In the 17th year of Tianming, the day after the Winter Hunt, the Emperor was wounded in the hunting grounds. The entire party hastily withdrew to the city, which remained on high alert.
Half a month later, the winter solstice brought heavy snow. In years past, Long Luo Lake would have been sealed under a layer of ice, but this year was different.
Every water source in the city was guarded by soldiers, overseen by the great families within the city walls. Beyond the city, Baiyong Mountain was under the heavy, secret guard of the Gu Clan’s troops, who had traveled from afar. Over a hundred falcons and hawks patrolled the city ceaselessly under the guidance of a single gyrfalcon. The Eagle King, this gyrfalcon, made its perch beside a tiny pond.
It was high noon, and a blizzard howled. Heavy cavalry in full armor surrounded the pond from a distance of several yards, all watching solemnly, their gazes shifting between the towering, majestic East City Gate in the distance and the pond itself.
Just as the deputy general of the heavy cavalry felt his eyes were about to cross from watching, a sound finally stirred in the pond.
A large, veined, ghastly hand broke the water’s surface, gripping the shore’s railing with a bluish-white pallor. Then, the young commander-in-chief’s soaked face emerged from the water.
Gu Jinyu, clad in a single layer of clothing, gasped for breath expressionlessly while clutching the rail. After only a moment, he turned and plunged back into the bone-chilling pond.
The hearts of the deputy generals clenched. They silently exchanged glances, hearing the splashing and feeling an illusory chill themselves. In the deep winter, jumping in once was one thing, but to do this for half a month straight would make anyone, with all due respect, ask: Is your commander-in-chief made of iron?
And it wasn’t just this man causing a commotion like dumplings in a pot. The very night of the Winter Hunt’s first day, word was that the Young Master of the Guan family and the Young General of the Ge family had also jumped into a pond. More shockingly, well past midnight, the Eldest Young Master of the Su family had also plunged in. Although his health had much improved in recent years, he was still naturally frail from birth. After thrashing about in the pond a few times, the Su family had fished him out, and he was already running a fever.
The military officers were all somewhat baffled.
The only rumor was that someone had lost their footing and fallen into a pond in the middle of the night. It was a small, contained incident, and the news had been sealed. Yet this drowning was cloaked in something uncanny. The pond was barely the size of a palm; a person had fallen in and simply could not be found.
No one knew what connection the drowning victim had with these favored sons of heaven, for them all to act as if they’d lost their minds.
It was one thing for others to lose their minds, but their commander-in-chief, who had always been exceedingly reliable, had undergone a complete mental transformation. After hearing the most basic report that day, he had frozen in place for so long that people suspected he had died standing up.
But when he finally moved, it was to grab his blade and go out to kill someone.
The officers were deeply loyal and tolerant, thinking that even if he wanted to kill someone, it was no big matter; they were going to be killing anyway… Except the people their commander wanted to kill were all of tremendous status. From princes at the top, to his own father in the middle, to… well, there was no bottom. Everyone he wanted to kill was a high noble with powerful backing.
This was where tolerance ended. The officers immediately pulled out every trick they knew, persuading and pleading to finally hold him back.
Everyone thought it was a momentary impulse, but they gradually realized it wasn’t just a moment; it was constant. And it wasn’t impulse; it was madness.
Gu Jinyu was in a constant, stable state of madness.
He jumped into the pond alone, again and again, and then crawled back out alone, again and again.
As things stood, he wasn’t disturbing heaven or earth; he was only mad at himself.
Another splash resounded. Just then, Blossom Ashes, the gyrfalcon, flew in from the horizon like a thunderbolt, letting out sharp, prolonged cries. Gu Jinyu, still in the pond, tilted his head to listen with bloodshot eyes, then climbed ashore like a water ghost.
The snow gradually lightened. A moment later, Gu Jinyu returned on horseback, draped in his riding furs. The gyrfalcon with its ruffled feathers perched on his shoulder, chattering in hawk-speak and pecking at him occasionally, as though scolding or offering encouragement.
The deputy general waited for him to ride up alongside. In the past, Gu Jinyu would have proactively relayed military orders and intelligence, but for the past half-month, he’d been as mute as a clam. So, the deputy general took the initiative to speak. “General, are there any developments in the city?”
Gu Jinyu answered slowly, his entire body radiating cold. “The old Emperor is severely wounded and in critical condition. The Eastern Palace is about to succeed the throne.”
The surrounding officers, all ears pricked, took a deep breath. One asked, “Is it truly safe for you not to be in the Imperial Palace keeping watch, General?”
“Someone is watching inside the palace. It’s fine.” Gu Jinyu gave a short, hard smile. “Gao Mingqian’s supporters are bound to rebel sooner or later. We just need to wait for the rabbit to hit the tree.”
He wiped the water from his face, and seemed to regain his usual calm and gentleness. “Changluo has four city gates. We are setting an ambush here at the East Gate. The Su family guards the north, and the Yue family holds the South Gate. Once the old Emperor passes, given the Crown Princess’s iron-fisted methods, Gao Mingqian will surely flee tonight. Everyone must be on high alert; there will be a fierce battle this evening.”
The officers voiced their agreement.
Gu Jinyu stroked Blossom Ashes on his shoulder. Even if Crown Princess Gao Mingshi had any intention of reconciling with Gao Mingqian, he would force the new Empress to be merciless.
He wanted to kill many, many people. If he couldn’t kill them, he would wound them, cripple them, make their lives worse than death, make every moment they lived a living hell.
The sky darkened inch by inch. At Shen hour, the snow stopped, and the deep, resonant toll of a bell echoed from within Changluo City. Twelve tolls rang out, announcing to the world that the old Emperor had passed away.
A ripple of unrest passed through the army. Gu Jinyu rode through the ranks, looking calm, collected, and amiably composed as he gave the detailed combat orders. After arranging everything by dusk, just as the sun set, he donned a face mask, took a few agile personal guards, and rode off towards the South Gate with his blade in hand.
After crossing the snowy mountain, the winter night fell quickly. Gu Jinyu concealed himself within the forest, looking down at the Yue family army lying in ambush in the distance.
After an unknown wait, firelight and chaos erupted from the South City Gate. The Yue army moved out, and Gu Jinyu led his personal guards into the fray. In the thick of night, as the Yue family and another army clashed in chaos, Gu Jinyu seized the opportunity to swiftly drag someone out. He shattered their armor, hung the man upside down behind a horse, and spurred the horse into the forest.
Once inside the forest, Gu Jinyu’s first act was to chop off the man’s struggling left hand.
He lifted the severed left arm—still twitching after leaving the body—with the tip of his blade, sending blood spattering wildly.
“I wanted to cut this off back then… pity I could only break it at the time.” Gu Jinyu muttered as he lowered his blade and tossed the severed arm away. He raised his leg and stepped down on Yue Xunzhi’s left arm wound with his cold, metallic military boot, stomping down viciously. Yue Xunzhi broke out in a cold sweat from the agony.
Gu Jinyu slid the warm, reeking blade tip to Yue Xunzhi’s mouth. The moment the blade’s tip hooked and pulled out the cloth gag stuffed in his mouth, Yue Xunzhi roared, “Gu Jinyu! What the hell are you doing! Tonight is for killing rebels, and instead of guarding the East Gate, you come here to mess with me?! Have you lost your damn mind!”
Gu Jinyu pushed the blade tip downward. Yue Xunzhi took a mouthful of the blade, a muffled scream gurgling from his throat.
By the time the blade was lifted, Yue Xunzhi no longer looked human from the pain. Gagging and convulsing on a mouthful of blood, he still managed to sputter a threat. “You dare injure me, I am the Empress’s right arm…”
“Mm.” Gu Jinyu coldly rested the blade tip against his throat. “Among the maternal relatives of Gao Mingshi, you are the most capable. How could I let her support and strengthen you, only to use you as a chess piece to check me in the future? Even for no other reason, I would still kill you.”
With a shift of his wrist, Gu Jinyu moved the blade tip to Yue Xunzhi’s shoulder. He drove the knife through the shoulder, pinning him to the ground. Then, bending down and grabbing his collar with his other hand, he hauled him up, forcing Yue Xunzhi’s shoulder to slide along the blade from tip to hilt in a ghastly threading.
Yue Xunzhi screamed in agony, caught between life and death. Blood soaked the ground, and the severed arm thrown nearby also twitched uncontrollably, a sight both bizarre and horrifying.
Gu Jinyu listened to the screams impassively. When Yue Xunzhi passed out from the pain, he twisted the blade, gouging out a bloody hole and harshly pulling Yue Xunzhi back to consciousness.
“Tell me something, and I’ll give you a clean death.” Gu Jinyu lowered his head and asked softly, “That night of the Winter Hunt, how much do you know about Gu Shanqing?”
Yue Xunzhi was so wrecked by pain he was barely recognizable, begging as he spasmed. “I don’t know, I don’t know. If you want to ask, ask someone else… ask Su Mingya, ask Gao Mingqian…”
Gu Jinyu ripped the long blade from Yue Xunzhi’s shoulder, throwing the now nicked and dulled weapon aside. A personal guard nearby tossed him a new blade. He caught it in mid-air, drew it single-handedly, and without hesitation, plunged it back into Yue Xunzhi’s shoulder.
“Then tell me about Su Mingya. Were you together that night? Think carefully. I want to hear every single word that relates to Gu Shanqing.”
Yue Xunzhi howled incoherently, desperately racking his memory of that night, and fitfully told Gu Jinyu his conversation with Su Mingya.
Gu Jinyu fell silent.
“I don’t know why he was there… I only know that Gu Shanqing is dead…”
Gu Jinyu stiffened as if some mechanism within him had been triggered. He stood frozen, the words echoing maddeningly in his mind.
Gu Shanqing is dead…
Dead…
How, how could it be?
I poured every ounce of my thought, risked life and limb time and again, all to break free from my father’s generation, to seize control of my own life, and to protect the ideals I wanted… When I finally walked through mountains of swords and seas of fire, finally able to grasp my freedom, the person I most wanted to share this joy of freedom with… is dead?
If he is dead, what freedom is there left for me in this life?
