Chapter 79: The Eve
"Lord Fang, that herb gatherer has come again."
To get news as quickly as possible, Fang Jian had followed the Imperial City Guard into the mountains and set up camp on a peak that was easy to defend and hard to attack.
"Quickly, show her in!"
The visitor was a young girl of fourteen or fifteen. Her skin was dark, yet she was incredibly vibrant. Before Fang Jian could speak, she asked, "Are you Fang Linshen?"
"I am. May I ask the young friend's name?" With Gao Yunqu at stake, Fang Jian dared not be careless, treating even this young girl with the utmost gravity.
"Just call me A'lan. The lady on the mountain received your things. They sent me to deliver a letter." A'lan took a letter from her wicker basket, brushed off the stray grass, and handed it to Fang Jian.
Fang Jian accepted the letter hesitantly. The handwriting on the envelope was indeed Gao Yunqu's, but she still couldn't quite believe it. Clutching the letter carefully, she asked uncertainly, "Young friend A'lan, I have already proven our identity. What do you have to prove that the lady is on your side?"
A'lan frowned. "You adults are so troublesome. The lady said that if you were suspicious, I should relay a message to you."
"What is it?"
A'lan didn't understand what kind of riddle they were playing. Recalling Gao Yunqu's faint, ambiguous smile at the time, she repeated in confusion, "She asked you, does your back still hurt?"
Xie Min and Cheng Zhaoyang didn't understand either. Only Fang Jian suddenly felt the healed wound on her back begin to throb with pain. The faint smile on her face froze. Xie Min and Cheng Zhaoyang exchanged a glance; they both knew this was a secret only between the two of them, and the identity of the person on the other side should now be confirmed.
Fang Jian's heart felt hollow, but she forced herself to calm down and opened the letter. Inside was Gao Yunqu's familiar handwriting. Fang Jian breathed a sigh of relief, and a surge of joy overwhelmed everything else. Thank goodness, she's alright.
She calmed herself for a moment before settling down to read carefully. Gao Yunqu hadn't written much. She only said that the Wazhai Stronghold's location was crucial, backed by a mine, and served as Chuzhou's armory. The stronghold was currently undermanned, and she asked if Fang Jian had enough troops to take it by coordinating from the inside and outside. A layout of the stronghold was attached.
Fang Jian read it over and over several times before passing the letter to Xie Min and Cheng Zhaoyang. Xie Min was from Chuzhou and was the most familiar with the mountain forests. After looking at the map, her face lit up with delight. "This map is incredibly clear. It even marks the positions of the hidden sentries. If the stronghold's forces are truly as the letter says, I could take it with just a hundred people."
Cheng Zhaoyang noted cautiously, "The only thing is, we don't know if it's real or fake. If it's a trap to lure us in, then…" As she spoke, she glanced discreetly at Fang Jian.
Fang Jian had already set aside her joy for the moment and also said, "That's true… we cannot let our guard down…"
A'lan had sharp ears. Hearing their conversation, she became a little unhappy and said, "You people from outside the mountains always overthink things. Why don't I just take you to have a look?"
Xie Min pondered for a moment and said, "I'm familiar with the mountain paths. I'll go with her to scout things out. You two go down the mountain first to confer with General Wei. I will rendezvous with you before sunset."
"That sounds excellent."
Xie Min was an expert at traversing mountains and forests. Even though it had been years since she'd been in the mountains, she showed no signs of unfamiliarity and was able to keep up with A'lan's pace. A'lan was a little surprised. She was an herb gatherer and always took the most treacherous mountain paths, yet Xie Min could actually keep up.
"You're amazing," A'lan said, marveling.
A distant memory suddenly unfolded before Xie Min. She pursed her lips into a smile and said, "I'm also a child of Chuzhou who grew up in the mountains. Besides, there was a time when, for certain reasons, I practically lived in the mountains like a wild person for a full year."
"What could make you do that?"
"To find someone."
"Did you find them?"
"Of course not. These are the Hundred Thousand Mountains. There are countless peaks. I searched day and night, but I still wouldn't dare say I've scoured every single spot."
A'lan was speechless. She was still young and couldn't comprehend Xie Min's feelings, but she was sincerely impressed by her courage.
"I've told you my story. Won't you tell me yours?" A'lan was naive and innocent, but Xie Min was not. She had once been in charge of intelligence for the Yongzhou army; her greatest skill was coaxing information out of people.
"Me? What is there to say?"
"Your home? Your parents?"
"I live in the Wazhai Stronghold, but I don't have a home." A'lan's voice grew a little dejected. "My father has too many children. He didn't want me."
"What about your mother?"
"She died. When I was eight, giving birth to my younger brother." A'lan puffed out her cheeks angrily. "My father said I ate too much and wanted to abandon me in the mountains. But I was smart and followed his footprints back. He still wouldn't let me in the house, though."
"What happened then?"
"Later, the Madam made the decision to let me become my master's apprentice. My master is a very skilled herb gatherer. I follow her and gather herbs too."
"The Madam?"
"The Chieftain's wife. She's a very good person, not like the Chieftain. She's saved a lot of people—children abandoned by their families like me, women beaten by their men, widows with no children and no one to rely on, young ladies who were abducted and brought to the mountain and wanted to die… They all like the Madam the most, just like me."
"Then the Madam must be quite formidable." Xie Min's ears twitched slightly.
A'lan shook her head. "No, the Madam can't leave the stronghold. For so many years, she hasn't taken a single step outside. The Chieftain forbids her from leaving. When the Chieftain isn't around, I go talk to her and tell her about the outside world. She likes to listen, so I tell her everything—about the mountains, the rivers, the trees, the flowers, the birds and beasts and the chirping of insects. Occasionally, I go into the city, and when I come back, I tell her about things in the city."
"Then A'lan is also very formidable."
"Of course." A'lan's eyes crinkled as she smiled, but the smile faded after a moment. "But I know the Madam wants to get out. Even though she's always smiling, I can just feel it. When she listens to me talk about the outside world, her smile is so sad…"
"…Was it the Madam who sent you?" Xie Min asked tentatively after a moment of silence.
"Mhm!" A'lan nodded. "The Madam said the world outside is vast. The stronghold hasn't just trapped her; it's trapped us too. Only by leaving can we know how big the world truly is. Otherwise, we'll forever be little frogs in a well. But I don't understand. I've clearly seen more than the Madam, so why does it seem like she's the one who can see farther?"
"She's right." Chuzhou is vast, its mountains stretching for a thousand li, but the world outside is vaster still. The azure waves of Chengzhou, the misty rain and traveling boats of Qinzhou and Hezhou, the yellow sands that fill the sky in Yongzhou, the magnificent splendor of the Capital City… Within the vast territory of this Great Zhou, Chuzhou is but a tiny piece. And people like them, within Chuzhou, were but mayflies born at dawn and dead by dusk. But what was Chuzhou to the Great Zhou, to the world? Xie Min sighed, "Drifting, what am I like? A lone gull between heaven and earth."
"Ah, the Madam said that too! You're all so amazing."
A'lan had a lively disposition. Xie Min deliberately guided her to talk more, and after a few exchanges, she had a clear picture of the situation in the stronghold. She guessed that the Madam had specifically sent A'lan; such a naive child was indeed more likely to win someone's trust.
They first passed several hidden sentry posts, all of which matched the locations marked on the map. A'lan then led her around the defenses and up a steep cliff face, from which they could look down and see the entire stronghold clearly.
"There's no one guarding this place?" Xie Min asked as she observed.
"This cliff is almost perpendicular to the ground. Very few people can climb it. And even if they had the skill, they couldn't even reach the base of the cliff without me leading them past the guards. Why would it need defending?" A'lan's face showed a hint of pride.
"Since you can bypass the guards directly, why not take me into the stronghold to meet the Madam?" Xie Min asked again.
"I can't. In the mountains, you just have to avoid people. But inside the stronghold, everyone is related in some way. A stranger like you would be discovered before you could even get to the Madam." A'lan shook her head. "Although the leaders of the stronghold are all away, those old-timers are still keeping an eye on the Madam."
Xie Min didn't return to the military camp until around sunset. Fang Jian and the others were all craning their necks in anticipation. Xie Min confirmed the map's authenticity, but the enemy's troop deployment remained questionable. Although she hadn't seen a large number of men in the stronghold, it wasn't impossible that they were hidden.
"I think it's worth the gamble." Wei Licheng tapped the location of the Wazhai Stronghold on the map. "This stronghold's location is special. Like these other spots, it's a key route in and out of Chuzhou. If we can take it, it will be like driving a nail into Chuzhou. For that reason alone, I think it's worth the risk."
The group discussed for a while and all found it reasonable. They then devised two plans based on the two possibilities: a coordinated internal and external attack, and a direct assault. Cheng Zhaoyang would lead a team to take out the hidden sentries. Xie Min would lead five hundred fighters skilled in mountain warfare, following A'lan to raid the stronghold from a side path, seize the various guard posts within, and open the main gate. Wei Licheng would lead the army in a frontal advance. If Xie Min successfully opened the gate, they would drive straight in and take control of the stronghold. If something went wrong, they would launch a direct assault. Several other units were dispatched to block the remaining exits to prevent any news from leaking out. The operation was scheduled for before dawn the next day. Once the strategy was set, Wei Licheng immediately began arranging for the troops to prepare, which goes without saying.
Fang Jian couldn't contribute much to the discussion of military operations, but she was the one who had to make the final decision. She was the imperial envoy, tasked with finding Gao Yunqu and investigating whether something was amiss in Chuzhou. Making this decision was tantamount to gambling with Gao Yunqu's life. If she made a single misstep, she dared not imagine the consequences. Just now in the tent, as the discussion concluded, everyone had looked to her, and the tent had fallen silent. In that instant, Fang Jian's mind raced, countless images flashing before her eyes. It felt like a long time had passed, but in reality, it was only a few short breaths before Fang Jian swallowed, pushing down the hesitation and unease in her heart, and made her decision decisively. She chose to trust Gao Yunqu's judgment. She chose to trust her own intuition. She chose to make one last great gamble, putting both herself and Gao Yunqu on the table. This time, they would share life and death together.
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