Chapter 32: A Single Thought’s Difference
Qi Xiao’s troops had been on the march for two days and were now resting in Luoxing City. After leaving Luoxing City, they would be in the territory of Shahan, an endless desert.
Since being handed over to Shahan, Luoxing City had developed well. The people of Luoxing no longer feared harassment from mountain bandits and could work the land together with the Shahan people. As a result, the city was home not only to the people of Langxuan but also to many from Shahan. Qi Xiao walked around and saw that everyone was getting along harmoniously, which brought him a great sense of relief. It seemed the decision they had made back then was not wrong. The once-barren land outside the city was now planted with rice. The scenery during the autumn harvest must be magnificent, and the people of Luoxing and Shahan no longer had to worry about famine.
The city was called Luoxing, or “Falling Star,” because from here, one could see the brightest stars in all of Langxuan, as if the entire galaxy had fallen from the sky.
Qi Xiao lay on a tree branch with a jug of wine, watching the stars by himself.
“General!”
Jiang Luori arrived under the tree, looking very anxious.
“General! Alliance Chief Shen is here to see you!”
Qi Xiao looked at him in confusion. “My friend is here to see me, not an enemy attack. Why are you in such a hurry?”
Jiang Luori seemed to realize this as well and stammered, “Because Alliance Chief Shen looked very anxious, I couldn’t help but…”
Qi Xiao was speechless.
Why does my lieutenant seem so foolish?
He doesn’t match my sharp and clever self at all.
Qi Xiao leaped down from the branch and quickened his pace back to the military camp. Since Shen Linye had come in such a hurry, it must mean there was important business.
Inside the main tent, upon seeing Qi Xiao, Shen Linye said, “General Qi, do you want to know the ending of your past life with Master Fu?”
Qi Xiao was stunned, clearly not having processed it yet. Did Shen Linye come all this way just to tell me about my past life?
“The attack on the Emperor by the Sheng Luo army made me realize my mistake,” Shen Linye continued. “I originally thought that many things had changed in this life, but you and Master Fu are gradually heading towards the same path as in the past life. In the past life, the Emperor also ran into trouble on his way to Shahan, and you also led your troops out of the city to find him.”
“You found the Emperor and then stayed in Shahan with him for half a year. When you returned to the capital, you discovered that Master Fu had already married another woman.”
Qi Xiao’s eyes widened. M-married? To someone else?
“After that, you requested the Emperor to be stationed at the border, and you never returned to the capital. Later, when I was passing through the border, we hit it off immediately. While we were drinking together, you told me you were very resentful because Master Fu had betrayed you. A year later, Master Fu passed away. You rushed back to the capital day and night, but you still couldn’t see him one last time.”
Qi Xiao sat to the side, listening to Shen Linye recount his past life as if it were a sad story, unable to speak for a long time.
Why…
Why was it like this…
He still remembered how Fu Yunzhi had promised him before he left that they would get married when he returned.
“In your past life, General Qi, you never understood why Master Fu was so heartless. But this time is different. In this life, Linglong and I are together, and he fought alongside me, so he discovered some things. Do you know of the Flower Moon Gu?”
Qi Xiao looked up, nervously awaiting Shen Linye’s next words, as if waiting for a sentence to be passed.
“The Flower Moon Gu is a parasite used by the Miao people to force their beloved to have intercourse with them. Master Fu has this Gu in his body. If the person with the Gu does not have intercourse with the person who administered it and who holds the master Gu, their appearance will gradually be ruined, and their lifespan will decrease. They usually cannot survive for more than five years. If we calculate based on the past life, this year is the fourth year since Master Fu was poisoned.”
Qi Xiao remembered the disaster that had befallen the Fu family four years ago. Fu Yunzhi originally had an older brother named Fu Yunfei. Fu Yunfei was an anomaly in the Fu family because, unlike the others who pursued literary careers, he became a general who fought in campaigns everywhere. He was, in a way, Qi Xiao’s predecessor.
When Fu Yunfei was twenty-five, he led his troops to the southwest to suppress a rebellion by the Miao people, and Fu Yunzhi went with him. However, Fu Yunfei unfortunately died in that battle. After Fu Yunzhi returned, he locked himself in his room for a month.
What happened? No one knew. At that time, Fu Yunfei had taken Fu Yunzhi and about twenty personal guards out to scout, but only Fu Yunzhi had returned.
Qi Xiao was afraid of reopening Fu Yunzhi’s wounds, so he never asked him about it. But now, hearing Shen Linye’s words, he vaguely guessed that Fu Yunzhi’s Gu poison was probably administered at that time.
Five years…
“How can this Gu be removed?!” Qi Xiao asked urgently.
It was said that during that campaign, all the rebellious Miao people had been wiped out, with no survivors. Since Fu Yunzhi’s Gu poison had not been cured, the person who had administered it must also be dead.
If the Miao person with the master Gu is dead, then to remove the Gu, you just need to find someone to take the master Gu and pretend to be the one who administered it. That’s what Mu Linglong said.
“This is the main point I wanted to make,” Shen Linye said. “To remove the Gu, you must have a person with high martial arts skills take the master Gu and then have intercourse with him. Why must they have high martial arts skills? Because an ordinary person’s constitution is not like that of the Miao people, who have been taking poisons and practicing with Gu since childhood, and cannot withstand the master Gu. But even so, this act will still reduce the lifespan of the person who takes the master Gu and may even cause them to lose their martial arts.”
“That’s why Master Fu married someone else. It was because he didn’t want you to suffer the Flower Moon Gu with him. He knew that if you found out about it, you would take the master Gu without hesitation. The Gu would be removed, but you would also be weakened and die. And if it wasn’t removed, you would live, but Master Fu would have less than a year to live. No matter what, it was not a good ending.”
Qi Xiao was unable to react for a long time.
To be loved in return was already something he was overwhelmed by, as if in a dream. He had never expected that it wasn’t just love, but a love so deep.
However, even though the love was deep, it was no match for a limited lifespan.
“If I hadn’t said these things and just watched you two repeat the same mistakes, I would not have been able to live with myself for the rest of my life,” Shen Linye said. “General Qi, a single thought’s difference from you will decide your and Master Fu’s fate. If you continue forward, you will lose your beloved forever.”
“I will never forget your great kindness, Alliance Chief Shen, and I can never repay it. In the future, if you have any requests, I will certainly serve you with all my strength.” Qi Xiao stood up and was about to kneel before him.
Shen Linye was startled and quickly helped him up, stopping him.
“After I was reborn, I was uneasy day and night. It was you, General Qi, who wrote a story about rebirth and reminded me to cherish the present. You did me a favor first, and I am just repaying it.”
“Yunzhi is my beloved, and the Emperor is my family,” Qi Xiao said. “I cannot lose either of them.”
“Brother Qi, you don’t need to worry about the Emperor,” Shen Linye said. “In your past life, by the time you reached Shahan, the Emperor had already been taken to the Shahan capital by the King of Shahan.”
Qi Xiao noticed the change in Shen Linye’s form of address.
“Brother Shen,” Qi Xiao also changed his address, “may I ask a favor of you?”
Shen Linye smiled. “You want me to go to Shahan as well, to ensure the Emperor’s safety for you?”
“Exactly.”
“Alright! Brother Qi, you can rest assured and leave this matter to me.”
“I’m sorry to trouble you, Brother Shen,” Qi Xiao said apologetically.
“It’s no trouble, no trouble. The Emperor is benevolent, which is a blessing for Langxuan. As a citizen of Langxuan, it is my duty to serve my sovereign. Besides, Linglong has never been to Shahan.”
After Shen Linye left the main tent, Qi Xiao summoned Jiang Luori, handed him the military tally, and told him to lead the troops forward.
“General, where are you going?”
“To sort out the rest of my life,” Qi Xiao said.
On the endless sea of sand, corpses were scattered everywhere, and blood stained the yellow sand red. The Sheng Luo army had retreated and fled halfway through the battle. Shahan and Langxuan had won a complete victory!
“I won,” Wulanbaer said smugly to Rong Feijun.
“I only had one less than you,” Rong Feijun frowned.
Wulanbaer raised an eyebrow. “Yes, but it’s quite impressive that you could even keep up with me.”
Rong Feijun smiled and shook his head.
“We should get moving,” Wulanbaer said. “We need to get to the oasis ahead before the sandstorm arrives.”
“Sandstorm?”
“According to our Shahan people’s desert experience, a sandstorm is coming soon.”
Rong Feijun naturally didn’t doubt him and waved for everyone to pack up and move out quickly.
He pulled his headscarf tighter and rode alongside Wulanbaer at the head of the procession.
Looking at the person beside him, Wulanbaer asked, “Has Your Majesty finished the medicine I gave you before?”
Rong Feijun nodded. “I finished it a week ago.”
“…” Wulanbaer said, “If I remember correctly, didn’t I say to come to Shahan before you finished the medicine?”
And he seemed to have also said that if he wasn’t treated in time after finishing the medicine, the consequences would be unimaginable.
A week?
Are you fucking kidding me?
No wonder his complexion is so bad, Wulanbaer thought.
Rong Feijun turned his head away, silent. He had been so bogged down by state affairs that he couldn’t get away.
Wulanbaer sighed. “Your Majesty, may I see your hand?”
Rong Feijun glanced around. Seeing that the others were a good distance away, he awkwardly took off his glove. The purplish-black bruise on the back of his hand had already spread to his arm.
Wulanbaer was used to the wildness of the desert and had always been arrogant. He wasn’t as timid around Rong Feijun as others were, so he directly rolled up his sleeve and saw that the bruise had already spread to his shoulder.
“Your Majesty,” Wulanbaer said seriously, “I am not joking. If this poison spreads to your heart, the Langxuan throne will have a new master.”
Rong Feijun pulled his hand back.
“It hasn’t spread to my heart yet.”
“But your body will grow weaker and weaker,” Wulanbaer said. “Haven’t you noticed that you’ve been getting tired and dizzy easily lately, with no appetite, and feeling nauseous?”
Why does that sound like the symptoms of pregnancy? Rong Feijun thought.
“I now doubt if Your Majesty has the strength to even make it to the Shahan capital,” Wulanbaer sneered.
“I made it here from the capital before.”
“That was before. This poison will get worse day by day. And you have already let it go for nearly two weeks.”
Rong Feijun said no more. In truth, he didn’t like talking to Wulanbaer. The man was so arrogant and somewhat difficult to deal with.
Wulanbaer had a headache. It would be a huge trouble if the King of Langxuan died in Shahan, by his side. And besides… He looked at the person beside him, gentle and scholarly, with clear eyes. He had to admit, he had a good impression of this king. Perhaps, deep down, he even hoped to become friends with him, to have a closer relationship.
“Your Majesty, we will change course and head east.”
Rong Feijun was confused. Didn’t he just say they had to go to the oasis first to avoid the sandstorm?
“The poison in your body cannot be delayed any longer,” Wulanbaer explained. “If we go to the oasis, the round trip plus the time to avoid the sandstorm will take at least two more days. We are all soldiers here. If a sandstorm comes, we can just endure it.”
Wulanbaer was the king of the desert. Since he said it was no problem, Rong Feijun had no objection.
The large procession changed direction and continued to advance under the scorching sun, heading for the capital of Shahan—Li City.
