Naturally, Qiao Shen had not sent only that one empty message. The three huddled together in the little courtyard like golden toads holding a meeting, croaking and muttering among themselves for quite some time.
–
At noon the following day, the Xiao Second Prince led an army of one hundred thousand soldiers to the walls of the capital once again.
The ominous sight of black clouds bearing down upon the city repeated itself.
After being coaxed into withdrawing the previous year only for Great Xuan to renege on its promises, the Xiao Second Prince no longer believed Xuan’s pleas for peace. He rejected every attempt at negotiation along the way and insisted upon beating them into submission before discussing anything further.
Apart from Li Gang’s army and Zuo Shi Dao’s army, which had been brought inside the city, the other Xuan reinforcements had not yet arrived. The densely packed Xiao troops blotted out the sun like a plague of locusts, surrounding the capital from east, west, north, and south without leaving even a trickle of space. It had become another Kuiyuan City, seemingly without the slightest path to survival.
The Xiao army did not rush to attack. Instead, it established camps outside the walls, galloping horses and waving banners while gongs and drums thundered in unison. Their intention was to unsettle the people inside the city and build momentum for the general assault the following day.
Yet the Xuan army’s response was to erect fire altars at all four city gates and once again send fiery dragons soaring into the sky as they prayed for Heaven’s protection.
Such cowardly avoidance of battle made the Xiao troops outside the city roar with laughter. They jeered and cursed beneath the walls, mocking the flames as the fire that would consume Xuan’s dying nation.
–
Within the imperial palace, the emperor heard that the Xiao army had arrived and that his latest peace proposal had once again been rejected. He sat motionless inside the quiet chamber for the entire night.
Prince Fu and Perfected Master Shen Xiao meditated beside him while incense burned throughout the chamber until dawn.
–
Before daybreak, the faint chirping of insects drifted from beyond the hall. An autumn wind rose and stirred several golden leaves across the courtyard.
The emperor lay facedown upon the daybed, his eyes tightly shut.
Prince Fu, kneeling before the bed, raised his hand and slowly reached toward the emperor’s throat… then gently shook his shoulder.
“Brother. Imperial Brother,” Prince Fu called softly.
The emperor slowly opened his eyes. Smoke filled the room, making him feel as though he had awakened in an immortal realm. Little Brother Shen, whom he had cherished and trusted above all others in recent days, wore a red Daoist robe embroidered with golden patterns. His expression was respectful and obedient as he said warmly, “Brother, it is time to wake.”
The emperor looked dazed, his voice hoarse. “Is the fighting about to begin?”
Prince Fu nodded. “The hour for the sacrifice to Heaven has arrived. I must go with the Perfected Master.”
The Perfected Master stood bowed behind the incense burner, the horsetail whisk draped over his arm swaying gently. His face appeared and disappeared within the smoke, like an immortal descending from Heaven to guide Prince Fu away.
A sudden panic seized the emperor. He caught Prince Fu’s hand. “Little Brother Shen! You must return safely!”
Prince Fu clasped the emperor’s hand in return. His soft hands cradled the emperor’s palm as he bent close and whispered intimately, “Do not worry, Brother. Your little brother will certainly return. When I do, I have something very important to tell you.”
The emperor said, “Good. Good. I will wait here for you. I’ll wait.”
Prince Fu released the emperor’s hand, slowly rose, and retreated one step with his body still bowed. His figure abruptly disappeared into the smoke, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye like an insubstantial dream.
The emperor’s head throbbed as though it would split apart. Still unable to tell whether he was dreaming or awake, he reached futilely in the direction Prince Fu had gone, then closed his eyes and sank back into a heavy sleep.
–
The sky was beginning to redden, and a faint glimmer appeared at the end of the night.
The Xiao soldiers in black armor gathered like a swarm of locusts. Siege carts, wooden mules, scaling ladders, heavy crossbows… every manner of siege weapon was pushed forward. Together with the footsteps of tens of thousands of men, they produced wave after wave of thunderous echoes across the open country.
Beside the moat, atop Wansheng Gate, a spark suddenly appeared upon the city wall.
The sky had not yet fully brightened, so the fire immediately drew everyone’s attention.
–
The walls of the capital were two zhang thick, and their broad tops allowed three horses to gallop abreast. Above Wansheng Gate stood a towering gatehouse with green tiles and vermilion eaves.
Beneath the gatehouse, a high ritual platform had been constructed. Below it stood a massive bronze cauldron approximately two meters long and wide. The bottom was filled with incense ash accumulated over many days, upon which a fresh layer of incense charcoal had been piled. It had only just been lit and was now slowly releasing a pungent fragrance.
Smoke curled upward alongside the firelight, drifting gradually toward the highest heavens.
Perfected Master Shen Xiao wore a purple robe, with Prince Fu in red following behind him. The two climbed onto the ritual platform, knelt, and began murmuring incantations.
This was Perfected Master Shen Xiao’s final purification rite before the battle. Once again, he prayed for immortal fire to protect the nation and summoned a fire dragon to destroy the enemy.
–
Several hundred defenders crowded on either side of the platform, ten meters away.
Inside the city gate, a large ring of wooden barricades two meters high had been built. On the one hand, it would serve as the final line of defense should the Xiao army breach the gate. On the other, it kept the city’s civilians separated from the battle. Nearly ten thousand commoners were now packed beside the barricades, watching the prebattle ritual. Since they stood several hundred meters away, they could only make out the two distant figures atop the wall.
–
Perfected Master Shen Xiao sat with his back straight and slowly stroked his beard. He glanced toward the Xiao army drawing ever closer outside the city, then looked back at the gathered Xuan civilians behind him.
His expression was solemn and composed, but his mind was in complete turmoil. The fingers stroking his beard trembled faintly, and even the horsetail whisk tucked against his chest swayed without rest.
He had originally been a low-ranking soldier in one of the capital’s Imperial Army camps. After learning a few fire tricks from a wandering occultist, he entered the Imperial Observatory by pretending to possess divine powers and bribing palace eunuchs. Then, through sheer coincidence, he cured the emperor’s palpitations and fainting spells. Nearly a year earlier, when the Xiao army attacked, the emperor demanded that he offer a strategy. He fabricated the story of the “Fire Vein” at random, never expecting the emperor to believe it and truly recover the supposed “Fire Vein” from among the imperial clan. Fortunately, Qiao Shen was young, timid, and obedient. He willingly became the Perfected Master’s puppet, believing in his “immortal arts” as unquestioningly as the emperor did, voluntarily offering his blood and allowing himself to be manipulated as the most useful piece on the board.
By relying upon the emperor’s stupidity and Qiao Shen’s obedience, he had somehow risen all the way to the position of State Preceptor and now commanded forty thousand troops defending the capital. Yet he had never left the capital in his entire life and had not actually fought a single battle.
Unfortunately, the peace negotiations had failed. His glorious dream of wealth and power as State Preceptor was finally about to shatter.
With such a foolish emperor and such a chaotic court, Great Xuan could not possibly survive beneath the Xiao army’s iron hooves. He therefore asked only to escape the city successfully before the country fell. Once the realm shattered and he was cast adrift in troubled times, he could rely upon the troops under his command and his divine techniques of immortal fire to establish an “Immortal Fire Sect,” spread his sorcery, and recruit followers. Perhaps he might even become a regional warlord, the grandmaster of an age, or even the sovereign of a nation…
All he had to do was complete this ritual successfully, descend from the wall, and break out of the city with the Immortal Fire Army.
–
Perfected Master Shen Xiao was frightened, nervous, and excited all at once. His voice trembled slightly as he led Qiao Shen through the usual round of chanting, then rose to his feet.
Prince Fu stood with him. The Perfected Master drew a short knife from inside his robe, and Prince Fu obediently extended his arm and lifted his thin sleeve. Just as during the blessing ritual several months earlier, the Perfected Master slashed deeply across Prince Fu’s arm. He then held the bleeding limb over the incense cauldron, letting the blood drip into the ash before sweeping his horsetail whisk through the air.
With a tremendous boom, a great ball of fire erupted from the cauldron and surged toward the heavens.
–
Unlike the previous time, the flames were now even larger and fiercer. An enormous, uncanny cloud of red smoke exploded outward, instantly swallowing the ritual platform as crimson light blazed in every direction.
At the magnificent sight, the soldiers and watching civilians all dropped to their knees and prostrated themselves.
But no one heard the quiet cry that suddenly sounded from within the red light.
–
Although the great flames inside the incense cauldron were one of Perfected Master Shen Xiao’s usual mechanical tricks, the cloud of red smoke was not something he had expected. Standing beside the cauldron, he was caught entirely unprepared and inhaled the smoke directly. His vision immediately became confused.
Before he could react, Qiao Shen suddenly shoved him hard from behind, sending him toward the blazing cauldron beneath the ritual platform.
Perfected Master Shen Xiao had once been a soldier and was not physically weak. Qiao Shen was young and frail, and his strength should not have been enough. The shove made the Perfected Master release a low cry and stumble forward, but he instinctively caught Qiao Shen’s arm, attempting to drag him down from the platform as well.
At that critical instant, a glint of steel flashed in the shadows beneath the vermilion eaves of the gatehouse above them. A short, slender arrowhead sliced through the smoke and silently pierced straight through Perfected Master Shen Xiao’s throat.
It severed the cry that had only just escaped him.
The Perfected Master’s grip loosened. Qiao Shen seized the chance to wrench his arm free and allowed the man to fall alone into the cauldron.
The flames instantly climbed the Perfected Master’s sleeves. But the cauldron was broad and deep, and he struggled away from the source of the fire, caught hold of its rim, and attempted to climb out. Beneath the ritual platform, a tall figure suddenly burst from the red smoke and thrust upward viciously with a saber sheath. The blow knocked the Perfected Master back into the center of the cauldron, where the raging flames immediately swallowed him whole.
–
The autumn wind swept across the wall, dispersing the red smoke. The soldiers and civilians raised their heads in astonishment and saw the human figure within the flames.
Perfected Master Shen Xiao did not die immediately and continued struggling alive in the fire. But an arrow pierced his throat, leaving him unable to scream, and his frantic movements somewhat resembled the leaping dances he usually performed during his rituals. Thus, everyone was merely stunned and did not immediately grow suspicious.
At that moment, Qiao Shen dropped to his knees and cried out through his tears, “The Perfected Master has offered his own body as a sacrifice to Heaven to prolong the fortune of Great Xuan! I, Shen, offer the blood of my ancestors and this body bearing the Fire Vein to beg mercy from Heaven, Earth, and the spirits of our forebears! May this sacrifice reach the ears of Heaven and protect Great Xuan in peace!”
Everyone paled in shock and hurriedly kowtowed with him, shouting the same prayer.
–
Beyond the city gate, Xiao catapult stones and crossbow bolts came raining down.
After striking his forehead against the platform three times, Qiao Shen leapt down, ran several steps, and drew the saber from the waist of a prostrate soldier. He raised the blade toward the sky and roared hoarsely at the crowd, “Immortal fire now protects our nation! Soldiers, fear nothing! To the walls! Resist the enemy!”
The defenders upon the wall surged with passion and roared along with him. They sprang to their feet, seized their weapons, and rushed to meet the enemy. In an instant, Xuan catapult stones and fire arrows poured toward the forces outside the city like a sudden storm.
The civilians beneath the distant gate also heard Qiao Shen and the soldiers’ cries. In recent days, there had been no word from Pacification Commissioner Li or Venerable Pacification Commissioner Zuo. The emperor had begged for peace, Prince Kang had departed, and the Emperor Emeritus had fled south. All the humiliation, anger, disappointment, and despair the people had suppressed in their hearts suddenly erupted like blazing fire. Those kneeling on the ground rose one after another, their cries deafening.
“Resist the enemy!”
“Resist the enemy!”
“Resist the enemy!”
–
Beneath Wansheng Gate, Zheng Jiu had followed Perfected Master Shen Xiao’s instructions and assembled the six thousand core soldiers of the Immortal Fire Army. They were waiting for the Perfected Master to arrive and give the order to throw open the city gates and break out—not flee, of course, but “meet the enemy head-on.”
Perfected Master Shen Xiao did not trust Zheng Jiu completely. He had also stationed another trusted disciple beside him—another false Daoist—whom he had hastily appointed deputy commander so the two could open the gate together.
Hearing the defenders roaring from the walls and the civilians shouting in the distance, Zheng Jiu drew his saber and stabbed the false Daoist beside him to the ground. He then bellowed at the assembled soldiers, “The State Preceptor has offered himself as a sacrifice to Heaven! He gave his life to protect every one of you! Soldiers, hear my command! To the walls! Resist the enemy!”
These core soldiers of the Immortal Fire Army had trained day and night under Zheng Jiu, Li Si, Tao Shi, and the others, receiving months of painstaking instruction. They had always wanted to kill the enemy. Now they heard that the State Preceptor had sacrificed even his own life to protect the nation, while the defenders and civilians were roaring with such passion. Their blood surged as well. Seeing Deputy Commander Zheng lead the charge toward the walls, they rushed after him in a great tide.
–
In an instant, smoke blanketed the capital’s walls and the flames of war filled the sky.
–
Amid the chaotic battle, Li Si, who had been hanging upside down beneath the gatehouse’s vermilion eaves, released his legs and flipped nimbly to the ground like a cat. He slung the small assassination bow back across his shoulders.
Zhang San also lifted the ground covering beneath the ritual platform and crawled out. Seeing that the charcoal inside the incense cauldron had burned out and that Perfected Master Shen Xiao had been reduced to charred bones, he spat contemptuously upon the corpse.
He drew his saber and prodded the remains, dislodging the arrowhead stuck in the throat bones. Pinching it disdainfully between two fingers, he picked it up and casually tossed it over the city wall. Still not satisfied that the evidence had been destroyed, he glanced around and, seeing that no one was watching, picked up a catapult stone and smashed it heavily against the Perfected Master’s skull. He crushed the pierced throat bones into fragments as well, then left the stone lying atop them so it would appear that a Xiao projectile had shattered the remains.
Li Si happened to run over at that moment. Zhang San handed him the longbow and arrows he had been carrying on his behalf.
The battle was urgent, so the two had time only to exchange a single glance before passing one another. Zhang San drew his saber and rushed toward the front line, while Li Si seized his bow and climbed to higher ground. They split up and plunged into the fighting.
–
The Xuan and Xiao armies fought bitterly among several city gates for the entire day. As the advantage shifted back and forth, flesh and blood covered the fields and crimson stained the rivers.
At sunset, the Xiao army sounded the gong to withdraw. The losses on both sides were roughly equal, and neither had gained any substantial advantage.
But the morale of Great Xuan’s soldiers and civilians was clearly higher. Not only did the defenders continue cursing and shouting at the retreating Xiao troops, but the civilians inside the city also strained their throats to join them, cheering the defenders on for the entire day.
Prince Fu, Qiao Shen, supervised the battle atop Wansheng Gate all day and personally beat the war drum, raising morale even further.
Of course, exposing himself upon the wall was dangerous. A stray arrow grazed Prince Fu’s arm, though fortunately the wound was not serious. He spent only a moment binding it before turning around and lifting the drumsticks once more.
After the fighting ended, Prince Fu departed amid the soldiers’ and civilians’ cheers. A contingent of Immortal Fire soldiers escorted him back to the imperial palace.
At the palace gate, Superintendent Li and a group of Imperial City Directorate guards came to receive him, then personally escorted him back into the emperor’s presence.
–
This “Superintendent Li” was none other than the former Administrator Li. Administrator Li had originally served beneath an immediate superior who held the title of “Superintendent”—the eunuch who had delivered the imperial edict when Li Si and Second Uncle left the capital, and the same man who had accepted bribes to bring Perfected Master Shen Xiao into the Imperial Observatory. For some unknown reason, however, this superintendent, who had always been perfectly healthy, suddenly contracted an epidemic illness several days earlier and died abruptly.
Under ordinary circumstances, the matter might have seemed suspicious. But with the Xiao army about to arrive and the palace in utter chaos, no one had the time to consider it.
The emperor had already been unwell and had grown increasingly weak of late. Hearing that the superintendent had contracted an epidemic illness, he hurriedly ordered the body carried outside the palace and cremated. Every one of the man’s personal belongings was burned as well to prevent disease from spreading throughout the palace.
With no suitable replacement available on such short notice, the emperor temporarily promoted Administrator Li—who worked tirelessly, never competed, and never sought attention—to the rank of Superintendent. In any case, Superintendent Li was already elderly and would not be able to serve much longer. He could deal with the immediate crisis, and someone new could be promoted after the war.
–
Returning to the present, Superintendent Li led the others in escorting Prince Fu back to the quiet chamber.
Prince Fu’s red robe was stained with blood, his headpiece dusted with ash, and his pale face marked by scratches from flying fragments of stone. Gone was the passionate figure who had shouted encouragement atop the wall. He had returned to his usual quiet and obedient manner.
Yet the smell of blood clinging to him could not be concealed. Within the incense-filled quiet chamber, he was like a small stone cast into a lake, sending ripples throughout the room.
The emperor still lay weakly upon the daybed. Hearing Superintendent Li’s report and Prince Fu’s calm, measured footsteps, he struggled upright and extended one hand. “Little Brother Shen, you’ve returned?”
Prince Fu stepped forward and obediently knelt beside the bed, taking the emperor’s hand as he always did. “Imperial Brother, I have returned.”
The emperor asked in a trembling voice, “I heard the Immortal Master… he sacrificed himself for the country?”
Prince Fu lowered his eyes and nodded. “Yes.”
The emperor’s hand trembled. He said in bewilderment, “But I never heard him mention such a plan. How could he… how could…”
Prince Fu replied, “Your little brother did not know the Immortal Master possessed such selfless righteousness either. But Brother is physically weak and burdened with worry. I imagine that if the Immortal Master had told you beforehand, it might have harmed your mind and spirit. His deed moved Heaven and Earth, and Great Xuan received Heaven’s protection. Sure enough, we repelled the Xiao bandits today.”
The emperor slowly released a sigh. Only then did he notice the blood upon Prince Fu’s robes. “Little Brother Shen, were you injured as well?”
Prince Fu raised his sleeve, revealing the hastily bound wound stained with blood. Yet his arm was already covered in dense scars from repeated cuts, making that day’s small graze seem insignificant by comparison.
“Do not worry, Brother. It is nothing serious. The Immortal Master’s spirit in Heaven protected your little brother from calamity.”
“That is good,” the emperor sighed. “I vaguely recall that before you left today, you said you had something to tell me?”
Prince Fu nodded. “Please wait a moment, Brother.”
He rose and added another stick of incense to the embers that were about to die. The elusive fragrance once again filled the room, finally masking the smell of blood upon his body.
–
Prince Fu returned to the daybed and knelt obediently. Supporting the emperor’s hand, he said gently, “There are some things in my heart that I could not tell Brother until today.”
The emperor asked curiously, “Little Brother Shen, tell me quickly.”
Qiao Shen raised his lowered head and looked directly into the emperor’s eyes. Calmly, he said, “Brother does not know this, but while the Immortal Master was alive, he had been feeding you ‘Cold-Food Powder.’”
The emperor stared blankly. “What?”
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