Chapter 1.2
Qixing Longyuan, one of the ten famous swords in the world, was jointly forged by master swordsmith Ou Yezi and Gan Jiang. The sword’s body was made of black iron from Hanshan and iron meteorite. This sword was listed in the armory file and had a great reputation.
There were no martial arts practitioners throughout the world who did not know of this sword.
(t/n Hanshan-Cold Mountain- means deserted and quiet mountain, which is often used in poetry.)
However, more famous than the sword itself, was its owner.
Everyone knows that Qixing Longyuan was the sword of the Third Prince of the Great Yuan. However, the Third Prince had already died on the battlefield a year ago in order to defend the country. He died on the battlefield without any remains.
………
The reigning Emperor of Great Yuan had yet to crown an empress or nominate a crown prince. He also makes no distinction between descendants and concubines, and treats them equally.
The Great Yuan had nine princes in total. The firstborn prince went on an expedition and was killed in battle. The second prince died tragically not long after his birth. The seventh prince accidentally fell into the water and drowned when he was a child. The third prince, who followed in the footsteps of the eldest prince, fought and died on the battlefield just a year ago.
The Third Prince was a steady individual. He once was held captive and was used as a hostage in Wei Country when he was young. Fortunately, he studied in the Ghost Valley and acquired high-level swordsmanship. After being taken back to Great Yuan, he personally took charge of the battle, and a black cavalry led by his subordinates, maneuvered and made use of the cavalry’s mobility and flexibility against the enemy. Defeated the enemy with a force inferior in number and turning over countless desperate situations.
He made great contributions to the Great Yuan and helped sweep the three remaining opposing kingdoms. He won the love of the people and was the most popular candidate for the crown prince position.
Despite the fact that the Third Prince had been battling outside for several years and only returned to the capital once every year. But, Duan Junhao had naturally seen him.
The time when the Third Prince conquered Lu Country, gathered the troops, carried a relegation letter, and galloped back to Great Yuan in the breaking dawn made the deepest impression.
The ten-mile-long street was crowded with people the day the good news arrived. The general was dressed in fresh clothes atop a raging horse and looked spirited. However, everything was not what it seemed on the surface.
Nothing was more gratifying in life than witnessing that scene from that time.
That day, Duan Junhao followed other officials’ son’s and juniors to wait on the pavilions while looking out far into the distance. However, they only saw the Third Prince dismount and stand in the middle of the crowd of people on the street, bowing his head in all directions, apologizing.
Across the distance, only a clear sound of a stone hitting the ground was heard.
“Everyone had handed over each of their family’s strong men for the Great Yuan. I naturally wished to return safely, and also hoped that my men would return safely along my side, but I was not strong enough. Although I returned with a great victory, my subordinates still lost thousands of their brothers… They were all people of Great Yuan, and they only hoped to support their own family. I am truly ashamed and deeply sorry.”
Duan Junhao’s mood was difficult to express. Everyone, from officials down to the common people, was taken aback by what they just witnessed.
In all fairness, the battle against the Lu Country could not have been more exhilarating.
The Third Prince led the Xuan Cavalry. He took advantage of the dark of the night and severed the enemy’s supply lines as fast as lightning. It was said that a single sword was better than a million masters. He even went down to the connecting three towns without costing a single soldier, forcing their opponent to open the city gate and surrender.
It can be said that in those past few years, conquering Lu Country was regarded as the lengthiest fight that Great Yuan had waged with the least amount of loss.
But that was all there was to it. The Third Prince nevertheless still believed he wasn’t doing well enough.
Even if the atmosphere of the Great Yuan was reopened to the world, the core social structure would remain unalterable. There were already princes and generals who were in harmony with the common people, and individuals who cared about the country and the people, but very few had the bravery to recognize their faults in front of the common citizens. Those who openly admitted their flaws in public, the Third Prince might be the only one throughout the Great Wilderness.
(t/n atmosphere-Atmosphere is an intangible manifestation of a place’s cultural connotation, humanistic quality, and various aspects of temperament. Every place has its own characteristics, and the natural atmosphere is different. This is just like every place has its customs, and the customs are different. They may have the same aspect in general, but there are still many differences in subdivisions. This is as the saying goes, “No two leaves in the world are alike.”)
Later, Duan Junhao learned that the Third Prince would open his private treasury every year in order to provide further compensation to the families of soldiers who died and sacrificed in battle.
Duan Junhao knew how much the other side protected his men like calves. It’s no surprise that the Xuan Cavalry became famous in the Great Wilderness and pledged to follow him to the death. He was convinced.
Externally, the Third Prince was unstoppable in his battles with the surrounding countries. Internally, he was kind to people and treated all of his subjects as if they were his own children. During the northern natural disaster a few years back, he volunteered and commanded the army for disaster assistance. He also spends money on relief goods during the annual drought.
Even the literati of the Great Wilderness have changed their attitude about the continent’s royal family, praising the Third Prince of the Great Yuan.
Civil and military qualities, gentle breeze and bright moon, truly having a gentleman’s atmosphere.
(t/n Bright moon and gentle breeze- a poetic way of describing a leisurely life beyond/above the buzz and dust of the material world/regular day-to-day concerns.)
The tragedy happened during the battle at Hangu Pass a year ago.
Hangu Pass had only 50,000 permanent troops. Because the forces were insufficient at the time, the Great Yuan deployed reinforcements.
However, multiple countries unexpectedly joined forces to strike while the Great Yuan was deploying troops. It was a surprise attack, and they struck like lightning. A massive army of 500,000 troops gathered and assaulted the Great Yuan.
If the siege at Hangu Pass fails, the Great Yuan Capital will be next. The capital was only guarded with 100,000 men, not to mention that they can’t all be mobilized instantly, and even if they were all mobilized, 100,000 vs 500,000 was impossible to fathom.
Just at the most critical moment, The Third Prince, who had received the news, arrived with 3 ,000 black cavalry, like a god of war descending. They split it into three teams, and charged into the opposing camp’s weakest spot, catching the enemy off guard. He also deployed his disciples and advisors, who’d been recruited by his subordinates, to use lobby and solicitation to undermine the policy of unifying all countries.
Duan Junhao was not yet appointed commander at that time, but he was highly impressed. Because the previous commander was his father, his filial piety compelled him to step forward and lead some of the guards out to the Pass to fight, nearly dying before the Third Prince.
What no one anticipated was for the 500,000 army to be torn apart with this 3,000 cavalry and flee in terror. However, the cavalry also suffered a heavy price. The cavalry was nearly completely wiped out because of the unavailability of backup for a long time, and the Third Prince’s whereabouts also became unknown.
Following the retreat of the enemy, Emperor Yuan directed the troops to meticulously scrutinize every corpse on the battleground. Yet not even a scrap of the Third Prince’s clothing could be located, let alone his traces.
In grief, Emperor Yuan issued a decree to posthumously confer him the title of crown prince, set up memorial tablets in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and a burial ground.
People of Great Yuan mourned deeply. Those who went to the Ancestral Temple to offer incense and grieved lasted for several months. They raised orchids from door to door and placed them on the street during the festival because they knew the Third Prince liked them. The flowerpots stretched for tens of miles and the fragrance lasted for a long time.
Afterwards, a great number of people recalled that the Great Witch had predicted the emergence of 9 constellations in a sequence linked like a string of beads before the great war at Hangu Pass. That night, as the world slept, everyone dreamt one by one, as if floating in Huangling dream.
(t/n Huangling dream-illusions of wealth and glory; pipe dream)
Black clouds blanketed the country in the dream, with thunder streaks resembling coiling dragons surging just above sky.
A white-clad general riding a horse approached from a distance. He was surrounded by smoke, flames, sand, and halberds. Blood dyed his white robes red. Looking around, all the black cavalry behind him had fallen, some staggered and slipped off their horses one by one.
The Third Prince collapsed to the ground, and suddenly laughed facing the sky. He picked up his sword and placed it across his neck.
Torrential rain poured in an instant. His black hair was completely scattered, his eyes were unfathomable, and his appearance was like frost.
All who dreamed fell into a trance. They witnessed him wielding a long sword, guarded the border, came out from the Hangu Pass and stumbled under the city gate.
When Duan Junhao awoke from his dream, he couldn’t tell the difference between Zhuang Zhou’s dream of a butterfly or a butterfly dreamed of Zhuang Zhou. After word spread that the Third Prince had died at Hangu Pass, the common people brought up the strange dream one after the other, claiming that it was because of Heaven’s compassion that he allowed an immortal to visit in one’s dream to make a request.
(t/n Zhuang Zhou’s dream of a butterfly or a butterfly dreamed of Zhuang Zhou-This idiom means that I don’t know if it was Zhuang Zhou who dreamed and became a butterfly, or whether the butterfly dreamed and became Zhuang Zhou. Later, it refers to a wonderful dream, or a metaphor for the fickleness of life.)
Legend has it that immortals who have gone down to earth to experience calamities, should naturally return to the heavens after protecting the common people.
………..
Since then, the Third Prince’s sword, Qixing Longyuan, had likewise followed the owner to his death, and its current whereabouts remained unknown.
But now, it has reappeared in front of the Great Yuan Capital.
It appeared……. in the hands of a blind swordsman.
Duan Junhao was about to come forward to clarify his doubts, when he looked up and accidentally saw the face of the swordsman in white, which made him almost fall to his knees.
Even if there were a few more layers of cloth on his eyes, Duan Junhao would never forget his outstanding face, his noble and graceful temperament.
Duan Junhao was immediately drenched in sweat. He quickly clasped his fists with the other and knelt, saying-
“This general welcomes His Highness the Third Prince back!”
