302 Self-Immolation: Famous Generals Take Different Paths

. He pulled a horse and hopped on its back saying, "Let’s think about it later. If we don’t hurry now, the Duke and Duchess are going to cross Suixue Pass."Moxiurao's group didn't encounter any diffic...302. Self-immolation, Renowned Generals on a Distant Road

The early morning in Bian city had returned to its usual peace and tranquility, but it was no longer as bustling and lively as before. Empty streets were patrolled by soldiers of the Black Clan Army; there were no noisy crowds or vendors, and shops and taverns along the sides of the streets did not welcome customers. The vast Bian city seemed incredibly quiet and spacious.

Mos Yao was invited to the study room early in the morning by Zhang Qilan and others. Taking advantage of her free time, Ye Li led Zhuo Jing, Lin Han, and Qin Feng around the city. After a moment's silence while observing the empty streets, she asked, "Those people at yesterday’s execution ground…" Qin Feng exchanged glances with his companions before replying, "Reporting to Princess Consort, His Royal Highness ordered all civilians to be expelled from Bian city."

Upon hearing this, Ye Li felt a slight relief. No matter what, it was good that the city wasn’t truly ravaged.

"Expelled from Bian city Where have those people gone" Ye Li asked after some thought. Qin Feng replied, "They are lucky to be alive; going anywhere is better than staying here. However… With General Le Tengfeng’s defeat and his army retreating westward with only a few thousand men left, many civilians also fled in that direction. It's likely that quite a number of them will be conscripted into General Le Tengfeng’s army; on the battlefield…"

Ye Li said coolly, "On the battlefield, they become enemies. Spread the news about how Dragon Yang used ordinary citizens as human shields during his defense of Bian city's walls, and feel free to exaggerate it." The three men looked at Ye Li in confusion. She continued, "The matter regarding the captured soldiers and His Royal Highness wanting to kill civilians won’t be kept secret anyway. With this reason, it would be better for His Royal Highness’s and the Black Clan Army's reputation."

The news that Dragon Yang used citizens as human shields during his defense of Bian city’s walls could make Mos Yao’s actions more understandable. Whether it was revenge or a moment of rage, people would be less likely to focus on what Mos Yao himself did, especially since the Duke in charge didn’t end up slaughtering the populace.

Zhuo Jing answered and went to handle matters, while Ye Li continued walking with Qin Feng and Lin Han. "Where is Dragon Yang"

Qin Feng hesitated for a moment before saying, "He’s in the west prison of Bian city. His Royal Highness ordered heavy guards to watch over him."

"Let's go see him," Ye Li said softly.

Mos Yao truly hated Dragon Yang; however, the place where he was imprisoned wasn’t a sturdy dungeon but rather a small building facing west of Bian city’s execution ground. From the windows of this building, one could see the execution grounds outside the city walls. No one knew how many people were executed there last night. But Dragon Yang certainly did because he had been forced to witness each and every captive soldier's death throughout the night. Even after the executions ended, Mos Yao had found a cell for him that faced towards the execution ground, so it was likely that Dragon Yang could smell the lingering bloodstains from the execution grounds all through last night.

The soldiers guarding the building downstairs didn’t hinder Ye Li. She waved to stop others from following and only took Qin Feng and Lin Han up the small building. Just overnight, Dragon Yang had changed drastically. An already aged man’s back had finally bent due to old age. In just one night, his face became more wrinkled and seemed to have aged by a decade or more. His thin white hair was disheveled atop his head, and his eyes appeared dim and lifeless.

Anyone could see that Dragon Yang was in great pain right now. This wasn't physical but emotional agony caused by guilt and regret. He was already a seventy-year-old man who no longer had the heart of iron he once did. Witnessing one soldier after another die because of his mistake, he wished to sacrifice himself to atone for them.

"Cough… Lady Duke" Hearing footsteps on the stairs, Dragon Yang turned with difficulty and saw a young woman standing at the entrance. She was dressed in simple blue clothing, without any extravagant jewelry or luxurious fabrics that would denote her as a noblewoman of high status. Her clear and calm face exuded an air of authority unmatched by ordinary ladies or even aristocratic women. Dragon Yang didn’t expect the renowned Lady Duke to be such a young woman who seemed barely into her twenties. But in Bian city, only the Lady Duke could have such freedom and presence.

Ye Li nodded and said softly, "General Dragon Yang, it’s an honor."

Dragon Yang smiled bitterly, "A defeated general has nothing to celebrate. Yesterday… Thank you, Princess Consort, for saving the lives of all the citizens in Bian city."

"I wasn’t doing this for the people of Bian city," Ye Li replied calmly as she sat down near Dragon Yang. Dragon Yang shook his head and said, "Regardless of your reasons, you saved them; it’s a fact. This old man… made a grave mistake that put innocent lives at risk; I must thank Princess Consort." With these words, he stood up and bowed to Ye Li. As a dying man, the vanity of fame and fortune was meaningless to him. Kneeling before a young woman in her twenties did not feel like losing face.

Ye Lü was taken aback and glanced at Qin Feng and Zhuo Jing, who were standing by her side. The two men hurriedly stepped forward to support Long Yang, escorting him back to the chair he had been sitting in earlier. After taking a deep breath as he sat down, Long Yang looked at Ye Lü and said, "Lady Wang came over just now because you have something to say to this old man" Long Yang’s spirit and physical strength were very poor. It wasn’t just his recent days of hard work and fatigue; staying up all night looking out the window at the execution ground without closing his eyes had exhausted a seventy-year-old man to the extreme. Even though the Black Ink Army hadn’t harmed Long Yang and even spared him food, his complexion and body condition were still extremely weak.

Ye Lü nodded and said after pondering for a moment, "General Zhu Yan and Zhu Ling have both died in battle."

Long Yang gave an exasperated smile and said with a sigh, "This… I had already guessed that. Zhu Yan spent his whole life copying hearts. After being stifled for twenty years, he could die on the battlefield for him. He was luckier than me. It’s just unfortunate for that boy Zhu Ling… That kid was thrown into the Jinggu Army by his grandfather when he was barely over ten years old. He struggled for more than a decade to take charge of the Jinggu Army, but then…" He shook his head and sighed as he looked at Ye Lü and said, "When we heard that Lady Wang defeated General Lei Tengfeng’s hundreds of thousands of troops with her own might back then, we thought it was because Lei Tengfeng was arrogant and had no respect for others. Now looking back on it, it turns out I didn’t have any respect either. Lady Wang is indeed as formidable as a renowned general; however, even more impressive is that she found the Jinggu Army so quickly."

"It’s just petty skill, General," Ye Lü replied modestly.

The small room was silent for a moment before Long Yang asked, "How did Zhu Yan die"

"Old General Zhu… fell to his death after the city walls were breached and died in service of the country," Ye Lü said quietly.

"Good… He died with honor and has no regrets." Long Yang nodded. Looking at Ye Lü, he continued, "Actually, even if Lady Wang hadn’t come today, I would still have wanted to meet you." Ye Lü replied solemnly, “General Long Yang can speak his mind.” Long Yang sighed as he looked out the window at the empty execution ground nearby and said, "I’m sure Lady Wang has heard that when I was young, I was ruthless and merciless; I killed without hesitation."

Ye Lü nodded and replied, “Indeed, General Long Yang’s reputation as a killing god in the Western Regions is well known not only there but also in Central Plains.”

"What nonsense about a killing god," Long Yang shook his head. "When I was young, I didn’t believe in heaven or gods or fate; I committed many killings and wrongful acts out of ignorance. After these twenty years of being idle, I finally realized my mistakes. But what I never expected is that… all the sins I’ve committed would be visited on me now when I’m old. This old man has suffered a midlife loss of his wife and in later life doesn’t even have children or any family to rely on; there must be some reason for it."

Ye Lü was silent for a moment before raising her eyes and looking at Long Yang as she said, "This duchess understands General Long Yang’s meaning."

Long Yang nodded. “Although this old man is aging, he still has the insight to recognize people. Lady Wang is naturally calm and not someone who enjoys killing. However, Duke Ding… Although I only met him a few times, there was something unsettling beneath his seemingly peaceful expression; his eyebrows were like knives, and dark malevolence gathered in his eyes. This doesn’t seem like good omen. Given that Lady Wang comes from the renowned scholarly family of Great Chu, she must know that wars between armies are inevitable, but senselessly slaughtering innocent civilians goes against heaven’s harmony.” Ye Lü frowned as displeasure was evident in her eyes; she replied mildly, "General Long Yang, the Duke has not harmed a single ordinary citizen of Bian City."

Seeing Ye Lü’s displeased expression, Long Yang smiled and nodded. “That is why this old man must thank Lady Wang. If not for you, Bian City would probably be flowing with blood right now, with wailing ghosts and spirits without rest.”

Ye Lü furrowed her brows and asked, "General Long Yang, what exactly do you want to say to this duchess"

Long Yang looked steadily at Ye Lü as he said gravely, “Please advise Duke Ding to be more lenient. Death and injuries on the battlefield are all predestined by heaven; however, senselessly slaughtering innocent people outside of battle is not something a commander or ruler should do.” Ye Lü was slightly moved but looked at Long Yang calmly. Long Yang turned his head to look out the window with a lost expression. "A person’s words will be kind when they are about to die. Saying these words isn’t because I care for Xi Ling; it is merely what this old man has learned in half of my life. If blood blinds one’s eyes, eventually that blood will also hide your heart. The battlefield is a place where the living can turn into ghosts."

Ye Lü lowered her gaze but was inwardly in turmoil. She understood Long Yang’s meaning; the battlefield is indeed an easy place to amplify evil thoughts to their greatest extent. Ye Lü had always known that Mo Xiuyao wasn’t as he appeared on the surface—whether it was his initial gentleness and refinement, calmness and cold indifference, or later occasional whimsy and mischief and ease without worry. Someone who has suffered such heavy blows and injuries, who endured humiliation for so many years to even change their personality entirely, could hardly be calm and open-minded; at least she couldn’t.

Mo Xiuyao had grievances in his heart, but he could suppress them. He was angry, but all he did was watch Mo Jingqi die before him without taking any retaliatory actions. This easily gave the impression that his hatred wasn’t deep or that he had a broad-minded attitude of returning good for evil. But Ye Lü knew that Mo Xiuyao had never been such a person.

This time, Mo Xiuyao’s sudden outburst was actually unreasonable. Long Yang’s use of commoners as shields was certainly wrong, but if it were an ordinary person, they would probably want to capture Long Yang and torture him to death in front of them to vent their anger. But Mo Xiuyao wanted Long Yang alive; he wanted him to witness the deaths of each and every Xi Ling soldier or even civilian one by one until life was worse than death for him. He wasn’t angry at what Long Yang did but was hating him, with extreme resentment. However, in fact, there was no hatred between Mo Xiuyao and Long Yang; the battle on the battlefield couldn’t be called hatred.

Long Yang had seen all this, so Ye Lü could also understand it clearly. Therefore, Long Yang was regretful. He wasn’t truly remorseful for his past actions of using commoners as shields but rather regretted that such behavior had brought out the killing intent within Mo Xiuyao and possibly unleashed a bloodthirsty fiend.

Looking at the old man before her, who was worried despite his age, Ye Li said seriously, "He won't become that kind of person. He'll be fine."

Long Yang nodded and said, "Old man believes Consort can do it. It's Duke Ding’s fortune to have you as a wife." Ye Li smiled gently and whispered, "It's also my good fortune to meet him." Whether one is the other's fortune isn't important. But Ye Li believed that Mo Xiuyao was the right person for her. Even if there might be others in this world who were more handsome or powerful than Mo Xiuyao, Mo Xiuyao could only exist as one.

As they spoke up to this point, both of them smiled at each other. The atmosphere within the small building was unusually peaceful, not like that between enemies.

Just as Ye Li wanted to speak, a steady set of footsteps echoed downstairs. Qin Feng, standing at the staircase entrance, glanced down and gave Ye Li a signal. Ye Li stood up and walked towards the staircase, while the person coming upstairs arrived too, looking slightly surprised when he saw her; he smiled and said, "Liyi."

Ye Li held Mo Xiuyao's hand and pulled him into the small building with a smile, asking, "Why are you here" Mo Xiuyao looked at her as he replied softly, "I’ve finished my official matters. I was planning to take you for a walk around, but they said that you had come out." Ye Li laughed and said, "In the morning, there's nothing else to do, so I decided to visit General Long. You can sit down and rest."

Seeing Long Yang sitting by the window, Mo Xiuyao's lowered eyes showed a hint of coldness but he didn't defy Ye Li. He let her pull him over and sit beside her. The two people who had wanted each other dead yesterday could naturally not say anything when they sat together now. Conveniently, Mo Xiuyao did not intend to talk with Long Yang either; he merely pulled Ye Li's hand and asked softly, "Is there somewhere you want to go We're leaving in a couple of days. I heard that Bian City has several places worth seeing."

Ye Li smiled and said, "Wherever you think is good, we can take a look. Isn't Longshan Academy located within the city"

Mo Xiuyao frowned slightly and replied with some displeasure, nodding, "Correct. Unfortunately, several renowned scholars from Longshan Academy were taken away by Le Tengfeng. Only those who are of minor use remained, but they said that there were some ancient books which weren't taken; Liyi can take a look if she likes them and have someone deliver them back to her grandfather and uncles."

Ye Li smiled faintly and said, "You're thoughtful. But... choose those your grandfather would like better. The rest should be kept in Bian City for future use." This 'use' was definitely not returning the books to Longshan Academy; since the Black Family Army had taken over Bian City, they wouldn't be able to govern without its people. Although Mo Xiuyao had expelled all of Bian City's citizens now, it would inevitably need inhabitants in the future. As one of the three major academies in the world, restoring Longshan Academy would greatly benefit Duke Ding’s rule.

Mo Xiuyao naturally understood Ye Li's intentions and smiled slightly as he said, "Whatever you say is fine. But if Liyi has interest in Longshan Academy... there happens to be one person left in Bian City whom I can bring for your meeting." Ye Li was somewhat helpless; what did 'interest' mean However, she became interested in Mo Xiuyao's words and raised her eyebrows slightly as she asked, "Is there a scholar from Longshan Academy still remaining in Bian City"

Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, "The principal of Longshan Academy is Scholar Chen Xifu."

Hearing this, not only Ye Li but also Long Yang revealed an expression of surprise. Scholar Xiuting's reputation was far from that of Scholar Qingyun and the Xu Family’s fame across nations; however, it didn't mean his talent was much worse than Scholar Qingyun's. Compared to Da Chu, Western Ling had always valued military prowess over culture, resulting in fewer scholars and lower status for literati. This Xiuting Scholar truly did not involve himself with politics but only focused on teaching and nurturing students. It could be seen from the fact that Longshan Academy was among the three greatest academies of the era, even though Western Ling was viewed as uncivilized barbarians by Central Plains people. Moreover, Longshan Academy differed in its ancient tradition compared to Li Shan Academy, with Xiuting Scholar being responsible for developing it.

"Why is this scholar still in Bian City Is he currently there" Ye Li asked curiously.

Mo Xiuyao nodded and smiled, saying, "Of course." Even if he wanted to kill everyone in Bian City, he hadn't yet lost his sanity. There were some people who could neither be killed nor released—of which there were only a few in Bian City. Mo Xiuyao had ordered the Qilin Beast to control them before even capturing Bian City, so they couldn't escape beforehand; "Shall we go and take a look" Mo Xiuyao asked softly, "I heard he's quite noisy."

Ye Li stood up as well. Since their time in Bian City was short, they naturally needed to hurry.

Mo Xiuyao released Ye Li's hand and smiled saying, "There are a few things I need to discuss with General Longyang; will you wait for me downstairs"

Ye Li glanced at the seated Long Yang before nodding gently and said, "I'll wait for you below.

Until the sound of footsteps downstairs completely faded away, Mo Xiuyao finally turned to look at Long Yang by the window. His originally gentle smile was long gone; his eyes were now dark and menacing, "If I hear you talking nonsense with Princess A-li again, I will make you regret it!"

Although he hadn't heard what Long Yang had said to A-li, the flicker of worry in A-li's gaze when she looked at him just now did not escape Mo Xiuyao’s eyes. It must be because Long Yang told her some things that shouldn’t have been mentioned which made A-li worried about him.

Long Yang calmly looked at him. Gone were the heart-wrenching pain and hatred from yesterday, he said with a faint smile, "With such a Concubine Consort, Prince Ding is truly blessed."

Mo Xiuyao snorted coldly as his eyes turned sharp and dark while staring at Long Yang. Long Yang shook his head and smiled, "Don’t worry, Your Excellency. What could I possibly say to the Concubine Consort It’s merely idle talk罷了... And besides… we won't see each other anymore, right…” As he spoke here, Long Yang sighed sadly.

Mo Xiuyao stared at Long Yang for a while before suddenly chuckling softly. "Long Yang, don’t expect Le Zhen Ting to ever return. Even if he does come back, he won't be able to save Western Liang. I have 400,000 troops waiting for him on the border. Not to mention the hundred thousand elite soldiers of Southern Zhao and the armies stationed in various places who will never come to his aid. Then there are those small western countries that you suppressed back then; do you think they won’t take this opportunity to seek revenge Western Liang… is doomed!"

Long Yang was stunned, taking a long time before he finally gave up and laughed bitterly, an expression of utter despair on his face. "You’re worthy of your title as Prince Ding indeed. After years of plotting… when you act, it’s nothing short of impressive. Well… I’m old now, I should die too. What happens after this isn’t my concern anymore… Prince Ding, please…"

Outside the gate downstairs, Ye Li smiled warmly as Mo Xiuyao strolled out. Mo Xiuyao put his arm around her slim waist and whispered softly, "Are we going to visit Scholar Xiutings now" Ye Li blinked and asked somewhat worriedly, "Scholar Xiutings won’t chase us away too, right" Scholars were always proud of their integrity; what Mo Xiuyao did in Bian City would not only be a case of him kicking them out, but even if Scholar Xiutings wielded a knife to rush at them, Ye Li wouldn't have been surprised.

Mo Xiuyao snorted lightly and walked forward with his arm around her. "Who dares"

Ye Li turned back to ask him, "What did you tell General Long Yang What are your plans for him"

Mo Xiuyao’s eyes flickered before he replied with a faint smile, "I told him not to talk rubbish anymore. A-li doesn't need to worry about me."

Ye Li was taken aback and held the hand that was resting on her waist. She said softly, "I’m not worried; we’ll always be together no matter what." Mo Xiuyao’s expression softened as a gentler smile appeared on his face. "A-li can rest assured; I have no interest in quibbling with an old man who is half-dead anyway. As long as he doesn’t stir up trouble, I won't care about him."

Ye Li smiled and said, "Don’t you think that you’re more important to me than he is Xiuyao, I don’t really care how you deal with him." Long Yang was a soldier who had dedicated himself wholeheartedly to the country; Ye Li admired his dedication. However, Long Yang's blood debts were numerous and what he did in Bian City this time around justified Mo Xiuyao’s actions even if it meant executing him. The fall of an esteemed general was indeed tragic, but Long Yang could not be considered innocent either.

The two walked further away until soldiers ran up to them, panting as they said, "Your Excellency, Concubine Consort, General Long Yang has set himself on fire."

Ye Li froze and asked, "What happened" Turning back, she saw that the little hut where Long Yang was being held had already disappeared from their sight. But smoke could still be seen in that direction.

The soldier paused before saying, "General Long Yang poured wine over himself and set himself on fire."

——

Thoughts: The last few chapters have been rather heavy-going, no This ending for Long Yang… shiver~ I really didn’t mean it!ing, and those who had accompanied them to Nanzhao, everyone in Dingwang's residence called her Miss Wuyou, even refraining from mentioning her surname.Seeing how much Princess Changle had grown up, Y...