AN: I'm glad that the kiss scene made so many of y'all happy last week; that's just the beginning for our OTP. Some of y'all have asked for reassurance that I won't kill off all or part of the OTP. Normally I'm okay with torturing my readers a bit (in the best sorts of ways, of course), but given how canon burned (or froze) us, I don't have a problem with issuing a reminder that this is a XingYue Happy Ending Ahead (HEA) fic. That doesn't mean I'm not going to torment our OTP, push them to their limits, and make them hurt, but they're tough and surrounded by resourceful, creative people who are dedicated to their protection.
Next week will be the icy lake scene, but first, we have to get there. Canon was lax in terms of showing us what the heck was going on at the beginning of the ambush of YWY, so I've done my best to put together a battle sequence that makes sense. (The XingYue scene is at the end, so feel free to scroll down and read that first;P.)
Zhong Yu stood near the edge of the high ridge that she, Mister Wu, and some of the Xiulis had turned into a command center. This ridge was nearly impregnable, only reachable by a single, narrow path that cut through uneven, unstable terrain. That lack of accessibility was both a blessing and a curse, and Zhong Yu knew that her job would be to keep that single lane of access open for their runners to be able to take orders to various groups of their soldiers and to bring back reports from the field.
Not that their strategy was particularly complex. After all, they only had about a hundred men and 4 elite kungfu fighters. They'd divided the Xiulis up into three groups: one to guard the back pass, one to guard the main pass, and one to guard the command area and surrounding ridges. The basic goal was to hold the passes as long as they could, first using their archers to thin the enemy's numbers with their moderate supply of arrows while taking advantage of the passes' narrow walls.
Eventually, however, the enemy's significantly higher numbers and their own lack of arrows would force everyone to fall back to the heads of the passes, where the Xiulis had erected various ramparts and berms as impromptu battlements. They would still be able to capitalize on the narrow nature of the passes' sides, but would have more room to mount a concentrated defense.
Nobody was under any sort of illusion that they'd be able to hold off the enemy indefinitely, but they would, at least, be able to hold out for a while longer before succumbing to the inevitable. Once the enemy broke through their lines, they would be forced to fall back to the shores of the icy lake, where they would all form up together behind a swiftly-erected barricade and make their last stand. Whatever archers had managed to survive up to that point would retreat up onto the ridges and use the high ground to shoot whatever enemies they could until they ran out of arrows or died themselves.
They had done what they could to divide up their best fighters evenly. Yuwen Yue would lead the Xiulis who were holding the main pass; A'Chu would lead the archers who were tasked with holding the back pass and would then retreat to help He Xiao hold the back pass behind their battlements. Mister Wu had initially wanted He Xiao to fight at the main pass, but Yuwen Yue had recommended that he fight at the back pass, and that had been that. The expression on his face had made clear to everyone that he wanted He Xiao to be in a position to protect A'Chu if he couldn't do so himself, and nobody had had the heart to argue with him.
What does it really matter, anyway? Zhong Yu mused to herself, looking out at the currently pristine white and gray landscape before her that would soon be littered with the bodies of the dead and dying. Would we really stand a better chance of winning if He Xiao were to help to guard this pass instead of that one? No, it's best to let him go down fighting at A'Chu's side—especially since Yuwen Yue might not get the chance.
Of course, there was always the possibility that both her friend and Young Master Yue could end up surviving until the final stage of the battle, in which case they'd get to go down making their last stand together. Perversely, Zhong Yu hoped that that's what would happen since she knew that the two of them fighting together as one would be something to see.
Especially given the recent developments in their relationship…
As a woman in love herself, Zhong Yu recognized the signs in her old friend. The potent glances, the awkwardness, the things she'd said right before Zhong Yu and Mister Wu had left the cave...all of these pointed to the idea that A'Chu had finally figured out her heart at the worst possible moment. While Zhong Yu had long considered Yuwen Yue to be an adversary and, at times, an outright enemy, she'd known for equally as long that A'Chu and the spymaster had had a tempestuous, complicated relationship before she and Zhong Yu had even met each other.
Given the circumstances, if they managed to find even a little bit of happiness before the end…
Not that Zhong Yu anticipated getting to see a happy ending for any of them. While she probably wouldn't be seeing a great deal of fighting early in the battle, she knew that she and Mister Wu would likely go down fighting at the battle's end. Once the enemy had taken the passes, fought along the shores of the icy lake, and taken the other ridges, they would head for the command center, where she and Mister Wu would make their own last stand with whatever Xiulis were left.
That doesn't even take into consideration the possibility that the enemy might even send troops up the side of the mountain and directly onto the ridges, in which case our job would be to repel that force for as long as possible.
Xiuli Mountain was basically a series of peaks that centered around the depression that contained the icy lake and its shores, and there were various small paths that led up the mountain and down into the bowl of the icy lake. Those ways could be treacherous, however, and she felt that the best strategy for the enemy to employ would be to simply use brute force to take the passes and then to wipe out all resistance they encountered. Of course, with his superiority of numbers, there was no way for her to fully know what A'Jing-
-the enemy, she forcefully reminded herself. Not A'Jing, my old friend. The enemy—for so I must think of him if we're to have even a chance of surviving.
Part of her wished that she'd taken a chance on her old friend and had asked him to join their rebellion; another part of her wished that she'd just walked away from A'Chu and the rest of Yanbei like she'd originally planned. She and Mister Wu would be alive and well, maybe finally being able to plan their wedding instead of a last stand.
Not too long ago, a runner had reported to her and Mister Wu the presence of not only A'Jing but of most of the remaining generals and their troops—and a mysterious, beautiful woman dressed all in black. Zhong Yu had paled slightly as the runner had gone on to describe Xiao Yu, the Liang princess. Had she fooled A'Jing into thinking she was someone else or had he knowingly conspired with the head spy of Liang just to have an elite fighter in his force? As far as she knew, A'Jing had never met the Liang princess in person, so he honestly might not know what she looked like.
Not that your hands are clean in that regard, either, she bitterly reminded herself. You were willing to deal with her, too, if doing so meant escaping from Chang'an with Yan Xun and your people and reuniting with the man you love.
Soft footsteps sounded behind her and she recognized the tread of the man she'd just been thinking about. Mister Wu, barely visible against the snow and ice in his white robes, stood silently at her side, perhaps visualizing the carnage that would soon be laid out below them just like she'd done. Zhong Yu shifted closer to him, allowing their arms and shoulders to brush. She realized an elemental truth: For this man, she'd willingly fight anyone, kill anyone. For this man, she'd survive as long as she could in order to defend and protect him.
Not that he really needs my protection, she admitted to herself. He's probably the best fighter here, perhaps even better than Yuwen Yue. His strongest weapon has always been his mind, but that doesn't mean that he won't be able to do his part to make the enemy regret ever setting foot on Xiuli Mountain.
Deciding that she didn't care what the troops behind her thought, she leaned her head against his shoulder. She was pleasantly surprised when Mister Wu rested his own head against hers, not seeming to care about the eyes watching them, either.
Maybe whatever's gotten into A'Chu and Young Master Yue's contagious, Zhong Yu mused, remembering how closely the two of them had been walking when they'd reached the top of the back pass, how widely He Xiao had been smiling, and how reluctantly they'd parted ways as Yuwen Yue had left to go defend the main pass.
Soon, the battle would be joined, and she'd be forced to fight against her own countrymen, many of whom she didn't consider to be her enemy. While that idea bothered her, she shrugged it off. After all, Zhong Yu was used to having to do hard things to survive, and she knew that if she was going to live to see another day, she was going to have to do many more hard things. For now, however, she could enjoy a moment's peace and savor the simple pleasure of standing closely to the man she loved—the man she'd fight for and with until the bitter end.
Chu Qiao and some of the men she'd trained were crouched behind the rocks and scrub pines atop the walls of the back pass. Their job was simple: to hold the back pass for as long as they could by shooting their limited supply of arrows at anyone who came through it. As Chu Qiao was waiting for the battle to start, she found her mind wandering to Yuwen Yue instead of strategy. She berated herself for her lack of concentration, part of her reminding herself that this was why she hadn't wanted to get involved with Yuwen Yue in the first place.
But what does it really matter? another part of her responded to the first. After all, the plan is as simple as it can be. Step 1: Shoot arrows at the enemy until you run out of arrows or die. Step 2: Fall back to the mouth of the pass and defend that position until the enemy overruns you or you die. Step 3: Fall back to the shores of the icy lake and form up with the rest of the Xiulis as you fight to the last man until you die. That's it. That's the strategy.
Her mind insisted on reliving their kiss and exchange over and over again; she had to admit that there were worse ways that she could've spent her last few moments of peace before the beginning of the fight. The various parts of Chu Qiao's mind had been debating whether or not she should've told Yuwen Yue she loved him, each one voicing its own opinion. The rational side of her said that a confession of love would've mattered little in the scheme of things and that she needed to focus more on survival anyway. The emotional part of her said that she was right to spare Yuwen Yue the agony that a confession of love right before certain death might've caused since he was going to survive today somehow. That insidious part of her mind screamed at her for not telling him she loved him, taking him up on his half-serious offer to run away with him, and heading off with him for parts unknown.
What's done is done, Chu Qiao finally decided, mentally shrugging. If some miracle of the heavens occurs and I survive the day, then I'll tell him. I know in my heart that my reasons for not telling him I love him were just, and I don't regret doing what I could to spare him the pain he'll suffer when I die and he lives—and he will live.
The sounds of shifting stones and rough men's voices sounded in the pass near where they were, and all thoughts of Yuwen Yue fled instantly. She signaled her men and saw that all of them were already ready with their first arrows nocked. The beginning of the end had begun, and her stomach tightened as the first men carefully picked their way through the twists and turns of the pass and came into her view.
These men were low-ranking battle fodder, guys who would not be missed when combat began in earnest. Zhong Yu had told her that A'Jing and Xiao Yu were leading the army, so she was not surprised that they'd decided to throw these relatively unskilled soldiers at them early. Chu Qiao's mouth tightened as she recognized the soldiers who used to guard her in Yan Xun's palace mixed in among the first group of men sent to the slaughter.
I guess this is their penalty for failure, Chu Qiao thought, her heart hardening towards A'Jing and the friendship they'd once shared.
She slowly raised her right arm and dropped it, pulling her own arrow back and adding the sound of her twanging bowstring to those made by her men. The first row of men dropped, but the press of soldiers forged grimly on. She raised and lowered her hand again, getting her men into a firing rhythm that served them well in terms of results. Bodies began to pile up in the pass, making the way even more treacherous for the ever-present crowd of men stolidly pushing through to the top of Xiuli Mountain and the icy lake in its middle.
Chu Qiao and her archers kept firing, knowing that they were spending all of their arrows early but also knowing that they had to decrease the enemy's forces in as efficient a manner as possible. These early waves of men weren't even trying to fire back; they didn't even have bows. Their job was to march, die, and force their enemies to use up their arrows. This wasn't a battle; this was a slaughter, and Chu Qiao's anger burned hot against both her old friend and her old enemy.
At last, there was a break in the action; Chu Qiao wondered if the enemy was going to try to clear some of the bodies from the pass given how difficult moving through it had become. She was tempted to scamper down herself and to retrieve some arrows to reuse given how low their supply was becoming, but she held herself in check. Going down into the pass seemed like a fine way to get caught in a trap, and she wasn't going to fall for such trickery.
A couple of her men were not so wise and decided to try to collect some arrows themselves. Chu Qiao ordered them to return to their posts, but they didn't listen, too caught up in the excitement of being able to recover some arrows for future use to heed her warning. She held up a raised fist and ordered the rest of her men to stay put; they obeyed her without question.
The men who had picked their way down to the bottom of the pass stood atop the corpse mountain and began pulling arrows out of their victims. They were suddenly cut down as the next force came marching through the pass—archers, surrounded by a ring of foot soldiers with shields and clearly bent on the destruction of those who were holding the pass so efficiently and completely.
Now the real battle begins, Chu Qiao grimly thought as she raised her hand, waiting for the archers and their protectors to get in range. As soon as they were, she signaled her men, and they released their first volley. Those archers who didn't fall responded, however, and Chu Qiao heard several arrows find their marks in her men. The enemy's force wasn't large, but the archers were fairly skilled and had soon inflicted multiple casualties on her small group. She and her men managed to kill all of the archers and their guards, but their own numbers, already low to begin with, had taken a solid hit.
As the next wave of soldiers came through the pass, Chu Qiao knew that it would be their last. They didn't have enough arrows to withstand another barrage, and this group would likely be able to push past their current position. The air was once again filled with the twang of bowstrings as her dedicated band of Xiuli archers continued to pick off the advancing foe. Another break in the action came, and Chu Qiao didn't hesitate to signal her men to retreat. They'd done all they could here, and she was reasonably satisfied with the results.
Her archers gathered up the remaining supplies and swiftly made their way up towards Mister Wu, Zhong Yu, and the ridge troops. She knew they'd set up along the various ridges in order to fire down on the enemy when the battle finally shifted to the icy lake area below them.
"Good luck, Chu Da Ren," one of the archers said, clasping his bow in front of him, bowing, and turning off to go up the path before him.
Other archers echoed the sentiment; blank-faced, she wished them well as well. She knew that she'd never see a single one of them again. Chu Qiao jogged swiftly down the path that led to the head of the pass, relieved to see a decent number of troops already in position behind a number of both natural and man-made battlements. She knew that some of the men had even set up a spear line tilting down into the mouth of the pass itself, wanting to make the enemy fight its way uphill before reaching the pass's head.
He Xiao was standing in the middle of everyone, his typical fierce battle mask on his face and his sword clasped in his hands. As if sensing her presence, he turned around and faced her as she came the last few steps towards their group of troops. Their eyes locked as the sound of men chanting, "Kill! Kill! Kill!" reached their ears.
No, Chu Qiao thought grimly, this is where the real battle begins.
As Chu Da Ren strode towards him, He Xiao tried to remember how many other times he'd seen this woman coming to save him and his men. He himself did not fear death, for how many times had he cheated it already?
Or, more specifically, how many times had this woman cheated death on his behalf?
Their small group of men parted down the middle for Chu Da Ren, their faces solemn as she marched between them with her head held high and her sword in her hand. He Xiao knew that she'd recently wielded her bow, and he wished that she'd chosen to go up on the ridge with it and maybe live a bit longer. He knew that such a suggestion would be immediately shot down, however; indeed, no one had even bothered to make it during the planning sessions.
This is her place, He Xiao reluctantly acknowledged. This is who she really is—at least in terms of combat. I'd like to believe that somehow, some way, she'll be able to become someone who doesn't have to fight all the time.
While he knew that the odds of any of them surviving until the sun was high in the sky were slim, he still couldn't help but want nothing but good things for this woman who'd already risked so much for him and his men. No resentment or bitterness showed on her face, however; in fact, she looked like she was simply heading to the practice area for some sparring.
"He Xiao," she said, inclining her head towards him. "Are you ready?"
"We're as ready as we can be, Chu Da Ren," he replied. "As you can see, our battlements are in place, and our spear line is already set up in front of the mouth of the pass. We'll do our best to hold the line; you can stay near the back and make sure that nobody gets through."
She smiled humorlessly at him.
"You know I'll never let people sacrifice themselves for me, He Xiao. The spearmen, of course, have to stay down front, but I won't let the other men be cut down in front of me just to buy me another few minutes of life. No, He Xiao; you and I will hold the middle of the line until they break through, and then we'll retreat if we're still alive."
He clasped his sword and bowed to Chu Da Ren, a slight misting of tears in his eyes. If there were any way he could've offered his life for hers, he would've done it on the spot. Instead, he drew first his sword and then Dragon Bird, holding one in each hand. If Chu Da Ren was determined to fight to the death, then he'd do so as well at her side until his time came and he could join his brothers who had gone on before.
Ge Qi and Wu Danyu, I wish you were here almost as much as I'm glad you're not here. For what it's worth, my brothers, we made the right choice in trusting Chu Da Ren. We were never going to be forgiven by Yanbei, but at least we can give our lives for the one woman who was willing to treat us like men and to give us honorable warriors' deaths.
The first soldiers rounded the final corner of the pass and sped up upon seeing the enemy waiting for them. They were spearmen as well; He Xiao wasn't surprised that the enemy had anticipated their own use of spears in this situation. His men had the advantage of fighting from the high ground, but he knew that their spear line would only last so long.
The two groups came together in a crash, several men impaling one another along the line. Then the jabbing and slashing began in earnest as each side tried to gain an advantage over the other. Cries of the wounded and dying rang out once again, and bodies began to litter the mouth of the pass.
Their spear line was having more success than the enemy's due to the height differential, but the fallen spearmen's places were taken by enemy foot soldiers wielding their swords with deft skill. One by one, their spearmen fell, having fought well but eventually being overcome by the sheer number of troops that had set upon them. They took down more of the enemy than their number, though, which was all that He Xiao could ask of them.
As the last spearman died, the enemy gave a great yell and scrambled up the incline towards the mouth of the pass, stumbling over bodies as they ran to meet the small group of Xiulis that awaited them. The first group of Xiuli swordsmen met their Yanbei counterparts in a flurry of stabs and slashes, the battle-hardened Xiulis seeming to have a slight advantage.
Before He Xiao could stop her, Chu Da Ren waded into the melee, her distinctive sword flashing in the light of the late-morning sun. Her men gave a great roar as they recognized her, making room for her on the line as she went to work. She was all speed and movement, never slowing, never hesitating, never stopping. Somehow, He Xiao found himself at her side, and he started wielding his two weapons as well.
He saw looks of fear and anger on some of the faces coming at him as they saw him wielding Dragon Bird. These men didn't have on the uniform of Cheng Yuan's Black Eagles, but maybe they'd been sympathetic to his policies. Maybe they were simply afraid of the blade due to its history. Not that He Xiao cared one way or another; they were trying to harm his men and Chu Da Ren, therefore they were the enemy and their thoughts were not important.
He Xiao had no idea how long they fought side by side, he and Chu Da Ren. He could almost swear that he felt the malevolent energy of Dragon Bird pulsing through him as its inner demon drank deeply of the blood of the enemy. He knew that such a weapon wouldn't care about who the enemy was, so long as it got to drink its share of blood. He Xiao decided that he didn't really care who the enemy was, either; after all, had Yanbei not turned its back on he and his men in spite of all that they'd tried to do for their people?
Eventually He Xiao realized that he had gradually been going backwards while fighting the enemy and that he was actually coming to the edge of their battlements. Some of his men had taken advantage of the small, crude palisades and berms they'd erected over the past couple of days and nights, but he and Chu Da Ren had done their part to hold the middle. But as they'd always known would happen, too many of their men had fallen, and too many of the enemy were pouring through the mouth of the pass.
Out of the corner of his eye, He Xiao saw a runner sprint for what was left of their poor, bedraggled group. He killed the man he'd been fighting and ran over to the runner, who was so out of breath that all he could do was point up into the woods behind them. He Xiao looked up and, to his horror, saw several groups of troops coming down over the top ridge of the mountain and disappearing into the woods. The runner managed to get out that they'd been doing that for awhile and that the first wave of the Black Eagles—for that's who they were—would likely reach the troops on the ridge at any time.
He Xiao's mouth thinned as he contemplated his options, but since the runner had brought no instructions from Mister Wu, he assumed that his orders were the same as they'd always been: To hold the pass as long as possible and to fall back near the icy lake when their lines fell. Turning back towards the fight, his eyes immediately picked out Chu Da Ren thanks to the presence of her sword.
A lover's sword, He Xiao acknowledged. Or more specifically, the sword that likely marks her as the beloved of the wielder of its mate. If she survives but Young Master Yue dies…
He Xiao put such counterproductive thoughts from his mind as he fought his way back into the battle. The line was already faltering, but he knew that they could still fight here a few minutes more before the situation became untenable. As he got closer to Chu Da Ren, he could see that she was covered in slices and slashes of various levels of severity. None of them seemed life-threatening, but he knew that even someone as strong as Chu Da Ren wouldn't be able to keep fighting forever.
Just as he reached Chu Da Ren, the front line finally faltered, causing a loud cry to go up from the enemy as they streamed out of the back pass and towards what was left of their already-small group of Xiulis. Chu Da Ren held her ground, giving her men the chance to retreat behind some of the last crude ramparts they'd been able to construct. They provided only limited protection, however, and He Xiao was finally forced to give the order he'd been dreading, the order that truly would signal the beginning of the end.
"Fall back!" he yelled loudly. "Fall back to our battlements near the icy lake!"
His men needed no further prompting, abandoning their current shaky positions for the momentary safety provided by the path leading down to the shoreline that would likely become their final resting place. While he hoped that the men at the main pass had had better fortune than they themselves had experienced, he also knew that he and his men—not to mention Chu Da Ren—would not likely last long without their help.
Not that I expected to live this long today, He Xiao mused as he noticed that the sun was at its apex.
He also spared a few glances up at the various ridges that ringed their side of Xiuli Mountain, noting that the third contingent of Xiulis—which now obviously included both Miss Yu and Mister Wu as he could see them fighting together like a pair of warrior gods—were fully engaged with the bloodthirsty, vengeful Black Eagles. While He Xiao despised Cheng Yuan's men on principal, he had to admire them for their bravery in taking a hard route up the mountain and a treacherous route down its slopes.
His time for reflection ran out as he and the rest of their ragtag force reached the simple stockade they'd erected in the dead of night at what they'd known would be their last place of defense. It was just a series of wooden barricades crafted of crossed logs and rope, but at least it would provide them with some sort of barrier that they could fight behind.
The enemy ran down the pathway, swords in their hands and loud yells coming from their mouths. A few of the Black Eagles had begun to trickle down through the woods as well, likely wanting to be the ones to kill the woman who had assassinated their general. He Xiao knew that they wouldn't last half a stick of incense against such terrible odds—especially without the aid of whoever was left from defending the main pass.
A loud, sudden whooshing noise came from the direction of the main pass, and Chu Da Ren flinched as she seemed to recognize the sound. A variety of positive and negative emotions flashed across her face; He Xiao looked at her in question.
"That was the sound of one of Yuwen Yue's ice arrows," she explained calmly. "If he's fired it, then that likely means that they'll be retreating, too—or that that was the last thing he could do before..."
"I'm sure he'll—they'll-be here soon, Chu Da Ren," He Xiao did his best to reassure his general. "You know that nothing can keep Young Master Yue from your side—least of all, these fatherless dogs."
Chu Da Ren smiled wanly at him, but turned away as she picked a spot along the side of the barricade facing the main pass and stood there, ready to face the swarm of men who were pelting the last few steps towards them. She looked at her upraised sword, obviously worried about its mate's wielder. He Xiao had no further words of encouragement, so he simply settled in near Chu Da Ren and prepared for the end.
Meng Feng had no idea how they'd managed to get their cobbled-together force this far this fast without discovery, but they had. They'd killed every scout or guard they'd encountered, and there had been no sign thus far that the enemy knew of their approach. As they reached the bend in the road that led to where she knew thousands of enemy troops awaited them, Yuan Song pulled up his horse, raised his right hand, and then pointed it towards the trees.
The archers separated from the main force and silently picked their way through the woods, their goal to set up a perimeter around the tree line from which they'd be able to shoot as many officers as they could when the time came. Meng Feng knew that these men were skilled in the art of picking perches from which to fire that would support their weight and give them cover, so she was unworried about this part of the plan.
After a few minutes had passed, Yuan Song once again raised his hand and gestured towards the trees, this time signaling the spearmen to get in position. They would lead the charge once the archers had taken advantage of the element of surprise. The rest of the men shifted anxiously, obviously wanting to get this battle underway.
Meng Feng smiled softly in amusement as she remembered the difficulty that she and her fellow spies and assassins had endured as they'd tried to convince the officers with them that riding and running hard, yelling at the top of their lungs, and charging straight for the enemy was not the best strategy. This affinity for yelling and sword-waving before battle was a mystery for Meng Feng, who couldn't understand why anyone would want to waste all that energy and give away the element of surprise.
They'd grudgingly agreed to do this the "spy way," as they'd called it, so they were now sneaking through the woods rather than tromping through them. Yuan Song soon put them out of their misery, however, and gave the signal for at least some of the troops to blend into the woods behind the spears. Of course, there wasn't room for their entire force in those woods, but there would be enough troops in there to provide a solid surprise attack on the enemy.
The cavalry, of course, would ride with them on the road; their plan was the simplest of all: round the bend and run over as many people as they could before they had to stop and fight. The rest of their foot soldiers would come behind them, ready to capitalize on the gouge that the horsemen would hopefully be able to gash in the enemy's lines.
Yuan Song nodded to a soldier who was already standing near the tree line; he immediately disappeared into the woods in order to tell the archers that they could commence their attack at once. Since this part of the battle didn't require precision in terms of timing, Meng Feng knew that Yuan Song didn't want to give away his presence yet by being the one to give a signal from a visible place.
The twang of bowstrings filled the air, and a few seconds later, she heard the first cries of shock and pain. The archers kept firing, hopefully taking down at least a few generals and higher-ranking officers. Meng Feng's hands tightened on her reins as the same soldier Yuan Song had sent into the woods several minutes ago returned to report that the enemy was beginning to mobilize. Yuan Song nodded to the man, who disappeared back into the woods to give the order to charge.
They did the same thing themselves, urging their horses faster as softly as they could. While they no longer had the element of surprise in terms of their presence, the enemy still didn't know the size of their numbers—and they wanted to maintain that advantage if possible. As they rounded the corner at a gallop, the enemy appeared before them in complete disarray. Clearly they had all been facing Xiuli Mountain and readying themselves to attack it, so they were not at all set up to deal with a sudden sneak attack at their backs.
Without any shouts or yells, the cavalry plowed into the Yanbei forces that were closest to the road. Just as they'd hoped, they swiftly penetrated deep into the various Yanbei legions. The screams and moans of the hurt and dying from the perimeter told them that their forest forces had also begun their attack and that their spearmen were using the greater reach of their weapons to their advantage. Swords clanged in the early-afternoon air, attesting that their foot soldiers were also engaged with the enemy.
This was not Meng Feng's type of fight; she preferred to battle in the shadows one-on-one. However, these troops would soon otherwise be trying to kill Young Master Yue and his allies, so she was willing to do whatever was necessary to dispose of them.
Not to mention that they're trying to kill Yuan Song, she admitted to herself as she made sure to keep herself just in front of the prince on his right side. A few arrows came their way from who-knew-where, but she easily deflected them into the churning melee below. They were already nearing the center of the army, and she gripped the handle of her sword tighter as her eyes locked with her old enemy.
"What are you doing here, Xiao Yu?" Meng Feng shouted, breaking the relative silence of their attack. "Aren't you worried that these soldiers are going to find out that you're the princess of Liang—and their head spy?"
"Or maybe someone will tell them that you're also largely responsible for setting events in motion that caused the deaths of the Duke of Yanbei's family as well as numerous innocent Yanbei people," Yue Qi said, getting into the act.
"Surely these loyal soldiers of Yanbei would never follow such a person into battle," Xia Chong said mockingly, her voice carrying over the entire battlefield.
"Don't listen to the lies of the enemy," Xiao Yu said to those around her. "Surely you're not going to believe Yuwen Yue's people over me, are you?"
"And who are you?" one of the generals growled at her. "Nobody recognizes you. Nobody's seen you around. Nobody really cared who you were because you actually seemed to know what you were doing, unlike some."
"I'm here to get vengeance on traitors, but I'm not willing to deal with traitors in order to get it," another general said.
Their mischief managed for the moment as Xiao Yu and the other generals continued bickering, the three of them went back to hacking their way through the Yanbei lines. Meng Feng could see that numerous soldiers who had been heading for the passes and up the side of the mountain had turned back, and she was glad that if nothing else, at least they'd been able to take some of the pressure off of their friends.
She was proud of Yuan Song, who had been stolidly wielding his sword left-handed and doing a fine job of it. Of course, she had made sure to keep as many fighters away from him as she could, but he'd pulled his weight, and she knew that everyone who'd seen him had noticed. If they managed to live through today, his actions might end up making his ascension to the throne easier.
Meng Feng's nape hairs prickled and she looked up, finding the dark eyes of A'Jing boring into her as he approached their group. Not that she could blame him; given how the leaders of his coalition had descended into unproductive arguments, him coming for the leader of their own force was logical. In all honesty, however, she didn't want to kill this man because she knew that their allies valued him and even considered him a friend. He slightly changed direction, however, and Meng Feng realized that he was going not towards herself but towards Yuan Song.
That's the line in the sand, she admitted to herself. I won't let this man touch the prince.
She brought her horse around and put both him and herself between A'Jing and Yuan Song. They were more or less at the base of the mountain anyway, so their charge was at and end. All that was left now was the fighting—and she would soon be fighting one of the best soldiers on the field.
"Are you really going to hide behind a woman, Your Highness?" A'Jing said mockingly to Yuan Song.
The prince looked at him in confusion.
"You don't strike me as the type to put down a warrior just because she's a woman given the company you keep," Yuan Song said. "Besides, I seem to remember Yan Xun being perfectly willing to use A'Chu and Miss Yu in order to achieve his ends."
"But Yan Xun didn't let women fight his battles for him," A'Jing said.
Meng Feng realized what A'Jing was trying to do, but she had enough faith in the prince to let him handle this particular situation on his own before she handled the fight on his behalf.
"Funny, that's not what a lot of my men said," Yuan Song returned calmly. "In fact, many of them seemed to think that they owed A'Chu for not only their lives but for the lives of their families."
A'Jing's face hardened.
"You are not as I expected you to be."
"I get that a lot," Yuan Song said, smiling softly. "You can stop trying to get me to do something stupid by making me angry now; it's not going to work and I really need to get to my friends."
The battle raged on around them, but by some mutual agreement, the combatants seemed to agree to leave the uppers to fight among themselves and to concentrate on each other—for the moment, at least.
"And for the record, yes, I would gladly hide behind Meng Feng," Yuan Song said. "She's a much better fighter than I am, so I'd be a fool not to let her act as my champion."
Meng Feng's heart swelled, and she let a bit of her feelings show in her eyes for a few moments. She saw not just Yuan Song's but A'Jing's eyes widen as well, so she reined herself in. The enemy leader's eyes now held a trace of...regret?
He held up his two bloody battle axes, however, and all thoughts of feelings fled. She lifted her own sword just in time to block his first slash. Meng Feng crab-walked her horse and used her sword's length advantage to score a slice on his right arm. He acted like he didn't feel it, however; he probably didn't, given the circumstances.
She continued to dance around him on her horse, doing her best to stay out of his reach. A'Jing was an expert fighter, however, and he succeeded in slicing her in several places as well. Suddenly he lunged inside her guard, catching her out of position and gashing her painfully in her gut. He used that momentum to carry them both off of their horses and onto the muddy, churned-up ground.
Meng Feng did her best to block out not only the pain coming from her side but the pain she'd heard in Yuan Song's voice as A'Jing had wounded her—and the clashing sounds of combat behind her that told her that someone had unhorsed Yuan Song and was fighting him without her there to help. She fell back on her training, her sword parrying, blocking, and slicing without much conscious thought. A'Jing was similarly intense, his eyes devoid of any emotion.
Not that they'd been particularly emotional before, she mused as she managed to score a crease on his neck before he closed with her again. Except at the end, when…
"I'm sorry to have to kill you, you know," A'Jing said almost conversationally as he narrowly missed her with one of his axes. "Contrary to those things I said before, I've actually known and admired many female fighters. You remind me of them and fight with their courage."
"I don't want to kill you either," Meng Feng said, nevertheless taking the opportunity to try to stab him. "I know that Chu Qiao and Zhong Yu consider you a friend, and I don't want to have to tell them I killed you."
"But you will," he said, catching the side of her armor with the tip of an axe as she managed to dodge out of the way. "Because of him."
"Yes," she said. "His safety's more important than my feelings."
"His safety's related to your feelings," A'Jing said matter-of-factly, swinging at her. "You can't fool me. I once loved a woman like you."
"What-"
"She's dead," he continued without missing a beat. "She died in the defense of Hongchuan, fighting at A'Chu's side. I buried her in a lovely, peaceful spot. There's plenty of room next to her; hopefully that will be my final resting place as well."
Meng Feng had no idea what to say, so she said nothing; A'Jing didn't seem to mind her silence, however, and continued speaking.
"Don't worry," he said softly. "Once I kill you, I'll kill him, too. He won't have to live without you like I've had to live without my beloved. I'll even make sure to bury you together. I'm not heartless, after all. I'm just doing what I have to do to get vengeance for my friend and ruler."
A moment later, A'Jing stepped on the leg of a fallen soldier and slipped. Meng Feng took the opportunity to run him through, knowing she'd likely never get another chance. Her mind was already turning to Yuan Song's safety as she pulled her bloody sword from between A'Jing's armor plates.
"B-b-bury..." he grated out, pulling her attention back to himself. "B-b-bury me...next to...her. B-b..."
"But I don't know where-" she said, stopping mid-sentence to kill an enemy soldier that had come leaping at her in a blind fury, probably wanting to avenge his fallen leader.
"A-A'Chu and..M-miss Y-Yu...know. B-b-bury...promise me..."
"I will," Meng Feng said solemnly. "If we live, I'll do my best to bury you next to your beloved. Go to her now."
The odd warrior breathed his last, and Meng Feng whipped around to find Yuan Song looking relatively well given the circumstances. While she knew that his good condition likely had a lot to do with the presence of Yue Qi, who was currently fighting at his right side, she smiled with pride at the fact that he was holding his own so well.
Without missing a beat, Yue Qi shifted his focus to other enemies and allowed Meng Feng to retake her place at Yuan Song's side. He grinned at her, thanking her with his eyes and seeking reassurance that she was okay. She was far from okay, but she wasn't about to let him know how badly her middle was hurting right now. Meng Feng smiled serenely at him, determined to keep fighting—for what choice did she have?
"Throw down your weapons, men!" a beaten, bloody officer said loudly. "There's no reason for us to die today!"
The sound of hundreds of swords hitting the ground rang out across the battlefield as many of the troops who were left laid down their arms. Meng Feng's eyes widened in shock, and they weren't the only ones to do so.
"We didn't even want to come here," the officer explained, holding out his red-stained hands. "I mean no disrespect, Prince, but we know that some of your countrymen could be paying us a visit any day and we'd rather be ready for them than to die for the pointless vendetta of a bunch of men who have already preceded us into the afterlife."
Pockets of fighting still raged—including, to Meng Feng's wry amusement, Xiao Yu and Xia Chong, who seemed to be locked in gleefully malicious combat. Most of the soldiers remaining, however, seemed to share the officer's opinion even if they weren't members of his company.
"If that's how you really feel," Yuan Song said calmly, pointing his sword towards the road behind them, "then go. If you leave now without any of your weapons and make no trouble, you have my word that nobody will harm you."
There was some grumbling about having to leave their weapons behind, but they weren't foolish enough to reach down for them. Some other officers briefly conferred with each other before agreeing to the terms. They even agreed to draw and drop the knives and daggers they carried so that they wouldn't be able to come back and stage a sneak attack.
Yuan Song hailed a young soldier and gave him his orders; the soldier scampered off to spread the word not to harm the sizable contingent of Yanbei soldiers who were leaving the battlefield with no weapons of any kind. All sounds of fighting ceased—except what they could now hear coming from within the center of Xiuli Mountain itself. The tension in their group increased as the desire to move swiftly took hold of them.
"Leave quickly," Yuan Song said to the men, who picked up their pace to the degree of almost running. "We have things to do."
Meng Feng looked at her man in pride as he-
My man?! Where did that thought come from?
From the truth, you idiot, her mind answered for her.
She mentally shrugged, the pain in her stomach area reminding her that the battle had only been half-won and that she had more immediate issues to think about than her present or future relationship with the man at her side.
"We need to divide up our troops and hit the enemy from the same three angles that they've been using to go after our people," Yue Qi said, his knowledge of the area serving him well. "The main pass is in front of us where most of those men we let go were planning on going. The back pass is around the other side of the mountain, and the other way..."
"That way isn't as hard as it once was now that the Yanbei troops have worn away most of the snow and ice," a somewhat winded Xia Chong said, coming up to them. She was cut and bruised as well, but nothing seemed to be fatal. "That's the way I'm going, because that's the way that Xiao Yu went. I just wanted to tell you so that you could send some soldiers down to fight the enemy on the ridges."
Meng Feng suspected that there was no easy way into the middle of Xiuli Mountain because every path was likely clogged with corpses. Even the fairly wide main pass would probably be difficult to traverse thanks to the dead. It was, however, the best option for getting both her and Yuan Song to where they needed to be as quickly as possible, so they decided to head that way and told the group as much.
"We'll go with you, Miss Chong," one of the Afterlife Camp assassins said. "It'll be just like old times."
"Won't it just," Xia Chong said humorlessly. "Let's go. Time's wasting."
"The Yue guards will lead the forces going through the back pass, then," Yue Qi said.
They set to work dividing up their remaining troops, concentrating the bulk of the forces on the passes since the way was easier but sending a solid contingent of soldiers—including archers for the ridges—up the broken-in trails on the mountainside. Yuan Song pulled himself up on his horse with just his left hand, putting a grin on Meng Feng's face. He smiled back at her tiredly, affection in his eyes.
I need to find a way to make this a permanent arrangement between us before every match-making mother and politically-scheming father in Yanbei and the surrounding kingdoms decides to throw their daughters at him—assuming we survive the next while...
Chu Qiao gutted yet another soldier, her sword moving as if by rote. Their barricade was gaining an extra layer as corpses continued to pile up outside of it, both helping and hindering the enemy. While the dead bodies gave them additional protection from the enemy for the moment, Chu Qiao knew that they would eventually mound up so high that the enemy would be able to climb over them and penetrate the barricade.
Or the barricades will crack under the combined weight of the dead, she acknowledged as she slashed the throat of a Black Eagle she recognized as one who had aided in the murder of her Xiulis.
She had no idea how she was still alive, much less any of her men. Their numbers were steadily declining, however, and there had been no sign of Yuwen Yue or anyone from the main pass. Chu Qiao had begun to resign herself to the worst, almost hoping that each next breath would be her last. That thought brought her up short since it went against her typically resilient nature, yet she had to admit that living in the world that her recent decisions had created didn't seem appealing.
If Yuwen Yue doesn't survive the day, then I'll have nothing left, Chu Qiao thought as she continued to battle, occasionally finding a second to look towards the main pass. Most of my Xiulis will be gone. Wei will destroy Yanbei. I'll have nowhere to go and no reason to get there—or to want to start over.
A loud crack sounded directly in front of her, ending her morbid musings. As she'd recently predicted, a segment of the barricade had broken under the mound of corpses that had been weighing it down. The enemy soldiers in front of the hole gave a roar and ran towards the breach, intent on killing everyone behind the barricade.
Without missing a beat, Chu Qiao vaulted over the pile of dead and landed on the other side, clearing a space for herself with several well-placed kicks. He Xiao yelled her name, but he fortunately had the sense to hold his own position behind the relative safety of their crude battlements. She lost herself in the rhythm of slicing and slashing, whirling and twirling in place as she held the small piece of land in front of the barricade single-handedly.
She began to tire, and a Black Eagle eventually landed a kick that sent her careening into another soldier and falling to the ground. She quickly gutted that soldier with Can Hong Jian before he could do any harm, but a handful of others were already almost on top of her. One of them kicked her sword out of her hands, sending it flying several feet away.
So this is it, Chu Qiao thought calmly as she drew her small crossbow from where she'd hidden it in her robes. And Yuwen Yue must be dead, because if he were alive, he would've come for me. He always comes for me…
She fired her crossbow once, twice, thrice, smiling sadly as she heard He Xiao cry out her name in anguish.
At least he's still alive. Maybe he'll outlive us all…
The other soldiers were slashing at her with their swords now, all of them clearly wanting to be the man to end the infamous Chu Qiao. There were five soldiers, but she only had three arrows. She shot the last of her arrows, not even bothering to analyze which men she was killing. Trying to evade the remaining blades descending on her, she rolled away from them and drew her knife. One of the swords was already coming at her chest, though, and she knew she'd never be able to evade it in time.
"X'er!" she heard the man she loved yell right before the soldier who had been about to spit her simply disappeared.
One moment he had been there, about to run her through, and the next...Yuwen Yue had already moved onto the next threat, cutting down the enemy in a desperate attempt to clear a space for them to fight side by side. In a smooth, graceful motion born of years of training, he took the knife from her own hand and handed her Po Yue Jian, its bells tinkling so softly that only she could hear them.
She swallowed her protest, knowing that once Yuwen Yue's mind was made up, there was no changing it. Instead, she got to work, reveling in the potent, heady feeling of wielding the blade of her beloved on his behalf. He recovered Can Hong Jian quickly and set himself beside her, both of them automatically taking up a fighting stance that took her back to another time.
Chu Qiao wanted to switch swords with Yuwen Yue, but there was no time to do so as the enemy descended on them again. They knew each other's moves and fighting styles so well that they were able to ebb and flow effortlessly around each other, their bodies and swords moving in graceful tandem. Yuwen Yue grasped her in the same set of holds he'd used in the cave and she responded in kind; this time, their kicks and slashes killed real enemies instead of shadow warriors.
She was peripherally aware that her Xiulis were currently holding their own thanks to the reinforcement of the troops that had fallen back from the main pass; He Xiao was still powering his way through the enemy with his sword and Dragon Bird. Chu Qiao couldn't help but feel a deep sense of sadness, however, given the futility of the current situation.
What has my different path really gained me—gained us? She thought as she gut-sliced a Black Eagle who had tried to stab Yuwen Yue. My Xiulis will soon all be dead. Zhong Yu and Mister Wu—who would've been safely out of Yanbei by now—will soon be dead. The rest of Yuwen Yue's people are probably dead. Yanbei will be destroyed. And Yuwen Yue…
A soldier sliced deeply into Yuwen Yue's left arm, and Chu Qiao ran him through in rage. She doubled the savagery of her attack, her face going as hard as the ice that topped the lake that was only a few feet away. As she powered her way through two Black Eagles, she understood what He Xiao had felt when he'd pulled Dragon Bird from its scabbard for the first time. She could almost feel Po Yue Jian powering her with its energy as the intoxicating sensation of fighting with her beloved's sword and her desperation to save him gave her an extra bit of strength.
Yuwen Yue's going to live, she vowed again, completing her thought from a few moments earlier.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that some of the Black Eagles were venturing out onto the ice, trying to sneak up on her men from behind. They were quickly noticed, though, and killed as soon as they reached the barricade. More and more soldiers were braving the ice, however, realizing that it could probably hold their weight. Chu Qiao mentally shrugged and kept holding her place beside Yuwen Yue, knowing that there was nothing she could do about the situation.
An enemy soldier grabbed her shoulder brace and tried to pull her into his sword. Yuwen Yue was there to save her, however, killing him easily. She tried to pull the shoulder guard back into position, but another soldier, obviously figuring his luck would be better than his comrade's, tried the same thing. He succeeded in pulling the leather guard completely off of her so that it was only attached to her by some leather ties at her belt. Chu Qiao managed to kill the soldier, but he was still holding onto her guard when he died, pulling her downward as he fell. Yuwen Yue severed the leather ties, and she regretfully bade farewell to her armor.
While she knew that the loss of the guard's protection wasn't a good thing, she had to admit that her tired muscles appreciated how much lighter she felt without it. She found her pace picking up, her higher speed making up for the lack of armor. Chu Qiao still continued to tire, however, and she began to despair of being able to hold out much longer.
Has all of this fighting and killing really been worthwhile? she asked herself. True, I did figure out my feelings for Yuwen Yue, but is something as relatively trivial as love worth all of this death and suffering? How many dead Xiulis is a single kiss worth? Would they and their loved ones believe the cost to be acceptable?
Chu Qiao wryly acknowledged that some of her troops might just be fanatical enough in their respect for her to be willing to lay down their lives for her personal happiness. That thought only served to depress her further as she continued to kill and kill and kill.
But it's not like we gained any sort of permanent happiness. We're both going to be dead soon, anyway, so it's not like I'll ever get to find out what being Yuwen Yue's woman would've been like. No, she reminded herself forcefully, only one of us is likely to be dead. Yuwen Yue's going to live.
As if the heavens had decided to respond to her vow, a loud roar sounded from multiple directions. All of the warriors paused instinctively, looking around for the source of the noise. Riding hard from the direction of the main pass was Yuan Song and a familiar-looking woman at the head of a phalanx of Yanbei troops.
AN: I was originally going to end this chapter with both of them going into the icy lake, but I figured that getting murdered in my bed might decrease my chances of finishing this tale. So now you don't yet get to know the details of how they end up in the icy lake, but you won't have to think about a cliff-hanger all week, either. (Except I just told you about my timeline, so now you'll wonder about the icy lake anyway! Mwahahaha!)
In terms of translated works updates, ddmcmc has finished summarizing another section of the novel: yunshengw dot wordpress dot com/2017/10/04/princess-agents-novel-recap-vol-v-part-9/
This week's musical selection is actually the first song by Svrcina I ever heard, "Meet Me on the Battlefield." As is often the case, I prefer the acoustic version, but the original is fine, too. Bonus spoiler: Since I had originally planned to end this chapter with the two of them going into the icy lake, I found the chorus highly appropriate for the circumstances surrounding our OTP's icy descent.