He wanted to touch her hand. As he was about to do so, a dark cloud drifted over and blocked the moon, causing darkness to envelope the landscape. Yan Xun stood there awkwardly with his hand outstretched. The snow on the ground was scattered about by the wind, onto his cloak. He appeared like a statue in the snow.

　　She had not met Yan Xun despite staying in the military camp for three days. Only on the fourth day did he travel down from the pass. When she saw him, she was in the midst of packing her baggage. Yan Xun walked in uninvited, without a soldier alerting her. The blinding ray of light shone from his back. Chu Qiao turned around and was momentarily blinded. Yan Xun was wearing a long, black robe, with golden dragon patterns embroidered on it. He stared at her deeply, remaining silent for a long time.

　　The light was blinding. The specks of dust could be seen floating around under the light. Chu Qiao looked at Yan Xun. In that instant, it felt like they were in Yingge Court many years ago. The young man had just come back from his martial arts training, all sweaty. He liked to stand behind her without making any noise, waiting for her to discover him. Back then, they were lonely. Other than each other, they had no one else. Unlike now, when they were surrounded by many people, they seemed to drift even further apart. Chu Qiao stood up and wanted to kneel down to salute him, but could not manage to call him “Your Majesty”. Yan Xun walked up to her and held her hand. She did not resist nor look up. Her body was held in the man’s embrace, while her forehead leaned on his chest. She could hear his lively heartbeat, which reminded her of the war drums at Beishuo City. The sky was bright; the landscape was colored a bright golden. The curtains of the tent fluttered in the air due to the winds. Chu Qiao widened her eyes, seemingly able to visualize the green grasses in the season of harvest. Her heart had drifted far away, and was no longer with him.

　　“AhChu, are you leaving?” Yan Xun asked in a low voice, but she did not reply. He let go of his hand, seeing her half-hearted gaze. “AhChu?”

　　Chu Qiao raised her head and nodded. “Yes, I’m leaving tomorrow.”

　　“The new year is coming. Stay with me.”

　　“There’s no need to. I have some things to settle, I need to go back.”

　　Yan Xun replied stubbornly, “Leave it to other people. I want to spend the new year with you.”

　　“The Quanrong people are coveting Meilin Pass. I’m worried.”

　　“They need to celebrate the new year too,” Yan Xun looked at her and said. As if nothing had happened between them, he continued, “No need to settle this personally. I will send someone else to settle this matter.”

　　Chu Qiao remained silent and lowered her head, looking at the little circles of light forming on the ground, like a lattice. Yan Xun’s mood brightened up as he said that he wanted to bring Chu Qiao to Xiling City to spend the new year. That was a new city that he had established. It was prosperous and lively. He had prepared a comfortable mansion and a personal room for her. He repeatedly emphasized that he had eaten a delicious snack while he was young. After he had recovered Yan Bei, he looked around for the chef who had prepared it for him. When he tracked him down, he realized that the chef had died amidst the conflict. Luckily, his son was still alive and had inherited his father’s culinary skills. Presently, he was housed in the courtyard of Xiling City. He droned on and on, and started to appear naggy.

　　Chu Qiao listened for a long time before she looked up and said quietly, “Yan Xun, I don’t wish to stay here.”

　　Yan Xun was stunned as he appeared tongue-tied. His endless stream of words stopped. He looked at Chu Qiao and answered after a long while, “You’re still blaming me?”

　　Chu Qiao shook her head and replied calmly, “It’s just that I don’t wish to stay here and pretend to be at peace with you, acting as if nothing has happened. When you have sorted out your thoughts and let go of everything, including your suspicions, I’ll come again.”

　　Yan Xun stood there as the look on his face turned cold. He stared at Chu Qiao deeply, and then turned around to walk out. He took big strides; his shadow disappeared in a flash.

　　Chu Qiao sat on her bed, suddenly feeling fatigued. She felt that cold wars like this were meaningless, but she could not find another escape route for herself. The Quanrong people were still making trouble outside the pass. Furthermore, after the new year, spring would have arrived. She needed to make precautions in advance. Also, she had the trade exchange session coming up in spring. There were many things lying in wait for her, but she revelled in having errands to run. She smiled bitterly and helplessly as she continued to pack her baggage. This military camp was too suffocating; she did not wish to remain here any longer.

　　Yan Xun sat in the central tent, flanked by his generals on both sides. The atmosphere in the tent was suffocating as the generals were moody. It did not have the happy mood of the new year.

　　“If we go to battle, based on our abilities at hand, the Second Army can deal with 100,000 to 150,000 Xia troops. With a bit of luck, we can withstand the attacks of about half the Xia army’s forces for two days. However, their frontline commander cannot be Zhuge Yue. A while back, at Queshu Valley, he killed over 2,000 of our people. The soldiers fear him. I’m fearful that the low morale of the soldiers will affect the outcome of the battle,” a general delivered his analysis.

　　Another person spoke up, “Based on our scouts’ reports, Zhuge Yue is not currently in the camp. It looks like he has headed back to Zhen Huang as the Xia Emperor is gravely ill. As Zhao Che’s ally, he should support him in ascending the throne. However, there are rumors circulating that the Xia Emperor has decided his successor to the throne, and it is not Zhao Che.”

　　“The new year is coming. The Xia army is unstable in terms of morale. Zhuge Yue is not around too. If we take this opportunity to barge into Yanming Pass, it is a feasible idea. Your Highness, this is the military strategy map that the Military Strategy Department has come up with.”

　　Yan Xun scanned the map coldly, seeing all sorts of fancy writing scrawled on the paper. Cavalry troops at the frontline, shielded troops behind… It was but a strategy of frontal attack, flanked by backup forces at the sides. They were but ordinary military strategies. He frowned and looked at the commander, who was about 30 years old. Coldly, he questioned, “Is this the strategy that you guys have come up with after working around the clock for over 10 days?”

　　The man was shocked, cold sweat trickled down his face. “We have analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition and ourselves, we have analyzed…”

　　“That’s enough.” Yan Xun interrupted him brashly and continued, “Are there any more practical things to report?”

　　No one dared to raise any more suggestions, seeing that Yan Xun was in a foul mood. In a short moment, everyone in the big tent took their leave, leaving Yan Xun alone as he sat there, frowning, in a foul mood.

　　In a short while, another shadow walked in and knelt on the ground. He lowered his voice and remarked, “I did not let you down. I have something to report to Your Highness.”

　　The daylight was blinding as it shone on a badge of a red cloud on the man’s collar. The symbol used to be on the ensign of the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison. Presently, it was representative of the Xiuli Army.

　　That day, Yan Xun did not eat his dinner. He gathered his trusted aides over the night, and left the camp together with an army of 5,000 guards without even saying goodbye to Chu Qiao. As his troops stepped out of the military camp, the Canhong sword which she had placed on the table gave off a thud. Chu Qiao turned around suspiciously, only seeing the fumes from the incense pot. She felt her heart beat rapidly. She took a sip of tea; the icy cold liquid trickled down her throat, but was unable to cool off the feeling of panic she felt in her heart.

　　What was going on? She frowned slightly. The snow raged on outside, making the surroundings appear desolate.

　　When Yan Xun received the news and arrived at Daping, the battle had ceased. Zhuge Yue’s forces had departed, leaving a heap of bodies and swords behind. The group of 500 assassins which Yan Xun had valued highly had been wiped out; none of them were left alive. Looking at the mountain of bodies, Yan Xun felt his temples throbbing.

　　“Your Highness,” Cheng Yuan bowed and stood by his side, saying respectfully, “do you want me to go back and gather some people? He is in our territory. Would he be able to escape?”

　　The look in Yan Xun’s eyes was deep as he looked at the corpses again, their eyes still wide open.

　　Cheng Yuan stood at the side and asked hurriedly, “Your Highness?”

　　“Gather some people immediately.”

　　Seeing that Yan Xun had adopted his suggestion, he nodded happily and asked, “How many people does Your Highness want?”

　　“Bring the entire Black Eagle Army over.”

　　“Ah?” Cheng Yuan, who was a master schemer, was shocked upon hearing Yan Xun’s words. He asked in surprise, “Your Highness, the recruitment drive for the Black Eagle Army has just ended. There are over 100,000 people, while Zhuge Yue has barely 300. Are so many people needed?”

　　Yan Xun sneered lightly as his gaze shifted towards the invisible enemy, hidden amongst the vast, snowy plains. His eyes were squinted. Coldly, he replied, “If we kill him, it is akin to severing half of Zhao Che’s brains and one of Xia’s limbs. It is more impactful than killing 200,000 Xia troops. Tell the soldiers to kill Zhuge Yue once they see him. The person that chops off his head will be conferred the title of a general.”

　　“Yes!” Cheng Yuan obliged loudly, turning around to leave on his horse.

　　The horse’s hoofs stepped in the snow, causing it to scatter about. Yan Xun stood there silently for a long time, before he whispered, “This time, I want you to die.”

　　That day, on the eastern battlefields of Yan Bei, troops were being actively mobilized. The newly-assembled Black Eagle Army was brought out by Cheng Yuan, in the name of participating in a guerrilla warfare exercise. The Xia officials in charge of keeping surveillance on the Yan Bei troops were perplexed, and reported the matter to the military strategists of Xia. After a long period of analysis, they concluded that a heavy snowstorm had broken out in Yan Bei, causing large amounts of civilian casualties. Hence, Yan Bei had no choice but to mobilize the troops to aid in the disaster relief efforts. This conclusion was warmly appraised by the officials as they rejoiced at Yan Xun’s misfortune. In addition, there was one less threat in the form of that huge army. They heaved a sigh of relief, and immediately conveyed the news to the central camp of Xia’s frontline troops. However, Zhao Che’s military officer felt that this was an insignificant matter. Even in the absence of the Black Eagle Army, the frontline troops of Xia would not be a match for the First and Second Armies. The strategy of Xia had been decided beforehand. They would wait until the spring of next year, after the war between themselves and Tang had ceased. Hence, he withheld this piece of “insignificant” news, intending not to disturb Zhao Che, who was already occupied with other matters.

　　More often than not, the course of history was changed in the hands of insignificant people, as they conjured up insignificant thoughts which would ultimately snowball into something larger. For example, presently, Zhao Che, the only person who knew of Zhuge Yue’s secret travels to Yan Bei, was unaware of this piece of important intel. This meant that he would not be able to send out reinforcements in time to aid Zhuge Yue. However, despite this, Yan Xun’s plans did not proceed smoothly. A day later, news from the battlefield spread back to the central tent, causing massive headaches to the generals.

　　The third detachment of the Black Eagle Army’s first light cavalry battalion, consisting of 500 people, had been wiped out. None of them returned alive.

　　The fourth detachment of the Black Eagle Army’s first light cavalry battalion, consisting of 500 people, were shot to death by arrows in a sneak attack; their corpses appeared like human sieves.

　　The 17th scout team of the light cavalry troops vanished into thin air. The consensus reached by the Military Strategy Department was that this army of 700 had lost their way in the snowstorm.

　　Six small scout sections of 20 people each vanished into thin air subsequently; none of them issued any distress signals, nor made it back to report the news.