Big Moon Ballad

Chapter 2620 Clone
The situation had become so urgent that the Azure Dragon God had to personally go to the Western Rong to gather intelligence.

Not long after Li Ji left, Ji Jiashu, who was standing in the court watching Ying Baoyue and the generals discuss matters, couldn't help but feel a little dazed.

Watching Ying Baoyue stand in front of the huge sand table and arrange the military deployment of the Northern Wei, the foreign aid force outside Guiyang City, in just a few words, he felt as if he were dreaming.

He watched Ying Baoyue discuss the war with the old ministers, but he could only listen and couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Only then did Ji Jiashu realize that he was indeed a clueless child.

He was well-versed in military strategy from a young age, but never actually fought in a battle.

He had read countless stories of his father fighting alongside Emperor Taizu, the Grand Master of Fate, and others, and had also dreamed of how he could achieve great things if he were born in a chaotic era.

But when the world was truly engulfed in war, he felt that sense of urgency, as if his neck were being strangled.

This is different from one-on-one battles on the arena, and also different from participating in grand ceremonies and competing alongside cultivators.

Your family and friends could die at any moment.

You are commanding thousands of troops, carrying the weight of countless lives on your shoulders; any wrong decision could lead to the deaths of countless people.

Is this war?

"Jia Shu? Jia Shu!"

Ji Jiashu snapped out of his daze at Ying Baoyue's call, "I'm sorry."

The military officers who had received the orders had all retreated, leaving only the two of them by the sand table.

"It's alright," Ying Baoyue knew that Ji Jiashu hadn't been distracted. "Did you understand all the arrangements just now?"

“Yes,” Ji Jiashu glanced at the deployment on the sand table again, confirmed the decrees he needed to issue, and put the written document into his sleeve. “I… Your humble servant will take care of it immediately.”

"and many more."

Ying Baoyue called out to Ji Jiashu, "After you finish these matters, don't delay. Take this letter and return to Southern Chu immediately."

"what?"

Ji Jiashu turned around, utterly astonished, "Your Majesty!"

Ying Baoyue had previously said he would give him leave to visit his family, at a time when the borders of Northern Wei had not yet fallen.

The situation is so urgent now, and Li Ji has left Ying Baoyue's side again. Ying Baoyue wants him to return to Southern Chu. What's going on?

"Your Majesty, I will not go back."

Ji Jiashu firmly replied, "I can arrange for someone else to deliver the message."

"I promised Zhaohua that I would not leave the Epang Palace until he returned!"

Ji Jiashu understood perfectly why Li Ji had made this agreement with him.

While the world is indeed important, Ying Baoyue probably didn't realize that she was a key figure who could influence the course of the war.

Emperor Taizu was cunning and calculating; how could he not know that if Ying Baoyue were eliminated, the chances of winning this battle would increase dramatically?

To catch the thief, first catch the king; that's exactly what that man did eight years ago!
"Baoyue, do you know how dangerous you are?"

“I know, but Southern Chu is equally dangerous,” Ying Baoyue said calmly, seemingly oblivious to Ji Jiashu’s fierce resistance.

Her gaze fell on the sand table, her fingers traced across the Lancang Sea, following the route she had taken to Southern Chu.

"I don't know if Meng Shi has reached the border yet."

Ji Jiashu shuddered.

“Meng Shi is still too late to go back,” Ying Baoyue’s fingertip stopped at the location of the mountain next to the capital of Southern Chu. Ji Jiashu’s heart tightened as he looked at that place.

That was the Jixia Academy.

"Meng Shi missed it, but I hope you can make it."

Ji Jiashu looked up into Ying Baoyue's eyes, and the two remained silent.

Will we make it?

“I don’t know,” Ying Baoyue gritted her teeth, “so we all need to hurry.”

Just like what happened last night, if something is destined to happen, then no one knows whether it will be in time.

"Go see your mother first, then go to the Southern Chu Palace to deliver a message, and then immediately go to the Jixia Academy."

“Time is of the essence,” Ji Jiashu took a deep breath, “I’m not going home.”

“No, go back,” Ying Baoyue grabbed Ji Jiashu’s sleeve. “Life is unpredictable. If we can see her, we should. Your father said your mother is waiting for you, just in case…”

There were some things she simply couldn't say, but they both understood. What if it was the last time they saw each other?

“Okay, I understand,” Ji Jiashu’s eyes were a little red, “but I can’t leave you, in the palace…”

"I can only let you go."

Ying Baoyue interrupted Ji Jiashu, looking into the boy's eyes, "Jiashu, I can only trust you."

Ji Jiashu froze.

“Aji has gone to the Western Rong, so I can only entrust the Southern Chu to you.”

"If possible, I would like to go to Southern Chu in person. I want to see my master."

"But I can't leave."

She is now required to remain at the Epang Palace and cannot leave.

“I understand,” Ji Jiashu clenched his fists. “I’ll go back now.”

“Baoyue, I am your alter ego,” he whispered, “I will do everything you want.”

Both he and Li Ji were like clones of Ying Baoyue.

The world is in turmoil, and people from the south and north have gone to different places.

Ying Baoyue, who hadn't slept all night, also had red eyes. "You must come back alive."

"I will," Ji Jiashu smiled. "Your Majesty, please take good care of yourself as well."

"May your military fortune flourish."

Ying Baoyue watched Ji Jiashu leave in the midday sun.

This is a different kind of blessing than when participating in the grand ceremony and the battle; this time it's for real.

The three of them must live to see each other again.

……

……

Southern Chu, the Imperial Preceptor's Residence.

Ji Jiashu never expected that he would return to his home under such circumstances.

It had been less than a year since he left home after the initial ceremony, but standing at his doorstep again felt like ten years had passed.

After a day and a night of desperate running, Ji Jiashu crossed the Yunmeng Marsh and the Lancang Sea, returning to Danyang City, the capital of Southern Chu.

When he stood weary from his journey at the entrance of the Imperial Preceptor's residence, a young man in red was already waiting for him.

Outside the Imperial Preceptor's residence, carriages and horses passed by bustling about, yet it seemed no one noticed the young man in red.

Those who lack the necessary spiritual understanding cannot see Him.

Ji Jiashu took off his straw hat and bowed to the other party.

"You're back," the Vermilion Bird God looked him up and down, "even faster than your father expected."

"Did Father receive the battle report from the north?"

“He received the intelligence only two hours before you returned,” said the Vermilion Bird God. “After receiving the intelligence, he went to the palace and told me to wait for you here before he left.”

Ji Jiashu had mixed feelings, so did Ji Mo have long anticipated that he would return?
No, Ji Mo had anticipated that Ying Baoyue would send him back.

“I happen to have a letter to send to the palace,” Ji Jiashu said. “I will be going to the palace later as well.”

Suzaku nodded. "Well, before that..."

"Tree?"

A woman's scream interrupted their conversation, and Ji Jiashu was also stunned when he heard the sound.

"Tree, you're back?"

A woman stumbled out of the inner room and rushed to the door, looking at him with an almost frantic expression.

Ji Jiashu stared at the woman, frozen outside the threshold.

"mother?"

(End of this chapter)