In a fit of anger, Su Li rode away from the military camp, but he had no idea where he should go.
The taste of Qi Changying’s blood still seemed to linger between his teeth. No matter how many times Su Li rinsed his mouth, he couldn’t completely get rid of it.
The taste spread from the root of his tongue to his heart and lungs, making his entire body feel bitter.
Originally, he planned to return to the capital together with Qi Changying and the others, stay in the capital for a few days, and then consider what to do next. But after what happened this morning, he didn’t want to spend even another second with Qi Changying. As soon as he left him, he went straight to the stables, mounted Wanshui, and rode away. In his anger, he didn’t bring anything with him. All he could think about was leaving. He even forgot Shoumo in the tent.
He didn’t even think about going back for him either.
Shoumo wasn’t an ordinary pet cat. He had grown accustomed to his identity as a demon spirit, and his intelligence had also matured day by day. If he wanted to find him, he would always find a way. If he didn’t, that was fine too. After all, he had Qi Changying and Shen Huarong by his side, and there were familiar faces everywhere. He wasn’t going to starve or freeze to death out in this wilderness. There was no need for Su Li to worry about him.
Everyone had somewhere to go. Everyone had their own life to live.
But where was he supposed to go?
Su Li originally thought about returning to find his master and senior brother. But the great karmic entanglement surrounding him, whose nature he couldn’t see clearly, had yet to be resolved. If he really went back, that old man would probably make a huge fuss and shout about driving him out again. He might even lecture him about all the things he had done at the foot of the mountain and demand that he answer for them. It would be nothing but a nuisance. After thinking about it, he decided against it.
And so Su Li and Wanshui, one person and one horse, wandered aimlessly, stopping and going along the way.
He originally wanted to head towards Jiangnan. After all, he had never been to Jiangnan before. In the past, he only heard people praise its beautiful scenery in the poetry and songs Qi Changying recited to him. Now that he had nothing to do, he could finally go and see it with his own eyes.
With this thought in mind, he became somewhat enthusiastic. But before long, the farther he went, the less anticipation and interest he felt.
He has been away from the military camp for three days. During those three days, the thought that crossed his mind more than any other consisted of just three words…
‘Why should I?’
Why should he be the one to leave?
Why was it enough for Qi Changying to take a beating and get bitten once, and then have the matter come to an end?
Why should Qi Changying return to the capital, receive promotions and titles, be granted an imperial marriage, marry a wife, have children, and live happily ever after? Why should he have a harmonious marriage and a house full of children and grandchildren?
Why?
Then what was he?
Qi Changying was his.
Qi Changying was born to belong to him. He was supposed to be his.
Qi Changying should obey him for his entire life, and spend his entire life revolving around him alone.
He wanted to marry? Wanted to go to someone else’s side? Wanted to treat someone else well and spend his entire life with another person?
Absolutely impossible.
As long as he, Lord Qiyueban, was still alive…
That was absolutely impossible.
Qi Changying belonged to him alone. Whether alive or dead, he had to belong to him.
He couldn’t marry anyone else. No one could replace or surpass his position. In Qi Changying’s eyes, he should be the one and only, the unique one. Even if the greatest emperor under heaven personally gave the order, he shouldn’t dream of putting another person by Qi Changying’s side.
Now, someone wanted to lay hands on what belonged to him right in front of his eyes. Why should he be the one to run away, leave, and give way?
No. That wouldn’t do.
Qi Changying had truly made him muddle-headed. He had even become hesitant and soft-hearted in the way he handled things.
Whatever he wanted, whether it was an object or a person, he had to hold firmly in his hands.
Whether alive or dead, it had to belong to him completely.
Someone wanted to take it away?
Fine.
Then let them try.
Let them try stepping over his dead body.
Once he had thought things through and made up his mind, the Jiangnan waterways and the scenery of Yungui all lost their color. They were no longer worth mentioning.
Su Li mounted Wanshui, turned around, roughly calculated the direction with his compass, and immediately doubled back towards the road the army had to take on its way to the capital.
Su Li had already made up his mind.
Once he found his way back and saw Qi Changying, he would bite him again. This time, he would bite his face, so everyone could clearly see the mark and know who he belonged to.
Then he would tell him that under no circumstances was he allowed to marry anyone else. Whether she was Zhuge Qiyu or some young lady from the Wang family or granddaughter from the Li family, he could forget about it. Qi Changying could only belong to him.
If returning to the capital meant being granted an imperial marriage, and he didn’t want to defy the imperial decree, then they simply wouldn’t return.
If they absolutely had to return, he would storm the imperial palace and threaten the emperor. Or he could seal the emperor’s mouth before he even had a chance to speak. Neither would be a problem.
As long as Qi Changying willingly stayed by his side and belonged to him alone, he could give him anything he wanted. Even if he wanted the throne, he could help him fight for it.
If Qi Changying refused, he would simply kidnap him by force, lock him up, and imprison him somewhere no one could find him. He would not be allowed to see anyone else until he finally nodded and said he was willing.
If Qi Changying came to hate him because of these things, that was fine too.
Such an intense emotion as hatred meant that even when Qi Changying reached the end of his life, he would still carry his name between his teeth and take it into the grave. From then on, whenever he saw someone resembling him, he would think of him, Su Li. Even if one day he finally broke free of him and obtained a peaceful, happy life, the occasional flash of his(Su Li) image in his mind would still make him feel so disgusted, as though he had swallowed a fly.
He wanted to be the special one in Qi Changying’s life. The most unforgettable one. The one who inspired the strongest feelings.
So, no matter what happened, as long as he went back and returned to Qi Changying’s side, Qi Changying could only be his.
Once he had settled on this idea, Su Li found that the road back seemed much faster and smoother than the road he had taken towards Jiangnan.
Su Li decided to turn back three days after leaving the military camp. Taking his own speed into account, as well as the army’s pace, he roughly estimated that once he crossed the mountain range ahead, he would be able to see the army.
Most of the mountains in the northwest were barren, rocky hills. There weren’t many plants, and it was winter now. Looking out, the mountains were completely bare, covered in dry, withered branches. There were also some wild beasts lurking among them. Ordinary people passing through this area would usually take a detour, but Su Li wasn’t afraid.
Going straight through the mountains would save him more than half a day’s journey. They were only wild beasts. He could command evil ghosts as he pleased. What could mere animals possibly do to him?
Thinking this, Su Li rode Wanshui to the foot of the mountain, drew some water, and planned to rest for a while before entering the mountains.
Who would have thought that just as he stopped, a familiar voice suddenly rang out beside his ear.
“Master!”
Su Li was slightly taken aback. Then he saw a spatial rift tear open beside him, and Shoumo jumped out from within.
Su Li wasn’t very familiar with demon spirits. He only knew that after demons transformed into spirits, they generally gained one or more innate abilities. These might involve controlling natural elements such as metal, wood, water, and fire, or some other, more unusual abilities.
Shoumo’s ability was the most unusual of all…he could cross space.
This was something Shoumo figured out and developed through his own exploration. Su Li hadn’t been able to help him much. After Shoumo demonstrated it to him, Su Li even felt a tiny bit envious.
After all, he had to ride Wanshui for most of half a day to cover a distance that Shoumo could cross in an instant by opening a rift in space and taking a single step through it. It saved a great deal of time and effort. Moreover, this ability could grow. Its upper limit was far beyond what he could currently do. As long as Shoumo was willing to put in the effort and practice and explore diligently, one day, it might not be impossible for him to take a single step from the northwest all the way back to the capital. He might even be able to open up and create a space of his own. At that point, he would truly be able to do anything conveniently.
“Master, why did you leave without saying anything? Why didn’t you take me with you? I’ve had such a hard time looking for you.”
Demons had extremely long lifespans. They had no concept of “growing up.” Their appearances were generally formed by combining the features of the humans they had seen with their own characteristics.
And Shoumo spent every day around Su Li. When Su Li was a young teenager, Shoumo was also a young teenager. Now that Su Li had grown a little older, Shoumo’s temperament had also matured somewhat. So he modeled his appearance after Su Li’s, shaping himself into an appropriate age. He now looked about eighteen or nineteen.
“Haven’t you found me?”
Su Li himself didn’t need to rest or eat much, but Wanshui did.
He tied Wanshui to a tree nearby and spread the good-quality fodder he had bought in front of it.
The horse quietly ate while Su Li sat nearby and waited.
“But it was so hard to find you! I don’t have your ability to calculate and divine things. I could only wander around blindly, searching everywhere. Fortunately, I found you… But, Master, why did you suddenly leave? You left in such a hurry.”
“Speaking of which… It’s already been three days. I thought you would have gone very far by now, so I expected to have to search for quite a while longer. Who would have thought you’d only come this far? I found you so easily.”
Shoumo was still rather pleased with himself. Su Li listened without responding, then casually asked, as though it had just occurred to him:
“Did he send you to look for me?”
“Who is ‘he’?” Shoumo blinked his golden-yellow eyes and asked sincerely.
“Is it the commander or Lord Shen?”
“…”
“Neither of them. The army has been busy preparing to return to the capital. The commander said you had your own plans, so he didn’t send anyone to look for you. When he saw that I’d been left behind, he told me that if I wanted to stay, he and Lord Shen would take care of me. If I wanted to leave, they wouldn’t stop me either. I didn’t want to be separated from Master, so I came out to look for you myself.”
“…”
Su Li silently ground his teeth. He didn’t rush to get angry, but simply asked:
“How far have they gone?”
“Not far. They were originally supposed to reach this place tonight, but it seems some important person came from the capital. The commander and Lord Shen have to receive them, so they’re resting over there for today and will set out again tomorrow.”
“Someone came?” Su Li frowned at this. “Weren’t they already preparing to return to the capital? Who came from the capital?”
“I don’t quite remember. I heard them say it was some Lord Zhu-something. The surname has two characters, so it’s hard to remember.”
“…Zhuge?”
“Ah, yes! That’s right! Lord Zhuge.”
Su Li had a vague feeling that something wasn’t right, followed by an inexplicable anger in his heart.
“Was the person who came a man or a woman?”
“I don’t know. As soon as I woke up, I ran around looking for Master. I only heard them mention it. I haven’t seen the person yet.”
“…”
Su Li could no longer sit still.
He immediately stood up, went over to Wanshui, untied the rope from the tree, leapt onto the horse, and rode towards the mountains.
“…Master! Wait for me!” Shoumo called anxiously from behind.
Su Li didn’t even turn his head. He merely let out a cold laugh.
“Do you need me to wait for you?”
Shoumo really didn’t need Su Li to wait for him. The distance Su Li had covered was nothing more than the time it took him to wave his hand and open a spatial rift.
If only he could bring his master and Wanshui through the spatial rift with him. That way, his master wouldn’t have to risk so much or spend so much time crossing these mountains. Unfortunately, his ability wasn’t strong enough. It could only work on himself, and he couldn’t bring anyone else along.
So he volunteered:
“I’ll go ahead and scout the road for Master and drive away the wild beasts! Master, wait here for me to report back!”
Su Li had never entered this mountain range either. He had only heard someone in a small town two days earlier say that the terrain here was dangerous and there were many wild beasts. They had warned travelers not to take the convenient route and to make absolutely sure to go around it.
Although Su Li wasn’t afraid of these things, if the mountain roads were winding and the wild beasts came to harass them, it would still cost him some time.
In this regard, Shoumo really did help him quite a bit.
The little civet cat ran ahead, scouting out the flat roads for Su Li and guiding him on which direction to take and which paths to follow. Along the way, it also drove away the wild dogs and wolves in the mountains, allowing him to concentrate on traveling without having to worry about anything else.
This saved Su Li a lot of time. He had originally calculated that it would be dark by the time he emerged from the mountains, but with Shoumo escorting him along the way, he left the mountain range and galloped onto the plains by dusk.
Holding his compass, he calculated their direction under the slanting evening sun. As though he had sensed something, his heart suddenly sank. He instinctively tugged on the reins, bringing Wanshui to a stop.
“Master, what’s wrong?”
Shoumo darted out from the side. In its civet-cat form, it crouched nearby and looked up at Su Li.
“…Do you smell anything?”
Su Li furrowed his brows and carefully sensed the air flowing around them.
For some reason, his heart was pounding wildly in his chest.
“What smell?” As a civet cat and a demon, Shoumo’s sense of smell should have been exceptionally sharp, but even it couldn’t detect anything unusual in the air.
“…The smell of something burning.”
Rather than explaining it to Shoumo, Su Li seemed to be saying it to himself.
With that, he raised his riding crop. At the crisp crack of the whip, Wanshui pulled its long shadow behind it and galloped toward the blood-red sunset in the west, which looked as though it were burning.
When did he first see the burning flames on the ground?
Su Li couldn’t quite remember.
He only remembered that by then, the sun had completely sunk below the horizon, and the sky above had gradually changed from orange-yellow to deep blue. Yet that fiery color hadn’t disappeared. It simply spread down to the ground, and it was still reflected in Su Li’s eyes.
In this kind of wilderness in the northwest, the land was vast and sparsely populated, with few people in sight. It stretched as far as the eye could see, so anything out of place stood out conspicuously.
Even from far away, Su Li could see flames flickering ahead. Thick black smoke billowed through the air like heavy, dark chains, trapping the place where the army had made camp.
Su Li didn’t know what lay ahead. Afraid of involving Wanshui, he dismounted nearby and ran forward alone.
The closer he got, the more firelight fell upon him.
The heat of the flames drove away the bitterly cold winter wind of the northwest. It should have felt quite warm, but Su Li’s heart seemed to sink little by little into an ice cellar, until it could hardly beat anymore.
Because he saw corpses scattered everywhere.
No wonder there was so much black smoke on the ground. It turned out that it came not only from the flames, but from people as well.
Those were deathly auras so dense they could swallow a person whole.
It was unknown what had happened here. Soldiers wearing the Qi family’s military uniforms and light armor lay motionless on the ground. Their swords, spears, and flags had all fallen over, surrounded by clusters of burning flames.
Su Li walked through the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, looking at one body after another. His steps were somewhat unsteady, and the hand hidden inside his sleeve trembled slightly.
But he had long been accustomed to death. He had even caused death himself. He should have been numb to a scene like this by now.
But…
He didn’t know what had happened here.
Weren’t these people preparing to return to the capital?
Wasn’t the war over? Hadn’t they won?
No…
Even during wartime, even on the battlefield where Su Li had witnessed the heaviest casualties, the scene had never been anywhere near as tragic as this.
Who had done this?
He needed to find someone. He needed to ask what exactly had happened here.
But there was no one.
As far as his eyes could see, there were only corpses.
Su Li walked among them somewhat woodenly. He didn’t know how long he had been walking or how far he had gone.
Suddenly, he caught sight of a patch of a light color on the ground.
In that instant, a chill ran from the soles of his feet all the way to the top of his head. His soul seemed to have fallen completely into an icy wasteland, unable to sense even the slightest warmth.
“Shen…”
Su Li wanted to call his name, but after opening his mouth, he couldn’t even finish saying it.
He stumbled and staggered toward him. He even fell once along the way, but didn’t feel any pain. He had no strength to get back up, so he crawled forward on his hands and feet and lifted that person from the ground…or rather…
That corpse.
Shen Huarong liked wearing light colors, either plain white or light blue. In the past, he always stood out whenever he stood among the soldiers in their dark red uniforms.
It was precisely because of this that Su Li could pick him out from among the mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
His wide-sleeved robe, the color of cloud-white jade, was stained all over with blood. The folding fan he was always holding and waving around had been torn apart by someone. Flames had caught on it, burning its white surface until it turned charred black.
Those fox-like eyes that were always smiling had lost their luster. They were half-open, and his pupils were a lifeless, dark gray.
Su Li patted his face. When he saw that there was no response, he used a little more force.
It was as though he were merely asleep and would wake up if Su Li slapped him hard enough to hurt.
But he wouldn’t wake up.
No matter how hard Su Li hit him, he would never wake up again.
Nor would he sit up with a smile and say that it had only been a joke, asking why he had taken it seriously and complaining that he hadn’t held back at all, hitting him so hard that it hurt.
Su Li was dazed, as though he were in a dream.
He seemed to hear Shen Huarong’s voice beside his ears, but the person was clearly lying coldly in his arms.
Only then did he seem to realize the fact that Shen Huarong would never respond again.
It was also then that he finally found his voice.
“Shen Huarong…
“Shen Huarong! Wake up! Wake up!!!”
But this person will never cause trouble or laugh again.
“What happened…?”
Kneeling between the flames and the corpses, surrounded by deathly auras, he could only cry out hoarsely in despair:
“…Can someone tell me what happened here?!!!”
However, there was no response.
Not even a single sound.
Only at this moment did Su Li suddenly realize what was missing from this place.
Something that was the most ordinary, yet also the most important thing for a scene like this.
At this moment, in this place, there were so many newly dead corpses, and such dense resentment and deathly auras had gathered here, yet there wasn’t even a single underworld spirit.
Not even a wisp of a dead soul could be seen.
It was as though the souls of these tens of thousands of people had been completely annihilated along with their lives, leaving not even the slightest trace behind in the human world.
But how could this happen…?
This was wrong.
It shouldn’t be like this.
Su Li kept trying to summon their souls. Even when he spat out blood, he didn’t stop. But why couldn’t he find even half a wisp of a soul? Why couldn’t he get even the slightest response?
He repeated the spell to awaken souls over and over again. When it failed once, he tried twice. When it failed twice, he tried even more times. It was as though this spell, which he knew by heart, wasn’t working now simply because his posture was wrong or his skills weren’t good enough.
He stubbornly persisted, hoping to hear even the slightest response amid the black smoke, raging flames, mountains of corpses, and seas of blood.
But…
He was Qiyueban, who commanded ghosts and roamed the human world. Yet here, in this wilderness of the northwest and in the middle of winter, he experienced for the first time what it meant to…
Seek heaven and earth, yet find no door through which to plead for help.
