There is a song that goes—
“Taken are our Qilian Mountains, leaving our livestock nowhere to thrive.
Lost are our Yanzhi Mountains, leaving our brides without their bloom!”
On the grasslands of Monan, the Han army galloped, and the lands of Hexi were completely seized. The Xiongnu, a nomadic empire that had developed since the late Qin period, had finally been defeated.
Shaodian Qingnu witnessed Huo Qubing’s Feng Langjuxu and watched as countless Xiongnu tribes fled far into Mobei and even beyond.
From then on, there were no royal courts in Monan.
In the fifth year of Yuanshou, Liu Che established the position of Grand Marshal, appointing both Wei Qing and Huo Qubing to the post!
Their rank and salary were above the Three Ducal Ministers.
That year, Huo Qubing was twenty-three years old.
Another year later, Liu Che issued an order for Wei Qing and Huo Qubing to lead their troops back into the grasslands. He intended to completely annihilate the Xiongnu of Mobei!
Upon hearing this news, Qingnu went directly to Changle Palace.
However, just as she was about to enter the hall to bring the matter up with Liu Che, a hand reached out from the side and stopped her.
A voice murmured, “Jiao-snake, if you so much as step into this hall, drought in Shu, floods in Guandong, and autumn locust plagues will follow in succession!”
Heaven appeared at her side, though she knew not when.
Qingnu froze instantly.
She saw Heaven raise a hand and lightly brush it before her eyes, plucking the Yellow Millet Strings.
In an instant, the scenery before Qingnu changed!
She saw her own dark azure jiao-snake body rising with the clouds, her gaze flying toward the horizon. She saw the providence of the four directions shifting violently, and natural disasters ceaselessly striking the land.
In a flash, she saw the Yellow River overflowing to the sky; in another moment, her feet were treading upon parched earth.
Across the vast lands of Shu, the fields were strewn with those who had starved to death!
Heaven stood beside Qingnu and spoke. “This is the price.”
“No! You can't...”
Qingnu cried out!
She turned to look at Heaven and questioned, “Thieving Old Heaven, are you trying to scare a snake?”
Heaven was not agitated. He shook his head and said, “No, I have merely plucked the Yellow Millet Strings to let you see the state of the world should Huo Qubing survive.”
“You know that Heaven never lies. I told you before: Heaven follows the Dao, and everything has a price.”
When these words were spoken, Qingnu fell into silence.
After a long time, Qingnu finally spoke, her voice slow and heavy. “I know that minor events can be changed, but the Great Trend is difficult to alter.”
“I will not stop the rise and fall of dynasties. But I believe that if he lives and drives out the Xiongnu in one battle, the Han court will have no more wars to fight in the future, and the people can rest and recover!”
As she spoke, her eyes grew hazy with confusion. She asked, “Is even that not allowed?”
“What is allowed? What is not?”
Heaven asked in return.
The clouds churned within His eyes as He asked, “You believe that his survival will allow him to completely drive out the Xiongnu, but what comes after? If the Han Emperor does not stop his sword, what then? Will you personally move to stop him? He is burdened with providence; even if he does not listen to you, what can you do?”
Upon hearing this, Qingnu fell silent.
She suddenly asked, “Then what if he goes into seclusion at Mt. Tai?”
“Do you think he would?”
Would a man who could say ‘How can I think of home when the Xiongnu have not been destroyed’ live under a pseudonym at Mt. Tai for the rest of his life?
Qingnu squatted down, pinched a clod of dry earth, and crushed it. The yellow dust drifted away in the wind.
Heaven raised His hand and gently patted the top of Qingnu’s head.
Qingnu looked up at Him, waved her hand to chase His hand away, and clutched her head as she asked, “Thieving Old Heaven, what are you doing?”
Heaven calmly retracted His hand without any embarrassment. He said to Qingnu, “Since you have chosen the path of providence, return to Mt. Tai! Wait there quietly for two thousand years. Occasionally leave the mountain to manifest your divinity; you will have your providence without needing to be overly tainted by this mortal world.”
“Two thousand years...”
Qingnu murmured, then suddenly stood up.
She took a step forward, staring intently at Heaven. She grabbed His hand and asked, “You are Heaven, you know everything! Did you bring me to this era?”
Heaven shook His head and said, “It was not I. It was the heavens, the gods, and the buddhas. They are all waiting for you—waiting for a true dragon.”
Qingnu was stunned. Did gods and buddhas truly exist in this world?
“Waiting for a true dragon... but if gods and buddhas really exist, shouldn’t there be many dragons? Like the Dragon Clan of the Four Seas.”
The clouds in Heaven’s eyes remained calm. He said, “Once you become a dragon girl, you will understand. Even among dragons, the dragon of providence you transform into is different from those bloodline dragons.”
After Heaven finished speaking, silence fell between Him and Qingnu once more.
A moment later, Qingnu said, “Send me back.”
Heaven nodded. With His movement, the Yellow Millet Dream vanished without a trace. He and Qingnu were back outside Changle Palace, with Hongluan still standing on Qingnu’s shoulder.
In those tiny, bead-like eyes, there was no sign of Heaven. He appeared only before Qingnu’s eyes.
“Do not provoke Heaven again!”
“During that lightning tribulation at the end of the Qin, if the heart-blood of three generations had not saved your life, you would be dead.”
Leaving behind those two sentences, Heaven departed from the place.
Only after Heaven left did Hongluan tilt her head. She turned to look at Qingnu and asked, “Stupid snake, why aren’t you moving?”
Qingnu took a deep breath and shook her head. “It’s nothing! Sister Bird, let’s go back.”
“Back where?”
Hongluan asked, her head tilted.
Qingnu paused, then said, “...Mt. Tai!”
After she flew away from Chang’an with Hongluan, she asked, “Sister Bird, aren’t you going to ask me why we’re going back?”
Hongluan clung to the jiao-horns and shouted, “I’m not asking! You have your own plans! Also... fly slower!”
Qingnu twisted her body and increased her speed slightly.
As they neared Mt. Tai, she suddenly flicked her body, tossing Hongluan out, then transformed into human form to catch her. She asked, “Sister Bird, wasn’t that exciting?”
Hongluan punched the snake girl in the chest and cursed, “Stupid snake!”
Three or four months after Qingnu returned to Mt. Tai, she heard news that not three days after the Han army left the passes, Grand Marshal and General of the Agile Cavalry Huo Qubing had contracted a plague. Within just a few days, no medicine could save him, and he died young.
Liu Che was struck with great grief and ordered a grand burial for Huo Qubing.
When she heard this news, Qingnu was still watering her vegetable garden. She remained speechless for a long time, letting out only a long sigh.
She walked to the edge of the courtyard, snapped off a branch with red berries, and handed it to Hongluan.
“Sister Bird, take this to Chang’an. We were acquaintances, after all.”
It took Hongluan only three to five days to travel back and forth between Mt. Tai and Chang’an.
She told Qingnu about the situation in Chang’an. Seeing that Qingnu’s expression was weary, Hongluan remained silent for a long time before transforming into her human form and gently stroking her hair.
“Sister Bird, I’m a bit sleepy. I’ll sleep for a while. Remember to watch the house; don't let the wolves of Mt. Tai carry me off.”
Qingnu yawned as she spoke to Hongluan.
Hongluan gave an affirmative sound and said, “I’ll be watching. Go to sleep.”
This sleep of Qingnu’s lasted for over twenty years.
In a daze, Qingnu smelled a faint scent of blood. She opened her eyes to see the sky outside slanted toward the west, the sunlight a dim red, as if someone had splashed blood across the horizon.
“Sister Bird—”
Qingnu called out.
A moment later, hurried footsteps approached from outside. Seeing her awake, Hongluan let out a sigh of relief.
Qingnu asked, “How long did I sleep?”
Hongluan glared at her and said, “Stupid snake, you slept for twenty-six years!”
“A grand dream, with no knowledge of how many springs and autumns have passed.”
Qingnu sighed softly. That thick smell of blood still lingered at the tip of her nose. This scent was the aura drifting from the Jade Maiden Shrine in Chang’an.
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