Chapter 21#
阿瓦 (3) (捉虫)#
The moment his fingers touched the Wolf’s Dart, a strange yet familiar sensation surged through his fingertips. Helan Feng grabbed the Wolf’s Dart, nocked an arrow, and drew the bowstring.
An ancient pulsation surged in his chest, a violent, boiling impulse erupting from the very depths of his blood. The seamless black arrow urged him to release, to let it plunge into the enemy’s flesh, devouring that coarse, hateful life.
Helan Feng released his fingers.
The Wolf’s Dart shot forth, piercing the cold wind.
It first struck the swordsman’s left chest. The force wasn’t spent; carrying boundless momentum, the arrowhead rotated, scraping against bone and organs, before exiting through the back. With a clang, it embedded itself firmly into the stone. Dark blood sprayed, staining half of the pristine white fletching.
The great broadsword fell to the ground, just inches from Awa. The swordsman collapsed backward. Only the muffled sound of iron striking stone and Helan Feng’s heavy breathing remained in the wind.
Finally, complete silence fell. Dragging his injured leg, Helan Feng limped towards Awa. He first checked Awa’s wounds, then whistled for Feixiao. Seeing the sword wound on his leg and the chest wound from the blade still seeping blood, Awa felt a lingering fear. “Gaoxin person, you…”
“I have a name,” Helan Feng said. “My name is Helan Feng, from Yetai. You are no ordinary priest—what is your true identity?”
Awa supported himself on Helan Feng to stand, then took a fire arrow from a leather pouch at his waist and lit the fuse to send a signal.
“Was it the Wolf’s Dart?” he asked. “Did the Wolf’s Dart make you suspect my identity?”
“The Wolf’s Dart was only one reason. An ordinary priest moving outside the city wouldn’t have nine guards accompanying him. Among your retinue were members of the Imperial Guard.”
Awa tore open the corpse’s clothing, and he and Helan Feng treated their respective wounds. Awa was also skilled at wound care, quick and deft, not delayed even a moment by the pain.
“My real name is Waxintu, heir to the Chieftain of Chiwang Plains, eldest son of the Beirong Heavenly Lord,” Awa said. “You may have heard my other name—the King of Cloud Continent.”
Helan Feng was so stunned he couldn’t speak for a long while.
The Beirong Heavenly Lord, Zheweng, had three daughters and one son. His son was granted the title King of Cloud Continent, meaning the ruler of Yuntai Peak, the highest peak of Chiwang Plains. Legend had it that the King of Cloud Continent killed indiscriminately, and at a young age had already performed many meritorious deeds in the campaigns where Zheweng quelled the internal conflicts of the five great tribes. Wearing a Wolf God helmet, riding a Ferghana horse, wielding spear and long blade, he was a killing god, unstoppable by man or Buddha, a terrifying nightmare upon Chiwang Plains.
Yet the young man before him bore not a trace of killing intent. Even after the thrilling slaughter just moments ago, his expression remained calm, utterly unruffled.
“Helan Feng, my brothers and close friends call me Awa,” Awa said. “If you call me King of Cloud Continent again, it will seem too distant. Keep this Wolf’s Dart—I give it to you.”
Feixiao carried Helan Feng’s medicine pouch on his back, but the slash on Awa’s arm was severe. The medicinal powder washed away immediately upon contact with the blood, making it impossible for him to mount a horse and travel.
Fortunately, after a short while, a troop of armored horsemen arrived—the escort squad for the King of Cloud Continent. Seeing Awa severely injured, everyone’s faces turned pale as parchment. They brought a carriage and a priest skilled in medicine. After treating Awa’s wounds, they helped him into the carriage.
At this moment, Helan Feng suddenly knelt behind Awa.
“King of Cloud Continent, please save someone for me.”
Helan Feng could not ride with the King of Cloud Continent, but Awa left a priest with him to accompany him home.
Awa commanded him to rise. “Save who?”
“My friend, Jin Yue,” Helan Feng said. “He was originally a hostage prince from Dayu, now a slave of the Helan family in Yetai. Today, he was summoned to the Royal City by the Heavenly Lord, but I don’t know what happened.”
Awa frowned in puzzlement. “You risked your life to save mine. You could use this favor to ask me for pasturelands, women, or even a seat in the Council Hall. To use it on a slave—wouldn’t that be a waste?”
“Jin Yue is my friend.”
“A slave is a slave. A Dayu slave is no friend to us Beirong people.” Awa sized him up. “Besides, you can barely save yourself now. Why are you still worrying about someone else’s life?”
“…He once gave me a fox fur cloak.” Helan Feng looked at Awa. “The warmth of that day—I will never forget it in this life.”
Awa smiled. “What story is this?” Unable to support himself, he slowly sat down inside the carriage. The priest and guards urged him to return to the Royal City. Awa said to Helan Feng, “I will help you save this person. Go home and treat your wounds. Do not worry.”
In the Bureau for Heavenly Observance, the High Priest was already dozing off.
Jin Yue could not possibly fall asleep in this place. He closed his eyes to rest his mind, contemplating how to respond when he met the Heavenly Lord. More than an hour had passed since he was brought to the Bureau for Heavenly Observance, yet he still hadn’t received the summons. The longer the wait, the calmer he actually became. This indicated that the Beirong Heavenly Lord had not yet made his final decision.
Suddenly, the door of the Bureau was flung open with great force. A young priest burst in shouting, “High Priest!”
The High Priest was startled awake and immediately jumped up. The young priest rushed over and whispered a few words in the High Priest’s ear. The High Priest’s expression changed drastically. Ignoring Jin Yue before him, he and the priest hurried away carrying large and small boxes from the tower.
The road into the Royal City was brightly lit, with green smoke rising from the high platform.
“How is the King of Cloud Continent now?” the High Priest jogged alongside.
“He can still speak, but he’s very weak,” the young priest followed closely behind. “He took nine escorts out of the city to find the Star Fallen Stone, but three rebels from the Wrath Mountain Tribe infiltrated the group and attempted to assassinate the King of Cloud Continent. The Heavenly Lord is furious and has already executed over a dozen Imperial Guards.”
The High Priest sniffed the air. Before him lay the Prince’s residence, the Changying Palace. He could smell the intense scent of blood pervading both inside and outside the palace.
Palace servants, council ministers, generals, concubines—countless people had gathered from all corners of the Royal City and even the Northern Capital. The Changying Palace was lit with countless lamps and candles, bright as daylight. The King of Cloud Continent lay on the bed, eyes half-closed. He still had the strength to speak, but his face was utterly devoid of color.
The High Priest burst into the Changying Palace, ignoring the anxious Heavenly Lord’s greeting, and went straight into the King of Cloud Continent’s bedchamber.
Outside the Changying Palace, a dense crowd knelt on the ground. Helan Jinying and General Hu were among them. The ministers and generals whispered in low voices. General Hu suddenly said, “Jin Yue can be considered to have escaped a calamity. The Heavenly Lord has no time to deal with him now.”
Helan Jinying shook his head. He felt even more uneasy: The King of Cloud Continent was the Heavenly Lord’s only son; his life was of utmost importance. If he were truly lost, the Heavenly Lord’s fury might extend to Jin Yue as well.
Accompanied and cared for by a priest along the way, the bleeding from Helan Feng’s leg wound gradually stopped.
Upon returning home, the first person he saw was Balong Ge’er holding Zhuo Zhuo. Helan Feng’s face was half-covered in blood spatters, his chest robe torn, his leg limping, his whole body reeking of blood. Zhuo Zhuo, terrified, cowered in Balong Ge’er’s arms, crying loudly. Seeing Helan Feng approach, she reached out her arms, wanting him to hold her.
“Be good, I can’t hold you right now.” Helan Feng sat down, took a few gasping breaths, and asked, “Has Jin Yue returned?”
Hun Da’er and Du Ze exchanged a glance and shook their heads.
Helan Feng’s heart was filled with unease; he couldn’t sit still. Glancing up, he noticed Ruan Buqi and Chen Shuang were not here either.
“Where is Big Brother?”
“Still in the palace, hasn’t returned.”
“I’ll go find him.” Helan Feng immediately stood up. “He must save Jin Yue.”
Balong Ge’er roared, “You’re half-dead yourself, and you want to go save someone else! Hun Da’er, Du Ze—hold him down! Someone tell me clearly what exactly happened! General Helan left you all in my care, and this is the result… Helan Feng?!”
Helan Feng pushed everyone aside and walked towards the mansion gate, but after only a few steps, he began to sway and suddenly collapsed to the ground. Zhuo Zhuo cried and ran towards him. “Second Brother is dead!”
“He’s not dead! Stop crying!” Hun Da’er and Du Ze called back the priest who had just left. Several people carried Helan Feng into a room and discovered he was breathing rapidly, his body burning with fever, having already lost consciousness.
When Helan Feng woke from his stupor, it was still dark outside the window, but a faint silvery light suggested dawn was approaching. Zhuo Zhuo slept beside him, carefully curled up to avoid pressing on him. All his wounds had been bandaged and treated; the fever had subsided, leaving only intense thirst. Helan Feng carefully turned his head and saw a figure lying on the daybed by the window. His heart leaped with joy.
But the person was snoring like a bull, his face covered by a bushy beard… It was Balong Ge’er.
Helan Feng’s surge of hope instantly turned cold. Most of the night had passed; Jin Yue had not returned, nor was there any news.
He carefully got out of bed, covered Zhuo Zhuo with the quilt, and kissed her forehead. In her sleep, Zhuo Zhuo grabbed his finger. Helan Feng whispered softly, “Be good, I’m going to the Royal City to bring Jin Yue home.”
He took the Wolf’s Dart from his arrow pouch and hid it within his sleeve. Awa had said then, “Gaoxin person, I permit you to use this arrow.” Helan Feng stroked the smooth, cold shaft of the Wolf’s Dart and answered silently: I don’t need your permission.
He left through the back gate, using the wall for support as he walked towards the Royal City.
The snow-laden clouds had not lingered over the mountains and forests; the wind had blown them to hover over the Northern Capital. Light snowflakes began to fall, one by one. Helan Feng walked a stretch, stopped a stretch, picking up a branch from the roadside to prop himself up. Stalls selling hot water, oil tea, fried dough cakes, and roasted meat along the road gradually opened for business. He passed the warm lanterns and the murmur of voices, the crunch of snow under his feet.
He believed in Helan Jinying. Back then, his elder brother had done everything possible to save Jin Yue’s life; today, he certainly would not stand by idly. He also believed in the King of Cloud Continent. The future ruler of Chiwang Plains would not lie; the Beirong people never disregarded the favor of a life-saving grace.
Helan Feng convinced himself to believe, but he could not calm down. Jin Yue had been taken away, locked in the Royal City, and the last words he had said to Jin Yue were the morning farewell upon leaving home: “I’m off, don’t you go sneaking back to the Mind-Return Courtyard on your own.”
He had never yet described the bright full moon over the snowy mountains to Jin Yue. He still wanted to take Jin Yue to witness with his own eyes the scene of the bright moon rising over the Tianshan Mountains. He wanted to tell Jin Yue he understood the meaning of those two lines of poetry.
Snow fell on Helan Feng’s hands and face; he simply walked forward in silence. The tall wall built of stone stood right before him when he suddenly stopped.
Ruan Buqi was pacing just ahead at the corner. She held two bricks in her hands, as if intending to strike the stone wall.
“Ruan Buqi?”
Ruan Buqi turned back, her eyes widening in surprise.
Helan Feng walked over slowly. Ruan Buqi caught the smell of blood and strong medicinal herbs on him. She opened her mouth, but Helan Feng spoke first. “What are you doing?”
He looked at the bricks in the young girl’s hands. “…You want to save Jin Yue too? Two bricks can’t break down the city wall.”
Ruan Buqi frowned and gestured to him. Helan Feng guessed roughly. “You came with the escort? Jin Yue entered through this gate?”
After receiving a nod of confirmation, Helan Feng felt slightly relieved. “Go back and stay with Zhuo Zhuo. If she wakes and doesn’t see me, she might cry,” he said. “I will bring Jin Yue back.”
He patted Ruan Buqi’s head and continued walking forward.
The stone wall of the Royal City was extremely high. Helan Feng walked to the tall, crimson-red gate and stood still, his chest heaving rapidly, the wounds in two places on his body aching dully. He looked back, but Ruan Buqi had already vanished.
Two rows of soldiers at the gate spotted him, but Helan Feng didn’t move, standing quietly in the snow, gazing at the Royal City within the stone walls. The highest point of the Royal City was the Bureau for Heavenly Observance, its tall tower shrouded in misty snow, where the Everlasting Flame burned fiercely.
Fine snowflakes drifted down from a high window of the Bureau for Heavenly Observance. By the time they landed on Jin Yue’s head, they had melted into water.
As Jin Yue looked up, the door of the Bureau for Heavenly Observance was pushed open.
The High Priest stood in the doorway, a row of bright lanterns behind him.
“Come out,” the old man said, utterly exhausted. “The Heavenly Lord wishes to see you.”
He unlocked the iron rings from Jin Yue’s hands and replaced them with a different set of restraining shackles. An iron ball was locked around Jin Yue’s foot, making each step extremely difficult. The High Priest reeked of blood, and Jin Yue’s heart pounded violently with deep unease.
He heard someone striking the Golden Bell outside the city gates. The sound of the bell came faintly, but he didn’t understand what signal it was.
On the other side of the stone wall, the gate guards pointed their blades at Helan Feng. “That is the Decree Bell struck by council ministers dismounting to report! Who are you, daring to ring it randomly!”
Upon seeing Helan Feng’s face clearly, the soldier raised his blade higher. “A Gaoxin person?!”
Helan Feng drew the Wolf’s Dart from his sleeve.
“I am Helan Feng of Yetai. General Helan Jinying is my elder brother,” he said calmly. “Last night, outside the Northern Capital, I saved the life of the King of Cloud Continent. He left behind this Wolf’s Dart. I have come to return it to its rightful owner.”