In the Palace of Yan, Wen Qi accompanied King Murong Yuan over a game of chess. Murong Yuan remarked, "Currently, West Jing is preoccupied with its conflicts against the likes of Guzhu and Tuhe, which has bought our Great Yan this period of peace. In this endeavor, your contributions are indispensable, my dear minister."
Wen Qi kept his gaze lowered and said, "Your Majesty, regarding the matter I mentioned..."
Murong Yuan’s brow furrowed slightly before he finally spoke. "As for that Adjutant Zuo you mentioned, I find her far too young. Let her remain by your side for a few more years of experience."
Wen Qi replied, "Your Majesty, I have guarded the borders for many years, and my thinking has become conservative and rigid. The army is in dire need of fresh blood. This person—"
Before he could finish, Murong Yuan interrupted, "I understand your meaning, but she is, after all, a woman. In a year or two, she will eventually marry. Our Great Yan has not yet reached the point where we must send women to the battlefield. In my view, that Xu Lang is quite capable."
Wen Qi sighed softly, knowing it was not the time to argue. Murong Yuan continued, "Enough. I have reached this age, and the foreign tribes currently show no intent of invading us again. Let the Crown Prince and his brothers worry about such matters."
Wen Qi knew that any further words would be futile. This King of Yan was like him—aging. He was solely focused on preservation, maintaining the current stability. Like an old steed in the stable, his grand ambitions had long since faded.
Upon leaving the palace, Wen Qi went straight to the Bureau of Military Personnel, but Zuo Canglang was nowhere to be found. He questioned the officials and discovered she had not returned at all the previous night. It wasn't until the hour of the Dragon that Zuo Canglang walked in. Wen Qi asked, "Where did you go last night? As far as I know, you have no relatives in Jinyang."
Zuo Canglang did not hide it from him, answering directly, "I had not seen the Second Prince for a long time, so I went to visit him."
Wen Qi paused, then said, "Both His Majesty and the Crown Prince hold high expectations for you. Great Yan is currently lacking generals who can fight and win; you have a limitless future. You must consider your path more carefully."
Zuo Canglang understood the subtext perfectly but remained silent. Wen Qi added, "I have guarded the city for years, and my courage is no longer as bold as that of you young people. The Crown Prince lacks a strong right hand in the military. Even if the Second Prince possesses extraordinary talent, there is, after all, a difference between the Heir Apparent and a Prince. If in the future... the Heir Apparent ascends and you are held in high regard, the person you wish to protect will also be safe and sound."
Zuo Canglang did not dare say much more, especially since he had mentioned both the King and the Crown Prince. This time, he had laid his cards almost entirely on the table. She could only say, "This subordinate is willing to follow the Commander's orders. I shall serve you faithfully, wherever you lead."
Wen Qi opened his mouth as if to say more, but in the end, he only let out a soft sigh. "Let us return to the garrison."
The group set out for the Northwest Camp. Zuo Canglang followed behind Wen Qi, riding alongside Xu Lang and the others.
Along the way, she chatted and laughed with Xu Lang. When they stopped at an inn for a meal, she even shared some wine with Wen Qi’s personal guards. Wen Qi was a meticulous man; he quickly noticed that during the days he was away from the army, Zuo Canglang had become quite familiar with the soldiers in the camp.
Once they returned to the Northwest Camp, Zuo Canglang asked, "Commander, what would you have me do next?"
Wen Qi thought for a moment and said, "There is a vegetable plot west of Suye City, along with some pens for pigs and sheep. If you have free time, you may look after them."
The expression on Zuo Canglang’s face slowly froze, as if she thought she had misheard. She asked again, "Huh?"
Wen Qi suppressed a smile and said, "If you don't like that, you can go plant trees with Zhuge Jin and the others. Suye is prone to wind and sand; planting trees and grass can act as a windbreak."
Zuo Canglang thought about it, but still gave a firm "Yes" before turning to leave.
When she first entered the army, it was with Murong Yan. Upon arriving at the camp, she had immediately encountered a life-and-death struggle between North Yu and Great Yan. Then, with West Jing and other factions moving at the scent of blood, she had experienced scenes of mountains of corpses and seas of blood despite her short time in service. She had assumed life in the camp was always like that.
Now, she walked to the west of Suye City, where there was indeed a row of animal pens. A cook was boiling a large pot of dark, mushy substance. Zuo Canglang walked over, took a look, and asked, "What is this?"
She was the only woman in the army, and everyone knew her. The cook immediately saluted. "Reporting to the Adjutant, this is pig slop!"
Zuo Canglang rolled up her sleeves. "Let me try."
The cook grew anxious. "Adjutant, you're putting me to shame! How can you do such menial work?"
Zuo Canglang ignored him, carrying a bucket of slop to the pens. The pigsty was naturally foul-smelling, but she was no pampered young lady; this was nothing to her. As she poured the food into the trough, several pigs scrambled forward.
Zuo Canglang found it rather interesting and couldn't help but pat the pigs that were eating happily. The pigs were too busy fighting for food to pay her any mind. She stood by the side, watching the wind and sand batter the pens made of bark and hay as the evening sun hovered on the horizon.
Suddenly, her thoughts drifted back to Jinyang, and inevitably, to that person in the city.
Zuo Canglang stayed in the Suye camp for two months, time flowing like water. As an Adjutant, her daily work consisted of... farming, raising pigs, and planting trees. The highlight of her day was when a local villager lost a pig, sheep, cow, or chicken, because she could place bets with Yuan Xi and the others on whether they could find it.
Doing this for one day was fine, but doing it every day made Zuo Canglang feel like she was losing her mind.
As for Wen Qi, despite being a Great General, his daily routine—aside from studying military texts—consisted of drilling the soldiers, followed by farming and watering the fields. Occasionally, he would listen to villagers talk about the harvest, local affairs, or folk anecdotes.
Since Murong Yan’s departure, Wen Qi had hardly done a single thing that could be considered prestigious. When he went out hunting, his haul was often less than that of a common soldier. This was no Great General; he was practically a village chief!
Though Zuo Canglang was young, she had crawled out of a pile of corpses. Even if she wasn't an Asura, she shouldn't be a village girl, right? She had seen Murong Yan’s grandeur. Even as a prince out of favor, he traveled with a train of horses and dined with incense and fine vessels. Wen Qi, on the other hand, was a high-ranking general who stripped to the waist to plant trees and water fields, then fell fast asleep the moment he returned exhausted.
His subordinates were all rough warriors; forget bathing and incense, it was a miracle if they remembered to wash their feet. Zuo Canglang truly found it difficult to respect him. It is human nature to judge by appearances, and having grown accustomed to Murong Yan, she could not bring herself to admire such a coarse soldier.
Fortunately, because she was a woman, she had her own tent. No one complained if she arrived late after farming or delivering water. But as she spent her days on these tasks, she eventually couldn't help but question him. "Commander, you are a general after all. At the very least, you could teach me some martial arts!"
Wen Qi would always shake his head. "You were personally instructed by the Second Prince. Your archery is masterful, and your martial skills are such that I have nothing to teach you."
Zuo Canglang didn't give up. "Then teach me from the military texts."
Wen Qi chuckled. "The Way of War—is it something found in books?"
Zuo Canglang would snap back, "If the Way of War is not in books, then why do you study them every day, Commander?"
Wen Qi’s smile would broaden. "When I have nothing to do, I learn a few grand theories just to make myself seem more learned as a general."
Zuo Canglang: "..."
With the hot blood of youth, she couldn't sit still. When there was nothing to do, she would leave the city to fight bandits. The west of Suye bordered West Jing and the north bordered the former lands of North Yu; foreign bandits were rampant, and robbery and murder were common occurrences. Previously, whenever government troops pursued them, they would flee into West Jing or North Yu, making capture extremely difficult.
With nothing else to do, Zuo Canglang treated it like a game of cat and mouse, squatting in wait for these bandits every day. Yuan Xi and the others initially found it boring, but later joined her—bandits carried money! Any gold or silver whose owner couldn't be found ended up in their own pockets.
Over time, the other generals in the camp began to take the initiative in bandit-hunting, specifically choosing days when they weren't on duty to take a few soldiers and wait at the Suye markets. Everyone knew there was profit to be made from horse bandits, so their patience was remarkably good. Gradually, the border city of Suye truly reached a state where "no one picked up lost items on the road, and doors were left unbolted at night."
Consequently, there were no more bandits to catch.
Zuo Canglang spent her days wandering the camp. Wen Qi did not allow her to interfere in daily drills or military affairs, but every morning, as soon as the bugle sounded, she would get out of bed. The winters in the Northwest were lethally cold, yet she never missed a single drill.
Wen Qi never bothered her, and the generals never included her name during roll call. Yet she existed there silently. Under the erosion of wind and sand, the girl’s skin lost its former fairness and delicacy, turning into a wild, wheat-colored hue. Like the old veterans, she learned to gamble, to drink harsh, aged liquor, and even to listen to their various off-color jokes.
One evening, Zuo Canglang returned from hunting with Zheng Zhu and the others, carrying a rabbit as she passed the Suye city gate. She looked up and saw Wen Qi standing atop the wall. She climbed up and walked to the beacon tower. "Commander? What are you doing here?"
Wen Qi said, "Looking at this place."
Zuo Canglang followed his gaze. Ahead was Mayi City, and beyond that lay the White Wolf River. There were no trees to block the view, only yellow sand filling the sky. She asked, "You've looked for so long; don't you get tired of it?"
Wen Qi smiled and turned to ask, "You’ve been here for quite some time now. Are you tired of it?"
Zuo Canglang lifted the rabbit in her hand. "To be honest, it’s quite boring."
Wen Qi’s smile deepened. "Have you thought about going back?"
Zuo Canglang immediately became alert. "Is the Commander trying to drive me away again? On what grounds? I haven't broken any military regulations!"
Wen Qi turned back to gaze at the setting sun over the border city. "You don't understand. For a commander, how precious this tedious peace truly is."
Zuo Canglang gave a half-hearted laugh. "I don't understand. I only know that under the Second Prince, I was a master archer, and here, I am a master pig-feeder. Look, is this rabbit fat? We’ll roast it tonight."
Wen Qi laughed heartily, then suddenly asked, "If it were you standing here today, what would you do?"
The sudden question caught Zuo Canglang off guard. She blinked for a long moment before asking, "What?"
Wen Qi turned to stare at her. He knew she had understood his meaning. Zuo Canglang thought for a moment and said, "West Jing is powerful. Sooner or later, it will swallow large tracts of Yu territory. When that happens, Great Yan will be almost entirely surrounded by them, Guzhu, and Tuhe. The current peace is merely an illusion."
Wen Qi did not interrupt. She continued, "I believe that at this moment, we should publicly refuse to pay tribute to West Jing. Instead, we should split that gold and silver into two portions: one to be gifted to Guzhu, and the other to Tuhe."
Wen Qi raised an eyebrow. Zuo Canglang explained, "The amount of this tribute is massive; neither Guzhu nor Tuhe will be willing to return it. But by doing this, West Jing will surely be enraged, deepening the rift between them and the other two tribes. Since West Jing is restrained by those two, they won't attack Yan in the short term. Meanwhile, Guzhu and Tuhe, coveting Great Yan’s annual tribute, will both hope for Yan to submit to them, enjoying the status of a suzerain state that West Jing once held. They will inevitably watch each other warily and turn to curry favor with Great Yan. In this way, Yan first rids itself of the humiliation of being a vassal to West Jing; second, it can gain many benefits from Tuhe and Guzhu; and third, it gains a position of total initiative. Given time, we might even be able to induce Tuhe and Guzhu to attack West Jing."
Wen Qi took a deep breath and finally asked, "Who was your teacher? Who taught you these things? Was it the White Emperor?"
Zuo Canglang replied, "When I was young and hunted in the mountains, I slowly summarized some experiences in trapping beasts. Later, in the orphanage, I read a few books on strategy, but I don't know many characters, so I only half-understood them."
Wen Qi’s gaze was clearly skeptical. Zuo Canglang shrugged. "Commander, do not look down on hunting. If one can capture wild beasts that cannot communicate and are hard to control, how much easier is it to handle humans who have desires and needs?"
Wen Qi looked back at the city walls obscured by wind and sand. After a long silence, he said, "I have some military texts in my quarters. I haven't read them in a long time, and I fear they might be growing moldy or infested with insects. When you have time, help me air them out in the sun."
"Huh?" Zuo Canglang was stunned, then her face lit up with joy. "Yes!"
Wen Qi was a descendant of a military lineage. His father, Wen Xingye, was a founding hero of Great Yan, and the Wen family had served the Murong clan for generations. Many of the military texts he collected were rare, lost editions.
Zuo Canglang brought them out to dry. Sometimes Wen Qi would engage in theoretical discussions with her, and other times he would explain obscure passages. Though Zuo Canglang was sharp, she lacked formal education. Fortunately, she was a humble student; no matter how difficult the books were, they were far more interesting than feeding pigs, planting trees, or finding lost cats and dogs.
She found a new kind of joy. Wen Qi, having nothing else to do, would sit beside her and watch her read.
Wen Qi’s high regard for Zuo Canglang was obvious to everyone. However, there were no rumors or scandals about them. Wen Qi had led the Northwest Camp for eight years, and during those years, he had been like a benevolent elder. Even the most defiant soldier would immediately lower his head at a single glance from him.
Zuo Canglang treated him with the respect due to a master. The more she interacted with him, the more she felt his charisma. It had nothing to do with romantic feelings; he was like a bottomless ocean—elegant and inclusive, showing no sharp edges yet capable of withstanding any storm.
She began to understand why Wen Qi could hold Suye City. He was like the faith of the Yan army. Here, where the mountains were high and the Emperor was far away, the King of Yan was merely a title; Wen Qi was the soul of the Yan army.
That night, in his tent, Wen Qi received a reply from Murong Yuan. The King had rejected the proposal to split the tribute between Guzhu and Tuhe. On one hand, he feared West Jing would abandon the old Yu lands in a rage and charge toward Great Yan; on the other, he worried that Guzhu and Tuhe would develop a taste for such wealth and begin to covet Great Yan themselves.
Wen Qi dipped his brush in ink, intending to write a reply. He wrote two characters, then crumpled the paper. Instead, he began to write a letter home. Zuo Canglang stood behind him; though she knew it was wrong to peek at another's mail, she couldn't help her curiosity.
Wen Qi had been married for many years, but being away for so long, his wife and children remained in his hometown of Huatai. Because his father, Wen Xingye, had been wounded in battle years ago and now had difficulty walking, the household required constant care. Thus, his wife, Yu Qiushu, almost never visited the camp. However, Wen Qi frequently sent back paintings, calligraphy, and toys. He never missed a monthly letter, a testament to the harmony between the couple.
Zuo Canglang remained silent, but Wen Qi suddenly spoke. "I have two sons. Yixuan is ten, and Yirong is four."
Zuo Canglang gave a soft "mm." Wen Qi continued, "I haven't seen them in over two years. The last time we met, Yirong couldn't even speak yet."
Zuo Canglang didn't understand why he was suddenly telling her this; Wen Qi rarely spoke of private matters. She thought for a moment and asked, "Do you not miss them, Commander?"
Wen Qi said, "I do. But the border is bitter and cold, and the soldiers are all here alone. How can I be an exception? Furthermore... I do not wish for the old or young of my house to be involved in the disputes of the court."
Zuo Canglang fell silent. Wen Qi said, "So, do you realize? If you continue down this path, the road you have chosen will be incredibly arduous and lonely."
Zuo Canglang’s expression slowly turned solemn. She said softly, "I am willing to shed my blood on the battlefield and guard the desolate cities. If Heaven grants me years, I hope to grow old in the mountains and fields. If such a day truly comes, I will only feel honored."
Wen Qi lowered his head again and continued writing his family letter. After a long while, he murmured, "By then, I suppose I shall be able to go back."
Stroke by stroke, he wrote of the wind and sand of the border city.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 慕容渊 | Murong Yuan | The King of Yan. |
| 参军 | Adjutant | A military rank/position (Cānjūn). |
| 许琅 | Xu Lang | A military officer favored by the King. |
| 兵曹 | Bureau of Military Personnel | A government office handling military affairs. |
| 辰时 | Hour of the Dragon | 7:00 AM – 9:00 AM. |
| 宿邺 | Suye | A border city and military garrison. |
| 诸葛锦 | Zhuge Jin | A character in the Northwest Camp. |
| 袁戏 | Yuan Xi | A character/officer in the Northwest Camp. |
| 郑诸 | Zheng Zhu | A character/officer in the Northwest Camp. |
| 马邑 | Mayi | A city near Suye. |
| 白狼河 | White Wolf River | A geographical feature near the border. |
| 岁贡 | Annual Tribute | Yearly payment made by a vassal state. |
| 白帝 | White Emperor | A legendary figure or master mentioned as a potential teacher. |
| 温行野 | Wen Xingye | Wen Qi's father, a founding hero of Yan. |
| 滑台 | Huatai | Wen Qi's hometown. |
| 余秋淑 | Yu Qiushu | Wen Qi's wife. |
| 以轩 | Yixuan | Wen Qi's eldest son. |
| 以戎 | Yirong | Wen Qi's younger son. |
