AEOGA CH17

While Liu Yansheng and Shen Hezhou were whispering to each other, two other men were arguing as if no one else were around.

The youth was clad in red, with a cinnabar mole between his brows; he had a refined and exquisite face—a strikingly beautiful countenance. At this moment, he wore a sneer, his voice laced with incessant sarcasm: “Oh? Isn’t this the awe-inspiring, world-famous General Qin? How did you end up like me, a concubine in the inner harem?”

The silver-robed youth targeted by him, who was about the same age, had a handsome, spirited, and heroic appearance. He retorted immediately: “Unlike you, my rank is one level higher than yours, Concubine Helian.”

The red-clad youth’s face turned sallow, and he sneered, “You are truly devoted to the Emperor of Changli. You just stepped off the battlefield only to climb onto the dragon bed. A seamless transition, indeed.”

The silver-robed youth countered without hesitation: “Being favored by His Majesty is far better than being an abandoned pawn discarded by the Empress of Qifeng.”

The red-clad youth was livid: “You!”

“Why are you two arguing again? Can’t you two be together for even a second without a fight?” Hua Yan, feeling a massive headache coming on, drifted over to a scholarly-looking, refined young man and whispered, “Scholar Fu, think of a way to persuade them. Their arguing is giving me a migraine.”

Fu Xinian suddenly caught a whiff of a rich fragrance and saw a pink butterfly—a man in pink—flitting over. “…”

He stepped back to maintain some distance. “How am I supposed to persuade them?”

“Didn’t you argue against scholars in the imperial examination hall? With such eloquence, you can’t even stop a fight?” Hua Yan asked.

Fu Xinian disagreed: “That depends on the reason for the fight. It’s already a mercy they haven’t started killing each other.”

Hua Yan thought about it and realized he was right. The two held a blood feud that could never be reconciled in this lifetime.

Currently, the world was divided into four: the male-dominant Night Wolf, the male-citizen Changli, the female-dominant Qifeng, and the female-citizen Leyang.

Among them, Qifeng and Leyang were on good terms, while Changli and Qifeng had slight friction. After all, Changli was a nation of men, and Qifeng regarded men as inferior; the two nations looked down on each other.

Night Wolf, however, was a generational enemy to the other three. Originally, the world followed patriarchal rules, but it eventually split into nations of men, women, and female-only citizens. Night Wolf considered itself the “orthodox” ruler and dreamed of unifying the world. They believed the women of Qifeng were brazen and immodest, the women of Leyang were “mirror-polishers” (lesbians) wasting resources, and the men of Changli were all “cut-sleeves” (homosexuals) who defied Yin and Yang and brought shame to men. They believed all three should be eliminated.

Against the problem of Night Wolf, the three nations were united, but that didn’t mean they were close. Minor skirmishes were common. This time, it was a war between Changli and Qifeng, led by General Qin Yulong.

The eighteen-year-old boy general was the sharpest “Jade Dragon Spear” of Changli.

Qifeng’s military was entirely composed of women, each and every one a heroine who refused to yield to men. Qin Yulong did not dare to underestimate them. On the battlefield, he repeatedly clashed with a female general from the enemy army. That female general seemed exceptionally vain; every time they met, she would keep her entire body hidden in armor, covering half her face, yet she never forgot to carefully draw a flower-shaped huadian between her brows.

Qin Yulong had originally looked down on someone who still had time to dress up on the battlefield, thinking she was merely a “flowery fist” trying to earn military merit. But the beautiful woman, despite looking delicate, had a firm character. She was hardworking, persevering, never gave up despite repeated defeats, and would remain silent even when injured, always saying, “We shall fight again next time.”

Actually, her martial arts were not weak, and her strategy was quite sound. If she hadn’t met Qin Yulong, the genius general of the century for Changli, the one who lost the war might not have been Qifeng.

It was a pity there were no “ifs.”

After fighting back and forth, Qin Yulong developed a shred of respect for his opponent, along with an indescribable, unclear feeling—a sense of mutual sympathy. The other party seemed to feel the same; in later encounters, the two gradually began to spar rather than fight to the death.

Swords have no eyes. One time, Qin Yulong’s strike was a bit too heavy. The Jade Dragon Spear pierced the other person’s shoulder, the armor fell off, revealing a large expanse of snowy-white skin soaked in blood. The other groaned, and Qin Yulong’s pupils constricted. He stopped his hand and said, “Let us end it here for today.”

That night, Qin Yulong tossed and turned in his tent. He thought of her applying medicine, he thought of that snowy-white, blood-stained shoulder—would it hurt so much she couldn’t sleep?

Qin Yulong was suddenly shocked.

Why do I care if an enemy female general is in pain? Why do I always think of that woman’s flower huadian? Why does my heart race and why do I occasionally giggle like an idiot when I think of her? Why have I… repeatedly held back my hand?

It couldn’t be… that I like her.

Qin Yulong dared not ponder this possibility.

Men in Changli never liked women. Heterosexuality in a nation of men was as rare, strange, and shameful as homosexuality in a patriarchal nation. Qin Yulong had never seen a woman from childhood to adulthood. Perhaps this was the first time, and he found it novel, which was why he paid extra attention to her.

But there were so many women in the Qifeng army; he only paid attention to that one.

How could this be liking her? He hadn’t even seen what she looked like beneath her armor. He only remembered that there was always a peach blossom huadian between the woman’s brows, different from everyone else, which allowed him to recognize her at a glance among a thousand troops.

This is the battlefield. How can I like an enemy general?

…This is treason.

The Qin family had been loyal for generations; he could not stain their reputation.

Qin Yulong thought for a night and decided to sever his feelings and never think of that woman again.

For many days after, he did not see that female general on the battlefield. Qin Yulong began to worry again, unable to stop his wild imagination.

Did I not hold back my force that day? Is she really badly hurt? Is that why she hasn’t been able to come to the battlefield for so many days?

Qin Yulong felt regretful.

Then he thought that kindness to the enemy was cruelty to his own side. How could he pity an enemy general? It was inappropriate, and for a moment, he felt even more annoyed.

It was just… very frustrating.

After being frustrated for a few days, Qin Yulong finally saw the female general on the battlefield again.

His heart lightened, and a heavy stone fell from his chest. It’s good that she’s fine.

He wanted to ask, “Are you okay?” but after thinking about it, he didn’t ask. He merely held up his Jade Dragon Spear in silence.

Setting aside identity and stance, they might have become friends, maybe even lovers.

But at this very moment, there could only be a battle.

…

The war had to end.

This war ultimately ended in a victory for Changli.

In the final battle, Qin Yulong and the female general fought until the sky went dark. The other side fought to the death, and he did not show mercy again. Both were covered in wounds, every strike aimed at vital spots; it was a brutal fight.

But in the end, Qin Yulong knocked her off her horse. He should have taken her head; the Jade Dragon Spear had already been raised, but in the end, it only brushed past the dust.

“You go,” Qin Yulong lowered his eyes.

Qifeng was defeated and offered Prince Helian Xi for marriage.

Called a “marriage prince,” he was actually a prisoner of war, brought back to the country by Qin Yulong as a war trophy.

Seeing the delicate and exquisite little prince for the first time, Qin Yulong always felt his features were somewhat familiar, especially the cinnabar mole between his brows, which reminded him of the flower huadian on that woman’s forehead—even the position was exactly the same.

Could there truly be such a coincidence in the world?

Qin Yulong asked someone, and they laughed loudly: “Young General, you do not know this. All men in Qifeng have a cinnabar mole between their brows, like the ‘virginity mark’ of Night Wolf women, which disappears only after they have been deflowered.”

Qin Yulong’s suspicions vanished, thinking to himself that he had indeed overthought it.

Helian Xi found Qin Yulong very disagreeable. Whenever he saw him, he would curse him. Along the way, he was bossy, at one moment saying he was thirsty for water, the next shouting he was hungry and needed food, treating Qin Yulong like a servant.

Qin Yulong had always looked down on the frail and sickly men of Qifeng, and he couldn’t serve a pampered prince. The imperial family of Changli was one thing, but a hostage prince from Qifeng? He wouldn’t spoil him.

He ignored Helian Xi’s demands.

Helian Xi cursed all the way, so he simply ordered someone to plug Helian Xi’s mouth.

A while later, a servant came to report: Helian Xi was crying.

Qin Yulong thought, What does that have to do with me? But thinking of those familiar brows and eyes, he went to check anyway, driven by a ghost-like impulse.

Helian Xi was indeed crying miserably, his beautiful peach-blossom eyes swollen like peaches. Qin Yulong felt impatient, thinking what a magical nation Qifeng was—women could fight on the battlefield, be seriously injured, and remain silent, while men were always weeping…

Remembering the woman he had a crush on, Helian Xi made him feel frustrated again.

He had ordered people to investigate who that female general was, but found nothing.

Maybe this little prince knows.

Thinking this, Qin Yulong removed the cloth from Helian Xi’s mouth: “Stop crying. Answer me a question, and I’ll give you food.”

“Do you know if you have a female general named…” Qin Yulong suddenly paused, discovering he didn’t even know her name.

“…She likes to draw a peach blossom huadian between her brows. Her eyes are peach-blossom eyes, very similar to yours…” Qin Yulong said, looking at his eyes—swollen red from crying—and said with disdain, “But she wasn’t like you, crying over such a trivial thing.”

Trivial? Helian Xi opened his eyes wide.

How much effort and hardship did I spend to convince the Mother Emperor to give me a chance to dress as a man and go to the battlefield, to prove that men can also achieve great things and don’t have to stay at home serving wives and raising daughters…

Qifeng had always been “women outside, men inside.” He was a man, yet he didn’t love the zither or embroidery; he loved the sword and spear. If he could earn merit, he could help his older sister fight for the position of Crown Princess, and his father wouldn’t have to live at the mercy of the Empress.

He could have succeeded; his leadership ability did not lose to any female general in the court, nor did it lose to the male generals of Night Wolf.

Why did I have to encounter Qin Yulong, this genius of military tactics?

He lost this war, and his mother emperor deemed him useless, sending him to be married off. He didn’t have to marry a woman—he was directly marrying a man.

He had to leave his homeland, and he didn’t know if he could see his father and sister again…

Such a tragic thing, shouldn’t I be allowed to cry?

Thus, Qin Yulong saw that after he finished this sentence, the little prince cried even harder, crying earth-shatteringly, heartbreakingly.

Qin Yulong: “…”

Forget it, he probably doesn’t know. A prince raised deep in the palace wouldn’t know how many generals were in the court.

Qin Yulong was about to leave when he heard Helian Xi say hatefully: “He is dead. You killed him with your own hands.”

Qin Yulong frowned, turned around, and said, “I clearly did not kill her.”

Helian Xi sneered: “He lost the war. Do you think the Mother Emperor would let him go?”

Isn’t he just sent here to be married off?

Helian Xi didn’t want to admit that the “female general” was himself. Fighting a war couldn’t be blamed on Qin Yulong; he acknowledged his inferior skills. But falling to this state, his life’s beliefs destroyed completely, Qin Yulong couldn’t be said to have no relation to it—at the very least, he was the direct cause.

Faced with such severe consequences, the imperceptible fondness from their battles dissipated. He didn’t want to admit that he had liked this little General Qin.

But after Helian Xi finished saying this, Qin Yulong’s figure suddenly swayed, and he turned around, his face deathly pale.

After that, no matter how Helian Xi provoked Qin Yulong, Qin Yulong was in no mood to bicker with him.

In this way, Helian Xi entered the palace and was named a Concubine.

But he didn’t expect that Qin Yulong would also be favored by the Emperor and subsequently enter the harem.

When Helian Xi heard the news, he first laughed three times in his bedchamber: “Qin Yulong, you have today too!”

Then he felt indignation for him: “To bury such a general—is the Changli Emperor’s brain kicked by a donkey?”

The entire harem knew that Helian Xi and Qin Yulong had a bad relationship and would fight every time they met. Most of the time it was Helian Xi looking for trouble. Qin Yulong initially couldn’t be bothered, but later, perhaps because the palace was truly boring, he retorted without hesitation, finding joy every day in infuriating Helian Xi.

These two “plot consorts” fought every day, and the game displayed their relationship as hostile. But when a player killed one, the other, missing his sparring partner, didn’t seem happier; instead, he became melancholic.

Helian Xi had an arrogant and domineering character, was straight-tongued, and easily offended people, often falling victim to “consort-route players.” The one who would painstakingly investigate the case for him was none other than his rival, Qin Yulong.

It was during the investigation that Qin Yulong found a piece of armor missing a shoulder in Helian Xi’s palace and realized that Helian Xi was the “female general” he had a crush on.

The little prince, staying in the palace, still thought of fighting on the battlefield, keeping this piece of armor as a memento, just like the rusty Jade Dragon Spear in Qin Yulong’s palace.

Qin Yulong looked at the armor, silently put it away, and after investigating the true murderer of Helian Xi, would wield the Jade Dragon Spear to kill the “consort-route player.”

Paying back the Emperor’s favor on the Gold Terrace; wielding the Jade Dragon to die for the lord.

The Jade Dragon, which should have served the country, remained silent for many years. The last time it drank blood, it was to avenge the person he loved.

This was also a “bad ending” for consort-route players.

Therefore, most of the time, consort-route players would go all out and kill Helian Xi and Qin Yulong together before Qin Yulong could investigate the cause of Helian Xi’s death.

…

In the Emperor’s route, they of course also had a “good ending.”

Their exclusive ending was that of a pampered concubine in the deep palace, a canary living a pampered, opulent life. Players took this as a Happy Ending, meaning a “happy ending.”

How can this be called happy?

Lu Xuechao thought when he saw these two routes.

Breaking the wings of an eagle and trapping it in a cage, lofty ambitions eroded by gold and jade, beautiful things destroyed and ravaged.

There is no tragedy greater than this.