"You Just Have to do One Thing for Me..."

Although the northern ice field was icebound all year round, there was still a field of green like a Peach Blossom Spring桃花源 A hidden land of peace and prosperity. Or Utopia. . In the centre of the meadow was a decent sized warm lake.

The heat brought by the water made the area around the lake full of lush grass, and the E’Luo Gui Faction’s Royal Court was built by the lake.

It was noon, a rare day of bright skies. The pale sun hovered low in the southern sky as if the soft ball of light couldn’t provide any warmth.

By the warm lake, a tall and slim figure stood quickly with an inked fox fur coat draped over his shoulder. If it wasn't for the visible cold breath coming out of the man, he was no different than a lifeless statue. 

A personal soldier of the royal court hurried to the lakeside. That soldier knelt down on one knee behind the man and reported in a loud voice, “My King, the Heiyu Army’s scouts reported that there are an increased number of the imperial forces being stationed at the wasteland border in the south. It appears they have the intention to invade the E’Luo Royal Court.”

The figure by the lake was still standing motionlessly. 

After a long wait, the soldier couldn’t hold back his anxiety as he called out, “My King!”

After a long time, a slightly husky voice replied, “I received the report. Dispatch the left commanding guard of the Heiyu Army to assemble at the southern border to defend against the pressure.”

The soldier was relieved when he heard this and nodded, adding, “Another report, on the southeast border, Tengyun Pavilion and the Village of Mount Qianfeng lied that we have the Sword Sage’s inheritance. They are inciting the Wulin groups in the Central Plains to cause a commotion. This...should we also keep a close eye on this matter?”

“We know this.” The man said. “Anying Division and Bailain Battalion were ordered to deal with this. There is no need to report this matter again.”

“Understood.”

Seeing that the messenger soldier remained in place, E’Luo Jue finally turned around slightly. 

His face was thin like his figure, and his lifeless eyes made him appear even more sinister.

“More to report?” His voice was cold like ice. “Dismiss yourself if there is nothing else.”

The soldier immediately lowered his head and relayed, “My King, based on the tracking, the scouts from Heiyu Army have figured out the movement of the Tengyun Pavilion’s Young Lord and the Evil Sect’s Young Master. Their goal is the Baiwu Tower, attempting to take our faction’s White Flame Gu...Does my King still want to keep the order of killing the Young Lord on sight and capturing the Young Master alive?”

E’Luo Jue sneered coldly when hearing this news.

“Baiwu Tower...” His eyes narrowed slightly. “The White Flame Gu...We would never expect them to be interested in that thing.”

The soldier asked, “My King, order the right commanding guard of Heiyu Army to send more fighters to the Tower?”

E’Luo Jue said with a smile as if he spent little to no time thinking over this, “No need. The left forces are needed to hold up against the Imperial Army in the south. The right force still needs to stay on guard as a garrison. There are no available resources to be allocated. Beside…”

In the middle of the sentence, he hummed with a smile and changed the topic, “Go spread a new order. Withdraw the Heiyu Army’s assassination order. The new order: they must not take action even if they find traces of the Young Master.”

The soldier questioned, “My King...wanted to lead them into an urn入甕 A brutal and vicious punishment, or to cruelly torture to extort a confession.?”

E’Luo Jue showed an enigmatic smile and shook his head. “No need to ask questions. I have my own arrangements. You are dismissed.”

“Understood.”

The soldier bowed respectfully, took a few steps back, turned and left. 

E’Luo Jue’s gaze fell on the calm lake with streaming mist. After a moment, he raised his hands and slowly caressed a bracelet on his left wrist that contradicted his dark temperament.

The braceletThink of the bracelet as image 1 (from left), and the charm as image 2 except with gold and not jade. was woven from countless colourful cloth strips, braided together with a golden thread and decorated with a round golden pig. The bracelet stretched tightly around his skinny wrist. It was obviously not suitable for someone of his age. Perhaps because of its sentimental value that he still wore it to now.

“The Evil Sect’s Young Master, Su Yang…”

E’Luo Jue suddenly murmured and sneered. After a pause, he glanced at the bracelet around his wrist and whispered, “Your son...If he looks like you...I might as well keep him alive.”

* * *

Su Yang raised his hand to wave his sword for a block, stopping a member of the Heiyu Army’s attack. Then he quickly stepped back and deflected several arrows flying towards Gu Feidi. 

In this encounter, they faced a team of the Heiyu Army. Although the enemies’ martial arts were not as good as those of the Anying Division, the duo were outnumbered. Su Yang and Gu Feidi fought very hard even when they joined hands. If it hadn’t been for the archers in the distance considering the ‘capture Su Yang alive’ order, the duo would never have stayed unharmed from their numerous battles. 

After they had agreed to Luo Yin to be bait, he ordered the Anying Division's assassin to stay behind to help Su Yang and Gu Feidi in the dark. 

But at this moment, there were too many enemies, making it problematic for the man to reveal himself. Su Yang and Gu Feidi could only rely on themselves to escape from the Heiyu Army’s siege. 

That was right, escaping was enough.

It was more than a day from the Lesser Cold, but they had already closed a large distance between them and the Baiwu Tower. Currently, there was no issue escaping using detours. It could also be a cover for their plan so that the Royal Court couldn’t guess the plan being executed on the day of Lesser Cold.

Su Yang protected Gu Feidi’s back with Glimmering Jade’s fast launching stab, which injured the leader of the team. He spun his whole body to add momentum to his next slice, targeting the leader’s neck.

The leader managed to block the attack. Seeing four deaths in his team, he hastily turned around and shouted, “We’re no match for them! Withdraw!”

The remaining fighters of the team were strictly obedient. None questioned the leader’s decision as they immediately retreated with their weapon and flew back.

Su Yang stopped chasing. 

He turned and pulled Gu Feidi’s arm, and they fled into the dense needle-leaved forest side by side.

“I don’t know why E’Luo Jue would send an order to capture me alive.” Su Yang frowned. He released his hand around Gu Feidi’s arm, gathered a handful of untainted snow from the branch and helped Gu Feidi clean his light injuries on his arm. Su Yang muttered, “He could kill his brother and seize the throne, so he certainly doesn’t care about his blood tie kinship. Why is he reluctant to kill someone like me, a valueless nephew?”

Gu Feidi pondered for a moment and guessed, “Perhaps...it is for the royal blood of the female line that is flowing inside of you?”

Recalling the secret Luo Yin mentioned about the White Flame Gu and the behind the scenes of E’Luo Jue’s method to snatch control over the Great Shaman, Su Yang also felt that sounded very logical.

After a simple treatment of minor injuries all over them, they stood guard by each other and took turns to meditate to restore their internal energy. 

The third member of their group left behind by Luo Yin was on guard without a word. When he saw ‌the two were done with their meditation, he walked into the woods and disappeared again.

Although the winter solstice had passed, the ice field being the tip of the north, made the daytime very short. Within a few twin hours, the sky darkened again.

On this dark night with limited vision, anyone could be affected and start to feel sleepy and careless. This was the best opportunity for an assassination or siege. However, unbeknownst to the duo on the situation within the faction, the two spent the night peacefully—let alone assassins, there weren’t even any boreal owls flying over their heads. 

Once the moon tilted to the west, the early morning’s approaching light was visible. Layers of dark clouds suddenly gathered and shrouded the stars in the sky, making the sky dark once again.

Luo Yin silently reunited with the duo with a dignified expression.

“We thought wrong.” His brows furrowed tighter. “E’Luo Jue didn’t send more forces to Baiwu Tower, but he strengthened the defence against the Imperial Army...What’s more, he also withdrew the orders on you two. With this result, I’m afraid it would be more difficult for me to sneak into the Heiyu Army in time.”

Hearing this news, Gu Feidi said anxiously, “He withdrew the assassination order? How did this happen?”

Luo Yin shared, “Withdrawing that order and leaving the Baiwu Tower alone. This new order is very puzzling. It looks like a trap from every angle.”

Gu Feidi wondered, “If E’Luo Jue needed Shixiong’s female royal blood, could it be...he set up an ambush in the tower in an attempt to capture him alive? What is the current Great Shaman capable of?”

Luo Yin couldn’t answer this question for a moment. 

After a moment of hesitation, he uttered, “My uncle and I can’t infiltrate the Baiwu Tower for the time being. The only thing that I know of is the current Great Shaman lives in seclusion and rarely appears. The number of shamans was greatly reduced by more than half of the previous generation, and those who survived the internal war are all E’Luo Jue’s confidants.”

This piece of information made Su Yang flatten his lips. “No matter if there is a trap or an ambush waiting for us. We have to break through it anyway to get what we are seeking. Luo Yin, the Lesser Cold is tomorrow. If it snows, we will move in...you can use this chance to sneak in. As long as you get into the Royal Court, it’s more convenient for you to find someone you can contact.”

Luo Yin thought for a moment and agreed. “Since things have reached this point, that’s our best option. I’ll inform my uncle about this new plan and then meet back with you two.”

With that, he turned and departed. 

Su Yang and Gu Feidi stood under the shadow of a huge cedar tree. They leaned against the trunk with their hands laced together.

“I’m afraid this operation is more dangerous than we imagined.” Gu Feidi suddenly whispered. 

Su Yang turned his head to look at the younger man for a moment. He smiled brightly and teased, “Where did this sudden doubt come from?”

Gu Feidi murmured, “This is a battlefield, there are bound to be many variables. You see, E’Luo Jue’s order was beyond all our expectations. Once it snows and we begin our assault on the Baiwu Tower, we won’t know how many changes we will encounter.”

Su Yang swung their tightly clasped hands and chuckled, asking, “So are you feeling nervous, or fear right now?”

Gu Feidi returned the smile. “If I was to be all alone in this world. I naturally won’t be nervous or afraid of anything.”

Then, he turned and stood in front of Su Yang, using his free hand to straighten out the other man’s loose hair tenderly.

“But, it’s just...this is regarding your survival. That’s why I’m worried.” He confessed. “If the outcome of this war was not what either of us wanted, it would have been better if at the start…”

“You are way more timid than before.” Interrupting the other man, Su Yang feigned mockery and hummed lightly. “Since we’re here already. What else is there to worry about?”

After a long time, Gu Feidi sighed and shook his head. He forced a smile. “Love leads to fear, love leads to worry...I don’t want anything to happen to you, but I don’t have the ability to shield everything with these hands of mine, and...I don’t have the time to become stronger.”

Hearing this, Su Yang smiled affectionately. 

His smiling eyes were filled with adoration and yearning. He stared into Gu Feidi’s eyes for a long time and comforted, “You don’t have to worry about this and now...Now, you just have to do one thing.”

Gu Feidi was puzzled. “What one thing?”

Su Yang raised his free arm and wrapped it around Gu Feidi’s neck. The affectionate smile remained on his face as he raised an eyebrow. 

“...Kiss me.”