Firmament Sword

”What? This... How is this possible? No, I don’t believe it! This is absolutely impossible!” Wei Ziting paced around the room, utterly distraught, staring at the person before him in shocked disbelief.

”Young Master Wei, the battle report has probably almost reached the Imperial Capital by now...” the man said softly, his head bowed.

Li Tie and Wei Ziting’s other confidants all sat there, stunned into silence, their minds nearly ceasing to function.

’It’s over... It’s really over this time.’ Li Tie sat there with a vacant stare, his lips trembling. The movement pulled at his facial muscles, and his tanned face was now a ghastly white.

They had falsely accused Xu Luo!

Everyone present had signed the accusation!

Li Tie, especially, wanting to claim a larger share of the credit, had specifically emphasized that he was the first to discover Xu Luo among the Cao Army.

Wei Ziting had his father to protect him. As long as he could scrounge up some military merit elsewhere, he would be fine. But as for them...

A bitter smile appeared on Li Tie’s face, and a flash of venomous resentment crossed his eyes.

’Xu Luo, it’s always Xu Luo! Ever since I met you, nothing has gone right for me! I abandoned my faith, sold my dignity, gave up my ideals to follow Young Master Wei, and this is all I get for it... Xu Luo... I swear we cannot live under the same sky!’ Li Tie roared furiously in his heart.

The others also looked utterly resentful. They had never imagined that Xu Luo’s appearance within the Cao Army was not a sign of secret collusion, but instead the prelude to him achieving a monumental military feat!

How could they possibly swallow this bitter pill? How could they ever accept this outcome?

But even if they couldn’t accept it, what could they do?

Xu Luo was already the Seven-Colored Marquis, and now he had earned such great merit. In the entire Cangqiong Kingdom, who would dare cause trouble for him at a time like this?

Even His Majesty the Emperor would probably have a headache figuring out how to properly reward Xu Luo!

...

”General, could you... not include my contributions? Could you... distribute the merit that would have been mine among the other members of the Martial Soul Squad? Would that be possible?”

Just as Yuwen Shentong was preparing to write his memorial to the throne detailing the battle and requesting rewards for his men, Xu Luo sought an audience and said something that took the general by surprise.

Yuwen Shentong first looked at Xu Luo thoughtfully for a long moment before saying with a faint, unreadable smile, ”Kid, trying to buy people’s loyalty like this... Isn’t it a bit much?”

Xu Luo gave a wry smile. ”General, there’s no need to tease me. It’s not like I need to buy anyone’s loyalty, right? If you report my military contributions truthfully, I’m afraid it will put His Majesty in a difficult position. And when that happens, won’t His Majesty blame you for being insensible?”

”Hah? You little brat, you even dare to talk back to me!” Yuwen Shentong’s eyes widened, but when he saw Xu Luo standing there with a docile, obedient expression, he couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation.

”No wonder Li Hong and the others are all willing to follow your lead. No wonder your two sworn brothers recognize you as the core of the group. Kid, are you really only seventeen this year?”

Yuwen Shentong looked at Xu Luo and sighed. ”When I was your age, all I wanted was to have countless achievements piled on me. I wanted my halo to shine so brightly it would blind others. But you... you’re desperately trying to hide your own brilliance and bide your time...”

Xu Luo scratched his head. ”The Xu Family is already shining too brightly. To be honest, I almost wish I could stir up some trouble right now and have His Majesty strip me of my Seven-Colored Marquis title...”

”...” Yuwen Shentong stared speechlessly at Xu Luo. After a long moment, he cursed with a laugh, ”You monstrously clever little brat. Fine, I know what to write now. Get out!”

Xu Luo chuckled, heading back completely satisfied.

’Victorious but not arrogant; successful at a young age but not reckless; knows when to advance and retreat; understands the bigger picture! And on top of all that, he has immense power...’ Sitting in his chair, Yuwen Shentong muttered to himself with an envious expression, ”General Xu... you really raised a fine son!”

...

”Your Majesty, here is the battle report and list of recommended rewards submitted by General Yuwen. Um, there’s also...”

”Also what?” Huangfu Haoran asked lightly, leaning back in his chair.

”Also, a letter of apology from Young Master Wei Ziting of Prime Minister Wei’s Family...” the attendant said in a low voice.

”An apology? Bring it here, I’ll look at it first,” Huangfu Haoran said, his face expressionless.

After opening the sincerely worded letter and glancing at it, Huangfu Haoran set it aside and waved his hand, dismissing the attendant.

”Prime Minister Wei, oh, Prime Minister Wei, it seems you haven’t gone senile just yet...” Huangfu Haoran mused, then opened the battle report from Yuwen Shentong.

News of the great victory had already reached the Imperial Capital long ago, and its people had been celebrating for days.

The Emperor’s initial excitement had faded, and he had grown much calmer. But as he looked at the battle report written in Yuwen Shentong’s own hand, a trace of excitement still couldn’t help but appear on Huangfu Haoran’s face.

”We wish We could have brandished a sword and joined this battle in person!”

With that, he picked up the list of recommended rewards. Opening it, he was slightly stunned. The person listed with the highest merit was not Xu Luo!

Instead, it was Little Fatty Liu Feng, who was known in the Imperial Capital by the nickname ”Flower Fool”!

Following him were his eldest son, Huangfu Chongzhi, then Li Hong, Xu Jie, and the other members of the Martial Soul Squad.

Huangfu Haoran searched the list for a long time but simply could not find Xu Luo’s name anywhere!

”What... What kind of game is this?” Huangfu Haoran’s brows furrowed slightly as he murmured, ”Yuwen, oh, Yuwen... Could it be that you, like Prime Minister Wei, have taken a disliking to the Xu Family? That doesn’t seem like you at all!”

Then, Huangfu Haoran noticed a letter tucked beneath the list of rewards. It was a private message from Yuwen Shentong.

It had been sent along with the battle report and the reward list.

Normally, the contents of such private letters were nothing more than boilerplate phrases, professing loyalty to the Emperor and vowing eternal fealty.

Huangfu Haoran usually had little interest in reading such letters, but Yuwen Shentong had almost never written a private message to him as Emperor before.

This letter piqued Huangfu Haoran’s interest.

After opening and reading it, Huangfu Haoran fell into contemplation. ”So that’s how it is...” he said softly. ”Xu Luo, you little rascal. To understand the principle of hiding one’s brilliance at such a young age is truly commendable!”

A mischievous smile touched Huangfu Haoran’s lips. ’Hmph. It’s true that We didn’t like you before. But now you’ve achieved such a great feat, yet you want to give all the credit away... Is We the kind of muddle-headed ruler who fails to reward merit? Trying to tarnish Our brilliant reputation... No way!’

With that, Huangfu Haoran’s voice deepened. ”Attendants, prepare a decree!”

...

”The Seven-Colored Marquis, Xu Luo, has performed great service in the Battle of the Endless Forest Sea... By special decree, the Seven-Colored Marquis, Xu Luo, is hereby appointed Seven-Colored Mighty General, granted the attire of Senior Third Grade, and bestowed a fief...”

...

Xu Luo stared, dumbstruck, at the official who had come to announce the decree. Then, he turned to the expressionless Yuwen Shentong beside him, his face a picture of annoyance. ”General Yuwen, what is the meaning of this?”

The corner of Yuwen Shentong’s mouth twitched. He rolled his eyes and ignored Xu Luo, thinking, ’You’re asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? I’m the one who feels wronged here! Because of you, kid, I got a royal chewing out from His Majesty... He said I was concealing the facts!’

The official announcing the decree smiled at Xu Luo. ”Seven-Colored Mighty Grand General, will you not receive the decree and give thanks for the grace?”

’Tsk, just like that, I’m a Senior Third Grade high official of the court... My own father, Xu Ji, with his illustrious military record and heaven-shaking reputation, his actual official post... is only Junior First Grade!’ A complex mix of emotions, not knowing whether to be happy or worried, washed over Xu Luo as he blankly accepted the Holy Decree.

He was immediately surrounded by his brothers, who congratulated him wildly.

The other members of the Martial Soul Squad also received their own rewards, all of them quite generous. Even the shy and bashful young man, Xu Lingtian, was directly ennobled as a County Lord.

If one wanted to become a noble, earning military merit on the battlefield was truly the best way.

What followed was a wild celebration among the brothers, with everyone drinking until they were dead drunk.

This time, Yuwen Shentong, who was usually a stickler for strict discipline, simply pretended not to see. He himself was leading a group of his officers in a round of enthusiastic drinking.

For this great victory, Yuwen Shentong’s entire legion had received lavish rewards.

After all, this was the Cangqiong Kingdom’s first truly resounding victory since the failure of the Star Festival and the falling of the seven stars!

No matter how one looked at it, it was impossible for the Emperor not to reward them heavily.

”A general is a general, I guess... but ’Seven-Colored’... Boss, why do I get the feeling His Majesty is deliberately messing with you?” Little Fatty Liu Feng’s tongue was thick with drink. He leaned against Sui Yan, his eyes glazed over.

”Don’t talk nonsense. You dare to gossip about His Majesty? You don’t want your noble title anymore?” Xu Jie said, flicking the Little Fatty on the forehead.

”OW, that hurts! I’m a real, titled noble now, you know? I have to maintain my noble Fengyi!” the Little Fatty said, pretending to straighten his hair and putting on a haughty look.

He continued, ”What if you flicked me into stupidity? Sigh... Boss, brothers, I miss Lan Xin. What do I do? I want to see her right now, I want to tell her... Master Fatty has earned merit... Hehehe.”

The Little Fatty was truly drunk. When sober, he would never admit to liking Lan Xin if someone brought it up.

”Just wait until we’ve driven out Yan the Traitor, then you can go back and marry her! If she refuses then, us brothers will go to her house, tie her up, and drag her back for you, haha!” Liang Ziyi slurred.

”Yeah, if she doesn’t agree, we’ll just fucking snatch her! This Lord... is a noble now, too...” a drunk Xiahou Xian chuckled, his usual cold demeanor, born from a mind obsessed with the Martial Dao, nowhere to be seen.

Huangfu Chongzhi watched his brothers’ raucous antics with a gentle smile, slowly sipping the wine in his cup.

Just then, Xu Luo suddenly leaned in beside him. Though his face was flushed with drink, his eyes were perfectly clear.

”Big Brother, what are you thinking about?” Xu Luo asked with a soft chuckle.

”Heh, I was just thinking about how strange fate is. I never expected a day would come when I would be granted a noble title.” Huangfu Chongzhi gave a self-deprecating smile. ”I imagine my other brothers will be quite surprised, don’t you think?”

Huangfu Chongzhi’s name was high on the list of rewards this time; he had been ennobled as a County Lord and granted a fief.

Although he was born into the Royal Family and called a Prince, there were plenty of princes who were so in name only. If one was unlucky enough to have someone who disliked them ascend the throne, it wasn’t impossible to spend one’s entire life impoverished and destitute.

But now he had a noble title, one that could be passed down to his descendants!

He also had a fief, which at least guaranteed he would have no financial worries in the future.

These were extravagant hopes Huangfu Chongzhi had never dared to entertain, yet now they had been achieved with no effort on his part. How could he not be filled with emotion?

Xu Luo smiled and said, ”This is only the beginning. I believe that in the future, things will only get better and better for all of us!”