Dark clouds roll towards Tongguan, covering the sky like a veil. Thunder roars through the mountains, and the weather is stifling to the extreme. On reaching Tongguan, the soldiers carry Bian Lingbai into his rooms in a flurry, sending word to doctors to come diagnose his illness. Taking advantage of the chaos, Duan Ling says, “I’m going to untie uncle’s robes. It’s too hot.”
He finds the centipede, its mandibles still buried in Bian Lingbai’s ribs, and with a light tap of his finger, the Gold Crow that has drank its fill of blood rolls into a ball back into hibernation, with its hard outer shell now suffused with a dark crimson from drinking blood, making it seem beautiful and appealing.
When the doctors arrive Duan Ling is worried at first that they could tell Bian Lingbai’s been poisoned, but the doctors from Tongguan can’t tell what’s wrong with him. Even now only a couple of vice generals and one registrar official among Bian Lingbai’s close advisers are aware that he’s been hurt — no one dares let word slip. They discuss among themselves outside the door.
“The General has heatstroke,” says the first doctor.
“The hell he’s got heatstroke!” Duan Ling howls at him. “Does he look like he’s got heatstroke to you?”
The doctor is quite frightened by Duan Ling’s outburst and says, flustered, “I’m not … all that good of a doctor, not as good as you, my lord …”
“Get out of here! Give him some silver and tell him to scram!”
The doctors have no choice but to leave. Vice General Wang, besides himself with worry, comes in to ask, “Now what do we do?”
Duan Ling looks exasperated, saying to Bian Lingbai, “Uncle, can you hear what I’m saying?”
Bian Lingbai just lies there with his eyes wide open, entirely motionless.
Bian Lingbai must be so scared right now, Duan Ling thinks, because he has no idea what Duan Ling is keeping him around for, what he’ll be used for. All he can do is lie on the bed, and await his hour of death without any strength to fight back at all.
“Keep the troops calm.” Duan Ling tells Vice-General Wang, “You must make sure word of this doesn’t get out.”
Vice General Wang sighs. “What on earth was in that cave anyway?”
Duan Ling falls quiet for a beat, and Vice General Wang continues, “Why not send someone else inside to check? Maybe they’d be able to find some clue.”
Duan Ling gives Wu Du a glance. While Wu Du is thinking over it, Duan Ling says to Vice General Wang, “Convene every high-ranking officer here tonight. There are some things I’d like to say to everyone.”
And so Vice General Wang withdraws from the room. Fei Hongde arrives.
The three of them stand in Bian Lingbai’s room.
“How much longer can he last?” Fei Hongde says, “You two shouldn’t just be staying here. You need to get things moving as soon as you can so as to prevent a mutiny in Tongguan after he dies.”
“Twenty-four hours,” Wu Du replies. “After that, I can use drugs to stop him from dying for a while longer, but there’s no way he can last past thirty-six hours.”
Fei Hongde nods. Duan Ling can’t help but glance at Bian Lingbai; since Bian Lingbai kicked him off a cliff, Duan Ling has stopped having any sympathy for him. But he just finds this feeling a very odd feeling to have.
Wu Du takes out the imperial decree and hands it to Fei Hongde. Once they finish deliberating they split up to carry out the plan. Having received Mu Kuangda’s handwritten document, Duan Ling takes it to see Helian Bo.
Right at this moment, Helian Bo is feeling restless as he hasn’t any idea what has happened, and when he sees Duan Ling, Helian Bo moves to greet him immediately.
“This is for you. The imperial court has already given me an answer. See? Chen and Liang are to form a permanent alliance of brotherhood, and never make war against one another.”
Helian Bo unfolds the letter; he hasn’t imagined that Duan Ling really would bring him a letter from Mu Kuangda, and that the chancellor actually trusts him this much.
The last smudge of sunset smears into the courtyard. Helian Bo calls over a bodyguard and tells him to take the letter quickly back to Wuwei2 to present it to the Xiliang Court so they can prepare to reopen the Silk Road with Southern Chen, as well as to force Helian Da to withdraw his troops.
“A new governor for Tongguan will arrive in four more days. I’ve already ordered a cessation of out-bound news, and I’ll send Yao Jing off tomorrow. While I do that, I’ll see you out of Tongguan so you can go home.”
“I stay. With you. Together.”
“Don’t drag this on any longer. The sooner you leave the sooner I can rest easy. It’s anyone’s guess if your uncle’s going to suddenly decide to have you assassinated.”
Bian Lingbai has already been rendered immobile and he’s going to die any time now; he can’t set up an ambush for Helian Bo anymore so he’s actually pretty safe. But what has Duan Ling worried is that army of twenty-thousand who’s waiting for their chance to strike. He doesn’t know if they may choose to attack without warning.
“Leave tomorrow.” Duan Ling says solemnly, “Promise me that. The next time we see each other we’ll definitely make time to reminisce properly.”
Helian Bo can but nod. Outside the courtyard, Wu Du has come to pick him up; when he gets impatient from waiting, he makes a coughing sound to hurry him along. Duan Ling gives Helian Bo a smile, and the two of them hold hands for a moment; Duan Ling places a hand on the back of Helian Bo’s and withdraws his hand, before turning hurriedly to go.
Returning to Bian Lingbai’s room, where they wait for the officers of Tongguan to convene, Fei Hongde tells the two of them, “There’s one more person outside of our calculations. It may be a variable that proves to be a setback in our schemes, so we mustn’t let our guard down.”
If Fei Hongde hadn’t mentioned it, Duan Ling really wouldn’t have remembered. He suddenly wakes up to it — Helan Jie!
If Helan Jie was sent by Xiliang, then that means he’s extremely likely to inform Xiliang that their plan has failed and they need to get moving on a contingency plan.
What are we going to do?
“Wuluohou Mu’s gone to hunt him down.” Wu Du answers for him, “Those two are sworn enemies.”
A slight furrow appears between Fei Hongde’s brows. He nods. “Wuluohou Mu.”
“I ran into him on Qinling’s summit,” Wu Du says.
“Oh, so it was him —” Fei Hongde smiles a calculating smile, taking in Duan Ling’s apprehension with a single glance.
“Did he say anything?” Fei Hongde changes the subject and asks.
“No,” Wu Du replies, then he glances at Duan Ling, indicating that he should show Fei Hongde the Buddhist prayer beads.
“I wonder what could have made him come all the way here?” Fei Hongde asks, seemingly pensive.
Wu Du replies, “Probably because there are items passed down from the White Tiger Hall among Zhao Kui’s hidden treasure.”
Fei Hongde nods at this and says no more. Just then, the two Vice Generals of Tongguan, the Registrar official, the Serjeant-at-arms, and the Colonel all arrive. They wait outside the courtyard house, talking amongst themselves.
Duan Ling is feeling extremely nervous. Fei Hongde says quietly, “Don’t panic.”
Wu Du smooths his fingers over Bian Lingbai’s eyelids, closing his eyes. He opens the door, and Fei Hongde steps away from the bed, while Duan Ling sits down next to the table. The military officials proceed to enter the room.
“Uncle suddenly came down with fevers while on the way to the Qingling.” Duan Ling’s expression is grim as he says, “According to the doctors, he has a heat stroke. You can take turns to check on him and see if you can think of something we can do to help him.”
Bian Lingbai’s eyes are closed, and his lips won’t stop trembling. The red heat on his cheeks has already begun to fade, but the centipede’s fever poison has already spread into his internal organs and into his limbs.
“How did he suddenly come down with something like this?” Vice General Xie steps up and pushes Bian Lingbai’s eyelids open to look at his pupils, but he can’t tell what’s wrong with him either. However, the information has already been passed along onto these people: Vice General Wang saw Bian Lingbai enter the cave with his own eyes, and at the time many soldiers saw Duan Ling and Wu Du arriving at the area looking travel-worn. With Fei Hongde to vouch for these facts, no one is going to cast their suspicions upon Wu Du and Duan Ling.
Bian Lingbai didn’t trust anyone and divulged very little to his subordinates, thus they didn’t even know why he had to run to a mountain stream in the middle of nowhere in Qinling, or how he suddenly came down with fevers and had to be carted back.
“Over the next few days please make sure the border defences are impeccable, and in order to prevent any mishap, I shall send Shang Leguan out of Tongguan on behalf of my uncle tomorrow.”
Of course no one is going to have any objections; Bian Lingbai is in a terrible state and they can all see that — he can’t even speak anymore. There’ll be talk once they disperse, no question, and Duan Ling can guess at the uproar this may cause once the meeting is over, but he already has a plan for that. After the meeting is dismissed, he keeps Vice Generals Wang and Xie behind.
Bian Lingbai is still lying on the bed. Duan Ling calls them, “Uncle.”
“I’m unworthy of such an honour.” Both Vice Generals modestly decline the title. Even though they’re both one generation older than Duan Ling, neither dare claim seniority in front of Bian Lingbai.
“I would like to ask the two of you to take a few people to that cave tonight, and bring out a case of what’s stored inside. Bring it to the main hall.” Duan Ling orders, “But don’t disclose this information. You mustn’t let anyone know.”
The two men share a look between them, seemingly with a plan already in place. Fei Hongde and Duan Ling could tell right away that these two Vice Generals already knew about the gold bars stored in the cave. With Bian Lingbai suddenly falling ill and carried out, anyone would have interrogated the soldiers, and how could mere foot-soldiers conceal information from their superiors? Come to think of it, if Duan Ling didn’t give them these orders, those two would have split the treasure between them at nightfall and escaped overnight.
“The cave is probably not dangerous,” Duan Ling says. “Uncle probably only came down with fever because the secret room’s been sealed off from fresh air for far too long. But no matter what, please make sure to be careful when you go inside.”
And so Wang and Xie head out on his command. When this case of gold bars gets here, Duan Ling will be able to use them to reward the troops in order to stabilise the Tongguan military. Who’d rashly betray their lord when they just got money from him? At any rate, Mu Kuangda has no idea how many cases of gold bars there are, so it should be fine if he shares a couple or three cases. It’s not like the people who got money would tell on him.
“Tongguan’s soldiers have been living in poverty for a long time.” Fei Hongde says to Duan Ling, “Ever since the late emperor’s command was seized from him at Mount Jiangjun, Great Chen has been cutting military spending, and Zhao Kui often embezzled funds and took bribes. This is an extremely clever move on your part, young master.”
“Well it’s not as though I have any other choice,” Duan Ling says smilingly. “Let’s hope the Imperial Court sends someone to take over this area soon. Otherwise judging by the look of these people, things will likely take a turn for the worse. Oh forget it, let’s both get some rest and worry about all this stuff tomorrow.”
I do not monetise my hobby translations, but if you’d like to support my work generally or support my light novel habit, you can either buy me a coffee or commission me. This is also to note that if you see this message anywhere else than on tumblr, do come to my tumblr. It’s ad-free. ↩︎
Wuwei is in present Gansu, and it used to be called “Liangzhou”. You can still see historic buildings left over from Xixia / Xiliang there today. ↩︎
Dark clouds roll towards Tongguan, covering the sky like a veil. Thunder roars through the mountains, and the weather is stifling to the extreme. On reaching Tongguan, the soldiers carry Bian Lingbai into his rooms in a flurry, sending word to doctors to come diagnose his illness. Taking advantage of the chaos, Duan Ling says, “I’m going to untie uncle’s robes. It’s too hot.”
He finds the centipede, its mandibles still buried in Bian Lingbai’s ribs, and with a light tap of his finger, the Gold Crow that has drank its fill of blood rolls into a ball back into hibernation, with its hard outer shell now suffused with a dark crimson from drinking blood, making it seem beautiful and appealing.
When the doctors arrive Duan Ling is worried at first that they could tell Bian Lingbai’s been poisoned, but the doctors from Tongguan can’t tell what’s wrong with him. Even now only a couple of vice generals and one registrar official among Bian Lingbai’s close advisers are aware that he’s been hurt — no one dares let word slip. They discuss among themselves outside the door.
“The General has heatstroke,” says the first doctor.
“The hell he’s got heatstroke!” Duan Ling howls at him. “Does he look like he’s got heatstroke to you?”
The doctor is quite frightened by Duan Ling’s outburst and says, flustered, “I’m not … all that good of a doctor, not as good as you, my lord …”
“Get out of here! Give him some silver and tell him to scram!”
The doctors have no choice but to leave. Vice General Wang, besides himself with worry, comes in to ask, “Now what do we do?”
Duan Ling looks exasperated, saying to Bian Lingbai, “Uncle, can you hear what I’m saying?”
Bian Lingbai just lies there with his eyes wide open, entirely motionless.
Bian Lingbai must be so scared right now, Duan Ling thinks, because he has no idea what Duan Ling is keeping him around for, what he’ll be used for. All he can do is lie on the bed, and await his hour of death without any strength to fight back at all.
“Keep the troops calm.” Duan Ling tells Vice-General Wang, “You must make sure word of this doesn’t get out.”
Vice General Wang sighs. “What on earth was in that cave anyway?”
Duan Ling falls quiet for a beat, and Vice General Wang continues, “Why not send someone else inside to check? Maybe they’d be able to find some clue.”
Duan Ling gives Wu Du a glance. While Wu Du is thinking over it, Duan Ling says to Vice General Wang, “Convene every high-ranking officer here tonight. There are some things I’d like to say to everyone.”
And so Vice General Wang withdraws from the room. Fei Hongde arrives.
The three of them stand in Bian Lingbai’s room.
“How much longer can he last?” Fei Hongde says, “You two shouldn’t just be staying here. You need to get things moving as soon as you can so as to prevent a mutiny in Tongguan after he dies.”
“Twenty-four hours,” Wu Du replies. “After that, I can use drugs to stop him from dying for a while longer, but there’s no way he can last past thirty-six hours.”
Fei Hongde nods. Duan Ling can’t help but glance at Bian Lingbai; since Bian Lingbai kicked him off a cliff, Duan Ling has stopped having any sympathy for him. But he just finds this feeling a very odd feeling to have.
Wu Du takes out the imperial decree and hands it to Fei Hongde. Once they finish deliberating they split up to carry out the plan. Having received Mu Kuangda’s handwritten document, Duan Ling takes it to see Helian Bo.
Right at this moment, Helian Bo is feeling restless as he hasn’t any idea what has happened, and when he sees Duan Ling, Helian Bo moves to greet him immediately.
“This is for you. The imperial court has already given me an answer. See? Chen and Liang are to form a permanent alliance of brotherhood, and never make war against one another.”
Helian Bo unfolds the letter; he hasn’t imagined that Duan Ling really would bring him a letter from Mu Kuangda, and that the chancellor actually trusts him this much.
The last smudge of sunset smears into the courtyard. Helian Bo calls over a bodyguard and tells him to take the letter quickly back to Wuwei2 to present it to the Xiliang Court so they can prepare to reopen the Silk Road with Southern Chen, as well as to force Helian Da to withdraw his troops.
“A new governor for Tongguan will arrive in four more days. I’ve already ordered a cessation of out-bound news, and I’ll send Yao Jing off tomorrow. While I do that, I’ll see you out of Tongguan so you can go home.”
“I stay. With you. Together.”
“Don’t drag this on any longer. The sooner you leave the sooner I can rest easy. It’s anyone’s guess if your uncle’s going to suddenly decide to have you assassinated.”
Bian Lingbai has already been rendered immobile and he’s going to die any time now; he can’t set up an ambush for Helian Bo anymore so he’s actually pretty safe. But what has Duan Ling worried is that army of twenty-thousand who’s waiting for their chance to strike. He doesn’t know if they may choose to attack without warning.
“Leave tomorrow.” Duan Ling says solemnly, “Promise me that. The next time we see each other we’ll definitely make time to reminisce properly.”
Helian Bo can but nod. Outside the courtyard, Wu Du has come to pick him up; when he gets impatient from waiting, he makes a coughing sound to hurry him along. Duan Ling gives Helian Bo a smile, and the two of them hold hands for a moment; Duan Ling places a hand on the back of Helian Bo’s and withdraws his hand, before turning hurriedly to go.
Returning to Bian Lingbai’s room, where they wait for the officers of Tongguan to convene, Fei Hongde tells the two of them, “There’s one more person outside of our calculations. It may be a variable that proves to be a setback in our schemes, so we mustn’t let our guard down.”
If Fei Hongde hadn’t mentioned it, Duan Ling really wouldn’t have remembered. He suddenly wakes up to it — Helan Jie!
If Helan Jie was sent by Xiliang, then that means he’s extremely likely to inform Xiliang that their plan has failed and they need to get moving on a contingency plan.
What are we going to do?
“Wuluohou Mu’s gone to hunt him down.” Wu Du answers for him, “Those two are sworn enemies.”
A slight furrow appears between Fei Hongde’s brows. He nods. “Wuluohou Mu.”
“I ran into him on Qinling’s summit,” Wu Du says.
“Oh, so it was him —” Fei Hongde smiles a calculating smile, taking in Duan Ling’s apprehension with a single glance.
“Did he say anything?” Fei Hongde changes the subject and asks.
“No,” Wu Du replies, then he glances at Duan Ling, indicating that he should show Fei Hongde the Buddhist prayer beads.
“I wonder what could have made him come all the way here?” Fei Hongde asks, seemingly pensive.
Wu Du replies, “Probably because there are items passed down from the White Tiger Hall among Zhao Kui’s hidden treasure.”
Fei Hongde nods at this and says no more. Just then, the two Vice Generals of Tongguan, the Registrar official, the Serjeant-at-arms, and the Colonel all arrive. They wait outside the courtyard house, talking amongst themselves.
Duan Ling is feeling extremely nervous. Fei Hongde says quietly, “Don’t panic.”
Wu Du smooths his fingers over Bian Lingbai’s eyelids, closing his eyes. He opens the door, and Fei Hongde steps away from the bed, while Duan Ling sits down next to the table. The military officials proceed to enter the room.
“Uncle suddenly came down with fevers while on the way to the Qingling.” Duan Ling’s expression is grim as he says, “According to the doctors, he has a heat stroke. You can take turns to check on him and see if you can think of something we can do to help him.”
Bian Lingbai’s eyes are closed, and his lips won’t stop trembling. The red heat on his cheeks has already begun to fade, but the centipede’s fever poison has already spread into his internal organs and into his limbs.
“How did he suddenly come down with something like this?” Vice General Xie steps up and pushes Bian Lingbai’s eyelids open to look at his pupils, but he can’t tell what’s wrong with him either. However, the information has already been passed along onto these people: Vice General Wang saw Bian Lingbai enter the cave with his own eyes, and at the time many soldiers saw Duan Ling and Wu Du arriving at the area looking travel-worn. With Fei Hongde to vouch for these facts, no one is going to cast their suspicions upon Wu Du and Duan Ling.
Bian Lingbai didn’t trust anyone and divulged very little to his subordinates, thus they didn’t even know why he had to run to a mountain stream in the middle of nowhere in Qinling, or how he suddenly came down with fevers and had to be carted back.
“Over the next few days please make sure the border defences are impeccable, and in order to prevent any mishap, I shall send Shang Leguan out of Tongguan on behalf of my uncle tomorrow.”
Of course no one is going to have any objections; Bian Lingbai is in a terrible state and they can all see that — he can’t even speak anymore. There’ll be talk once they disperse, no question, and Duan Ling can guess at the uproar this may cause once the meeting is over, but he already has a plan for that. After the meeting is dismissed, he keeps Vice Generals Wang and Xie behind.
Bian Lingbai is still lying on the bed. Duan Ling calls them, “Uncle.”
“I’m unworthy of such an honour.” Both Vice Generals modestly decline the title. Even though they’re both one generation older than Duan Ling, neither dare claim seniority in front of Bian Lingbai.
“I would like to ask the two of you to take a few people to that cave tonight, and bring out a case of what’s stored inside. Bring it to the main hall.” Duan Ling orders, “But don’t disclose this information. You mustn’t let anyone know.”
The two men share a look between them, seemingly with a plan already in place. Fei Hongde and Duan Ling could tell right away that these two Vice Generals already knew about the gold bars stored in the cave. With Bian Lingbai suddenly falling ill and carried out, anyone would have interrogated the soldiers, and how could mere foot-soldiers conceal information from their superiors? Come to think of it, if Duan Ling didn’t give them these orders, those two would have split the treasure between them at nightfall and escaped overnight.
“The cave is probably not dangerous,” Duan Ling says. “Uncle probably only came down with fever because the secret room’s been sealed off from fresh air for far too long. But no matter what, please make sure to be careful when you go inside.”
And so Wang and Xie head out on his command. When this case of gold bars gets here, Duan Ling will be able to use them to reward the troops in order to stabilise the Tongguan military. Who’d rashly betray their lord when they just got money from him? At any rate, Mu Kuangda has no idea how many cases of gold bars there are, so it should be fine if he shares a couple or three cases. It’s not like the people who got money would tell on him.
“Tongguan’s soldiers have been living in poverty for a long time.” Fei Hongde says to Duan Ling, “Ever since the late emperor’s command was seized from him at Mount Jiangjun, Great Chen has been cutting military spending, and Zhao Kui often embezzled funds and took bribes. This is an extremely clever move on your part, young master.”
“Well it’s not as though I have any other choice,” Duan Ling says smilingly. “Let’s hope the Imperial Court sends someone to take over this area soon. Otherwise judging by the look of these people, things will likely take a turn for the worse. Oh forget it, let’s both get some rest and worry about all this stuff tomorrow.”
I do not monetise my hobby translations, but if you’d like to support my work generally or support my light novel habit, you can either buy me a coffee or commission me. This is also to note that if you see this message anywhere else than on tumblr, do come to my tumblr. It’s ad-free. ↩︎
Wuwei is in present Gansu, and it used to be called “Liangzhou”. You can still see historic buildings left over from Xixia / Xiliang there today. ↩︎
