"Huh?" Wu Jihai was momentarily stunned. Just a moment ago, he had been prepared for a fierce battle, and now the gates were suddenly opening. "Your Majesty, this..." Unsure of what game the other side was playing, he approached Huang Bei Shuang.
By now, Huang Bei Shuang was already feverish and semi-conscious. Ye Pei, standing anxiously by her side, responded, "Forget it! Just enter the city!"
With that, the 10,000 troops filed through the gate in a long line.
Behind them, less than 800 li (Chinese miles) away, the 130,000-strong army of Ruo Wen advanced across the desert like a dense swarm of ants, with clouds of dust rising and lingering in the air, bringing with it an ominous sense of impending danger.
“Ha! The city walls are in sight! Mang Hu, let's see who kills more this time. You chop down ten, and I'll chop twenty!" Leading the charge at the forefront of the Fen Tian Army were Huang Tian’s ferocious soldiers, with Lang Tou and Mang Hu racing ahead on their horses. Hearing Lang Tou’s taunt, Mang Hu shouted back, "You better watch out you don't bite your tongue with all that trash talk! You lost face last time, and now you're all quiet." Lang Tou burst into laughter, "You're talking like you're neutered, no guts left! Speaking like a woman! Watch out, or the leader will assign you to serve him! Hahaha!" With that, he whipped his horse, speeding forward.
While the two young men played their wild games, Ruo Wen's eyes flickered red with anticipation. His gaze was fixed on the approaching city of Mizan, his breath growing faster. In the night, as his desires surged, she was almost within reach.
There are many ways to distinguish between people, and one of them concerns the quality of life itself. Some people, for instance, can live like dogs, just struggling to survive, even falling below a dog's status, leaving behind chaotic footprints as they go. Others, like the phoenix, can transform their dignity into flames, and after being reborn from the ashes, leave behind a legend in the world. Their footprints form a straight road, deeply engraved in human history.
Between these two types of people, an interesting thought arises: a dog might despise the phoenix, thinking it foolish—after all, if you’re at the brink of death, what’s left to hold on to? The phoenix, in turn, despises the dog, believing that a life lived solely for survival, abandoning one’s innate beliefs, is dreadfully dull—so dull, in fact, that death might be preferable.
However, the wonder of this world lies in its skillful distribution of these fates. If the gods decree a thousand lives, and the world has ten thousand dogs, there will inevitably be one phoenix among them. In this way, the impoverished dogs will admire the phoenix's dignity, and it is only those with dignity who can make promises. The phoenix, surrounded by dogs, will only grow firmer in its belief in its own value, standing tall and eventually becoming the leader and protector of the dogs.
Thus, the dogs look up to the phoenix, and the phoenix cares for the dogs.
The phoenix’s contemplation then becomes the mechanism that shapes all creation, and from here, the complexity of human nature begins.
In the Guanghan Palace of Yunpei, the most complex mind likely belonged to Zhan. Did he truly love Huang Bei Shuang? Did he not love her at all? Did he regret using Huang Bei Shuang to lure Ruo Wen away? These questions, unrelated to his duties as a ruler, were becoming harder and harder for him to answer. Not long ago, a scout reported that Ruo Wen had broken camp. Zhan felt a sense of relief—Huang Bei Shuang had not disappointed him. Yet, as Ruo Wen truly withdrew, Zhan also felt a deep sense of dissatisfaction. Every day, he visited the horse-tethering tree in Guan Ying Palace, imagining the dangers she might face, imagining another man stealing her heart or body. Why was it that he, the mighty King Zhan, could only stand alone beneath this desolate tree, unable to untangle the thoughts in his heart?
His country would always come first, and yet his heart was trampled underfoot, leaving him far from free or carefree.
If he was born to be a phoenix, then he was also born never to be himself.
Mizan, in its 290th year of the Huai calendar, governed the land east of the desert, with fourteen oases and a population of ten million. They worshipped the Sun God, and the national religion was called Huo Gen. To this day, they had built 1,677 temples, arranged in a circular formation. Their capital was Youzhou, and the administrative palace was called Huan Yuan. King You Guang, who also served as the leader of the state religion, ruled the government. Over ninety percent of the population followed the religion, and the king was respectfully called the Fire King. Mizan rarely engaged in war, focusing instead on spreading their teachings and guiding souls toward salvation.
Yellow banners, white crowns!
Though the wind howled and roared, it could not disrupt the rare sight on the walls of Fu Ping City.
Ruo Wen, the Mad Blood King, was seething with rage. His 130,000 troops, along with 4,000 berserk soldiers, had come to a halt 2,000 li away from the city. Blocking their way was Mizan's 300,000-strong Huo Gen Guard, summoned from all over the country. They stood firm, sealing the tiny Fu Ping city gate so tightly that not a single grain of sand could pass through.
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