Heart's Desire

Aoyun's curved saber first clashed with Arslang's curved saber, the impact deafening. Aoyun let out a roar, his sturdy arms erupting with terrifying strength at that moment, actually pressing Arslang's curved saber back.

Immediately after, Xin Yi's Heavenly Dao shot out from behind Aoyun's horse, heading straight for Arslang's back of the neck. Arslang's dagger, held at his lower back, flipped up to block, caught between Aoyun and Xin Yi's dual blades.

To catch a thief, first catch the leader. Kill Arslang, and even if their few people couldn't repel the heavy troops, the Beiyang Army from Shangjin would eventually catch up from behind.

But this was the Lion King.

Aoyun's back was in danger; he was the first to be forced to withdraw his saber. Xin Yi vaulted onto Arslang's horse, his Heavenly Dao blocked by Arslang's dagger. The moment Aoyun withdrew his saber, Xin Yi ducked down. Sure enough, the cold blade behind him also just swept over his head. Arslang's dagger flipped, ready to stab down. Xin Yi tilted his head aside, gripped the saddle with one hand, his entire body overturning. His feet landed on Arslang's shoulders, then he completely flipped onto the Lion King's shoulders.

Aoyun couldn't help but let out a whistle.

Arslang shrugged his shoulder, his curved saber sweeping towards Xin Yi's calf. Xin Yi pressed down on the Lion King's head, leaping to dodge. As he leaped forward, one hand pressed on the back of the Lion King's head, and his other blade scraped towards the Lion King's back of the neck.

Arslang slapped his hand to intercept Xin Yi's blade, but was pushed by the weight of Xin Yi's forward leap, tilting his whole body off the horse. Xin Yi seized the opportunity to jump down. Aoyun reached out and pulled him, and he used the momentum to vault onto Aoyun's horse.

"You should've been a bit faster." Aoyun licked the blood from the back of his hand. "But well done."

"I hope you can be a bit faster next time too." Xin Yi dodged a blade, letting it swing towards Aoyun for Aoyun to block.

Chiye trampled past corpses, running parallel to Aoyun's horse. Xin Yi immediately vaulted back onto Chiye's back, leaning down to rub Chiye's head in a rewarding manner.

"Are we going to keep fighting them?" Aoyun yelled.

"What do you think?" Xin Yi withdrew his blade, and the person whose chest had been pierced fell.

He and Aoyun exchanged glances, cursing under their breath simultaneously: "Run, dammit!"

'Fight for what?!'

Their small group wasn't even enough to be trampled by heavy cavalry, why would they fight Arslang head-on?

The two of them took the lead, charging at the very front. The wind violently lashed their faces, but even this didn't shut Aoyun up. He yelled loudly into the wind: "How shameful! We're running away!" Before Xin Yi could reply, he heard Aoyun continue: "But it's thrilling enough!"

Arslang had already remounted. This time, he didn't intend to let either of them escape. Countless cavalry relentlessly pursued them from behind, and the two were chased by the Lion King, galloping madly.

After crossing a slightly elevated patch of ground ahead, Xin Yi suddenly saw another contingent in the snowy wilderness.

'Who is it?'

Chiye charged straight ahead without hesitation. Xin Yi looked directly at that contingent. As they ran closer, he immediately saw the person at the very front.

A snow-white cloak draped over him, his narrow eyes gleamed, and even his smile was three parts intense beauty, seven parts cold indifference.

'His heart was pounding relentlessly!' Xin Yi's throat felt constricted, and he opened his mouth to shout, but nothing came out.

Bai Jiu's horse suddenly moved.

He charged forward, and the Beiyang Army behind him drew their sabers and charged in unison. The snowy wilderness was vast, shouts clashed, and the Beiyang Army and Arslang's cavalry engaged on the snow. It was a long-awaited head-on clash between the two sides, and Xin Yi also charged directly towards Bai Jiu.

But Bai Jiu's horse brushed past him.

"Jingyuan—"

Xin Yi's voice was still hanging in the air when his back suddenly felt heavy. The person who had brushed past him vaulted onto his horse. The great cloak pressed against his shoulders, and a cold scent enveloped his entire body. Bai Jiu's equally cold hand wrapped around his hand that held the Heavenly Dao. With a squeeze of his legs, Chiye immediately turned around.

The Heavenly Dao's hacking force was immense; Xin Yi knew how much strength he was using.

This counter-attack had not yet fully progressed when a long arrow from behind, piercing the wind, shot towards Arslang's face. He raised his saber to block, but the curved saber emitted a sharp screeching sound.

Ji Baiyue stood on the rather high snowy ground behind them.

The strong wind blew back the hair from his forehead; his posture, as he drew the bow, was motionless. Old scars were visible on his exposed brow bone. He stared at the equally old saber mark on Arslang's shoulder, and a slow smile spread across his refined face.

He silently uttered a sentence to the Lion King.

The Lion King reined in his horse and stopped, his gaze heavy. It moved from Ji Baiyue's face to Xin Yi, who was fighting, landing on the Heavenly Dao.

'The one who breaks Jianan in the future.'

'Must be a son of my Beiyang Xin family.'

The man who roared this sentence died before Jianan Mountain, standing firm just a step away. He made Great Yuan panic, made Wan Ze fear, and made Jianan tremble. It was like both a vow and a curse, striking the hearts of Arslang and the people of Great Yuan, and similarly striking the chests of the people of Beiyang and Great Lan.

Even if he was now dust, his renown was not gone.

It was still unforgettable.

Arslang suddenly reined in his horse, retreating backward, staring at Xin Yi. The heavy troops of Great Yuan followed suit, as if retreating reluctantly under the fierce assault of the Beiyang Army, or as if they had made another decision and were just waiting for the right moment.

"I'll be waiting in Jianan." Arslang raised his fist over his head and shouted: "I'll be waiting on Jianan Mountain. If you can't come, I'll come again. Shangjin cannot stop the Great Yuan soldiers, the Beiyang Army cannot break Jianan Mountain. One day, we will reach the banks of the Chang River!"

Great Yuan was frantically retreating. This should have been a good time to press the advantage and pursue, but Chiye also stopped. Neither Prince of Pingding nor Prince of Yan issued an order to pursue.

"Why aren't we pursuing?" Aoyun rode his horse next to Chiye, glancing at Bai Jiu's face before asking Xin Yi.

"I'm afraid not today." Xin Yi said calmly: "The Beiyang Army didn't bring much more food. Rash pursuit will surely lead to losses. Beyond this is Great Yuan territory; if we get surrounded, our forces will collapse."

"So we just let him return to Jianan Mountain?"

"I'm afraid not either." His left hand subtly concealed itself in his sleeve. Xin Yi smiled at Aoyun, "The Qiyan Tribe is still behind us. If he retreats too easily, the Qiyan Tribe will suffer."

Aoyun wanted to say more, but he met the man's eyes.

Narrow eyes like a snake's, cold even when smiling, dangerous even though handsome. Aoyun stopped speaking, cautiously stepping back, moving away from Xin Yi's side.

"Let's go back." Bai Jiu whispered softly into Xin Yi's ear: "Prince of Yan."

Wu Yu was overjoyed to see Xin Yi, crying tears of joy. He clung to Xin Yi's thigh, weeping profusely in front of Bai Jiu, then wiping all his snot and tears onto the Prince of Yan's trousers, trying to make the Prince of Pingding understand that his loyalty was just a bit foolish. Xin Ming also clung to Xin Yi's other leg, and though he didn't cry, he looked on with eager eyes.

Xin Yi pushed Wu Yu away with his scabbard, pulling out his messy leg. When he saw the snot on it, he felt a wave of nausea, "Oh gods, these aren't my trousers."

Wu Yu immediately rolled away, saying timidly: "Are they the Prince of Pingding's then?"

"..." Xin Yi, "Go die, Wu Yu."

Wu Yu then happily ran off to court death.

Xin Yi picked up Xin Ming, "Go keep an eye on him, tell him not to be crazy." Xin Ming held his neck tightly, unwilling to let go, so Xin Yi said: "Go on, I'm not leaving the city today."

Only then did Xin Ming reluctantly slide down.

Once the person had run off, Xin Yi's shoulder felt heavy. Someone pressed down on his shoulder from behind, enveloping him, and took hold of his hands.

Xin Yi clenched his fist slightly, his left hand instinctively dodging, but it was caught firmly. Xin Yi's heart skipped a beat, and he stammered a little: "M-my lord."

Bai Jiu's fingertips lingered on the back of his hand, gently sliding.

Xin Yi's full attention was on his left hand, feeling a bit nervous. He wasn't afraid of Bai Jiu knowing he had lost his pinky finger on his left hand; he was somewhat unwilling to break the confidence he had just built.

The confidence of standing shoulder to shoulder with Bai Jiu.

Bai Jiu whispered Xin Yi's name by his cheek. Xin Yi turned his head, and Bai Jiu pressed his lips against his, kissing him with a little more force. Xin Yi also applied force, slowly responding.

It was as if they hadn't kissed for a long time.

Their hands entwined at some point. Xin Yi's lips were pushed open, and a clear, cool sensation entered from his tongue. Xin Yi suddenly felt that this moment was incredibly precious, like trekking through ice and snow for too long and finally finding his own warmth again. His response was somewhat fierce, even gripping Bai Jiu's hand tightly, no longer caring about the incompleteness of his left hand.

That night trapped in Great Yuan filled him with lingering fear.

If he had died among the heavy cavalry, if he had died in the snow, if he had died with the Qiyan Tribe. This person would never again belong to him, along with this warmth and this beating heart.

Bai Jiu suddenly hugged him tightly; it was like a reunion after life and death between their lips. Xin Yi was even heated to a sweat by the rising body temperature. He weakly clutched Bai Jiu's shoulder, pressing his forehead against Bai Jiu's, gazing at Bai Jiu from inches away.

"Jingyuan." Xin Yi, pressing against him, whispered: "I've killed many people, I'm not your rabbit anymore."

Bai Jiu didn't laugh aloud at this thoughtless remark; he said seriously: "I know."

"I met Arslang, but I didn't reach Jianan Mountain."

Bai Jiu said softly: "I know."

"I was in a sorry state, seeking an alliance with the Qiyan Tribe."

"I know."

Xin Yi said: "I want to go home."

Bai Jiu's thumb stroked his cheek, and he whispered: "Then let's go home."

Xin Yi, of course, wouldn't go home now, because his tasks weren't finished. Great Yuan and Prince of Tang, he hadn't dealt with either. Arslang's retreat couldn't be so easy; tomorrow morning, as soon as it was light, he would remount, bringing provisions, and once again trek through the snow in the cold wind, completely blocking Great Yuan on that side.

On the other side of Jianan Mountain.

That night he slept very soundly. Bai Jiu's gentle patting once again allowed him to relax into slumber. Bai Jiu held Xin Yi's hand, his fingertips caressing Xin Yi's fingers back and forth, looking at his left hand, which had lost its pinky finger, without a smile.

One year, on a night of heavy snow.

Bai Jiu, when he was not yet Bai Jiu, made a vow.

'To let Xin Yi live.'

'Never to touch sorrow or pain in his life.'

In the deep night, the man lifted Xin Yi's hand and gently kissed it with his lips, saying nothing, yet it was as if everything had been said.