What If...I Remember?

Chapter 57

"There are two cliffs nearby the Ruo Shui river. The Ghost Lord will take the cliff opposing ours, while we shall take this cliff instead." Ye Hua set a flag down in the smaller sand model of the land around Ruo Shui and Ruo Shui itself, and a few of the generals began muttering among themselves. "Forgive us, Your Highness." One of them finally spoke up, with some hesitation in his voice, "But, was this not how the first battle of Ruo Shui began?"

"It was. And High God Mo Yuan emerged victorious." Ye Hua spoke flatly, having no need to elaborate further, and the general squirmed for a while, before he muttered beneath his breath, "Aye, victorious but dead, milord." "High God Mo Yuan did not die. As you can see, he is currently waiting at Kun Lun with a second round of reinforcements. He merely had his soul scattered back then." Ye Hua's isolated expression turned colder, "Or are you cursing my death, general?"

"I dare not, my Lord! Forgive me, my liege!" The general dropped to his knees at once, his forehead touching the ground as he bowed, and Ye Hua merely glanced at the man indifferently, "Ruo Shui will be cold; all the more will its cliffs. I suggest that all of you prepare your winter supplies, and have your soldiers do a last round of training." "Understood, your Highness." The generals echoed in unison, and Ye Hua waved a dismissive hand, "All of you may leave."

Anxious to leave, all the generals shuffled out of the meeting room at once, and Ye Hua watched as the very last one walked out from the hall, before he turned back to the sand model. "You know, you shouldn't be using Shifu's old war techniques." A lilting voice spoke, and Ye Hua looked up as a white figure walked into the hall, "Although you have, after all, been looking up to him for the bigger part of your life."

"Should I use yours, then, Qian Qian?" Ye Hua teased, watching as she traced her index finger along the rim of the container that held the carefully crafted sand mountains and crystal-crusted river, and Bai Qian gave him an expression of plain annoyance, "Oh, hush. I meant, you should use your own strategy. We all know that the secret to defeating the strategy that Shifu created and used has already been leaked out, so why would you reuse it, if it means quite a certain defeat?"

"It's not his method I'm using, Qian Qian." Ye Hua chuckled, "It's a misleading direction for Li Jing's troops." "You want them to think that the same thing will happen?" Bai Qian made a sound of realisation, and Ye Hua wrapped his arms around her waist, "I want to trick them into thinking that way." "But what if it doesn't work? What if they guess what you're up to?" Bai Qian turned her head to the side, unable to turn it all the way to look at him directly, and Ye Hua rested his chin on her head, "Then we'll fight with sheer strength."

"Your Highness, High Immortal Zi Lan has sent a letter to say that the Ghost Queen has begun to move towards Ruo Shui." Jia Yun barged in on their slightly intimate moment, and the civil assistant's ears turned a noticeable red when he looked up and saw that the Crown Prince and Crown Princess were locked in embrace, and had both turned to face him because of his unannounced intrusion.

"Has he said anything else? Any updates on whether Xuan Nü has transferred her cultivation to Yan Zhi yet?" Ye Hua questioned, taking the tiny scroll from Jia Yun, and Jia Yun nodded, "High Immortal Zi Lan wrote to say that Princess Yan Zhi has almost fully recovered, and that the Ghost Queen has plans to transfer her cultivation and powers by the time the moon reaches its peak in the sky."

"The sun is almost setting. We don't have much time left." Ye Hua's expression turned solemn as he released Bai Qian from his embrace, "Send a missive to all the generals at once, Jia Yun. Have them know that they are to start moving their troops in two hours time." "Yes, your Highness." Jia Yun backed out of the room, leaving the couple alone again, and Bai Qian looked to Ye Hua, who wore a slight frown, and with a nervous but encouraging smile, Bai Qian tilted her head in the direction of the doors, "We should get ready as well, Ye Hua. Two hours aren't a lot."