Unsevered Mountain

A faint orange glow lingered on the horizon.

Along the narrow, gravel-strewn path, two carriages cast elongated shadows as they leisurely made their way toward the foothills.

A white-tailed harrier overlooked the mountains from high above, occasionally circling above the carriages.

Xia Yunhe lifted the carriage curtain to reveal a desolate landscape of withered weeds and drifting smoke. Looking up, the grayish-brown mountains resembled giant beasts, radiating a cold, hard metallic sheen as they gradually closed in.

Bathed in the setting sun, the jagged rock formations of the mountains stood revealed. Unlike the mist-shrouded peaks within the passes, the mountains here possessed a bold, decisive directness and a rich, heavily inked darkness. Unsparing in their application, these hues saturated the entire mountain range, a stretch of silence spanning a thousand miles.

"Biezi Mountain..." Xia Yunhe murmured.

The wind carried a scattering of sand and the distinctive autumn chill of the Northwest, causing her to cough a few times.

Desolation filled her field of vision.

A rough hand abruptly blocked her view, followed by Zhenniang’s worried words: "I heard this place is called Ghost Mountain. The cliffs outside are as ferocious as fiends, looking as though they might shatter the rock wall and burst out at any moment. Just looking at it makes one's hair stand on end."

As she spoke, Zhenniang applied force, pulling Xia Yunhe back into the carriage.

Xia Yunhe let out a startled cry, caught off guard as she tumbled onto the soft couch.

The driver was Wei Sizhao, who echoed Zhenniang from outside, "The wind is strong here, My Lord Xia, please be careful not to catch a chill."

Xia Yunhe smiled helplessly, curling back up on the couch. Zhenniang tucked the blanket tightly around her, cupping Xia Yunhe's ice-cold fingers in both of her hands. Rubbing them to generate warmth, she muttered, "Young Master has a weak constitution; don't let those unclean things disturb you."

"There are no evil spirits here. With loyalty shining as bright as the sun and moon, who cares about life and death?" Xia Yunhe smiled and said, "Countless soldiers died in battle here. Over time, Biezi Mountain simply earned the moniker of 'Ghost Mountain'."

She sighed, silently praying in her heart: *Though the body perishes, the soul remains divine; spirits in life, you are heroes in death. I only pray that your heroic souls will protect me and grant that this journey fulfills my wish.*

...

After traveling for about another half-hour, the slope grew steeper and vegetation gradually disappeared. The two carriages proceeded one after the other, making a creaking sound along the fine gravel road.

As the last ray of sunset sank beneath the earth, the convoy entered the valley.

Both the eastern and western sides consisted of exposed gray rock, devoid of a single blade of grass. Rugged cliffs dozens of zhizhang high rose straight from the ground. In the gathering dusk, a faint, extremely narrow and long winding ancient path snaked through the middle.

The jolting of the carriage shook off their drowsiness. Xia Yunhe yawned repeatedly, forcing herself to stay awake. Finding it hard to bear, Zhenniang began to complain to Qian He'er: "Eunuch Qian kept urging us to travel day and night, squeezing a five-day journey into three. He's made of iron, completely indifferent to whether the Young Master can endure it."

"It's fine." Xia Yunhe patted the back of Zhenniang's hand to comfort her.

Ever since they left the Li Pass, Qian He'er had kept throwing around the Prince of Qin's name to pressure everyone, constantly urging them onward. While the others had plenty of complaints, he acted arbitrarily to suppress all dissent... Xia Yunhe knew he was terrified of running into bandits and failing to report back to the Prince of Qin, so she turned a blind eye and tried her best to accommodate him.

Yet at this moment, the night was eerie, treacherous ravines flanked the mountain side, and no one knew when the howling old ox wind would suddenly rise, wailing loudly.

It was not just Xia Yunhe; this added several layers of dread to everyone's exhausted hearts.

The conversation between Mu Xiunian and Qian He'er drifted with the wind into the carriage carrying Xia Yunhe.

One asked: "Eunuch Qian, should we perhaps wait until tomorrow to move on? It's pitch black, and the horses seem reluctant to walk."

The other replied flatly: "Second Young Master Mu, just keep moving. Once we clear the Ghost's Sorrow Pass, there will naturally be a place to rest ahead."

Mu Xiunian and Qian He'er's carriages led the way, leaving Xia Yunhe and the others with no choice but to push themselves to keep up.

Suddenly, a clear, resonant, and piercing long whistle sounded from the peak, piercing the sky above the valley and seemingly subduing the wind itself. Before anyone could react, the sound of muffled thunder rolled across the horizon—rumbling, rumbling... growing closer and closer as the earth began to tremble.

"Oh no, rockfall!"

Qian He'er shouted at the top of his lungs, startling everyone into a chaotic scramble.

...

In a mere fraction of a moment, countless boulders rolled down from the mountain cliffs, crashing in front of and behind the convoy, completely cutting off the path ahead and behind the carriages. The horses panicked and neighed, snapping their reins and tipping the carriages sideways.

Mu Xiunian leaped down from his carriage, while Qian He'er scrambled out from his own, shouting, "Quickly, go check on Lord Xia!"

At the same time, he scrambled toward the back of his carriage, struggling to haul two people out from inside.

Boulders continued to tumble down. Mu Xiunian was burning with anxiety; across a mere dozen paces, rocks of all sizes kept crashing right before his eyes, making it impossible for him to cross. Just as he was growing frantic, he suddenly heard Wei Sizhao's voice: "Steady in all things."

He breathed a sigh of relief and turned to help Qian He'er.

Now, fierce as the falling rocks were, they tumbled from only one side. Wei Sizhao and Zhenniang shielded Xia Yunhe, retreating to the backside of a huge boulder not far away to catch their breath. Suddenly, another piercing shriek rang out!

Following that, everything fell silent.

Xia Yunhe felt a jolt in her heart: it was that harrier hawk!

Wei Sizhao reacted as well, turning to say to the two women, "It must have been deliberately trained to give away our position."

The night wind was biting. Their clothes had been soaked with sweat during their escape, and now, caught in the wind, Xia Yunhe shivered violently. She tried her best to press close to Zhenniang, whispering, "Eunuch Qian and the others are still up ahead. Find a way to bring them over."

The moment her words fell, a hawk's cry close enough to be right beside them vibrated against their eardrums. All three turned simultaneously toward the source of the sound. In the pitch-black night, a white-tailed harrier perched on a branch, its bead-like black eyes staring straight at the three of them.

Faster than a flash of lightning, Zhenniang picked up a pebble and flicked it with her finger. The stone flew out like an arrow, striking the harrier hawk with pinpoint accuracy. With a miserable squawk, the harrier toppled from the branch and fell silent.

Wei Sizhao was startled and looked at Zhenniang, but Xia Yunhe gave him a slap: "Don't just stand there dazed, go help Eunuch Qian."

Only then did he notice the sound of clashing blades coming from behind the boulder. He nodded, drew the soft sword wrapped around his waist, and slipped from the shadows toward the assassins.

With Zhenniang looking after her, Xia Yunhe was not afraid. Zhenniang possessed immense strength and mastery over flying stones; ordinary people stood no chance of touching them.

With Wei Sizhao joining the fray, the battle in front instantly reversed. Blades flashed, and in the blink of an eye, several figures in black collapsed. Realizing the situation was unfavorable, the remaining black-clad, masked men whistled to rally their comrades and shouted, "The targets are thorns! Fall back fast!"

With that, they dropped a smoke bomb and vanished.

Shortly after, Qian He'er's cursing voice rang out: "Bah, we run into this gang of thieves every time, using the same old tricks twice... And today we even let a live one slip away to report back... Truly damned bad luck... Go look for Lord Xia, don't lose people... Salvage whatever's still usable from the carriages, we'll just have to muscle through tonight..."

"Second Young Master Mu, trouble you to check those corpses. If any aren't quite dead yet, put a couple more stabs in them."

Mu Xiunian scratched his head: "You want me to do it?"

Qian He'er said: "If a sword isn't going to kill people, don't draw it; it tickles like nothing more. These are Northern Rong death squads, they all have wolf head tattoos on their arms and the back of their necks. If you don't kill them, are you waiting for them to kill us?"

Wei Sizhao said: "Eunuch Qian is right. Don't be afraid, I'll go with you."

Mu Xiunian exhaled a breath and compromised, "Fine, fine, fine. We're going to join the army to kill Northern Rong scoundrels anyway; might as well steel my nerves early."

Zhenniang raised herself slightly, waving anxiously at Qian He'er: "Little Eunuch Qian, the Young Master has caught the wind and isn't doing well."

Xia Yunhe felt chilled to the bone, shaking uncontrollably. Hearing the chaotic footsteps drawing nearer, she raised her head and wrinkled her nose; Qian He'er's face was stained with blood, and the sweet, fishy scent of rust made her want to vomit.

She forced her eyes wide open and reached out to count the people before her: one, two, three...

"Little Eunuch Qian, why are there two extras?" Xia Yunhe rubbed her temples, dazed. "My vision is doubling; why is there an extra Sanniang? And a dead Lin Cang, Commander Lin?"

Zhenniang was stunned as well. She rubbed her eyes hard—there truly were two extra people, and one of them indeed appeared to be Sanniang.

Sanniang was clutching a blanket in her arms; without waiting for explanations, she draped the blanket over Xia Yunhe and silently retreated to the side.

Zhenniang turned to look at the other person. His face was deathly pale, and he clutched a long saber with blood still dripping from the tip. His gaze was terrifying, resembling an Asura crawling up from the nether realms of hell.

This man dropped his saber, squeezed over next to Xia Yunhe, and without uttering a single word, closed his eyes and flopped backward, lying as still as a corpse.

...

Qian He'er spread his hands, his tone laced with annoyance: "We finally managed to drag him back from the verge of death, only for a sword strike to turn him into a cripple all over again."

Though Zhenniang had plenty of grievances, seeing the Asura bleeding profusely from his arm, she simply asked Qian He'er directly, "Little Eunuch Qian, can you just conjure up people of unknown origin simply because the Young Master is sick?"

Qian He'er replied, "Hmph. If Commander Lin hadn't maneuvered behind the scenes in the prison, Lord Xia wouldn't have walked out of the Imperial Prison alive. It was precisely because he helped Lord Xia that Commander Lin was hunted down by Northern Rong assassins and reduced to this state."

Zhenniang was left speechless and swallowed her anger in silence. Glancing sideways at Sanniang, she asked, "What are you doing following us instead of staying put in Shangdu City?"

Sanniang explained, "I begged Eunuch Qian to bring me along. Since you were all heading to Ying County and leaving me behind, I..." Having said that, she cast a timid glance at Zhenniang.

Zhenniang sighed, "When the Young Master wakes up, you can explain it to her yourself."

Amidst their conversation, Qian He'er spotted the stiff harrier hawk not far away. He strode over to pick up the big bird, looking thoughtful: "They used the hawk's cries as a signal to trigger the rockfall all at once. It was this bird... that gave away our position."

...

The carriages had been smashed to pieces by the boulders. After dealing with the corpses, Wei Sizhao and Mu Xiunian salvaged whatever usable, warm items remained from the carriages and casually gathered larger chunks of wood to serve as firewood.

The bonfire was lit, finally dispelling the chill.

They dug out trauma medicine from the scattered belongings and dressed Lin Cang's wounds.

Seeing that Xia Yunhe was in distress, Zhenniang reached out to continuously massage her glabella. Before long, seeing her brow smooth out, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. They ate some dry rations at random and drifted off to sleep, leaving only Mu Xiunian and Wei Sizhao to take turns keeping watch.

The two had agreed that Wei Sizhao would take the first half of the night, and Mu Xiunian the second.

The firelight dyed Wei Sizhao's face a ruddy red. He picked up a slender piece of firewood, pushed the campfire closer together, and looked up: the Milky Way poured across the firmament toward the northwest, its myriad starlight glittering and shimmering.

It was a rare peaceful night in the Ghost's Sorrow Pass.

...

Xia Yunhe was woken up by hunger. Opening her eyes to the faint light of dawn, she scanned her surroundings. She saw Mu Xiunian stamping out the campfire and offering a nod of greeting; turning her head, she saw Lin Cang, and turning it again, she saw Sanniang. Startled, she swept her gaze back and forth a few times before fixing her eyes on Qian He'er's face.

She gently woke Zhenniang and figured out the situation, at which point her hunger completely vanished. She thought to herself: *No wonder Qian He'er insisted on handling the carriage search all by himself back then—he went to such painstaking lengths just to hide Lin Cang inside the carriage. Now that more than a third of the journey is over and we've survived danger together, how could anyone drive them away? Sending them away now would be no different than sending them to their deaths.*

Qian He'er had played a brilliant hand, actually setting a trap for her.

The others woke up one after another. Sanniang twisted the hem of her clothes, looking at her timidly. Xia Yunhe let out a chuckle: "Since you're already here, let's travel together."

Sanniang breathed a sigh of relief, joining Zhenniang and Wei Sizhao to tidy up the surviving items from the carriages.

Xia Yunhe called out to stop Qian He'er and smiled, "Eunuch Qian, I have a few things I'd like to ask you for guidance on."

Qian He'er bowed to her with a smile, knowing full well that she was coming to call him to account.

Xia Yunhe invited Qian He'er to speak aside while the others tactfully stepped away. Lowering her voice, she interrogated Qian He'er: "Is Lin Cang a man of the Prince of Qin?"

Qian He'er answered, "No. His Highness's influence is weak, and he is biding his time in Ying County. This humble servant saved him by chance, knowing this person would be of great use, which is why I brought him along."

Xia Yunhe gritted her teeth until they nearly shattered: "He is the newly appointed commander of the secret guards; do you have any idea who wants him dead?"

Qian He'er replied without hesitation, "The Northern Rong."

Xia Yunhe sneered, "The ones who want him dead, the ones who want me dead, and the ones who want the Prince of Qin dead are all one and the same: the Grand Duke of Defense, Liu Rongshan."