Nine Nights Owl Song

At the end of November, Su Jiuge received an imperial edict.

General Su Jiuge of Anxi led his army on a southern expedition to quell the rebellion of the regional military governors.

The imperial edict was written in a grand and dignified style, with every sentence praising the country and its people, just like the memorials written by the crown prince.

Su Jiuge accepted the imperial decree.

Su Jiuge stood in the courtyard of Prince Zhao's mansion, looking at the pomegranate tree in the yard.

The leaves have all fallen, and the bare branches sway gently in the wind.

Shen Qing walked out from under the corridor and stood three steps behind her.

"Master, the roads in the southern border are not easy to travel."

"I know."

Zhao Ying leaned against a pillar, playing with a short blade in her hand.

"Even if it's difficult, we have to go. The Crown Prince wants the Pavilion Master to go to his death in the Southern Border, but the Pavilion Master refuses to die. He'll come back alive and infuriate him."

Shen Qing glanced at him.

Lin Mo poked his head out of the workshop.

Zhao Xiaohe walked out from behind the pillars, holding a bright red cloak in her hand, the one Su Wan'er made for Su Jiuge.

"Sister Jiuge, please take this with you."

Su Jiuge took the cloak and put it on.

Zhao Xiaohe's eyes reddened.

"Sister Jiuge, when will you be back?"

Su Jiuge looked at her.

"I came back when it was time."

Zhao Xiaohe's tears fell, and she wiped them away with her sleeve.

Su Jiuge didn't comfort her; she didn't know how to comfort people.

She turned and left, with Shen Qing following behind.

Zhao Ying sighed and followed, while Lin Mo rushed out of the workshop to catch up with the group.

Xiao Yan stood under the corridor, watching Su Jiuge's retreating figure.

She didn't turn around, and he knew she wouldn't.

He will wait for her to come back.

The first day of the twelfth lunar month in the eighteenth year of Yong'an.

Luoyang, South Gate.

Before dawn, Su Jiuge was already standing at the city gate.

She was dressed in a dark blue outfit, with a straight sword hanging at her waist and a bundle on her back. Behind her were Shen Qing, Zhao Ying, Lin Mo, and twenty elite members of the Dark Pavilion.

The team was small, only about twenty people, but they were all veterans who had fought their way up from the western and northern borders.

The southern border is not like the western and northern borders; we cannot bring a large army in.

With numerous regional warlords and powerful local lords vying for power, a large army pressing in would only force them to band together for resistance, while a few dozen people could come and go as they pleased.

Su Jiuge glanced back at Luo Jingcheng.

The morning fog of winter enveloped the entire city, and the outline of the imperial city appeared and disappeared in the fog.

Xiao Yan did not come to see her off because she said "no need to see me off" last night, so he did not come.

He understands her.

Shen Qing rode his horse to Su Jiuge's side.

"Sect Master, let's set off." Su Jiuge nodded.

More than twenty horses emerged from the south gate amidst the morning mist, their hooves ringing out clearly in the quiet morning.

Zhao Ying glanced back from his horse and shrugged.

Lin Mo sat in the carriage, lifting the curtain to look out. This was his first time going to the Southern Territory. Although he was a little nervous, he was also a little excited.

Zhao Xiaohe stood at the entrance of the Marquis's residence, clutching a handkerchief in her hand, her eyes red-rimmed.

Su Jiuge wouldn't let her go, saying that the Southern Territory was too dangerous and she couldn't take her with her, so she didn't go.

It takes more than half a month to travel from Luojing to the southern border.

Su Jiuge led her team south, and after crossing the Huai River, the scenery gradually changed—there were more mountains, more water, and the air became more humid.

Instead of wheat, rice was planted along the roadside, and the houses in the village were no longer mud-brick houses, but brick and tile houses.

It is much richer than the North, but richness does not mean peace.

Ghost Shadow had been lurking in the Southern Territory for more than half a year, and news was being sent to Thousand Machine Tower in a steady stream.

On her journey south, Su Jiuge read the intelligence delivered by Ghost Shadow over and over again.

The southern border had three major military garrisons: Qingjiang Garrison, Pinghai Garrison, and Wuyi Garrison.

Qian Shigui, the military governor of Qingjiang Town, was a cunning old fox with 20,000 soldiers under his command and connections with many ministers in the imperial court.

Sun Bofu, the military governor of Pinghai Town, was young and ambitious. He had 8,000 soldiers under his command and was skilled in naval warfare, but his power base was not deep.

Zheng Jing, the military governor of Wuyi Town, had 10,000 soldiers under his command who occupied the Wuyi Mountains and lived off the land. The imperial court could not and did not want to interfere.

The three towns are intermarried and allied with each other, and a change in one town can have far-reaching consequences.

If you take action against one, the other two will help. The imperial court has sent troops several times before, but all of them have failed.

It wasn't that we couldn't win; it was that when we attacked one, another would come to our aid, and when we attacked another, yet another would come to our aid. In the end, the imperial army was exhausted, but the regional military governors remained.

The Crown Prince wanted Su Jiuge to come and die.

On the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, Su Jiuge entered the southern territory.

The ghost was waiting for them at the agreed location.

In a dilapidated temple in the mountains, a ghostly figure sat on the stone steps at the temple entrance, dressed in black with a black veil covering his face, revealing only his eyes.

Seeing Su Jiuge walking towards her from the mountain path, she stood up.

"Master." Ghost Shadow's voice was hoarse and low, carrying a sense of alienation after being alone for more than half a year.

Su Jiuge looked at her.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Ghostly Shadow shook her head. There was no need for formalities; she wasn't that kind of person.

Zhao Ying stepped out from behind Su Jiuge, looked the ghost up and down, and her gaze fell on the soft sword at her waist.

"You're Ghost Shadow? Zhao Ying, the top assassin of the Dark Pavilion, I've heard so much about you." Ghost Shadow looked at him without speaking.

Zhao Ying wasn't embarrassed at all, and said with a smile:

"I've heard you're a very skilled swordsman. Perhaps we could spar sometime?"

The ghostly figure glanced at him.

"You are no match for me."

Zhao Ying's smile froze, and Ghost Shadow turned to Su Jiuge and said:

"Master, let's talk inside the temple."

Zhao Ying stood there, her lips twitching.

Shen Qing walked past him, and Zhao Ying grabbed Shen Qing's arm.

"She said I'm no match for her?" Shen Qing glanced at him.

"You're not." Zhao Ying snapped.

Su Jiuge glanced back at him, and Zhao Ying immediately fell silent.

Ghostly figure spread out a map of the southern border on the ground, which she had drawn over half a year.

Mountains and rivers, cities and passes, and troop deployments are all included.

"Of the three towns in the south, Qian Shigui of Qingjiang is the most difficult to deal with."

The ghostly figure's finger moved across the map.

"He has been operating in the southern border for twenty years. Although his 20,000 soldiers are not many, they are all veterans. He has connections in the court, and he always gets advance notice whenever the court wants to make a move against him. He keeps 300 elite guards at home to protect him day and night. He himself is not very skilled in martial arts, but his son, Qian Shaoqing, is at the peak of the Transformation Realm, and his swordsmanship is said to be no less than Zhao Ying's."

Zhao Ying snorted.

The ghost ignored him and continued pointing at the map.

"Sun Bofu of Pinghai is young and ambitious. He doesn't have many soldiers, but he is skilled in naval warfare. He has trained a navy at sea, which the imperial navy is no match for. Instead of fighting him at sea, we should lure him onto land. Zheng Jing of Wuyi is entrenched in the Wuyi Mountains, living off the mountains. The imperial court has sent troops to besiege him several times before, but all attempts have failed. Instead of entering the mountains, we should cut off his supply lines. The food supplies in the mountains won't last long, and once they are cut off, he will surrender without a fight."

Su Jiuge looked at the map and pointed to the location of Qingjiang Town.

"First, take Qingjiang. Strike the snake at its vital spot, and Qingjiang is that vital spot. Once Qingjiang is captured, Pinghai and Wuyi will not dare to move."

The ghost nodded.

Su Jiuge stood up.

"The main force is waiting on the southern border. We'll go first to Qingjiang to get a feel for the situation."

Zhao Ying asked:

"The army isn't advancing?"

Su Jiuge shook her head.

When a large army enters, the regional military governors will band together to figure out the situation before taking action.

Shen Qing silently followed Su Jiuge outside.

Lin Mo was squatting in a corner of the dilapidated temple drawing blueprints when Zhao Ying walked over and kicked his shoes.

"Let's go." Lin Mo hurriedly packed up the blueprints.

Ghost Shadow walked at the very back of the group, watching Su Jiuge's back.

It's been more than half a year since I last saw him, and the Pavilion Master has changed.

The winds and sands of the North had etched their marks on her face, making her look more composed than before.

The ghost quickened its pace and followed.