Rising Phoenix

“But once the battle starts, you must obey the main camp’s orders.”

“That is why,” Feng Zhiwei explained, biting her lips, “That is why I cannot allow this final battle to begin. I am going to seize victory with only the Shunyi Steel Battalion. With Chunyu Meng here alongside Yao Yangyu and the others, we have assembled a group of Dijing Young Masters. When we single handedly win this war, they will soon become the most powerful men in the Tian Sheng Army. This is a rare opportunity.”

Hua Qiong fell silent, and when she finally spoke it was in a murmur: “Too risky…”

“The greatest opportunities always come with risk.” Feng Zhiwei replied, chuckling.

Hua Qiong thought for a moment, but soon she was laughing brightly as she said: “I will always follow you.”

“It is best if you stay away this time,” Feng Zhiwei replied. “Your son is young, and Helian Zheng says that he is learning how to smile…”

At the mention of her son, Hua Qiong’s bright eyes softened with maternal tenderness, and she smiled gently as she said: “I just finished his undergarment two days ago and sent it back with the King’s messenger; maybe he’s wearing it right now. I made one for Zhixiao as well, but I hear she’s growing so fast that it might already be too small.”

“Don’t mention Zhixiao.” Feng Zhiwei whispered urgently, covering Hua Qiong’s mouth and glancing around nervously, afraid that Young Master GU would materialize out of the darkness. “Don’t remind Nanyi. He’s all silent and grim, but he misses her so much. The other day I saw Zhixiao’s bottle in his bag, and he carries it around everywhere.”

Hua Qiong giggled before replying: “That’s good. The jade statue is becoming a person. Missing her is a good thing.”

“Oh? So every person knows longing?” Feng Zhiwei glanced over mischievously. “Do you long for someone?”

“Me?” Hua Qiong replied innocently, gathering her hair and rubbing her nose, “Of course, I miss my Hua Changtian.”

Feng Zhiwei’s strange smile deepened.

“What are you smiling at?” Hua Qiong asked with a surprised look.

Feng Zhiwei ignored the woman and looked through her pockets. After a moment, she pulled out an envelope and pressed it to her heart with a dramatic sigh, “Ah this poor man, he’s been missing his love every day and every night, tossing and turning and searching every corner of the Central Plains, but this woman is the most heartless woman in the world! She never speaks of him, only ever thinking about another man!”

Hua Qiong’s eyes gleamed, her hands darting forward, “Show me!”

Feng Zhiwei eyed Hua Qiong’s delighted expression with a rare brightness in her heart, and she playfully snatched the letter away, chuckling, “Ah? What? This is a military correspondence. Shoo, go away, don’t distract this general while she’s planning military orders.”

“Military orders your ass!” Hua Qiong cried out, leaping on top of Feng Zhiwei and pinching her face. “Bad woman! If you hide my letter from me, see if I don’t tear you apart!”

“Your letter? Your letter? Woman, love has scrambled your mind!” Feng Zhiwei cried out, hiding the letter and running away. Hua Qiong roared, grabbing Feng Zhiwei’s waistband and bringing both of them down; the two young women tumbled in the grass; clear, bright laughter reaching skyward, disturbing the aloof peace of the crescent moon. The bright moon peeked from behind passing clouds at the peerless woman as she forgot her troubles and laughed with joy and happiness.

“You… shrew…” Feng Zhiwei gasped on the slopes of the hill, waving the letter in exhausted surrender. “I should have… said nothing… and let you worry…”

Hua Qiong rolled her eyes and grabbed the letter, smiling cheerfully as she pranced back to camp for light. Feng Zhiwei sat up and rolled her eyes as well — this woman… hiding away to read the letter in private.

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Feng Zhiwei fell backwards, pillowing her arms in the comfortable grass. She smiled up at the smiling eye of the crescent moon, and the moonlight felt especially bright and the breeze more refreshing than she remembered; the quiet fragrance of gentian root and gal sang flower wafted by, and the wonderful night filled Feng Zhiwei with an urge to sing.

She thought she could guess the contents of the letter — that clever, sensible young man had convinced himself he was not in love, and a sudden promise of marriage had only confused him even more, but once she left him, he finally understood. While everything was going smoothly, he did not notice the precious treasure by his side, but once he lost it, he could not help but notice the painful emptiness she left behind.

Yan Huaishi spent the year searching for her, and finally he tracked her down to the far-flung steppes and the battle-stricken border. Only the heavens knew how much trouble Yan Huaishi went through to find her, and now he used all that effort to prove his heart.

Footsteps approached once more and Hua Qiong strode up to her with big steps, her pretty face blushed and her eyes gleaming, the thin letter still clutched in her hand, dancing in the wind like a butterfly.

She ran up to Feng Zhiwei and stood looking down at her, her chest rising and falling. She seemed about to speak, but no words could come out of her mouth, and then she suddenly turned around and ran back down towards camp

Feng Zhiwei sat up in astonished merriment, confused laughter bubbling inside her.

Her friend was happy beyond words, and seemed almost about to explode with enough joy to shake the skies.

Feng Zhiwei smiled, happy for her friend even as a dim mist of gloom pooled in the depths of her eyes.

The pitter patter of footsteps came again and Hua Qiong once more rushed up to her. Feng Zhiwei was just about to tease the young woman as Hua Qiong carefully placed the letter in her chest pocket, but before she could speak, her friend was throwing her arms wide and screaming into the boundless heavens:

“Ahhh!!!! I’m so happy!”

“I’m so happy I’m so happy I’m so happy I’m so happy…” Her joyful voice echoed in the mountains, rising up all around them and chaining together to fill up the skies above the earth.

Tears rushed out from Feng Zhiwei’s eyes.

…

The winds blew with fail, and the two lay with their heads together and listened to the song of the night.

Hua Qiong’s hand rested above her chest pocket, her eyes closed. Suddenly, the young woman sniffed and asked: “Feng Zhiwei, how many days have you not showered?”

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Feng Zhiwei did not move as she lazily replied: “The same as you.”

The two women sat up and looked at each other. They had not showered for a long time, and after rolling around their hair was covered in dirt. They had gotten so used to ignoring it, but now that one of them had brought it up, the dirtiness seemed unbearable as if they might die if they did not get clean soon.

“I saw a river over there,” Hua Qiong pointed westward.

“Okay, then let’s go bathe!” Feng Zhiwei immediately declared before standing up and speaking to the air. “Brother Gu, I’m going to wash, it’s nearby, don’t worry.”

Hu Qiong giggled as she replied: “You should worry whether you might be examined all over, he’s definitely going to follow.”