Well, what would you like to eat then, Hua Cheng?
Xie Lian shifted to face Fu Yao and, intentionally or otherwise, when he took a step forwards, he shielded San Lang from view . “There is no need to remind me of who I am . On this, I am most clear . ”
“Then why the hell are you still standing there by his side?” Fu Yao seethed .
Xie Lian’s reply was frank . “Because…… I won’t be bitten by the snakes if I stand next to him . ”
“……”
San Lang choked a little at his answer, then burst into laughter . Fu Yao’s expression was thunderous . “You……”
His face grew steadily darker, then suddenly turned entirely black . Not just his face, Xie Lian’s entire view also bathed in pure darkness .
Turns out that the protective barrier of flames that Fu Yao had put up earlier, as well as the ring of fire he had drawn on the ground, have suddenly gone out!
In the darkness, Xie Lian heard San Lang snicker as he said, “Pathetic!” He felt an arm loop over his shoulders . Immediately after, Xie Lian heard something slamming hard and fast right above them in quick succession . Bang bang! It sounded like a torrential rainstorm striking and bouncing off a parasol .
Needless to say, now that the protective barrier has vanished, the purplish-red snakes had begun raining down on them in a veritable deluge again . And there is a parasol propped above them, deflecting the snakes!
Xie Lian caught a whiff of a heavy scent of blood . He was about to make a move, but San Lang said, “Don’t move . Nothing would dare come over here, if it knows what’s best for them . ”
His tone was calm and confident . The first part of his sentence was spoken gently, his voice mellow, but the later part was laced with arrogance . Xie Lian had not been worried to begin with, but then he heard Fu Yao bellowing angrily somewhere ahead . It seems that the rain of snakes had poured all over his head . Xie Lian urged, “San Lang!”
San Lang immediately said, “No . ”
Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or tear at his hair . “Do you know what I was about to say?”
San Lang replied, “Don’t worry yourself . He won’t die . ”
At this moment, a shriek sounded from somewhere laterally ahead of them . “BAN YUE! If you want me dead just let them bite me and get it over with . What the hell are you playing at?”
Ban Yue protested, “It wasn’t me!” In all likelihood, Ke Mo had been battered awake by the snakes, found himself buried in a seething mass of slippery bodies, and immediately determined this to be Ban Yue’s way of tormenting him .
Xie Lian said, “Fu Yao, can you still light up a fire? Cast another flame spell!”
Fu Yao was gnashing his teeth . “That thing by your side is suppressing my magic, I can’t light any fires!”
Xie Lian’s heart sank, but San Lang said, “I didn’t . ”
“I know you didn’t,” Xie Lian said . “And that’s precisely why this is strange . Ban Yue and Ke Mo are bound by the Immortal Binding ropes so their powers are restricted, I’ve run out of spiritual energy, and you’re not suppressing Fu Yao . Does that not mean that there is a sixth person in this pit?!”
Fu Yao was incensed . “Are you possessed! There’s no damned sixth person here, no one else has come down from up there!”
At this moment, they heard Ban Yue’s startled voice . “Who’s there?!”
Xie Lian said, “What’s wrong Ban Yue? Is there someone by your side?”
Ban Yue replied, “There’s a……” Her sentence ended here and her voice faded away . Xie Lian exclaimed in alarm, “Ban Yue?!”
Fu Yao was still thrashing about within the nest of snakes . For a brief moment, a white light shone like a beacon within the pitch darkness accompanied by a ripple of explosions . He warned, “Be careful, she may be luring you over to her!”
Xie Lian said, “Not necessarily . Let’s save her first!” He was about to dash into the rain of snakes, but then he heard San Lang’s voice by his ear . “Alright!”
Xie Lian felt a hand fasten on his shoulder, and then they were suddenly whirling out together . He realized with a start that the youth was actually handling a parasol with masterful skill . With one arm fastening Xie Lian to his side, San Lang surged forward in an attack . Within the inky darkness, sparks of silver flickered, accompanied by clear, ringing chimes . Suddenly, there was an ear-piercing screech of metal on metal which split everyone’s eardrums .
“Oh?” San Lang said . “So there really is a sixth person . How interesting . ”
Xie Lian could not tell how the youth handled his weapons, nor what his weapons even were . But right now, it was clear that his weapons have been met with someone else’s attack!
The other person was silent . Xie Lian could hear the whistling sound of blades cleaving the air, and deduced that another attack has been launched . From time to time, sparks burst out in brief flashes, shining stark within the darkness, but winked out just as quickly as they came . It did not suffice to illuminate the enemy’s face . Xie Lian trained an ear on the ongoing battle, and at the same time he called out, “Ban Yue, are you there? Can you answer me?”
There was no reply . Fu Yao huffed . “Mayhap the person you’re both fighting with is her!”
Xie Lian said, “No, this is definitely not Ban Yue!”
Just like how they had beat Ke Mo in the dark earlier, San Lang moved around languidly like he was merely humouring his opponent, except that he was a little more attentive this time . Their opponent had explosively powerful martial skills, and they handled their weapon smoothly and skillfully . Ban Yue’s build is petite . The brief flashes of light had illuminated a powerful looking arm, and the strength with which it wielded their weapon was clearly beyond Ban Yue’s capability . Hence it is impossible for their opponent to be her . But who could this sixth person be? And when did they even turn up to begin with?!
{T/N: I used ‘they’ to be gender neutral, but really it’s referring to only one person . }
“This sort of traitor who sells out her country is no different from that female ghost, Xuan Ji,” Fu Yao retorted “Why are you so insistent on trusting her?”
{T/N: Reminder, Xuan Ji was the ghost who murdered the brides and broke her own legs to get her former lover Pei Ming (aka General Pei) to see her again . }
Xie Lian said, “Fu Yao, can you stop being so irritable? You…… wait wait, what did you just say?”
Fu Yao crossly slapped at several Scorpion-Tailed snakes and sent them flying away with an explosive blast . “I said, why do you trust her so much? Just like how you trust that thing by your side!”
But Xie Lian said, “No, I wasn’t talking about this—– you said Xuan Ji . You mentioned Xuan Ji didn’t you?!”
“What of it?! What’s that got to do with anything!”
But Xie Lian held his breath for a moment, then suddenly said, “You can stop now! There’s no need for you to hide, I already know who you are!”
The sound of clashing blades did not waver . Their opponent paid no heed to him, but Xie Lian wasn’t overly concerned . “You think my words are only meant to trick you? General Pei Junior?”
{T/N: Previously translated as Little General Pei by Sakhyulations . Not to be confused with General Pei . }
Well, what would you like to eat then, Hua Cheng?
Fu Yao looked bewildered . “Who are you talking to? General Pei Junior? Have you gone mad? With the kind of status General Pei Junior holds, don’t you think everyone would know of it if he descends?”
Xie Lian nodded . “What you said is true . However, what if it was not his true, divine self that came down?”
In the dark, the sound of blades clashing seemed to freeze for a moment, then immediately continued .
Xie Lian said, “My realization came pretty late . In fact, this should have occurred to me long ago .
“I knew that there have been strange happenings at the Ban Yue pass for nearly two hundred years, but no Heaven’s Official has ever ventured to take notice of it . Since everyone else was reluctant to touch on the subject, it could only mean that someone has been deliberately suppressing the matter, and they dared not offend this person . But I wasn’t familiar with the rest of the Heaven’s Officials, so I dared not venture any guesses or make bold speculations as to who this big-shot is . ”
Xie Lian had only been reminded of the matter when Fu Yao mentioned the female ghost, Xuan Ji .
When on the subject of Xuan Ji, one would inadvertently connect her with the two generals from the Pei family . The North is the domain of the two Pei generals, and Fu Yao had once mentioned in passing : before General Pei Junior ascended to Heaven, he had once commanded the massacre of everybody in a captured city .
{T/N: Refer chapter 12, on Pei Su’s (aka General Pei Junior) brief history}
Which city was massacred?
It could very well have been the ancient country of Ban Yue!
This sort of thing is not unheard of among the officials of the Court of Heaven . In order to attain success, bloodshed has often been necessary . But then again, slaughtering the innocent folk in a captured city was not something one could brag about either . If word of it gets spread too far and wide, it would be difficult to attract new worshipers, so it was often necessary to cover up these matters . Even if everyone in Heaven knew of it, the polite thing to do would be to gloss over the subject . After all, unless one was harboring some sort of deep grudge or planned on causing mischief, who would go around digging up other people’s shameful histories and drawing the ire of their backers?
Xie Lian said slowly, “The face which was buried in the ground said, among us, there was someone who had been present fifty to sixty years ago . I thought his words were but lies to trick us to get closer, but now it seems that it spoke the truth .
“The one I suspected most was you . The caravans follow you, it’s no chore for you to lead them anywhere you wished . In all the years I spent in Ban Yue, I have never come across a single Scorpion-Tailed snake, yet you lot managed to come across such a rare, venomous creature while seeking shelter from the sand storm .
“When I agreed for you to come with us to seek the Moon Kindred herbs, you even left them with very specific directions to the ancient city of Ban Yue, just so if any of them couldn’t wait for our return, they could go ahead and serve themselves up to be slaughtered . Earlier at the top of the Sinners’ Pit, I did say that if anything were to happen I would step forth first . But you suddenly lost your head and jumped in for no reason, despite having been calm from the start . ”
Xie Lian paused briefly before summing it up . “Your actions have been bizarre and senseless all along, but it took me this long to figure it out . It really was slow of me, isn’t that right? General Pei Junior? Or should I call you—– Ah Zhao!”
Deathly silence ensued .
After a long while, a flat, cold voice said, “Has it ever occurred to you, that the face in the ground may have been referring to the youth in red by your side instead . ”
Flames blazed up within the Sinner’s Pit, illuminating two figures in bloody crimson facing each other .
One was San Lang in red who had already stowed away his weapons, looking calm and serene . The other was a plain garbed young man who was still holding a sword out horizontally before him, seemingly reluctant to back down .
Because the plain cotton of the young man’s clothing was soaked in blood, it gave the impression that he was dressed entirely in red . His expression was cold and remote, with a body slung over one of his shoulders . It really was Ah Zhao .
In fact, whether it is the deity General Pei Junior or Ah Zhao, that dull and stony expression he favored had always been the same . But Xie Lian’s thoughts had not led him in that direction, so he did not make the connection between these two people earlier .
The person he held draped over his shoulder was Ban Yue . Xie Lian guessed that he had released the snakes to distract them and steal Ban Yue away during the ensuing chaos, but since his mask has now been torn off, there was no longer any use in doing so . The snakes writhing on the ground and those still hailing down from above suddenly fell still . With a skillful twist of the wrist, Ah Zhao sheathed his sword with one hand and lowered Ban Yue to the ground with the other . Ke Mo gaped at him . “Who are you? Didn’t you fall to your death?”
Ah Zhao’s gaze did not waver from San Lang . “Ke Mo, you’re still the same after hundreds of years,” he replied curtly in the Ban Yue tongue
Ke Mo gave a start of recognition at his blandly indifferent tone, then rage suddenly suffused his swarthy features . “……It’s you!!! Pei Su?!”
If it wasn’t because he was firmly tied up by the Immortal Binding ropes, he probably would charged at the young man like a furious bull .
“General Pei Junior, the Scorpion-Tailed snakes do not only obey Ban Yue,” Xie Lian probed . “The snakes which would attack travelers at will were controlled by you, weren’t they . ”
“En, it was me,” Pei Su admitted . He seemed strangely pleased .
“Did Ban Yue teach you how to control the Scorpion-Tailed snakes?”
“She did not . But I can learn her ways on my own . ”
Xie Lian’s brows rose . “Indeed, General Pei Junior is truly gifted . ”
He paused, then asked, “When did you two first meet? And how did you meet?”
Pei Su gave him a brief look and said, “General Hua . ”
Xie Lian was baffled . “Why are you also addressing me this way?”
Pei Su said mildly, “Do you not recognize me, General Hua?”
“……”
Then Xie Lian recalled .
Hazy memories surfaced of Ban Yue as a child being ostracized by the other Ban Yue children, only a young Yong’An boy would occasionally take notice of her . Like Ban Yue, the boy was also taciturn by nature . Many of the children at the frontier were born to the soldiers defending the borders, and they tended to join the ranks after growing up as well . Could it be……
“It’s you?!” Xie Lian exclaimed . “I really only just recognized you . ”
Pei Su nodded . “It’s me . I too, only just recognized you, General . ”
No wonder . Turns out Ban Yue and the military official she colluded with have known each other from way back!
Xie Lian said, “Did Ban Yue really open the city gates because of you?”
Ke Mo spat at the floor, then began bucking around . “Untie me,” he demanded . “Let me and this despicable wretch Pei Su fight it out to the death!”
Pei Su replied coolly, “Firstly, we have already fought it out two hundred years ago, and you lost . Second, dare I ask which part of me is despicable?”
Ke Mo drew himself up angrily . “If it wasn’t for the two of you colluding to strike at us from inside and out, how would we have lost?!”
Pei Su’s lips curled in a faint sneer . “Ke Mo, stop deluding yourself . During the siege, even though I only brought two thousand men with me, as far as I’m concerned, breaking through the city gates was only a matter of time . ”
Xie Lian could not help blurting out, “Wait wait, you were sent to attack a whole country with only two thousand soldiers? Wasn’t it tantamount to suicide? Could it be that you were even more detested within the army than me??”
“……”
Pei Su stopped talking . It seems like he had hit the mark . Xie Lian added, “Since victory was in your grasp, why then did you ask Ban Yue to open the city gates for you?”
Pei Su said bluntly, “Because I wanted everyone in the city dead . ”
Xie Lian squinted at him . “What do you mean? Since you were already winning, what need was there to massacre everyone?” It can’t be some kind of hobby right!
Pei Su said, “It was precisely because we were winning, that the massacre was necessary . And it had to be done quickly and immediately, sparing no one . ”
Xie Lian noticed the grand way he emphasized on ‘sparing no one’ . “Reason being?”
Pei Su replied, “The night before the siege, many of the Ban Yue family heads convened and came to an agreement on one thing . ”
“What was it?”
“The Ban Yue people are naturally fierce with tendencies toward violence,” Pei Su explained . “They deeply hated Yong’an . Even if they knew that defeat was imminent, they would not submit to it . So all of Ban Yue’s men, women, children, elderly, were instructed to prepare one thing with utmost haste . ”
Xie Lian could already faintly guess at what it was, and the word Pei Su spat out confirmed his guess:
“Explosives!”
Pei Su drew his words out carefully . “They had decided that if the walls of the city fall, all the inhabitants would conceal these explosives within their bodies and immediately flee in different directions . They would then enter Yong’an and try to cause a ruckus to draw as large a crowd as possible, then set the explosives off . Even if they die, they will bring as many Yong’an people down with them as they could . Even if their nation has been vanquished, they would see to it that the ones who had defeated them would know no peace . ”
Hence it had been necessary to cut down all these civilians in one stroke before they could make a run for it……
Xie Lian immediately turned to look at Ke Mo . “Is this true?”
Ke Mo replied proudly, “Yes!”
San Lang lifted a brow . “How very vicious . ”
He said this in the Ban Yue tongue . Ke Mo’s face contorted in rage . “Vicious? What right do you have to call us vicious? If it were not you people who attacked us first, we would not have been forced to this . You destroyed us and we retaliated in turn, how are we in the wrong?!”
“Very well,” Pei Su said . “How about we start from the beginning? How many times have the Ban Yue people at the frontier stirred up trouble without reason? How many Yong’an caravans and travelers on the way to the Western Regions been maliciously intercepted by the Ban Yue nation? You people knew full well that there were horse thieves amongst you who specialized in deliberately barricading roads and wantonly plundering and slaughtering the Yong’an people, yet you sheltered them . The soldiers that Yong’an sent to round up these thieves and murderers were killed by you on grounds of trespassing . So tell me, have we not the right to deem you vicious?”
Although his speech was impassive and his tone inflectionless, every word was sharp and incisive . Ke Mo said, “But that was because you people first forcefully occupied our lands, so we struck back . ”
Pei Su said, “The borders between the two countries have never been clearly delineated, how was it considered forceful occupation?”
Ke Mo said, “Both sides have already marked out the territories long ago, but you people reneged on it!”
Pei Su returned, “The division of the territories was only agreed on your end, when has Yong’an ever acceded to it? Your so-called division of territories was to give us all the barren wastelands whilst you people kept all the oases for yourself . Ridiculous, no?”
Ke Mo was enraged . “The oases have always belonged to us . Generations of Ban Yue people grew up at the oases!”
Both parties obstinately stuck to their side of the story . Listening to them bicker incessantly was enough to make Xie Lian’s head throb . When he recalled how he had been caught in between both opposing armies and suffered a terrible beating two hundred years ago, he felt his face aching dully again . Pei Su turned away from Ke Mo dismissively and said to Xie Lian, “As you can see, the rights and wrongs of earthly affairs can never be clearly grasped . Only through force may the victor be decided . ”
Xie Lian said, “I agree with the first half of that statement . ”
San Lang said, “I agree with the second half . ”
Ke Mo’s anger subsided slightly, then he suddenly said, “The Yong’an people for the most part are shameless, and you are the most shameless one I have ever met . Pei Su, you are a cold-hearted man . Your killing us had never been for the sake of your country, nor was it to save your people . ”
Pei Su fell silent .
Ke Mo continued, “You were the son of an exile, scorned and despised by everyone . You only wanted to gain a foothold and establish yourself within the Yong’an army’s ranks and climb up the ladder, which was why you absolutely had to win that hopeless battle . But it’s a pity that Ban Yue thought highly of you . She was used by you, and betrayed us for the likes of you . ”
Xie Lian asked, “But General Pei Junior, aren’t you a descendant of General Pei’s?” With the protection of such a renowned ancestor whose fame spread far and wide, it ought not have been necessary to stoop to such tactics right?
“He may be related to General Pei, but who knows how many branches there are in that family tree,” San Lang said .
Ah . That is to say, if Pei Su had not had the ability to ascend to Heaven on his own merit, he was unlikely to have received any blessings from this old ancestor of his .
“Ban Yue was my subordinate,” Pei Su said mildly . “She went to Ban Yue nation and concealed herself there on my orders . She is of Ban Yue blood, and also of Yong’an . She chose a side and stuck to it, she has never betrayed her country . The Ban Yue people are sinister and capricious . I do not regret putting them to death . ”
Suddenly, a voice sounded from above . “WELL SAID! What then, of those travelers whom you lured through the pass to their ends in this pit for so many years, dare you say you do not regret their deaths as well?”
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