The Road to Glory

Chapter 258: This Is His Homecoming.

Even after returning to the city, Fan Yuan remained somewhat dazed.

When a subordinate general reported on the soldiers' progress in repairing the inner city, he nodded absentmindedly: "Mm, send victory reports to Pingzhou and Tiger Gorge Pass..."

The young officer looked bewildered and said: "General, I was reporting that the inner city is severely damaged and will require considerable time to repair..."

Only then did Fan Yuan snap back to attention. He coughed dryly and said: "This battle was a great victory. I was so preoccupied with sending victory reports to Liang territory that I forgot myself. I'm aware of what you said. You may withdraw now."

After the young officer left, Li Xun, who was copying the military merit roster nearby, asked: "Old Fan, what's wrong with you?"

Since Mu Youliang and his son were both seriously injured and currently recuperating in Panshi City, all the troops that attacked Gole City this time were brought by Chen Wei from Pingzhou. There were no other senior generals accompanying them. After entering the city and settling Wen Yu, only Fan Yuan, Chen Wei, and Li Xun temporarily moved into the Gole City government office.

Fan Yuan pulled out a chair and sat down, clearly burdened with worries. He wiped his face, which had been weathered by wind and sand for over half a month and was now covered in stubble, and sighed: "I... I'm just worried about Xiao Jun and Her Highness. Although Xiao Jun has helped Liang greatly this time, what he said at the city gate was still too presumptuous. I'm afraid Her Highness might..."

Li Xun continued writing without pause, but his words were directed at Fan Yuan: "Her Highness is benevolent and wise. She would never quibble over such minor matters with Xiao Jun."

"Ah... that's not what I meant..." Fan Yuan rubbed his face vigorously again. It was clear that Li Xun and Chen Wei still didn't know that Xiao Li had returned to the Liang Camp. At this point, even Fan Yuan didn't know whether Xiao Li's return to the Liang Camp was his own decision alone, or if Wen Yu was also aware of it.

He glanced around and, seeing no one nearby, finally couldn't hold back anymore. With a somewhat reckless attitude, he said: "Old Li, don't you think... Her Highness and Xiao Jun... seem a bit strange?"

Li Xun's brush paused. He said: "Old Fan, watch your words."

Fan Yuan realized what he had just rashly discussed and broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly shut his mouth, glanced around again, then coughed twice and said with forced cheerfulness: "I... I'm just concerned about future diplomatic relations between north and south..."

For a moment, no one responded in the government office. The cold wind beat against the window lattice as if rain was coming.

Li Xun looked out the window and said: "If we never have to fight wars again from now on, that would be good too..."

When Zhao Bai brought in the freshly decocted medicine, the imperial physician was removing the needles from Wen Yu's arm.

Probably due to exhaustion from traveling all the way from Panshi City while ill and being exposed to the wind at the city gate, Wen Yu wasn't in good spirits. She leaned against the couch, pale-faced with her eyes half-closed. The embroidered brocade sleeves with intricate cloud patterns were pushed up to her elbows, and both forearms were covered with silver needles. The sight alone was enough to make one's heart tremble.

That day and night of drum-beating had damaged the meridians in both her arms. Later, busy with supervising the battle and not receiving proper treatment, it left chronic problems. To this day, she still needed regular acupuncture treatments from the imperial physician to unblock the meridians and regulate her condition.

Xiao Li stood guard nearby. Although he remained silent throughout and never uttered a word, his tall stature and the oppressive feeling accumulated from years on the battlefield still made the imperial physician break out in a cold sweat.Only after removing the final silver needle from Wen Yu's arm did the imperial physician finally exhale in relief. Wiping the fine sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, he said, "You still must not lift heavy objects and must avoid overexertion. Apply two medicinal patches daily. With luck, recovery may take two months; at worst, half a year before full recovery. As for the princess's constitution... it has been severely depleted. Strong tonics are inadvisable—gentle nourishment over time is essential."

Zhao Bai thanked the physician and instructed the Azure Guard to escort him out. As she moved forward with the medicine tray, Xiao Li's voice interrupted: "I'll do it."

Zhao Bai paused mid-step but ultimately did not advance further.

After Xiao Li took the medicine bowl from the tray, Zhao Bai placed several cloth pads soaked in medicinal brew over Wen Yu's wrists. Hesitating briefly, she retrieved the tray and withdrew, pausing only to say, "Remove the pads for Her Highness when they cool in half a quarter-hour."

The Azure Guard stationed outside the courtyard showed subtle unease upon seeing Zhao Bai emerge alone. "Commander..." one began.

Zhao Bai's single glance silenced the guard.

Both the Azure Guard and the physician were trusted allies who had known of the relationship between Wen Yu and Xiao Li since their days at the royal court.

The guard's concern stemmed from Xiao Li being left alone with Wen Yu, fearing he might pose a threat to her.

After all, the Great Liang now stood divided between only northern and southern factions.

Yet since Zhao Bai herself trusted the new Northern Border Marquis to remain alone with their princess, they need not worry further.

Zhao Bai stood silently beneath the eaves, her sword held close. Dusk clouds hung oppressively low, and a cold wind stirred, bringing a drizzle of fine rain.

She glanced at the darkening sky and murmured, "With his return, Her Highness should find some peace."

After the Battle of Panshi City, though victorious, Wen Yu had been confined to a sickbed, unable to sleep soundly night after night.

The suppressed fears and shadows from the desperate defense of Gole City resurged as haunting nightmares during her severe illness.

Compounded by the lack of news from Tiger Gorge Pass, an immense weight had settled over Wen Yu's heart.

Repeatedly, she would awaken from nightmares drenched in sweat, her consciousness blurred. When Zhao Bai anxiously called "Your Highness," Wen Yu would clutch her hand, trembling with cold sweat, urgently asking, "A'Zhao, is Xiyun alive? Has Tiger Gorge Pass fallen? Have the Western Mausoleum forces returned?"

Only after Zhao Bai repeatedly assured her—"General Gu is safe, recuperating in Panshi City; no battle reports have come from Tiger Gorge Pass; the Western Mausoleum forces are but broken remnants"—would Wen Yu gradually emerge from her night terrors, visibly pale and frail.

The day Gu Xiyun was carried back bloodied from the battlefield, Wen Yu had beaten the war drums atop the city wall. To maintain composure and prevent panic among the defending troops, she hadn't dared glance at Gu Xiyun. With each drumbeat, only blood droplets streaking her hands and tear tracks from her eyes fell to the ground.

After Gu Xiyun was taken to the inner city for treatment, Wen Yu remained on the wall to oversee the battle, not daring to inquire about his condition.

Zhao Bai understood her fear and anguish—after all they had endured, she could bear no further loss.

Thus, Wen Yu asked nothing. Even if the worst awaited, she could cling to denial until the last moment.

Yet in the nightmares that followed their respite, all the agony, grief, and terror returned with vengeance, leaving Wen Yu struggling to distinguish whether the blood-soaked horrors in her dreams were real or their victory was.After learning that Wen Yu was tormented by nightmares every night, Gu Xiyun immediately moved in to stay with her, disregarding his own injuries.

When Wen Yu suffered nightmares again, he held her hand, half-jokingly yet with red-rimmed eyes, repeatedly promising her: "A Yu, rest assured, I won't die until I'm old and gray. Father and elder brother followed the late emperor and the crown prince. I must protect A Yu."

From the day she resolved to journey to Southern Chen, Wen Yu had never allowed herself to show any weakness. Yet that night, she covered her eyes with her hand, her slender shoulders trembling, as large wet stains slid down beneath her palm.

She said: "Xiyun, I dreamed Tiger Gorge Pass was breached too, and he died beneath chaotic hooves before the city gates."

Both Zhao Bai and Gu Xiyun understood who she meant by "him."

Usually, even when worried, she rarely displayed such emotions. Though she unfailingly asked daily whether any battle reports had arrived from Tiger Gorge Pass, she never uttered that person's name.

It was as if she feared that asking would bring the answer she dreaded hearing.

Only that night, all her forced composure and resilience finally crumbled under repeated nightmares, revealing her vulnerability and tenderness.

Zhao Bai suddenly realized how important that person was to Wen Yu.

She had prepared to share the same fate as him in this turbulent era.

But what if she defended half the kingdom, yet he could not return?

Zhao Bai dared not dwell on it.

Now that he had returned victorious, Zhao Bai felt genuinely happy for her.

The bowl of medicine was soon emptied. Wen Yu's wide sleeves were rolled down, gathered at her forearms, with thick cloth pads placed further down at her wrists, covered with warm cotton cloths soaked in medicinal brew.

The room was warmed by a charcoal brazier, yet a sudden itch climbed her throat. When Wen Yu raised a hand to cover her mouth while coughing, the medicinal compress on her wrist fell onto the cloth covering the quilt.

Xiao Li's brow furrowed instantly, and he nearly rose to shout outside: "Summon—"

Before "the imperial physician" could leave his lips, Wen Yu grasped his hand, still bearing unhealed scabs: "No need for the physician. I caught a chill recently and am already recovering, though some coughing remains."

Wen Yu's voice was gentle, her gaze calm, yet she still exuded a faint weariness.

Covering her lips with one hand while coughing softly, she tightly held Xiao Li with the other, saying: "Stay with me a while longer."

Xiao Li's entire demeanor was intensely agitated and suppressed: "You're unwell."

Wen Yu smiled at him: "Yes, because you won't talk to me, I feel unwell."

The coughing had brought a faint flush to her pale cheeks. Her smile was exceedingly beautiful, yet Xiao Li felt his heart nearly bursting with stifled bitterness and sorrow.

On the carriage back to the city, Wen Yu had been weary and lightly dozed off. Upon arrival, Zhao Bai urgently summoned the imperial physician for examination, only then revealing how grave Wen Yu's physical condition had become.

His chest and throat felt clogged with damp heaviness.

He could not speak.

Knowing Wen Yu could not use her hands forcefully now, Xiao Li gently placed her grasping hand back on the quilt, rewrapped her wrist with the medicinal compress, and sat back on the stool.

Resting his elbows on his knees, he rubbed his face vigorously. When he looked at Wen Yu again, he failed to conceal the faint redness spreading under his eyes, asking hoarsely: "What did you want to say?"Wen Yu looked at him, her face still wearing a smile: "We agreed that after you returned from Tiger Gorge Pass, we would marry. Are you going back on your word now?"

Though he knew Wen Yu was deliberately saying this, Xiao Li's hand resting on his knee instantly clenched into a fist. The crimson hue spreading in his eyes deepened gradually, making his breathing grow heavier. He said, "In your dreams!"

His gaze at Wen Yu was fierce, as if he had finally reached his limit. Beneath the surface lay an obsession intense enough to drown a person: "Don't use your current state to speak to me so lightly.

"Wen Yu, from the moment I held Tiger Gorge Pass but learned you had gone to Gole City yourself, I felt I had already died.

"You're a liar. You deceived me into coming back alive to take you back to Da Liang. But what about you?

"During these thirteen days and nine hours on my return, not a moment passed without me wondering—what if Gole City had already fallen? What if you had already taken your own life?"

His breathing was pained and ragged, his eyes now completely bloodshot. The hand cupping Wen Yu's cheek trembled slightly, yet his gaze remained fiercely determined: "I told myself, fight through. Even if it's your corpse, I will bring it back to Da Liang and proclaim to the world that I will marry you.

"When I too die on the path of avenging you, my bones shall be buried with you in the same coffin.

"This way, you can't escape me in the next life either. This is what you owe me."

Even now, as he spoke these words, his tone carried a profound despair.

A wet trail fell onto Xiao Li's palm—tears had rolled from Wen Yu's eyes.

She raised her hand to cover the back of his hand that held her face, breathing deeply and slowly, yet unable to suppress the ache in her throat and heart. When she spoke again, her voice was hoarse, but she smiled: "I never got to see you come for me—how could I bear to die?

"When you agreed to marry me, I told you: from then on, whether in the heavens or the underworld, you and I are bound together."

Her chest still felt tight and painful, yet it was also filled to the brim with something so overwhelming it nearly spilled from her eyes.

Xiao Li closed his sore, reddened eyes, his breathing trembling as he pressed his forehead against Wen Yu's.

The beating flesh in the left cavity of his chest grew profoundly calm.

This was his homecoming.

"If reincarnation truly exists in this world, then let us be entangled together, life after life."