of the morning.
Qu Dubian drew the long saber from his waist and hurled it fiercely at Jirgal's back!
The hairs on the back of Jirgal's neck stood on end. He rolled on the ground, and the long saber flew past, grazing the side of his neck, and plunged straight into the frozen surface of the river!
He clutched the wound on his neck, panting heavily, as a ruthless look gradually surfaced in his eyes.
"Don't push me too far! It's just you and me here! At worst, I'll kill you and then run!"
Qu Dubian said, "Come and fight!"
He flew forward. Jirgal let out a roar, wielding twin daggers in both hands, and engaged in close-quarters combat with Qu Dubian.
Qu Dubian dodged the daggers and leaned back abruptly by the river, his body almost parallel to the ice. He grabbed his saber backhandedly, pulled it out of the ice, and slashed the frost-covered blade directly at Jirgal's hands.
Clang!
Blades clashed, and Jirgal was forced several steps back by the impact.
Qu Dubian blocked the way to the Moshen River. "Bind yourself here, and I will not kill you."
Jirgal knew clearly in his heart that not killing him now did not mean not killing him later.
"Let me pass, and I'll believe you."
Qu Dubian replied, "Then we have nothing to discuss..."
His meridians suddenly began to spasm, and his inner energy rapidly surged within just a few seconds.
He frowned slightly. His grip on the saber tightened bit by bit, veins bulging on the back of his hand.
Jirgal keenly noticed something was wrong with him but had no time to think it over. He quickly seized the opportunity and darted to the side.
Qu Dubian abruptly turned his head, his eyes dark and heavy.
He concentrated all his surging inner energy onto the blade. "I said, you can't leave!"
Boom!
The inner energy erupted from his body and collided with Jirgal's inner energy, causing the air to crackle with explosive sounds. Jirgal's eyes widened suddenly, as if he had seen some terrifying monster, fear rising in his gaze.
He was sent flying backwards for dozens of meters, crashing heavily into a thick, ancient tree on the bank of the Moshen River.
His internal organs suffered a heavy blow, and he didn't know how many bones in his body had shattered. He lay on the ground, spitting blood frantically, struggling for a long time but failing to get up.
"Your... your inner energy..."
Jirgal coughed a few times. "It suddenly surged several times over. You... cough, cough... your strength goes far beyond this..."
Just from what he felt a moment ago, such power could not be achieved without decades of accumulation.
Coupled with the newly developed gunpowder, the divine arm crossbow, and the three-bow siege crossbow... "Heaven is destroying my Northern Frontier, Heaven is destroying my Northern Frontier. Why did the Great Zhou produce a monster like you? A monster..."
Carrying his saber, Qu Dubian walked over expressionlessly and tied Jirgal up tightly.
Only after ensuring the man could not escape did he lean against the tree trunk, bend over, and vomit a mouthful of black blood.
Qu Dubian's vision had already blurred into phantoms. He covered his mouth and coughed softly. The blood he coughed up next turned bright red, seeping through his cold, pale fingers and dripping onto the ground.
Jirgal said, "You suffered internal injuries too!"
He suddenly realized that the explosive power that had nearly crippled him just now was not hidden strength, but likely the result of some forbidden martial arts technique.
This was his first reaction, but soon, he caught a glimpse of the ring of small white flowers growing around the roots of the tree.
The small white flowers were turning blackish-purple after being stained with the first mouthful of black blood Qu Dubian had spat out.
Jirgal's pupils contracted sharply, his eyes filled with disbelief. This...?
Qu Dubian did not notice his abnormality. He took a breath, stabbed his saber into the ground, and slid down to sit with his back leaning against the tree trunk.
After the agonizing pain of the spastic phase passed, the final relaxation phase arrived.
During this transitional stage, the pain gradually vanished. The physical relief was accompanied by mental soothing, as drowsiness and darkness slowly engulfed his body.
With his eyes half-open, he watched the waning moon and the drifting snow.
The ice of the Moshen River was crystal clear, the tree branches turned into jade-like twigs, and the withered yellow grasslands were gradually dyed pure white.
He reached out his hand. His fingers were long and slender, the joints well-defined, but the residual bloodstains eroded this cleanliness. He made a weak grasping motion toward the moon.
If he were to die just like this, could he return to a hundred or a thousand years in the future?
His hands would no longer be stained with blood, and he would no longer step into treacherous swamps of conspiracy.
What if he had no memories of his past life, no simulator, and was just a lonely child in poor health, stumbling as he grew up amidst schemes and calculations.
He had a mother, an older sister, maternal grandparents, relatives, and friends.
He had avoided his older brothers' struggle for power, but his carefree youth was shattered by the sudden turmoil in the Northern Frontier and an imperial decree for a marriage alliance.
His sister was sent far away to marry for the alliance.
Step by step, he became the General Who Conquers the North, leading expeditions into the Northern Frontier.
With his rising fame and military power in hand, his achievements overshadowed the emperor, drawing the fear and envy of petty men.
He drank the slow-acting poison sent from the capital, carved a bloody path through the Northern Frontier, and instead of dying on the blind battlefield of swords and spears, he died in a treacherous mire of schemes.
This would actually make for a good tale.
Not to mention earning a couple of tears from the listeners, it would definitely earn a curse or two against the villains.
What a pity that this was not a tale, and he was not going to die either.
Qu Dubian endured the expansion phase. The meridians through which his true qi flowed began to break. Without internal energy to protect his body, the cold seeped into him, his blood flow slowed down, and his thoughts became erratic and sluggish.
He felt that the random thoughts drifting uncontrollably into his mind had only lasted a few seconds, but in reality, quite some time had passed.
He didn't know if it was because of the cold weather, but as the chill soaked into his body, it actually stopped hurting.
Jirgal listened to his breathing grow weaker and weaker, and couldn't help but say, Hey!
Are you dead??
What was the meaning of tying him up only to die himself?!
Hey!! Answer me!
Jirgal was originally tied up in a bizarre, twisted posture, with quite a few broken bones. At this moment, he had to struggle to squirm a bit, using all his strength to sit up. He finally saw clearly the face of the one he loathed, the Seventh Prince of the Great Zhou.
The young general in red clothes and silver armor was leaning against a tree, one hand resting on his lower abdomen. His eyes were already closed, and his long eyelashes drooped, stained with a thin layer of frost.
It looked as if he had fallen asleep and was even having a sweet dream.
Jirgal said, If you want to freeze to death here, don't drag me down with you, do you hear me?!
He shouted for a long time until his voice cracked, but he still couldn't wake the person up. His grief and indignation turned into despair.
Because his own injuries were also very severe, if he didn't get treatment, he would truly turn into an ice sculpture by tomorrow.
Right at this moment.
Little Seven!
Little Seven—
Xia Fuyang had rushed over after hearing the sound of an internal energy explosion from this direction, but he didn't see anyone at first glance.
There was a hint of anxiety in his eyes.
Jirgal felt as if he had seen a god descending from the heavens. His sluggish spirit was instantly roused: Over here!!
Xia Fuyang instantly locked onto the location and hurried over. At a glance, he saw Qu Dubian. He let out a sigh of relief and couldn't help but say as he walked briskly over, Even if you're tired, you shouldn't just stay silent. I've been looking for you...
When he saw Qu Dubian's condition clearly, his voice and smile came to an abrupt halt.
Immediately after, his mind buzzed with a loud roar.
Little Seven!
He swiftly crouched down, grabbing Qu Dubian's pulse with one hand while trembling as he reached out to check his breathing with the other.
Only when a faint warmth transmitted from his fingertips did Xia Fuyang dare to carefully check his pulse. Unexpectedly, his hand was gently grabbed by someone.
Qu Dubian slightly opened his eyes. The sliver of clear consciousness he had maintained within the vortex of lethargy slowly dissipated when Xia Fuyang arrived.
In his vision, Xia Fuyang's face was truly blurry. His mouth was opening and closing, urgently saying something. Qu Dubian only felt a buzzing in his ears and really wanted to manually shut his mouth.
He thought this, and he did it. Forcing himself to lean forward slightly, he covered Xia Fuyang's mouth with one hand.
His hand was ice-cold, so cold that Xia Fuyang seemed to have been frozen as well.
A few seconds later, Qu Dubian finally lowered his hand, resting his chin on Xia Fuyang's shoulder. ...Fought too fiercely, so I'm tired. I'll sleep for a bit.
After saying that, he fell completely silent and slipped into a coma.
Xia Fuyang took a deep breath: ...I'll take you back to the camp.
He took off his cloak, draping it over Qu Dubian as it was better than nothing, and then lifted him onto his back.
When he walked past Jirgal, Xia Fuyang's voice was dipped in ice: You are the one who injured him to this extent!
Jirgal: ????
Xia Fuyang kicked him, sending him flying several meters away.
Jirgal's vision went dark. A chest full of anger and frustration choked him, and he too fainted.
Dragging Jirgal would affect his speed, so Xia Fuyang didn't even glance at the unconscious King of the Northern Frontier, quickly leaving with the person on his back.
Not long after, he rendezvoused with Ye Lianyang and the others.
Before the smile on Ye Lianyang's face could fully bloom, his expression instantly turned cold upon seeing their conjoined appearance. He broke into a run toward them: Boss!!
What happened to the boss?
Xia Fuyang: He's severely injured. I'm taking him back to the camp.
The King of the Northern Frontier is back there, unconscious. Have someone bring him back too.
-
The military doctors at the camp were helpless regarding the head general's condition.
Xia Fuyang ordered them to set off overnight to return to the city.
Because they hadn't announced their return in advance, the guards defending Zhongyi City initially thought their eyes were playing tricks on them.
After rubbing their eyes and realizing that it was indeed their two generals who had returned, they excitedly shouted, General Xia and His Highness have returned to the city! Open the gates!!
They also discovered the Left Worthy King locked inside a prisoner-of-war cage and the unconscious Jirgal.
This signified the complete victory of the northern expedition.
Even though it was late at night, the news spread rapidly throughout the city, with lively cheers erupting one after another.
But very quickly.
News came from the main tent that His Highness had pursued the enemy, fought Jirgal, and, after capturing the King of the Northern Frontier, fell into a deep coma due to severe injuries.
The fire of excitement in the entire city, which hadn't even fully ignited yet, was instantly doused by a basin of ice-cold water.
-
Inside the tent.
Qu Dubian's armor had been completely removed, his inner shirt half-open, and his body was covered in silver needles.
The young man had no new wounds on his body; the rest of the deep and shallow scars were traces left from previous battles, crisscrossing his body.
He didn't much like looking at the scars on his body. Even when the weather was hot, he would wear long robes to cover them. Now, however, they were completely exposed.
Xia Fuyang, Ye Lianyang, and the others gathered around in the tent, their nerves taut as they waited for the military doctor's diagnosis.
The military doctor's fingers traced the meridians of his limbs inch by inch. The more he felt, the tighter the knot between his brows became. By the end, he couldn't even bear to continue.
The young general's meridians...
Xia Fuyang: Doctor, how is he?
The military doctor withdrew his hand and sighed. His breath is weak, but his life is not in danger.
Xia Fuyang's mind relaxed slightly.
However, the meridians for his true qi circulation are severed, his internal energy has completely dissipated, and his bones and muscles are damaged. From now on, not only will he be unable to use martial arts, but even standing for too long will cause a stabbing pain in his legs, the military doctor added.
With every word he spoke, the tent grew a fraction more silent.
By the time he finished, the atmosphere in the tent was deathly still.
The sigh of relief that Xia Fuyang hadn't had time to exhale froze within his body.
...I don't believe it.
He looked at the youth lying quietly on the bed and repeated once more, "I don't believe it."
Ye Lianyang said anxiously, "Exactly, the boss only went out to chase down the King of the Northern Frontier! With his martial arts skills being so great, how could he end up like this??"
Military Doctor: "Even if the Emperor of Heaven himself came, His Highness's condition would remain the same. General, when you carried His Highness all the way here, you must have transferred your own true qi to him. Could you not feel that he was no longer able to absorb it?"
Xia Fuyang's breath hitched.
He had protected this person all the way back from the grassland encampment. Fearing he would be cold, he had transferred some true qi but received no response. He had assumed that the inner energy within his meridians had simply been exhausted during the fight with Jirgal.
He had felt a vague sense that something was wrong on the way, but he simply hadn't dared to think too deeply about it.
Xia Fuyang took a half step back.
An overwhelming sense of absurdity swallowed him up bit by bit.
This was wrong.
Completely wrong.
It shouldn't be like this.
He didn't know what expression was on his face right now. His mind and body felt as though they had been completely split into two separate parts.
He heard himself ask, "Why is this so? Is it a severe injury?"
The military doctor hesitated for a few seconds. "No other abnormalities were found. The meridians must have been damaged by a massive impact. My medical skills are limited to this level. Perhaps if a better physician were brought in, there might still be a chance to salvage His Highness's injuries."
Xia Fuyang nodded.
"Understood."
He looked calmly at Ye Lianyang. "Watch over him."
Ye Lianyang: "General, where are you going?"
Xia Fuyang: "The best physician in the entire Northern Frontier and the borderlands is Yang Chonghua."
Yang Chonghua never left her mountain retreat, but he was going to bring her back.
The military doctor stomped his foot in anxiety. "But Doctor Yang doesn't leave the mountain, and the Marquis is still there...!"
Xia Fuyang moved extremely fast, disappearing into the sky full of swirling snow in the blink of an eye.
The military doctor stood outside the tent, his heart clenching once again.
-
One day later.
The cursing and swearing old lady Yang Chonghua was carried over someone's shoulder into Zhongyi City.
Immediately following her, the half-treated Xu Jin and Yi Shier entered the city together.
Amidst the pleading gazes of the crowd, Yang Chonghua indignantly rolled up her sleeves. She glanced at Xia Fuyang's reddened eyes, then looked at the unconscious youth on the bed. "...I'll do it, considering the two of you completely pacified the war."
She began to apply acupuncture.
Yang Chonghua's needles were not silver needles, but rather a type of needle that looked like a mix of gold and bone. She seemed to have a foundation in inner force as well; her movements were smooth and flowing, and the tails of the needles quivered after being inserted.
After a moment, she pondered aloud, "It is indeed a case of severed true qi meridians. The congested qi has dispersed into the bones and meridians required for walking. If not handled well, it will affect his ability to walk. When he walks, his leg bones will feel as if they are being pricked by needles."
"The reason for the severing was a sudden, explosive surge of inner energy, which caused the meridians to lose their resilience, leading to this state."
However, generally speaking, the meridians of those who practice martial arts year-round have good resilience. A single sudden surge shouldn't cause them to snap all at once.
She then made a small cut on the qi-channeling meridian on Qu Dubian's wrist to test his blood.
She found no signs of poisoning.
Yang Chonghua voiced her analysis and then added, "Of course, it cannot be ruled out that his meridians naturally lacked resilience. When fighting against someone and executing a desperate counterattack in adversity, it's easy for an explosive burst to cause the meridians to sever."
"It's also possible that he has fought in too many battles over the past year or so, resulting in excessive exhaustion. The inner force of his final opponent was too overbearing, and the hidden force seeped into his body, ultimately destroying him."
"With long-term treatment, he might recover to be roughly similar to a normal person, but as for anything more..." Yang Chonghua shook her head. "I am powerless to do anything about that."
Upon hearing this, Xu Jin couldn't help but pull Yi Shier outside.
They went to an adjacent tent.
Xu Jin lowered his voice and asked, "Didn't you say Xiaoguai was actually fine? How come even Doctor Yang's medical skills can't tell whether it's real or fake??"
Yi Shier had told him that the capital was currently a pot of boiling oil for Xiaoguai. If he returned to the capital in boundless glory, what awaited him would be countless open attacks and hidden arrows. It would be better to fake an injury and hide for a while, smoothly weathering the storm during its most turbulent period.
They would discuss it further after his uncle safely returned.
No one knew the taste of one's achievements overshadowing the sovereign better than Xu Jin.
At that time, after listening to what Yi Shier said, he had remained silent for a long time before letting out a long sigh.
"Xiaoguai must have noticed something to make arrangements in advance."
Yi Shier nodded. "There was indeed something fishy during the military campaigns; I am currently investigating."
Xu Jin: "Investigating what? Can't you tell me?"
Yi Shier said, "His Highness said that you must not overtax your mind right now. He will handle everything. You just need to wait until your body is healed and reunite with Old Madam Wu."
"Being far from the capital, this matter has not yet been thoroughly investigated. His Highness also said that he only informed you in advance out of concern for your health. However, there's no telling how deep the waters behind this matter truly are. It's best not to involve others; the fewer people who know, the better."
Xu Jin had only been informed by Yi Shier half a day in advance when Xia Fuyang rushed over and carried Yang Chonghua away.
Because he was mentally prepared, Xu Jin was able to remain calm.
But when he actually saw the situation, he still grew anxious. "Did he say when he would wake up?"
He needed to wait for the person to wake up so he could ask him personally and confirm it. Only then could his heart truly be at ease.
Yi Shier shook his head. "It shouldn't be too much longer."
-
Qu Dubian indeed did not remain unconscious for too long.
The simulation of Destroying Sinews and Breaking Bones had reached its final stage; the only thing left was the unsubmitted paper for the third phase.
According to Qu Dubian's previous settings, the simulator maintained his physical condition in a state of severed meridians and reset all real pain values to zero, so his body did not currently feel any pain.
After eliminating the negative effects, his consciousness awakened from the deep coma.
Qu Dubian checked the simulator's time in his mind; he had only slept for about a day and a half.
It should be morning right now.
According to the original plan, he had instructed Liuliu to inform his grandfather in advance to prevent his grandfather from suffering severe emotional turmoil.
Before falling unconscious, he had also told Xia Fuyang that he had simply fought too fiercely.
Once the Destroying Sinews and Breaking Bones poison fully flared up, the toxins could not be detected. Therefore, they should currently be attributing his injuries to his fight with Jirgal.
Jirgal was the perfect scapegoat for the current stage.
This way, returning safely to the capital, he could hide in the shadows and see exactly whose hand was stirring up trouble behind the scenes.
Once the truth was uncovered, he would make a decision based on the situation at that time.
He carefully went over his plan in his mind, confirming there were no omissions, before slowly opening his eyes.
Xia Fuyang had been guarding the bedside the entire time. The moment the person on the bed stirred, he noticed it immediately.
"Xiao Qi!"
"You're awake? Doctor Yang—"
His voice was filled with excitement as he ran outside and shouted, immediately running back in to hold Qu Dubian's hand. "Xiao Qi, where does it hurt? Are you thirsty? Do you want some water?"
The youth on the bed widened his eyes in slight bewilderment, his gaze vacant.
Qu Dubian checked the simulator's time in his mind once more. It was indeed morning, broad daylight.
He could also hear the sound of Xia Fuyang's footsteps thumping as he ran out and ran back in, right beside him.
Qu Dubian blinked, but everything before his eyes was still pitch black.
"...?"
[What happened to me?]
Simulator: [Loss of the restorative true qi protection from the Mianshou Art has resulted in sphenoid sinus damage, loss of smell, and induced blindness. This symptom has reached the threshold for inclusion in the Sphenoid Sinus Damage disease category. Do you wish to simulate?]
Qu Dubian: "..."
Fuck.
Of all the times it could have happened, it just had to happen now!
No wonder it couldn't be ruined, always falling just a bit short. It turned out his true qi was at work. He had endured all those needle pricks for nothing.
Even if he started the simulation now, according to the simulator's minimum time requirement, it would take at least a day to finish.
He had only told Liuliu that he would pretend his martial arts were crippled, but he never said he would go blind!!
