Flower Stealing Master

Noticing the movement among the Qing cavalry, the people at the foot of the mountain couldn’t help but become restless. 

Song Qingshu surveyed the surroundings and saw that the tents, grain, and supplies had all been set ablaze by the Heaven and Earth Society and the Prince Mu Mansion. Even from a distance, one could feel the intense heat.

The Qing troops on the mountain also noticed this change. 

A deputy general beside Sa Bu Su exclaimed, “Are they planning to use fire to stop us?”

Sa Bu Su was equally puzzled. After observing for a while, he couldn’t help but laugh. “I thought the Golden Serpent Camp was capable of defeating the Eastern and Western Route Armies, and that their commander had some skill. But it turns out, in his panic, he’s made such a blunder. He thinks he can use fire to stop our cavalry? Haha, as the fire spreads, it looks like the soldiers of the Golden Serpent Camp will burn to death before we even have to lift a finger. Pass the order: everyone hold your ground. Without my command, no one is to charge down the mountain.”

The surrounding officers burst into laughter, mocking the rebel commander at the foot of the mountain. Having received the order, all the cavalrymen leisurely stayed in place, waiting for the fools of the Golden Serpent Camp to burn themselves to death.

“Young Master Song, what should we do now? It won’t be long before everyone suffocates to death,” Huang Rong, though resourceful, was at a loss in this situation. Her only hope was that Song Qingshu had a plan. Although she had racked her brain, she couldn’t think of any way to turn the tide, yet she still harbored a faint hope in her heart.

Huang Rong’s face was already as radiant as a peach blossom, and under the glow of the surrounding flames, she looked even more stunning. Song Qingshu couldn’t help but stare in a daze.

Noticing his gaze, Huang Rong’s heart fluttered, and she couldn’t help but cough lightly to remind him.

Song Qingshu finally snapped back to reality and secretly laughed at himself. At a time like this, he still had the mind to admire a beauty. Could this be the legendary demeanor of a man of letters, the elegance of the Wei and Jin dynasties?

At this moment, the others also gathered around, looking at him with anticipation.

“Don’t worry, leave it to me,” Song Qingshu gave them a confident smile and then instructed, “Make sure to keep your subordinates under control. When you see me make this gesture, retreat. When you see me make this gesture, charge back. Got it?”

Everyone was baffled, not knowing what he intended to do. Song Qingshu didn’t explain. His figure flickered as he climbed a nearby watchtower.

Not only were the people of the Golden Serpent Camp curious, but even the Qing soldiers on the mountain were also watching him closely to see what he was planning to do.

Song Qingshu took a deep breath, looked up at the sky, and muttered something under his breath. Unfortunately, he was too far away for anyone to hear what he was saying.

After a moment, a flash of light appeared in his eyes, and he slowly raised his hands. A deep voice echoed through the mountain and valley, reaching everyone’s ears: “Wind, arise!”

Everyone was stunned. So, after all this time, Song Qingshu was imitating those charlatans performing rituals?

A trace of disappointment flashed in Huang Rong’s eyes. She recalled how, back when the Jin soldiers besieged Bianliang, the emperor of the Northern Song had no other recourse but to place his hopes on some celestial master, setting up an altar and invoking heavenly soldiers to descend and help them.

Everyone knew how that turned out—the humiliation of Jingkang led to the entire royal family being captured, the emperor being taken north, and countless consorts and princesses being defiled…

Unexpectedly, Song Qingshu was now resorting to the same desperate measure. Huang Rong didn’t know why, but she felt deeply disappointed.

The Qing soldiers on the mountain also heard Song Qingshu’s words. After a brief silence, they burst into uproarious laughter:

“Is this man insane?”

“Does he think he’s a deity? Does he think the wind will rise just because he says so?”

“Exactly. And even if the wind did rise, what good would it do in this situation?”

“The Eastern and Western Route Armies must be a bunch of idiots to lose to someone like him.”

…

The soldiers of the Golden Serpent Camp were also silent. If it weren’t for Song Qingshu’s previous miraculous deeds, these rough-and-tumble men might have already started cursing.

Zhou Zhiruo and Ah Jiu exchanged worried glances.

“Sister Zhou, you’ve been with Brother Song the longest. Do you know what he’s doing?” Ah Jiu couldn’t help but ask.

‘I’ve been with him for a long time, but it’s only in the past few months that we’ve truly connected. I might not even know him as well as you do…’

Of course, Zhou Zhiruo wouldn’t say this to Ah Jiu. She could only shake her head. “I don’t know either.”

“No need to worry. Young Master Song has always been unpredictable. If he’s doing this, he must have his reasons,” Yelü Nanxian, who had just returned from the battlefield, couldn’t help but comfort the two women when she saw their anxious expressions.

Ah Jiu smiled. “It seems we don’t understand Brother Song as well as Miss Yelü does.”

Yelü Nanxian’s breath caught, and she quickly said, “It’s just that you’re too worried.”

“Wind, arise!”

Song Qingshu’s powerful voice once again echoed through the valley, but the intense heat from the flames made the place unbearably hot, with no sign of any wind.

Hearing the mocking laughter from the Qing soldiers on the mountain, the morale of the Golden Serpent Camp plummeted even further.

“Wind, arise!”

Song Qingshu’s voice rang out once more, this time even louder than before, startling the Qing soldiers on the mountain.

“There really is a wind!”

Just as the Golden Serpent Camp’s morale hit rock bottom, someone shouted, and everyone’s spirits were suddenly lifted. They all looked around.

“There really is a wind!”

Zhou Zhiruo, uncharacteristically excited, grabbed Ah Jiu’s arm and jumped up. 

Ah Jiu was similarly affected, biting her lip and nodding furiously, momentarily rendered speechless.

Zhou Zhiruo suddenly realized that among all the people here, although she had many close relationships, at this moment of life and death, only Ah Jiu shared the same heart as her. Thinking back on their occasional jealousy and rivalry, Zhou Zhiruo suddenly felt a moment of clarity.

‘Hmph, for now, we should unite against the external threat. But once the crisis is over, I’ll still have to compete for what I want.’ 

Zhou Zhiruo quickly sorted out her thoughts.

Meanwhile, Huang Rong wasn’t preoccupied with such thoughts. She was simply astonished that Song Qingshu had actually managed to summon the wind!

Although it was just a gentle breeze for now, and she didn’t know how it would affect the upcoming battle, the fact that Song Qingshu could summon the wind at all was undeniable. Throughout history, there had been only one Zhuge Liang who was said to have borrowed the east wind, and that was just a legend. No one had ever truly been able to call the wind like Song Qingshu had just done.

Was he a deity or a demon?

Huang Rong was in a daze.

Meanwhile, Situ Bolei and the others noticed the secret signal from Song Qingshu and hurriedly organized their troops to retreat from the valley.

Seeing the Golden Serpent Camp finally moving, Sa Bu Su’s gaze darkened, and he said in a deep voice, “Pass the order. Prepare the entire army for a charge.”

“The fire in the valley is raging. Charging down will undoubtedly result in heavy casualties,” a deputy general said.

Sa Bu Su snorted coldly, “If we let the Golden Serpent Camp retreat calmly, all our efforts will have been in vain.”

“But now the wind has really risen. Could that man actually possess some supernatural powers?” another deputy general asked timidly.

Sa Bu Su gave him a cold look. “If you continue to spread such nonsense, don’t blame me for punishing you according to military law.”

“Yes!” The deputy general, intimidated by Sa Bu Su’s sharp gaze, couldn’t help but shiver and immediately fell silent.

Glancing at the man on the watchtower at the foot of the mountain, Sa Bu Su sneered, “So what if the wind has risen? What use can this little breeze be? Pass the order: the entire army, charge!”

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HELP: 

During the recent unrest in the country I am from, our family hardware store was broken into and looted by thugs. I don’t know why they did it, since my family has always been minding our own business, without bothering anyone else. I’m guessing some people are taking advantage of the current lawless and chaotic state of the country. 

Anyways, the incident now leaves me as the only earning member of my family. Long time readers know that I was already dealing with a mountain of trouble (that I inherited from my father), and was already struggling. I had created a plan of action, and was steadily moving forward. But this incident destroyed whatever plans I had, again. I don’t know why bad things keep happening to me again and again. I might as well be cursed or something.

So here I am, after much hesitation, once again asking for your support. If you are reading this, please help if you are able to, I repeat, help only if you are able to. I am not asking something for free, you can become a Patron at Patreon to gain access to more chapters, or sponsor as many chapters you can from any of the novels you enjoy on Goblinslate here at BuymeaCoffee. Or if you just want to help, you can donate any amount at the Wishlist at BuymeaCoffee.

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