Fu Shen gestured for him to continue.
Duan Guihong spoke of events from the fourth year of Yuantai, when the Northern Yan Army fought the Eastern Dazha.
That autumn, Fu Tingxin was accidentally wounded by a Dazha assassin’s poison arrow, severely injured and nearly killed. The entire army was helpless, and even imperial physicians from the capital could do nothing. Fortunately, Ganzhou was near Yizhou, where Western Dazha people lived. Having some acquaintance with a Western Dazha traveling doctor, Duan Guihong, with a “try anything” attitude, asked him to examine Fu Tingxin.
The Western Dazha doctor recognized the poison.
There was a rare blue scorpion on the grasslands, extremely precious and hard to find, with a highly toxic tail sting called “Blue Moon.” Though the doctor couldn’t find an antidote, he had seen a grass from the Tianfang caravan – white flowers pure as snow, with fruit juice like milk. Tianfang people had used this herb to treat companions stung by desert scorpions. He helped Duan Guihong connect with a Tianfang merchant. After much effort, Duan Guihong learned the herb’s name and, guided by the merchant, found the plant and seeds in the Southern Frontier.
The herb that saved Fu Tingxin’s life was Autumn Night White.
If only the fruit juice is taken orally, it can have an anesthetic and pain-relieving effect, neutralizing all snake and scorpion venoms, with almost no possibility of addiction. However, if processed and inhaled, it becomes an addictive “White Dew Powder”. Moreover, long-term users of Autumn Night White will experience internal bodily changes, and in rare cases, they might contract a plague-like disease that is incurable, leaving them to await death.
Even more terrifying is that once this herb takes root, nothing will grow around it. The Autumn Night White in Southern Frontier grows in rock crevices deep in the mountains. Locals consider it a toxic plant and immediately uproot and burn it thoroughly to prevent its widespread proliferation.
Duan Guihong said, “In the fifth year of Yuantai, the entire Alamu tribe of the Eastern Tatars was annihilated.”
Fu Shen’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. “What does Your Highness mean?”
“Zhonyan is not as soft-hearted as you imagine,” Duan Guihong said directly and coldly. “Do you think learning his compassion is enough for a military commander?”
After Fu Tingxin’s recovery, he collected the herb seeds gathered by Duan Guihong and secretly dispatched people to scatter them extensively in the Alamu tribe’s pastures. Months later, the Autumn Night White sprouted and grew, destroying the pastures and causing massive sheep deaths.
Fu Tingxin captured a group of Eastern Tatars, making them drink water mixed with the blood of the infected, then releasing them back to their tribe. Many Alamu tribe members consequently contracted the epidemic and were ultimately swept away by the returning Northern Yan cavalry, leading to their total extinction.
“In Tatar legends, the symbol of plague is the ‘Impermanent Grass’, which refers to Autumn Night White,” Duan Guihong said coldly. “Now do you understand why the Tatars hate the Fu family so deeply?”
This history is not widely known, partly due to its confidential nature and partly because it is deeply unethical, so even historians dare not record it. Fu Shen had dealt with Eastern Tatars for years and had heard rumors about the “Impermanent Grass,” believing it to be just a legend.
In the Alamu tribe’s territory, a great fire burned for days and nights, consuming the swaying flowers of the “Impermanent Grass,” its shadow forever looming over the grasslands.
Duan Guihong said, “This herb was first discovered by the Tianfang people, named ‘Dier’, meaning ‘hypnosis’, while in the Southern Frontier dialect, it is called ‘Sanaifu’, which means—”
“The sleeping god of death.”
Chapter 59: Heart-to-Heart | Third Day Apart, Missing Him
A general’s success built on countless bones, behind the portrait of meritorious officials hanging in the Golden Terrace’s Kirin Pavilion, flames dance and countless souls wail and cry.
Fu Shen sighed, “What a sin.”
Duan Guihong was almost angry to the point of collapse, furiously saying, “In battle, it’s either you die or I die. You feel sympathy, but don’t you think about the innocent civilians murdered by the Tatars! With such feminine compassion, what great achievements can you possibly accomplish!”
He suppressed his smile: “So, Your Highness, don’t expect me to become the ‘Fu family member’ you hope for just by listening to a story. These hands have killed countless barbarians, and I’ve never fantasized about reincarnating in paradise after death. If I’m meant to go to hell, I’ll go to hell, and the same applies to others. ‘Two corpses fallen, blood flowing five steps’ is enough. Whoever commits sins will face retribution. Why drag innocent people into this?”
Duan Guihong said: “Because of his personal grudge, loyal subjects have died in sorrow. Even if he faces retribution, it’s not enough to make up for the sins he has committed.”
Fu Shen did not immediately respond, remaining silent for a moment before softly sighing: “Your Highness…
Duan Guihong also fell silent.
When the emperor is enraged, hundreds of thousands fall, and blood flows for thousands of miles – but what fault did those hundreds of thousands of dead have? Those soldiers who died at Qingsha Pass, the civilians killed by the Pure Yang Taoist, the innocent people of Xishan Village in Kuang County who died at the hands of Autumn Night White… What inevitable reason did they have to die?
When the heavens are displeased, there are droughts, floods, and locust plagues. When those in power are displeased, white bones are exposed in the wilderness, and for thousands of miles, no rooster crows. Ordinary commoners, barely able to support their families, carry layer upon layer of heaven above them. After a lifetime of hard work, a single unexpected calamity can completely destroy everything.
When human life is valued, a single rage can cause hundreds of thousands to bleed. When human life is cheap, one becomes just another among those hundreds of thousands.
By the luck of being born into a good family, Fu Shen had not become one of those “ten thousand,” but he also did not want to be the “one in ten thousand,” caught between killing and being killed. He wanted to find a third path.
“Jing Yuan,” Duan Guihong suddenly spoke.
This time, he was neither angry nor reproachful, calling Fu Shen’s name calmly, as if finally setting aside all his disguises and revealing the rock-solid, cold interior beneath.
In the fourth year of the Yuantai era, when Fu Ting’xin was injured, Duan Guihong found the antidote and learned about the terrifying nature of this plant from a southern frontier witch doctor. During a stalemate in the border war, with Han troops and Tatar cavalry at a standstill, Duan Guihong wanted to break the impasse with a surprise strategy. He sought out Fu Ting’xin to discuss a plan to destroy the Alamu tribe’s grasslands with this herb, combined with an epidemic. Fu Ting’xin found this method too cruel and vicious, absolutely refusing to agree. Just as he was feeling discouraged, Fu Ting’zhong found him and secretly finalized this plan.
The following spring, the Alamu tribe’s grasslands were invaded by the rampant Autumn Night White, with epidemics widespread, throwing the entire tribe into panic and turmoil. Fu Ting’zhong led the troops to attack, achieving a great victory against the Eastern Tatar cavalry in the Great Blue Mountain, with Han troops even penetrating deep into the grassland’s interior, nearly capturing the Eastern Tatars’ royal city.
After that battle, when Duan Guihong was proudly showing off his achievements to Fu Ting’xin, Fu Ting’xin only said, “What sin have the common people committed?”
