The Ethereal Domains

Chapter 164: A Leaf To The South; The Distant Snow Of The Moon Palace

A Leaf To The South; The Distant Snow Of The Moon Palace . . .

The general fixed a stern gaze upon the young vice-general who had spoken earlier and responded with a frosty tone, "Vice-general Qu, you speak as if you're the epitome of nobility and honor. Why don't you start handing over your salary to me from now on? You can bask in your lofty ideals and embrace the life of a noble royal, can't you? We've got sustenance—food, drink, and clothes—all provided in the army. It'll keep you alive and let you revel in your unforgettable glory. You'll become a legend, the next moving story."

Vice-general Qu's face flushed red with anger, retorting, "Nonsense. I haven't finished speaking yet. Why is everyone turning against me? When did I say that the commander shouldn't return? I meant that heroes are human too."

The others responded with disdainful snorts.

The black-bearded general spoke in a hushed tone, "For the country. For our home. Protecting our homeland. But what exactly is a homeland?"

He continued, his tone measured, "A homeland is both a home and a country. Yet they are not synonymous. If there's only a country without a home, we wouldn't be fighting with our lives. If there's only a home without a country, we'd be living in constant peril... It's a question that may never find a definitive answer. What's the point of your bickering?"

The group lowered their heads, their expressions heavy with sorrow.

"We're simply concerned about the commander... I wonder if he'll return..."

"This misfortune... It's truly taken a toll on him..."

"That's right... Will he return?"

"Regardless of whether he does... or doesn't, we must defend the north."

"We won't bring disgrace to the commander."

Would Cha Nan-Tian return to the battlefield?

It was a question that not even Cha Nan-Tian himself could answer, at least not in this moment.

He hadn't even contemplated the question.

All that occupied his mind was the desperate hope of seeing his son one last time.

He raced back to the capital like a bolt of lightning, a burning fire raging within his heart.

For someone who had always remained composed, he was now in utter turmoil, as if he had been trapped in an ancient ice cave for millennia, as if his very blood had frozen.

"Xue-Er, I'm afraid I won't be able to protect our son."

"Xue-Er, I'm so sorry."

"Xue-Er, I'm nothing but a failure."

"I can't alleviate your suffering, nor can I save you. I'm failing even to keep our only son alive. I'm nothing but a useless failure," Cha Nan-Tian muttered to himself, his voice heavy with despair.

"Xue-Er."

From the northern reaches to the capital, the journey spanned thousands of miles, yet Cha Nan-Tian raced across the land like a shooting star streaking through the sky. His determination burned fiercely, his heart aching with the distance that separated him from his family.

"A leaf rushing to the southern sky; the distant snow of the moon palace," he thought, repeating an old phrase that held deep personal meaning. "I am Cha Nan-Tian. My wife is Yue Gong-Xue. My son is Cha-Eun Xiao."

His sword cleaved through the air as he hurtled southward, his thoughts focused on his ultimate goal. "I am coming back. Xiao Xiao, hang in there. You must wait for me. With your father by your side, even death itself will have to yield."

Upon Cha Nan-Tian's departure from the army, the enemies of the Kingdom of Chen in every corner issued a chilling command that reverberated throughout the Land of Han-Yang, instilling fear in the hearts of all who heard it.

"Reward of fifty million bars of gold. Intercept and assassinate Cha Nan-Tian on his journey."

The northern front had always been a strategic focal point for these adversaries. Cha Nan-Tian had been the single obstacle preventing them from seizing control. He was more troublesome than a thorn in their side or a nail in their path.

Numerous assassin organizations had, in fact, stationed operatives in the north, prepared to assassinate Cha Nan-Tian at a moment's notice. However, he had consistently remained within a heavily fortified encampment, surrounded by loyal soldiers, making any attempt on his life exceedingly difficult. Hostile forces had no choice but to watch and wait for the right opportunity.

For over a dozen tribes in the northern grassland, totaling twenty-three, the chief among them was not the Hu-Lun Wolf King, but the formidable and ruthless Snake King, Tie-Mu Jia. He had garnered the loyalty of seven tribes and held a position of great power in the north, known for his ferocity and cunning. His name struck fear into the hearts of many in the region.

The Snake King had posed the most significant threat to the Kingdom of Chen, surpassing even the other two rival kingdoms. However, Cha Nan-Tian's arrival marked the end of Tie-Mu Jia's reign of dominance.

Sixteen years ago, when Cha Nan-Tian had first come to the north, he had led the soldiers of the Kingdom of Chen against the united forces of the grassland tribes, led by Tie-Mu Jia. Despite being outnumbered, Cha Nan-Tian's tactical brilliance had secured victories in all seven battles, decisively defeating the united grassland army.

Recognizing Cha Nan-Tian as a formidable opponent, the Snake King refrained from engaging him directly in open combat. Instead, when Cha Nan-Tian had been en route to the capital for other matters, Tie-Mu Jia had set numerous traps and dispatched assassins to kill him. Yet, Cha Nan-Tian had miraculously survived each attempt on his life, returning to the capital unscathed, completing his mission swiftly.

When Cha Nan-Tian returned to the north, the nightmare for Tie-Mu Jia began. Over the next year and a half, Cha Nan-Tian relentlessly launched devastating strikes against Tie-Mu Jia, culminating in the downfall of the Snake King himself.

Tie-Mu Jia, the once-dominant ruler of the grasslands, met his end at the hands of Cha Nan-Tian's sword. The seven tribes that had sworn allegiance to the Snake King also fell before Cha Nan-Tian's might, their names fading into the annals of history.

Without Cha Nan-Tian's presence in the north, there would have been no place for the Hu-Lun Wolf King to assert his influence. Every tribe in the grasslands harbored a desire to eliminate Cha Nan-Tian, yet none dared to act, fully aware that failure would invite their own demise.

The tribes remained paralyzed, even as a pivotal moment in the war unfolded.

However, news of Cha Nan-Tian's departure from the north spread quickly, thanks to well-placed spies. With Cha Nan-Tian no longer at the helm of the northern army, he was no longer invulnerable. The possibility of his demise loomed large.

Consequently, various forces issued simultaneous orders for his assassination, and countless assassins sprang into action. The reward for Cha Nan-Tian's head was a staggering sum—millions of gold bars.

The ten-thousand-mile journey southward was soon teeming with dust and danger as assassins vied for the superlative reward.

Before Cha Nan-Tian could fully depart from the grasslands, he faced three assassination attempts, each more perilous than the last. Yet, he proved to be living testimony to the mythical accounts of his miraculous survival against the Snake King's relentless traps. He possessed a seemingly unearthly strength, an ability that defied belief.

With his trusty sword in hand, Cha Nan-Tian forged onward, single-handedly thwarting any attempts to halt his progress. Nothing and no one could impede his relentless advance. He moved like a razor-sharp blade cleaving through the sky, his momentum unstoppable as he hurtled madly to the south.

He resembled a radiant shooting star, streaking across the land, heading southward with unwavering determination.

Nevertheless, countless assassins and traps lay ahead of him. These were individuals who did not believe in myths or miracles; they simply sought the substantial reward offered for Cha Nan-Tian's head. Unbeknownst to them, they were courting their own demise.

In the history of the Land of Han-Yang, no one's head had ever been deemed worth fifty million gold bars. If such a price was placed on a life, it meant that individual was virtually indestructible within the Land of Han-Yang. After Cha Nan-Tian had left a trail of death spanning thousands of miles, this conclusion became evident to all.

The path he had treaded upon came to be known as "the Assassin's Graveyard," and for millennia to come, assassins would tremble at the thought of setting foot on this path. They had learned that in the world, there existed both myth and miracle.

In fact, another order swiftly followed the initial one: "Kill Cha-Eun Xiao immediately." At the end of this order, there was a signature—a lotus shrouded in mist, with a solitary drop of blood adorning it. It was a first-class assassination decree.

It became apparent to Cha Clan's adversaries that if Cha Nan-Tian proved invulnerable, their best course of action would be to eliminate Cha-Eun Xiao before Cha Nan-Tian could return.

The reasoning was clear: should Cha-Eun Xiao perish, Cha Nan-Tian would likely descend into madness, rendering him useless to the kingdom.

The individual who issued this order understood this with utmost clarity. It was a covert, private directive, intended to resolve multiple issues seamlessly.

If Cha Nan-Tian sought vengeance, he could direct his wrath solely at those responsible for harming Cha-Eun Xiao, without implicating other individuals or organizations.

This directive, laden with ominous undertones, circulated throughout Chen-Xing City.

Upon learning of Cha Nan-Tian's departure, the Northern Wolf Troops rejoiced and launched a frenzied assault on the Northern Army. Suddenly, the conflict escalated, and tensions ran high on the battlefield.

The situation in the north grew even more volatile than in the other three directions.

As the kingdom found itself increasingly overwhelmed by these developments, the Kingdom of Chen faced mounting challenges.