Book 2 Chapter 60
When the Peacock convoy came within fifty li of the Wall, an escort arrived to guide them the rest of the way.
From within the carriage, the Wall seemed close enough to reach out and touch. It was so immense, so monumental, that it swallowed the horizon itself, drawing every eye like iron to a lodestone. No matter where one looked, the Wall dominated the world. It loomed ever nearer until it felt less like they were approaching it and more like they were about to crash straight into it.
A palpable sense of awe settled over the convoy, a reverent hush descending upon them all… or it would have, were it not for General Qing Zhanyue, who continued chattering away without pause.
"...and we'll turn around once we're within ten li of the Wall. That's as close as I can take you. Between Lou's escort and the proximity to the Wall itself, no assassin with a shred of sense would try anything on that stretch. Once you arrive, ask for rooms on the higher levels. They'll try to put you near the bottom because of the gravity formation, but you tell them that-"
Mo Jian tuned the general out, his attention drifting instead to the escort pacing the convoy beyond the window. Two horses wrought from golden light galloped effortlessly through the sky, each hoof stepping upon a small white cloud that bloomed and vanished beneath it. Astride them rode soldiers of the Horse Army clad in heavy plate over coats of mail, with iron maces strapped across their backs. Their helms were fashioned into the stern likenesses of dragons, with cloaks woven from the same cloud-stuff as their steeds streaming behind them in the wind.
Mo Jian could make out that one rider was a man and the other a woman, the cut of their armor making the distinction plain. Two more riders kept pace on the opposite side of the convoy, bringing the escort to four. The number might have seemed underwhelming at first glance, except every one of them stood at the initial stage of the Nascent Soul realm. The Horse General, it seemed, was taking their protection very seriously.
Against the darkness – Mo Jian had watched the sun slip below the horizon barely an hour ago – the escort appeared even more fantastical. Their horses of golden light blazed against the night like stars torn free from the heavens, galloping through the sky in gleeful defiance of the firmament.
The earth below was no less wondrous. Despite the late hour, and despite the mounting tension along the border, the immense gates set into the Great Wall remained a hive of ceaseless activity. Cultivators rode in astride Thousand Mile Horses, while merchant caravans and noble carriages rumbled beneath the towering arches. Flying ships rested in orderly rows outside the gates as passengers and cargo flowed to and fro alongside every other variety of magical conveyance one could imagine.
"Incredible," Bai Ning breathed from the seat opposite him, her gaze fixed on the endless procession of merchants and cultivators. She looked far better than she had earlier. Color had returned to her cheeks, and her eyes were bright once more, though the strain on her qi was still evident. A single day of uninterrupted rest would have her right as rain. Unfortunately, they had neither the time nor the luxury for that.
Mo Jian followed her gaze as the carriage flew onward.
The closer they drew, the more impossible the Wall became. At fifty li, it had seemed to stretch from one end of the world to the other. At twenty, it no longer looked like a wall at all, but a mountain range carved into perfect geometry. Its face rose sheer from the earth, each block of black stone larger than a manor house, fitted together so precisely that not even a blade of grass could have found purchase between them.
"They're moving," Bai Ning murmured.
Mo Jian narrowed his eyes. At first, he thought she meant the soldiers lining the battlements. Then he realized she was looking higher.
Far above, colossal silhouettes paced along the crown of the Wall. Each footstep sent faint tremors through the wall, the reverberations making their way to the ground, sending dust to stirring. They emerged briefly into the moonlight before disappearing behind towers once more, towering humanoid figures clad in armor the size of city gates, each carrying a weapon fit to cleave mountains.
"Puppet Colossi," General Qing said, noticing where they were looking. Her lecture resumed as naturally as breathing. "One hundred and eight of them guard this section. The smallest is three hundred zhang tall. They only awaken during large-scale incursions, but they patrol constantly."
The traffic thickened as they approached the gates. Convoys merged from every direction, each guided into orderly lanes by mounted cultivators wearing Bin Steel armor. No shouting accompanied the process; tens of thousands of people moved with astonishing efficiency, every beast and flying vessel flowing together like tributaries feeding a single river. The cultivators directing traffic bore no visible rank, yet every merchant lord and carriage obeyed their gestures without hesitation.
As they drew within ten li of the Wall, General Qing finally fell silent. She leaned forward, peering through the window one last time before giving a satisfied nod. "Well," she said, "this is where we part ways."
The convoy slowed. Ahead, their four escorts descended from the sky and touched down with practiced ease. One by one, the Peacock carriages followed, the burning wheels tilting as the massive procession drifted earthward, aiming to settle gently upon the road. "The Kunlun Gravity Formation," General Qing explained, "prohibits flight within ten li of either side of the Wall, as well as above it. Every cultivator walks from here unless they own a Light Wrought Horse, and Lou only entrusts those to his own subordinates. You'll have to continue on foot."
No one responded. They all knew. The gravity formation ensured that no Yuan could simply fly over the Wall, and the Great Wall itself stretched so far east and west that its ends vanished into the seas on either side of the continent. The only way into the Steppes from the Empire – or into the Empire from the Steppes – was through the gates carved into the Wall. Mo Jian turned back toward the window, watching the ground rush up to meet them, but a flash of jade at the edge of his vision drew his attention. He looked over just in time to see Bai Ning catch a spinning jade slip, her expression one of open bewilderment.
General Qing, who had tossed it, smiled. "Take that with you."
Muxue, eyeing the jade slip with undisguised curiosity as Bai Ning turned it over in her hands, asked the obvious question. "What is it?"
Qing Zhanyue leaned back, her smile widening. "My sword inheritance. Every sword art I've created, my sword intent, my understanding of cultivation... everything I could fit into that jade slip. I've been compiling it over the past week."
She turned to Bai Ning, paying no attention to the stunned silence that had settled over the carriage, nor to Bai Ning nearly choking. "Since you've refused to become my disciple, this is the only thing I can leave you. And don't you dare refuse it or start talking about repaying me." She waved a dismissive hand. "This is as much for my sake as yours. Who else am I supposed to pass my life's work on to?" The last question was delivered with an exaggerated pout.
Everyone else simply stared at her in disbelief. Mo Jian tried to estimate the value of the jade slip and quickly abandoned the effort. It was priceless. The complete inheritance of the Empire's strongest Nascent Soul cultivator; her personal insights, cultivation knowledge, sword intent, and every technique she had developed over the course of her life. Kingdoms had risen and fallen over treasures worth less. Wars had been fought for mere fragments of inheritances like this. Half the Empire could not have purchased what Qing Zhanyue had just tossed across the carriage as casually as if it were a parting gift of tea.
"General..." Bai Ning muttered, looking utterly at a loss.
Qing Zhanyue raised a hand before she could continue. "I told you, I don't want to hear it." Her tone softened. "If you insist on paying a price, then let's make it this: once you've mastered everything in that jade slip, come challenge me to a duel." Her lips curled into a grin as she glanced sideways at Mo Jian. "That is... assuming your teacher doesn't defeat me first."
Those words drew even greater disbelief than the inheritance itself. Bai Ning blinked, still clutching the jade slip, before slowly turning toward Mo Jian. She was far from the only one. Muxue regarded him with a single arched eyebrow, her expression equal parts skepticism and curiosity. Liu Rushi and Bai Ning's friends leaned over from the side benches wearing knowing little smiles, as though they had just stumbled upon an especially entertaining piece of gossip. Duan Cheng, who had remained standing throughout the journey, whipped his head toward Mo Jian so quickly it was a wonder he didn't strain his neck. Even Wei Shentong stirred, the silent cultivator's eyes flying open in genuine shock before he composed himself and closed them again.
Mo Jian felt every eye in the carriage settle on him. He resisted the urge to sigh. Ignoring them all, he rose to his feet and cupped his hands toward the general. "We've arrived. Thank you for escorting us safely this far, General Qing." Then, deliberately refusing to acknowledge anything else she had said, he turned to Muxue. "Shall we? General Lou is waiting."
The princess regarded him for a moment, amusement dancing in her eyes, before rising gracefully to her feet. Her movement prompted everyone else to stand as well. She offered Qing Zhanyue a formal salute. "Thank you for all your guidance and assistance, General. I will not forget your kindness."
The others echoed her thanks, all except Bai Ning. She simply met Qing Zhanyue's eyes and gave a single, determined nod, clutching the jade slip tightly against her chest. One by one, they filed out of the carriage, already feeling the edge of the flight restriction pressing down upon them. With every step toward the Wall, the invisible weight of the Kunlun Gravity Formation grew heavier. Another few paces, and they would be completely grounded.
Barely had the last of them disembarked – including Minister Shi Pao from the rear carriage, looking more as though he had been ejected than had chosen to step out – when the Peacock carriage lifted into the air once more, its burning wheels leaving ribbons of crimson fire in their wake. The luminous peacock at its prow let out a clear, musical cry that echoed across the night. Then the carriage banked in a graceful arc and accelerated southward. Its speed was astonishing. Within less than a minute, it had dwindled to a streak of light against the horizon before vanishing from sight altogether.
Four figures stepped forward to greet them. Up close, the dragon-faced helms of the Horse Army were even more imposing. The snarling iron visages, with their bared fangs and curling horns, were crafted to inspire fear on the battlefield. Mo Jian privately thought they clashed terribly with the cloud cloaks. There was something undeniably absurd about pairing the fearsome visage of a legendary dragon with cloaks that looked as though they had been stitched together from soft, fluffy clouds.
The four cultivators bowed in perfect unison. One of them – a man – stepped forward, his cloud-cloak billowing gently behind him. "Welcome to the Great Wall, Your Celestial Highness. I am Shen Tieqi, Hundred Thousand Man Commander of the Horse Army. By General Lou Ma Gong's orders, we have come to escort you to the Wall and present you before him."
Muxue stepped forward in turn. Her golden eyes seemed to burn all the brighter beneath the night sky, their reflected light making even the vast black face of the Wall appear to gleam within them. "Please rise. There is no need for such formalities."
The four commanders straightened immediately.
"I would be pleased to meet General Lou." She gestured gracefully toward those gathered behind her, her sleeve sweeping over everyone clustered behind her, including the still-distant Minister Shi, who appeared to be doing his utmost to drag his feet and was making his way over as slowly as humanly possible. "This is my entourage."
A small smile touched her lips. "Shall we walk?"
"That won't be necessary, Your Celestial Highness." Shen Tieqi immediately shook his head. "It would be terribly discourteous of us to make our honored guests walk when we have other means at our disposal."
He gestured behind him. The three commanders stepped aside, revealing the four horses of golden light. Their translucent manes flowed like liquid sunlight despite the still night air, and their luminous bodies cast warm ripples of gold across the ground. One of the steeds tossed its head before lowering its neck in a long, languid stretch. Except it did not merely stretch – its body began to broaden, as though invisible hands were gently pulling it apart from either side. For a fleeting instant, Mo Jian thought the creature was about to tear itself in two. Instead, it divided cleanly down the middle. Where there had been one horse, there were now two, each perfectly identical to the original.
The remaining steeds followed suit. One became two, two became four, and four became eight. Golden light rippled through the air as the process repeated itself with effortless grace until, within the space of a few breaths, fourteen radiant horses stood waiting in orderly formation. Not one looked any less substantial than before.
Shen Tieqi turned back to them, and for the first time since introducing himself, his professional composure gave way to unmistakable pride. "There is no finer way to travel in the entire Empire," he declared, lowering his voice as though sharing a treasured secret. With a broad sweep of his arm, he presented the waiting steeds. "Please... mount up."
Mo Jian had never ridden a horse in either of his lives, so he approached his mount with no small amount of hesitation. Unfortunately for him, no one else seemed to share his reservations. Muxue vaulted onto her horse as naturally as if she had been riding her entire life, and Bai Ning was barely a step behind, grinning as she turned to her friends and raised her eyebrows in challenge. Yue Shuangyi mounted hers with the poise of nobility, sitting side-saddle with perfect grace. That dignity lasted only until Liu Rushi climbed up behind her.
"Master-!"
Yue Shuangyi's indignant sputtering was met only with her teacher's amused laughter.
Li Kang leapt onto his horse with far less ceremony, and the golden steed accepted the extra force with a patient toss of its head. Chen Zhuhe, meanwhile, simply used his qi to lift himself effortlessly into the saddle. Duan Cheng mounted normally, appearing almost plain by comparison. Then there was Wei Shentong: the silent cultivator summoned a jade ladder from thin air and calmly climbed onto his horse as though boarding a flying ship rather than mounting a celestial steed. Finally, Minister Shi Pao abandoned his performance of exhaustion and approached the remaining horse. The old minister mounted with the same agility as anyone else present, his aged features and deep wrinkles giving no indication of the strength hidden beneath.
Seeing everyone else already settled, Mo Jian steeled himself, feeling faintly ridiculous, and reinforced his movements with qi. The process went smoother than he'd feared. He climbed into the saddle, and the moment he settled onto the horse's back, a connection bloomed in his mind. The steed responded to his thoughts, even though it was not his technique. The distinction was immediately obvious – the control did not come from his own cultivation, but from the horse itself, an innate ability woven into its very existence.
The four Horse Army commanders were already mounted. With a single motion, their golden steeds leapt into the sky. Clouds bloomed beneath their hooves and vanished moments later, carrying them upward into the darkness as effortlessly as though the heavens themselves had become a road.
The horse beneath Mo Jian rose with such smoothness that there was no sense of acceleration at all. One moment he stood before the gates of the Great Wall; the next, the earth had simply fallen away beneath him, the countless lights below shrinking into something like a river of stars. He thought, and the steed answered, shifting beneath him as naturally as a living thing adjusting to a rider's weight. Every motion was effortless. Every step on the clouds held as steady as solid ground. It was unlike any flying technique he had ever experienced.
"Amazing, isn't it?" Bai Ning had drawn her horse alongside his at some point, her face bright with excitement. She leaned forward, running a hand through the golden mane. "It's like riding a piece of the sky."
Mo Jian glanced at her. "You seem to have recovered quickly."
Her expression shifted slightly. The excitement remained, but there was a flicker of embarrassment. "Ah." She glanced down at the jade slip still in her hand. "General Qing's inheritance helped. Not the contents themselves, I haven't perused them properly yet, but just carrying something like this..." She smiled faintly. "It feels like my body decided it wasn't allowed to collapse anymore."
Mo Jian nodded. That sounded exactly like something Qing Zhanyue would arrange. A woman who could hand over the entirety of her life's work as casually as a farewell gift was not the sort of person who would let her self-claimed student walk away from her at anything less than her best.
Ahead, the Wall kept growing. From the ground it had already seemed impossible; from above, it became something else entirely, less a structure raised upon the land than the land itself, given edges and purpose. The endless stone serpent stretched beneath them, its towers and battlements forming a second horizon against the dark.
"There." Shen Tieqi's voice carried back to them from the front. He pointed toward a massive tower rising from the Wall ahead. Unlike the surrounding structures, which were practical and imposing, this tower carried an air of refinement. Its walls were carved with countless inscriptions, and banners bearing the emblem of the Horse Army hung from its upper levels. "General Lou's command tower."
The group continued upward.
As they approached, Mo Jian noticed something unusual. The soldiers stationed along the Wall were not looking at Muxue. Rather, they were looking at him. Not all of them, of course – most remained focused on their duties, standing watch over the endless darkness beyond the Wall – but enough turned their heads that he noticed. Mo Jian frowned. He understood why Muxue would draw attention. A princess of the Empire arriving at the border was not something that happened every day, even with prior warning.
But him? He was nobody. Or at least, he should have been.
Then it occurred to him that just as reports of the Wall and the Horse Army had reached him long before he ever saw either, word of his own arrival might well have traveled just as far ahead of him. What, exactly, had reached this far north?
Mo Jian looked away.
He had the distinct feeling he was about to find out just how much his reputation had grown, and that he wasn't going to like the answer.
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