Chapter 19: Resolution

Jiang Changbai had witnessed death many times.

The weakening cries after servants who'd taken advantage of that provided by the Prince's residence while ingratiating themselves to outsiders had been whipped; the guilty ministers who'd been beheaded underneath the scorching midday sun, their heads tumbling and rolling a distance; even her father, Prince Ling, eyes suddenly widening after hearing Song Juguang's forces had encircled the capital, body crashing against the ground with a "bang". They'd all died, unresigned.

But she'd never seen this sort of death.

The old woman laid calmly on the, the light of the candles which had yet to burn out lighting up her wan face, the traces of blood around her lips not yet dried, slowly and sluggishly trickling. But her expression was incredibly tranquil, and the corners of her lips were pulled in a slight curve, a calm in the eyes which she hadn't managed to close. It seemed as if death had freed her of worldly worries.

Song Juguang's extended touched some of the wine that Jiang Changbai hadn't gotten around to drinking, and she brought it close to her nose, sniffing. "Not poisoned." She was somewhat doubtful, and picked up the cup which had just then been placed before her. It wasn't poisoned either. The old woman had never intended to kill them; she only wanted her own life.

Jiang Changbai sighed, and reached out a hand to help close the old woman's eyes. She said regretfully, "We ought not have told her." Her heart couldn't help but feel somewhat remorseful; if the old woman hadn't known of her daughter's death, then she'd still have worries on earth, and wouldn't have left this decisively. Good intentions had unwittingly caused harm.

"Waiting another few years would only be wasting time," Song Juguang said, clearly not having the same feeling. "The time they were parted wasn't long; with the old woman parting a bit more quickly, who could say whether or not she'd be able to catch up to her daughter in the underworld. With the mother and daughter on the same path, neither will be lonely."

By now, Jiang Changbai had already lifted the old woman up and placed her on the bed; hearing this, she was somewhat astonished. She'd always felt that Song Juguang was the person under the heavens who believed in the supernatural the least, but since they'd been reunited, it had actually been her who had repeatedly raised the topic. So, she asked, "You believe this?"

"Yes, I do," Song Juguang said, unexpectedly steady. "A Bai, the three worlds and six realms,^[1] all of them exist."

Seeing this expression of Song Juguang's, Jiang Changbai was somewhat uncomfortable saying anything. She only took it as Song Juguang having experienced some things she didn't know about in the many years they'd been parted which had changed her beliefs. So, she shrugged, and advanced towards the doorway. "If A Bai says they exist, then they must. But we can't stay here any longer; we ought to go to the relay station."

Yet, Jiang Changbai had only pushed the door open when she saw two groups of horses and troops neatly standing at the door, swords drawn and bows bent; with only a cursory glance, one could smell the scent of gunpowder dispersing between the two sides of them. Under the shine of the moonlight, without warning, this farming house, which couldn't be more common, had unexpectedly already been surrounded.

Jiang Changbai's complexion chilled; she couldn't fully recognise all the people carrying weapons as they stood before her.

Within the group, six people wore black, close-fitting attire, and bore face cloths, only a pair of keen eyes visible. At their waists, only darkly-coloured, short dao were hung, and if one didn't look carefully, they were hard to see. Seeing Jiang Changbai had come out of the home, it was as if they'd seen their indispensable pillar;^[2] the leader hurriedly came before her, lowering her head to respectfully call out, "Bixia".

It was Jiang Changbai who had called them to come.

Although Mount Tongshan wasn't far from the capital, and at this time, there were also Song Juguang's compatriots, Jiang Changbai couldn't help but make her own plans and preparations. The six of them, Meng Daosheng at the head, had been raised since childhood in the Prince's residence; although their martial skills were a far cry from Song Juguang's, Jiang Changbai trusted in them more. So, before leaving, she'd arranged for them to come wait in the village at the foot of Mount Tongshan, to prepare for a possible need.

But the other eight, Jiang Changbai had never met before. They all had tall, sturdy statures, and wore dark red clothes, long jian at their waists, and the withdrawn blades of them glinted with cold light under the moon. Even if they had intentions of concealment, a killing intent still showed in their eyes, as if they'd experienced countless fights in close quarters. Jiang Changbai swept her gaze across them, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Who are they?"

Meng Daosheng was somewhat hesitant. "Bixia, they're…"

Before she could finish speaking, Song Juguang unhurriedly stepped out of the abode, and, looking at those eight, sighed. "What sort of appearance is it to draw your blades before Bixia? Put them away quickly."

So, those eight people had never seen the face of the emperor; just then, after receiving Song Juguang's message, they'd hurried over on horse, and once they'd arrived, they'd seen that there were already six people waiting nearby; taking them as the enemy, those who'd drawn their dao had drawn their dao, and those who'd unsheathed their jian had unsheathed their jian, and for a while, had been in a state of mutual hostility.

Only on hearing Song Juguang's words did they understand they'd made a mistake, and hurriedly sheathed their jian into their scabbards, retreating to the side. Jiang Changbai cleared her throat, striving to make her tone serene. "You all came quite in time."

Song Juguang smiled faintly, leaning towards Jiang Changbai's ear to say, "Bixia, it seems we're all very cautious."

All very cautious.

Song Juguang's words were light, and, on the face of it, were incredibly candid. Yet a not inconsiderable amount of doubt rose in Jiang Changbai's heart. Despite the fact that she didn't want to admit it, she truly didn't much understand the current Song Juguang. She didn't know what Song Juguang had experienced in these few years; it was as if she didn't understand why the Song Juguang, who in the past, had said that, relying on oneself, everything was possible, would now earnestly speak to her about the genuine existence of three worlds and the six realms and reincarnation. She couldn't see through her, either; couldn't see through to whether all these actions of Song Juguang's were in order to make her sit more stably on the imperial throne, or whether she had deeper plans.

But Jiang Changbai also knew that this time wasn't a good time to investigate these matters. Not to speak of the as-yet still warm body of the old woman in the house behind her, and the unforeseen danger to He Leyong on Mount Tongshan, even if she threw all these out and didn't deal with them, her and Meng Daosheng and the others added together couldn't be a matched adversary for one of Song Juguang's. Having considered carefully to this point, Jiang Changbai's eyes darkened, and she suppressed the roiling in her heart, and pointed behind her, instructing Meng Daosheng, "You all, go bury the old woman in the house appropriately."

"Understood," Meng Daosheng replied quickly.

She'd only just finished speaking when the group started agilely moving. Jiang Changbai turned her head to look towards them, a forlonness gradually surfacing in her heart. She didn't know how many common people as pitiful as this old woman, and she didn't dare to imagine.

The couple people from the Cangwei remained in their original spots. Each one stood as straight as a brush, their gazes firmly fixed ahead, not glancing to the left or right. It was as if everything here, the people or the things, were meaningless to them.

But Jiang Changbai didn't want to see this.

She inhaled deeply, striving to make her voice more mighty, her gaze sweeping across them, and commanded, "You all, head up the mountain to escort He-daren into the capital."

Not a single person paid her any mind.

The surroundings were incredibly silent, only the sound of Meng Daosheng and the others digging. They didn't have any idea as to the identity of that old woman, and thought that she had lost her life due to having committed a wrong. The pit that the old woman had left after digging out the wine had become Meng Daosheng and the others' first choice. Jiang Changbai couldn't bear it, and once more used a voice no different from before to repeat her command. Meng Daosheng, who heard it, hurried to bring her subordinate to swap places. Yet the people standing before Jiang Changbai didn't move.

The Cangwei soldiers still stood in their original spots, as if Jiang Changbai's command towards them was only the sound of the wind, occasionally brushing by their ears. How could Jiang Changbai not know that it wasn't that they couldn't hear her command, but that they didn't want to hear it? Or, that was to say, the one who could command them was another.

Jiang Changbai's heart sank, and she felt powerlessness and indignance flood her chest. She turned her head to look at Song Juguang, yet saw that her expression had become slightly complicated. The corners of Song Jugang's mouth rose faintly, yet an indistinct dissatisfaction appeared on her features. No one would be unhappy that the troops under their command were loyal to them, but the one they were disobedient towards was Jiang Changbai.

All beneath the heavens were the Emperor's land, and of those who were the Great Li's soldiers, who wouldn't listen to the imperial edict?

Song Juguang coughed lightly, her tone unhurried. "You all, come with me up the mountain to escort her."

The group seemed to be like an acupuncture point that had finally been opened, replying "Understood" and going to untie the reins of the horses tied to the trees. Song Juguang's gaze swept over them, and then she turned her head to look at Jiang Changbai. Song Juguang said, "Bixia, Yan Gaoge and the others don't know Laoshi; if I command them to go up the mountain alone, I fear it will delay matters."

Jiang Changbai nodded. Only at this did she recognise the leader of those eight people as Yan Gaoge. Just the other night she'd taken a squadron to go search houses and confiscate possessions; now, in the dead of night, she'd appeared at the foot of Mount Tongshan. Jiang Changbai didn't know whether she'd followed the entire way here, or whether she'd hurried along after receiving Song Juguang's command, but regardless of which possibility it was, to Jiang Changbai, it wasn't good news.

Jiang Changbai sighed, and lowered her voice. "Go; be sure to be careful; I'll be waiting at the relay station waiting for you."

The horizon was entirely covered in a curtrain of blackness; Meng Daosheng, holding a torch, led a horse at the very front to open the path; the other five were dispersed, and protected Jiang Changbai among them. The group hurried towards the relay station on the official road, the sound of hoofbeats sending dust flying.

But Jiang Changbai's thoughts had long since departed from here. In her mind, she couldn't stop recalling the situation when she'd left from the foot of Mount Tongshan just then. She and Song Juguang had just gotten out of the danger of the bear's mouth, racing towards a safe place. Jiang Changbai could remember the rapid pace of her heartbeat, could remember Song Juguang's loose hair dangling against her neck. She knew that she ought to have been afraid, but at that time, her heart hadn't had half a degree of worry.

When she thought of this, Jiang Changbai couldn't help but smile bitterly. In the end, the person she ought to trust the least right now was Song Juguang. Each day the power of the military was in her hand was a day that her own title as Emperor wasn't secure.

But if everything were thrown away, the person Jiang Changbai trusted the most now was also Song Juguang.

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Translator's notes:

[1]: The belief in Buddhism of the Trailokya (三界, san jie), usually the three worlds of heaven, mortals, and the underworld, and the six realms (六道, liu dao) which souls can be reborn into in the cycle of samsara.

[2]: 主心骨 (zhuxingu), literally "backbone" in the metaphorical sense, but that term would give a more negative reading in this particular case.