Rising Phoenix

“Here!”

“Kill!”

“Yes!”

A sword gleamed and blood sprayed Yao Yangyu’s face. Zhu Shirong howled in misery before collapsing, twitching a little before he stilled.

Blood pooled, and silence filled the air.

No one had been able to accept that this newly famous young general was truly as fearsome as the stories said, but now they saw indisputable proof of his character. He sought his enemy’s death, and they died; the Supreme Commander’s name could not stop her, and His Highness Prince Chu’s name only goaded her forward.

The officers and soldiers stared down at the spreading red, their minds still as if the blood was pooling in their lungs, sealing their voices and hindering their thoughts.

Feng Zhiwei watched as the blood spread until it almost touched her feet, her gentle smile never shifting.

Now that she had made her return, she would not be an aimless Wei Zhi hiding his ability and biding his time — she was now a powerful Wei Zhi who would overturn the rivers and seas! She would not be satisfied by one death or a thousand, for her aim was to step into the heavens until she stood above all powers, everything would change, and all would be beneath her feet!

The intercepted Imperial Orders showed the Tian Sheng Emperor’s growing discontentment with Chunyu Meng’s reticence; if Wei Zhi bared his fangs now, he would surely catch the Emperor’s eye and contribute merit for promotion.

And this bastard just happened to offer himself up for her sword!

“Alright, that’s that.” Feng Zhiwei casually clapped her hands. “Yangyu, replace the bad pieces and then we’ll head back.”

“Yes!”

As Wei Zhi was preparing to leave, the poor vice general had to stop them once more, but as he looked down at the cooling corpse, he did not know what to say. Feng Zhiwei glanced at the man, suddenly asking: “It is said that the honorable Military Inspector will arrive soon?”

The vice general looked up in confusion, not understanding the question.

“You can step aside.” Feng Zhiwei eyed the man, a faint smile on her lips. “The Military Inspector will arrive with Imperial Orders tonight, and if I am not wrong, I will be promoted at least to vice general. So, my vice general peer, please step aside.”

Halfway through her words, Feng Zhiwei’s eyes had already dismissed the man, flicking away. The vice general could only shiver under his cold sweat, his eyes glancing over the ferocious Hu Zhuo horsemen behind Wei Zhi, the burly men all staring with killing intent, hands on their blades.

If he insisted on stopping them, Vice General Wei did not mind taking another life.

This vice general understood the favor Wei Zhi held with the Tian Sheng Emperor — the man was a teenage hero who had rendered extraordinary merit as the South Sea Imperial Envoy, and his sweeping return to the battlefield revealed an equally impressive talent in war. This was excellent news for Tian Sheng, for the dynasty’s old generals were dying and no talented youngsters had risen to replace them. With such great past merit and such clear talent, even if he added the murder of a vice general on top of Zhu Shirong’s execution, no one would dare stir against him.

And so the vice general retreated, watching silently as Yao Yangyu finished his work and followed Wei Zhi away. By the time command had sent others to investigate, Feng Zhiwei had already left.

Just as Feng Zhiwei and her cavalry had exited the camp’s north gate, a cloud of dust swept in from the west, a long, snaking team marching for that very same northern gate. Above the men, a huge apricot-orange banner soared, emblazoned with the name Ning.

The two groups brushed past each other.

Underneath the apricot-colored flag, a man in leisure robes eyed the rising dust behind the Hu Zhuo horsemen and smiled, calmly calling out praise: “What fierce some horsemen!”

Chunyu Hong stood by in welcome, nodding and stroking his beard, “His Highness is wise, able to understand strength by the size of the dust cloud. Such vision is truly beyond our ability.”

All the other generals and important officers joined in the ass kissing; all of them understood that Prince Chu was the most powerful prince, and if they did not take this time to suck up, when would they?

“Who led those horsemen?” Ning Yi calmly replied, his faint smile never changing as the others heaped praise upon his shoulders. “Just this good soldier’s skill in training is deserving of meritorious mention to the Emperor.”

“That was the Hu Zhuo Shunyi Steel Battalion, a cavalry regiment with many recent military distinction.” Chunyu Hong obediently explained, “Their leader is the returned Master Wei.”

Ning Yi fell silent, his smile freezing.

The officers were all experienced men, and as this imperturbable prince revealed clear shock through his legendary pokerface, they all wisely sat back and shut up.

Only Chunyu Hong failed to understand, and the man continued explaining the distinctions the cavalry troop had won. Only when he began touching on Wei Zhi’s title of ‘Steppe Fox’ did he realize Prince Ning Yi’s strange silence, and the Supreme Commander of the Northern Expedition fell into awkward silence, his words dying on his tongue as Prince Chu stared off into the fading dust cloud.

When the words stopped, Ning Yi immediately recovered, smiling quietly as he replied. “Your story of the battles between Master Wei’s Shunyi Steel Battalion and the Da Yue are truly stirring. I am deeply moved, and I will ask the Emperor to record these meritorious deeds. Your camp has clearly ordered things well, and I will mention your achievements to His Majesty as well.”

The officers stirred with excitement and Prince Chu’s words filled them with happiness. All of Prince Chu’s rumored wisdom and sophistication seemed now to be proven fact, and though the main camp had not fought any battles recently, his words lifted them up with pride.

Chunyu Hong thought rapidly; he was in Prince Chu’s faction and held the role of Commanding General — the unspoken balance of the Imperial Court dictated that Prince Chu should not be the Military Inspector for his own man, and Chunyu Hong had even heard rumors that the Seventh Prince was to be chosen for the role, but Prince Chu has still arrived. To have two powerful positions in the army held by the same faction was greatly disapproved by the Emperor, and the heavens only knew how much His Highness had maneuvered to take on this role.

With Xin Ziyan at the Yu County Camp as military advisor, Chunyu Hong guessed that His Highness had played his hidden trumpet card. Xin Ziyan had always positioned himself to oppose Prince Chu in the Imperial Court, and His Majesty valued Xin Ziyan greatly as one of the people most able to balance Prince Chu’s rising power. This was Xin Ziyan’s greatest strength in Dijing.

His Majesty had accepted Prince Chu’s position as Military Inspector, but had dispatched Xin Ziyan to monitor him. Although His Majesty had fallen for His Higness’s trap, this move did in fact harm Prince Chu’s plans, removing his most valued subordinate from the snake pit in Dijing.

With faction’s main forces deployed to the northern border far from Dijing, any misfortune would make retreat difficult and ensure a terrifying future.

Dijing’s political climate could easily shift, so why would Prince Chu leave without Xin Ziyan at home protecting their interests? Why had he come to the northern border to act as Military Inspector?

Chunyu Hong’s thoughts went round and round, and he could not help but think that this wise and brilliant Prince Chu had made a mistake. This move did not seem advantageous for their faction. Perhaps His Highness had a profound reason for this move? But no matter the angles Chunyu Hong, the situation seemed to only have ills.