The carriage wheels rolled over the hard-packed earth of the imperial road with a dull, monotonous rumble. Cradling the Edgeless Saber, tightly wrapped in coarse cloth, Qin Tiexin sat beside the carriage shaft and watched the two sturdy horses walking unhurriedly ahead. General Li and Commandant Sun sat ramrod straight in their saddles. Something seemed to be digging into his heart, leaving him increasingly uncomfortable.
They had left Ink City through the south gate nearly an hour ago and had maintained this pace the entire time. The imperial road was not particularly narrow. Now and then, mule trains carrying goods or travelers on foot overtook them, giving this strange group a few curious looks-two mounted military officers followed by a sluggish carriage.
Li Zhenwei occasionally looked back. Seeing Qin Tiexin sitting there, he would nod, then resume his quiet conversation with Commandant Sun. Once, Commandant Sun rode closer and asked, "Brother Qin, comfortable back there? Need to stop for a rest?"
Qin Tiexin shook his head without speaking. He watched General Li's magnificent black horse snort, its hooves striking the road lightly and powerfully, then looked at the slow carriage beneath his backside and the old driver ahead, who drove with his head down and not a word of idle chatter. His discomfort grew even stronger.
He remembered what General Li had said before they left: "...We leave this afternoon." Then he recalled Zhao Xuan's vicious, unreconciled gaze. The general had specifically hired this carriage and slowed their pace to accommodate him. But if something else happened because of this... or if it delayed military business...
No.
Qin Tiexin drew a breath and stood, bracing himself against the carriage shaft. The carriage jolted over a small bump, but his tall, heavy body did not so much as sway. He called straight ahead, "General Li!"
Li Zhenwei reined in and looked back. "Hm? What is it?"
"I..." Qin Tiexin jumped down, planted his feet on the solid road, and strode up to Li Zhenwei's horse. He tilted his head back-even standing nearly nine chi tall, he was still a good deal shorter than the mounted man. "I want to ride."
Li Zhenwei raised his eyebrows. Before he could speak, Commandant Sun laughed beside him. "Brother Qin, do you know how?"
"No," Qin Tiexin answered bluntly, his eyes fixed on Li Zhenwei. "But I can learn. Walking works too. This carriage... it's too slow. It holds things up."
Li Zhenwei looked at his earnest, slightly stubborn face, then at the admittedly sluggish carriage behind him. He understood that the boy felt guilty about delaying their journey. He had only meant to look after Qin Tiexin on his first trip away from home. With that heavy saber to carry as well, a carriage would have been steadier. But seeing him like this...
"Riding isn't like forging iron. Strong arms aren't enough," Li Zhenwei said evenly. "I've seen plenty of first-time riders break their necks in a fall or get dragged to death by their horses. There are no physicians out here in the wilderness."
"I'll be careful." Qin Tiexin said only those words, but his eyes made his meaning clear: if he could not ride, he would walk.
Li Zhenwei held his gaze for several breaths, then suddenly smiled, a little helplessly, with a hint of I knew you would do this. He shook his head and said to Commandant Sun, "Old Sun, if I remember correctly, there's a relay station five li ahead. Wang Laohei runs it, doesn't he?"
Commandant Sun caught his meaning. "Yes, General. Old Wang has a horse called Black Cloud. Descended from a breeding stallion captured from the Northern Di back then. Fierce temper, plenty of strength. Ordinary people can't get near him, so he's never been assigned to anyone."
"We'll go there." Li Zhenwei flicked his reins. "Let him try. If he really can't tame him, he can give up the idea and sit quietly in the carriage."
Qin Tiexin said nothing. He simply returned to the carriage and lifted down his large bundle and the Edgeless Saber. The bundle looked heavy enough, and the saber, wrapped into a long shape with coarse cloth, was plainly no lightweight object either. Old Zhao, the driver, opened his mouth as he watched Qin Tiexin unload everything, but ultimately said nothing. He only rubbed his hands and looked toward Li Zhenwei.
"Old Zhao, thank you for your trouble. You'll still receive the full fare. Head back." Li Zhenwei tossed him a small piece of silver. Old Zhao caught it, thanked him profusely, and turned the empty carriage around.
Qin Tiexin stood beside the imperial road with all his possessions on his back and waited.
Five li was not far; on horseback, it passed in a flash. The relay station was a small courtyard surrounded by earthen walls, with a weathered wooden sign bearing the word "Relay" hanging at the entrance. A stubbly old soldier in a greasy, worn uniform squatted outside, picking at his toes as he basked in the sun. Hearing hoofbeats, he lazily raised his head. At the sight of Li Zhenwei, he froze, then hurriedly stood and wiped his hands haphazardly. "G-General Li? What brings you here?"
"Old Wang, spare me the chatter. Bring out that Black Cloud of yours." Li Zhenwei dismounted and strode straight into the courtyard.
Wang Laohei, the old soldier, looked puzzled but still trotted off to the stable. Before long, he led out a horse.
Qin Tiexin's eyes lit up.
What a horse! He was far taller and more powerfully built than any cart horse or packhorse Qin Tiexin had ever seen. His coat was jet-black, with a ring of snowy white hair just above each hoof, as though he trod upon clouds. He stood perhaps more than seven chi at the shoulder, and a full zhang with his head raised. His muscles were smooth and full, his neck thick and strong. With his head held high and his bright eyes alert, he carried an untamed, wild pride. He snorted impatiently and pawed the ground. Only by gripping the reins tightly could Wang Laohei barely hold him.
"This one." Li Zhenwei pointed at Black Cloud. "Fierce temper, great strength. Most people can't get on his back. If you can ride him, we'll make much better time. If you can't tame him..." He paused. "Then you go back to the carriage, or I'll have someone find you a riding mule."
Qin Tiexin did not answer. He set down his bundle and walked up to Black Cloud. The horse, not much shorter than he was, raised his head to look at him, blowing heavily through his nostrils. There seemed to be wariness in those large eyes, and also... puzzlement? Instead of immediately showing hostility or unease as he did with strangers, he tilted his head slightly, nostrils fluttering as though sniffing for something.
Wang Laohei grew nervous. "Careful, lad. This beast doesn't take to strangers. He's kicked several people..."
Qin Tiexin extended his hand. Rather than reaching straight for the horse's head, he slowly approached the side of his neck. Black Cloud's muscles tightened briefly, but he did not shy away. He allowed that large, callused hand to settle on his thick hide. Qin Tiexin patted him gently. He felt warm and solid. Years of forging had given Qin Tiexin excellent control over his strength. The pats were neither too light nor too heavy, carrying a steady rhythm.
Black Cloud gave a low rumble in his throat and actually seemed to relax a little.
Li Zhenwei and Commandant Sun exchanged surprised glances. Wang Laohei's eyes widened even further. "Well, that's strange... This stubborn brute kicks at anyone he sees. Why's he so docile today?"
Qin Tiexin, too, felt that the horse seemed easy enough to get along with. He tried taking the reins, and Black Cloud obediently followed him for a couple of steps. Delighted, he recalled that people he had seen riding horses always stepped on something to mount. He looked around, spotted a stone hitching block at the relay station entrance, and led the horse over. Stepping onto the block, he clumsily began climbing onto the horse's back.
On his first attempt, he misjudged it and slid back down, nearly pulling Black Cloud sideways. Black Cloud merely snorted in displeasure and tossed his head.
On his second attempt, he got one foot into the stirrup-Wang Laohei hastily adjusted its length for him-but could not get his other leg over that high back no matter what he tried. His awkward posture made Commandant Sun laugh aloud.
Qin Tiexin's face reddened slightly, but he did not give up. On his third attempt, he took a deep breath, drove through his waist and legs, and pushed hard against the stirrup. At last, his long leg swung high over the horse's back, and he dropped heavily into the saddle.
Thud! Black Cloud's legs sank slightly beneath the sudden weight, but he merely swayed before standing firmly again, without even shying. Instead, he turned his head and nudged Qin Tiexin's hanging calf with his nose, as though confirming something.
Watching this, Li Zhenwei grew even more surprised. He knew Black Cloud's fierce temperament. The horse had injured several grooms when he was first captured and had been kept penned up ever since. Yet Qin Tiexin, a complete novice, had clambered awkwardly onto him carrying all that weight-his own and the saber's-and the horse had not even lost his temper? Had the boy's brute strength truly frightened him into submission?
Little did he know that to a highly perceptive warhorse like Black Cloud, what sat upon his back was not an ordinary human but a searing, vast mass of Qi and Blood brimming with primal strength. It was like a person standing beside a sleeping savage beast, instinctively feeling awe and submission. Through years of body tempering and the subtle transformation wrought by the Edgeless Saber's strange material, Qin Tiexin's body had long since surpassed the realm of ordinary martial men. He simply had not realized it himself.
"This... this is all right." Seated high on the horse's back, Qin Tiexin found his view suddenly much broader. He felt a little nervous, but mostly it was the novelty. He gripped the reins, unconsciously straightening his back.
Li Zhenwei shook his head and stopped dwelling on it. Mounting his horse, he gave a few simple instructions. "Hold the reins firmly, but don't pull them tight. Relax your waist and move with the horse. Don't dig into him like a lump of stone. Keep your feet planted in the stirrups, but don't push too hard. Grip his belly with your legs... Never mind. Just follow slowly for now and get a feel for it."
Then he told Wang Laohei, "I'm requisitioning this horse. Put it on my account." With that, he flicked his reins and urged his horse into a trot.
Commandant Sun grinned at the still somewhat rigid Qin Tiexin. "Keep up, Brother Qin!" He urged his own horse after Li Zhenwei.
Qin Tiexin steadied himself. Imitating Li Zhenwei, he gave the reins a light flick and carefully squeezed the horse's belly with his legs. Black Cloud understood and set off at an easy trot. The initial jolting made Qin Tiexin sway, but he soon discovered that relaxing his waist and legs a little and rising and falling with the horse's rhythm made him much steadier. Black Cloud ran smoothly, seemingly taking deliberate care of the novice on his back.
Feeling the wind sweep past his ears and the strength beneath him, Qin Tiexin could not help smiling. He glanced back at the dwindling relay station and Wang Laohei's still dumbfounded figure, then turned to look ahead.
The imperial road stretched before him, flanked by desolate late-winter fields and distant mountains.
This was how a journey should be.
With Black Cloud to carry him, they did indeed move much faster. Seeing that Qin Tiexin was adapting well, though his posture remained stiff, Li Zhenwei increased their pace slightly, from a trot to a steady canter. Black Cloud lived up to his quality. Even carrying Qin Tiexin, his immensely heavy baggage, and the Edgeless Saber, he still ran lightly, with ample endurance.
On the first day, everything Qin Tiexin saw was new. In his sixteen years, he had never left Ink City; the farthest he had gone was Emerald Cloud Mountain. Now, every unfamiliar sight retreating along either side of the imperial road struck him as novel: vast harvested fields covered in withered stubble, the rolling outlines of distant mountains, ancient roadside trees stripped of leaves, and wisps of cooking smoke rising from the occasional village they passed. The sky was high, the land broad. The wind felt cold against his face, but it carried a wild breath of freedom.
Li Zhenwei slowed as well, riding beside him and beginning to tell him about the frontier.
"The place we're going is called Xinyang Pass." Li Zhenwei's voice drifted somewhat in the wind. "Three hundred li north of here, there used to be a Yang Pass. Five years ago, the great general set a fire and burned it clean away, along with twenty thousand elite Di People."
Qin Tiexin's heart jolted as he listened. Twenty thousand men... one fire...
"Ten years ago, a ruthless figure emerged among the Northern Di. Yelü Hongshan," Li Zhenwei continued, his tone level, as though discussing an ordinary matter. "The man had some ability. In three years, he used blades and women to unite dozens of tribes across the grasslands, large and small. Then he started reaching south."
He pointed north. "The first year, we weren't prepared. They plundered several of our cities, and many people died. Only then did the court urgently mobilize troops and appoint the great general to command. He brought a hundred thousand men. The other side had at least three hundred thousand then."
Qin Tiexin listened in silence. A hundred thousand against three hundred thousand.
"We couldn't beat them head-on." Li Zhenwei's mouth twitched, though whether it was a smile or something else was unclear. "So the great general retreated. He kept retreating, abandoning several cities, stretching Yelü Hongshan's lines until his supplies couldn't keep up and his men were exhausted. Then, at a place called Blackwater River, he wheeled around and struck back."
He paused, as though recalling that brutal slaughter. "That battle lasted three days and three nights. We lost twelve thousand. Their main force of thirty thousand cavalry, along with over fifty thousand auxiliary troops, were all left there. Yelü Hongshan fled back to the grasslands with his survivors, and we retook the cities we'd lost."
Qin Tiexin could imagine those mountains of corpses and seas of blood. His hands tightened on the reins.
"But the Di People wouldn't give up. After a year licking their wounds, they came again. That time, they brought only sixty thousand cavalry, without auxiliaries, swearing to use their mobility to annihilate our main force. The great general didn't fight them in the open. He feigned defeat and deliberately surrendered Yang Pass to them. Before leaving, he set a fire, and Yang Pass and twenty thousand elite troops went up in flames."
"The Di People fled back to the grasslands in panic and didn't dare return for two years. After they withdrew, the great general spent those two years building a new fortified pass two li south of Yang Pass. That's Xinyang Pass."
"For these five years, we've been fighting back and forth around Xinyang Pass. Constant skirmishes, and a few major battles too." Li Zhenwei glanced at Qin Tiexin. "Our Great Xuan has better weapons and armor. Their advantage is horses. Their cavalry comes and goes like the wind. That's why the Craftsmen's Camp matters so much. A blade a little sharper, armor a layer thicker, and perhaps a few more men get to live."
He briefly explained the army's organization: under the great general were five armies-the front, rear, left, right, and center. Each had a general and deputy general, with commandants, captains, brigade commanders, squad leaders, and mess leaders beneath them. The Craftsmen's Camp answered directly to the central army, though each army also had its own accompanying artisan households. The Formation-Breaking Camp was an elite vanguard that usually undertook the most dangerous missions.
Qin Tiexin listened carefully, committing each detail to memory. He knew that this was the kind of place where he would be doing things with his own two hands in the future.
Before dark, they reached a fairly large town and found a clean inn. Li Zhenwei left the horses in an attendant's care, specifically telling him to give Black Cloud extra grain feed. At dinner, Qin Tiexin once again displayed his astonishing appetite, sweeping away the five portions of food the inn had prepared and leaving both the proprietor and attendant clicking their tongues in amazement. Li Zhenwei and Commandant Sun were long past being surprised.
That night, Qin Tiexin lay on the inn's hard wooden bed, listening to the faint wind outside the window and dogs barking in distant streets. For a long time, he could not sleep. His inner thighs burned from the day's riding, but a warmth surged within his heart. Xinyang Pass, the battlefield, the Craftsmen's Camp... and the things General Li had said.
He touched the coarse cloth wrapping of the Edgeless Saber beside his pillow, then thought of his master, the shop in Ink City, and Zhao Xuan's poisoned needle.
The road was still long.
Early the next morning, they continued their journey.
Once the novelty had faded, the pain of riding began to show itself. Strong as Qin Tiexin was, this was still his first time riding for so long, and his posture was not quite right. After half a day, the rough saddle's repeated friction had rubbed his inner thighs and buttocks red, swollen, and raw. Every jolt brought a needle-sharp sting.
He gritted his teeth without a sound, merely straightening his back further as he tried to adjust his posture to reduce the rubbing. It did little good. Sweat soaked his inner shirt and clung to his wounds, making it worse.
With Li Zhenwei's keen eyes, he had long since noticed Qin Tiexin enduring his discomfort. When they stopped at a tea stall at midday, he remarked as though in passing, "We'll take it slower this afternoon. We still have plenty of time. The great general ordered us back before the twenty-eighth of the first month. On fast horses, we could originally have made it in three or four days. I allowed three extra days because I'd arranged a carriage for you. Now that we're riding, even if we slow down, we'll still arrive a day or two early."
He meant to give Qin Tiexin a way to back down gracefully, hinting that they could slow their pace or rest for half a day.
Qin Tiexin was chewing dry rations with cold water. He merely grunted acknowledgment and said nothing more. After eating, he was the first to rise and head for Black Cloud, tethered to a post. His movements were somewhat awkward, but he still swung nimbly into the saddle.
Watching his back, Li Zhenwei shook his head and murmured to Commandant Sun, "That boy's bones really are hard."
The afternoon road felt especially long to Qin Tiexin. Every rise and fall of the horse's back was like a small knife scraping the tender flesh of his inner thighs. His face was a little pale, his lips pressed tightly together, and his knuckles whitened around the reins. Yet he never asked to stop, nor did he even slow down. He stayed close behind Li Zhenwei's horse throughout.
Black Cloud seemed to sense his rider's discomfort too. He ran more smoothly than ever, keeping the jolting to a minimum.
Toward evening, they finally reached their planned stop for the night, a small town beside the imperial road, built along a river valley. Li Zhenwei led them with practiced familiarity to an inn he knew, converted from a military relay station.
Qin Tiexin practically inched his way down from the saddle. When his feet touched the ground, a tearing pain shot through his inner thighs, briefly darkening his vision and nearly making him lose his footing. He caught hold of the saddle, gathered himself, and only then slowly began untying his luggage.
Li Zhenwei came over and tossed him a small porcelain bottle. "Wound medicine. Stops bleeding and helps flesh grow. Clean the wounds with hot water before applying it. If you can't bear it tomorrow, then..."
"Thank you, General." Qin Tiexin took the bottle, cutting him off. "I'm fine."
Carrying his belongings, he moved step by step into his room. He closed the door and removed his trousers. His inner thighs were a bloody mess, the fabric stuck to the wounds. The slightest tug sent pain piercing into his heart. He fetched hot water and bit down on a cloth, moistening and peeling away the stuck fabric bit by bit. Then he dipped a clean cloth in hot water and carefully washed the wounds. Each touch made the veins on his forehead throb and cold sweat pour from him.
Yet he worked with great care, as though handling a piece of ironwork that required painstaking repair. Once he had washed the wounds, he sprinkled on the powder and bandaged them with clean, soft cloth. Throughout the entire process, he did not utter a single groan.
At dinner, he ate another four portions, as though the food could turn into strength to resist the pain.
The night passed without incident.
When Qin Tiexin woke early on the third morning, his wounds felt somewhat better, but they still hurt and hampered his movements. He struggled into his clothes, tightened his bandages, and left the room.
Besides Li Zhenwei and Commandant Sun, ten more men stood in the inn's courtyard. All wore somewhat worn military uniforms and carried baggage. They ranged from their twenties to their forties, with dark, rough skin and eyes bearing the particular sharpness and weariness of soldiers. They stood or squatted in small groups, eating dry rations. When Li Zhenwei emerged, they all rose and saluted. "General Li!"
"Everyone back?" Li Zhenwei glanced over them and nodded. "Everything settled at home?"
"All settled!" they answered. Their voices were uneven, but carried the reassurance of returning to their unit.
These were all veterans of the Northern Army. Like Li Zhenwei, they had taken advantage of a rotation away from duty to visit their families. Now their leave was over, and they had arranged to gather here and return to Xinyang Pass together.
Qin Tiexin noticed that none of them had horses. They carried their baggage on their backs or on shoulder poles.
Li Zhenwei pointed to Qin Tiexin and told the ten men, "This is our new brother, Qin Tiexin. He's been assigned to the Craftsmen's Camp." He then briefly introduced the ten to Qin Tiexin. Most were ordinary infantrymen from the front and left armies; two were archers.
Qin Tiexin copied their cupped-fist salute. The veterans returned it politely, their eyes lingering briefly on his unusually tall, massive frame, but they asked no further questions.
After a simple breakfast, the group prepared to leave. Li Zhenwei and Commandant Sun went to fetch their horses. Qin Tiexin walked over to Black Cloud, but instead of untying the reins, he unloaded his large bundle and the Edgeless Saber, slinging them over his shoulder, one in front and one behind.
"Brother Qin, what are you..." asked a friendly-looking veteran, puzzled.
Qin Tiexin gathered the reins and walked up to Li Zhenwei. "General, I'm returning the horse. I'll walk with everyone."
Li Zhenwei frowned. "The wounds on your legs..."
"I can walk." Qin Tiexin's voice was quiet but steady. "No one else is riding."
The ten veterans exchanged looks. Some showed surprise; others regarded him with a little more approval. They had spent years measuring the frontier's soil with the soles of their feet and knew what marching felt like. This big new blacksmith had a horse but insisted on walking with them. That intention alone made him seem somewhat different.
Li Zhenwei looked into his determined eyes, then at the veterans silently arranging their gear. In the end, he did not insist. He merely told Commandant Sun, "Old Sun, ride his horse. Use mine to carry the baggage."
Commandant Sun acknowledged the order and took Black Cloud's reins. Black Cloud snorted in displeasure and turned to look at Qin Tiexin before Commandant Sun led him away.
Thus, the group became Li Zhenwei and Commandant Sun riding ahead, with Qin Tiexin and the ten veterans following on foot. Qin Tiexin shouldered his heavy possessions and strode forward. Every step tugged painfully at the wounds on his thighs, but his strides were long and steady. He stayed close in the middle of the group and did not fall behind.
At first, mindful that he was new and wounded, the veterans did not walk particularly fast. After several li, however, they found that despite his hampered legs and heavy breathing, Qin Tiexin always kept up. Even under his load, he did not seem to be struggling too badly. They gradually resumed their normal marching pace.
On the road, the veterans occasionally exchanged a few words, mostly about family matters, frontier rumors, or complaints about the food and weather. Qin Tiexin listened quietly and rarely joined in. Only when he heard military slang or a place-name he did not understand would he ask a brief question, then nod and remember the answer.
His silence and endurance won him these veterans' initial acceptance. One with a scar on his cheek handed him a leather waterskin. "Here, lad. Have some water. Legs holding up?"
Qin Tiexin took it, drank a large mouthful, and handed it back. "They're fine. Thank you."
The veteran grinned and said nothing more.
For two days, they trekked through increasingly desolate hills. The vegetation grew sparser, the wind harsher, carrying the smell of sand and earth. The wounds on Qin Tiexin's thighs gradually scabbed over. Walking no longer brought such intense pain, though the new flesh itched terribly as it grew. His appetite once again opened the eyes of the veterans traveling with him. There were never enough dry rations for him, so Li Zhenwei often shared some of his own portion.
At last, toward evening on the second day, just as the sun was about to sink behind the unbroken ocher ridges to the west, Li Zhenwei reined in at the head of the group and pointed his whip into the distance.
"Look. We're here."
Qin Tiexin looked where he pointed.
In the vast dusk, a huge fortified city, built upon the strategic terrain between two mountains, lay across the far end of the broad wilderness like a sleeping beast of steel. Its towering walls showed a cold, hard blue-gray in the sunset's lingering glow, winding into the mountains on either side with no end in sight. The gate tower loomed majestically, banners snapping in the evening wind. Before the pass stretched open, hard-packed ground trampled bare of grass. Farther away, a winding river seemed to reflect the last light of the sky.
This was Xinyang Pass.
Compared with Ink City's walls, it had none of the warmth of everyday life. There was only a weight that struck him head-on, steeped in countless years of blood, fire, wind, and frost-stern, murderous, and desolate. It was as though he could hear the echoes of clashing weapons and charging warhorses, and see the lingering shadows of beacon fires and signal smoke.
Qin Tiexin stood there with the Edgeless Saber and his baggage over his shoulder, gazing for a long time at that mighty pass, forgetting the itching pain in his legs and the fatigue of the past several days.
His heart beat heavily and powerfully within his chest.
Wind blew from the pass, sweeping up sand that struck his face with a slight sting.
He drew a deep breath. The air held the raw smell of earth, the scent of distant cooking smoke, and something he had never experienced before: the breath of the frontier wilderness.
"Move out." Li Zhenwei's voice interrupted their staring.
The group moved again, walking step by step toward that enormous pass and the utterly different life about to begin.
Qin Tiexin strode after them. His tall shadow stretched long in the dusk, and the coarse cloth bundle holding the Edgeless Saber swayed gently on his back with each step.
The outline of Xinyang Pass grew larger and clearer in his sight.