Chapter 106: A Lone Battle (Part I)

Wu Gang was about to depart.

There were no unnecessary words. After leaving the garrison commander’s office, he hurried back to his living quarters.

"My lord," Cai Ye said, seeing his grim expression and recalling the urgency with which Chen Mingguang had summoned him earlier, "what happened?"

"It’s nothing. Just sit."

Before heading to the Guqing River, there were things to prepare. He would not simply go to his death just because it was a hopeless mission; he intended to do everything in his power to take as many enemies with him as possible, even if it were only one more.

He gathered everything needed for battle: his sword, which had always been at his side; spirit pills to help recover his spiritual energy quickly; and the talismans provided by the Academy.

Chen Mingguang followed him into the courtyard. Cai Ye stood up again. "My lord—"

"Sit down."

Very well, she sat back down.

Xiao Sha jumped down from the roof, a twig held in his mouth. "What’s going on?"

"Something must have happened," Cai Ye replied, equally in the dark.

Chen Mingguang pushed the door open roughly. He grabbed Wu Gang by his clothes and slammed him against the wall, his eyes blazing with rage. "What are you doing? Why are you trying to be a hero at a time like this?! I am your captain. Did I ever give you permission to go?!"

They were originally a four-man squad, with Chen Mingguang as the captain, standing ready to receive orders from the General’s Mansion to reinforce Xingyuan City. However, that order never came; instead, they received the command to accompany Shu Le to the Guqing River.

"Captain," Wu Gang said, using the title. "When we were at Luyang Academy, what did our predecessors teach us?"

"They certainly didn't teach us to throw our lives away!" Chen Mingguang gritted his teeth.

"It is not necessarily death. They haven't broken through that formation yet. Besides, the pros and cons were clearly laid out in the council chamber. We are all here for the sake of the Xu Kingdom; it is only a matter of who dies sooner or later."

"Then you shouldn't have spoken up!"

"Someone has to go to the Guqing River. I am the most suitable choice."

In truth, Chen Mingguang understood everything Wu Gang said. The stakes were clear; it was only his own personal emotions that he could not reconcile. Yet, a voice inside him whispered that this was truly for the sake of the Xu Kingdom. Because of this, despite his anger and his pain, he could not find a single reason to force Wu Gang to stay.

Wu Gang would go to the Guqing River. He would use his life to bolster the confidence of the common folk and the soldiers in the Luyang Academy.

*Bang!*

Chen Mingguang smashed his fist against the table in frustration.

The booming sound carried outside, and even Cai Ye and Xiao Sha wore solemn expressions. They seemed to understand what was to come even better than Chen Mingguang. They felt no anger, only silence.

Shortly after, there was a clatter as Chen Mingguang opened the door and strode out, his face etched with visible pain and anguish.

Inside the room, the sunlight cast a slanted rectangle across the threshold, while in the shadows, Wu Gang stooped to pick up his belongings.

"Let me help you pack," Cai Ye said, her hands moving with practiced speed.

Xiao Sha jumped into the room as well. "My lord, where are you going?"

"The Guqing River."

"I’ll go with you."

"What could you possibly do?"

"At the very least, I’m better than your left hand!"

Wu Gang flicked his finger, and a ripple of spiritual energy instantly pushed Xiao Sha away. The boy’s body flew high into the air before crashing uncontrollably to the ground.

"You brat, you don't know the immensity of the world. You aren't even worth a single finger of mine."

Xiao Sha scrambled up at once and knelt, touching his forehead to the floor. "My lord, teach me! Then I can become strong!"

The child seemed to sense something. Perhaps a child's intuition is always accurate.

Wu Gang stood at the doorway, expressionless, looking at Xiao Sha kneeling in the yard. "Go find someone else. I don't know how to teach. Cai Ye, bring me some paper. I need to write a letter."

Cai Ye’s fingers trembled almost imperceptibly before she regained her composure. She was slightly older than Xiao Sha, so she understood what it meant to be helpless. Many things in life are not done out of desire, but out of necessity.

"Very well. Does the master have any family?"

"I have a younger brother."

"I know who to give the letter to. Just hand it to me when you are finished."

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary. Someone will help me."

Not long after, the Seventh Princess arrived. She ignored Xiao Sha in the courtyard and walked straight into the room; she had something to give to Wu Gang.

Wu Gang closed the door and knelt on one knee, facing the woman’s back. "Your Highness, everything I have learned comes from Luyang Academy. I have long sworn to use the blade in my hand to protect the Xu Kingdom. Now that the situation is dire, I beg your forgiveness, for I can no longer protect you. I also dare to urge you to leave Desheng Pass for a while. With us and the soldiers here, we will surely strike the Li army hard."

For the Seventh Princess, these past few days had been far from pleasant.

"I know that my status causes you all much concern, so I have always prioritized not being a burden. But seeing Shu Le, Gu Yi, and now you, one by one, disappear from my sight, I can no longer convince myself to hide away in safety."

Wu Gang was shocked. "Your Highness! You must not think such things!"

"It has already been three days since they vanished. Tell me... do you think Shu Le is still alive? Do you think Gu Yi is still alive?"

Wu Gang’s expression darkened. In that forest, they had all seen clearly. In his view, even if Shu Le could defeat Shu Yu, the resurrected Qing Feng was extremely dangerous. The chances of survival were slim. But without seeing their bodies, he refused to believe they were gone.

"I believe they wouldn't die so easily," Wu Gang recalled. "When I first met Brother Gu, Chen Mingguang and I both thought he was not a practitioner. Yet, unexpectedly, he defeated the Master of Talents. Brother Gu is a Transcendent Scholar; he must have many tricks up his sleeve."

The Seventh Princess nodded. "Lately, I have been thinking the same. Shu Le is highly talented, and Gu Yi is a Transcendent Scholar who is also sharp-witted. A mere Shu Yu would not easily take their lives. Therefore, you must also survive."

"I led you out of Luyang. Must I be the only one to return?"

From their perspective and the information they had, such an outcome did not seem far off. In the coming battle, could Chen Mingguang truly survive?

"Your Highness, I beg you again: leave early. If you can, please take Chen Mingguang with you."

The request was somewhat irresponsible; for everyone from Luyang Academy to abandon their posts when war broke out was unthinkable.

"Give me your letter, but do not send it just yet," the Princess replied, ignoring his request. "You can survive. When I left Luyang, my third sister mentioned that she told you all she would treat you to embroidered perch when you returned in triumph."

That was what she had said when they first met Gu Yi at Yuzhen Pavilion, just as the Third Princess happened to be passing by.

"I will... I will do my best to survive!"

The Seventh Princess closed her eyes, then turned and walked out of the courtyard.

Cai Ye helped him strap the sword to his back. He used to carry the scabbard in his left hand, but with that hand gone, he had no choice but to carry it on his back.

"My lord!" Xiao Sha called out to him.

Despite all the talk of surviving, Wu Gang knew he would not. Looking at the child he had only recently come to know, he reached into his robe and handed him a scroll. "These are my insights into the Dao of Immortals I have gathered over the years. Take them and study them."

He belonged to Luyang Academy, and while doing this was against the rules, he was about to die—what did it matter now?

Xiao Sha’s eyes lit up, and he clutched the scroll as if it were a priceless treasure. "Thank you, my lord!"

Outside Desheng Pass, Ji Lan sat on a large boulder, her long legs fully on display. She did not speak to Wu Gang; she did not know what to say. She simply watched the one-armed figure slowly disappear into the horizon until only a thin, long shadow remained.

Ahead lay his solitary battle.

"The Luyang Academy has raised another little fool. I truly hope little Shu Le and Gu Yi aren't that foolish..."