Ashes to Crown

Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Far Away

As Chu Zhao set off at dawn, a troop of posthouse soldiers arrived in Yunzhong County, bathed in the morning light.

They were far more weather-beaten than when they had parted ways with Chu Zhao. Even the ever-arrogant Ah Jiu looked wan. Though he still rode at the head of the group, he couldn’t conceal his exhaustion.

”When it comes to marching, we posthouse soldiers are still a cut below real troops,” Zhang Gu said, his voice hoarse as he pointed to Vice General Zhong up ahead.

Vice General Zhong traveled almost nonstop, day and night, switching horses but never resting the men. That was how they reached Yunzhong County in half the usual time.

The pace had pushed the posthouse soldiers to their limits.

”So don’t think you can handle any hardship. You might manage it once or twice, but over the long haul, it’s a real grind.”

Perhaps because the mission was nearing its end, Zhang Gu grew sentimental and continued to school Ah Jiu.

”Once this job is done, just swallow your pride, apologize to your relative, and go back to the Forbidden Guard Camp.”

He looked at Ah Jiu. Anyone could tell the boy was different from the rest of them.

He was different, indeed.

The kid had only arrived at their Posthouse Soldier Camp a month ago. Rumor was, his family had connections and had originally arranged for him to be in the Forbidden Guard Camp. But his wild and defiant nature had angered a relative, and he’d been sent to the Posthouse Soldier Camp to suffer as punishment.

When he first arrived at the Posthouse Soldier Camp, they hadn’t taken kindly to this kind of pampered princeling. They deliberately gave him a hard time, splashing water on his bedding and knocking over his meals. But the kid was truly wild and defiant; he absolutely refused to take it lying down. He fought them tooth and nail for half a month, until they were the ones who ended up exhausted from the whole ordeal.

But one thing had earned their respect. The kid fought fire with fire: you hit him, he hit you back; you splashed his water, he splashed yours. He was fierce and vicious, but he never resorted to petty tricks. He never reported them to a superior officer, nor did he complain to his family—and his family background had to be extraordinary. They’d even once seen Captain Zhu, the most arrogant snob in the Posthouse Soldier Camp, bow to Ah Jiu.

”Ah Jiu, your family background must be something special,” they had asked him directly. ”We bullied you before, so why didn’t you get revenge?”

The boy had roared with laughter. ”My family has so much power. Wouldn’t it be a waste to use it on a few guys like you? A powerful family background is for crushing powerful enemies.”

Zhang Gu had been stunned. He’d never heard that kind of logic before.

After that, however, they had all grown closer. They ate, lived, and trained together. Aside from being open-handed with his money, the young Ah Jiu seemed no different from the rest of them.

This mission, in particular, had forged them into true brothers-in-arms. And true brothers naturally look out for each other’s best interests.

Hearing this, Ah Jiu laughed. ”Brother Zhang, are you all getting scared? It’s because of me you landed this hellish job in the first place.”

It was true that, by all rights, this assignment shouldn’t have fallen to their squad. It was clearly meant for Ah Jiu’s relative to teach him a lesson. Zhang Gu spat. ”A hellish job for you, maybe. For us, it’s nothing—”

Ah Jiu reached out, tightened Zhang Gu’s loose scarf, and said with a smirk, ”—Brother Zhang, your nose is running.”

The other posthouse soldiers roared with laughter. Wiping his nose, Zhang Gu grumbled, ”This is a fluke! It’s not like we march with soldiers from the Border County every day.”

Another posthouse soldier asked curiously, ”Ah Jiu, what did you actually do to get punished?”

Ah Jiu smiled. ”My crime... you could say it was trivial, and you could say it was grave.”

”So what was it?” ”Did you kill someone?” ”Start a fire?” ”Force yourself on a young woman?”

The posthouse soldiers all chimed in at once.

Ah Jiu put on an arrogant expression. ”The other things, maybe. But force myself on a woman? With a face like this? Please. The women come flocking to me on their own, thank you very much.”

Zhang Gu made a knowing sound. ”Like Miss Chu, for instance?”

Ah Jiu’s face instantly stiffened. The posthouse soldiers burst out laughing. Thinking back on that Miss Chu... she was quite a character. To this day, they were still in the dark about what had really happened—or rather, what parts of the story were true and what were false.

”So what was the real reason?” Zhang Gu asked.

Ah Jiu gave a faint smile. He didn’t dodge the question this time. ”Because of disobedience.”

Disobedience? The posthouse soldiers exchanged confused glances. ’What kind of crime is that?’

”Oh, disobedience is a very serious crime,” Ah Jiu said, lacing his hands behind his head. ”Enough about me. Look, you mentioned Miss Chu, and Vice General Zhong over there has sharp ears. He’s looking this way.”

The posthouse soldiers quickly looked over and, sure enough, saw Vice General Zhong walking toward them from up ahead.

”Gentlemen, we’ve arrived at Yunzhong County,” he said. ”I’ll be returning to Daqing Mountain now.”

Chu Ling was General Wei, tasked by imperial decree to guard Daqing Mountain. He normally resided in the city there, only coming to the County when summoned.

The posthouse soldiers hastily saluted, watching as that chilling smile reappeared on Vice General Zhong’s scarred face.

Vice General Zhong smiled. ”Regarding the matter with my young miss, my thanks to you all. I will report to the General. He will prepare a small token of our gratitude, which I hope you will not refuse.”

Zhang Gu quickly protested, ”We couldn’t possibly accept! We failed to look after Miss Chu properly. We don’t deserve it, truly. It’s best to just pretend the whole thing never happened.”

Vice General Zhong nodded, satisfied. The smile on his face grew even more affable. ”Once your duties are complete, if you have the time, please come visit us at Daqing Mountain.”

’No, thank you,’ Zhang Gu thought. He shook his head, then quickly nodded, exchanging a few more pleasantries. Vice General Zhong finally walked away, but not before shooting a few more glances at Ah Jiu.

Ah Jiu, unconcerned, met his gaze without a hint of weakness.

’This kid...’ The scar on Vice General Zhong’s face twitched. Without a word, he turned and left with his men.

Watching the detachment gallop away, Zhang Gu breathed a sigh of relief. The whole affair was finally over.

”I’m going to report in,” he said to the other posthouse soldiers. ”You all go have a look around. Ah Jiu, this is your first time in Yunzhong County. Go take in the sights.”

The posthouse soldiers laughed, pulling at Ah Jiu. ”That’s right, the city is a lively place.”

Ah Jiu waved them off. ”Sightseeing can wait until tomorrow. First, I need to get some sleep.”

The posthouse soldiers hooted with laughter. ”So Ah Jiu gets tired too!” ”Turns out you were just putting up a strong front!”

Joking aside, Zhang Gu immediately arranged for a local acquaintance, a posthouse soldier named Old Hei, to take Ah Jiu to rest. Ah Jiu, as open-handed as ever, gave the soldier a bag of money and demanded the best food and the best bed.

”You’re a lot more likable than Old Zhang,” Old Hei laughed, enthusiastically leading Ah Jiu away with the money pouch in hand.

...

...

A short while later, in a barracks room, the posthouse soldier Old Hei was slumped over a table laden with food and wine, passed out cold with a jug still clutched in his hand.

His clothes had been stripped off. Ah Jiu stood to the side, deftly changing into them. He dragged the man to the bed, covered him with a blanket, then felt for the token at his own waist. Wrapping a hat and scarf around his head and face, he walked out, pulling the door shut behind him. He glanced around. Though it was an unfamiliar place he’d never been to, the map was imprinted in his mind, resolving into a clear, interconnected network of lines before his eyes.

He lowered his head and hurried away.

He quickly vanished into the bustling, ever-moving barracks.

...

...

As dusk fell, range after range of mountains donned black shadows, looming ever larger against the horizon. They silently watched a detachment of soldiers galloping at their base. The troops passed through the rugged mountain roads and emerged before a boundless plain. Upon this plain stood a great, fortified city: Daqing Mountain Pass, the last city before heading west out of the Great Xia.

Luocheng.

Its name meant ’The Place of the Setting Sun.’

Located on the frontier and bordering the treacherous Western Liang, it was a place rife with both danger and opportunity. Chu Ling had been stationed here for over a decade. His power held Western Liang in check, and he had eradicated the local bandits and horse thieves, making the city so safe that valuables left on the street remained untouched and doors went unlocked at night. Merchants from all corners of the land flocked here, turning it into a prosperous and bustling hub.

At night, Luocheng glittered like a river of stars.

At the heart of this galaxy of light, within the brightly lit study of the General Wei Mansion, Chu Ling stared at a sand table map, his eyes sharp and intense.

The enormous sand table took up more than half of the study, the cities, mountains, and rivers upon it rendered in lifelike detail.

Chu Ling reached out and planted a small flag on a mountain pass. A gentle smile touched his lips.

He said, ”This road is now safe for the people and merchants to travel freely.”