An Aura Bent on Retribution
From the brazier came the light crackle of charcoal burning through. The five generals who remained of the Bai Family Army watched Bai Jingyan with deep, steady eyes, fists clenched tight as they bore down on the surging excitement in their chests, quietly waiting for her orders.
Bai Jingyan lifted her head. The firelight painted her exquisitely sculpted features in warm hues, but behind her eyes a fiercer blaze was rising like a tide.
"I have petitioned the Crown Prince to let General Zheng and Uncle Shen lead the remaining Bai Family Army and hold Donggu Mountain. Uncle Gu will garrison Zhongshan City, and General Wei Zhaonian will defend Bailong City."
Her voice was very quiet.
"I will send word to A'Jue and A'Yun. Donggu Mountain, Zhongshan City, and Bailong City are linked territories — the soldiers are to train there. With all of you in place, no one will ever discover them."
Wei Zhaonian felt heat rise in his wounded eye. He was the first to react, staring at Bai Jingyan's face — unshakable, unflinching — with eyes that could not hide their astonishment. It felt as though a wave were crashing through his chest.
She means to raise and train soldiers in secret. Could it be... in preparation for rebellion?
Wei Zhaonian held his breath, his face frozen, and asked in a voice that barely crept forward.
"Xiao Baishu... are you saying you intend to raise a private army now?"
"That's right."
Bai Jingyan admitted it without a trace of shame.
"For the Bai Family Army — for the Bai family — to survive, we need an enemy that no one but the Bai Family Army can defeat. The reason I spared Yun Paxing's life and let him live on for another three years was to save the Bai family. And to save the Bai Family Army. But what if Yun Paxing dies before the three years are up? What if he no longer dares to wage war against Jin? Or what if, three years from now, war comes again and Yun Paxing dies in it? When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is boiled — if the Bai Family Army met such an end, it would be a picture I could never bear to see.
The Bai family... and the warriors of the Bai family, generation after generation, have broken their bodies and shattered their bones for that one conviction alone — to return an age of peace to the common people. I, Bai Jingyan, will remember it until the day I die. I can never forget it.
So if there is no enemy left to threaten the Emperor of Jin, then we have no choice but to raise the very enemy he fears. At the very least, we must make him understand that against a powerful foreign foe, he can rely only on the Bai Family Army. Only then can the Bai family survive — only then can the Bai Family Army endure, and grow stronger.
If, one day, the Bai Family Army meets a wise sovereign — one who seeks the security of all people and the pacification of the realm — then the Bai Family Army will become the sharp blade in that sovereign's hand. Should we meet an enlightened ruler who desires nothing more than to enrich the state and strengthen its people, the Bai Family Army will guard the borders and help the people live in peace. At the very least, we can give the people of our Great Jin a realm at peace under heaven!
But if we should meet a sovereign blind and foolish, one whose ignorance brings suffering upon the people of Jin — then the Bai Family Army must recover the founding heart with which it was created, and quell rebellion and foreign invasion alike for the people's sake. Protect the people, keep the people safe. Those four words... they are the Bai Family Army's founding purpose and its soul. Every soldier of the Bai Family Army must carve them into his bones, and never — never — forget them."
Her words were unmistakable, delivered clearly to the five generals seated there: if a benighted ruler ever arose in Jin and ruined the state and harmed its people, the Bai Family Army would commit treason to protect them.
The Xiao Baishu sitting before them now still wore silver armor, but she was no longer the fledgling pup who had first bounded onto the battlefield. No longer the hot-blooded girl with nothing but seething passion. Her expression was grave yet composed. Before the generals of the Bai Family Army — men ready to serve her with their lives — her gaze was calm, firm, and unfathomably deep.
Though barely ten thousand battered soldiers remained of the Bai Family Army, she had not forgotten the heart with which it had been founded. Carrying a conviction handed down through generations — to secure peace under heaven — she was charting, with deep deliberation and strategy, a picture for a far more distant future.
Wei Zhaonian was a man of the Bai Family Army, yet his heart had differed, however slightly, from the others'. He had sworn to follow Bai Jingyan to the death, but it was true that he had harbored the fear she might never open her heart fully to him.
Xiao Baishu had served under Shen Kunyang since she was young; Gu Wenchang was close enough to her that she called him Uncle Gu. Shen Liangyu went without saying — the Haoying Battalion was the direct legacy of Bai Qijing, the fifth son of the late King of Zhenguo. Cheng Yuanzhi had bled beside her on the battlefield. No one alive doubted their devotion to the Bai family.
But Wei Zhaonian, though he had served in the direct ranks of Bai Qichuan, the fourth son of the King of Zhenguo, had spent those years guarding the eastern territories of Great Jin with Bai Qichuan, and had never once fought a war at Xiao Baishu's side.
A moment ago he had blurted out, carelessly, asking whether she meant to raise a private army — and even as the words left his mouth his chest had tightened. Yet Xiao Baishu had taken no offense whatsoever, answering him plainly that she would commit treason against a benighted ruler if it came to that.
Only now did Wei Zhaonian realize that the cleverness he had prided himself on was nothing but the pettiness of a small-minded man. Xiao Baishu regarded every soldier of the Bai Family Army as her own.
Set back by defeat, yet never disheartened.
Struck by hardship, yet still holding grand ambitions in her heart!
She carried the very bearing to swallow mountains and rivers!
Of course she did — she was the bone and marrow of the Bai family!
From this moment on, Wei Zhaonian swore to himself that he would cast aside every worry and every doubt and follow Xiao Baishu even if it cost him his life.
"Even if it costs me my life, I will follow Xiao Baishu alone!"
Wei Zhaonian ground his teeth, cupped his fists in salute, and dropped to one knee, gazing up at Bai Jingyan with solemn reverence.
"Even if it costs me my life, I will never forget the great purpose of the Bai Family Army!"
"I am a rough man, and I will follow only the people of the Bai family — only Xiao Baishu!"
Cheng Yuanzhi dropped to one knee.
"Whatever Xiao Baishu commands, no matter what it is, I will follow without a single word of protest!"
Shen Kunyang, Gu Wenchang, and Shen Liangyu all cupped their fists and knelt as well, swearing to never forget the soul of the Bai Family Army and to follow Xiao Baishu until death.
"Xiao Baishu, then what about me?"
Unable to hold back any longer at receiving no particular assignment, Shen Liangyu finally asked.
"The whole realm fears the Bai Family Army — and the very name Haoying Battalion is enough to turn men's spines to ice! Which means the Emperor and the Crown Prince of Jin will surely demand to take the Haoying Battalion for themselves. Whatever orders they give it, follow them exactly. The Crown Prince knows nothing of how the Haoying Battalion trains, so he'll have no choice but to depend on you."
Bai Jingyan gazed at Shen Liangyu with deep eyes and spoke slowly.
"Ask the Crown Prince boldly. Right now, Chuishanguan, the Tianling highlands, and Wengshan are all excellent grounds for training the Haoying Battalion! Wherever he tells you to drill the soldiers, comply without complaint. But there is one thing you must demand of him properly: you have your own methods of training troops, and you do not tolerate interference or prying questions. Ask His Highness for his understanding on that."
Still, the Crown Prince would likely never order Shen Liangyu to train troops at Wengshan — after Bai Jingyan had slaughtered every Xiliang prisoner of war there, the mere thought of the place must have turned the Crown Prince's stomach.
But it made no difference whether the Crown Prince chose the Tianling highlands or Chuishanguan. Leading the Haoying Battalion to train in either place... whether for ten days, half a month, or even a full month, so long as no one meddled, Shen Liangyu could drill them exactly as he pleased.
"I understand perfectly, Commander."
Shen Liangyu raised his fists in salute, his mind crystal clear on what to do.
"I will remain in constant contact with Commander, relaying word to and from Donggu Mountain, Bailong City, and Zhongshan City."
"Some of the generals will likely be left behind in Youhuado after they've met with the Crown Prince."
Bai Jingyan's eyes grew moist. She bowed in a formal salute.
"Then the Bai Family Army... and Bai Qingjue and Bai Qingyun, I entrust to all of you. Let us meet again in three years."
* * *
The sun emerged from among clouds simmering on the horizon. Golden light pierced the morning mist and traced the majestic mountain range in sharp relief, then slipped away to shimmer across the flowing rivers and streams.
A wind rose and scattered the clouds, unveiling in full the towering, strangely jagged peaks that stabbed at the sky. The snow on their summits, unmelted for ten thousand years, reflected the morning sun in dazzling gold.
The blinding sunlight came surging slowly over the far side of the mountains and poured out across the open plain, driving away the mist and darkness that had hung over the main camp of the Great Jin army.
"Sister! Eldest Sister!"
Bai Jinchi's voice rang out.
She stumbled into Shen Liangyu's tent, panting for breath, her face stricken.
"It's Li Zhijie, the Prince of Yan of Xiliang! He's come carrying the bodies of Haoying Battalion soldiers and the Dongga attendants — he's here to demand answers from the Crown Prince!"
Here, this quickly!
At her words, Cheng Yuanzhi leapt to his feet in a fury and roared.
"Demand answers? Damn his hide!"
"How dare he set foot here!"
Shen Liangyu clenched his jaw and snatched up his blade.
Bai Jingyan remembered descending into that dark, gloomy dungeon — the moment she first saw Bai Qingyun, not a single unbroken spot on his body. Needles had been driven into his toes, his fingers, even beneath his nails. His legs were mangled beyond recognition, caught in the mechanisms of some torture device, blood streaming ceaselessly from every inch of him. She had wanted to carve Li Zhijie apart with a blade then and there.
Bai Jinchi caught her ragged breath and pressed on.
"I went to see for myself. The Prince of Yan was covered in blood — they were carrying him out of his carriage! Sister, when we came back he was perfectly fine. But to arrive bleeding like this — there's something behind it, I'm sure of it!"
A cold light flashed in Bai Jingyan's eyes.
Li Zhijie, arriving drenched in blood?
She steadied her mind and summoned the image of Li Zhijie's peach-blossom eyes, brimming with laughter. She knew better than anyone that he was no carefree, easygoing fool who simply wore his cheer for others to see.
Arriving soaked in blood, carrying the corpses of the Haoying Battalion men and the Dongga attendants. He had come thoroughly prepared.
"Where are the Prince of Yan and his party?"
she asked.
"At the entrance to our camp!"
"Then first, we go to His Highness the Crown Prince."
With that, Bai Jingyan left the tent and headed for the Crown Prince's quarters.
"I'm coming too."
Worried, Wei Zhaonian followed.
Bai Jingyan walked out of Shen Liangyu's tent with her blade in one hand, striding through the sunlight, then turned her gaze toward the edge of the camp.
Li Zhijie stood at the entrance of the Jin camp, supported by Liu Chentuo. A bandage was wrapped around his shoulder, and blood had already seeped through it. He wore the pale violet robe from the day before, the bloodstains on parts of his body long dried. His face was white as fresh snow — so pallid it raised gooseflesh — and he looked frail beyond words.
As though sensing Bai Jingyan's frigid gaze, Li Zhijie, standing at the camp entrance, lifted his head and stared at her — still wearing the bloodstained armor she hadn't bothered to change — and pressed his lips tightly shut.
What audacity! She had returned to the Jin camp, yet instead of scrambling to erase the traces she'd left at the Battle of Chuishanguan, she strolled about the camp still dressed in blood-soaked armor.
The woman walked with her sword in hand, her back ramrod straight, her steps firm. The five Bai family generals trailing behind her were veterans of over a hundred campaigns apiece; every one of them carried the bearing of a commander, radiating an awe-inspiring, crushing gravity. Wrapped in an aura of retribution as they walked, they made no effort to hide the killing intent in the eyes that fixed upon him — a gaze needling and sharp.
Li Zhijie's eyelids twitched hard, twice.
"Your Highness, by the look of it, Bai Jingyan is already prepared. Otherwise, how would she dare parade around the camp in bloodstained armor?"
Liu Chentuo lowered his eyes and murmured into Li Zhijie's ear.
They had already reached the Jin camp, and having come this far, there was no time left for second thoughts. Li Zhijie studied Bai Jingyan intently.
"I never intended to face Bai Jingyan over that matter myself. If I can only plant the ember of doubt in the Crown Prince of Jin's heart, a wound or two from a blade would be well worth it,"
Li Zhijie replied.