CMWKSD -Chapter 230 Northern Barbarians’ Provocation

Every day, someone would deliver the training reports from the special training camp in detail for Emperor Fengyuan to review.

At first, Emperor Fengyuan frowned as he read them. He couldn’t quite put his feelings into words. Could anyone really survive such training?

Then, inexplicably, he thought of Jiu Yue. Had she experienced all this before?

Soon, rewards and supplements flowed into Jiu Yue’s storeroom like water. Jiu Yue only saw the lists—the goods were sent directly to the Princess’s residence.

Emperor Fengyuan even personally appointed the Crown Prince to oversee the construction at the Princess’s residence. Ji Yiqing and several Ministry of Personnel officials were the main recorders.

No one in the camp was spared from exhaustion. Well, almost no one. Jiu Yue didn’t falter.

Later, Ji Chaomian found excuses and stopped appearing. He had nightmares almost every night. Unlike Ji Yiqing, who had someone to sleep with at night—he had no one!

Thus, Ji Yiqing remained the only one diligently recording everything. The more he recorded, the more he saw Jiu Yue’s calm and graceful demeanor, and the more he ached inside. He always felt that the training, which ordinary people could barely endure, Jiu Yue had gone through even more extreme hardships—far crueler than the training she herself now designed.

At night, Ji Yiqing held Jiu Yue tightly. Now that the weather was warming up, sleeping on Ji Yiqing’s body wasn’t the same as in the cold. Jiu Yue pushed him gently. “It’s too hot, let go. Move to the side.”

Ji Yiqing choked slightly but refused to release her, burying his face in her neck.

Jiu Yue wanted to slap him but suddenly felt something hot against her neck. It was liquid.

Jiu Yue shouted, “You’re drooling!!!”

She pushed Ji Yiqing away and, in the candlelight, saw his red-rimmed eyes.

Jiu Yue: …

Not hungry? Surely she didn’t cry just because she wasn’t full. At least it was just drool. Never mind—she had stamina and toughness to spare.

Jiu Yue loosened her freshly worn nightclothes again, flipped onto Ji Yiqing’s waist and abdomen, and said, “Come on!”

Ji Yiqing was rendered speechless by her boldness. He felt a mix of laughter and exasperation but buried his concern deep in his heart. He reached out, pressing Jiu Yue onto him, skin to skin, feeling a strange sense of satisfaction.

“Let me hold you for a while,” he said, voice trembling.

Rarely obedient, Jiu Yue lay on Ji Yiqing. She didn’t know what was wrong with the big man, but who cared—she liked him. Holding him a little wouldn’t make her lose anything.

As they held each other, Jiu Yue’s breathing gradually steadied. Ji Yiqing’s large hands gently traced her body inch by inch. Every touch made his heart involuntarily tremble.

Perhaps there had once been scars here—knife wounds, sword cuts…

Jiu Yue had many jars and bottles of medicinal concoctions, which she applied to her body. Her skin looked fair and tender, so there were no scars. Yet, to grow into the woman she was today, the suffering she endured must have far exceeded that of the trainees.

Speaking of those concoctions, there was a past joke. Jiu Yue would apply them nightly to her face and body. One night, she went out wearing them and scared several people unconscious. Her face blackened with herbs, dressed in black combat gear, silver needles in hand, smiling—only her row of white teeth visible in the dark, accompanied by her signature laugh.

The next day, the awakened trainees whispered that Jiu Yue’s teeth had come to life…

Ji Yiqing held Jiu Yue tightly, gritting his teeth, swallowing all sounds and sobs so as not to wake her. Jiu Yue lay on his chest, breathing steadily, but blinked occasionally.

Was he crying because of her? Why? Jiu Yue didn’t quite understand. But since Ji Yiqing didn’t want to speak, she didn’t pry. Asking would only clog her heart with worry. Besides, he wasn’t a criminal; she couldn’t send him to the punishment room. That was why she let it go and peacefully closed her eyes to sleep.

…

In the blink of an eye, the special training camp had been running for three months.

Those young masters who had entered with weak constitutions, and the fragile girls who once could barely walk steadily, now stood on the open ground in dark green combat outfits. Their feet as wide as their knees, hands clasped behind their backs, spines straight, eyes firm and fierce…

Row after row, as if copied and pasted, full of vitality and determination.

Jiu Yue hadn’t relied entirely on the Dark Moon’s training methods. Dark Moon trained assassins; military training produced soldiers. Fortunately, she had borrowed many techniques from military camps in previous training; otherwise, she might have trained only killers.

She hadn’t started with high-intensity training—no five- or ten-kilometer weighted runs, no rock climbing, no jungle cross-country. The more advanced the training became, the more Ji Yiqing’s records were sent to Emperor Fengyuan, who had the Ministry of War follow up. Even Shen Zongsheng, when he arrived, eagerly accompanied them daily. If he couldn’t go himself, his personal guards brought back all knowledge for him.

…

Emperor Fengyuan looked at the message delivered by the Northern Barbarians’ envoy and threw it to the ground in fury. Instantly, the ministers knelt in rows before him.

“Your Majesty, please calm your anger.”

Emperor Fengyuan’s gaze swept over the kneeling ministers. The Northern Barbarians were approaching the capital. Although previous signs indicated they had made several small moves in Daqi territory, a full-scale war between the two nations was not so easy.

After all, on the surface, the Northern Barbarians appeared friendly toward Daqi. Daqi was a strong country, receiving envoys from various nations every three years. Now, with these sudden aggressive moves, it was clear the Northern Barbarians must have thought he was vulnerable. After the incidents involving Consort Rong and Chu Yao, the Northern Barbarians certainly received the news. This visit to Daqi was largely a test.

Yet Emperor Fengyuan didn’t expect that they would target Jiu Yue’s special training camp—or perhaps Jiu Yue herself. After all, the envoy who attempted the “beautiful man scheme” had been sent by the Northern Barbarians. At first, Emperor Fengyuan might have tried to shield Jiu Yue, since her talents, skills, medical knowledge, and martial arts could give others reason to want her dead. But Jiu Yue’s brilliance could not be hidden. Later, Emperor Fengyuan openly granted her various privileges, elevating her status.

What angered him was that Jiu Yue’s training camp had been established for just over three months, while the Northern Barbarians, preparing to visit Daqi, had likely started at least two months prior. Yet they not only knew of Jiu Yue but even her training camp. Clearly, among his ministers were many Northern Barbarian collaborators.