Princess Agents 特工皇妃楚乔传, Chapter 151 English novel translation

It's a Trap!

Synopsis: Yan Xun finds out where Zhuge Yue is, and he sends many divisions to capture him but fails miserably every time.  Zhuge Yue had about 300 people, all elite fighters, but he was apparently trapped and Zhao Che did not receive the message to send troops to his aid.  When his generals think they finally caught him, it seems Yue Qi was disguised as Zhuge Yue in a bait and switch.  When Yan Xun asks him where is Zhuge Yue, Yue Qi responds cheekily, "Are you crazy, Your Highness, why would I tell you that?"  (TN: I heart Yue Qi -- if you have time, watch The Eternal Love. The main male romantic lead in this romcom is played by the handsome actor who plays Yue Qi in the TV series)  Yan Xun orders him beheaded, to which Yue Qi responds, "Yan Xun, you're no soldier; you're a villain who should stick to playing at schemes and intrigue.  You're no match for my master. I go one step behind, and will wait for you on the road to Hell."

Yan Xun realizes that Yue Qi was carrying the Breaking Moon sword.  He would have known that Chu Qiao carried it until recently.  I guess he puts two and two together and sends someone to intercept Chu Qiao with the sword, alerting her that Zhuge Yue is in trouble, and use her as bait at YueGong City.  He tells A-Jing, his subordinate who is close to Chu Qiao, to go check on something so he won't get in the way.  

Chu Qiao initially misunderstands and thought Zhuge Yue lied to her about being on a mission unrelated to the war since it looked like he was trying to kill Yan Xun in YueGong City and heads off immediately.  Meanwhile, someone pretending to be Chu Qiao's subordinate finds Zhuge Yue, whose forces of 300 have dwindled to 200 now.    This person says He Xiao is dead and Chu Qiao sent a warning to him to take a secret road out of Yan Bei since he will soon be surrounded by Yan Xun's troops.  Zhuge Yue is immediately concerned for her safety.  He suspects this informant's words, so he sends someone to investigate.  Sure enough, his scouts spot Chu Qiao and her army running at breakneck speed towards YueGong City, with the Black Hawk army fast on her heels.  He decides to go to YueGong against his subordinates voiced objections and pleas.

For the most part he knows they are likely right, but on the off chance it could be true, Chu Qiao would die.  He also foolishly clung onto the hope that if it was true, it meant he had a chance and that she felt something for him if she was willing to go against Yan Xun to protect him.  (TN: While this is true, silly man, she would still punch you in the face again for being an idiot. ^_^)

Meanwhile, Chu Qiao suddenly stops and feels something is amiss.  Her intuition tells her to turn around.  She confronts her informant and pokes holes through his story.  At first she suspects it's Cheng Yuan who is rebelling but a part of her also suspects Yan Xun is playing her though she refuses to believe it at first.

Zhuge Yue makes it to YueGong unexpectedly.  Originally Yan Xun had planned to intercept him and sent the city garrison to help in the ambush in MinXi Valley.  But he left the city defenseless and Zhuge Yue sacked the city.  He must have been mad ^_^;   In  a hurry the forces Yan Xun sent out quickly came back and rushed back to save the city but Zhuge Yue's forces killed them all.

Zhuge Yue and Yan Xun meet for the first time in a long time.  When Zhuge Yue saw him, he knew he had been fooled, and the only question was whether Yan Xun did this himself or if Chu Qiao helped him.  He is convinced she would not be so underhanded, and that she does feel something for him, but how much is uncertain when her loyalties lay elsewhere.  The fact she was not here meant she would not throw her life away for Yan Xun either, so that was enough for him.

Yan Xun on the other hand had a conniption when he saw Zhuge Yue.  Some soldier makes a speech about how unjust Zhuge Yue is and how Yan Bei will never surrender, blah, blah, blah, and Zhuge Yue gives the signal to turn him into a pincushion.  This makes the Yan people angry and Zhuge Yue and Yan Xun's forces collide as the sun sets.

[WARNING -- Battle scene is like something out of "Game of Thrones" or "300" (This is Spartaaaa!)  Those with queasy stomachs can just skip to the part where Chu Qiao comes upon the scene.  -KERO]

Chapter 151: If the Heart Was Dead Ash

Introduction: This is the precursor to the ice lake and where Chu Qiao turns on Yan Xun, which surprises everyone on both sides.

The Yan Bei Army surrounds the 300 or so guards of Zhuge Yue.  When they run out of arrows and their horses are slaughtered they fight hand-to-hand.  Zhuge Yue tells his men they are not allowed to die, and with only 100 men left, he tells them to charge with him.  That's where we begin….

The sky was deep and dark and the clouds pressed toward the ground, almost close enough to stick to their foreheads.  The snow was like gray goose down, curling and fluttering as it flew in the cold wind.  Inside a simple erected tent of coarse cloth and leather, Yan Xun sat quietly.  The torches inside crackled faintly.  His soldiers were scared, their eyes more uneasy.  The warhorses also cried in irritation, their restless hooves digging at the earth.  The air was suffocating and full of fear and repression.

Half and hour had already passed, and the fight between a force of 300 weak and stranded men and 10,000 soldiers continued.  The disparity between them showed this was no ordinary melee.  Even if Zhuge Yue had admirable qualities, he should not have lasted this long.  The Moon Guards have already spent their arrows, their swords already chipped, and many have sustained heavy injuries.  The calvary's horses were all shot dead, they were no longer able to flexibly maneuver.  They could only gather together, back to back, fighting with spear and knife against 10,000.  

The Yan Bei Army wrapped around and encircled them. The intense, close quarter hand-to-hand combat was too terrible to witness.  Fresh blood stained the snowy field.  The Yan Bei vanguard troops fought with Zhuge Yue's men in one spot.  The two waves rammed together in the front, their blades bright as snow.  Amid their charge a large amount of blood gushed forth, like hot magma spraying onto the dirty snow and fertile ground.

The wind howled, the sound of killing thundered towards the heavens, the war horses whinnied mixed in with the screams of mortally wounded soldiers as they fell.  The scene was like a depiction of punishment from Hell's inferno.  Whatever strategies, whatever tactics, all were useless and forgotten.  At this moment, everyone seemed to go mad in this unavoidable confrontation, with red eyes waving their swords at one another.  Severed limbs, blood splatter, heads that had been cut off--it was like a row of autumn harvest falling onto the ground.  Those who killed someone were immediately cut down by another, but the dying man did not fail to cling to his killer to secure a kill for his comrades.  The battle was so fierce it defied imagination.

Even though the Yan troops had the upper hand in terms of numbers, the initial charge was unable to disperse the small group of Moon Guards, and the outer ring of soldiers fell, and the soldiers inside were trapped and went down in the second round.  The Moon Guards continued to strongly stand upright, like some plaster that refused to crack. Whether defeated or not, it didn't matter if your comrades fell all around, you still fight for yourself and your fight is not over.  Who would care about being badly mangled, or whether your limbs split, or whether you were drawing your last breath, you continued to hack away at the enemy if you were dying anyway!

These men had followed Zhuge Yue since their childhood as his personal guard and were considered sons of the main branch of the Zhuge house, and from the age of four the family invited dozens of martial arts masters for them, and assembled 500 Moon Guards who would live and die for him.  For over ten years they followed Zhuge Yue to fight from north to south.  They had gone through hundreds of battles and squishes, without retreat or timidity.  Today, before the Yan Bei troops, they once again showed what it meant to be loyal to king and country, and to have warm blooded loyalty towards their master.

Yan Xun's new Chief of Guard, Nie Gu, screamed as he raised his sword, "Kill!  Kill them!"

Yue Jiu's body was covered in blood, one sword stabbed through a Yan Bei solder's throat, his face no longer the calm and collected demeanor of an elite fighter. He yelled, "Brothers!  Pave a bloody path through them!"

There were bodies and swords everywhere. The corpses piled up so their footing was difficult, and the fighters kicked aside the corpses as they continued to fight.  The sounds of killing and the sounds of screaming were deafening, blood and dirt and meat pulp spraying all over the ground.  (TN: gross....)

A Yan soldier chopped off a Moon Guard's leg but the young guard uttered no sound, instead returned with a stab through the Yan soldier's chest.  The Yan soldier clung to the Moon Guard's waist before tumbling down.  Heavily wounded and dying the two continued their struggle on the ground.  Like two wild dogs, they bit and snapped at one another, as if they had a terrible grudge against the other.  But before they could bite one another to death, a dozen or so horses wildly charged.  Their riders continued to fight desperately, trampling the two on the ground until their brain matter sprayed out.  In their death pose the two soldiers on the ground hugging together, looking as if they were intimate friends.

The battlefield encircled the 300 Moon Guards in a terrible crimson vortex.  The formation on both sides was a complete mess.  The outside Yan Bei guard were unable to rush in, and they continued to shout and whip their horses.  From time to time, they rushed in to replace a fallen solder.  Suddenly at this time, the Moon Guards in the south west corner were overrun, creating an opening, and Nie Gu shouted.  The riders raised their sabers dripping with blood and followed behind him, howling like wolves.

"Protect the general!

Yue Jiu gave a great shout, his young face blood red and unrecognizable.  The Moon Guard's eyes simultaneously saw red, steadily turned around and charged, but their feet were caught up in the enemies around them.

Nie Gu cried out, "Charge! Kill the dog Zhuge Yue!"

*shuaa--*

As soon as he said it, the light of a white blade made a surprise attack.  A blood red line was immediately drawn across Nie Gu's neck. In the next second the young guard's head flew clean away.  The body suddenly went stiff, and with a thud it fell into a puddle of blood.

Zhuge Yue held his sword, his cyan blue robes were more and more radiant, his face shining like white jade, his lips dark red, his nose raised, his deep and quiet eyes were like an pool, bright and piercing as he watched the disorderly battle field.  A drop of blood slowly dripped from his forehead, sliding down the contour of his face.  Behind him were upward of 10,000 corpses, even further away, an old city smoldering in black smoke, and behind him, Yan Bei lang engulfed in the flames of the war with DaXia as far as the eye could see.  The war raged, people mourned and the continent was fluctuating.  The world was bleeding, and he stood wielding a blade in the center of a ferocious pool of blood; but though this was a full-on massacre he stood dignified and proud like a lofty snow-capped mountain.

"General!"

"Good kill!"

As the thunderous cheers followed, Zhuge Yue stoke in that pool of blood, his voice rang clear as a bell as he shouted, "No one is allowed to die!  Everyone follow me and charge!"

"Yes sir!"

The warriors shouted in unison.  Zhuge Yue charged forward to those in front, taking the lead, personally leading his men, his skill nimble and turmoil inducing.  The edge of his blade turned the snow in mid-air, like white waves throwing both men and horses off their feet, and scattering them.

They were down to the last 100 surviving Moon Guards' morale, the sound of killing was deafening, sweeping over the invincible Yan Bei Army.  Even they could not help but stop in front of this unbridled momentum and the battle suddenly glued together.  The officers in the back angrily yelled, but no matter how they yelled, the mass of piled up corpses were blocking them despite their efforts.  The 100 or so men looked like leaves in the rain, unyielding; a never dying machine continuously hacking away with their swords.

Yan Xun's expression didn't change, his eyes gradually narrowing.  Zhuge Yue finally came out and stood at the forefront of the slaughter, in cyan blue wielding his sword, his bearing like a strong, coiled dragon.  In the sunlight, Yan Xun seemed to see a golden aura around his figure, so splendid, dazzling and luminous, that peopled dared not look upon him.

A trace of dark cold slid across his eyes, and Yan Xun said in a low voice, "Get me my bow and arrow."

His guards quickly turned to retrieve Yan Xun's golden bow, bright and dazzling.  Dressed in a long black fur cloak, those eyebrows that were one unencumbered and gentle, were now like the god of death, his pitch black body made with blood.  His finger slowly rubbed the base of the arrow, his four fingers closed together, and he clasped his thumb in place.  Touching the arrow, taking the bow and bending it, the rope of fate circled back and reversed in this moment.  That old image from the past surged wildly through his mind.  Yan Xun's arms were strong and the arrow nestled in the crook of the bow's string curled like a cooked shrimp.  (TN: This metaphor ruins the moment, I have to say…  Now whenever I think of Yan Xun, I will think of cooked shrimp….)

The wind howled through the snow and flames of war, over the gradually cooling corpses.  The dark clouds in the heavens tumbled and rolled, and the fluttering, dancing snowflakes filled the sky.  In the distance the sound of rapidly approaching horses galloped closer.  Yan Xun's eyes were like frost, his back straight as he stood in the center of his army, with absolute advantage and bearing, he let loose the arrow with a *twang*!

The arrow shot like a bright ray of golden light, whizzing as it flew from the string, abruptly headed for that powerful figure standing in the battlefield!

In that moment, a thousand pairs of eyes were all glued together.  Under the pale yellow light of the noontime sun, the arrow of fate rapidly hurtled towards Zhuge Yue's chest, like hungry, bloodthirsty wolf.

Zhuge Yue's battle sword slashed and a Yan Bei soldier bowled over.  The scarlet blood sprayed over the back of his hand like boiling oil.  Without even having to look and just listening, his eardrum heard the arrow penetrating the violent northern wind.  His body was like lightning, swift and unparalleled in motion, he rapidly dodged it and at the same time it viciously scraped across his arm, taking with it a thick piece of fabric and bloody flesh.  And before he could even get his footing back, in the twinkling of an eye, another arrow was already upon him.

String of Pearls, Yan Bei Chu Qiao's famous move!  On the snowy night of the State Banquet, in the northwestern corner of the practice field, he had once been schooled on this move by Chu Qiao's skill, so it was not unfamiliar. However this arrow in this moment came from Yan Xun's hand and it had a different impression.  While its finesse was not as exquisite, it far surpassed hers in strength.

Altogether seven arrows, arrow after arrow aiming straight for vital points.  Zhuge Yue coiled flat like a dragon in surprise, avoid them one after another, until finally his body received a shock.  As a fierce wind and sudden rain he stood up among the sharp swords.  He glanced at him for only a second, but as fast as lightning, their lifetime rivalry passed between them.

In that instant, Zhuge Yue was like a full moon, he spun like a wheel and the crook of his arm circled, and threw his sword.  The blade's edge was bright like snow, which and shining like lightning, and a kind of thunderclap counter attacked with a loud bang.

A short expression of alarm came from not far behind him, the man for whom the blade's edge was intended curled the corner of his lip upward in an imperceptible smile.  He did not dodge, and his face had no trace of panic.  Rather, he took his last arrow, instantaneously pulled his bow and adeptly fired.

Heaven and earth were silent in this moment, the two men separated by ten thousand horses silently watched one another, using all of their strength in this final blow, neither of them evading but waiting for Fate to pronounce final judgement on their entire lives.

"Your Highness be careful!"

"General!"

There was not enough time for the cries of alarm to reach their eardrums.  As the sound of a horse's long whinny rose, the snow bright sword glittered like a morning star in the dark night and the sharp arrow penetrated the vast expanse of snowy mist.  With a whistling from behind Yan Xun, before Zhuge Yue's sword could penetrate Yan Xun's chest, something impressively struck the back of the blade!  (TN: It doesn't actually say who threw this blade so accurately because something came from behind him to block Zhuge Yue's attack,  and no one in his army would have the skill to do it, aside from Yan Xun.)

It was only an ordinary battle sword, how had the enemy transformed it into a godly weapon as he threw it?  Two sections of physical strength worked in concert at this point and while the battle sword was shattered, the treasure sword maintained its speed as it rushed forth.  Yan Xun's sharp arrow pierced through Zhuge Yue's hand into his chest, followed by the treasure sword inserting itself into the tail end of the arrow, piercing straight into Zhuge Yue's chest.   (TN: Damn you Yan Xun, you cheated…. -__-)  Fresh blood snaked its way down, flowing past the blade in streaming waves all the way to the end where two words in archaic script were carved.  In the red stain of hot blood were the words "Breaking Moon."  (TN: So much irony…I can't…even….)

A burst of blood blossomed from Zhuge Yue's mouth, and his body staggered back, strongly refusing to fall down.  The Moon Guards immediately rushed forth, surrounding him on all four sides.  Yue Jiu's eyes were full red as he knelt in front of him, rolling tears pouring from his gaze.  The young swordsman jerked his head back, his eyes full of insane resentment and anger, looking across the vast expanse of snow at the black armored troops far away.

Chu Qiao sat atop her horse, surrounded by two thousand of her XiuLi Army.  Their horses' hooves stepped onto the snow field, making a crunching noise.  Her pupils were fully dilated, and finally she clearly saw what was in front of her in the expanse of wind and snow.  Her whole body seemed encased in a pool of ice, her hands and feet had gone numb, and it was as if her heart had been gouged out and flung across the frozen sky and snowy earth.

Yan Xun smiled faintly extending his hand to flick off a snowflake from his placket, then slowly extended a hand towards Chu Qiao, as he said warmly, "You've come."

Zhuge Yue's whole body was covered with blood, the wound at his chest savage and hideous.  In his eyes it was as though black tides were churning, once again dripping with blood, reality once again routed his pride and self restraint. His eyebrows and eyes coldly watching with both eyes open, strongly resisting the blood at the base of his throat.

Zhuge Yue, until when will you stop demeaning yourself?

The man sneered, the sound low and raspy like a demon, muttering to himself, "In the end, I, Zhuge Yue, still cling to one-sided hope."  (TN: At this point, he believes she was in on it.)

His cold gaze pierced Chu Qiao's body.  Breathing suddenly became difficult for Chu Qiao.  She couldn't speak as she breathed heavily on her horse.  She no longer saw the false, smiling face of Yan Xun.  Nor did she see the small mountain of countless corpses.  She no longer saw the black smoldering remains of the old city of YueGong, nor could she see the snowy wind rolling across heaven and earth.  There was only Zhuge Yue, only the scarlet bloodstain on his cyan blue robes.  Like a dazzling arrow gouging out her heart, violently lodged in the center of her chest and out the back.

Nine years seemed to pass in an instant.  Nine years ago, in the emperor's snow field of pure white, she was honor bound to not turn back, and chose to fight beside Yan Xun.  With vengeful eyes she stared down the proud and aloof, quiet and lonely youth.  Nine years later, Fate once again gave her the same opportunity.  However, if nothing else, she still resolutely pointed her blade in his direction.

The wind and snow were unchanged, the circumstances are the same, but the person has changed.  The world instantly became boodles and vast.  Only the sound of the wind blowing and rolling the snow towards the heavens, sprinkling onto that face that was already so familiar in her dreams.

Her fingers bent, her fists curled until her nails drew blood, but she felt no pain.

With red eyes, Yue Jiu looked upon her face and furiously cursed her, "You cold-hearted wolf bitch!  Our master came because of you and you used such underhanded means!  From this day forth, as long as the Moon Guard has one man left alive, we vow to make you pay the price for today!"

"Shameless big words."  Yan Xun's eyes drifted lightly, his tone cold and quiet, "Go.  Kill them all."

"Yes!"

The troops shouted in unison and turned to rush forth.  At that moment, the unexpected sound of thousands of horse's hooves rose up on snow field.  The thousand or so horsemen were dressed in different clothing, as merchants, sheepherders and street vendors, Confucian scholars and even a few Yan Bei officials.  They rushed forward on their horses, all sorts of blades waving in the air, and in a moment they curled around and gathered behind Zhuge Yue.

"Master!"

A man in his forties rushed forward.  He was wearing the uniform of a fifth rank civil official of Yan Bei.  He took his handle of his thick saber, jumped off his horse, and as he fought his way through he shouted, "Yue Da has come late.  Nine, you protect the master and take him away!  Brothers!  Charge with me!!"  (TN: This is the most senior moon guard captain apparently.  He numbers his trusted men.  Yue Qi is our favorite and number seven.  Yue Jiu is feisty and number nine.  The smaller numbers denote rank and authority, while the larger numbers are recent entries into the Guard. Yue Da really means Big Yue, so I think he is everyone's senior.)

As early as nine years ago, when YanShi City fell in a blast of fire and thunder, when Yan Xun was trapped by the emperor, the young Zhuge Yue had carefully woven this net.  At the time, he had not anticipated the current situation of today, he had just carefully placed his staff, lurking behind Yan Bei's borders, laying a map for when it came time to fight for a piece of what Yan Bei had to offer.  Then Yan Xun returned and Yan Bei rebelled.  These people then became the hands and eyes of Zhuge Yue inside Yan Bei, and it was because of these people that he was able to easily escape time and again.

Another battle began, and fresh blood flew, the sound of killing deafening, and shining blades were dazzling.

HeXiao carefully leaned towards her, asking in a low voice, "Excellency, do we assist His Highness?"

Chu Qiao's eyes absently stared at the battlefield, ten thousand thoughts soaring across her brain one by one.  Zhuge Yue's face.  Yan Xun's face.  She didn't know where she had gone wrong.  She didn't know what the hell she was doing.  Her weakness blotted the sky and covered the earth, engulfing everything, nearly drowning her whole.  Fury, heartache, bitter remorse, grief and other feelings she couldn't put words to curled around her, covering her eyes, her nose and her ears.  She was so very, very tired.  So tired that she wanted to topple onto the ground and sleep, and just like that, die.

"Excellency?  Excellency?"  He Xiao's voice rang clearly beside her ear, becoming more and more urgent.

Chu Qiao's body came to attention, at once suddenly reclaiming her mind.  She reached out and took HeXiao's war blade, jumped off her horse and charged forward, yelling, everyone "Follow me!"  (TN: Why didn't she use the Breaking Rainbow sword...?)

The warriors of the XiuLi Army followed closely behind and the war was boiling over like scalding liquid.  However just at the moment they were about to approach the boundary of the DaXia men to attack, Chu Qiao plunged the blade into the chest of a Yan Bei soldier, fresh blood spraying across her beautiful face.  The young woman's stature was firm, like the monolith of a tall tree. 

One, two, one hundred, one thousand.  Gradually the troops on the entire battlefield became quiet.  Wordlessly, Chu Qiao took down every Yan Bei soldier who was close to her as if she had gone mad.  Zhuge Yue's men all followed her with their eyes and kept a distance from her.  The Yan Bei soldiers all stared at her in astonishment, also unwilling to go near her.  Even the XiuLi Army warriors, one by one stood dumbfounded, unsure of what action they should take.  (TN: ….awkward….)

"Ah Chu, what are you doing?"

Yan Xun came forward from behind, his eyes dark and deep as two springs, fixed upon her, his voice low as he spoke slowly.

Chu Qiao didn't speak. With sword in hand she stoke in place and looked back at him. She looked at the man she exhausted all her heart's effort to follow, and only felt that life was like one ostentatious dream that bound her with silk threads, and like a puppet she remained muddled and ignorant for a very long time.

Several Yan Bei soldiers tried to carefully move forward, but who knew that before they could get close, Chu Qiao's sword would suddenly go flying, and amid the clear flash of her blade a human head propelled into the air.  In front of all the shocked expressions the headless corpse fell onto the snowy ground, twitching like a dog that refused to die.  (TN: Battle mode Chu Qiao, on!)

There were no exaggerated, gorgeous moves, no extended battle cry.  She just coldly pointed the blade's edge at her own comrades, her thin body standing in the boundless snow field, with no one else beside her.

"Chu Qiao!  What are you doing?"

Yan Xun's voice was getting lower.  On the periphery, Yue Da saw this, and immediately signaled his subordinates to quickly escape.  At the corner of Yan Xun's eye the Yan Bei soldiers suddenly chased after them once again.  Chu Qiao's figure was nimble, and in several leaps she stood in front, blocking them. She raised her sword in direct conflict with her own people, and neither caring nor thinking about it they raised their swords against her.  

When he saw this He Xiao immediately became furious, picked up another sword and angrily shouted, "Brothers!  Protect Her Excellency!"

The battlefield became utter chaos, and already no one could differentiate between friend or foe.  With killing eyes, Chu Qiao shook violently as she was covered in blood and her body refused to give any ground.  The sounds of horses hooves drove further away, carrying away an unconscious Zhuge Yue.  A black eagle cried high above the chaos and the cold wind like chilly blades, inch by inch scraping across her skin.

On the vast level plain, bloody corpses littered the ground, the close-quarters fighting continued, and the damp, cold air was full of death and despair.

No one knew how long it took, but eventually everything became quiet.  She stood with her sword, bright red blood at her feet.  Yan Xun stood opposite her, fainting gazing at her.  She suddenly though that this person opposite her was a stranger.  It was if she had never known him.  Without saying a thing, without wanting to ask anything, she dragged her exhausted body, turning and staggering away, thinking only to leave.

"Stop."

A low void came from behind, and Yan Xun took a slow step forward.  The soldiers retreated in a wave, and only He Xia stood in front of her with his sword, glaring like a tiger at the gradually approaching Yan Bei king.

"Step aside."

Yan Xun coldly spoke to He Xiao.  The youthful military commander raised his head, fearlessly starting back at him, responding to his order with silence.

With a *shuaa* Yan Xun pulled the sword from his waist, but almost at the same time, Chu Qiao countered it.  Over the years she had such a tacit understanding that she didn't even have to open her eyes to counter any of his moves.  A sudden spark glaringly burst from the blades.

Yan Xun smiled coldly.  "What?  Now you can even use your blade against me for him?  Here I thought that in this entire world you would only do such a thing for Zhuge Yue."

Chu Qiao looked up, and with her pair of dark eyes she stared at Yan Xun; his familiar brows, his cold mouth, unable to reconcile this man with the warm and promising youth from her memory.  In this moment, Yan Xun finally separated from the boy in her memory, and stood before her in the flesh.  The real him was dripping in blood, her obsessive obstinacy she accumulated over the years collapsed like broken glass into a thousand pieces, never to be pieced together again.

"Yan Xun, you lied to me."

Yan Xun's face showed no hint of remorse, and he said lightly, "If I didn't lie, how would he have fallen for it?"

The feeling of having one's heart pierced through with a thousand arrows felt like this, Chu Qiao smiled bitterly.  Her eyes were dry and she could not cry, but her voice carried an unspoken despair and exhaustion.  She looked at him quizzically, and shook her head, "Yan Xun, why have you become this?"

Her voice was distraught, like a bird with no branch to land upon; no longer the straight figured general galloping on the battlefield, no longer that peerless, fascinating commander, no longer that swift, fierce and courageous, Her Excellency of XiuLi.  In this moment and this second she was only a woman who had been lied to, who had paid for it for many years, mixed into scalding water, all of her efforts wasted.

Yan Xun said in a deep voice, "Ah Chu, you say I have changed but really isn't it you who have changed?  A high ranking DaXia official has snuck into the borders of Yan Bei and you said nothing to me about such an important military matter, and still you fight against me during such a critical juncture.  I was born to be king of Yan Bei, there is nothing unusual about me killing a DaXia military man, and certainly not something that would garner this response from you.  Why should I go to such lengths to deceive you?  Is it possible that in your heart Yan Bei and I don't even matter when it comes to Zhuge Yue?"

Chu Qiao was startled, watching him for a long while, and after what seemed like ages, she suddenly laughed tragically.

"Yan Xun, if Yan Bei one day broke out in war against Huai-Song, would you ally with another power to take down Huai-Song and then kill her?"

Yan Xun was suddenly surprised, he frowned as asked, "What are you saying?"

"Yan Xun, you blame me for being untrue, but tell me, did you trust me?"

Yan Xun's eyebrows slowly locked together, and he said in a low voice, "I let you go back to the Yan Bei inland, away from the war, for your own good."

"Slaughtering my comrades in arms, forcing me to leave the cause I fought many years for, expelling me from the center of power, keeping me away from the battlefield.  Doubting me, not trusting me, monitoring me, using me, this, this is what you mean by 'for my own good'?"

Chu Qiao's were so bright they were scary.  In the wild howling wind, her voice was like a biting blade, penetrating the boundless dark sky, the sorrow and hurt of a year rolling out like a tide.

"Ah Chu, you are my woman.  Why can you not just stay put behind me?  Like other people's women, just wait to receive me after my triumphs?"  (TN:  Oh, Lordy…..)

Chu Qiao was surprised, then she laughed heartily, her entire body trembling, laughing until tears were falling down her face.  She placed a hand on her chest, the bitterness still at the tip of her tongue, suddenly shaking her head, "So, you wanted this kind of woman."

Her eyes shone like resplendent stars, and she intently stared at Yan Xun, saying in a low, raspy voice, "If that was the case, why would you come to me?"

"Yan Xun, you can kill Zhuge Yue, but you should not have used me to do it, moreover you should not have used the feelings between him and I to create this false play.

Yan Xun's expression flashed a deep and heavy disappointment, and he said low, "Cheng Yuan had told me long ago that you and Zhuge Yue's relationship was not shallow, but unfortunately I have been too overconfident, and today you finally admitted to it."

When she heard this, Chu Qiao almost wanted to laugh out loud.  Cheng Yuan? He would now rather believe that shameless and unscrupulous villain rather than believe her?  She who lived and died for him, who bent over backwards for him, exhausting her all in painstaking effort, following closely and carefully tending to him.  In the end, she wasn't even comparable to an ingratiating toady?  Once she had though he was only momentarily confused, letting his desire for vengeance to get to his head.  But now, she has gradually given up on him.  He had already changed into a politician.  What ideal, what belief, what with taking her back to Yan Bei to live the good life; all of it was part of his royal ambition.  For the sake of his hegemony, he could always find the right reasons , he could use the excuse that he believed it was beneficial to his interests.  He could shovel aside and remove anyone who blocked his path, regardless of whether this person was his teacher, his friend, his comrade in arms, his subordinate, his lover…..

To continue saying it was meaningless.  Chu Qiao coldly turned her head and wanted to leave, but Yan Xun suddenly caught her arm.  The man finally took off the mask of the cold an detached dignity of the emperor, and angrily yelled at her, "What the hell do you want?  Are you going to him?  Have you fallen in love with him?"  

Chu Qiao silently turned around, watching Yan Xun's familiar profile, and in a rare moment she saw that black clad youth of yesteryear standing by the Chishui lake.  She slowly shook her head and whispered, "Yan Xun, I don't know if it can be counted as love.  All I know is that I care about you, I am concerned for you, I will not tolerate other people harming you, I turned your dreams into my own dreams.  I adherently followed your steps in the past.  Before I did anything I thought of you first.  If you were happy, I felt joy, if you were lost, I would feel badly.  I can forgive your mistakes, your failures, could help you remedy every problem you caused.  My greatest dream was to see you fulfill your heart's long cherished wish.  I went to a foreign land, without relatives or friends.  For many years you were the full meaning of my existence, the most important person in my life."  (TN: really girl….?)

When Yan Xun heard these words his palm suddenly became hot as he gripped Chu Qiao's arm, slightly trembling in excitement.

Then Chu Qiao immediately followed with, "But now I am uncertain, was everything I did even worth it? Did I ever see you clearly?  Yan Xun, you have become a slave to power.  From the time you returned to Yan Bei, you became suspicious, you suspected me, suspected Mr. Wu, suspected Miss Yu, suspected the southwestern garrison force, suspected the DaTong Association, suspected all who threatened your authority.  I didn't believe you wouldn't know my loyalty to you, that you wouldn't know how Mr. Wu supported you, you were only afraid.  But you felt our existence would threaten your status, so you made up a hundred thousands excuses for yourself, and you pushed us out.  Your resentment, your insecurity, were all born from your selfishness, so you found a pretentious reason to absolve yourself.  Even if there was no Zhuge Yue today, it would be someone else.  You would always find some manner of fault with me.  Yan Xun, I don't blame you for killing Zhuge Yue, I only blame you for using tactics that are despicable.  You should not have trampled on my loyalty to you, trampled on the feelings between us, and even more so you should not have used me in your contemptible trick."

Chu Qiao climbed on top of her horse, and gave Yan Xun deep look before departing.  She said solemnly, I will go to him now and this is my last warning to you.  If he dies in Yan Bei, in this lifetime, I will not ever forgive you again."

A large gust of wind howled, blowing Chu Qiao's cloak outward.  The young woman gave a low shout, and in that moment her horse galloped forward, the XiuLi army following behind her.  The snow and mist flew wildly, and the snowstorm that filled the sky rolled in one place.

Yan Xun stood on the field, his expression cold and still.  He stood there for a long while, like a stone statue.

He felt as if something had suddenly split in his heart, and in that moment he thought he could even hear the sound of it breaking.  The wanton aura of death wildly flowed from it, dying his black eyes red.

Someone quietly walked behind him, and said in a whisper.  "Highness, General Cheng sent word that he was blocked by Her Excellency on the other side of the Moli River.  What should we do now?"

The cold wind blew and lifted the corners of his clothing.  He absently thought of the faces of his parents.  And the nobles dressed in their finery on the Nine Demon Dais…..

"Alert Cheng Yuan that he is immediately to take his troops in detour below MingXi Mountain.  He must stop Zhuge Yue on the frozen ChiSui lake."

The other man hesitated, and asked, "If that's the case, what if Her Excellency makes it there in time?"

Yan Xun's eyes narrowed slightly, and gleamed like the edge of a sword.  After a long while, his deep voice slowly spit out these few, ice-cold words, "At any cost, be sure to kill Zhuge Yue."

The eagle screamed fiercely under the gloomy sky canopy, outlined with a bloodthirsty red streak.

Translator's notes: I was pretty much flinching throughout this translation, thinking omg omg omg omg…when is he gonna get shot?  Did he just get shot with one of the seven arrows? OMO he was shot again AND stabbed in the same spot?? Who stabbed him?? Where is Chu Qiao??  Wait, did he pass out so he doesn't even know what she had done for him?? WTF TT__TT

But here at last, after 151 chapters, we see her finally rejecting who Yan Xun has become and choosing Zhuge Yue….  

Ordinarily I am a Chu Qiao fan but she was super conflicting in this chapter.  She doesn't know what she felt for Zhuge Yue but she felt her heart had been gouged out and tossed onto the ice?  She didn't mind if Yan Xun killed Zhuge Yue but she would never forgive him for it?  She says she doesn't know if what she feels for Yan Xun is love, yet she refers to him in this chapter and another chapter before his fight at the MeilLin Pass as her lover.  Does she even know what the word means….?

Her blind devotion to Yan Xun seems a little misguided and out of character for someone who has lived as an adult in the real world.  Was she just a mindless soldier in her past life?  I did not think being gullible and innocent were part of her make-up, which is why sometimes I still feel like she is two people contained in one body.  In this body there are traces of Chu Qiao who is reasonable and deadly, and traces of Jing Yue'er, who is trusting and kind.  Sigh, perhaps this painful character development is necessary.  After all, who wants a perfect heroine in a story?  But she does not get her act together until much later….sigh.

And Yan Xun, he finally cracks.  She was probably the band-aid on that dam.  -KERO