Chapter 172: Are You Jiang Xin?

Is this a dream?

Hu Xiong seemed to have stepped into an extraordinarily vivid dreamscape.

Not far away, he saw a young general who bore a striking resemblance to himself in his youth, standing beneath the dais of bestowal.

Upon the dais, the Emperor of Qi, clad in a golden imperial robe embroidered with dragons, was rewarding the three armies. Accompanying him by his side was a young and beautiful princess named Jiang Xin.

The young general was none other than Zhao Lingxing.

Having rendered continuous, exceptional service on the battlefield against the enemy state of Yan, he was both young and handsome. Princess Jiang Xin cast a curious gaze toward the commander hailed as the foremost among young generals.

One was a brilliant and accomplished young commander; the other was a breathtakingly lovely princess.

Their meeting felt as though it had been ordained by fate, and they swiftly plunged headfirst into a passionate romance.

Throughout the imperial court, everyone favored the pair. Given the military prowess Zhao Lingxing had demonstrated, his rise was destined to be meteoric.

Even His Majesty the Emperor was willing to bestow the princess's hand upon such a renowned warrior, weaving a tale to be celebrated for generations.

Their affection quickly deepened.

Whenever there was a lull in military campaigns, Zhao Lingxing would take Princess Jiang Xin to wander through the capital.

One day, as the two of them were admiring the crimson cicada flowers in full bloom, Princess Jiang Xin broke into a graceful dance and recited a verse:

Though countless years of fragrant dust leave hair all white,
The crimson cicada, unyielding, burns even brighter in its own light.
A sudden thought stirs amidst our idle, tender grace,
What high pavilion could ever hold this love we embrace?

Blushing slightly afterward, Jiang Xin asked, "General, what do you think of these flowers? Am I more beautiful, or are they?"

Gazing at the blossoms, Zhao Lingxing answered with blunt honesty, "These flowers look rather like the blood spilled upon the battlefield—stunningly beautiful in a startling way. But the feeling you give me, Princess, is one of immaculate purity. They are things of entirely different worlds; how could one compare them?"

The scene before Hu Xiong suddenly shifted.

The Emperor of Qi abruptly changed his mind, intending to marry Princess Jiang Xin off to another, causing an uproar that shook the entire capital.

Upon learning of this, Zhao Lingxing flew into a towering rage and attempted to seize the bride by force, but his endeavor ended in failure, and he was thrown into the dungeons.

Infuriated, the Emperor of Qi even sought to have him executed.

Hearing the news, Princess Jiang Xin rushed to the outer courtyard of the Emperor’s study, where she knelt for three days and three nights, kowtowing incessantly to beg His Majesty to spare his life.

Yet the Emperor refused to relent, stubbornly bent on executing Zhao Lingxing.

Realizing the Emperor’s will was unshakeable, Princess Jiang Xin declared before the imperial study, "The general and I have sworn oaths to the mountains and the seas. If he cannot live, I refuse to endure a dishonorable existence."

With her fierce and uncompromising temperament, Princess Jiang Xin drew her sword and took her own life.

However, Zhao Lingxing did not die. Pressure mounted along the enemy borders, coupled with the desperate pleas of many influential figures.

Ultimately, the Emperor of Qi dispatched Zhao Lingxing back to the frontline to redeem his crimes through meritorious service.

To everyone's surprise, Zhao Lingxing achieved peerless feats of glory on the battlefield. Over the span of twenty years, he rose to become the Grand General of Qi, wielding a military authority and prestige that none could rival.

Even after attaining the pinnacle of officialdom as the Grand General of Qi, Zhao Lingxing remained unwed for the rest of his life.

Until, at last, he encountered the reincarnation of Princess Jiang Xin—a young maiden named Huang Qianyu.

Regrettably, Jiang Xin's reincarnation was held in the grip of a schemer, who used her to repeatedly threaten Zhao Lingxing on the military front and prevent the two from ever meeting.

Reborn as Jiang Xin, she could only harbor a bitter, unrequited yearning for Zhao Lingxing.

Heaven does not betray those who keep the faith, and Zhao Lingxing finally managed to reunite with the reincarnation of Princess Jiang Xin.

Yet, immediately following this brief reunion, Zhao Lingxing had to depart for the battlefield to fight an almost unwinnable war—a conflict that bore directly upon the survival of the state of Qi.

He had waited for her for twenty years—a full twenty years.

After twenty years of waiting, a single meeting was all they were granted before parting once more.

Reluctant to leave, he said, "If I win this battle, I will lay down my post as the Grand General of Qi and come stay by your side."

A look of joy flickered across Jiang Xin's face. "Is the General speaking the truth?"

"Once I defeat the Zhou army, I will return to you."

It seemed as though Jiang Xin caught the underlying implication in his words. Nervously, she grasped his hand and pleaded, "Even if you are defeated by the armies of Zhou, you must return to me alive. I have waited for you for far, far too long."

"Mn," Zhao Lingxing nodded softly.

"I will hold the enemy back at the front lines!" Zhao Lingxing said. "Take good care of yourself. If... if by some chance I fall in battle, you should—"

With a steadfast gaze, Jiang Xin interrupted, "In my past life, I died for you. In this lifetime, if you fall upon the battlefield, I shall never live on alone."

Jiang Xin personally saw off Zhao Lingxing, who was clad in full battle armor, watching him gradually recede until he vanished around the corner.

...

As Hu Xiong witnessed these passing scenes, his heart grew heavy with a profound sorrow for their tragic fate.

The dreamscape shifted once more.

This was a battlefield—a realm of slaughter and crimson carnage.

At the head of four hundred thousand Qi troops, Zhao Lingxing faced an enemy host of one million three hundred thousand. Those four hundred thousand men represented the final elite forces of Qi; the probability of victory in this battle was virtually nonexistent.

The brutality of the clash played out like phantoms, flashing before Hu Xiong's eyes one after another.

As the slaughter wore on to its bitter end, the soldiers and commanders remaining by Zhao Lingxing's side dwindled steadily.

At last, only five thousand personal guards, drenched in blood, remained to shield him with their lives.

The enemy commander stepped forward, surveyed Zhao Lingxing—who was fighting to the death—and said, "Zhao Lingxing, you have already lost. Surrender. So long as you are willing to capitulate to our nation, I promise you the title of a marquis, and you shall still command thousands upon thousands of troops. I know you have no family, and nothing left in Qi worth holding onto."

With a resolute gaze, Zhao Lingxing brandished his longsword and declared, "I would rather die than surrender!"

He was the Grand General of Qi; from the moment he chose to march to the front lines, surrender had never once crossed his mind.

Fighting until the very end, Zhao Lingxing stood entirely alone against a sea of countless troops and horses.

In the end, he was pierced through by countless spears.

Blood sprayed into the midair, its vivid crimson hue resembling the crimson cicada flowers they had once admired together.

Just before death claimed him, Zhao Lingxing slowly closed his eyes and collapsed to the ground with a dull thud.

"I am sorry, Jiang Xin. If there is a next life, I will surely repay you for every moment of waiting."

At the threshold of death, his thoughts drifted to the letter he had written for Jiang Xin.

Knowing that this campaign would be a battle to the death, he had penned a missive before setting out, entrusting someone to deliver it to her.

"Princess, by the time you read this letter, I shall have fallen in battle. Forgive me, for I have broken my promise."

"I could not lead the four hundred thousand men under my command away; the moment I retreat, our nation falls."

"I have failed your trust."

"My body is already given to the state, but I pray you cherish yourself dearly. If there is an afterlife, let me be the one to wait for you. No matter how long it takes, I will fulfill my promise to you, waiting for you relentlessly, guarding you through eternity."

"And... compared to the crimson cicada flowers of that day, you are far more beautiful."

...

Scene after scene pounded against Hu Xiong's temples, causing an agonizing split in his head.

It felt as though he had lived through countless years alongside the story within the dream, yet it also felt as though the entire ordeal had transpired in a mere fraction of a second.

At that moment, he slowly opened his eyes and jerked upright, drenched in cold sweat and gasping heavily for breath.

"Grand General, you're awake?" Zi Yanran's voice drifted over. Holding a warm towel, she stepped forward, intending to wipe away the sweat staining Hu Xiong's brow.

Upon catching sight of Zi Yanran's features, and recalling the woman from his dreamscape, Hu Xiong's pupils constricted slightly. "Are you... Jiang Xin?"

Zi Yanran's hand froze mid-air. Staring blankly at Hu Xiong, she asked, "Has the Grand General remembered me?"