Chapter 64

Yan Yiming tightened her grip on the long blade, stepped out of the tent, and mounted her horse. Addressing the thousands of soldiers, she declared loudly, “By the general's order, all cavalry troops are to don their armor and follow me in a direct assault on the Mongols!”
The soldiers roared in unison, “Yes!” Their overwhelming momentum filled the air. A few, originally sent by Cao Meng like Cao Hui, hesitated briefly. One bold enough questioned Yan Yiming about Commandant Cao's whereabouts.
Yan Yiming turned coldly, her delicate features sharp and imposing under the moonlight. “By the general's order, do you dare defy it?” she said, staring down from her horse. Her personal guards swiftly apprehended the man before he could react. The man roared in fury, “Yan Yiming, how can you prove this is the general's order? If you're deceiving us, you'll bring disaster upon us all!”
“Why should I prove it to you? The general is out there, his fate unknown. I am willing to defend him with my life. I and all the soldiers here pledge that if anything goes wrong today, I alone will bear the responsibility.” Though her frame was slender, every word was resolute. “Those with elderly parents, step forward! Those who are only sons, step forward! Those with wives and children, step forward! All who step forward will guard the camp. The rest, mount up and follow me into battle!”
After a moment's hesitation, countless soldiers mounted their horses, raising their blades and vowing to defend the general to the death. Their cries echoed far and wide.
Yan Yiming felt a sudden sting in her eyes, suppressing the surge of emotion in her throat. Leading the fully prepared cavalry, she charged out of the camp, leaving behind a cloud of choking dust.
What could be more moving than this moment?
Shao Jingyu and Cao Meng had lost contact. Ten thousand elite soldiers, driven by sheer fervor, had swept through the surrounding minor warlords, but on the seventh day, they unexpectedly encountered the main force of the Mongol army.
This was destined to be a bloody battle, a life-and-death struggle where strength met strength. Facing thirty thousand Mongol troops, the young general made a desperate resolve in the shortest time possible.
In the bloody fight against overwhelming odds, Shao Jingyu had long forgotten how long he had been swinging his spear. His soldiers fought with a determination that completely disregarded death.
The sky was stained with blood. The frenzied Xia army actually instilled a sense of dread in the numerically superior Mongol forces, whose attacks gradually became more passive. Meanwhile, the Xia soldiers, having cast aside all thoughts of survival, fought with bloodshot eyes.
Shao Jingyu’s handsome face was smeared with blood, adding to his fearsome aura. He had not told his soldiers that reinforcements might arrive. It was this all-out, desperate fighting that dragged the battle into the next day.
Half of the ten thousand elite soldiers had already fallen, a scene of extreme tragedy, yet the Mongol army had suffered even greater casualties.
Shao Jingyu gazed heavily at the setting sun on the horizon. In his heart, he silently hoped that Cao Meng would find them and finally reunite, and he also wished that Yan Yiming would fulfill her entrusted task.
The sunset, blood-red, cast its light upon the exhausted soldiers and horses. But there was no time for rest. The Mongol army, leveraging their numerical advantage, launched another fierce assault.
“We must win, or we will die. This is the battle we have long awaited. Victory can only be seized by us.”
Today, we live together or die together, and I am with you.
The young general’s resolute and fearless courage once again ignited the hearts of the despairing soldiers. If their general was unafraid of death in battle, what did they have to fear?
Placed in a deadly situation, they found life; in the face of annihilation, they found survival. The Mongols were horrified to discover that the Xia army’s morale had not weakened despite their previous losses but had instead grown even more fervent.
Blood dyed the grasslands crimson. The sounds of wailing and warhorses’ neighs filled the battlefield. Shao Jingyu’s eyes were bloodshot, and his hands had grown numb from swinging his spear.
He knew the enemy had suffered heavy casualties, but the soldiers around him were falling one by one. They had finally reached their limit. Just at the brink of despair, earth-shaking hoofbeats shattered the bloody scene. The Mongol army was suddenly pierced as if by a sharp sword, their formation instantly broken.
A familiar battle flag appeared in Shao Jingyu’s sight. That still slender yet resolute figure, leading an army that had marched day and night, had finally arrived at this critical moment!
“Trap the general at Yin Mountain, swiftly lead the troops to attack the enemy from both inside and outside, this will surely break them.” This was Yan Yiming’s earlier prediction, and now it seemed her judgment had been correct.
Striking fiercely from a direction the Mongols had never expected, thousands of Xia soldiers, seemingly provoked by the gruesome scene before them, immediately joined the fray. The soldiers who had fought for two days with no regard for their lives, upon seeing the arrival of reinforcements, felt their spirits surge and took up their weapons once more.
Yan Yiming’s unexpected arrival shattered the Mongols’ relative composure. After Shao Jingyu’s bloody struggle, nearly half of the thirty thousand Mongol troops had already perished. Now, with the Xia reinforcements arriving, the Mongol army’s morale crumbled, and their numerical advantage vanished in an instant.
After a fierce battle, the Xia army finally achieved a decisive victory, killing over thirty thousand enemy soldiers and forcing the surrender of more than three thousand, including the Prince of Dancheng and other nobles, as well as key Mongolian officials. Only a few thousand remnants managed to flee.
The victory was hard-won and brutal, yet it was also exceptionally brilliant. The soldiers sang triumphant songs in unison: “To honor the emperor above, to save the common people below. Slay all the Japanese invaders, and seek titles and fiefs.”
Inspired by the fervor, Yan Yiming couldn't help but roar twice. The moment she set down her long blade, she finally had a moment of respite. Her horse slowly trotted over to Shao Jingyu, and she dismounted, declaring loudly,
“I have fulfilled my duty.”
Shao Jingyu's face, stained with blood yet still strikingly handsome, broke into a hearty laugh, a laugh of post-victory joy and the unrestrained relief of surviving a near-death experience. Suddenly, he leaped off his horse and, under the gaze of countless soldiers, pulled Yan Yiming into a tight embrace. The air was thick with the scent of blood and smoke as Shao Jingyu whispered to Yan Yiming,
“Having you is my fortune; with you, I am complete!”
A rare smile finally appeared on Yan Yiming's perpetually icy face. In the fading light, her delicate features and that fleeting smile were illuminated. As Shao Jingyu stepped back, he caught this uncommon sight.
At that moment, the setting sun, the battlefield, the beauty, Shao Jingyu felt it was the most breathtaking scene he had witnessed in all his years.
On the return journey, the urgency of pre-battle was gone. With youthful audacity, Shao Jingyu confiscated the Mongols' livestock and fine wine, distributing them directly to the troops for feasting and drinking.
Bonfires blazed, lighting up every face. Yan Yiming couldn't resist taking a dagger handed to her by a nearby soldier and slicing off a piece of charred meat. Though it was bitter and burnt, she didn't find it hard to swallow.
But the wine was too rough and strong; after one sip, Yan Yiming dared not take another. Several men nearby burst into laughter. “Deputy Commander Yan, you're so brave in battle, yet you can't handle a single drink?”
“I'll drink for him,” a slender hand reached from behind, taking the bowl and downing it in one go.
Yan Yiming turned to see Shao Jingyu, who had just returned from a cold bath by the lake. Shed of his armor, he wore a dark, form-fitting outfit that accentuated his tall, powerful build, long legs and a slim waist, strikingly handsome. His ink-black hair, still damp, cascaded over his shoulders, and his dark eyes sparkled like stars.
Glistening drops of wine trickled down his chin, past his collarbone, and into his loosely worn clothes.
The soldiers cheered in unison, “Well done!” Shao Jingyu laughed heartily, tossed the bowl aside, and slung an arm around Yan Yiming's shoulders. “Since you can't drink, why stay here? Come with me.”
With a long arm, he swept Yan Yiming away. The crowd watched as the usually aloof deputy commander stumbled slightly while being dragged off by the general, erupting in laughter.
The night sky over the grassland was purer and more beautiful than that over Jinling.
Shao Jingyu had no particular reason; he just inexplicably wanted to keep Yan Yiming by his side. Lying on the grass for a while, he turned his head and realized Yan Yiming wasn’t lying down with him. He patted the spot beside him and said, “Lie here.”
“No need,” Yan Yiming replied with restraint, shaking his head. “I’m fine sitting.”
“It’s awkward for me to lie down while you sit,” Shao Jingyu said with a roguish grin. Seizing the moment Yan Yiming was off guard, he grabbed his hand and pulled him over, declaring triumphantly, “With you, actions always speak louder than words. Why are you always so stubborn?”
Caught off guard, Yan Yiming was pulled down and, feeling the surprisingly soft grass, didn’t struggle. She simply shifted a bit farther from Shao Jingyu.
Seeing her move away, Shao Jingyu felt a pang of frustration and pulled her back. “Why do you always keep your distance?”
“What’s the point of two men being so close?” Yan Yiming retorted.
Shao Jingyu was momentarily speechless. He didn’t know why, but he just enjoyed being near her. The more Yan Yiming tried to evade, the more he wanted to pull her back. Turning his head, he caught sight of Yan Yiming’s delicate profile and suddenly murmured, “Yiming, do you have any sisters at home?”
“...No.”
“Oh,” Shao Jingyu responded vaguely. Only after asking did he freeze in shock, questioning himself repeatedly: Why did I ask that?
But then he heard Yan Yiming say calmly, “I did have a younger sister... but now there’s no one left.”
“Gone?”
“The Mongol army slaughtered my entire family. I survived only because I wasn’t home at the time.”
Shao Jingyu’s heart ached suddenly. So he had lost all his relatives and was left alone in the world. No wonder he always wore a cold expression, no wonder he never spoke of the past. Thinking this, Shao Jingyu’s voice softened. “Is that why you came to the battlefield?”
“Yes.”
It was the same brief reply as always, but Shao Jingyu no longer found it cold. As if struck by a sudden thought, he sprang up from the ground and, under Yan Yiming’s bewildered gaze, placed his hands solemnly on Yan Yiming’s shoulders.
“Since you have no home to return to, come back with me!”
Yan Yiming seemed stunned, unable to react.
Feeling his words were insufficient, Shao Jingyu added, “Don’t worry. From now on, whatever I have, you’ll have too. If I have a family, you’ll have a family. If I can marry, you can marry. I’ll be your sworn brother...”
Before he could finish, Yan Yiming swiftly rolled away from the grass. “To hell with sworn brothers.”
Shao Jingyu stared blankly at Yan Yiming’s retreating figure. After a long moment, he chuckled softly and lay back on the grass.
Tsk, the stars tonight really are beautiful.