Chapter One Hundred: The Stone Shatters the Heavens

  The Great Qin army, which had been delayed at Yao Pass for three days, finally set out once again on its journey to Baima Spring.

  Qin Zhiyan sat in the carriage, leaning against the soft cushion, his raven hair casually tied up, wearing a plain white robe and wide sleeves, holding a book volume, propping his forehead with his hand, quietly looking at it. He didn't look like a general leading troops into battle, but rather a young master from a noble family going out for a stroll.

  Zhuang Qingxia sat in the corner of the carriage, holding a copper hand warmer, tilting her head to gaze at him steadily, her expression slightly dazed. Her body had not fully recovered yet; on that day, she had fought until exhaustion and lost too much blood, all of which required time to slowly nurse back to health. Moreover, now that she had achieved great military success, Zhuang Qingxia's delicate skin and tender flesh, which she had maintained for many years, had been tormented to the point where there was almost nothing left, with big and small wounds covering her entire body, completely destroying this beauty's demeanor. Who knows, if one day she were suddenly driven out of this body and the real Zhuang Qingxia returned, whether she would collapse from depression and rip herself apart.

  However, she never paid attention to these things. In modern times, the wounds on her body were countless, with gunshot and knife wounds everywhere. It's just that modern scar removal technology is better, not as primitive as here, and can only use some blood-activating and muscle-regenerating medicines.

  Xilin Chen had been troubled by the scars on Qing Xia's body for a long time. Qing Xia told him several times that it was okay, but he could only meet his guilty gaze. This child took everything as his fault and always blamed himself, no matter how Qing Xia consoled him, it was all in vain.

  Perhaps feeling Qing Xia's dull gaze, Qin Zhiyan closed the book and turned his head to look at Qing Xia, saying: "What's wrong? Is the horse carriage uncomfortable?"

  "Huh?" Qing Xia was taken aback, then shook her head and said: "No, I'm fine."

  Qin Zhiyan put down the book and picked up a teapot from a small table beside him, pouring a cup of clear tea and handing it to Qing Xia, saying: "Is it stuffy sitting in the carriage? If you're feeling stifled, you can call Xilin Chen to keep you company."

  The carriage was extremely spacious, with bookshelves, long tables, soft beds, incense burners, and braziers arranged inside. It was essentially a small bedroom. Three to five people could dine and chat inside without feeling cramped.

  Just as Qing Xia was about to speak, Qin Zhiyan's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he half-clenched his fist, placing it over his mouth before letting out a loud cough. A gust of cold wind blew in, and Qing Xia's gaze swept across the carriage, noticing that the curtains had been blown open by an inch, revealing white mist visible to the naked eye.

  Qing Xia quickly grasped the thick curtain and hooked it back into place with the small hook below. Then, she half-knelt on the thick carpet beside Qin Zhiyan, anxiously patting his back as she asked in a low voice, "How are you? Is anything wrong?"

  Qin's coughing fit finally subsided after he took a sip of the tea handed to him by Qing Xia. His cheeks, which had been flushed from the exertion, now looked slightly pale and wan, while his face was as white as snow. He lifted his head to weakly chat with Qing Xia, saying in a soft voice, "It's nothing, just an old illness."

  Qing Xia half-knelt in front of him, looking up at his warm eyes, feeling an inexplicable sense of oppression, slowly stretching out her hand to stroke Qin Zhiyan's chest, just like a mother soothing a child.

  "Qin Zhiyan, what's wrong with you? Can you tell me?"

  Qin's faint smile, his palm brushed over Qing Xia's head, he chuckled and pulled the corner of his mouth, saying warmly: "It's just some old chronic illness, don't worry."

  Qing Xia slowly lowered her head and saw that he didn't want to say more, so she wisely stopped talking. On the day in the Qingmu Grand Hall, she had personally seen Qin Zhiyan vomiting blood, a symptom so severe it could be fatal. How could it be as simple as he said? This person always seemed like that, making everything seem light and easy, but only he knew the danger hidden inside.

  Qin Zhiyan, you always say that I put everything on my own shoulders, but aren't you the same kind of person too?

  "Then eat more pears." Qing Xia handed him a bright yellow pear from the fruit platter on the long table, saying: "You always cough, your trachea must not be good, eating more pears is good for your throat and trachea. From now on, you have to eat three every day, one in the morning, noon, and evening."

  Qin Zhiyan smiled and nodded, his smile as bright as a ray of pure sunshine.

  "Don't read books anymore." Qin Zhiyan picked up the book again, Qing Xia took it away and flipped through it casually, only to find that it was some geographical maps. He threw it aside and said, "We still have a few days of journey ahead, you should take a rest first."

  Qin's smile was faint, and upon hearing this, he nodded slightly, just like someone who never gets angry, and replied: "Alright."

  Inside the warm carriage, the good sandalwood was burning quietly, and a light blue mist rose straight up from the incense burner. Qing Xia spread out a soft cushion for Qin Yi, then took out a thin blanket from a small box and covered him with it, smiling as he said: "You take a nap now, I'll wake you when we get to Fan City."

  Tonight's campsite is Bai Zhangyuan, 20 miles outside the city of Fan Cheng. The terrain here is open and close to the foot of Ming Shan Mountain, making it an ideal place for military camping.

  After observing the military situation for some time, Qing Xia finally understood why Xi Chuan dared to open the country's gates and allow the other three countries to enter. The geographical division of the four countries was indeed a masterpiece that had never been seen before, and it was no wonder that the four countries had been mutually restrictive for so many years, yet none of them had become too powerful to be uncontrollable, all of which originated from here.

  If placed in modern times, this is called a canine structure. In the theory of war, it is one of the most mismatched relationships where "the lips are gone and the teeth are cold". There were once 21 mysterious tribes hidden in the jungle among the indigenous people of Africa, coexisting for over a hundred years. Modern masters of warfare have lectured on this topic, concluding that such long-term coexistence was not due to low productivity or a love of peace among the people, but because their land division was based on material production, resulting in an increasingly strong interdependent relationship between them economically. This relationship is hidden, even if two countries are at war, it will not be apparent, but as soon as one country becomes too powerful, the other country will show a trend of extinction, and the economy will put on giant clothes to jump out and turn the situation around with an invisible big hand, making the forces balanced.

  The formation of this problem is the result of accumulation over hundreds of years, and the conditions required for its formation are extremely harsh. Even in modern times, with a history spanning several thousand years, it has only been discovered in local areas of Africa. The main reason is still due to the closure of transportation, the narrowness of people's vision and hearing, and the poverty of material production.

  I don't know how such a magical land distribution method can be formed on China's vast territory. In the south, Chu produces iron; in the east, Qi produces salt; in the north, Qin produces grain; and in the west, Sichuan is dominated by animal husbandry. As for coal, silk, tea leaves, and medicinal materials, these several major industries related to people's livelihoods are basically monopolized by individual countries.

  Other countries' merchants who want to make a name for themselves in these areas will immediately be attacked and suppressed by the big business owners. After reaching this conclusion, Qing Xia was almost shocked, with his eyes wide open and his back chilled, because such a large-scale operation is difficult even for a country to complete. The market economy would not spontaneously form such a strange situation, so there can only be one reason: behind the four countries, there must be another mastermind secretly manipulating everything.

  Qing Xia didn't know whether the conclusion he had reached was correct or not. After all, it was just based on his own analysis of intelligence and modern scientific theories.

  There is something crucial hidden in this, and she can't figure it out yet. To explain such a thing would require a lot of time and sufficient detailed information. For some reason, Qing Xia suddenly became very interested in all of this, and she secretly speculated that if there really was such a mysterious mastermind, what kind of identity would this person have?

  When a person's power is strong enough to control the entire continent's commerce, how simple it would be for him to overthrow this world.

  The wind was strong at night, Xi Linchen stood under the mast, tidying up Qingxia's cloak for her, wrapping her tightly and silently, with a hint of faint anger on his face.

  Qing Xia was still not used to Xi Lin Chen's sudden change in attitude towards himself, and he awkwardly patted his hand, saying: "Xi Lin, this time it's really not your fault, don't blame yourself like that anymore."

  "Is it because of me, I understand in my heart." Xi Linchen said lightly, without raising his eyes. Suddenly, he took out a dark green silk bag from his bosom, the bag was fragrant and had a strong scent, and handed it to Qing Xia: "This is the medicine pouch I configured for you, wear it on your body at any time, it has the effect of driving away coldness and calming the mind. You have lost too much blood, with heavy cold air, be careful in the future."

  Qing Xia took it over, put it on the tip of her nose and smelled it. She felt that the fragrance was like orchid but not quite, like musk but not quite. It was a very delicate and pleasant scent. Her eyes lit up as she quickly said: "You say this has the effect of driving away cold? Then can you make another one for me?"

  Xi Lin Chen's eyes slightly raised, looking at Qing Xia with a slanted gaze, his eyebrows lightly furrowed as if trying to dig out something from her words, then turned and left without another thought.

  Qing Xia was taken aback, grabbing his wrist and saying in a low voice: "What's going on? You didn't even say a word before leaving, what did I do to offend you?"

  "This is the Banmu Lian that my sister brought back from the snowy mountains of Guanwai Baihe. It's the coldest medicine in the world. To refine it, we need to put it under the extreme fire of Nanjiang for a month, wrapping it in ice every two hours to prevent it from being roasted. My sister almost died several times on the snow and underground while refining this medicine. I'm not as skilled as my brother, nor as persistent as my sister. From now on, this medicine might be extinct."

  Xilin Chen said expressionlessly, Qing Xia was slightly stunned, didn't expect such a small package of medicine to have such an origin, and felt a faint burning sensation and heat in her hand. After thinking for a moment, she handed it back to Xilin Chen and said in a low voice: "If that's the case, then I even more cannot accept it, this is too precious."

  "Nothing is more precious than your life." Xilin Chen calmly pushed away her hand, his voice clear and light as he said: "I hope you won't take risks for others so easily in the future, and also value your own life a bit more."

  Qing Xia knew he was still being stubborn, so she smiled and said: "I've always been very careful with my own life, you're still young, I naturally want to take care of you."

  "I'm not a kid anymore!" Xilin Chen suddenly pulled open Qing Xia's hand, raised his head and shouted angrily: "I was able to escape from Chu Li's Black Guard, they chased me for over 8,000 miles and couldn't take my life. What can those incompetent White Deer Fortress bandits do to me? On the other hand, you recklessly charged into the enemy camp, single-handedly fighting against a thousand people, knowing it was a dead end but still rushing in. Aren't you more foolish than those soldiers? You rely on your agility and quick reflexes, disregarding life and death, thinking yourself invincible. Don't you realize that no matter how capable you are, you're just an ordinary person? You can handle ten or twenty people, but can you handle a thousand or a hundred? When facing enemies, it's not just about physical strength, sometimes you need to use your brain too. Do you understand?"

  I've known Xilin Chen for a long time, but this is the first time I've seen him speak so harshly. Qing Xia was taken aback for a moment, having lived for so many years, this was still the first time someone had told her she didn't have a brain. What could she do in that situation? She didn't know what was going on, but some people saw Xilin Chen heading to the west slope, and he wasn't by her side anymore. A young man with no ability to fight back fell into enemy hands, not trying to gain time to rescue him, did they need a meticulous plan to come up with a rescue scheme? In the eyes of the people in White Deer Fortress, he was just a nobody, without any noble status, and might be killed instantly if caught. Without time, she could only fight hard, this was the most practical tactic she had learned from her military training, and it had been tested through numerous missions afterwards. From her perspective at that time, there was no problem with that.

  Xilin Chen glared at Qing Xia with a fierce gaze, his eyes burning with unspoken anger. He suddenly grabbed Qing Xia's hand and pulled it against his chest, saying in a low voice: "I'm telling you, don't blindly believe others, don't take risks for others lightly, and don't disregard your own life for someone else's sake. I'm an adult now, not a child, so stop treating me like one!"

  "But," Qing Xia hesitated for a moment, tonight's Xi Lin Chen made her feel a little bewildered. She furrowed her brow and said slowly: "Xi Lin Chen, the person I believe in is you, you are my family, my brother, what's wrong with that?"

  "I am not your brother!" Xi Lin Chen suddenly said in a loud voice, his palm burning hot like a fierce fire, his eyes dark and deep like a pool of dead water. He spoke to Qing Xia word by word: "Qing Xia, I am a member of the Xi Lin family. Everyone in my household is already dead. How could I possibly be your brother?"

  Qing Xia's face turned pale, and he glanced at the corner of his mouth, coldly self-mocking: "Your words mean that I shouldn't be so sentimental, you're not my brother, and we have no relationship, and in the future, I won't be qualified to stick my head out for you again?"

  Xi Lin Chen's face sank, and he said in a deep voice: "If you want to understand it that way, you can."

  "Xilin Chen!" Qing Xia grabbed Xilin Chen's sleeve and stood in front of him, saying sternly: "What are you trying to get at? Why must you say these inexplicable things to me? I know all about how you secretly sent messages to the people of Bailu Fortress, luring the enemy to attack. A real man should just do what he wants, what's the big deal?"

  Xilin Chen was taken aback by her words and suddenly lifted his head to stare into Qing Xia's eyes, exclaiming in shock: "You know?"

  "You really think I'm a woman who doesn't understand the world and has no brains?" Qing Xia looked at Xi Lin Chen with a slanted gaze, saying with a bitter smile: "The enemy is attacking, Shi Xing is a useless thing, the loss is severe, not to mention that we lost our grain and grass. At this time, you, a small soldier, can keep the grain and grass from being lost, of course, it's a great achievement, you need to find an opportunity to rise up in the military, so that you have a chance to kill Chu Li for your Xi Lin family to avenge. You need some people's attention, but also want to secretly support White Deer Fortress, so that you can severely damage the Southern Chu army in the Battle of White Deer Plain. Your brother has personally witnessed the siege battle at Sha Dian Di and knows that I have a deep relationship with Qin Zhiyan, which is why you dare to boldly try to rely on my relationship to find a way to rely on the Qin army's protection for yourself. You grasped the timing and environment very well, but didn't expect that I would risk my life to rescue you without regard for my own life. Now you regret it, feel guilty, so you want to be strangers again, have nothing to do with each other?"

  Xilin Chen's eyes widened in shock as he stuttered: "Y-you, when did you find out?"

  "From the moment I knew you weren't dead." Qing Xia stared straight at him, her eyes gleaming with a dark light. Her voice was low and husky as she gazed intently into Xi Lin Chen's eyes, saying: "You know my skills are exceptional, and I could have easily escaped with my life in the chaos of war. But you didn't consider the safety of Ban Bul and the others. At that time, if I had run away alone, it would have been more than enough, but if I had brought them along, there would have been some risk. You led my horse to the eastern camp on the first night, fed it a full load of fodder, and even filled the quiver with arrows, deliberately leaving an escape route open in the east. You went to so much trouble, and afterwards, anyone who thought about it for a moment would come to this conclusion. Did you really think I'd be foolishly deceived, not knowing anything?"

  "Xilin," Qing Xia sighed softly and said in a deep voice, "Your family was destroyed, you have a deep blood feud, I don't blame you for wanting revenge. If it were me, I might have done something even more extreme. However, you can't harm the people around you just to get revenge. This time, fortunately, everyone is safe and sound. If Banbur and others had made even the slightest mistake, at this moment, neither of us would be standing here so calmly, and I absolutely wouldn't forgive your intentional mistake."

  Xilin Chen hung his head, dazed and speechless. Qing Xia stood in front of him, looking up at him with a serious expression, and suddenly said in a low, measured tone: "Originally, I wanted to investigate all this slowly before asking you. Since it's come to this, I'll ask you one thing - you must answer me seriously. If someday I find out you're deceiving me, I won't forgive you."

  Xilin Chen suddenly lifted his head and stared blankly at Qing Xia, frowning tightly.

  "What does the Muren people's raid on the village have to do with you?"

  Xilin Chen's eyes widened instantly, staring at Qing Xia in disbelief, filled with intense shock and painful hurt, voicelessly calling out: "Qing Xia?"

  "I know it's not right to suspect you, but if you can be so ruthless in the military for promotion and don't care about Bambur's life or death, I have reason to doubt you. Are you capable of using someone else's hands to kill Doihana just to make it seem like a coincidence that we leave the village together? Now I'm even wondering if your arrival in Hakuren County was just a coincidence, and if being discovered by Bambur and the others with that painting was also just a coincidence. Was there another purpose behind it?"

  "Xia Qing?" Xi Lin Chen's face suddenly turned white, he stared blankly at Xia Qing, the veins on his forehead bulged, and his eyes had a faint red line of congestion, as if it was difficult for him to speak: "Am I such a person in your heart? I didn't ignore the lives or deaths of Banbur and the others. That night, I also prepared their horses and weapons, but Ke Duo dragged Banbur to the school field to shoot arrows and then took him back. Duohua's aunt took me in when I was in the most danger, how could I be so cruel and evil as to harm her? Xia Qing, am I such a vicious and sinister person in your heart?"

  "Alright." Qing Xia suddenly nodded and said in a low voice, "As long as you say there isn't, I'll believe you. I won't stop you from seeking revenge. From now on, you're still my younger brother. Since I couldn't protect your sister back then, I must protect you now. Before you have the ability to confront Chu Li, I won't let you go."

  Qing Xia suddenly turned around, just wanting to leave, but still turned his head and said in a low voice: "Xilin, in this world, there are many things that are more meaningful than revenge. I only hope that you will not be blinded by hatred, and when you take revenge, you can still see other things."

  After speaking, he turned and left the school field, under the long wind, Xilin Chen's figure stood in the empty camp for a long time, the bright moonlight shone on his body, pulling out his shadow, so long.