Chapter 78 Every step we take is...
The next day, Lou Xueying woke up groggily; the sun was already high in the sky.
She heard the sound of pages turning beside her, opened her eyes in confusion, and saw that Li Pan had already sat up and was reading a book next to her.
"Awake?" Li Pan glanced at her.
Lou Xueying took a while to process what was happening: "You've switched to a new book again?"
Li Pan hummed in agreement: "I've finished reading the previous one."
Lou Xueying rolled over: "Then you keep watching, I'll lie down for a while longer..."
Li Pan tossed the book aside, leaned down, and whispered in her ear with a smile, "Susu, do you remember what you did last night?"
Lou Xueying let out a low wail, pulled up the blanket, and covered her head.
Li Pan pulled the blanket down, and she pulled it back up, then pulled it down again, then pulled it back up again. After doing this several times, she simply stopped using the blanket and closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep.
Li Pan looked at her trembling eyelids, propped his head up, and laughed, "Susu, where's my reward?"
Lou Xueying remained motionless.
Li Pan slowly brushed the strands of hair from her face with his fingers and said, "How can you go back on your word like this and break your promise?"
Lou Xueying felt ticklish from his touch and had to open her eyes, whispering, "What reward do you want?"
Li Pan pointed to his lips.
Lou Xueying hesitated for a moment, then lifted herself up and kissed him.
Li Pan raised an eyebrow: "Oh? I mean, I'm thirsty, I want to drink water."
Lou Xueying: "..."
She glared at him, but the effects of the alcohol hadn't worn off yet, and she was sluggish and not intimidating at all.
Li Pan smiled and said, "Goodness, Susu, I'm thirsty. Please give me some water."
After saying that, he pressed down on her shoulders and leaned down to kiss her.
The bedroom had been rearranged yesterday, sweeping away its previous coldness and restoring some of the warmth and elegance of the Marquis's mansion.
Sunlight streamed through the dark blue window curtains and through layers of pale white curtains, casting a hazy glow on the bed.
Lou Xueying nestled in the soft brocade pillow, a blush rising on her face, whether from the lingering effects of last night's wine or the rising heat she had just experienced, was unknown.
She had no water to offer him; he was like water, flowing from her lips to her collarbone, leaving moist and burning marks everywhere.
Her clothes came undone, the brocade quilt slipped down, and the bed frame swayed slightly. She was lost in this corner of the world, enveloped in soft light and warmth, like a small boat, slowly rising and falling with the waves.
She vaguely thought that she could no longer drink alcohol. She was always dizzy the day after drinking, and it was shameful to be tricked by Li Pan into having sex during the day.
But she couldn't help but keep her eyes open and look at the person on top of her. If looking at someone at night with a lamp lit is about endless imagination and ambiguity in the dim light, then looking at someone now through the morning light is too clear and impactful. She bit her lip, glanced at Li Pan, looked away, glanced at him again, and looked away again.
He held her, turned her around, and she let out a short groan, leaning on his shoulder.
Li Pan brushed aside her slightly damp hair, stroked her cheek, and said in a hoarse voice, "Susu, call my name."
"Um... what are you shouting for..."
"What do you think?" He pressed her waist down.
Lou Xueying then cried out incoherently, "Li Pan... Lord Marquis... Husband, um... Stone, Li Stone... you, you let go of me!"
Li Pan smiled, tilted his head, and nibbled on her earlobe, which was so red it looked like it was about to bleed.
...
It was almost noon, and the Marquis and his wife still hadn't gotten up. Not only that, they had also ordered hot water.
Lou Xueying emerged from the bathtub, fully awake.
Looking at Li Pan, who was already dressed and looking refreshed, she felt a surge of anger and kicked him angrily.
Li Pan laughed and said, "What, you want to practice martial arts with me?"
Lou Xueying: "Who wants to practice martial arts with you! It's all your fault, I've lost all face!"
The two of them were nowhere to be seen all morning in the general's mansion. They hadn't even eaten breakfast, and they had ordered water. What they had been up to was quite obvious.
"Okay, okay, it's all my fault. I'll help you dry your hair, alright?" Li Pan said, but in his heart he wondered who had been bothering him and wouldn't let him leave.
Lou Xueying lay on the low couch, and Li Pan dragged over the hair dryer, laid it on her long hair, and slowly combed it.
The curtains were drawn back, and bright sunlight flooded the room. Lou Xueying turned her head to look at Li Pan sitting beside her.
She asked him, "Hasul... has he replied to you? Which tribe will cause trouble at the end of the year?"
Li Pan: "They have returned. There are no obvious traces at the moment, but both he and I believe it is very likely that they are from the Di and Qiang tribes. The Di and Qiang tribes just changed their king this year, and it is the time for them to make their mark."
Lou Xueying: "So what do you plan to do?"
Li Pan countered with, "Do you think I should send troops first?"
Lou Xueying: "If we can nip the enemy in the bud, that would be the best."
“But this is not a war of self-defense. If it were a war of self-defense, we could of course adapt to the situation first and then report back after the battle.” Li Pan looked at Lou Xueying. “But if the Di and Qiang have not done anything yet, and I take the initiative to attack, then that would be sending troops without an imperial edict. This would be tantamount to telling the emperor and the crown prince that I already know you are a reborn person who can foresee the future.”
Lou Xueying's expression gradually froze.
Li Pan: "But even if they know, it doesn't matter. I've long been a thorn in their side, but they haven't eliminated me immediately due to various concerns. Knowing that I also know about my past life will only increase their hostility and vigilance towards me. But I don't want those uninformed officials to impeach me because of this, giving the emperor a reason to deal with me."
Lou Xueying: "So you want to stall until the Di and Qiang tribes make a move before you retaliate?"
Li Pan lowered his eyes, picked a strand of her hair from the comb, and said, "No, I want the Di and Qiang to be afraid to make a move, or at least too busy to do so."
Lou Xueying frowned and pondered for a moment before asking, "Are you waiting for news from the capital?"
“Indeed.” Li Pan nodded. “The Crown Prince has been confined by the Emperor for three months. I don’t believe nothing will happen in these three months. More than a month has already passed. If we wait a little longer, we can see who wins and who loses. During this period, I do not want any fighting to break out here and interfere with my plans.”
Lou Xueying gently exhaled.
Li Pan: "I'm going to the military camp this afternoon, do you want to come?"
Lou Xueying was taken aback: "What am I supposed to do there?"
Li Pan: "You don't need to do anything. I'm just going on a routine inspection. You can just follow me and take a look around."
"Isn't this inappropriate?" Lou Xueying hesitated. "I'm not a soldier..."
"Whether it's appropriate or not is up to me." Li Pan chuckled. "There are plenty of smelly men in the military camp, and I doubt you'd be interested. The main thing is to take you to see the scenery beyond the Great Wall, so you won't have any illusions about it if you haven't seen it with your own eyes."
Beyond the Great Wall... Lou Xueying couldn't help but feel a stirring in her heart.
Li Pan understood what she meant as soon as he saw her expression, so he pinched her cheek and said with a smile, "Okay, then after we finish eating, we'll go to the military camp."
-
Li Pan and Lou Xueying went directly to the military camp without prior notice.
Lou Xueying, wrapped in a thick ivory-white cloak, with a small section of her chin buried in the snow-white fur collar, looked as exquisite as a jade carving, curiously following behind Li Pan.
The soldiers on the drill ground were training, and their originally booming shouts suddenly fell silent after they spotted a figure appearing at the edge of the drill ground.
However, the shouts only subsided for a moment before rising again at an even louder pace. Everyone seemed to be working even harder, and the sounds were deafening wherever Li Pan and Lou Xueying went.
"General!" The adjutant, who had remained at the garrison, stepped forward with a beaming smile. "This humble general has been waiting for your arrival since yesterday!"
Li Pan: "I was busy at the manor yesterday, so I only had time to come over today."
"Seeing the general gives everyone more motivation to train!" the lieutenant said with a smile, then looked at Lou Xueying and bowed. "This must be the lady, right?"
Lou Xueying quickly bowed in return.
Li Pan introduced the two sides to each other, and then said, "My wife is from the capital and has never been to such a far place before, so I brought her here to see it. You two continue, I'll show her around."
"Please proceed, General."
Li Pan and Lou Xueying stood in a corner of the training ground, looking at the crowd in the field whose breath turned into mist but whose foreheads were covered in sweat, and said, "I used to be one of them too."
Lou Xueying: "In this cold weather, do we still have to train every day?"
“That’s natural,” Li Pan said. “We’ll just adjust the training time according to the weather, but no matter the weather, we’ll still train. When the enemy attacks, they won’t care whether it’s raining or snowing.”
Lou Xueying couldn't help but hold his hand tightly, her forehead pressed against his arm, and whispered, "There were several battles in the following years, but I can't remember the details very well... If only I had paid more attention to these things back then."
"It's alright." Li Pan patted her gently. "The fact that you can't remember means it didn't have a big impact on Dayue. Everyone has their own things to do, so you don't need to blame yourself."
As they were talking, they suddenly heard several strange cries coming from not far away.
Li Pan turned his head and saw that a group of soldiers who had been on patrol were riding back to camp. When they saw Lou Xueying and Li Pan leaning on each other, they couldn't help but start teasing them.
Lou Xueying quickly released Li Pan.
Li Pan narrowed his eyes and walked over.
The soldiers immediately became much more obedient, dismounted, and saluted Li Pan.
Li Pan: "What are you yelling about? You scared my wife! You have no manners. You'll have to run an extra lap later!"
One of the talkative soldiers said, "General, we thought you were never going to get married!"
Li Pan kicked him in the butt: "Who said I'm not getting married? I just haven't met the right one yet!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
Lou Xueying stood there, somewhat at a loss.
Fortunately, Li Pan returned after exchanging only a few words with them. Lou Xueying asked him, "What were you talking about?"
“They’re so easily startled; I think they’re envious of me,” Li Pan said.
Lou Xueying: "So what are they running for now?"
Li Pan: "Making noise for no reason, you're being punished with extra practice."
Lou Xueying: "You're such a strange person. I think you brought me here just to satisfy your vanity. Now that people are really envious, you punish them."
Li Pan: "Then they can't yell and scream, it would make our military camp look unruly and embarrass us in front of you."
Lou Xueying: "Alright, let's go. Staying here will only disrupt their training."
Li Pan: "Okay, then I'll take you to the city wall for a look."
He took her hand and led her up the city wall. The wind was unobstructed up there, whipping against their faces. Li Pan was already used to it. Seeing Lou Xueying's face scrunched up, he couldn't help but smile, reaching out to put the hood on her and tying the drawstring tight.
A tuft of downy fur fluttered around her face as Lou Xueying wrapped her cloak tighter and hid behind Li Pan.
Beyond the city walls lay a vast wasteland. Withered grass lay scattered everywhere, and light brown sand stretched to the horizon, carving out a corner of the gray-white sky.
In the biting wind, banners fluttered, but the soldiers guarding the city walls remained unmoved.
Li Pan, leaning against the cold bricks, asked, "Do you know where the Quanrong are?"
Lou Xueying shook her head: "I don't know."
Li Pan pointed his finger: "Go north from here, cross a small river that dries up in autumn and winter, and you'll reach the Quanrong."
Lou Xueying: "What about the other tribes?"
Li Pan then pointed out several other directions to her.
Lou Xueying: "It's so complicated."
Li Pan: "With many tribes, dealing with them can be troublesome, but sometimes they restrain each other, so it's not difficult to resolve the issues."
Lou Xueying: "In such cold weather, they actually have the energy to fight."
“Their cavalry is stronger than ours, and they can attack and retreat quickly to conserve their energy,” Li Pan said. “It’s not the coldest time of year yet. I brought you here today, but after a while, even if you wanted to come, I wouldn’t let you. You’ll definitely get sick if you come out here.”
Lou Xueying: "Can you take me horseback riding today?"
Li Pan was taken aback: "With such strong winds, you're going to ride a horse now?"
Lou Xueying: "Didn't you say it would get even colder in a while? You said you would take me horseback riding in the Northwest. If we don't ride today, it will get colder and colder."
Li Pan: "I can bring you here when spring arrives."
Lou Xueying lowered her head, her voice so soft it almost drifted away on the wind: "Spring... who knows what will happen so far in the future?"
Li Pan fell silent.
"Alright." After a long pause, he nodded. "Then let's go now."
To prevent her from catching a cold, Li Pan fully armed her.
She put on her face mask, scarf, and gloves, and rode with Li Pan on a horse.
Li Pan was wearing an extremely heavy cloak that almost completely enveloped her, leaving only half of her slightly pale face exposed.
Apart from her eyes and nose being exposed and a little painful from the wind, Lou Xueying didn't feel cold.
This wilderness was much larger than the valley they had discovered during the autumn hunt. Even after their warhorses had been galloping for a long time, the landscape remained vast and desolate.
The desolate world reflected in her eyes, and she said, "It's so quiet."
Li Pan bent down: "What?"
Lou Xueying: "So quiet!"
Li Panle stopped his horse. The warhorse snorted and let out a long neigh.
Lou Xueying turned her head and looked at him.
He also wore a face mask to shield himself from the wind, lowered his head, and gently rubbed his face against hers through the mask: "Are you scared?"
Lou Xueying's eyelashes trembled slightly: "I'm scared."
Li Pan: "Shall we go back?"
Lou Xueying: "Wait a little longer, I want to watch for a while longer."
Li Pan looked up. The wind howled all around, and the withered grass lay flattened. The two of them and their horse appeared so small in this boundless wilderness.
Li Pan asked softly, "There's nothing interesting here. What are you looking at?"
"I've never seen such a vast and empty place," Lou Xueying said. "It's so empty... everything looks the same, and we can't even tell where the road is. Li Pan, which way should we go?"
Li Pan: "What do we care about the road ahead? Every step we take is the road. Wherever we go, that's where we're meant to be."
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