Chapter Seventy-One: Would You Die for Love with Me?

If the traitor wasn’t someone else, then it could only be him; yesterday, when Cao Zhiling came to bid farewell, it was he who revealed their whereabouts to him.

He had been careless. Although Cao Zhiling might have considered him a friend, at the end of the day, he was following the Seventh Prince in invading his country.

Perhaps Cao Zhiling’s visit yesterday was merely to test the waters, and he had been too foolish, revealing their movements to him. In that sense, the two soldiers were right—he truly had harmed the Seventh Prince...

Yu Hualiang suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself hard at the thought. The gesture startled the Seventh Prince, who quickly grasped his hand, exclaiming, “Ziliang, what are you doing?”

A person, after experiencing disaster, indeed becomes much more clear-headed. Yu Hualiang, shedding his usual timidity, sighed and asked, “Seventh Prince... now that things have come to this, what should we do next?”

Seeing he was unharmed, the Seventh Prince slowly released his hand. “I’ve already sent men ahead to seek reinforcements. For now, we must focus on holding our ground.”

This was the greatest concern at the moment: the enemy numbered around a thousand, while they had less than three hundred, of which only two hundred were fit for battle, the rest wounded.

How could they possibly defend? The Seventh Prince fretted, while Yu Hualiang surveyed their surroundings and said, “We are in a pine forest—easy to ignite, and right where the wind blows.”

His words struck the Seventh Prince like a revelation; his expression changed from worry to a smile. “Excellent! We’ll use fire as our weapon!”

“Everyone, hear me! The terrain is elevated—easy to defend, hard to attack. Cut down the surrounding trees to eliminate nearby sources of flame, use large rocks as barricades, pile wood below, archers prepare to ignite. When the enemy approaches, shoot!”

“Yes, Your Highness!” The soldiers, inspired, began their work with renewed vigor. Yu Hualiang breathed a sigh of relief; the Seventh Prince was indeed a man worthy of trust, a commander born for battle.

The prince was directing the troops when two soldiers rushed up, knelt, and saluted. “Advisor, we have no tinder, and there is no flint nearby. How shall we start a fire?”

“Hm?” Yu Hualiang was baffled.

The soldiers, thinking he hadn’t heard, repeated, “There’s no flint here—how do we start a fire?”

“No, the sentence before.”

“We didn’t bring tinder.”

“That’s not right.”

The soldier frowned. “Advisor? What’s wrong?”

Yu Hualiang was overwhelmed—how had he gone from being a pretty-faced troublemaker to an advisor?

The Seventh Prince walked over and praised him. “Ziliang, do not be surprised. You deserve the title. From this moment, I appoint you as Advisor.”

“But... I’ve done nothing; wasn’t it all Your Highness’s doing?”

“If not for your suggestion, when the enemy arrived...” The Seventh Prince lowered his voice, “I might have had to jump off the cliff with you to die for love.”

“What? That serious?” Yu Hualiang was startled.

The Seventh Prince nodded. “Without your counsel, I fear we could only perish with the enemy.”

Yu Hualiang thought to himself—he’d only read Romance of the Three Kingdoms a few times.

Looking at the soldier who had questioned him, Yu Hualiang felt thankful for his wilderness survival skills. “Ever heard of starting fire by friction?”

“By friction... Thank you for the advice, Advisor.”

After the soldier left, Yu Hualiang realized ancient people already knew how to start fire by friction; he thought he could show off, but it wasn’t needed.

He intended to help the soldiers gather stones for the fire attack, but the Seventh Prince forbade him, instructing him instead to care for the wounded.

The Seventh Prince finished his preparations and addressed the troops: “Soldiers, this place is cut off from all hope—we can hold out for at most three days. Reinforcements should arrive within three days. As long as we hold these three days, we will be saved.”

His words lifted their spirits, and their work became more determined. Yu Hualiang watched him, realizing that not everyone could bear the mantle of a general.

Yu Hualiang stood and raised his voice. “Seventh Prince, mighty and brave!”

The soldiers echoed his cry, their voices shaking the heavens. The prince smiled heroically. “Good! Let us ensure that the enemy soldiers never return!”

Just as the Seventh Prince had predicted, the enemy arrived. But to his surprise, leading the charge was Cao Zhiling.

Yu Hualiang’s heart skipped a beat as he saw Cao Zhiling leading the enemy; he had indeed been deceived, bringing Cao Zhiling back had let the tiger return to the mountain.

The Seventh Prince, seeing Cao Zhiling, burned with rage, gritting his teeth. “He’s still alive!”

Cao Zhiling ignored Yu Hualiang, his gaze fixed on the prince, his hatred palpable. Their expressions were mirror images—he shouted fiercely, “Mu Zicheng! Today, I will take your dog’s life to honor my brother’s spirit! Attack!”

The quiet mountain forest became a bloody battlefield in an instant. The Seventh Prince ordered fire and stones to be launched. Yu Hualiang, amidst the monstrous flames devouring the enemy, heard only screams.

And the nauseating stench of scorched blood filled his nostrils.

Seeing the tide turn, Cao Zhiling rushed in and cut down four or five stone-throwing soldiers. The Seventh Prince drew his sword and charged at him.

Most of the enemy was trapped in the flames; only a few broke through. The soldiers followed the prince into battle.

Yu Hualiang came to his senses and realized the woods had become hell on earth. He was forced to pick up a sword dropped by a soldier for self-defense.

The enemy saw him holding the sword and tried to kill him. Yu Hualiang’s white clothes made him stand out—besides the prince, he was the most conspicuous.

He became a living target. Yu Hualiang knew he couldn’t fight; Cao Zhiling had only taught him how to subdue an enemy in close combat, and that was for one-on-one fights. In this chaos, he’d be hacked to death before he got close.

Thus, Yu Hualiang became a reluctant deserter, running whenever pursued. His pursuer was a small, frail enemy, struggling even to hold his knife.

Perhaps seeing Yu Hualiang as weak, the enemy chased him to pick the softest target.

Unable to run further, Yu Hualiang hid behind a tree and called out, “Hey! Why are you chasing me?”

The small enemy seemed nervous, probably encountering this situation for the first time. He raised his knife, stammering, “I... I’m coming for you!”

Yu Hualiang had no choice, his face tearful. “Throw your knife away and let’s fight barehanded!”

The small enemy sneered, “You... you’re about to die and still... so much nonsense! Prepare to die!”

Unable to communicate, the small enemy charged, waving his knife. Yu Hualiang, with no experience, raised his sword, closed his eyes, and resigned himself to dying here.

But as the small enemy rushed forward, Yu Hualiang heard someone call him “Advisor.” Suddenly, his sword felt heavy, and he heard a sickening splatter as hot liquid sprayed his hand.

Opening his eyes, he saw the small enemy, eyes wide, his abdomen impaled on Yu Hualiang’s sword, blood spraying over him.

He was terrified, dropping the sword at once. The small enemy fell to the ground, blood bubbling from his mouth. Yu Hualiang snapped out of it, knelt beside him, pulled out the sword, and pressed on his wound.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, hang on!” Yu Hualiang sought something to staunch the bleeding when the soldier who’d called him “Advisor” arrived.

Seeing the small enemy still alive, the soldier drove his sword into the enemy’s chest.

Yu Hualiang’s mind went blank—he had killed.

He watched the small enemy’s eyes roll back, dead without peace, unmistakably lifeless. Tears welled in Yu Hualiang’s eyes as he looked up and demanded, “Why did you kill him?”

“Advisor! He was the enemy!”

The words snapped him out of it—this was a battlefield: kill or be killed.

“Advisor! You must leave, it’s too... ah...” The soldier’s words were cut short, his eyes suddenly wide. Yu Hualiang saw the knife piercing his chest, his mind blank.

The knife was withdrawn, blood splattering him again. He looked down at his hands, stained with blood. The lively man who’d just spoken to him was gone in an instant.

“Hey... don’t die!” Yu Hualiang rushed over, cradling him, pressing on his bleeding wound, tears streaming uncontrollably.

The soldier’s brows furrowed, unable to speak, but Yu Hualiang read his lips: “Go...”

Yu Hualiang looked up to see bodies everywhere, blood dyeing the forest red, watching lives vanish before his eyes.

He had no time to reflect; he felt suffocated, unable to hear anything—not the screams, not the clash of weapons, not the sound of blood running on blades, not the cries of “Ziliang.”

He watched the soldier in his arms close his eyes, and when he looked up, saw the Seventh Prince rushing toward him, followed by the sound of weapons piercing flesh.

When Yu Hualiang regained his senses, the Seventh Prince had shielded him, blood flowing from his back—he’d taken a blow for him.

“Zi...cheng!”

Yu Hualiang raised his hand, afraid to touch the wound, tears and blood mixing and dripping onto the ground, a pool of red.

“Ziliang... are you hurt?” the Seventh Prince asked, and Yu Hualiang felt a measure of relief.

He wiped his tears and replied, “I’m alright.”

The prince, facing the approaching Cao Zhiling, smiled at Yu Hualiang. “It seems today, you and I will die here.”

Yu Hualiang looked at Cao Zhiling. “I won’t let Zicheng die.”

He stepped in front of the prince, startling him, who tried to pull him behind. Yu Hualiang shouted at Cao Zhiling, “Hey! If you want to kill my Zicheng, you’ll have to step over my corpse first!”

His shout brought a rare moment of silence to the chaotic battlefield.

Cao Zhiling watched him, frowning, and indeed did not advance. The Seventh Prince, behind Yu Hualiang, looked at his back in stunned silence.

His heart swelled with unspeakable fulfillment—he thought, having him in this life was enough. Who else would stand before him and say such words?

The Seventh Prince embraced him tightly from behind, in front of everyone, tears streaming down his face.

Yu Hualiang was stunned—not only him, everyone was; Cao Zhiling was dumbfounded. Yu Hualiang recovered and turned to embrace the prince in return.

Seeing this, Cao Zhiling’s heart suddenly ached. He shouted, “Kill them!”

The Seventh Prince suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze fierce as a wolf, chilling to behold. He murmured in Yu Hualiang’s ear, “At this point, I can only apologize to Fourth Brother.”

Then he lowered his head, smiling at Yu Hualiang. “Ziliang, are you willing to die with me for love?”