Chapter 177 – Fate, Subtle Beyond Words

“Separate?”

On a forest path outside the city, the group resting beneath the trees turned their heads at the sound of a woman’s voice.

Under the shade of a nearby tree, Min Yuerou crouched beside an old man, taking the waterskin her father handed back. Her face showed clear anxiety.

“Father, what exactly has happened? Ever since we left the capital, you’ve said nothing to your daughter. Now you’re telling me we must part ways, and that I should go seek someone? Father, what in the world has happened in the capital?”

Zhi… zhi… zhi…

The cries of cicadas filled the forest, echoing one after another. Min Changwen closed his eyes and sighed, his long beard swaying lightly in the breeze. His thoughts drifted to the words once spoken by that scholar:

“If the capital ever falls into calamity, you may come seek me at Mount Qixia.”

After a moment, he opened his eyes, reached out, and gently drew his daughter into his arms, smoothing a strand of her black hair.

“There are… monsters in the capital. The night I left the city, I was nearly attacked. When I went to Minister Gong’s residence, he had already met with disaster. The entire street where the civil and military officials lived—most of them have likely been slain.”

Min Yuerou froze for a moment, her lips parting slightly. “Monsters?”

Seeing the disbelief in his daughter’s eyes, Min Changwen didn’t know where to begin. He pushed himself up from the ground and gazed at the dappled sunlight filtering through the forest canopy.

“You may not believe it, but it is the plain truth. To avoid falling victim, I fled the city that very night. I can faintly sense that the Venerable Master who Protects the Nation is not what he seems—he may even send men to hunt me down. I brought you along so we could reach Mount Qixia more swiftly.”

“Father…”

The young woman bit her lip and stepped forward, wanting to speak, but Min Changwen raised his hand to stop her. He turned slightly and brushed the dust from her shoulder. “They will likely only come for me. You take a few guards and head south—it will be safe, and you won’t be delayed. Once you reach Mount Qixia, perhaps your father’s life may yet be spared.”

Mount Qixia…

Min Yuerou thought for a moment, then suddenly looked up. “Father, are you speaking of that Lu Liangsheng?”

At the mention of the name, the young woman recalled that she had seen that man once or twice at their residence, though only from afar—perhaps exchanging a polite nod. After all, she was born to a family of officials in the capital, and her circle was naturally made up of other official families. She was hardly familiar with that poor scholar who had once stayed at their home, and certainly not the sort to act foolishly or shamelessly simply because he happened to be handsome.

Occasionally, she would hear her maids gossiping about rumors from outside—claims that this scholar knew Daoist arts and such things. Min Yuerou hadn’t believed a word of it.

Later, however, when that same man displayed his powers—summoning a divine being that shattered the Emperor’s Chengyun Hall into ruins—and when the other young nobles of the capital spoke of it as well, only then did she truly feel astonished.

A pity — after that, the scholar never returned. Now that his name was mentioned again, an indescribable feeling welled up in her heart.

“If not him, then who else could it be?”

Min Changwen put an arm around his daughter’s shoulders and walked toward the horses grazing ahead. As they went, he continued, “Back then, Lord Shuhua and I saw that he possessed a steady temperament and sharp wit. Later, upon learning that he also knew the Daoist arts, we hoped one day to bring him into the court. With his talent, he could accomplish the kind of grand deeds ordinary men like us could never achieve. Even if the emperor were to grow foolish in the future, the Southern Dynasty would still have an unshakable pillar to uphold it — a hundred years, two hundred years — such longevity is no hardship for one who walks the Dao.”

At this point, he sighed softly.

“Yet who would have thought… everything would still be ruined by that very foolishness…”

Around them, the guards approached. Min Changwen helped his daughter onto her horse, then turned and mounted his own. Taking the reins in hand, he smiled.

“All right, Yuerou — father and daughter shall part ways here!”

As his words fell, he tightened his legs around the horse’s belly and flicked the reins. With a sharp cry of “Hyah!” he galloped off, seven guards riding close behind. They dashed toward the fork ahead, veering southwest.

“Father!”

Min Yuerou watched his distant figure, the chestnut horse beneath her rearing as she gave chase for several paces. Her pear-blossom gown fluttered in the wind.

“Father!!” She cried again from horseback, her voice trembling.

Behind her, one of the guards urged his mount forward and called softly, “Young Miss.”

“…Mm. I know.”

Min Yuerou wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, drew in a deep breath, and turned her horse toward the opposite road. The reins snapped with a sharp crack as she shouted,

“Let’s go—hyah!”

Her horse surged forward, hooves pounding the earth, the eight guards behind her cracking their whips as they galloped in pursuit.

Above, the sunlight drifted among moving clouds.

On the empty mountain path, the shifting light twisted slightly — and from it, several graceful figures emerged. Their kasayas stirred in the breeze; beneath their high, coiled topknots, their beautiful faces were utterly devoid of emotion.

“He will go to seek Lu Liangsheng — this road!”

One of them pointed toward the southern path. In the next instant, the figures vanished once more into the air, as though invisible, swiftly pursuing southward.

“Hyah!”

“Hyah—!”

Not long after they disappeared, another troop of more than ten riders thundered up the path. At their head rode a man in a black-shouldered red robe, four long blades strapped to his back and another at his waist. At the crossroads, he pulled hard on his reins, lifted his hand, and signaled for the thousand soldiers behind him to halt.

“Captain, what’s the matter?” Someone behind asked.

Zuo Zhengyang’s cheeks puffed slightly as he stared at the horse tracks on the ground, split into two diverging paths. From their direction, he could already guess part of the truth.

“Minister Min and I share old ties… if they’ve ordered me to capture him, how can I bear to strike? If they went straight ahead, they’ll reach He Valley Prefecture, and beyond that lies Mount Qixia. He’s bound to go there… then I—”

From horseback, his gaze turned toward the other road leading southwest. Raising his whip, he pointed in that direction.

“They’ve split up and fled. We’ll take this road and pursue.”

“Yes, sir!”

The riders wheeled their horses around and galloped off. The brilliant sunlight deepened as the hours passed, shifting from gold to dusk and back to dawn. For several days, Min Yuerou and her eight guards rode south, crossing through He Valley Prefecture on the road toward Fushui County. After days of relentless travel, exhaustion weighed on both riders and mounts alike. 

By the afternoon of the fourth day, they finally reached the northern outskirts of the county town. The city was only four or five li away. Travelers and merchants grew more numerous, and roadside tea stalls and rest pavilions appeared in sight.

The young woman called out to her guards, “Let everyone rest for a while.”

Hearing her command, they all sighed in relief. After several days on the road, even if their bodies could endure, the horses could not. They slowed their pace and approached the nearest tea stall, dismounting with loud calls.

“Shopkeeper! Bring us some tea—and a few plates of cooked meat!”

The tea stall by the roadside sold more than just tea; plain water alone earned too little profit. Seeing eight men and one woman approach, the shop boy hurriedly set aside the cups he’d been cleaning. Carrying a teapot and nine bowls, he came bustling over to set them on the table, pouring tea as he spoke with a smile.

“Nine honored guests, tea and cooked meat alone won’t do! You’ll want some rice to go with it—and if not, we’ve got cold dishes too. On a hot day like this, nothing’s more refreshing!”

The fellow had sharp eyes. Though he addressed them all, it was clear from his manner that his words were mainly directed toward the lone woman among them.

“Waiter, just bring some simple dishes.”

Min Yuerou took a sip of the coarse tea and dismissed the waiter. Her gaze swept calmly over the surroundings — travelers and merchants came and went as usual, nothing out of the ordinary. She had lived here with her father for several years and knew well the road leading to Mount Qixia.

After hastily satisfying their hunger, the group of nine led their horses onward. As they rode, a voice came from behind her. “Miss, do you know the way to Mount Qixia?”

Turning her head slightly, Min Yuerou nodded. “I do.” At her words, the guards grew alert, their wary eyes scanning the area around them.

The road ahead was bustling — travelers and traders, loud peddlers calling to passing customers, merchants hurrying toward the city, donkey carts clattering past. Yet in the midst of all this ordinary clamor, the air suddenly twisted.

A gust of wind swept through.

The next instant — just as Min Yuerou turned her head to speak — a crimson flash burst into her vision. A spray of blood! The scream that followed was shrill and short, tearing through the noise of the street.

The rearmost guard, still on horseback, was struck down in an instant — his head flying skyward, body collapsing lifelessly onto the path.

“Go!”

The remaining seven guards drew their blades and closed ranks around their young mistress, spurring their mounts into a mad dash forward. The street, moments ago crowded, erupted in chaos. Terrified by the sudden shower of blood and the severed head, pedestrians shrieked and scattered, diving into roadside stalls and teahouses.

“Murder! Murder!!” “What’s happening?!” 

“Call the constables—!”

Thud-thud-thud-thud…

The pounding of hooves thundered along the official road as they veered onto the mountain path. Panic drove the eight riders onward, the memory of their fallen comrade still fresh — none had even seen where the attack had come from.

“Don’t stop! Faster!”

“Protect the young miss!”

In the center of the formation, Min Yuerou’s heart was seized by terror. She had learned some martial arts since childhood — in the capital, among the sons of officials, she’d even punished one or two ruffians who tried to take liberties with her. But now, what she faced shattered all her understanding — a man had just been slain in an instant, his body torn apart by something unseen.

Could this be sorcery?

As that thought flashed through her mind, she saw an old man up ahead by the roadside — clothes tattered, face sallow, leaning on a branch and poking idly at the ground as he shuffled forward.

The road was narrow, and something unknown was chasing behind them. If they trampled this old man… what then?

“Quick! Bring that old man with us!” Min Yuerou shouted to the nearest guard. “Don’t let him die because of us!”

Ahead, the goat-bearded old man had already heard the approaching thunder of hooves. His eyesight was poor; through the blur, he saw only a mass of galloping shapes rushing straight toward him. Trembling, he tried to dodge aside — but suddenly felt his armpit tighten as someone seized him, and his body lifted clean off the ground.

“Hey—hey! What are you doing?!” he yelped. “Mercy, you’ll bring retribution on yourselves! I finally made it out of the mountains, just walking along the road — and now you’re dragging me back again?! What kind of cursed nonsense is this?!”

His mournful protest was drowned beneath the thunder of galloping hooves.