"Wealth and honor are like grasping chestnuts from a fire, high positions and great fame require us to risk our lives for them!" Below the snow-capped mountains of Youming Valley, Zhou Fugui shouted to nearly two hundred Yan soldiers, "We are lowly people, not like those born with golden keys in their mouths, born to wealth and prestige, born with fine clothes and food, without worries about sustenance. If we want to survive, to live like humans, to attain wealth and honor, high positions and great fame, to be enfeoffed as marquises and prime ministers, to marry wives and nurture children, we can only risk our lives. What we can rely on is this life, and the blades and spears in our hands."
"If we don't fight, how can we have wealth and honor?" Zhou Fugui then asked loudly.
"Only life!" The crowd finally understood Zhou Fugui's intention, and they responded in unison.
"Warriors, pick up your sabers, mount your steeds, and carve a bloody path to a bright future!" Zhou Fugui roared, clenching his fist.
"Yes!" The crowd responded loudly again.
"Warriors, pick up your sabers, mount your steeds, and whoever dares to block our way, let your blade and spear speak for you!" Zhou Fugui roared again.
"Yes!" The crowd responded loudly again.
"The army's commander can be captured, but the will of a common man cannot be taken!" Zhou Fugui roared.
"Indeed!" The crowd responded loudly.
All the Yan soldiers, whether Han or barbarian, felt their blood surge at this moment. In the bitter cold, they felt a burning heat throughout their bodies, yearning to immediately mount their steeds, grasp their sabers, and vent years of resentment.
He has returned, the one who refused to be bound by fate has returned. Li Qing, who had been silently listening to Zhou Fugui's words, sighed inwardly. His current situation was even more difficult, but his will was firmer than ever.
"When brothers are of one heart, their strength can cleave metal! What barbarians, what Han people? We are all descendants of Yan and Huang, so why distinguish between us? From now on, in my army, there will be no distinction between barbarian and Han. Anyone who dares to defy this order will be beheaded without mercy!" Zhou Fugui said slowly, casting a final glance at Xu Mancang.
"We obey!" The crowd responded wholeheartedly, especially the barbarians.
.........
"Brothers, put in some effort! Once we get past this damned mountain, it will be a place for us to rest our horses!"
On the snow-capped mountain, the wind was even more biting, and the weather grew colder. It was almost impossible to stand on the snow mountain. The higher they went, the heavier the wind and snow became. The biting wind, mixed with snowflakes, lashed at their faces, making it difficult to even open their eyes. This was not all; the snow reached above their knees, making their legs feel as if they were filled with lead, hindering their every step. What was even more terrifying were the paths on the snow mountain, if they could be called paths. They were fraught with peril. What appeared to be calm snow surfaces might hide an abyss below, and one wrong step would send them tumbling into an ice crevice or off a cliff.
Zhou Fugui, carrying Li Qing on his back, braved the fierce wind that could blow a man down the mountain, struggling forward while encouraging the Yan soldiers.
Li Qing was frail and sick, unable to walk or ride a horse. Horses were also unable to carry people on the snow mountain. Therefore, Zhou Fugui had to grit his teeth and carry Li Qing over the snow mountain.
Walking on the snow mountain was difficult, and carrying another person made it even more so. But Zhou Fugui gritted his teeth and persisted, refusing to abandon a single brother.
"Hey, sour scholar, do you see the pass ahead? We can shelter from the wind and snow there." Li Qing on his back had been silent for a long time. Zhou Fugui, afraid he might fall asleep, spoke to him at intervals.
"Fugui, it's a pass, and it seems there are people?" Li Qing's eyebrows and beard were covered with snowflakes and ice crystals, making him look like an old man with white hair. Hearing this, he looked up at the pass ahead and said.
"There are a few people..." Zhou Fugui squinted and saw a few figures in the pass. They seemed to be resting, and he murmured in surprise, "Who could they be?"
Zhou Fugui and nearly two hundred Yan soldiers advanced slowly and had not yet reached the pass.
"Yelihu, take some men to check it out," Zhou Fugui then ordered Yelihu.
Yelihu responded loudly and rushed forward with two scouts.
"Who are they?" Zhou Fugui arrived at the pass with Li Qing on his back, set him down, and asked after panting for a few breaths.
The Yan soldiers also arrived at the pass one after another, surrounding these people.
"Dead people, all dead. Frozen to death," Yelihu replied numbly.
The figures in the pass were indeed people, but they were all dead, and it was unknown how long they had been dead. Their bodies had formed icicles, and within the crystal-clear ice columns, one could vaguely see their faces, their expressions calm, as if they were still alive. This sight made the Yan soldiers shiver with dread.
"Alas, only a short distance left, why not persevere to the end?" Zhou Fugui sighed.
These people, frozen for who knows how many years, were indistinguishable in origin or era. It was not hard to guess that they too had strayed into Youming Valley and died of cold here, having been dead for years.
In fact, Zhou Fugui himself did not know if the snow mountain path was the final leg of their journey, but for now, this was the only way to comfort or motivate the Yan soldiers.
"We cannot stay here long. Let's go, down the mountain," Zhou Fugui said, after gazing at the ice-covered figures for a while, and waved his hand to give the order.
Some of the Yan soldiers sat in the pass, which could temporarily shelter them from the wind and snow, and did not want to leave. Zhou Fugui knew in his heart that even if they died of exhaustion or from falling, they could not stay here for long, otherwise, they would end up like the people in the icicles.
Thus, nearly two hundred Yan soldiers slowly descended the snow mountain. Going up was easy, but coming down was difficult, and the downward path was even more arduous.
.........
"Abiyasi, come here quickly!"
On the grassland, a young herdsman named Agudamu waved to his sister.
Agudamu was in his early twenties, strong and robust. His worn leather jacket was open, revealing the firm muscles of his chest.
Agudamu and his sister were herding sheep on the grassland.
It was winter, icy and snowy, but no matter how strong the wind and snow, there were places they couldn't cover. Wild grass stubbornly grew, forming pastures. Nomadic herders followed the grass and water.
"Brother, what is it?" a beautiful fifteen-year-old girl asked, running to Agudamu's side.
Agudamu's sister, Abiyasi, wore a worn, light yellow jacket with beautiful small flowers embroidered on the cuffs. She wore a worn, patterned long skirt and a worn, fluffy woolen hat adorned with many flower petals. Though her clothes were old, they could not hide the girl's beauty, much like the grass in this season, not yet fully green, appearing pale yellow but exuding a fresh, dewy greenness.
"Abiyasi, slow down, does your foot hurt?" Agudamu helped Abiyasi sit down, took her foot, and asked with concern.
The weather was piercingly cold, and Abiyasi's worn leather boots had a large crack.
"It doesn't hurt, brother, it's just a bit cold," Abiyasi replied.
Agudamu took off Abiyasi's worn leather boots, placed her feet in his arms, and asked with a smile, "Is it still cold now?"
"Hehe, it's not cold anymore, but it's a bit itchy..." Abiyasi giggled, "Brother is so good to Abiyasi. Thank you, brother."
"What are you thanking me for?" Agudamu smiled and said, "Mother is gone, and Father went to the south. Before he left, he told me to take care of you. But... Lord Aodeng he... alas..."
Agudamu's family were all slaves on the grassland. His mother died last year, and his father was conscripted to fight in the south. The siblings depended on each other on the grassland. But misfortune never comes singly. The tribal chieftain Aodeng coveted Abiyasi's beauty. Before, when the siblings' father was present, Aodeng had wanted to claim Abiyasi as his own. Now that their father had gone to war in the south and was unlikely to return, Aodeng became even more brazen. He used the excuse of debt to demand that Abiyasi serve in his tent.
Although Agudamu felt sorry for his sister, what could he do against the powerful chieftain, who was like the heavens? He could only weep uncontrollably.
Tonight, Aodeng had ordered Agudamu to bring Abiyasi to his tent. The outcome, of course, would be Aodeng brutally ravaging Abiyasi.
"Brother, I'm scared!" When Agudamu mentioned Aodeng, Abiyasi was immediately reminded of Aodeng's ferocity and lechery. She shivered and said, huddling in Agudamu's arms, "I'm afraid!"
"Abiyasi, don't be afraid!" Agudamu showed a fierce expression and said, "Brother will not let you go to that beast's tent."
"Brother, don't..." Although only fifteen, Abiyasi was very sensible. Hearing this, she was frightened and stroked Agudamu's face, saying, "I don't want you to risk your life. If you die, I will die too. I will serve him. We will live and wait for Father to come back, and then everything will be fine."
Agudamu was speechless and could only hug Abiyasi and weep.
If Agudamu fought against Aodeng, he would likely lose his life. After his death, the orphaned Abiyasi would not live long either.
There are many kinds of happiness in the world, but suffering is almost singular: being bullied, with no one to call upon, and no place to turn.
"Brother, tell me a story," Abiyasi said to Agudamu after they had wept in each other's arms for a long time.
Agudamu nodded and looked at the entrance of Youxiong Valley as he spoke, "Abiyasi, do you see that valley entrance? That is Youxiong Valley. Legend has it that a peerless hero lives within Youxiong Valley, a celestial being. When the human world is in distress, he will emerge from the valley to save all living beings."
"Youxiong Valley? Peerless hero?" Abiyasi turned her head and looked wistfully at the misty entrance of Youxiong Valley.
At that moment, a thunderous roar, like a clap of thunder, came from the entrance of Youxiong Valley.
The peerless hero appears!