The sky remained draped in darkness as dawn held its breath. Changling's eyes had not closed throughout the endless night. She had intended to return and surrender to sleep's embrace, but the moment her fingers lifted the tent flap, Fu Liujing rushed toward her, his feet stamping against the earth with barely contained agitation.
"Where did you run off to?"
"How are you here?"
Fu Liujing's voice carried an edge of irritation. "I couldn't sleep in the middle of the night and wanted to come chat with you, but you had disappeared. We agreed not to go beyond a hundred zhang apart, yet you still ask me what's wrong?"
"Less than two hours—won't die yet."
Changling moved past him with fluid grace, settling herself at the square table. She poured water into a cup, watching the liquid catch the dim light. The secrets of what had just transpired remained locked behind her lips. If Fu Liujing learned there was a walking explosive package in the Yue Family camp that could detonate at any moment, who knew what chaos would follow.
Fu Liujing wanted nothing more than to kick her.
But of course he didn't dare. The sight of her safe return caused the tension in his entire body to unravel. He stretched with exaggerated laziness before flopping directly onto Changling's bed, his body surrendering immediately to exhaustion.
Changling's brow furrowed slightly. "If you want to sleep, go back to your own tent."
Fu Liujing offered no response. When Changling approached the bedside intending to wake him, she discovered soft snoring had already begun to escape his lips.
A smile touched Changling's features as she shook her head, thinking he must truly be exhausted to fall asleep the moment his head touched the pillow. She drew the bedding over him with careful movements, noticing several strands of dark hair at his temples had fallen across his mouth. The image stirred a memory—when she first encountered Fu Liujing two years ago, he had been sprawled on the ground with equal inelegance.
Two years had passed since Changsheng dispatched her to Jiangnan to eliminate an evil cult. The cult leader, Ji Zining, was a woman whose refined and lovely appearance masked extreme cruelty. Many loyal and righteous people had met tragic ends at her hands. After Changling killed her without anyone knowing, she assumed Ji Zining's identity to further destroy the cult from within.
Truth be told, that day in the Maozhu Forest, she had originally planned to kill those elders. Saving Fu Liujing was purely accidental—a moment of impulse in an otherwise calculated mission. After cult members captured Fu Liujing and drove him into shock, Changling snatched him away and casually tossed him aside, the impact knocking his head and plunging him into unconsciousness.
With no other choice, Changling could only take him back to rest in a wooden cabin nestled deep within the bamboo forest.
When Fu Liujing finally awakened and discovered his savior was a great beauty, he declared with theatrical conviction that he would pledge himself to her. Changling had been about to remove her human skin mask when, upon hearing his name, she realized he was the very person Changsheng desperately wanted to recruit. Her thoughts turned swiftly—she decided to observe further and discover what kind of person he truly was.
Unexpectedly, after spending several days together, she discovered that time with Fu Liujing flowed with uncommon pleasure. His speech sparkled with wit, his conduct followed no predictable pattern—one could never anticipate what would happen next.
She became increasingly unwilling to let him see her true appearance. Proud as she was, how could she allow herself to face rejection?
So she departed without farewell. Even when fate brought them together again later, she was already the renowned Second Young Master Yue who commanded wind and clouds with a gesture. Naturally, he would think nothing else of it.
Changling had buried those brief few days deep within her heart's most guarded chamber. She had never uttered a single word to Fu Liujing about those stolen moments, until the United Hearts Gu infected her blood, and Changsheng's words the previous night made her resolve waver once more.
Watching Fu Liujing purse his lips and turn over to continue sleeping, Changling couldn't help but let her lips curve upward in quiet affection.
Wang Xun and his servant departed the main camp under cover of deepest night, their movements leaving no trace, their destination unknown. Though Shen Yao and the others found this behavior strange at first, they had no mind to investigate further. Forward scouts sent urgent word that the northern desert army had made new movements.
"General, the northern desert army has contracted across the entire line. One hundred thousand troops are moving toward Jizhou checkpoint."
Shen Yao's confusion manifested in furrowed brows. "Jizhou? That's just a border town. Even if breached, there's still the Long River as a barrier. Across the river lies the He Family territory—how would they dare face the He Family's three hundred thousand troops?"
"They wouldn't dare."
Changsheng paced back and forth several times, his mind working through possibilities. "The northern desert army previously lost considerable provisions. If they delay further, they can only return empty-handed. Though Jizhou is merely a small coastal city, its resources are fairly abundant. If they plunder Jizhou, their standoff with us can be prolonged by at least another month."
Vice General Wei Xingyun at Changsheng's side spoke with gravity. "One month is enough for Yan Kingdom to dispatch reinforcements. If we then call up troops from Bashu's four commanderies, the He Family will definitely take advantage of the opening."
Noticing Fu Liujing had remained silent throughout the discussion, Shen Yao spoke up. "How does Brother Liujing see this?"
Fu Liujing appeared to have been staring at Changling in a daze all along. Shen Yao's question startled him from his reverie. "Ah? What?"
"The northern desert army is heading to Jizhou—why would they deploy such massive forces? At this time of year, dividing their troops—what benefit is there for them?"
"They're probably worried about ambush along the way. After all, the forces confronting Taixing occupy advantageous terrain. We're unlikely to risk a battle either. However…"
"However what?"
Fu Liujing's cheeks tightened, but he didn't answer. Yet Changling's finger descended upon a spot on the map with decisive certainty. "Who says we can't take the risk?"
Changsheng's gaze shifted to Changling. "You mean to strike at the Yan army heading to Jizhou?"
"Tonight we exit through the south gate, circle around the waterfall at Fulong Mountain to take the shortcut, and launch a surprise attack from the mountainside at the Tai Valley border they'll pass through."
Changling's tone permitted no argument, her words carrying the weight of absolute conviction. "We need only thirty thousand infantry under my command. I will completely annihilate the Yan army."
Changsheng thought briefly, his strategic mind calculating risks and possibilities. Leaving sixty thousand Yue Family Army troops and twenty thousand Shen Family Army troops to guard the city meant Taixing City would not be breached. But to annihilate the northern desert cavalry heading to Jizhou—though dangerous, Changling personally leading the charge had better odds of victory than he would.
Everyone present felt the plan was feasible. Seeing Changsheng also raised no objection, Changling was about to order preparations when Fu Liujing's face suddenly showed displeasure. He shook his robes with sharp movements and left the tent without a word.
Everyone exchanged bewildered glances. Changling acted as if she hadn't noticed the disturbance and continued studying the terrain by the relief map, her focus unwavering.
The bright moon hung high in the sky like a celestial lantern. Fu Liujing sat at the city wall's edge, one hand cradling a wine flask, the evening breeze gently stirring his robes with invisible fingers.
He sat for quite a while, time stretching into a liquid thing. Whenever footsteps echoed behind him, he would pretend to casually turn his head, searching. Not seeing the person he wanted to see, the corner of his mouth would twitch, and he'd turn back with self-mockery to drink alone.
When Changling finally walked up behind him, his wine flask had long been drained of its contents. She had changed into armor, a long sword resting at her waist. The silver mask appeared heroically imposing under the moonlight's caress, transforming her into something both beautiful and terrible.
"I'm leaving. You stay in Taixing and wait for my return."
Fu Liujing said nothing, his silence thick with unspoken emotion. As Changling prepared to leave, she heard him call out softly.
"Changling."
"How old are you this year?"
Changling's brow moved slightly, puzzled by the question. "Seventeen."
Fu Liujing turned around, his gaze piercing through the darkness to find her. "How many people have you killed?"
"I've never counted."
"Were all those killed evil people?"
Changling crossed her arms over her chest, her posture defensive. "All were my enemies."
"Aren't you afraid someone will seek revenge against you?"
Changling froze at these words, the question landing like a stone in still water. Seeing this, Fu Liujing smiled, his breath carrying a hint of wine's bitterness. "That's right—you're the greatest expert in the Central Plains. Who could kill you?"
Changling didn't answer, uncertainty flickering through her mind.
Fu Liujing continued, his voice taking on a strange quality. "I've never killed a single person. Forget people—I haven't even killed a chicken… My courage is very small, so I fear war and am weary of war…"
Changling couldn't understand the deeper meaning swimming beneath his smile, much less comprehend this incomprehensible confession. She simply assumed he worried that if she died in battle, he would be implicated by their connection.
"I promise you, I will return safely within two days. I absolutely won't trigger the United Hearts Gu poison."
Fu Liujing lowered his head, drew a long breath that seemed to come from his very soul, then quickly turned his back. "I know. You go."
Changling turned and strode away with purpose, not noticing that the mouth of the wine flask in his hand had been crushed beneath the pressure of his grip, blood dripping steadily from his palm to the stones below.
That night, the Yue Family quietly assembled various infantry battalions and departed the city toward Tai Valley Ravine, their movements swift and silent. They didn't pause for half a moment along the way, urgency driving every step. After circling around the perilous waterfall beyond Fulong Mountain, Changling led the troops from east to south. By midday the next day, they reached the Tai Valley region.
Tai Valley Ravine possessed special terrain—hilly country studded with many ridges and thick shrubs ideally suited for ambush. Calculating the time with precision, the Yan army would pass through here no later than dusk. Vice General Wei Xingyun dared not delay and according to plan divided the troops to lie in ambush on both sides of the mountain path. Changling selected a spot with an excellent view and concealed herself among the trees, her body becoming one with shadow, ready to engage the enemy at any moment.
But they waited until the sun set in the west, painting the sky in shades of amber and crimson. Forget the northern desert army's one hundred thousand cavalry—not even half a person's shadow appeared within a hundred li.
This being the case, not only Changling but even Wei Xingyun and the others couldn't help but feel shock and suspicion creeping through their ranks. Tai Valley Ravine was the necessary route to Jizhou. If the Yan army didn't pass through here, could they have changed course elsewhere?
An ominous premonition took root in Changling's heart, spreading like poison through her veins. Then, in the distant gray-blue sky canopy, black smoke began to spread with wanton abandon. She felt a buzzing sound fill her head, her body seeming to freeze as she watched crimson light rise in the direction of Taixing City.
Everyone who witnessed this sight felt shock beyond measure. Wei Xingyun's voice cracked with urgency. "Second Young Master, the Yan army actually chose this moment to attack the city. It seems the previous troop movements were all just a ruse to divide our forces."
Changling forcibly suppressed the emotions threatening to overwhelm her. "If it were only a ruse, our scouts should have detected it in time. I fear there's a spy in our army who deliberately colluded with the Yan army."
Wei Xingyun's shock manifested in his exclamation. "What?!"
Changling's hand slowly tightened around the sword hilt at her waist, her knuckles whitening. She addressed Wei Xingyun with absolute clarity. "General Wei, I'll rush back to Taixing first. Quickly bring the troops to follow. No matter what happens, avoid being impulsive and getting drawn into chaotic battle. The lives of our brothers are all in your hands."
In age, Wei Xingyun was more than twenty years Changling's senior. Ordinarily, he inevitably had moments when he disapproved of her unruly nature and youthful certainty. But now, hearing her speak with such sudden gravity, Wei Xingyun's face turned deathly pale.
"Second Young Master, if you return alone, it's far too dangerous…"
How could Changling not know this? The danger was written in every mile between here and Taixing. But thinking that Fu Liujing was waiting for her in Taixing City, she only thought that if she returned too late, he probably wouldn't survive either.
"General Wei, I go first."
Having said this, her form flashed like lightning and vanished into the gathering night.
The dark red sky in the east burned ever more fiercely, an inferno painting the heavens. The towering black smoke grew ever denser, a funeral shroud for the fallen.
All along this route, Changling repeatedly comforted herself with rational thought—there were still eighty thousand soldiers in the city. Even if the northern desert army committed all their forces, they absolutely couldn't breach the city in less than three days.
She wished she could immediately sprout wings and fly to Taixing City. But the mountain path was treacherous, testing even her considerable skill. Even with her excellent lightness skill carrying her forward, by the time she reached the cliff at Fulong Mountain, a full night had passed. From darkness to dawn—when she finally gazed at Taixing City in that instant, she seemed to see a painting soaked in blood.
Yellow sand rolled up the scorched Yue Family banner, the fabric consumed by newly leaping flames amid the endless sand and stone.
It was a grayish, deathly silence that pressed against her ears. The city tower was strewn with corpses lying in disarray, bodies scattered everywhere outside the moat like discarded dolls. Inside the city, scattered torches flickered here and there, their light dancing mockingly. The laughter and curses of Yan soldiers, the wails and cries of city residents rose and fell in succession, creating a symphony of suffering. The ominous wind howled angrily through the ruins, as if also trying to awaken the souls who died miserably.
The sound of Fulong Mountain's waterfall drowned out all other sounds, a constant roar that echoed in her bones.
Changling descended Fulong Mountain step by deliberate step. Everywhere her vision reached were piled corpses of Yue Family soldiers, her brothers in arms reduced to carrion. Several vultures circled in the air with patient hunger. The road was already blood-red, blood pooling into streams, surging into the cascading waterfall. The rolling river had been dyed a sheet of crimson, as if the earth itself were bleeding.
The fear suppressed deep in her heart finally couldn't hold up in this moment. Changling instinctively searched to see if there were any survivors among the carnage. At this moment, a person with arrows protruding from his back suddenly stood up, his face twisted ferociously as he raised his blade to hack at her.
Changling slightly dodged with practiced ease and looked back at the person's face—it was precisely Kong Buwu, Sect Master of Feiying Sect. His eyes were already bloodshot with killing intent, reason fled from behind his gaze. Seeing one strike fail, he roared loudly and hacked down again with desperate fury.
"Kong Buwu, it's me."
Changling intercepted his hand with firm but gentle pressure.
Kong Buwu heard her voice and his entire body suddenly swayed, strength abandoning him. His eyes seemed unable to see clearly the figure before him, as if viewing her through water. His hands loosened and his entire body collapsed powerlessly to the ground. Changling quickly crouched to support him, preventing his fall.
"What on earth happened? Where is my elder brother…"
"They colluded with the Yan people and killed Young Master Yue… Second Young Master, quickly leave. Shen Yao and the others… are coming to kill you…"
Kong Buwu's hand slowly dropped, life draining from his fingers. Those eyes that slowly became hollow ultimately never closed.
Changling froze for a moment, suspended in disbelief, then reached out to gently close Kong Buwu's eyes with tender finality.
"I thought it would take another half day. I didn't expect Second Young Master to return so quickly!"
Changling looked up toward the voice that dripped with false pleasantry. A large cavalry troop came from afar, hoofbeats thundering. Leading them was precisely Shen Yao. At his side still followed those martial world experts, though four or five who were friendly with the Yue Family were conspicuously missing—they had probably met the same fate as Kong Buwu, certain death without ceremony.
Changling stood up silently, her movements deliberate and controlled. Not one of the Shen Family Army dared approach her too closely, stopping at a distance of nearly ten zhang. However, about half the Yan army drew closer, quickly surrounding her forward path into an iron bucket formation that left no escape.
At this moment, Shen Yao's face no longer bore half a trace of its former righteous appearance. She looked at that face twisted with a victorious smile, her fingers pressing against the sword sheath with restrained violence.
"What a fine Martial Alliance Leader, what a fine Shen Family—to actually commit the deed of colluding with foreign enemies."
Using reinforcements to resist Yan as pretext, exploiting Yue Changsheng's years of brotherhood with him—this trap had probably been laid long ago, threads woven carefully into an inescapable web.
Shen Yao sneered, the sound ugly in the morning air. "You kill with the blade, we kill with schemes. Both are killing—where's the difference in nobility?"
Changling laughed coldly, the sound devoid of humor. Thinking that this person before her was the "loyal and righteous person" in her elder brother's heart, infinite desolation suddenly surged through her chest. She stared at Shen Yao, asking word by careful word.
"Was my elder brother killed by you?"
Though Shen Yao also feared Changling's legendary skill, he relied on still being far from her with experts protecting him at his side. As long as she made the slightest move, the soldiers behind would mercilessly draw their crossbows. This was his moment to establish authority—he naturally couldn't show half a trace of cowardice.
"So what if I did? So what if I didn't? Yue Changling, right now, what can you do?"
Shen Yao raised his eyes with arrogant confidence. He had just seen Changling lift her head when in the next moment her movements were like sun and moon never resting in the sky—in a flash she drifted and vanished without a trace.
Shen Yao drew a sharp breath, fear finally penetrating his bravado. Suddenly seeing white light flash brilliantly, all at once a vast overwhelming force surged from the air. A human figure appeared above Shen Yao's head like a ghostly phantom, the sword blade breaking through air with a sound like ghostly weeping. This move was called "Crossing Souls"—when Crossing Souls emerged, there was always death and no survival.
With a thunderous "clang," the sword shattered with a ringing sound that echoed across the battlefield. Changling leapt back to the ground with catlike grace. Only then did the people around Shen Yao draw their blades to protect him, their eyes revealing extreme shock—not to mention the Biluo Sword in Shen Yao's hand that hadn't even had time to leave its sheath. The long sword in Changling's hand had already split into three pieces scattered on the ground, not because anyone had blocked it, but because the sword had been switched by someone long ago. The sword quality was inferior—when true qi was channeled in, it couldn't withstand the power and shattered on its own.
Changling tossed away the broken sword with disgust. Having a sword or not made little difference to her—she herself was the weapon. Her wrist lifted, about to turn her palm, when she suddenly felt qi and blood roiling in her chest. With a "pff" sound, a mist of blood sprayed from her lips, severe pain instantly spreading through her four limbs and hundred bones like wildfire.
Changling's pupils contracted slightly with recognition. She only felt her entire body beginning to go numb, the true qi within boiling and wanting to scatter. She tried to forcibly circulate her energy, but her five viscera and six bowels immediately felt unbearable agony. Heart's blood gushed out again, crimson drops falling to the ground mixed with threads of dark color.
This wasn't injury—it was poisoning…
The United Hearts Gu poison had erupted!
Shen Yao had just narrowly escaped death and was somewhat shaken, his arrogance temporarily punctured. Seeing Changling repeatedly vomiting blood and unable to move, only then did he gather courage like a scavenger finding safe prey.
"The more you circulate internal force, the faster the poison spreads. Better save some strength!"
Changling pressed against her chest, barely standing steady as the world tilted. "You killed Fu Liujing?"
Shen Yao was stunned at these words, then laughter burst from his throat, loud and cruel. "Seeing you're about to die, I'll do one good deed and let you know how you died."
Shen Yao exchanged glances with those around him, satisfaction gleaming in his eyes. They all pulled their horses' reins to make way with theatrical slowness. Then someone slowly rode out on horseback, wearing an ink-blue scholar's robe, with a composed countenance and features like a painting—it was precisely Fu Liujing.
Changling's breath suddenly caught in her throat. For a moment she thought she was seeing things, that poison had already claimed her mind.
Shen Yao seemed extremely satisfied with this effect, drinking in her shock. "Yue Changling, do you know the Ligucao poison was prepared by him, and the gu insect at Cross Cliff was also placed by him? I'm afraid he never told you—the United Hearts Gu can be transferred. He long ago transferred the hosted insect into an eagle's body… Haha, the night you went to war was precisely when he personally ended the eagle's life."
Changling looked at Fu Liujing in a daze, her world fragmenting.
These unexpected words were like rolling magma crushing over her, melting all previous beauty into fragmented ruin, then transforming into a fine needle piercing her chest. She actually felt somewhat unable to catch her breath, her throat again tasting a fishy sweetness that spoke of internal damage.
Fu Liujing's eyes flowed with deep, complex meaning, emotions swirling in those depths—only lacking any trace of smile. Changling looked at him, recalling his usual grinning appearance, suddenly feeling she had never known him at all.
"Why?"
Fu Liujing was silent for a long while, the silence stretching like torture, before finally speaking. "Do you still remember Ji Zining of the Xiuluo Cult?"
"In my entire life, I've never cared about any woman. She was the first. Never killed anyone—you're the first."
Changling thought for quite a while, her poisoned mind struggling, before remembering who this Ji Zining he spoke of was.
No wonder the other night Fu Liujing had suddenly asked her: Aren't you afraid someone will seek revenge against you?
Seek revenge? It turned out he was talking about himself all along.
Ji Zining—what Ji Zining was there?
That day when they first met at Maozhu Forest, the real Ji Zining had already been eliminated by her own hand!
In that instant, Changling threw her head back and laughed, the sound breaking across the battlefield, not knowing if she found it too absurd or was mocking fate's cruel jest.
Everyone looked at each other in confusion, especially the group of martial world masters at Shen Yao's side. Though they had certainly come to eliminate Yue Changling, seeing this legendary figure of peerless grace reduced to such a state, their hearts actually held not half a trace of joy.
Changling only laughed, then suddenly removed the mask from her face and threw it like lightning toward Fu Liujing's neck. Fu Liujing leapt with extreme danger, barely avoiding death. The mask barely scraped his face, piercing a hole straight through the body of a soldier standing behind him.
Fu Liujing floated back to the ground with unnatural grace.
Changling looked at him, her vision clearing through the pain. His face showed no blood, drained of color. A corner of a human skin mask at his cheek slightly lifted but didn't come off. He just stood there calmly, only one zhang distant from her, behind him the endlessly flowing water.
It turned out not only was his lack of martial arts skills false, but even that face was fake.
Thinking back now, when they became sworn brothers, he dared swear to heaven, saying things about sharing fortune and misfortune, clear retribution—perhaps even the name "Fu Liujing" was nothing more than a lie.
The sorrow in Changling's eyes gradually faded, replaced by something harder and colder. In her youth she had mastered supreme skills, roaming the world unmatched, never placing anyone in her eyes. Now suddenly discovering she had fallen for a thoroughly false person, she actually didn't feel particularly sad. Only looking at him with contempt, her tone as usual, almost conversational.
"Fu Liujing, sometimes revenge doesn't necessarily require taking a person's life."
Her words had barely fallen when a palm struck toward Fu Liujing with surprising speed. Fu Liujing retreated three steps with swift momentum, forcibly receiving the palm. Feeling the palm force soft and powerless, knowing she had reached the end of her strength and could easily defeat her, yet somehow he couldn't bring himself to act.
With the United Hearts Gu poison erupting to this degree, Changling's five viscera and six bowels had long since twisted into painful knots. With this palm strike, she heard her meridians completely severing, only furrowing her brow slightly at the sensation. Now so close to Fu Liujing, the two simultaneously swept toward the river. Just as they were about to fall into the water together, Changling's lips suddenly moved slightly as she spoke to Fu Liujing in her woman's voice, soft and intimate.
"A Jing, the Sangluo wine we buried beneath the Maozhu wooden cabin—tell me, is it still there?"
This barely audible question caused the tranquility in Fu Liujing's heart to suddenly shatter into a thousand pieces. In that instant his mind went completely blank, looking at Changling with extreme pain and extreme disbelief—
Changling struck him with her other palm, pushing him toward the ground with decisive force. She turned back to smile faintly at Fu Liujing. Her smile was radiant, making the crimson flames reflected in her eyes impossible to look at directly. Fu Liujing only felt that smile chill his bones to the very core. In the next moment, her entire body plunged into the rolling torrents, vanishing without trace.
After Fu Liujing tumbled down to the bank, he stared blankly in the direction Changling disappeared, the water churning endlessly. For some reason he couldn't name, tears burst forth, streaming down his face unchecked.
That person was a once-in-a-millennium legend.
Even at the moment of impending death, she still wore a smile—no one dared approach.
Before falling, she looked up at the clear wind and smoke, sky and mountains sharing one color.
She couldn't help but feel regret—such magnificent rivers and mountains, she would never see them again.
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