Hua Zhu Yu and the Hu Battalion rushed out of the Northern camp. Once they joined the main forces of the Southern Army, she pulled on her reins and turned around to face the Northern Army.

The skies were consumed by dark clouds, letting only small traces of light s.h.i.+ne through the cracks.

In opposition, the black-armored northern soldiers stood in succession. The black flags rimmed with golden yellow beat in the wind. Several generals were riding beside the Northern Emperor Xiao Yin who was in a cold black armor. In his hand he gripped a long spear which exuded a callous s.h.i.+mmer, reflecting off his deep purple eyes.

Hua Zhu Yu glanced over at the carriage. At this position, she could not see the woman clearly but according to what Xiao Yin had said she could guess that the person he had caught was the woman with Ji Feng Li a few days ago- Rong Si.

It turns out Rong Si was actually Ji Feng Li's future bride.

One of her soldiers came forward and whispered, "Commander Bao, should we bring out Miss Wen to carry out an exchange with the Northern Emperor?”

She waved her hand and said, "Let's see how the situation is first." She was curious how Ji Feng Li was going to save his future bride.

"So has Left Chancellor daren thought it through carefully?" Xiao Yin looked straight at Ji Feng Li and coldly asked.

Ji Feng Li urged his horse forward a few steps. The corners of his lips hooked up in a proud smile. "Since she is this Chancellor's woman then she is not one to fear death! But if anyone dares lay a hand on her, you should be careful of the consequences!" He said in a light yet frightening voice.

Xiao Yin laughed in amus.e.m.e.nt and asked, "Consequences? What are the consequences exactly?"

Ji Feng Li was still smiling faintly as he replied, "Nothing; merely the burial of the entire army." He said it so casually that it sounded like a joke but no one on the battlefield dared take his words as mere jesting.

Xiao Yin threw his head back laughing. "Left Chancellor daren truly is imposing. To be able to be acquainted with such a great adversary, this Emperor truly has not lived in vain."

Neither was seemingly angry in this verbal exchange, not willing to lose their poise in front of their armies.

"How about a deal?" Ji Feng Li proposed.

Xiao Yin raised his brow, asking, "Oh? What exactly does Left Chancellor have to offer to deal with this Emperor?"

Ji Feng Li narrowed his eyes and smilingly said, "The offer is to let the Northern Army safely withdraw. In today's fight Northern Emperor should be most clear of the situation. So what if this Chancellor opens the gates of Yangguan for your army? This Chancellor can still recover it in the future, but that would merely inflict more casualties on both sides."

"And if this Emperor doesn't agree?" Xiao Yin asked.

"Well, it's impossible to force you. Just don't expect to safely retreat," Ji Feng Li said indifferently.

Presently, the Northern Army was losing the battle therefore Xiao Yin brought out Rong Si. But to annihilate the Northern Army completely was no easy task. Thus, Xiao Yin did not take Ji Feng Li's words seriously, and neither did Hua Zhu Yu.

Xiao Yin gave a signal to one of the soldiers on the side and the soldier immediately rested his sword upon Rong Si's pale neck. Gazing at Ji Feng Li, Rong Si’s eyes were deep with affection and tinged with despair.

Ji Feng Li's gaze did not waiver. He gripped his reins tightly and said, "It appears Northern Emperor doesn’t believe this Chancellor. If that's the case, Northern Emperor should not regret later on."

Once he spoke, the Southern Army made way and a chariot slowly appeared. Ji Feng Li dismounted and walked over to the chariot. He got up and stood there, his figure tall and upright. His eyes, reflecting the faint traces of sunlight, were cold and unwavering.

He reached for the commanding flag in front of him and waved it. Immediately, the bugle rang, echoing across the battlefield.

Xiao Yin frowned, seeing the Southern Army getting into formation. They shuffled along with the sound of the bugle, moving left and right, blurring his vision. The general who had been standing there quietly by his side, Zhang Xi, suddenly remarked, "Your Majesty, Southern Kingdom is getting into formation for battle!"

Xiao Yin's expression darkened and he coldly questioned, "Do you recognize this formation?"

Zhang Xi carefully observed the formation. Suddenly he said, "This isn't good, we're about to be surrounded."

Hua Zhu Yu knew Ji Feng Li had secretly trained the soldiers but did not think this formation would be so effective. From a glance it looked like the Nine Palace Formation but taking a look again it was slightly different.

Compared to the Southern Army, the Northern Army was relatively smaller by a few thousand men. After the battle, the disparity was even greater. However, relying on Northern Army's brute force, even if they lost the battle, they would not be completely annihilated. Now that the battle formation had initiated, the tens and thousands of troops were entrapped in the formation.

Hua Zhu Yu turned around to look at Ji Feng Li raising his hand, directing the flag. His movements were neither urgent nor slow. Such graceful movements seemed to be able to control everything between heaven and earth with a mere stroke of his hand.

"Has Northern Emperor reconsidered the previous deal?" Ji Feng Li asked.

"Zhang Xi, don't you specialize in battle formations? Can you see through it?" Xiao Yin asked.

Zhang Xi replied, "From a glance it appears to be the Nine Palace Formation but it's slightly different and way more powerful. I fear it will be difficult for our army to retreat safely. Your Majesty, it is better to reconsider Ji Feng Li's deal. If we don't let this woman go, he will never let us out. If he keeps besieging us, our troops will suffer more casualties."

"We'll bring this woman and break out of the formation. This Emperor doesn't believe it cannot be broken," Xiao Yin coldly remarked with haughtiness. He raised his voice and shouted, "There's no deal!" and immediately led the army to break through the formation.

"Your Majesty!" Da Qi urged his horse to ride beside Xiao Yin. Raising his voice he said, "Such a beautiful woman! Your Majesty should bestow her to this General. This General shall take good care of her in Left Chancellor's place." Da Qi deliberately employed his internal force so that everyone could hear him clearly.

translations at peachblossomgrove . com

"Yeah, ha ha ha…" the Northern soldiers agreed and erupted in laughter.

Xiao Yin's brows slightly knitted but he did not reply, merely staring straight at Ji Feng Li.

Ji Feng Li was standing there alone on the chariot, his expression ice cold.

Hearing such words, Hua Zhu Yu's heart gave way to an inexplicable sadness. She tightly gripped the reins but suddenly a ripping sound erupted. It seems Da Qi had torn off a piece of the woman's clothes.

Ji Feng Li narrowed his eyes which flashed with a trace of pain. The hand clutching the commanding flag slowly loosened.

"Wait!" a clear voice sounded.

Hua zhu yu urged her horse to the front of the two armies. With a lazy smile she said, "You can't touch her!"

Ji Feng Li and Xiao Yin both turned to look at her with surprise.

"You?" Xiao Yin gave a cold humph. "And why can't I?"

This face used to be so familiar to Hua Zhu Yu but at this moment it felt so foreign and distant. She replied, " Because you may wish to see someone." She signaled one of her soldiers to escorted Wen Wan forward.

"Northern Emperor has such deep affection with Miss Wen. Would you let her suffer the same humiliation?" Hua Zhu Yu asked. "Why don't we carry out an exchange? What do you say?"

Xiao Yin's eyes slowly landed on Wen Wan. After a moment, he suddenly chuckled. "And here I thought it was something else. This woman's originally from your Southern Kingdom. If you want to take her back then just take her. If you want to kill her, that's up to you, no need to notify me. Moreover, I hear she deeply admires Left Chancellor daren and he also has feelings for her as well. Would you actually dare make a move against her?"

"Using your own people to threaten us! You can even think of such a plan, ahahah…" Da Qi laughed wildly, along with the Northern Army.

Hua Zhu Yu frowned. Xiao Yin was appearing as though Wen Wan meant nothing to him but she had personally witnessed how much he sheltered and cherished her that night in Northern Kingdom. Thus Hua Zhu Yu was not fooled by his words.

The soldier had brought Wen Wan forward and Hua Zhu Yu pointed her spear straight at her chest. Coldly she remarked, "If Northern Emperor doesn't care, then there's no need to drag this on any longer." Once she spoke, her spear stabbed into Wen Wan's chest, drawing fresh red blood.

Xiao Yin coldly gazed at Hua Zhu Yu. She removed the cloth from Wen Wan's mouth and coldly said, "Miss Wen, why don't you call for help?"

Wen Wan let out a hoa.r.s.e cry. "Don't kill me!" she exclaimed in a fragile tone.

"If someone is willing to save you, of course I won't kill you!" Hua Zhu Yu grabbed Wen Wan's hair and jerked it back, causing her to cry out in agony.

"Louder!" Hua Zhu Yu coldly ordered. The more screaming the better. It was clear that Xiao Yin was moved.

"Save me, Lord Chancellor save me!" Wen Wan cried out with all her might.

Hearing her cries, Hua Zhu Yu quickly stuffed her mouth with the cloth.

"Northern Emperor should look clearly. My spear is stabbing deeper. Could it be so deep that she's starting to speak the truths of her heart?" Hua Zhu Yu looked at Xiao Yin and asked with a seeming smile.

Looking at the spear in Hua Zhu Yu’s hand, Xiao Yin estimated the length and knew that if this continues…..

Xiao Yin's breath suddenly quickened but his expression remained cold and stern.

Hua Zhu Yu calmly gazed at Xiao Yin. In fact, before she stabbed Wen Wan she had already smashed the tip of her spear. Using this little trick she could make it appear as though the wound was deeper than it truly was. That if she stabbed a bit farther it would appear to pierce through the heart. She had no intentions of killing Wen Wan but no one would know this. They could only see that the tip of the spear was stabbed half-way through with blood spilt. Whoever saw this scene would think that Hua Zhu Yu was about to kill Wen Wan at any moment.

"If Northern Emperor is willing to let her go, then I won't dawdle," Hua Zhu Yu slowly said and raised her arm as though to stab further.

But at this moment, Xiao Yin coldly shouted, "Wait, this Emperor…."

At the same time, Hua Zhu Yu wrist trembled as thought she was. .h.i.t with something. The spear in her hand fell in concert.

Seeing this situation, the words that were on the tips of Xiao Yin’s tongue were replaced by laughter. He turned around and looked at Ji Feng Li standing on the chariot.

Angered, Hua Zhu Yu turned around to glare at Ji Feng Li, vaguely seeing his sleeves slightly raised and fluttering.

It turns out he was reluctant to part with both Wen Wan and Rong Si!

At this moment she knew she no longer had the upper hand.

Wen Wan was no longer their bargaining chip. Xiao Yin knew Ji Feng Li wasn't going to let Wen Wan die so there was no way to use Wen Wan to exchange Rong Si.

Perhaps Ji Feng Li didn't want to exchange Wen Wan. In any case, he had affection for Wen Wan as well. If not, why would he sacrifice her for this woman in the past? Even if this woman followed Xiao Yin, even if she betrayed Southern Kingdom, he was not willing to let her die.

Hey Everyone!! Sorry for the slow releases lately! I didn’t really get to proof-read this chapter much so let me know if there are any mistakes!

On a side note, is anyone watching ‘The Legends”?? It’s based off the novel “The Ostentatious Zhao Yao” and its super cute!! It’s my favorite chinese drama this year. I’ve started watching a couple dramas this year like Story of Minglan, I will Never Let You Go, The Legend of Hao Lan, and Empress Dugu. They start off good but then tend to drag and I’ve been quite disappointed so I didn’t finish any of these. But The Legends has been really good so far! Hopefully it keeps up with this pace. It even made me start reading the novel too!! Which is super cute and romantic. The ML just showers the FL with love which is like the complete opposite of World of Hidden Phoenix. It’s so cute that it even made me want to start translating the novel! Also Xu Kai is in this drama and he is sooo fineeee. I totally fell in love with him after Story of Yan Xi Palace (a really good drama if you haven’t already seen it!) . Wow this turned out to be a really long rant but I tend to get excited when talking about dramas, I could go on for hours lol. Anyways, Have a great weekend everyone!!