Rising Phoenix

Though Yao Yangyu said no more, Ning Yi could guess, and the prince fell silent, his eyes gleaming quietly in the darkness within the tent.

After another long stretch of silence that seemed to hollow the chest, Yao Yangyu spoke to fill the uncomfortable and strange air, forcing a false cheer as he said: “This is just my conjecture, the general has great physique. He does not thin, and he does not tan, and he sleeps later then anyone but wakes earlier. A few days ago, the Da Yue cavalry blocked our way and General Wei even fought personally, and then…”

Yao Yangyu’s words died on his tongue.

Ning Yi’s eyes snapped up to pin the young officer once more.

“It was nothing…” Yao Yangyu stammered, silently beating himself over the head. “Little Huang fell off his horse and his horse fell on him, and General Wei went to help him and took an arrow…”

As Yao Yangyu spoke, his voice became quieter and quieter. Even though His Highness said nothing, Yao Yangyu felt the air chill around him, pressing down on him as if a rope tightening all around, the bindings dipped in cold water cutting him to the bone, almost smothering him.

Yao Yangyu’s lips twisted as he pondered the strange conversation. Everyone had taken General Wei’s injury poorly, and Master Gu had punished himself by staring at a wall for three days, not voicing a single word. In the end, General Wei had to apologize… what a strange mess.

“Pass these words to your general.” Ning Yi spoke just as Yao Yangyu was about to flee from the tent. “Your great enemy is before you, and you are bound to kill him sooner or later. Do not be anxious, for some things cannot be rushed. Jin Siyu may appear warm and gentle, but he is cold and vicious to the core. If General Wei wishes to kill the enemy, he must not act until he is sure of success. Rashness and blindness is forbidden. Remember this.”

Yao Yangyu stilled at Ning Yi’s serious tone and nodded, but the prince did not immediately dismiss him. Ning Yi thought for another moment before continuing: “The Hu Zhuo horsemen are valiant warriors, but their leaders are young and they do not understand the art of war. They will likely fall into the traps of ambition and aggression. Take Wei Yu with you.”

Yao Yangyu paused once more; he knew of this Wei Yu, a Field Officer in the Yu County Seventh Squad. The man’s father was the butler of Prince Chu’s Mansion and a true Servant’s Child — the purpose of such a man’s presence in Shunyi Steel Battalion could not be more obvious. General Wei smiled gently in the face of everything, but was in truth tough and proud; would he allow a spy to join his army?

But Yao Yangyu could do nothing as Ning Yi dismissed him with a wave.

Yao Yangyu could only exit, glancing back only once. Ning Yi still sat at his desk, leaning heavily onto his arm, his other hand idly tracing some unknown figure; the prince’s long eyelashes hung before his eyes, hints of exhaustion across his face.

Pale moonlight briefly shone through the parted curtain door, sweeping in with the distance sounds of whetstone against blade. The prince sat in the darkness listening to the cold cries of metal, pillowed by the lonely moonlight.

As he sat in a desolate, pale pool of light, she was on a distant, tall hill with the wind all around her.

Feng Zhiwei and Hua Qiong lay beside each other on the slope outside their camp, stretching their limbs under the starry sky.

Hua Qiong had sat idle for the month after her son’s birth, but finally she had begged Helian Zheng to watch over the child as she left King’s Court to join Feng Zhiwei on the northern border.

The intelligent young woman had a strong, tough body used to the hardships of farm work, and with Zong Chen teaching her horse riding and Kung Fu, she progressed a thousand li every day. She took to the battlefield with fierce, determined attacks, quickly establishing herself among the most valiant warriors under Feng Zhiwei, and there were even rumors that Da Yue had titled her Black Widow.

The title was not because the enemy had realized that she was a woman, but rather a comparison between Hua Qiong’s use of twin blades and the pincer fangs of a particularly notorious venomous insect only found in Da Yue.

Feng Zhiwei thought the name quiet fitting as Hua Qiong charge her enemies, twin blades ready, dark hair shining.

“Are you not happy?” Hua Qiong asked, certain of the answer she would receive.

Feng Zhiwei smiled around the sweet grass in her mouth, but just as she was about to speak, Hua Qiong interrupted her. “Enough, you’re going to try to say that Prince Chu’s spy is bugging you, but Zhiwei, if you really think you can distract me with such a silly excuse, you are not taking me as a good friend.”

Feng Zhiwei laughed merrily before she replied: “You’re getting sharper and sharper, I don’t even need to speak before you cut down my words… Fine, it is not Wei Yu; he is nothing. I don’t understand what Ning Yi is doing, but he should know that placing his man here will accomplish nothing.”

“You…” Hua Qiong began, sighing, “You’re always so calm and collected, but whenever it comes to Ning Yi you lose all composure.”

Feng Zhiwei did not reply, turning over the words Yao Yangyu has passed to her: “Your great enemy is before you, and you are bound to kill him sooner or later.” Yao Yangyu had thought Ning Yi was speaking of Jin Siyu, but only she understood what Ning Yi was actually referencing.

He waited calmly for her to come kill him, and somehow that thought disturbed her more than anything else.

“How long do you plan to hide from him?” Hua Qiong’s voice floated by once more.

“There’s no need to hide.” Feng Zhiwei calmly replied, “Winter is soon upon us, and the next large battle will be the last. The weather will be too harsh for our men, and even if we struggle through winter, the roads will be too muddy come spring. Just watch, if Da Yue does not retreat, Ning Yi will force a final engagement.”

“Then you…”

“I will steal the highest merit.” Feng Zhiwei announced, sitting up and looking up at the white tipped mountain before her. Helian Zheng had delivered a herder with knowledge of a secret pass through the harsh cliffs, a road that would lead them to Jin Siyu’s camp.

Feng Zhiwei lifted her fingers and began ticking off Tian Sheng’s military strength: “In the main camp, Ning Yi has ten battalions of infantry, four archer and crossbow battalions, a shield battalion, and two logistics battalion, with about the same numbers in Yu Zhou.

“Many of his generals and officers have rendered no merits since Qiu Shangqi’s defeat, and even Prince Chu’s trusted followers and subordinates in the various camps have accomplished nothing. They wish to solve all of this in one huge battle.

“Our Hu Zhuo Cavalry is just a tributary contingent, and our recent fame only makes the Tian Shang officers more unsatisfied. When the final battle begins, we will be relegated to some unimportant position far from the important battlefields, and so it is better to just ignore the main camp and fight on our own grounds. If we followed their orders, we would have no opportunity to show our prowess.”