Firmament Sword

At that moment, Xu Luo spoke up. ”When two kingdoms are at war, any form of combat is to be expected. Whether through conspiracies and schemes or open and honorable tactics, any method is fair game. But now, the war between your Great Yan and our Cangqiong is over. Let’s not discuss what you’ve come to the north for just yet. Personally, I have great admiration for all of you.”

’Admire?’ ’What does he mean by that? Is he trying to recruit us?’ ’This Xu Luo... He’s got some nerve! Daring to recruit soldiers from an enemy kingdom?’

Just then, several people carried a man out from the castle. The soldiers from the remnants of Mo Yun’s army grew excited the moment they saw him, for that man was none other than Mo Yun’s most trusted vice-general, Zhou Bo!

”General Zhou!”

”General Zhou, are you alright?”

”General Zhou, why are you here?”

Zhou Bo looked weakly at the group of wounded soldiers. He gave a slight wave of his hand and said slowly, ”The General was... poisoned by those damnable people. Right now... she is here, detoxifying and recovering from her injuries. You all... listen to Young Master Xu. First... settle in, don’t cause any trouble, and focus on healing your wounds. We can discuss everything else... after the General recovers!”

”We’ll listen to General Zhou!”

”We’ll wait for the General to recover!”

With their pillar of support present, the dazed soldiers finally found some solace. Under the direction of Tang Yong and Li Yu, the wounded were taken for treatment while the others were shown to places they could rest.

Xu Luo and the others exchanged a glance, each seeing a hint of delight in the other’s eyes.

They were truly short on manpower right now. Although Mo Yun’s remnant force was only a few hundred soldiers strong, every one of them was a battle-hardened veteran. They were in no way inferior, even when compared to the likes of Tang Yong and Li Yu!

If they could really win these men over, their own forces would rise to a whole new level!

’But... would this group really be so easy to recruit?’

Xu Luo and the others couldn’t help but think of the same thing: ’Let’s hope Second Master Xu... can win Mo Yun over!’

Meanwhile, Xu Jie was going through... the most novel experience of his life. Ordinarily, the second master’s greatest hobby was smithing and sword-forging. He would go to the Fengyue Building, but... that was purely for drinking. He had always been disdainful of such dalliances.

And just as the rich young masters of the Imperial Capital—who at fourteen or fifteen had already been with countless women—looked down on the block-headed Xu Jie, he, in turn, looked down on those debauched young nobles who spent their days loitering in the red-light districts.

...

Little Fatty was very direct. He looked at Xu Jie and said, ”Second Brother, you’re the man!” Then he turned to Mo Yun. ”Hi, Second Sister-in-law!”

Sui Yan, uncharacteristically, also looked at Mo Yun and called out, ”Second Sister-in-law!”

As the eldest brother, Huangfu Chongzhi naturally couldn’t mess around like the others. He gave Mo Yun a slight smile. ”General Mo, from now on, we’re family. This is your home. Later, you can decide how to settle your soldiers. If any of them are unwilling to stay, we’ll give them a sum of money to see them off...”

Mo Yun was a bit bashful at first, but when Huangfu Chongzhi brought up the future of her soldiers, her expression turned serious. She said softly, ”I... I should go ask them.” As she spoke, she tilted her head to glance at Xu Jie and asked, ”What do you think?”

Now, even Huangfu Chongzhi couldn’t help but be impressed. ’Looks like our second brother... has finally figured things out!’

Before yesterday, they had all believed that Mo Yun must have hated Xu Jie to the bone. But who can truly understand the ways of the world? Can the deepest hatred... not also be the beginning of the deepest love?

Though born a peerless beauty, Mo Yun had been strong-willed since childhood, always behaving like a tomboy. She was even more diligent than most men, training desperately. After becoming a general, she fought on the battlefield, and once she put on her mask and armor, she was a fierce warrior.

Whether it was the soldiers under her command or Wu Xiaxian, the young Great Yan general who had once admired her, deep down... none of them had ever truly treated her like a woman.

How could she have ever known the taste of love, having grown up in such an environment?

As for Xu Jie, Mo Yun had hated him after learning the truth. But once the hatred subsided and she calmed down, what replaced it... was a sense of admiration!

It was just as Xu Luo had said: when two kingdoms are at war, one stops at nothing—be it through open schemes or covert plots—to strike the opponent and eliminate the enemy. After all, each side is simply serving its own master.

But outside of war, there was no deep-seated hatred between them as individuals. Mo Yun’s indignation and her desire for revenge were merely born of pent-up frustration. More importantly, it would be difficult for her to gain a foothold in the Cao Kingdom!

After hearing many stories about Xu Jie, her feelings toward him gradually shifted from hatred to admiration and curiosity.

She found it hard to imagine how a quiet, taciturn young man, who everyone said knew only how to forge iron and cast swords, had managed to successfully sow discord between her troops and the grain convoy!

The act had been so convincing that, even now, she couldn’t forget the sight of that heavily wounded old soldier who had been the first to charge forward.

But it would be unrealistic to say she had fallen deeply in love with Xu Jie for that reason alone. It was Wei Ziting’s lackey, Cao Yi, who had ultimately brought them together. Reaching this point with Xu Jie, one could say, was simply destined by the heavens.

Love, affection... for someone of Mo Yun’s background, such things were truly luxuries.

Xu Jie’s words from the day before had also truly moved her.

’He is an upright man!’

’Being with him... for the person I am now, I’m the one who’s lucky.’

’Otherwise, with his status, what kind of woman couldn’t he have?’

The series of failures had caused a monumental shift in Mo Yun’s mindset. In the end, rather than blaming others for her current predicament, she realized it was her own doing.

Xu Jie looked at Mo Yun with a gentle expression. ”They are your soldiers. The decision is yours.”

”You... you’ll let me continue to lead them?” Mo Yun asked, looking at Xu Jie in front of Xu Luo and the others.

Xu Jie was taken aback for a moment, then replied, ”Of course. You’re my woman, not my slave. If you want to do something, and you enjoy it, then you should do it!”

Mo Yun froze, her eyes reddening as a mist welled up within them.

”Heh, Second Sister-in-law, you might not fully understand our Second Brother yet,” Xu Luo said with a laugh from the side. ”Rest assured, what he says goes for all of us. You’re Second Brother’s woman, which makes you our Second Sister-in-law. You can do whatever you want, as long as you’re not planning to get revenge on the Cangqiong Kingdom or cause trouble... Otherwise, you’re free to do as you please.”

”In my current state, how could I possibly get revenge? Besides, I have no one but myself to blame for this situation,” Mo Yun said softly, her eyes filled with gratitude.

”That’s all in the past. From now on, we’re family. I’ll report back to my father and tell him I want to marry you!” Xu Jie declared his vow in front of all his brothers.

”Ah, no... you can’t!” Mo Yun said, waving her hands in protest.

”What do you mean?” Xu Jie’s expression soured, and he looked like he was about to lose his temper.

But Little Fatty stopped him. ”Just listen to what Second Sister-in-law has to say first.”

Mo Yun glanced at Xu Jie, her eyes filled with a sweet and grateful look. ”I am your woman now,” she said softly. ”Regardless of the reason, that is the truth. I won’t leave you, and it’s not that I don’t care about having a proper title. But... if you were to marry me now, setting aside whether or not your father would even agree, my identity would eventually be exposed. Your decision would bring you... and them...”

Mo Yun looked at Huangfu Chongzhi, Xu Luo, and the others, then continued, ”enormous trouble! No matter how you look at it, I’m from the Great Yan Kingdom. Even if I have no ties to Great Yan now, I was still a general of the Yan Kingdom. So... Xu Jie, I will be your woman, and I’m at peace with that. But as for marriage... we should approach that with more long-term planning.”