As the seasons shifted from summer to autumn, the weather became unpredictable. By the hour of Hai (9PM-11PM), lightning flashed across the sky without a sound, followed by a downpour.
This was the first rain of late autumn. With its passing, the summer heat was truly gone.
Chaolu hid under the eaves, and Nanyue handed her a fire gun.
She had only seen such a thing in books and was extremely curious. She touched it inside and out, unable to put it down.
Seeing her about to load and fire it, Nanyue was startled and quickly stopped her, saying, “My lady! This fire gun was crafted secretly by me. It can’t compare to the ones from the Shenji Battalion, but it’s already quite good. If I had the blueprints, I could make an even better one.”
The fire gun’s casing had been polished to a glossy shine. Chaolu weighed it seriously in her hand and nodded, “Hmm.”
Nanyue said, “How about we trade this for my sword?”
Chaolu frowned, looking hesitant.
Nanyue’s sword was excellent, and Chaolu was very envious of it. She carried it every day after getting it, but when it came time to use it, she realized that weapons needed to suit their owners.
No matter how precious someone else’s sword was, if it didn’t suit her, it was no better than scrap metal.
Indeed, if Nanyue knew his unparalleled sword was considered scrap metal, he would probably cough up blood.
During her moment of hesitation, a loud noise suddenly came from the inner room, as if something heavy had crashed against the wooden boards. This was followed by a very faint groan, so brief that it seemed to slip out unintentionally.
Seeing Chaolu freeze, she dropped the fire gun and was about to rush inside. Nanyue quickly grabbed her, struggling to hold her back.
Chaolu angrily said, “Your master is bullying my lady again!”
Nanyue was speechless, finally understanding why every time his master went inside, he had to watch Chaolu outside, especially forbidding her from squatting on the roof.
It was fine when they were being affectionate, but if she were to lift the roof tiles during… it would be disastrous!
As they struggled, Nanyue’s finger inadvertently pulled the trigger—
“Bang—”
Ji Yuluo shuddered.
She bit her lip, her eyes red-rimmed and filled with emotion, making her amber pupils glisten with moisture.
But her lips remained tightly shut, not uttering a sound. Only her gaze shifted with her sensations, and Huo Xian could discern her pain and pleasure from it.
He quickly glanced out the window and said, “It’s the fire gun.”
Ji Yuluo uttered a “Hmm,” frowning, her hand resting on his shoulder and neck. She asked, “Where… where did the fire gun come from? Do you Jinyiwei get issued fire guns now?”
“No,” Huo Xian replied, his breathing heavy, his forehead covered in fine sweat. He too was in pain, pushing forward with difficulty, and said, “The Emperor once rewarded Nanyue with a fire gun. He audaciously dismantled it and tried to make a similar one. It doesn’t have the power of the ones from the Shenji Battalion, just for show.”
By the time he finished speaking, her face had turned pale. Halfway through, he simply held his breath and withdrew, using his fingers to attend to her.
He turned her over and over, making her wet. Ji Yuluo felt like she was being lifted to the clouds by waves, yet she couldn’t come down.
She had no choice but to embrace him.
Huo Xian touched her wet eyes. They looked at each other during their slow and steady movements, like two diligent students observing each other’s every reaction, curious about every detail.
The rain outside intensified, the wind howling, shrouding the entire capital in a wavering twilight.
They pressed close to each other.
Ji Yuluo’s grip on his lapel weakened. As Huo Xian took her, her body, suspended in the clouds, felt as if it were being thrown down heavily. In those moments of weightlessness, she finally had no space left to observe or think.
Huo Xian was a bad man. He pushed the tides to rise and fall, heating Ji Yuluo’s ears with his breath, determined to repay her previous teasing in countless ways.
At that moment, the previously silent city gate suddenly erupted with the sound of hooves. The soldiers, startled, quickly abandoned their relaxed postures, set up the barricade, and signaled the rider to stop.
However, the approaching rider showed no intention of stopping, charging at the barricade on a fast horse. With a sudden crash, both man and horse were thrown to the ground.
An arrow was embedded in the man’s chest, and the place where he fell was stained red with rainwater.
Clutching the letter in his arms, he said with difficulty, “Urgent report from Runing Prefecture, urgent report from Runing Prefecture…”
–
Xiao Yuanjing was awakened by the knocking on the door.
He wasn’t exactly startled awake; he hadn’t slept at all. Ever since returning to the capital from the Jiuzhen Temple, he hadn’t had a single night of peaceful sleep. Usually, he remained in a half-dream state until dawn. When he heard the noise, he thought it was in his dream.
After carefully discerning the sounds, he put on his clothes and approached.
When he opened the door, wind and rain poured in. Frowning, he asked, “What’s the matter?”
The attendant, covered in mud, rolled in. “Young Master, something terrible has happened! Urgent news from Runing Prefecture: the grand army led by the Duke has rebelled on its way back to the capital! The prefect was captured, and Runing Prefecture has fallen!”
“What?”
Xiao Yuanjing was instantly jolted awake from his stupor. He pushed the attendant aside and walked out into the rain.
This was different from what had been planned!
Initially, it was agreed that under the pretext of returning to the capital with the triumphant army, they would head straight for the imperial palace. This way, they could save the effort of conquering the prefectures in between and catch everyone in the capital off guard. Why did they rise up ahead of time?
However, Xiao Yuanjing couldn’t have known that the turmoil in Runing Prefecture was beyond Xiao Cheng’s plans, and this battle was inevitable for him.
That night, several soldiers entered the city under the pretext of procurement and stirred up trouble, resulting in two deaths. One of the victims was the secretary who had gone out with the prefect to quell the disturbance in the middle of the night. Worse yet, a soldier named Zhang Qu shouted that the army’s entry into the capital was actually a rebellion, scaring the prefect back to his mansion, where he immediately wrote a letter to report to the court.
Had he not reported, it might have been fine. But once the letter was sent, Xiao Cheng’s men hunted him down mercilessly. The prefect had harbored some hope that it was just a misunderstanding, but Xiao Cheng’s actions confirmed the accusations.
Thus, Runing Prefecture, to protect itself, launched an attack under the banner of quelling the rebels. To Xiao Cheng, this war was more like a disaster out of nowhere.
But with the enemy’s sword already at his throat, he had no choice but to fight!
Moreover, the Xiao family’s army had just won a great victory, their blood boiling and morale high. In just three to five days, they crushed the defenses of Runing Prefecture, captured the prefect, and seized the city.
Only a small soldier tasked with delivering the prefect’s letter managed to escape northward, bringing urgent news before succumbing to his injuries.
Xiao Yuanjing knew nothing of this. He only knew that the Xiao family had rebelled, and the capital would be thrown into turmoil, leading to heightened vigilance. And he bore the Xiao surname!
After tonight, countless eyes would be watching him.
Thinking of this, Xiao Yuanjing suddenly stopped. The attendant halted as well, puzzled. “Young Master?”
Rain streamed down Xiao Yuanjing’s nose. He wiped his face and said, “Go back. The Xiao family has already split. Tonight, we know nothing.”
At the city gate, the Jinyiwei had already read the letter. They were about to remove the soldier’s body when the current Imperial City Guard Commander, Wen Bin, arrived.
The Jinyiwei always held multiple duties, including arresting fugitives and guarding the capital. But now, their responsibilities were being gradually stripped away, from the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple to the Imperial Guards.
It was all too normal. Wen Hui had also been trampled underfoot by Huo Xian before. What goes around comes around.
Liyang did not struggle. He very calmly handed over the letter and the corpse of the soldier to Wen Bin. Even when a few Imperial Guards made snide remarks, he didn’t retort, instead leading his horse towards the Huo residence.
At this time of day, the horizon would usually show the first light of dawn. However, it was still raining, and the dark clouds obscured the sky, making everything remain in a murky gray.
When Nanyue came to report, he knocked on the door for a long time before receiving a hoarse response from inside.
That voice was as rough as if it had swallowed sand.
Nanyue touched his nose and reported the situation in Runing Prefecture. Huo Xian only responded with a “Got it,” without any other reaction. After standing there for a moment, Nanyue left on his own.
Ji Yuluo was not sleeping deeply. Half of her body was draped over Huo Xian. When he spoke, his chest vibrated, waking her up.
“Runing Prefecture…”
Her voice was very hoarse, and she stopped speaking halfway.
Huo Xian chuckled and, stroking her smooth back, said, “Mm, as expected.”
Ji Yuluo did not respond, seemingly falling back asleep. After a long time, she stirred and raised her head. “Is it morning?”
Huo Xian pulled her up, almost letting her bury her face in his neck and shoulder, and said, “No, go back to sleep.”
But Ji Yuluo refused to sleep. Her body was covered in marks left by him. He was like a wolf, both sniffing and biting, fierce and wild, showing no mercy, almost as if he had released all the pent-up aggression of these years.
She looked up at Huo Xian, re-examining this man she had thought to be a gentleman.
Huo Xian looked back at her. “Still hurting?”
Ji Yuluo shook her head and asked, “What did you say in my ear just now?”
Huo Xian raised his tone slightly, “Hm? What did I say?”
Ji Yuluo said, “When I was asleep, you said something.”
“If you were asleep, how could you have heard what I said?”
Huo Xian refused to say more, bending his neck to kiss her. Ji Yuluo turned her face away, struggling, frowning at him with a cold and fierce look.
They stared at each other, a finger’s distance apart.
Huo Xian touched her face, pausing for a long moment, and said, “I said, after all this is over, I’ll go with you.”
Ji Yuluo parted her tightly closed lips and teeth. “Anywhere?”
“Anywhere.”
He pressed down, kissing her. His lips and tongue moved, his hands busy, making Ji Yuluo blush.
She said, sweating, “It’s almost morning.”
In the midst of those scattered kisses, Huo Xian responded with a vague “Mm,” but he didn’t want to let her go. He had never considered a place to settle down for himself. He was like a man adrift at sea, only now feeling grounded.
With new thoughts came new fears.
He pressed close to her, trying to release all these swirling emotions onto her.
Until the rain stopped.
The pleasure of the marrow came too late. In the light of dawn, Huo Xian escorted Ji Yuluo out of the city. She seemed like a heartless person, having just shared deep affection, now leaving without looking back.
