Chapter 59
The next morning, the two armies faced off.
The soldiers of Yuan Chu were full of fighting spirit, their armor gleaming, their ranks impeccable, ready for a full-scale charge. Suddenly, the once clear sky darkened, as if invisible clouds were gathering and obscuring the sun. Immediately afterward, a thick fog rose over the battlefield, the grayish-white and viscous fog quickly swallowing up all vision, even blurring the outlines of the enemy's banners.
A restless commotion immediately arose in the arena. The warhorses also sensed the abnormality, snorting and pawing restlessly, refusing to move forward.
"General! A strange phenomenon has occurred in the sky, and we cannot see. What should we do?" A lieutenant rode forward and urgently asked his commander, Pei Qie, for instructions.
Pei Qie was now in full military uniform. Months of fighting had tempered his youthful naiveté, and his gaze had become much more resolute. He reined in his somewhat startled warhorse and said in a deep voice, "All troops, listen to my command! Halt the attack and remain in place. Under the fog, both enemy and friend are blind. Grip your weapons tightly and wait for the enemy to approach. At my command, annihilate them immediately!"
"Yes!" The soldiers responded in unison as the order was given, their voices sounding somewhat muffled in the thick fog.
Pei Qie strained his ears, trying desperately to pierce the thick fog and detect any movement from the enemy. However, the opposite side was eerily silent, as if the entire army had vanished into thin air. A strong sense of unease rose within him. The weather was too strange; the sun was high in the sky, yet such a bizarre fog had suddenly appeared. But then he thought again: the Yuan Chu army was now well-equipped and far superior to what it used to be. Even under such a fog, they still had a chance of victory.
Just as he was pondering this, a rapid, chaotic sound of hooves suddenly surged from the thick fog ahead, accompanied by a loud but indistinct roar, as if coming from the void.
Pei Qie's spirits lifted, and without further ado, he immediately ordered his troops to engage the enemy.
However, before they could even see who was coming, a large number of figures rushed into the Yuan Chu army formation like ghosts. Blades flashed, screams rose, and soldiers were cut down and killed in an instant. The sounds of weapons clashing, roars, and wails filled the air. Thick fog enveloped everyone, distorting their figures and blurring the lines between friend and foe. The battle instantly descended into extreme chaos.
"Bang--!"
A sudden burst of musket fire erupted, and a Yuan Chu soldier, clutching his instantly burned arm, staggered backward, his face filled with shock and fear. He screamed at the blurry figures around him, "Enemy troops! The enemy has muskets too! Everyone be careful!"
These words threw the already bewildered army into chaos. Immediately afterward, musket fire erupted from all directions of the fog, and projectiles of unknown origin whistled into the ranks, causing men to fall from the air or scream in pain. The fighting seemed endless, with soldiers blindly swinging their weapons in the fog, sometimes hitting the enemy, sometimes... their comrades.
After an unknown amount of time, the thick, impenetrable fog, as abrupt as it had appeared, began to slowly dissipate. Sunlight shone down again, illuminating the scene that had resembled a battlefield.
Pei Qie had just pulled his sword from the corpse of an "enemy soldier" and was panting as he looked around when his pupils constricted. He was so shocked that he almost dropped his sword. The bodies lying on the ground were almost all dressed in Yuan Chu military uniforms. The people who had just fought them to the death were not the enemy from Beijiang at all, but their own men. The "enemy soldiers" who had charged into their formation, the deadly sound of muskets... it was all a terrible illusion that had occurred in the fog!
His legs buckled, and he fell from his horse. Gazing at the horrific scene of his comrades turning on each other, he was too horrified to utter a single word. The surviving soldiers around him finally saw what had happened, their eyes wide with disbelief, their faces ashen, as if they had just awakened from a nightmare manipulated by evil spirits.
"Ah—!" Under the immense shock, many wounded soldiers suffered a complete mental breakdown, letting out piercing screams and descending into madness. This scene was far beyond what ordinary people could bear. Pei Qie, suppressing the trembling in his arms and the turmoil in his heart, led the remaining distraught soldiers back to the main camp to report.
"What did you say?! The entire enemy force has vanished?!" Inside the tent, Pei Yun, after hearing Pei Qie's incoherent report, abruptly stood up, his face showing disbelief and shock for the first time. Suddenly, as if realizing something, he abruptly turned to He Ying, his voice so cold it could drip water: "What else did Chen Jian's letter say besides a two-day truce?!"
He Ying knew the situation was completely out of control. Seeing Pei Yun's horrified expression, he quickly repeated, "The letter says... if our army doesn't respond, we'll regret it..."
Pei Yun felt another sharp pain in his heart. He pressed his hand to his chest, ignoring the discomfort, and said decisively, "She actually went to Ling Zhouling!" He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, suppressed his surging emotions, and said no more. Pei Qie knelt below, bewildered, feeling that today's tragedy was all due to his poor command. His face flushed with shame, he kowtowed repeatedly, begging for military punishment.
He Ying stepped forward, about to ask for instructions on the next course of action, when Pei Yun's icy voice rang out: "Order a ceasefire. I want to see what tricks they're up to!"
Two days later, there was still no news from the Beijiang army, and even the letter sent by the Yuan Chu army to probe them disappeared without a trace. Pei Yun's unease grew, and he personally led a large army straight to the Beijiang army's camp.
However, as soon as they stepped into the enemy camp, they sensed something was wrong. The camp flags were still there, but it was eerily silent. They rushed in and found that the camp was deserted, with only some supplies that hadn't been taken and empty tents remaining.
"Did they surrender without a fight?"
"What kind of empty city stratagem is this?"
"Or did they run away in fear?"
...
Seeing this strange scene, the army behind them began to whisper among themselves, and confusion and unease filled the air.
"His Majesty!"
Suddenly, a clear yet abrupt female voice rang out. The curtain of a large tent was lifted, and Yao Yanfu, adorned with jewels and dressed in a way that clashed with her surroundings, stepped out. She was alone, walking towards the army, her gaze fixed on Pei Yun on horseback.
"So it was you who orchestrated the assassination attempt in the mountains that day. I have always underestimated you." Pei Yun glanced at her coldly, and immediately guards stepped forward, grabbed her, and forced her to kneel before his horse.
Yao Yanfu seemed unconcerned that he knew the truth. Her eyes instantly filled with tears, making her appear fragile and tragically beautiful: "Your Majesty, what do you mean by this? I survived countless hardships and narrowly escaped to return to your side. You once promised me that you would grant me..."
Before she could finish speaking, He Ying stepped forward and slapped her mercilessly, shouting, "You vile woman, you falsely convey the Emperor's will! You deserve to die!"
Yao Yanfu's face turned to the side from the blow, her hair disheveled, her hairpins falling askew. She let out a low, mocking laugh, muttering to herself, "So, she was right. You really are a heartless person. From beginning to end, you only ever used me..."
Pei Yun seemed not to have heard these words at all, his voice as cold and hard as iron: "Where is she? Tell me, and I will grant you a complete corpse."
"Hahahahaha!" Yao Yanfu seemed to have heard the funniest joke, and suddenly threw her head back and burst into a shrill, maniacal laugh. Pei Yun looked at her frenzied and out-of-control appearance, feeling impatient, but then saw Yao Yanfu's laughter stop abruptly, and she suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood foam, her head drooping limply.
"She's hiding poison in her mouth! Quickly pry her mouth open!" He Ying urgently ordered the two guards holding her.
Pei Yun watched indifferently, as if observing a farce that had nothing to do with him. "Highly poisonous, instant death. Dispose of her." He coldly uttered these words, turned his horse around, and refused to look at her again.
Yao Yanfu's unfocused gaze finally fell upon his heartless back, and a tear silently slid down her cheek. On the verge of death, the image of the man who had shielded Xi Xiao from an arrow flashed through her mind, and a sharp, brief pang of sorrow surged in her heart. Just as she wondered where this unfamiliar emotion came from, she closed her eyes forever.
Before the commander's tent, Pei Yun dismounted, his boots kicking up dust as he walked across the ravaged camp. His gaze swept over the empty tents and scattered debris, when suddenly a dull pain shot through his chest. He reached up to press the discomfort, but then noticed a few drops of black blood that Yao Yanfu had just spat out on the hem of his robe. He frowned, a sense of disgust rising within him.
"Tens of thousands of troops vanished without a trace? This is illogical!" His voice was extremely cold, sounding particularly somber in the silent, empty camp. "Seal off all the docks, passes, and city gates along the Beijiang River! Search every inch of the land, dig three feet into the ground, and find her!"
He Ying's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately bowed to accept the order: "Yes!" He then turned around and delivered a series of urgent orders in a stern voice. The elite scouts and cavalry sped off in all directions like arrows released from a bow.
Less than half an hour later, He Ying returned, his face filled with disbelief. He quickly walked to Pei Yun's side and reported urgently in a low voice: "It has been found out that Ling Zhouling had secretly ordered the army to be disbanded in batches and sent home several days ago! Chen Jian strongly opposed this at the time and even joined forces with several trusted lieutenants to try to force Ling Zhouling to retract his order... However, before they could get an explanation, Ge Quan and his son, who had already 'defected,' suddenly led a team of elite troops back to attack. Ge Quan even killed Chen Jian on the spot with a single blow. The other lieutenants who participated in the coup, seeing that the situation was hopeless, were terrified and all claimed that they were willing to retire and return to their hometowns..."
He paused briefly, lowering his voice to almost a whisper, with a hint of surprise and doubt: "In that case, the strange act that caused our army to fight amongst ourselves in the fog that day was probably... probably the work of you, young lady."
As Pei Yun listened, a faint, ambiguous smile slowly curved his lips, a smile tinged with an indescribable, complex excitement. He nodded slightly, his tone resolute: "I know."
He Ying was taken aback by his reaction and didn't know how to respond for a moment. He steadied himself and continued to ask, "This subordinate is foolish and really doesn't understand what Ling Zhouling's intention is. Why would he hand over Beijiang so easily? What is he after?"
Pei Yun rubbed his forehead, his gaze seemingly piercing through the empty camp before him. "The land of Beijiang is already in our grasp. Whether Ling Zhouling has truly submitted or has other plans is unimportant. The most urgent thing right now..." He suddenly turned around, his eyes fixed intently on He Ying, "is to find her."
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