Change
The feeling of holding warmth and softness in his arms, Duan Xu had come to appreciate it deeply over the years.
When he woke up, He Simu was in his arms, playing with his fingers. She lay against his arm with her back to him, their skin touching without a single thread between them. Her body had warmed up with his temperature, as if she were a warm living person.
Duan Xu hugged her shoulders and heard her lazily say, “Duan Xu, you’re awake.”
At this moment, she hadn’t exchanged senses with him, so she was completely in her ghostly state, remaining awake all night without sleeping. This kind of situation occurred frequently over the past three years. He Simu knew that Duan Xu hoped to wake up in the morning and still be able to see her, so she would mostly lie in his arms all night until he woke up.
Sometimes Duan Xu would feel surprised by her indulgence, always spending a boring night in his arms like this, but the Ghost King never complained.
“Good morning, Simu. How long will you stay this time?”
“I’ll leave in a while. I just came to see you as soon as you arrived in Yuzhou. Who knew there would be such a show as soon as I looked?” He Simu turned over in his arms and smiled at him. “You talked in your sleep last night.”
“Me? What did I say?”
“I couldn’t hear clearly. Your voice was very low, murmuring in either gibberish or Chinese. It was quite interesting.”
“What if I call your name in my dreams when you’re not by my side?”
“Then I’ll come all the way here to wake you up from your dream.” He Simu tapped Duan Xu’s nose. “That’s not fair, Duan Shunxi. You can see me in your dreams, but if I want to see you, I have to come to you in person.”
Duan Xu laughed first, then sighed.
“I miss you so much, Simu. Why is the Ghost King always so busy?”
He Simu chuckled, “You still have the nerve to say that to me? Aren’t you busy? At least three times when I came to see you, you missed greeting me. I left, and you didn’t even know?”
“I’m sorry,” Duan Xu immediately apologized.
Over the past three years, He Simu had been stationed in Yuzhou City, dealing with affairs in the Ghost Realm, while Duan Xu recruited soldiers to suppress bandits. The two of them always met hurriedly and were separated for long periods. Counting the ten days of exchanging senses each time, He Simu spent the longest time by his side.
Looking into Duan Xu’s eyes, He Simu smiled and said, “Marquis Duan, when will this war of yours be over?”
“At least ten years. Why, is the Ghost King waiting for me to finish the war so I can be hidden away in the golden chamber?”
“That depends on whether you’ll still be charming in ten years and whether it’s worth it for me to hide you away.”
He Simu poked Duan Xu’s chest, and he hugged her tightly around the waist, kissing her deeply. In the midst of the passionate kiss, he said, “The Ghost King wants me for a lifetime, but there’s no reason to abandon me halfway.”
He Simu giggled.
After some banter, He Simu was about to leave. She left Duan Xu’s warm embrace, dressed neatly. Duan Xu sighed, having finally warmed her up, only to see her cool down again soon.
He Simu kissed him on the neck before disappearing in a puff of smoke. At the same time, the poor young girl who had spent the night on the table woke up confused, moving her stiff limbs and looking at Duan Xu.
Duan Xu, dressed in a white robe, looked satisfied. He smiled slightly and kindly said, “You must have been very tired yesterday, fell asleep as soon as you lay down, couldn’t even be woken up.”
The young girl stared blankly and mumbled, “Huh?”
The magistrate greeted Duan Xu with a smile and escorted him back to the military camp. Upon learning that Duan Xu hadn’t touched the young girl, the magistrate was first surprised, then chuckled, saying that the remote Yuzhou couldn’t compare to the bustling Southern Capital, perhaps the beauties of Yuzhou didn’t catch Duan Xu’s eye.
Before coming here, Duan Xu had heard about this magistrate from Fang Xianye’s letter. Although this person was slick, he was very good at balancing various relationships. Fang Xianye had abolished the four-tier system set by the Huqi people here, but he didn’t settle scores with the Huqi people who had shown a good attitude, nor did he advocate for revenge. Therefore, in this period of subtle transition among the various ethnic groups in these provinces, this magistrate was skilled at smoothing things over. Over the years, things had been relatively stable.
Duan Xu waved his hand and smiled, “Magistrate, whether you say such things or not makes no difference. I don’t care about the trends brought by other people from the Southern Capital. If you want to hold a banquet and show courtesy, it’s fine, but there’s no need for beauties like today, and you don’t need to flatter me either.”
The magistrate immediately bowed and nodded in agreement. Duan Xu patted his shoulder and said, “Now that Master Fang has returned to the Southern Capital and a new Border Patrol Commissioner has not been appointed yet, you are the highest official in Yuzhou Prefecture. The court has allocated a lot of silver for the mines and horse farms in Yuzhou Prefecture, so the prefecture should be quite wealthy. You should use the money wisely.”
“Of course,” the magistrate replied earnestly.
Duan Xu chuckled and looked down at the magistrate. “You don’t need to be so cautious. To be honest, I quite like you.”
The magistrate inexplicably shuddered, then watched as Duan Xu, with his hands behind his back, walked out of the magistrate’s mansion in a leisurely manner. He thought to himself that this Marquis from the Southern Capital was even more difficult to understand than Master Fang.
Duan Xu had just walked a few steps out of the magistrate’s mansion when he encountered Chenying, who had come to escort him back, and Shi Biao, the captain of his Guihe Army. Shi Biao was originally a bandit leader on the mountains of the Hu Prefecture, known for his martial arts skills, intelligence, and loyalty. He was somewhat famous locally due to the many tattoos on his face, earning him the nickname “Blue-faced Tiger.” When Duan Xu was suppressing bandits, he employed a tactic of surrounding and defeating them one by one. At that time, he had already defeated about fifty or sixty percent of the bandits and had besieged Shi Biao’s stronghold for seven days. In the end, he entered the stronghold alone and successfully persuaded Shi Biao to surrender. As a result, Shi Biao became a captain in his Guihe Army.
Shi Biao was a burly man with a strong build and a beard covering his face. He loudly exclaimed upon seeing Duan Xu, “General, I heard that the magistrate treated you well yesterday, with fine wine and beautiful women. Why didn’t you bring us along to enjoy?”
“You still want to enjoy?” Duan Xu retorted. “Shi Biao, do you forget your promise to me? You promised not to touch alcohol while stationed in the northern border. Have you forgotten?”
Duan Xu walked past them, and they followed him toward the military camp.
Shi Biao grumbled, “The war hasn’t even started yet. What’s wrong with having a few drinks?”
“A few drinks? Shi Big Brother, are you sure you can control yourself? Every time you touch alcohol, you end up getting drunk and passed out. If it weren’t for that, you wouldn’t have been besieged so securely by my third brother back then,” Chenying bluntly pierced Shi Biao’s facade, earning himself a slap on the head and an angry retort from Shi Biao to stop talking.
Shi Biao is older than Duan Xu, and since Duan Xu has a casual relationship with him, he also started calling him “Brother Shi” following Chen Ying’s lead. He said, “Brother Shi, the terrain of Jingzhou is similar to that of Huzhou, where you’ve always been most effective in battle, as long as you can stay alert…”
Duan Xu suddenly stopped speaking and halted his steps, causing Chenying, who wasn’t paying attention, to bump into his back. Rubbing his forehead, Chenying asked in confusion, “Third Brother, why aren’t you moving?”
Duan Xu didn’t answer, his gaze fixed firmly on a strange mark in a corner of the street. He walked over with a serious expression, bent down, and carefully observed the strange symbols composed of circles and uneven slashes. Chenying and Shi Biao exchanged glances, then followed Duan Xu to look at the symbols. Chenying exclaimed in surprise, “Aren’t these… what you taught me, Third Brother?”
Shi Biao asked in confusion, “What? Little Xu, do you recognize these symbols?”
Chenying looked at Duan Xu, unsure if he should speak. Duan Xu stood up straight and whispered, “They’re here.”
This was a coded message known only to a select few.
Essentially, it meant the pursuit of Seventeen, with the circular symbol next to it indicating the High Priest. Since the former High Priest had passed away and Lu Da had taken over as the new High Priest of Danzhi, the appearance of this symbol here meant that Lu Da was also nearby.
Shi Biao asked, still puzzled, “Who’s here? What’s going on?”
Duan Xu suddenly turned and walked towards the direction of the military camp. He wasn’t running, but his strides were surprisingly fast. Chenying and Shi Biao struggled to keep up with him. Duan Xu asked, “When did Han Lingqiu leave, and where has he gone? Is there any news?”
Chenying jogged to keep pace with him and replied, “He left three days ago. We received a message yesterday that he had just arrived at General Tang’s place in Jingzhou.”
The terrain of Jingzhou flashed quickly through Duan Xu’s mind. The areas occupied by the rebels and Danzhi respectively were vividly displayed in his mind. Combined with the symbol he had just seen, he sneered, “What a well-played trap. Tang Dequan in Jingzhou should have been bought by Danzhi. Using the pretext of seeking our assistance, they intend to join forces with the Danzhi army to annihilate us once we enter Jingzhou.”
“What? General Tang is a Han Chinese!” Shi Biao exclaimed in shock.
Duan Xu chuckled and said, “With enough benefits, anyone can be bought. Moreover, being a lackey is still better than being nothing.”
“But General Han has entered Jingzhou with only a small number of troops.”
“Han Lingqiu is probably being held hostage. Chenying, ride your horse to the Tabai Army quickly and inform them that Han Lingqiu’s orders are no longer trustworthy. Even if he returns in person, we cannot trust his commands. And don’t let anyone from our troops set foot in Jingzhou without my permission. Also, strengthen the guard against the Jingzhou army. Gather everyone in my tent.”
Shi Biao saluted and agreed.
Not long after, several captains of the Guihe Army had already assembled in Duan Xu’s tent, gathered around a large map, discussing countermeasures. In the border area between Jingzhou and Yuzhou, there were some territories belonging to the rebels, with garrisons on both sides. However, because General Tang had repeatedly shown goodwill towards the Daliang Empire, everyone believed that General Tang would soon surrender. Therefore, no one had any defenses against the rebel forces in those territories. If the rebels suddenly attacked, it would result in significant losses.
“They have people in Yuzhou and Luozhou, who are well informed about our movements. Just now, I ordered all troops not to act rashly, but they should soon get wind of it. Time is of the essence, Shi Biao…” Duan Xu looked up at Shi Biao, his hand drawing a line on the map as he spoke, “I’m giving you fifty thousand troops. Depart immediately and capture these four cities southwest of Jingzhou within three days. Can you do it?”
Shi Biao’s eyes gleamed with the excitement of battle. He replied promptly, “Count on me. I’ll have a good time with them.”
Duan Xu then turned to Ding Jin, another captain of the Guihe Army. Unlike Shi Biao, Ding Jin came from a family of martial generals and was well-versed in military strategy and horsemanship. Initially, he had chased bandits all over Huzhou, only to end up becoming colleagues with them. He had always looked down on Shi Biao and rarely spoke to him.
“Ding Jin, I’m giving you five thousand cavalry. Capture these two cities on the eastern side of Jingzhou within three days. Can you do it?” Duan Xu asked.
Ding Jin glanced at the excited Shi Biao and saluted. “Ding Jin will certainly not fail the mission.”
Shi Biao rubbed his hands eagerly. “General Duan, should we show them our special skills?”
“Not yet,” Duan Xu replied.
Shi Biao looked somewhat disappointed.
Duan Xu stepped back, intertwining his hands near his lips as he stared at the map. The locations he ordered the three men to attack were territories occupied by the Huqi people. Capturing them would cut off the connection between the rebels in Jingzhou and the Huqi people. However, if this continued for too long, the Huqi people and the rebels would likely retaliate.
However, the rebels themselves were not unified. Tang Dequan was waving the banner of expelling the Huqi and restoring the Han dynasty, attracting Han Chinese who harboured resentment towards the Huqi people. By surrendering to Danzhi, Tang Dequan would betray his subordinates. These subordinates were probably unaware that they were being sold out.
This required the intervention of Ziwei.
As Duan Xu pondered, Shi Biao interjected, “But what about General Han? He’s already in the enemy camp and is probably being held hostage.”
“Throughout history, generals have often fallen into traps due to a momentary lapse in judgment, resulting in death,” Ding Jin said coldly.
“Hey, we’re all brothers fighting against the Huqi people together. Are we just going to abandon him like that?” Shi Biao retorted.
“This is a military camp, not your mountain stronghold. You need to restrain your bandit-like behaviour,” Ding Jin replied sharply.
“Hey, you pretty boy Ding…”
Duan Xu raised his hand to stop the argument between the two captains. He said calmly, “Of course, we’ll rescue him. But there’s no need to involve the entire army. You two focus on winning the battle. I’ll go rescue him myself.”
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