Song of Adolescence

Chapter 166 Thousand Cavalry Pressures the City

The winds of the Lower Pass, the flowers of the Upper Pass, the snow of Cangshan, the moon in Erhai.

Snow Moon City was always peaceful and beautiful, tranquil as spring through all seasons. But, it was not very peaceful today. The vigorous sound of horseshoes broke through its tranquility, led by a sturdy general outfitted in a golden armour. He marched at the forefront, followed by a thousand cavalry horses orderly and neatly behind him. Despite the powerful sound, the battalion was orderly and none of the bystanders were the least bit injured when they marched past.

"That’s the Beili army. Why are they in Snow Moon City?" Someone asked in surprise.

"Could Snow Moon City have offended the Emperor of Beili and they’ve sent the army here to destroy us?" Someone replied next to him.

"How’s that possible? Snow Moon City has never intervened in these trivial matters. Besides, it’s no small matter to destroy Snow Moon City? Even with this one thousand strong cavalry, that’s hardly enough for First Citymaster to fight on his own!" Someone said proudly.

"What about the Third Citymaster, then?" Asked a man in black, who was standing at a roadside wine stall.

"May have to weaken it a little bit for the Third Citymaster. But, it still wouldn’t be a problem to fight, like, 800 of ‘em!" That person replied.

The man in black couldn\'t hold back his laughter. He waved the spear that was in his hand and thrust it into the middle of the road.

The person who was speaking turned his head to look at him, only to see that the person was wearing a hat, clearly not wanting to be recognized. However, the dark golden spear was clearly recognisable. The big mouth who was talking earlier jumped in shock, and exclaimed, "Third… Third Citymaster?"

Sikong Changfeng took off his hat and shook his head. "No, not Third Citymaster. The little bit weaker… Third Citymaster."

The golden-armoured great general stopped in front of the spear and frowned slightly. A soldier behind him shouted angrily, "Who is it! How dare you block our way! Do you know who our general is?"

"General-in-Chief of the Central Army, Ye Xiaoying, right? Yes, I know him, I know him." Sikong Changfeng smiled.

Ye Xiaoying was the General-in-Chief of the Beili Central Army, but in reality, he was the highest ranking officer in the Beili Army. He did not show the slightest bit of anger. He immediately dismounted and took a few steps to sit next to Sikong Changfeng. He spoke in a low voice, "Brother Sikong, why don\'t you give some face? I came here specially to visit. Why have you brought your spear to stop me here?"

"You’re the one not giving me face." Sikong Changfeng feigned anger. "You marched through my city with a thousand cavalry. Is that giving me face?"

Ye Xiaoying reached out his hand and shouted at the waiter. "Get me a wine cup!"

The waiter had naturally heard the name Ye Xiaoying before, and knew that he was a master of the battlefield who killed without batting an eyelid, so he was so scared that he immediately found a wine cup and handed it over with trembling fingers.

Ye Xiaoying took the wine cup, picked up the wine jug, and poured himself a whole cup. He drank it all in one mouthful and exhaled a long sigh before saying, "I travelled a thousand miles from the imperial capital, and brought a thousand elite cavalry to visit your city. That\'s a courtesy, a tribute, how could you say I marched through your city? I\'m, after all, a General-in-Chief of the Central Army. If I’m not travelling with a thousand or eight hundred men, that’s not proper, right?”

"Pah!" Sikong Changfeng\'s "pah" was pronounced clearly and accompanied by a splash of spittle.

Ye Xiaoying wiped his face without getting angry. "What’s that ‘pah’ for?"

"You ask what’s that ‘pah’ for? This is not the first time you’ve come to Snow Moon City. Just say it straight, why are you here this time? You’ve brought so many men with you. It’s obvious you’re up to no good!" Sikong Changfeng put down his cup of wine and glared at him.

The Ye Banner Battalion of the Central Army of the Beili Dynasty were an elite cavalry unit that faced their enemies on the battlefield with one to a hundred odds. At that moment, they were lined up on the side of the road, not a step out of place.

As for the two men that the elite cavalry were waiting for, one was the highest ranking person in the Beili Army, the other was the only one under Heaven to earn the title Spear Immortal. They sat there drinking and scolding each other, looking more like two roguish rascals. In fact, when the two of them first met more than ten years ago, they were indeed two roguish rascals.

"Well, Ruoyi wrote a few letters to me…" Ye Xiaoying started, rubbing his hands sheepishly as he spoke.

"That little missy! No conscience!" Sikong Changfeng drank a sip of wine and became depressed as he spoke, "I was desperately doing everything I could to prolong her life, and once she was better, she leaked all my Snow Moon City secrets!"

"So… you’re saying, that person is really in Snow Moon City?" Ye Xiaoying leaned over and asked in a low voice.

"So what if he is?" Sikong Changfeng asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Men!" Ye Xiaoying shouted angrily.

"Sir!" One thousand elite cavalry responded loudly as one.

"Follow me and march through this Snow…" Ye Xiaoying moved to stand up.

"He’s no longer here anyway," Sikong Changfeng continued in a faint voice.

Ye Xiaoying hurriedly sat down again and forced a smile. "Then, where is he now?"

"Why? Do you care so much about this person too? Are you intending to take him to coerce the emperor and command the vassals? Become a shadow emperor?" Sikong Changfeng gently tapped the wine cup.

"Don’t you speak such nonsense!" Ye Xiaoying said angrily. "I’m doing all this for my daughter. My daughter said we must help him, so I’m helping him! But that has nothing to do with me!"

"Oh? Then you haven’t seen your daughter for nearly a year. After traveling a thousand miles to this Snow Moon City, why didn’t you ask a single word about her present condition?" Sikong Changfeng smiled.

"My daughter was placed in your care, why would I worry about her…" Ye Xiaoying laughed smugly. "So, where is that person now?"

"Eating a meal," Sikong Changfeng replied.

"What meal?" Ye Xiaoying asked.

"A meal that ordinary people don’t get to eat. A meal you can eat only if you’re called a hero in the martial world." Sikong Changfeng took another sip of wine.

"Lei Clan Fort!" Ye Xiaoying stood up in shock. "He’s gone to Lei Clan Fort."

"Why are you so surprised to hear about Lei Clan Fort?" Sikong Changfeng was puzzled.

"I\'m not afraid of any place in this world, but I\'m afraid of Lei Clan Fort." Ye Xiaoying scratched his head. "After all, that was Lei-ge’s hometown. I won’t bow to anyone under Heaven except Lei-ge. Now, Lei-ge is gone, I can’t very well march through his home…"

Right at that moment, the sound of a horse neighing loudly was heard, and a young man wearing a white robe and carrying a full seven swords on his back, rushed towards them.

"Mingxuan?" Sikong Changfeng was stunned for a moment.

Luo Mingxuan flipped off his horse and landed in front of Sikong Changfeng. "Third Citymaster!"

"Why are you back by yourself? Where\'s Qianluo?" Sikong Changfeng asked.

"Qianluo-shijie refused to come back with this disciple, and went to Lei Clan Fort too," Luo Mingxuan replied.

"I’d guess as much. But, what’s with your outfit? Has Li Suwang, that old senior of Sword Heart Tomb become so generous? I bet it’s more likely that he’s still coveting your master\'s beauty, right?" Sikong Changfeng said with a laugh.

"Shifu! Now’s not the time to joke!" Luo Mingxuan said with a rarely serious face. "Tang Clan! The Tang Clan has betrayed the alliance! At the Heroes Banquet, they’re probably going to attack Lei Clan Fort!"

"Where did you hear this?" Sikong Changfeng frowned. "Don\'t talk nonsense!"

"It\'s true, I met Tang Lian-shixiong on the way! He said that Tang Lianyue has been placed under house arrest by Grandmaster Tang, and we were also hunted by the Hidden River all the way. The Tang Clan has probably joined forces with the Hidden River!" Luo Mingxuan said everything in a hurry.

"Fuck! That old Grandmaster Tang should go and die, is he crazy!" Sikong Changfeng said angrily, and the wine cup in his hand exploded in an instant.