Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Yang Chunyu

White and Mei were no strangers to the mutual understanding they shared, but the situation at hand felt quite different from the past.

The answer was simply too clear. Related to the "Twenty-Eight Generals" and another woman. The two clues pointed to only one person.

Though the twenty-eight individuals who followed the founding emperor had long been imprisoned as criminals, their heroic tales should have been erased from popular stories. However, the current emperor sitting on the Dragon Throne was only the third emperor of the Fu family, meaning many witnesses of the battles were still alive.

They were now old, but they could still recount stories from their youth about which general came to attack or defend cities... Some of the older ones were even veterans from those years.

In their stories, General Yang Chunyu came from a martial arts family of the previous dynasty, a family that loved the people. When the previous emperor was deceived by evil ministers, imposing taxes and sending people to collect tributes from all over the land, the common people suffered terribly. They were stripped of everything by the emperor and oppressed further by officials, living in misery.

It was clear that if only they were given a piece of land—without it even having to belong to them—or some food, even if it were just one meal a day, or a chance for their children to survive, even if they lived in poverty... Yet, the previous dynasty wouldn’t even meet these basic needs. The royalty and officials lived luxurious lives, while the common people starved in the streets. As days passed, the suffering led to an inevitable uprising.

It was during this time that the Yang family emerged.

They had no ambitions, only a wish to follow wise individuals, pacify the world, and bring peace to the people. Though they were a "well-established family," the previous dynasty had always favored scholars over warriors. The Yang family had only a few elders who were promoted to low-ranking military posts, and they were themselves victims of exploitation. This background allowed them to empathize with the hardships of the common people.

But war was cruel.

First, the elders of the Yang family perished, and then all the grown men of the family followed. They weren’t all necessarily supporters of the Fu family’s ancestors, but after Fu’s ancestors took control, the Yang family began to see that Fu was brave and strategic, and his decrees benefited the common people. The long-awaited "wise ruler" had finally appeared, so the Yang family decided to join him.

Fu’s ancestor was a man of great virtue and treated them warmly. The surviving Yang family members then went back to the battlefield, fighting side by side as fathers and sons, brothers, until they fell one by one in the brutal wars.

By the time Yang Chunyu was sixteen, her uncles, parents, two older brothers, and sisters-in-law had all passed away, leaving her with a young nephew and a younger brother, nearly the same age as her nephew.

Although their family had already suffered so much, Yang Chunyu couldn’t forget the day when she was young, seeing the soldiers of the previous dynasty storm into her home, pushing her grandfather, and emptying the rice jar. After that day, the entire street was draped in white mourning cloths. Her grandfather fell and hit his head, lying in bed for several days before passing away. This was not only her family’s experience.

The continuous cries from the neighboring houses became the nightmares of Yang Chunyu’s entire life. Faced with the persuasion of Fu’s ancestors to return home, Yang Chunyu resolutely declared, "No, I won’t return to marry. My father and brothers can go to battle and kill the enemy, so can I! I am not a weak woman, but have been training in martial arts since childhood, following my elders."

Emperor Tai Zu was moved by her words. Even though some of his subordinates opposed the idea, he agreed to let Yang Chunyu take over the army that had been led by her brother. Thus, Yang Chunyu, burdened by countless criticisms and misunderstandings, stepped forward and eventually became a renowned general, standing side by side with other famous generals under Emperor Tai Zu.

At that time, there were even rumors among the people that the generals were actually the twenty-eight constellations descended from the heavens. They were said to have seen the suffering of the people and couldn’t bear it. Numerous legends were created, and the stories of the twenty-eight generals were performed on stage. Yang Chunyu, as the "female general," became the most beloved character in these plays.

Why did Bai Zhengliu know so many things about her? Because when he traveled through the martial world, he had encountered many stories in plays and novels.

According to the story, after Emperor Tai Zu imprisoned the twenty-eight generals, these tales should have disappeared. But the creativity of the people was astounding. Could they not use the name of the "Yang family’s female general"? No problem! They simply moved the entire background to the previous dynasty, changing "Yang" to "Mu" or "Murong," and the stories continued to be performed.

Furthermore, while the emperor could control the capital and counties, there were many remote villages where he couldn’t enforce control. In those far-flung places, the people didn’t even know when a new emperor took the throne. In these villages, people still sang the legendary tales of the twenty-eight generals. When talking to others, "General Yang passed through our village once, and she was truly an extraordinary woman!"Bai Zhengliu had heard a lot of such talk. Mei Yinghan didn't know the remote areas as well as he did, but he had heard some rumors too.

As for the present situation, they had easily confirmed the identity of the female general, but then they hesitated.

Mei Yinghan had noticed early on that after leaving Tan Family Village, Bai Zhengliu had become somewhat distant from his beloved sword, showing more reverence and less attachment.

It wasn’t hard to understand. In the past, he hadn’t known that there was someone residing in the sword, so as a sword master, Bai Zhengliu would naturally wipe and oil the "Twenty-Eight Generals" every day to maintain it. Now that he knew... well, it was a little awkward.

After all, they didn’t know what kind of relationship the female general had with the "Twenty-Eight Generals" or why she had appeared from the sword that day. The best way to clear the awkwardness would be to meet the general again and directly confirm the situation from her. But the female general had remained silent when facing the Meng family’s ghost, and would she even appear again? Even if she did, would she really tell Bai Zhengliu anything about herself or the "Twenty-Eight Generals"?

It was all troublesome.

Bai Zhengliu found himself troubled by these thoughts. Mei Yinghan noticed the sword master’s emotions and, after some thought, said, "I actually think, Bai Xiong, you don’t need to worry too much."

Bai Zhengliu looked at him.

Mei Yinghan analyzed, "What you’re troubled by now is simply fearing that the general is still within the sword and that you might have offended her. From what we saw of the general’s demeanor, she was very kind to us. Even though she didn’t speak, her smile made her intentions clear. For General Yang, we are simply younger people she admires..."

Bai Zhengliu couldn't help but chuckle.

Mei Yinghan also smiled and said, "Oh, am I being too shameless in saying that? But it’s not just empty words. The way General Yang looked at us is no different than how my master or uncles look at me and my junior brothers. If you still don’t believe me, ask the two junior brothers, and you’ll get the same answer from them."

Bai Zhengliu said, "I don't doubt it. My master—"

Mei Yinghan paused when he noticed Bai Zhengliu’s sudden hesitation, "Hmm?"

Bai Zhengliu shook his head, his eyes flickering slightly.

He suddenly remembered something.

Most of the time, the "Twenty-Eight Generals" would only react when he was in danger, facing vengeful ghosts, emitting a faint glow. But there had been one exception.

It happened the night he encountered the Jun family brothers, when he and Mei Yinghan stayed at a rural temple outside the city.

At that time, while talking about their master, a flash of light appeared above the "Twenty-Eight Generals." Bai Zhengliu had been surprised and taken note of it, but then, when Jun Yang and Jun Tao appeared and caused a commotion outside the temple, his attention shifted. He only thought that the light from the "Twenty-Eight Generals" was the sword sensing someone’s arrival and giving a reminder.But what arrived wasn't some demon or ghost, and according to the usual behavior of the "Twenty-Eight Generals," the beloved sword shouldn't have reacted at all.

When combining this with General Yang's identity and the things he had mentioned earlier... Bai Zhengliu's heart suddenly thumped loudly, and a bold, yet somewhat reasonable guess flashed in his mind.

The swordsman whispered, "My master’s surname is Yang."

Mei Yinghan was stunned for a moment. "Hmm?"

The swordsman continued, "I don't know his full name. However, he had quite a few people in his family. Sometimes, he would call out 'Elder Sister' or 'Elder Brother' to the air, and he would mutter that his elder sister was fierce and forced him to practice martial arts."

Mei Yinghan held his breath, and both he and Bai Zhengliu arrived at the same realization.

He said, "Bai Xiong, do you think..."

Bai Zhengliu pursed his lips and raised a hand to touch his chest.

He could feel the strong, powerful beats of his heart. Each thump was robust and vigorous.

"I’m just making a guess," the young man said, looking at the long sword before him, his tone respectful, with a hint of excitement.

For many years, Bai Zhengliu had been trying to find his master's family. But he knew very little about his master’s background, only guessing he was from the north based on the old man's eating habits, and recalling the old man's accent when he spoke. However, unless he went to his master's hometown and pieced everything together, finding someone from these clues seemed like an impossible dream.

But now, things were different.

Bai Zhengliu said, "The Yang family is from Changyuan City, which is in the northern region! Though I’ve never been there, I’ve interacted with people from that place before. Right, the things they like to eat are indeed the same as what my master enjoys." The thing was, there were many northern regions where people liked noodles, so the swordsman had been disappointed by similar clues before, and hadn't thought much of it.

Now, however, he could really start considering it!

Bai Zhengliu felt energized. Unfortunately, this excitement didn’t last long.

Soon, the swordsman’s mood fell again.

"Emperor Taizu imprisoned the 'Twenty-Eight Generals,' and their entire families were implicated. One by one, their homes were raided, and everyone was executed, even young children were not spared."

As the swordsman spoke, the "Twenty-Eight Generals" blade, which had been silent for several days, unexpectedly glowed again...