Upon hearing his response, Ge Xin Wei smirked. “I, Ge Xin Wei, was born among that trash. For nineteen years, I endured humiliation and abuse. Although I bore the title of Ninth Princess, I was treated worse than a slave. At least a slave isn’t constantly bullied. But I, Ge Xin Wei, could be beaten and insulted by anyone. The greatest injustice in this world is when the strong are ruled by the weak, and the talented are oppressed by the incompetent.” She then looked up at Ruo Wen. “However, Your Majesty, you can bring back the truth that the strong should rule. I, Ge Xin Wei, firmly believe this.”
When she finished speaking, there was a long silence. Those standing on either side stared at her in disbelief, almost overwhelmed by the powerful emotion in her words. Ruo Wen, seated above, looked down at Ge Xin Wei, a thought flashing through his mind… When he captured Huang Bei Shuang, he would have to compare the two women thoroughly. How interesting that would be!
After a moment, Ruo Wen spoke. “Cheng Xiang, follow her advice and set up the three armies and two councils. Luo Ying, make sure your spies are in place. From now on, I want constant reports on the movements of the other nations! As for Ge Xin Wei…” He looked at her. “You’ll stay by my side. Let’s see what game you’re playing!”
In the year 332 AD, under the reign of Guan Chou, Princess Ge Xin Wei of the Masui royal family was appointed as the first strategist of Fen Tian. She held no official title, but within ten days, she established the three armies and two councils, restructuring the pillars of the nation. From that moment, Fen Tian began to transform from a bandit state into a true ruling power. Seven days later, the Southern Expedition Army marched eastward, occupying the strategic strongholds of Zhun City and Yuguo, between Fen Tian and Yunpei. The forces of Tian Du, stationed in Hu He, now found themselves flanked, as Fen Tian’s army formed a pincer attack on Yunpei.
“Storm! Run!”
On a small oasis south of the desert, there was a chaotic uproar. Thousands of heads moved in unison, fleeing from an oncoming storm. The crowd rushed westward in a panicked mass. This was no ordinary storm, and the tiny, barren oasis wouldn’t survive. If they didn’t escape in time, there would be only one outcome—they would be buried by the storm along with the oasis, and in the near future, become part of the sand beneath people’s feet.
“Grandmother, hurry!” A small boy dragged a half-conscious elderly woman. She had been trampled in the chaos, her ankle shattered. She grasped the boy’s small hand, which was clutching her shoulder. “Good child, you go on. Grandmother will wait here!”
Tears streamed down the boy’s face, but he held tightly to the old woman’s tattered clothes. “Grandmother, I’ll take you with me!”
The old woman closed her eyes, her lips dark and cracked, and spoke haltingly. “I will wait here… My son will come for me. My son… will return. This place is closest to Hu He. He… will surely come for me!”
The boy struggled to pull her through the fleeing crowd, but no one stopped to help. Scenes like theirs were all too common, and no one had any sympathy left to offer.
The old woman’s face dragged across the ground, her skin tearing open. “Good child, Grandmother is so tired of waiting. Go find my son and bring him to me, alright?”
Hearing this, the boy finally looked down at her. When he touched her, his hand was covered in blood. “Grandmother?”
The old woman lay on the ground, repeatedly trampled. The boy’s small body couldn’t shield her from the stampede of feet. “Stop! Please stop!” His shrill, childish cries echoed helplessly through the crowd.
“Child, what is your name?” the old woman asked, her eyes still closed.
“My name is Saman!”
“Saman, Grandmother’s son is a great hero. He went on a mission to Yunpei. His name is Zhan Bie. Will you go find him for me and bring him here?” After saying this, the old woman fell silent. The only thing moving was a withered flower, swaying in the storm’s winds.
Saman was stunned. Gently, he placed his hand near her nose. After a long pause, tears filled the boy’s eyes, and he suddenly bolted into the crowd. He ran fast, disappearing quickly among the fleeing people. Behind him, only the old woman remained, trampled by the crowd, as though she had simply fallen asleep.
That day, the furious sandstorm engulfed the lonely, desolate oasis, sweeping away countless souls lost in longing. A mound of yellow earth, like a mountain-sized grave, quietly rose in the vast desert.
What is calamity? Reincarnation is calamity.
Who has been toying with this mortal world, and how far have they gone, only to start over again? The blood, the tears, the prayers, and the exhaustion—all of it will return. But for what? Who can truly know?
Young Saman, perhaps because he was so young, remained pure-hearted; and perhaps because he was pure, he knew how to be grateful. With the keepsake left to him by his grandmother in his arms, he resolutely left the group of wandering refugees and headed south.
He traveled for a long time, his body increasingly covered with frostbite, to the point where even his appearance had become blurred. Only his clear eyes remained, filled with unwavering determination. After three days of walking through the desert, he finally reached the border town of Yunpei.
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