A Lonesome Fragrance Waiting to be Appreciated 1

60

She wanted to sigh but choked the urge away. Main advisors shouldn't sigh. She considered herself a bad one because of that.

Under the moon, everything became clear. Ze Yin regretted his impoliteness that saddened Pingting. He coughed and then changed the subject. "There is something else I must know. Is there a cure to the poison?"

Pingting shrugged. "That's another reason why I'm sure Chu Beijie would use the wasps. Even if the wasps' poison enters the blood stream, the person can die, but if he or she first drinks a mixture of herbs that neutralises the Sanhua tree sap, they will be resistant to the poison. In the past, according to this book, those who entered the forests always drank this mixture beforehand. If all the Dong Lin soldiers drink this mixture, they won't have to worry about getting stung."

"Really?" Ze Yin furrowed his brow even further and stroked his beard thoughtfully.
"If the Dong Lin army released the poisonous wasps during the fight, our soldiers would try to run away from the wasps therefore they won't defend properly. Those who continue to defend will be stung."

At this time of unease, the General's personal assistant returned. He was edgy as he came into the room, calling out. "General, the Sanhua trees on the East and West sides have been cut!"

Ze Yin turned towards him, and in a loud voice, he demanded, "How on Earth did those trees get cut down without us noticing?"

His personal assistant shook his head in confusion, but he knew that the current situation wasn't good. "The forests on the East and West side are from the city walls. When General told us to defend from the walls with full power, the troops stationed there had retreated. Dong Lin must have been going there since then, secretly cutting down those trees and happily leaving afterwards so we didn't realise anything."

Pingting interrupted, "Did you take inventory of how many trees were cut down? How long would it have taken them?"

"The stumps have begun to dry so it must have been yesterday."

Ze Yin and Pingting exchanged a look that said, "As expected". Grinding his teeth, he commanded, "Pass on this command: prepare a huge pan for making medicine and take some of the best soldiers to cut down all of the remaining Sanhua trees."

"Wait!" Pingting held out a hand and hurriedly explained, "It's likely that Chu Beijie has some troops stationed nearby, waiting for us to fall for some trap near those trees, not to mention that there's not enough time to make the medicine even if enough trees can be cut down. General, it's nearly morning." She pointed at the window that displayed grey skies.

"Chu Beijie might have not guessed that we know of his poisonous wasp plan. He might not have collected enough wasps anyway." Ze Yin stared at the sky and lowered his voice, "As long as he doesn't plan to attack today, we would not have to prepare too much to win the war."

Pingting sighed. "Chu Beijie would never make such a risky mistake. A day and a half is enough to cut down enough trees, make arrows with the sap, and concoct the resistant medicine. The Sanhua trees were cut yesterday. He'll definitely attack today."

Ze Yin shook violently at this, his eyes widened. It seemed like ages before words formed in his mouth. "Then, what should we do?"

Pingting didn't immediately reply. She instead opened the half-opened window. She closed her eyes and slowly breathed in the fresh morning air. It was almost as if she wanted the oxygen to circulate once through her tired body before she casually opened her eyes again.

In a commanding tone, she said, "No need to worry General. Ever since leaving Bei Yali, I've always known that there'd be a day like this. No one who has gone against Chu Beijie has had a successful outcome before, unless he pretended to be weak."

Thinking back to Gui Le's 'victory' that year made her chest ached. Pingting couldn't help but stare into the distance for a little longer. Finally, she swung back around chuckled, "Pingting would be delighted to know if there is still a playable qin with all strings still attached."

"A qin?"

"Yes. I plan to play somewhere up high where Chu Beijie can hear me play."

Ze Yin's expression instantly changed at this. He shook his head vigorously. "I know that My Lady has an unusual relationship with Chu Beijie, but this concerns two armies – it's serious. My Lady would be easily seen from all directions from a high building. You will be open to his arrows, not to mention the poisonous wasps. His super accurate shots are certainly no lie."

"I'm the main advisor. If General disobeys, I'll have to force you to agree." Pingting lifted the symbol of her authority. She grinned playfully but stopped when she noticed Ze Yin's solemn expression. "General was asked by Yangfeng to look after Pingting. Why fret? If Chu Beijie is willing to shoot Pingting, maybe, it'd mean the release that promises freedom." When she finished, she strode out of the room.

In the Dong Lin army, the soldiers had long been awake. Everyone was taking turns to drink a medicine that didn't taste too good from a huge pan. The troops stood in an orderly fashion, swords in their hands.

Several dozen lumpy, leather bags were distributed out to the other soldiers by Chu Beijie's personal assistants. The buzzing sound never stopped. A separate troop was tightly wrapped in clothing, having just completed the task of making arrows from the branches of full Sanhua tree sap. Their next task was to shoot these arrows towards Kanbu in order to attract the wasps and strengthen their poison.

It was likely that there were traces of the luring Sanhua tree sap on the soldiers, and although they had a share of the medicine, being stung is still painful thus they decided to wrap themselves up in clothing. They covered as much of their hands, feet, and face as they could.

Chu Beijie and Moran stood outside, waiting for the other generals to finish their check up and confirming for zero errors before going back up to the command platform.

"When my soldiers attack the city, where will she be?" Chu Beijie asked, frowning once he was on the platform.

Only Moran understood among the crowd what Chu Beijie was thinking. He knew that the Duke was troubled. The best thing for Moran though was to pretend not to know and stand with the others, waiting for Chu Beijie's next command.

After a long pause, the crowd still heard no command from Chu Beijie and began to exchange confused glances with each other. No one dared to interrupt Chu Beijie's thinking; they all just glared at Moran.

As second in command, Moran pretended to be thick-headed and called, "Duke, it's about time."

"Good," Chu Beijie lifted his head from his daze and returned the gazes of his trusted commanders. He calmly smiled and said, "It's been a while since I felt such anticipation, but today is an exception. Maybe this attack on Kanbu will be a lot more interesting than I predicted. Maybe it'll be the end or perhaps a new beginning. Everything... depends on whether their new advisor is worthy enough for me to go all out against." Eyes flashing, he shouted, "Let's go!"

Everyone shouted "Yes!" as his command rippled through the crowd, lifting everyone's fighting spirit.

The mighty Dong Lin army, after a brief truce, under the influence of the powerful Duke of Zhen-Bei, has finally begun its attack against Kanbu.

The war drums rumbled against the ground.

The Dong Lin army was already stationed at the foot of Kanbu in orderly rows. The colour of blood seemed to be reflected in their eyes as their weapons flashed. They were ready to kill – just waiting for their commander.

With the command flag in the air and the sound of the whistle, the mighty army parted for their commander to pass through.

Pingting observed through squinted eyes, somewhere in a tall building.