The Rise of Phoenixes Novel Translation #145

In the dead silence of the mountain pass, a shout filled with surprise and overjoy abruptly burst out.

”Official Wei!”

“Who is Official Wei?” In contrast to the overjoyed Tao Yangyu and his friends, Feng Zhi Wei sits on the horse with a confused expression. 

Feeling as if a bucket of ice water has been tossed on them, Tao Yangyu and his friends looked at each other blankly. Using the moonlight to peer more closely at Feng Zhi Wei, the three men reaffirmed again that it is Wei Zhi they are seeing. Moreover, Official Gu who disappeared along with Official Wei is also here. Just as the jade colored robe is Gu Nan Yi’s symbol, Gu Nan Yi is also Wei Zhi’s symbol. 

After a few moment, a light bulb suddenly went off in Tao Yangyu and he asked tentatively “Official Wei, did you forget the past? Then how did you show up here?” 

Feng Zhi Wei grined “You are my acquaintances? I have forgotten many things of my past. Since we are lucky enough to meet then I will have to seek some advice from you all later but right now we have something more pressing– is this Prince Jin Siyu I have heard so much about? It’s a pleasure to meet you.” 

Jin Siyu gets up on a horse his man brought over to him and focuses his gaze on the sanguine young man across from him. A battlefield is a dangerous place, very few people can be so at ease in such as place. Behind the young man, countless shadows can be seen, people and horses half hidden by the mountain pass, difficult to discern the number of people nor how many are cavalry and how many are foot soldiers. 

From the time Tao Yangyu went after the robbers, he guessed from the marching path his battalion took that his goal is Zi City and promptly decided to use Zi City as a lure. Leaving in the cover of the night, to avoid rousing the attention of Tian Sheng’s military base, he didn’t take very many men with him. Basing his calculations on young Tao Yangyu’s impulsiveness, he figured Tao Yangyu will for sure give chase all the way to the mountain pass. He had planned on immediately returning to the military base after grabbing Tao Yangyu and his friends but who would’ve expected such a person will suddenly appear. 

The terrain of the mountain pass is especially dangerous, gradually widening from west to east, with many mountain walls blocking on the west side. Although the terrain would make it difficult for the other side to charge in easily but it also prevents himself from discerning the other side’s manpower. Once they engage in battle, it is unknown what the outcome would be. 

Looking at the young man’s calm and relaxed expression, warning bells began to ring inside Jin Siyu. 

The timing of the young man’s appearance was too strange. 

He didn’t come earlier or later, he appeared at the exact moment when the hostages were about to be captured and took advantage of his focused attention on Tao Yangyu and his friends to attack him, almost succeeding in killing him. He not only rescued the hostages but also took away his horse. 

Was it a coincidence, or did he intentionally wait for that moment? 

It’s fine if it was a coincidence but if it was intentional, then this person is too frightening– it is easy to see that Tao Yangyu and his friends had a good relationship with the young man. Yet, he was willing to wait until they have no other options than to commit suicide before he was willing to extend his hand. 

Jin Siyu looked across, the young man is still smiling languidly but his horse has already been led away to who knows where. 

A sense of frustration is rising inside him. This is the first time he has experienced such emotion ever since he became the commanding general. 

There is really only one reason for it — The horse is too important. 

Death and injury of war horses on the battlefield are common, but his horse was no ordinary warhorse. His horse is the legendary Yue Horse that cannot be bought no matter how much money you have. Every Da Yue prince is gifted the best Yue Horse by the emperor. The horse would be raised carefully since it was young so that it could develop an incredibly strong bond with its owner. Needless to say, such a horse would become an irreplaceable partner, one that no amount of money can compensate. 

Everyone in Da Yue knows that this kind of Yue Horse has great long-term endurance and speed. These horses are also very smart, making them invaluable at critical moments when one’s life is on the line. In many cases, one such, with its deep connection to the owner, is more useful than a hundred guards. 

Years ago, he had used one superb Yue Horse to ignite suspicion between Tian Sheng’s emperor and his son. That suspicion eventually forced Tian Sheng’s third prince into mutiny and died on the Wangdu Bridge. Ten years later, his horse has fallen into someone else’s hand. It is obviously a coincidence and should not be a big deal but for some reason, an ominous feeling is sitting at the pit of his stomach. 

Moreover, if the horse had died in the battle, it would’ve been tragic but understandable. Yet, it didn’t die, it was taken from him. Not only was it taken, it was taken when he is in the middle of ambushing the enemy and the horse was taken right in front of both armies. If news of this get back home, then he would really lose face. 

Plus, his opponent didn’t even shoot a single arrow…

Jin Siyu’s eyes flickered, the thirst for blood bubbling in them. No matter what, today can’t end like this!

Raising his arm, Jin Siyu gets ready to give an order but the sound of horsehoofs suddenly came from behind. 

A messenger with hair loosened wildly riding speedily toward him, whipping his horse while yelling loudly: “General! It’s bad! The army’s East Route Grain Storage…”

*SNAP*

The messenger’s voice stopped abruptly. The soldier who had rode hundreds of miles to report his news stared at Jin Siyu with wide eyes who is looking back at him with a deadly expression. 

Clutching his throat, the messenger slowly falls down, a bloody arrow between his fingers. 

The corpse fell under the horse with a muffled *thud* sound. Jin Siyu slowly cast his eyes round about. All the soldiers who heard the messenger’s words and saw what just transpired paled the instant they met their general’s gaze before turning their heads away with an indifferent expression, trying to show with their action that they had not heard nor seen anything. 

Across from Jin Siyu, a faint smile flashed across Feng Zhi Wei’s eyes. 

This prince, sure reacts fast. 

Before the messenger could even finish speaking, he already figured out that the East Route army grain storage has been burned and immediately killed the messenger so as not to shake his men’s morale. 

The flames on the toraches flickered, casting seemingly countless shadows on the pitch dark cliff sides. His face half covered by the shadows, Jin Siyu with an undiscerable expression, suddenly raised the riding whip and pointed it at Feng Zhi Wei. 

The arm was straight and stiff, the whip, like a poisonous snake, staring right at the young man in a soft thin armor. 

Feng Zhi Wei smiled and made the “Please do as you please” gesture. 

Giving her another fierce glance, Jin Siyu abruptly loweredd the whip, kicked the horse belly, turned and left. 

Figuers of men’s shadows can be seen on the cliff top dashing out quickly. Da Yue’s military formation at the back instantly became the lead, neatly and orderly, they withdrew in silence. 

Feng Zhi Wei narrowed her eyes as she watched Jin Siyu’s men retreated in an orderly manner. There was a hint of admiration in her eyes. A good general is not only someone who is skilled in battlefield strategies but a good general is someone who can still have such a firm control on his army that even a retreat can be done in an orderly manner. 

Zong Chen came out from behind Feng Zhi Wei to treat Tao Yangyu and his two friends’ wounds. Tao Yangyu silently looked at the battlefield in front of him– his one hundred personal guards, all died. 

Slowly staggering among the pile of corpses, he kept stopping to place each mangled corpse in their proper position. Tao Yangyu stood dazed, under the moonlight, the grass tips in the field behind him were all covered in blood. 

Feng Zhi Wei didn’t get off her horse but stared at him quietly from where she sat on the horse top. 

Yu Liang and Huang Baozi silently followed Tao Yangyu for a while before finally tugging at him, “Yangyu…” 

“They didn’t have to die.” Tao Yangyu suddenly said hoarsely. 

Yu Liang thought that Tao Yangyu is blaming himself and was about to comfort him when Tao Yangyu continues in a low voice “Office Wei probably had arrived for a while, but waited until we almost committed suicide…before showing himself.” 

Yu Liang looked at Tao Yangyu blankly before realizing what those words meant in the next instant and abruptly turned his head to look at Feng Zhi Wei. 

Under the moonlight, in front of the mountain cliff, that person in his fine robe is staring at the hundred plus corpses with such a calm and focused gaze that Yu Liang can’t help but wonder if Tao Yangyu’s suspicion is an unjust one. 

“That can’t be…” Yu Liang muttered to himself. In his memory, Official Wei is easy going and kind, would such a person be so indifferent to the death of more than a hundred lives? 

But Tao Yangyu had already turned around. 

“You were here all along right?” His voice hoarse as he waved his arms wildly, “From the time we started on the robbers, you were already following us right? You waited until we were ambushed by Da Yue, and then you ambushed Da Yue. We were your bait, weren’t we?” 

Feng Zhi Wei was silent, her eyes crystal clear in the moonlight, without a trace of emotional fluctuation in them. 

“The war takes precedence over everything, what does it matter if we were bait!” Tao Yangyu uses his long sword to support his body and looked up at Feng Zhi Wei fiercely, “But they didn’t have to die! At least not all of them had to die! But you just watched, watched as their arms were cut off, attacked, and hacked to death by those Da Yue wolves. Their heads rolled to your feet, their eyes unwilling to close even in death. You watched until we were to the point of being forced to commit suicide. You did not move. You did not move at all. You are good, you are real good. You wanted your bait to get you the biggest prize. You fooled everyone just to get one horse from Jin Siyu?” 

Throwing the long sword into the ground in front of Feng Zhi Wei, he roared with grief “One hundred lives, one horse!” 

Feng Zhi Wei looks down, at the blood stained long sword. On the blade, there were Tao Yangyu’s own blood but more of it, are the enemy’s blood. Looking at the blade, a surge of emotions flashed across her eyes as she remembered the dandy she met in the brothel at the Capital. 

Without saying anything, she lightly patted the horse and backed away to the side a few steps. 

Behind her, Zong Chen and Gu Nan Yi also silently took several steps to the side. 

Tao Yangyu stood dumbfunded, rooted to the spot. 

Behind the three of them, all those shadowy figures were nothing more than broken tree branches covered with grass. There was not one single person. 

The ones that came to rescue them, only comprised of three people! 

“I did use you as bait” Feng Zhi Wei finally spoke, her voice calm “When I discovered you, I also discovered the Da Yue army following behind you. So I split the Iron Cavalry (that’s the cavalry she trained on the grassland) into two. One went to the East Road Camp to burn their grains and the other is waiting to ambush Jin Siyu on his way back. Since the grassland infantry has not arrived yet, we were already stretched thin after splitting the three thousand Iron Cavalry which is why I only brought two people with me to follow you. By my calculation, only by cutting off the East Road Grain Storage is there a possiblity that Jin Siyu would order a retreat and the treacherous mountain pass could cover up our lack of men. Jin Siyu is very cautious and gets suspicious easily so he would not walk into a battle unprepared… sorry, I couldn’t interfere too early. Once we were discovered and ended up under siege, even the best fighter is no match to the ten thousand arrows Jin Siyu had waiting on the clifftop. 

Tao Yangyu and his two friends stared blankly at the empty clifftop, finally understanding why even with Master Gu’s superb fighting skills he didn’t jump on the perfect opportunity to attack Jin Siyu– once the arrows start flying, there would only be time for one thing. They could either kill the commanding general or rescue them. Obviously, Feng Zhi Wei and Gu Nan Yi gave up a perfect opportunity and chose them. 

Using them as bait, abandoning the lives of more than a hundred guards, is ruthless.

Giving up the opportunity to kill the commanding general, to resolutely choose to save them, is compassion. 

Tao Yangyu stared at the empty valley in front of him and then looked towards the piles of corpses of his personal guards, in that moment, his mind is drawing a blank, unable to discern right or wrong, anger or gratitude. 

Switching from her previous attitude of indifference, Feng Zhi Wei’s tone gradually turned severe. 

“An arrogant soldier pushing ahead ensures certain defeat! If this was just a saying you read in a book before, then today, a hundred corpses have taught you a lesson! If you can’t remember the lesson, then you will never be worthy to be a soldier in the Tian Sheng army!”

Getting off the horse, she pulled out the sword Tao Yangyu had thrown in front of her horse and snapped in half. 

“I will teach you one last saying– Life is broken like a knife, never to be renewed, but this knife has already slit more than ten plus throats, it has fulfilled its mission! It’s the same for people. As a commander, you should never be afraid of sacrifices as long as the sacrifice is worthwhile!” 

The broken sword fell at Tao Yangyu’s feet as he stared down at it in a daze. Not waiting for a response, Feng Zhi Wei turned to leave. 

“Official Wei!” 

There came the sound of knees hitting the ground behind her. 

In the moonlight, Feng Zhi Wei half-turned and saw the arrogant dandy of the Capital, kneeling in the dust of blood. 

The moon is frosty white but the upturned faces of these young men were even whiter than the moon with blood stains on them that were redder than the sun. Peering up at her with eyes stained with anguish and pain. 

“We will follow Official Wei for life and be in your service forever!” 

All text copyright @ www.Ninja-Reflection.com

FYI, you all might have noticed that the last two posts have been longer than usual simply due to fact that there really was no good place to cut it off. Moreover, Jin Siyu is an important character to get know for what’s coming up so I didn’t feel like I could shorten these parts. I just wanted to mention this so you all don’t feel too robbed when we return to the regular length next week… 🙂