The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 59 The End (Thanks to "Qian Dalai" for the generous donation)

The clouds hung low, swallowing the last rays of warm light from the setting sun.

Lights began to appear on the horizon, and the sounds of people, carriages, and pack bells could be faintly heard.

"There's a town ahead, Majia Town."

The little monkey galloped back, reined in his horse, and cheered, "After passing the town, it's another thirty li or so to reach Yedu!"

Xiao Yi's spirits lifted, and he decided not to travel at night but to rest in the town.

Majia Town is strategically located on the main road. Although it has no city walls, there is a gate at the entrance with a tattered banner that reads "Yedu Patrol". It is guarded by local soldiers dressed in brown coats.

Inside, the streets were made of compacted yellow earth, and the snow had been cleared to both sides. Shops lined the streets, with flags waving in the wind. There were taverns, inns, horse and carriage inns, needle and thread shops, saddle and saddle shops, and many more.

Xiao Yi sniffed, smelling the aroma of burnt flatbread, the muttony smell of tripe soup, the stench of horse manure, and the smell of turbid wine.

The children chased each other, chanting off-key nursery rhymes.

"The army of Yedu is strong and its horses are powerful; Master Guo is fighting off the wolves..."

Hua Nong stared in astonishment, muttering, "I've heard that since General Guo took command of Yedu, he has rectified officialdom, encouraged agriculture and sericulture, and severely punished soldiers who robbed merchants. It seems that what he said is true. Indeed, reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles."

"Stop nagging, what's so good about it? It can't compare to Kaifeng."

Jiang Erniang continued to complain, but her expression relaxed somewhat.

Xiao Yi looked around. Little Monkey, knowing what he was thinking, squeezed next to him and asked, "Is Chief Xiao looking for an inn? I've already picked one out. Look, that's it—"

The inn had a large storefront, with a front shop and back lodging layout. A pair of lanterns hung in front of the door, with the words "Safe Accommodation for Merchants" and "Conscience Inn" written on them.

Upon closer inspection, a wooden sign stood nearby, its handwriting clumsy, yet the prices were reasonable.

"A superior room costs 150 coins per night, plus a bundle of hay; a shared room costs 30 coins per night, plus hot water."

"I'm coming!"

The servants here were not afraid of the soldiers and greeted them warmly. They first bowed to Xiao Yi and said, "General, lady, sir, it's freezing cold, please come in. Our shop has hot soup noodles and foot bath water. The stables are spacious and the bean feed is freshly arrived!"

The group filed in. The hall was spacious and had a large hearth where the firewood crackled and burned, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere.

Several lamb legs hung there roasting, oil dripping into the fire, sizzling and emitting an enticing aroma.

"Wow!"

Hua Heng's eyes widened immediately, and he couldn't wait to pounce on her.

Guo Zongyi tugged at Xiao Yi's sleeve and said, "My lord..."

Xiao Yi nodded to Lü You.

The money bag fell onto the counter with a clattering sound.

"Quickly, quickly, bring out the best wine and food, it's freezing cold!"

"Haha, tonight was finally a good night!"

Warm and cozy by the fire, and smelling the aroma of meat, everyone smiled broadly.

Since his transmigration, Xiao Yi had rarely enjoyed such a comfortable and relaxed meal. He didn't care about the price and let everyone eat as much as they wanted. He himself ate so much that he burped several times.

After the meal, everyone settled down.

Xiao Yi felt even more comfortable when he saw that the earthen bed was covered with a clean reed mat and the bedding had no odor.

He had slept well last night and was not sleepy at the moment, so he went downstairs to practice martial arts.

The backyard was spacious, and the snow had been swept to the corner. He warmed up, exercised, and practiced martial arts in the yard. He didn't practice too many fancy routines, but instead started from the most basic and practical chopping, slashing, sweeping, stabbing, and parrying. His movements were not as beautiful as before, but they were more swift and had more of the ruthlessness of battlefield combat.

The repression, vigilance, anger, and a hint of confusion that had been building up over the past few days were all incorporated into this monotonous training.

Xiao Yi's heart gradually calmed down, as if he had returned to the past.

Time passes and the moon rises to its zenith.

He was slightly out of breath, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, but as if sensing something, he suddenly turned around.

Guo Xin arrived at some point and stood under the pillars, watching.

She washed and changed into a clean ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and wore the crane cloak that Xiao Yi had worn from the Li residence, which made her figure look slender. She held a small hand warmer in her hands, and her cheeks were slightly flushed from the warmth.

"what happened?"

"It's nothing." Guo Xin shook her head, stepped forward, and said, "I can't sleep now that we're so close to Yedu."

Do you miss your grandfather?

"Hmm." Guo Xin lowered her head, her deerskin boots grinding against a patch of broken ice, and asked, "Now that you've seen Grandpa, what are your plans?"

Xiao Yi said, "Let's see if there's a position I can serve under Commander Guo."

"Grandpa will definitely give you an important position; you're very capable."

"Just good luck."

"whispering sound."

Guo Xin was clearly not satisfied with the answer. She sat down on the bench and began to walk on the snow by herself.

"I've always been curious. You said you were born a servant in the Shi family, so how come you're so capable?"

"Is it awesome?"

"Ok!"

"Because I studied and practiced martial arts, I have a solid foundation. Isn't this how poor children can change their fate?"

What do you usually do?

"I'm an actor... you could say I'm a street performer."

"Performing arts?"

Xiao Yi also sat down on the bench in the corridor and looked up at the sky.

The moon on the ninth day was half full, hazy and indistinct in the snow and mist, no different from what it would be a thousand years later. "Yeah, play some really good fighters, wielding spears and sticks, like Jing Ke, Xiang Yu, Lü Bu, Qin Qiong, and the like."

"You are indeed quite skilled at wielding weapons, but who are you putting on this show for?"

"It's for others to see." Xiao Yi sighed slightly and said softly, "It's also for myself. Let's just consider it fulfilling my own dream of being a hero."

"Hmm...the kind where you perform but don't sell your body?"

The courtyard was quiet for a moment.

A cold wind swept across the eaves, bringing with it the snorting of horses.

Guo Xin got up and placed the hand warmer in Xiao Yi's arms.

"Let me warm your hands. You've been sweating from practicing martial arts, don't catch a chill. I...I'm going back now!"

"Oh."

"And also, when we get to Yedu, I'll settle the score with you for burning my birth certificate! Humph."

After saying that, she ran away quickly before Xiao Yi could react.

Looking around, one could see her skirt and cloak fluttering in the lamplight. As she reached the corner, she glanced back and disappeared from sight.

The warmth of the bronze stove seeped into my palms little by little.

Xiao Yi shook his head slightly as he thought about his lie.

I slept well that night.

The following day was the tenth day of the eleventh lunar month.

When I woke up, the inn was noisy with people.

Looking out the window from the second floor, Xiao Yi saw Old Pan preparing his horse in the courtyard, with Xi Gou, Hu Deng, and Wu Gouzi whispering to him.

"If we can reach Yedu today, I haven't delayed your efforts to achieve merit, have I?"

"You idiot, what are you thinking?"

"Judging from what Commander Xiao said," Hu Deng said, "it seems that Commander Guo will be able to sit on the dragon throne. You've all been delayed because of us..."

"Shh!"

"Heh, I was just too lazy to travel with that Xu Sheng, so I came with Old Pan. Chief Xiao is generous, so it's much more comfortable to be with him."

"Shut up, all of you."

Old Pan muttered a curse under his breath, but his tone wasn't particularly harsh. He patted Wu Gouzi on the shoulder and said, "Get your act together and behave yourself."

Xiao Yi silently closed the window.

After going downstairs and packing his bags, he asked Lü You to divide the remaining gold ingots among Lao Pan and the other three.

Old Pan didn't expect him to do this and didn't dare to accept the offer.

"Commander Xiao, we are acting under orders, how could we..."

"Orders are orders, and sentiments are sentiments. Here you go."

The little monkey grinned from ear to ear and said, "I can't bear to spend it; I'll save it to remember Chief Xiao's kindness day and night!"

On the other side, Guo Zongyi and Hua Heng chased each other around the lobby without a care in the world, chanting the nursery rhymes they had learned the day before.

"The army in Yedu is strong and the horses are powerful... Sister, I'll get to see Zhan Zhao again today! He said he'll give me a knife when he gets to Yedu!"

“That guy.” Hua Wan frowned slightly, curled her lips in disgust, and said, “He’s a smooth-talking brat who can’t keep his mouth shut. If you believe him, even a pig can fly.”

"He can't possibly lie to me."

"Why can't I lie to you?"

"He's handsome."

Hua Wan scoffed, saying, "How can someone who looks like a monkey be considered handsome?"

Guo Zongyi laughed and said, "He is just so handsome."

Lu You swaggered past, saying matter-of-factly, "None of them are as handsome as me."

We set off, leaving Majia Town.

Unlike the desolate landscape ahead, the number of caravans carrying grain, cloth, leather, and ironware increased along the official road.

Between the ridges on both sides of the field, you can see the plow marks left after the autumn harvest, and patches of millet stalks are visible under the snow.

Seeing this, Hua Nong nodded repeatedly, murmuring, "Good, good, good."

However, as they approached Yedu, an invisible, chilling atmosphere gradually spread.

A continuous stretch of camps, moats, fences, and watchtowers.

Different colored banners fluttered in the wind atop the watchtower, embroidered with huge surnames such as "Guo", "Wang", "He", and "Li".

Scouts on light cavalry could be seen whistling past from time to time, their command flags bearing the character "探" (explore/scout) waving.

At a fork in the road, several armored soldiers were escorting people bound by ropes, and cries could be heard.

"I'm really not a Khitan spy..."

Xiao Yi and the others unconsciously stopped joking around, and even the most mischievous little monkey fell silent.

at last.

Beyond a hill, the outline of a city perched majestically on the banks of the Zhang River comes into view.

The city walls stand tall and imposing, their crenellations sharp as teeth, their banners fluttering like a forest, unmoved by the wind and snow.

Under the vast winter sun, Yedu, like a black mountain range pressing down on the horizon, exudes a cold, hard, and unshakeable aura.

(End of this chapter)