Jiangjiang the Skeleton Spirit - Chapter 8

Most of the poison had been cleared from Song Yuhuan’s body.

To make Wurile lower his guard, no one besides A-Pei and me knew he’d been saved.

So this time, only A-Pei escorted me back to the capital.

Before we parted, I clung to Song Yuhuan and refused to let go.

Laughing softly, he stroked my hair and soothed me like a child. “Once the fighting is over, I’ll come straight to you.”

I breathed in his scent. “Don’t break your word.”

“I never will.”

The carriage jolted along. I leaned out to wave at him.

He stood where he was, reluctant to part, growing farther away and smaller until at last he disappeared.

After so many days, I returned to his residence.

Just as on my first visit, Qin Zhao stood waiting at the entrance.

Seeing only A-Pei and me, she froze, then kept looking behind us, unwilling to give up.

“Where’s the general?”

As we’d agreed, I wiped at the corners of my eyes and sobbed. “Wurile’s arrow killed Yuhuan.”

A-Pei nodded sorrowfully.

Seeing our grief, Qin Zhao swayed. Without the maid beside her holding her up, she might have fallen.

“Where is his body?”

A-Pei and I exchanged a glance.

His face filled with anger. “That bastard Wurile poisoned the arrow. Before long, the general’s body began to rot.”

Qin Zhao closed her eyes in anguish.

I hurried to say, “Miss Qin can’t bear any more shocks. Take her back to rest.”

That night, A-Pei and I kept watch outside her courtyard.

If Qin Zhao worked for Wurile, she would certainly tell him this news.

Sure enough, late that night, a pigeon flew out of her courtyard.

We exchanged a look and shot the messenger pigeon down with a bow.

The message did indeed report Song Yuhuan’s death.

A-Pei clenched his fists. “It really was her! I’d wondered why she threatened to kill herself unless she could stay beside the general. It was all planned!”

“Don’t delay too long. We still need the news to spread.”

Before long, word of Song Yuhuan’s death reached not only Wurile but every corner of the capital.

Everyone sighed.

General Song was dead. Who else could stand against the north?

Their fighting spirit vanished, leaving them listless.

As the news of his death spread, the northern forces could no longer hold back.

Taking advantage of the soldiers’ low morale, they mobilized to attack Muta Ridge.

With its treacherous terrain and swirling mist, Muta Ridge had always been a thorn in the north’s side under Song Yuhuan’s staunch defense.

If they could take it, they could sweep straight through and breach the capital without difficulty.

According to the plan, it was time for A-Pei to go to the battlefield and hold Muta Ridge.

The whole residence grew quiet. Astonishingly, Qin Zhao was the only person I could really talk to.

I couldn’t quite understand her.

She was always gazing at Song Yuhuan’s courtyard in sorrow. It would be one thing if she were pretending for others, but even when no one was around, she secretly wiped away tears.

I couldn’t tell whether her feelings were false or real.

The fighting had lasted over a month. With no news from the front, I was terribly anxious.

And I hadn’t heard anything of Song Yuhuan since the day we parted.

I waited for so long, day and night. Whenever anyone came to the door, I was always the first to rush over.

But none of them was the person I waited for.

More than half a year passed like that, my spirits rising and falling, hope springing up only to be disappointed again.

At last, A-Pei returned.

Only A-Pei returned.

Delighted, I caught his shoulders. “How did it go? Did we win? Where’s Yuhuan?”

His expression was heavy.

“Wurile thought the general was dead and was determined to take Muta Ridge. He concentrated a large force on the attack.

“With his best soldiers at the front, his rear was left undefended. The general led a small force through their encampment and burned all their provisions.

“Without supplies, Wurile lost ground again and again and was forced to withdraw. Everything was going as we’d expected.

“But I waited at Muta Ridge for several days. The general never came to meet me.”

The smile gradually vanished from my face.

His words struck me like a thunderbolt.

For an instant, it was as though all five of my senses had disappeared.

“You’re saying Song Yuhuan didn’t go to Muta Ridge?”

I watched A-Pei nod solemnly. My vision suddenly went black, and I fell straight down.

I had many strange, fantastical dreams.

I dreamed Song Yuhuan had bought me Jade Lotus cream pastries from Minglou.

One moment his radiant face was before me. The next, he’d become a bird, and no matter how I called, he wouldn’t turn back.

I cried out for a long time in my dreams, begging him not to abandon me.

When I woke, a large patch of my pillow was wet.

I stared blankly at the bed curtains.

More than another month had passed, and there was still no news of him.

I couldn’t keep waiting helplessly.