The carriage opposite was pristine white, untouched by dust, while the whistling wind dark steed gazed at him with silent pride.
Ten years had passed, yet everything remained the same.
Li Chao Yang's voice echoed from within the carriage, hollow and cold, tinged with absent-mindedness: "The Emperor of Qiong has issued three Imperial Decrees summoning you back to court. Why have you defied them?"
Lu Qianqiao replied indifferently, "There is no war now. Why should I come and go at their beck and call, only to engage in petty schemes in court?"
"Peasant Soldiers are in revolt, and Qiong is plagued by internal strife. How can you say there is no war? And in three months, your Transformation Tribulation will come. Would you rather hide like a turtle and die in the Imperial Mausoleum, leaving behind nothing but the title of a disgraced general? Do you think I will pity you and indulge your willfulness? You have brought no glory to our clan, and I will not allow you to bring it any disgrace."
He smiled faintly, a hint of mockery in his tone. "Would dying under the blades of Peasant Soldiers not be a disgrace?"
Silence filled the carriage for a moment before the delicate green bamboo curtain slowly lifted, revealing Li Chao Yang's icy, snow-like visage inch by inch before his eyes.
Two nearly identical faces, with deep yet soft contours. Only his nose was stubbornly straight and high—said to resemble his father's, that once-powerful figure in Qiong who had risen to prominence only to fall from grace overnight.
Li Chao Yang's eyes looked at him, yet seemed to pierce through him, gazing at some unknown place beyond. It had always been this way—she treated him with the same absent-minded indifference she showed everyone else.
"So, your choice is to spend your last three months frolicking with insignificant immortals and petty Demons? Who was that little immortal who released the crow? How dare they spy on our clan's secrets? Is this the company you keep these days?"
He did not answer.
Ten years had taught him to face her without revealing any emotion, to speak no useless words.
Still calm, she merely said, "No matter. I never expected much from you. If you refuse to earn military merit before your death, then come back with me. At least don’t die in disgrace outside."
Lu Qianqiao remained silent.
Li Chao Yang's wandering gaze finally focused slightly on his face. "You would defy me?"
He nodded, rising leisurely and brushing the dirt from his sleeves.
Her red-eyed double pupils locked onto his indifferent gaze—she was angered. The bamboo curtain slowly lowered, concealing her figure in shadow.
"You grow bolder."
Two War Ghosts approached him from the opposite side, clasping their hands together in a cold salute. "We await your move."
What was to come would come.
He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his deep black pupils had split into two, overlapping—not a pure-blooded War Ghost, his eyes were not red, but only these fearsome double pupils could prove the restless Blood of the War Devil within him.
Clasping his hands together, he returned the salute. "...After you."
Though it had been barely a month since she last saw Qiu Yue, Xin Mei felt as if thirty autumns had passed. She hugged its neck and rubbed her face against it, while Qiu Yue flapped its wings, occasionally turning to gently peck her head with its large beak in affection.
"Qiu Yue, it seems Lu Qianqiao has been found by enemies—ones with red eyes. Two against one, plus whoever's in the carriage... he's being ganged up on, right? Do you think he’ll die?"Xin Mei felt uncomfortable recalling the eyes of those two men just now.
"You've been under his house arrest for so long and finally gained freedom. Why bother about him anymore?" Qiu Yue shook her head dismissively.
"You mean he won't die?" Xin Mei stroked her chin, thinking hard. "Last time when he killed that Tiger Demon, he was indeed formidable. But this time seems different. When he killed the Tiger Demon, his face was expressionless, yet just now he actually wasn't!"
Only you could come up with such bizarre reasoning! Qiu Yue let out a long "croak."
"Right? You agree with me." Xin Mei nodded solemnly with a serious expression. "Besides, he said he'd make a Celestial Lady for me, and he hasn't finished yet!"
You... what are you planning? Qiu Yue glared at her warily.
Xin Mei giggled: "You mean we should stop here for a while? Fine, let's wait an hour before flying back to check. An hour should be enough for them to finish fighting, right?"
No! Qiu Yue wept inwardly—what kind of mismatched conversation was this? Someone save it, please!
Blood slowly trickled down his face, turning everything in his vision crimson.
Lu Qianqiao stood firm like an unyielding rock, his pride keeping him upright. Beside him, the two War Ghosts' snow-white robes were already soaked in blood.
A flash of cold light—another strike coming? He swung his whip, meeting the icy gleam without hesitation.
Behind the verdant bamboo curtain, Li Chao Yang watched as blood covered his face and body. Yet his eyes, hidden beneath the crimson, shone sharper than ever, declaring to all that even if beaten down to the deepest hell, he would not retreat. He could fight—he would fight again.
The boy from ten years ago, still carrying traces of delicacy and youth, had been tempered by time into a renowned blade. He was growing to resemble his father—the tightly pressed lips, the unwavering gaze that never revealed any hint of fear.
She suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia. Once, she had been infatuated with a man who possessed such eyes. Pity he was just an ordinary man. Pity that back then, she hadn’t yet felt the anguish she did now over the decline of the War Ghost Clan.
A sharp, howling wind rushed toward her. The whip tore through a corner of the bamboo curtain, and Li Chao Yang felt the sting of its edge grazing her skin. She touched the spot lightly, meeting Lu Qianqiao’s blazing stare as he brandished the whip.
He was provoking her—daring to challenge her even while hanging by a thread.
"Enough," she suddenly spoke.
The two bloodied War Ghosts immediately halted and retreated to stand by the carriage, as if their bleeding wounds belonged to someone else. Their crimson eyes remained cold, yet now held a trace of reverence when they looked at Lu Qianqiao.
"Your temper is much like mine—I admire that. But though you bear the pride of my clan, half of you is still ordinary. The Transformation Tribulation at twenty-five will be no different from death for you... A pity, truly a pity."
She repeated the word "pity," her voice softening. After a pause, she suddenly asked, "...Do you still carry the jade token I gave you as a child?"
Lu Qianqiao lowered his head, retrieving the mottled jade token from his pouch. Soaked in blood, his name on it gleamed crimson.The mottled, poor-quality jade token was the simplest yet cruelest proof of identity within the War Ghost Clan. He was a half-blood, and even among half-bloods, he was of the lowest rank, for he hadn't even inherited the red eyes. The skills he possessed might have been extraordinary among ordinary people, but within the War Ghost Clan, they were truly insignificant.
Now that he had grown up, he seemed to have become much stronger, capable of fighting two War Ghosts to a standstill. Yet whether that was due to genuine ability or merely sheer stubborn pride, perhaps only he himself knew.
Li Chao Yang extended a hand from behind the bamboo curtain—elegantly shaped, yet covered with thick calluses on the palm and fingers. A true War Ghost was tempered through countless trials; whether male or female, weakness was never considered beautiful.
"Give it to me."
He placed the jade token in her hand.
"Today, you've impressed me. This token is no longer necessary."
Her beautiful fingers closed, then opened again—the jade token had already crumbled to dust.
"That girl just now—who is she?"
Li Chao Yang's casual question struck his heart like a boulder. Lu Qianqiao abruptly raised his head, staring fixedly at her behind the curtain.
"She's quite pretty. Do you like her?" Her tone was indifferent.
"...No."
As if she hadn't heard his feeble denial, the whistling wind dark steed let out a soft whinny. The snow-white carriage gradually moved away as she said, "Thinking back now, I never did anything a mother should have done for you. In these last three months of your life, I'll have her accompany you. When you die, I'll have her stay with you forever."
Lu Qianqiao was shocked. Watching the whistling wind dark steed silently leap into the clouds, he pressed a hand to his violently aching chest while gripping the Fierce Cloud Colt's reins with the other, attempting to give chase. But his vision darkened in waves, and his body grew heavier and heavier—it seemed he could barely hold on.
The Fierce Cloud Colt nestled close to him, affectionately supporting his trembling upper body with its head. Blood dripped steadily from his body, staining the entire grassy field red. His strength seemed to drain away with the blood—he couldn't even mount the horse properly.
"Has it been about two hours now?" Xin Mei tidied up the messy snacks in front of her, brushing off the crumbs of osmanthus candy and pine nut candy from her clothes before stretching lazily.
Qiu Yue crouched atop the tree, curling into a ball and pretending not to hear. It didn't want to go back, no way!
Xin Mei climbed onto its back and was about to speak when she noticed the same snow-white, exquisitely crafted carriage slowly approaching. It paused briefly in front of her before flying off again.
Weren't they Lu Qianqiao's enemies? Xin Mei rolled her eyes as she examined the carriage before her. Two majestic Spirit horses stood beside it, and the two red-eyed individuals from earlier sat atop them, their white robes now stained with blood.
Noticing Qiu Yue trembling slightly beneath her, Xin Mei patted its back, puzzled. "They look like defeated roosters. What are you scared of?"
...Could you not be so bold with every word you say? Qiu Yue wiped away its bitter tears with a wing. Truly, ignorance breeds fearlessness...
"Look at all the blood on them—Lu Qianqiao must be in bad shape too. Let's hurry back and check on him."
Xin Mei patted its back, and it reluctantly spread its wings.
Lu Qianqiao was leading the Fierce Cloud Colt forward step by step, slowly. He only knew he couldn't stop—if he did, he might never move again."Lu Qianqiao!"
It seemed someone was calling him from afar—Xin Mei's voice.
Summoning all his strength, he turned around. Through his blood-red vision, he saw Xin Mei leap down from Qiu Yue's back and rush toward him. She looked him up and down in shock before cautiously poking him a few times. "Are... are you dead?"
Not yet, but if you keep poking, it might happen soon.
She glanced at the large swath of forest that had been obliterated and exclaimed, "Were you just fighting a herd of elephants?"
He wanted to laugh. The entire world seemed to soften around him.
"Who told you to come back..." His voice was low and hoarse, but he really was laughing. "Not afraid I'll roast Qiu Yue for you to eat?"
Qiu Yue retaliated by smacking him with a wing, sending the usually formidable general tumbling weakly to the ground—completely drained of strength.
So weak! She pouted. "And here you were acting tough. If you roast Qiu Yue, I'll roast your horse!"
Fierce Cloud Colt snorted dismissively. Lu Qianqiao lay on his back, the last thing in his vision her face leaning close before he sank into endless darkness.
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