Ch.25 The Southern Expedition Reaches An End

Luo Yue walked towards the centre where Wu Zhe Yan was waiting, the long spear in her hands giving her an extra touch of cold indifference. For a split second, she looked as though she was meant to walk down a bloodied path of lined corpses with a red-stained white clothes. It made people wonder, exactly what could have happened to make a perfectly fine lady be so detached from the world.

He lifted an eyebrow as he looked at the spear with clear dissatisfaction, “you’re not taking out your main weapon? My sword will not stop at your neck just because you’re a lady, you know.”

“This is more than enough to decapitate you.” The lady retorted without missing a beat.

Everyone gulped. Not to mention his battles achievement, Wu Zhe Yan was a notorious figure in the Capital, and they knew he was never one to joke around. Many had died under his sword and merely because they had annoyed him. His temper was so well-known that even the soldiers who had spent their lives on the battlefield had heard of his bone-chilling rumours.

The Mad Dog of the Capital knows not of the word ‘Mercy’!

Xiao Liu bit on his lips nervously. The Mad Dog has a temper, but who said his Lady did not? If they were comparing rumours alone, then Xiao Liu could not even being to imagine what Luo Yue had achieved on the battlefield to be bestowed upon the name "God of War" in her teens. His Lady might just have a deadlier personality hidden under that mask of aloofness. What kind of ill fate was it that had brought two dangerously similar people together like this?!

Though he had roamed the World from a young age, it was Wu Zhe Yan’s first time meeting someone like her. Someone who didn’t back down, someone who met his eyes this emotionlessly and someone this confident. Or perhaps, he should say, someone with such an audacity. He couldn’t decide whether to be displeased or amused.

He pointed his giant sword at her and then smugly smiled, “ladies first.”

Luo Yue also did not hold back. She lunged forward, her spear aiming mercilessly at his neck.

Wu Zhe Yan dodged, the smile on his face widening as he felt a familiar rush of adrenaline heightening all his five senses. He held up his giant sword and slashed down. There was not a hint of hesitation in their moves as both of them aimed to take each other’s lives.

“Hey, you’re Xiao Liu, right?” Qi stood next to Xiao Liu and whispered. “Is your lady going to be alright? I don’t want the Imperial Court blaming my Lord because I'm sure I'll be taking half of that blame.”

“Of course, she is not!” Xiao Liu watched anxiously. “What if the Emperor punishes my Lady for killing the General?”

“…” Qi could see a dash of similarity between the master and servant pair.

“This is very bad…” Xiao Liu pulled his eyes away from the match. “You help me watch them. I’ll go call Ping-ge!”

~~

A drop of sweat rolled down the side of Luo Yue’s cheek as Wu Zhe Yan parried another of her attack.

He… was not an easy opponent.

She could hardly remember the last time she had been this focused in a fight. It had been so long, but her heart started to pump in excitement as she relished in this dangerous match. She was starting to see what he liked so much about risking his life. Though she had thought them to be complete opposites during their first meeting, they were more similar than she was willing to admit. The God of War had rested for far too long, this was the perfect chance to rouse the fighting instincts that had laid dormant, sleeping for half a decade.

Wu Zhe Yan could smell the familiar sense of death with every of her attack. It almost felt as though he was fighting against a thousand people. Even in the battle a few years ago where he had momentarily lost his eyesight due to the sand thrown in his eyes, he had never felt so pushed back. How long had it been since he last met an opponent who could make his heart race like that?

How… exhilarating.

However, as he had said, he would not die if it was not on a battlefield. He took advantage of a lapse in her movements and thrusted his sword. She turned her body just in time, avoiding a critical hit, but she heard the sound of fabric ripping as his sword cut a slit in the ends of her white robe.

She paid it no mind, wasting no time with her counterattack as she pierced. He tilted his head, successfully dodging to the right as the sharpened spearhead barely missed his left ear and cut through his black robe.

A rip appeared on his clothes, revealing tightly wrapped bandages across his left shoulder. It was the wound that he had gotten during the fight for TianAn City a few days ago.

There was a rare ripple in her expression as a slightly troubled look appeared on Luo Yue’s small face. She frowned and stated, “you’re injured.”

She stood there, a little at a lost because ‘that person’ had taught her that a match against an opponent that she respected should always be fair. She had never really understood what ‘he’ meant but now she was starting to see that this match specifically has to be fair for her to enjoy it. She was new to emotions like this so she found herself thinking if this was a fair match. Could that injury be considered as an unfair handicap?

“Yeah, what about it?” he stopped as well as he tilted his head. A small patch of blood could already be seen seeping through the bandages, but Wu Zhe Yan did not seem to feel the pain at all.

“Does that mean that this is not a fair fight?” she asked with an unexpected innocent glint in her eyes in light of her genuine question.

“Huh? Of course, it's not.” He did not understand why she was suddenly stopping their thrilling match just to ask such a baffling question. “Can’t you tell that I’m obviously stronger?”

“…” As expected, Luo Yue found that it was meaningless to deliberate over the fairness of their match when he was clearly not ‘an opponent that she respected’.

She lifted the spear, ready to charge in again when a untimely voice interrupted them.

“A reply has arrived from the Imperial Court!” the messenger was followed by Shen Tian Ping and Xiao Liu. “General Wu Zhe Yan, please receive the Imperial decree!”

Wu Zhe Yan frowned, his fighting spirit still burning as he glanced at Luo Yue, then the messenger, and finally knelt before the Imperial decree. There was still unwillingness and reluctance at having stopped a good match in his eyes but even a person like him knew what to prioritise. “Wu Zhe Yan, here to receive the Imperial decree.”

“The Emperor, his Majesty, has taken the General’s words into great consideration and after much discussion, has made his decision. The war has continued for too long and it is time for both countries to recuperate. A treaty conference with the Southern Kingdom will soon be held and so, his Majesty declares, it is officially the end of the Southern Expedition! General Wu Zhe Yan, you are hereby ordered to lead the army back into the Capital. The Court has recognised your contributions and you will be awarded accordingly upon your return!”

The soldiers stayed stunned for a second before a large cheer broke out.

“D-does that mean… we’re finally… going home?!”

“The war has ended!”

“It’s been 5 years! I can go back to my family now!”

“Finally, the peace we’ve been waiting for!”

"It's all thanks to the General!"

"All hail the General!

Wu Zhe Yan held out both hands and received the Imperial scroll. “Wu Zhe Yan thanks the Emperor.”

Although he was the one who had suggested a peace treaty, he could not help finding it a pity. After all, does it make sense that he was already returning to the Capital after barely fighting in the war?

He sighed. Well, there would be more chances in the future.

“All soldiers, prepare to depart!”

“Yes, General!”

~~

When Xiao Liu and Shen Tian Ping walked into the room, Luo Yue was in her usual spot against the edge of the window. This time, however, she wasn’t looking outside, but at the king of birds standing majestically on her legs. She was leaning her head on one hand as she fed the black eagle with the other.

It rubbed its beak against her finger and Xiao Liu could see a tiny smile on the usually cold face. He mused, ‘Really, if it was a human being and not an animal who was touching her like that, my Lady would have cut off his head.’

“Master, is it Sir Xu's reply?” Shen Tian Ping asked.

Luo Yue nodded. She had just read the letter from Xu Shi Jing that the eagle had brought back.

“He said that the East has fully complied with the Imperial Court’s request. The prisoners we caught have been handed over to the Eastern envoys in exchange for some rare treasures and a city in the East. The whole ordeal has concluded smoothly.” She paused and her eyes skimmed through the letter. “And he said that he has done some further investigation on the East but nothing suspicious has come up. However, he said that he would keep an eye on them.”

“Does that mean that we have overthought the situation in LanLing Village?”

Luo Yue’s finger tapped on the wooden table for a while before she slowly nodded. “Since Shi Jing has said so, we’ll trust his words. Besides, it is better that we are wrong.”

Then, she called out to the boy, “Xiao Liu, prepare something I can cover my face with. We’ll be entering the Capital soon.”

“How about a human skin mask? I’ll make sure you’re completely unrecognisable!” Excitement reflected off his eyes.

“… just get me something normal.”

“Okay...” he ear drooped down as he left.

Once he was gone, Shen Tian Ping stood forward as his brows furrowed. “Master, it is about time for your illness to act up. I'm afraid..."

The God of War took one glance at her private guard and already knew what he was worried about. "I know what you want to say but I must return with the rest of the army."

"But I’m afraid the trip might be too dangerous for you. You have completed your mission and do not have to return with right away. So, why don’t you stay for a few more days until it has passed?”

“Because it will only raise more suspicions if I’m the only one staying behind.” She looked out at the sky she loved yet, which would turn into her greatest enemy once night came. Even the God of War has an Achilles heel that had to be buried under all cost. “I cannot afford to let anyone else find out.”

“…I understand.” Shen Tian Ping took out a small medicine pill bottle that was the size of his palm. He handed the black bottle to her and said, “I have brought enough for this trip. Please instruct me if you need more. I will prepare a carriage for you and stand guard outside throughout the night. I know that you do not like riding in one but please put up with it this once, Master.”

“You really are... fussy. Even LoneWolf will not be able to compare to you.”

“It is my duty to protect you.” He straightened his back and bowed. “Then, I will go make some preparations.”

The lady watched until her guard’s back disappeared from her sight before she sighed. When ‘that person’ was still alive, ‘he’ had never once allowed her to step foot outside whenever it was time for her illness to flare up. Instead, ‘he’ had always prepared the most secluded of places so that when her illness took over her consciousness, she never had to worry about others finding out.

With ‘him’ no longer among the living, it was only expected that ‘his’ protection would fade as well.