Rising Phoenix

Second Tiger and Third Falcon[1] grabbed Gu Nanyi and Helian Zheng and ran for the cliffs, clambering up ropes the others had let down.

Hua Qiong did not move, clutching her twin blades and staring at Feng Zhiwei. Feng Zhiwei barely held on to her composure, managing a smile as she said: "I suddenly had a better idea. Did you see that man by the camp gate, he's also a part of my plan, you'll see!"

Hua Qiong examined Feng Zhiwei without understanding, completely unable to process why any of this was happening.

Cold sweat dripped down Feng Zhiwei's back, and she casually leaned against her sword to support her trembling legs, smiling around clenched teeth: "Go quickly, don't ruin my plan!"

With that, she lifted a hand and sent the flare signal.

Feng Zhiwei shot the flare and kicked Hua Qiong towards the cliffside, and even though the loud noise and sudden brightness summoned wary enemies from their tents, all of them were momentarily blinded by the light. Shocked by the sudden move, Hua Qiong instinctively moved as Feng Zhiwei intended and was soon climbing up the cliff.

Jin Siyu and Kereyid stood together before the main tent, their faces ghastly pale. When the brightness faded, Jin Siyu turned and spotted the shadows on the cliffs; Second Tiger and Third Falcon were both carrying people and were only halfway up the cliffside.

Jin Siyu smirked coldly and with a flick of his hand, a bow appeared in his grasp with a thick, black arrow already knocked. He slowly drew the bowstring, the bow creaking calmly as he aimed for Helian Zheng's back.

Jin Siyu's eyes were sharp, and though there were many silhouettes climbing the cliff, the ones being carried had a higher probability of importance, and so he did not even stop to think as he aimed at the faceless and unrecognizable Helian Zheng.

Feng Zhiwei immediately shot another firework, aiming it at a torch in front of the tent. The makeshift flare shattered into the torch letting fly errant flame and sparks, the loud sound and bright light forcing Jin Siyu and Kereyid into alarmed retreat and throwing the heavy arrow off its course.

The Da Yue camp was in full chaos with clueless people rushing around and no real command structure; Jin Siyu had to calm his men and rally his officers before he could pay any attention to the people escaping over the cliff.

Kereyid finally spotted Feng Zhiwei, his eyes gleaming as he turned to speak to Jin Siyu. The prince was grabbing a sabre from a nearby soldier and moving to cut a rope dangling from the cliffside when they were all interrupted by a sudden masculine roar: "Kereyid!"

Kereyid turned right in time as a blood covered man pounced forward, grabbing him and biting down on Kereyid's neck.

Kereyid cried out: "You again!"

Chaos reigned and everyone was variously stunned, horrified, surprised, and confused. Only Feng Zhiwei retained her calm, and she ran behind the cliff while Kereyid and Jin Siyu were distracted, pressing through the tall grass and fumbling her way into the secret retreat that they had prepared for just such strange misfortune.

Once sequestered within the hole, she peeked out and recognized the bloody man as one of Helian Zheng's Eight Valiants, Big Roc[2]. The man's robes were covered in filth and his expression was torn with madness as he latched onto Kereyid with a death grip. Feng Zhiwei had no idea where he had come from or why he was here or why he had such great hatred for Kereyid.

Kereyid was bemoaning his fate; he had used mind control witchcraft to extract Helian Zheng's destination from Big Roc, and when he had guessed at the plan he had hurried over to inform Jin Siyu, not expecting Da Peng to be strong minded enough to regain consciousness on his own. But Big Roc had not fully awoken and was possessed with only the most recent memory of his failure in protecting his King, and so it was under a haze of regret and resentment and hatred for Kereyid that he had chased the man across many li. He was the strongest of the Eight Valiants, and in his mad recklessness his strength had only grown; Kereyid could never throw him off and had been delayed time and time again, and it was in this way that Big Roc had unwittingly bought time for and saved Feng Zhiwei and her people.

In the chaos, Big Roc had forced his way into camp, recognized his master being carried up the cliffside, spotted Kereyid, and felt a new burst of anger and hatred fill him — everything leading up to a sudden attack and him biting down on Kereyid's throat!

Kereyid managed to jerk his head, but Big Roc's sharp teeth still dug a hole into his throat. Blood spurted as the deposed patriarch's rage soared, and the man tightened his grip on his blade as he whacked and stabbed, but though Big Roc roared and grunted with pain as his flesh was torn and his bones crushed, he refused to let Kereyid loose, biting and gnawing and tearing with teeth like a crazed beast.

The two fell to the ground and rolled around like fighting animals; blood flowed and flesh flew loose, leaving great scarlet marks on the ground. The sudden and terrible fight left even Jin Siyu stunned.

"Big brother!"

A heart-ripping roar came from the cliff as Second Tiger and Third Falcon finally turned and saw what was happening. Their eyes were bloodshot and tense and their hands twitched as if to let go of the cliffside and rush back to camp, but they forced themselves to continue forward, their nails cracking against the stone with the tightness of their renewed grips.

"Shoot!" Jin Siyu called out, pointing to the cliff.

Feng Zhiwei's eyes snapped upwards; Third Falcon and Second Tiger were only an arm-length from the top of the cliff, but they would not make it in time. Without hesitation, she tore off her mask and unraveled her neat hair before running out of the hole.

At least she tried to run, but in truth she rolled weakly, all her strength drained out of her even as her meridians burned. She could only push herself to roll and roll again, moving for Jin Siyu, causing him to flinch back and draw his bright blade at the unexpected approaching shadow.

Jin Siyu still maintained his awareness despite the shock, and he leapt upwards to dodge the coming attack, but Feng Zhiwei moved as if she could anticipate his every thought. After her initial horizontal strike, she shifted the angle of her blade and thrust viciously upwards at Jin Siyu's crotch.

An alarmed Jin Siyu hurriedly pulled away, flipping backwards and barely keeping his feet as he landed, his sword immediately ready for the next attack, but Feng Zhiwei was collapsed on the ground and weakly waving at him as if saying "you can rest now."

Jin Siyu's face paled and he turned back to the cliff. Second Tiger and Third Falcon had already disappeared over the cliff edge and vanished into the darkness.

The prince snorted angrily and strode forward, his sword gleaming coldly as he struck down at Feng Zhiwei's heart!

Feng Zhiwei lay motionless, no strength left within her. The ground beneath her shook with the galloping hoofs of ten thousand horses, but she could not tell if that was her pounding heart or Yao Yangyu's cavalry.

The night had been filled with unexpected misfortune, but the plan had not completely failed. The only pity was that she would not survive.

A heavy weight had lain on her heart since her mother's death, and as she thought of letting it all go, Feng Zhiwei did not feel sad or reluctant, but relieved — death was good, freedom from painful heartache and difficult decisions.

And so she smiled as the snowy gleam of the sword fell towards her, and she saw a solemn palace perched atop a thousand levels of jade stairs. On high in place of honor sat a golden throne carved with flying dragons and soaring phoenixes, and a luxuriantly gorgeous and elegantly enchanting man was slowing sitting …

[1] Er Hu = Second Tiger; San Sun = Third Falcon. Eight Valiant naming scheme is ofc genius.

[2] Da Peng = Big Roc; the "Big" valiant AKA the FIRST valiant.