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[Sound of the Desert]

Episode 17

My Lord, you won't eat, drink, or rest

This is only harming your health and making everyone worry.

Now, it seems that the search for Miss Xin Yue will take quite a while.

You have to take care of yourself even more.

Am I right?

We have tracked down her whereabouts after she left Jian-An City.

But it only got as far as the inn in Liang State.

All trails have grown cold.

There hasn't been any news of her since then.

Tell me...

How is it possible that she disappeared without a trace?

My Lord, we have already searched the entire desert.

There really isn't any other place that we have not searched.

There is.

There is still one other place.

Uncle Chen, I am here to see you

to ask if General Wei had received news of Xiao Yue

or if he has already found her.

Ninth Lord, I really do not know.

My young master went to war in the west of the river under His Majesty's orders.

Why would he receive any news of Miss Xin Yue?

Although Miss Xin Yue did leave my young master a letter when she left

I do know that she left the city to return to the desert.

She didn't tell us where she was going.

If that is so, should General Wei find Xiao Yue

please notify me.

Ninth Lord.

Please forgive me for taking advantage of my old age.

Since Miss Xin Yue did not leave

any messages behind for you when she left

that means Miss Xin Yue wishes to have nothing to do with you.

Why would you force her and keep on harassing her?

Uncle Chen, how could you be taking advantage of your old age?

However, you are an outsider in this situation.

You shouldn't make such an assumption.

I don't agree with you.

I saw my young master give money to Miss Xin Yue to come to Jian-An.

However, gods played a trick on them.

They didn't give my young master and Miss Xin Yue a chance then

so someone else got the opportunity to come between them instead.

Uncle Chen, what do you mean by that?

Brother.

I've always felt that the gods have been unfair to my young master.

But now it seems that the gods are still righteous after all.

Miss Xin Yue is a sentimental person who is grateful to others.

She was given a helping hand by the Ninth Lord in times of difficulty.

It is only right that she is grateful to the Ninth Lord for your kindness.

But all in all, our young master and Miss Xin Yue are a perfect match.

It is General Wei's blessing to have Uncle Chen's utmost loyalty.

Ninth Lord, please do not take it personal.

You are a reasonable person.

Since Miss Xin Yue chose to leave

why would you insist on going against her will

and cause the both of you an unnecessary waste of time?

Uncle Chen, have you not gone a bit too far?

Brother, do not be rude.

Please do forgive me if I have offended you, Ninth Lord.

Uncle Chen is eager to take the side of your master.

I understand. Sorry for disturbing you today.

I will take my leave now.

Please take care, Ninth Lord.

You ride very well.

I didn't expect you to learn so much in such a short period of time.

It's really surprising.

I believe that you now understand the fun in galloping freely on horses.

I forced you to learn horsemanship in hope that one day

we could gallop together next to each other.

Stop.

I didn't learn horse-riding to be with you.

But I believe that you like the sensation of riding in the wind.

I don't want you to miss out on such a carefree sensation in this world.

I'll lead some troops back to Jian-An tomorrow.

Don't worry. I won't make you go back with me.

But you're not to sneak back to the desert either.

Aren't you supposed to teach Li Cheng martial arts and master horsemanship?

I'll rush back as soon as possible.

Xiao Yue, I will behave.

I'm leaving early tomorrow morning.

I just want to stay by your side a bit longer.

I'll just stay on the edge of the bed.

Is that all right?

I just had a dream.

I dreamed that you were gone when I got back from Jian-An.

Then I kept galloping on horseback.

But I couldn't find you anywhere.

Xiao Yue, will you make me a promise?

No matter what happens, you won't run away.

You won't leave me.

I will never leave without a word again.

Even if I am leaving, I would bid you farewell in person first.

All right.

Then I'll make you find it hard to bid me farewell.

A few nice words and you always get carried away.

By the way, when you get back to Jian-An

you mustn't tell anyone where I am.

Anyone?

Sure.

If Qin Xiang knows that I am here with Wei Wu Ji

she might get rid of Fair Maiden's House.

I thought that I could escape from all the troubles in Jian-An City

after I left a few letters behind

but life did turn out to be just like what Ms. Hong said.

Life is like intertwining vines.

It isn't something that I can get away from and forget so easily.

It is almost dawn.

Try and get some sleep.

I almost forgot.

What is that?

You prayed for this. Don't you remember?

I don't know what the rhyming couplet means on this lot I drew.

Does it mean that I hope to pursue both stars

but only ended up being alone?

The first half of the couplet seems to be related to Wei Wu Ji.

But no matter how it is interpreted the latter half sounds inauspicious.

He had stood under the sophora tree so still.

So he went back to look for this lot.

Why would he do so much for me?

Why have I only realize now

that he has been protecting me all this time?

The young master is home.

Uncle Chen.

Have you rushed back to Jian-An for any urgent matters?

Although we won the battle in the west of the the river

we have also suffered great loss.

His Majesty must have ordered me to return

to re-deploy the troops and follow up on the victory

to reclaim Hexi Corridor.

It means that you have to return to the army very soon?

Then why isn't Miss Xin Yue here with you?

I told her to stay at the camp.

She seems reluctant to return to Jian-An.

This is better. It should prevent new problems from forming.

Young Master!

Young Master, the Ninth Lord of Shi's Shipping sent someone over

to invite you to a meeting.

The Ninth Lord is really well informed.

You have just returned to Jian-An and he is already aware of it.

Uncle Chen, it is only normal that he would ask about Xiao Yue.

You mustn't be rude.

Yes.

Tell the Ninth Lord's men that I would definitely meet him.

Yes.

- Ninth Lord. - General Wei.

You asked me out to inquire about Xiao Yue's whereabouts?

Could General Wei tell me honestly

where Xiao Yue is right now?

I'm sorry. I don't know either.

Have you sent your men to look for Xiao Yue?

It is my fault that I haven't treated Xiao Yue with honesty.

I didn't cherish her.

Perhaps the gods are punishing me for that now.

You're right.

You once held happiness in your hands

but you didn't cherish it then.

I hope that this mistake of mine will not become my regret for life.

I hope that I could still get to see Xiao Yue again.

If you find Xiao Yue

please notify me.

That depends on Xiao Yue.

I wouldn't do anything that she dislikes.

You are a man of undaunted spirits.

I have a favor to ask of you.

If you do meet Xiao Yue

please let her know that

I will await her return.

You don't make friends easily.

If you miss the opportunity, then the opportunity is lost.

Hasn't Xiao Yue suffered enough?

Why would you have her suffer more?

I have done wrong, but I hope to make it up to her for the rest of my life.

Do you know what is best for her?

She doesn't need someone who won't cherish her.

One hundred strokes! That's already a hundred strokes!

It's already been a hundred strokes and you're still hitting me?

You have to stay true to your words!

If you don't want to die on the battlefield you have to practice diligently!

You never know what might happen on the battlefield!

You can only react on instincts.

Clean up your wounds.

I'll take you out for a good meal in the market tonight to give you nourishment.

Put in a good word for me with the General

so that I could go to war to kill the enemies!

All right, go and wash your face.

Enjoy your meal, gentlemen.

What is this?

Chicken stew with red dates and goji berries.

The medicinal taste is so strong. We're only having this?

Do you have a problem with it?

This is so much better than the food at the camp.

You don't even have any fats in the food at the camp.

That's for sure.

This is definitely better but it reeks of medicinal smell.

It's like one of those stews that women have after childbirth.

You did bleed quite a lot.

That is why I order it especially for you as a nourishment.

Shut up and finish it.

Lad, have you seen a woman from Central Plains about this height?

She's quite slender and good-looking.

- I haven't seen her. - Thank you.

I've seen that symbol somewhere.

Lad, are those two men from here?

No, they seem to be servants of some wealthy family.

Someone in their family has gone missing.

They were looking around for a young lady.

I guess that she must have been taken away by bandits?

In such times of war and chaos, life is difficult as it is.

People ended up becoming bandits. How are we to protect ourselves?

That young lady might have already met imminent danger.

This is all the Tartars' fault! If we defeat them we could live in peace.

No one has to be a bandit anymore.

Forget it. The Tartars are your enemies.

It's useless to reason with you.

Let's finish our meal quickly.

Greetings to Mister Xin.

I recognize you. What is the matter?

This is a letter for you from the General.

Sima Lie and I are leading the troops from Duye Mountain.

We'll lead the troops separately to attack the Tartars.

Li Ji has joined the army this time.

Don't worry. He is with his father, and he sets out from the right of Beiping.

We are all leading separate troops.

There is a slim chance that we would meet up anytime soon before the war is over.

After you receive my letter, leave with the messenger.

I will see you in Duye Mountain.

The General ordered me to take you to Duye Mountain.

The General must have given you special orders.

It's unlikely for me not to leave with you.

Be it then.

But I have to take Li Cheng with me.

Can you do that?

I do have the authority to do so.

I just need to get the commander of this camp to release him.

It will be a lot easier once we meet up with the General.

Wait here for me. I'll go and get ready.

I wonder what else the General ordered you to do.

You seem to be very nervous.

It isn't just orders from the General

but my father also nagged me about this all night before I came here.

I don't know how I should treat you.

I am really worried that you might turn down the General's orders.

Your father?

You know my father. He is the General's housekeeper.

So you know that I...

Look how much your General put me through.

Only I get to torment others.

When have I ever been tormented by anyone?

Lovers are destined to meet.

Those words didn't come from me. It was my father.

Wait here.

Let's go. We have to get going.

General, Mister Xin has arrived.

It's been a month since I last saw you. I've been worried since then.

I worried that I might wake up to a letter that informs me of your disappearance.

Although you rarely tell the truth you do keep your promise well.

You really just do whatever you want.

Don't you care what others might think about you?

Let go of me.

General, the commandants are waiting for you to join the discussion.

I'm off to discuss the battle.

Why did you bring me here when you are going off to battle?

What lie should I come up with this time?

What martial arts skills must be trained in a hug?

Our army will leave from Duye Mountain this time.

General Li Da and General Zhang Shuo will lead ten thousand soldiers

will attack the Tartars' Left Virtuous King

to support the main army that is conquering the west.

It means that we are attacking the Tartars from the east and west.

Exactly.

However, the geographical layout of the desert is extremely complicated.

General Sima must familiarize with the geographical layout

in order for our army to succeed in launching a pincer attack.

Please don't worry, Young General Wei.

I have been in the service of General Wan Qian for years.

I have been in and out of the desert numerous times.

That won't be a problem for me.

That is good to know.

As long as we could break the siege

and with the support of General Li Da

nothing should go wrong.

I will surely lead my troops to the destination on time

to work hand in hand with General Wei.

Great.

The army will set out in two days.

- We shall attack from three directions. - Yes!

Mister Xin!

- Junior horsemaster. - Mister Xin, I'm begging you.

I'm begging you!

I know that your relationship with General Wei is out of the ordinary.

I'm begging you! You made me a promise.

As long as I could take a hundred strokes from you

you would let me fight the Tartars with the General.

I beg you to keep your promise.

Allow me to go to the battlefield with the General.

Get up first

Mister Xin, you have to promise me.

I must seek revenge.

I must avenge my parents and my family!

But the battlefield is no playground.

I'm not scared, nor am I afraid of death.

Mister Xin, please help me.

Please help me!

Mister Xin, please fulfill my wish!

What is the matter?

What are you thinking about sitting here on your own?

What else could I think about in a military camp?

It's definitely about taking the city and fighting enemies.

Don't worry. You have me.

The Tartars won't be able to hurt you.

I'm not worried about myself.

I'm worried about Li Cheng.

I promised him that I would ask you on his behalf to send him to war.

But he doesn't really know how cruel war truly is.

When he gallops on horseback life and death is but a feet away.

Being skilled in martial arts doesn't necessarily guarantee one's survival.

If seeking revenge is a must for him

then he will find it worthwhile even if he has to die.

Really?

Do you really think that he'd rather live a life of ease and comfort?

If that is true

he wouldn't have joined the army.

Of course, not everyone gets to return home from war.

You're contradicting yourself.

You just said that you would make sure that no harm comes to me.

That's because I am Wei Wu Ji.

That is why... you are an exception.

General Zhao!

I heard that you were present when

General Wei attacked the Tartar's hinterland?

Tell me about it so I could learn more.

I'll tell you about it slowly when we are done with this battle.

The journey here has been safe and sound.

What are you worried about?

The more peaceful it is, the more worrying it is.

This is too uncommon.

- General... - How is it?

Have you managed to get in touch with Sima Lie?

None of the scouts that we sent out reported having seen General Sima.

Up until this moment, General Sima has yet to reach the destination as agreed.

Neither has he sent any messengers to contact us.

There aren't any news of General Li Da and General Zhang Shuo either.

Neither of them has reached here in time according to our plans.

Send more men to look into this matter.

In addition, the news of Sima Lie must not be known to anyone.

You must also station more men on guard to prevent the enemies from

to prevent the enemies from sneaking an attack on us.

- Yes. - Hurry.

Although I've memorized the Art of War by heart

knowledge on books is still not applicable in real life.

Besides, judging from the current situation

the troops that are supposed to join us are now missing.

As for the reinforcements, they are nowhere to be found.

This battle is just about to begin and we are already in a complete mess.

We are at a great disadvantage.

What is it?

You must be tired having traveled with the army all day?

How could I not be tired?

My legs and waist feel as if they are already detached.

You had to make me a soldier for no good reason...

This is the consequences that you have to bear for leaving Jian-An City.

The evil we bring on ourselves is the hardest to bear.

The evil that I brought upon myself?

You really are a tyrant.

You say what you want.

You now know how hard it is to make a living?

You have to be a bit more thrifty in the future.

You made me join the army.

I must be paid no more, no less.

Fine! My money will be yours

and your money is still yours.

I'm just worried that I might not live to spend the money.

The situation has taken a sharp turn, so do you want to come up with a plan?

Aren't you worried?

Don't think too much about it.

Aren't you tired already?

Go and rest.

General, the army is all set to go.

General, there are still no news of General Li Da and General Sima.

General Li Da had once been lost in the desert.

In order to prevent him from getting lost in the desert again

His Majesty has specially arranged Zhang Shuo, who is familiar with

the geographical layout to travel with him.

But this time, it is General Sima Lie who fought alongside my uncle

for years that has gotten lost this time.

General, what about us? What should we do?

We shall proceed to Heli Mountain.

- Yes! - Yes!

Heli Mountain is abundant in water resources and grass.

It is the main pasture where the Tartars set their sheep out to graze.

It is also the prized mountain of the Tartars.

This would not be an easy battle.

We didn't plan on fighting alone.

But now it seems that we'd have to fight this battle alone after all.

You intend to go deep into their lands alone?

Sure, this isn't the first time that you're doing this anyway.

You went straight into the Tartar's hinterland with only eight hundred men

on your first battle.

If you win this battle, His Majesty should be more pleased than ever.

Of course.

Why are we turning back?

Judging by this direction, it seems to be so.

But in Gobi Desert, it looks the same everywhere.

It doesn't seem to be different to me.

Perhaps the General is advancing on an indirect route.

Does he know that we are heading backwards?

Could he have lost his way?

Stop!

General, we...

The Tartars seem to know our location.

I've taken a detour in order to get past the Tartars' scouts

so that they could stop tailing us.

If they discover where we are heading

they could ambush us ahead of time

and wait at ease to attack us.

The entire army could be at risk.

It's those two fellows

who leaked our whereabouts.

Are you saying that these two feather pests up there are the scouts?

You have to believe that.

These birds are the most annoying.

When my wolf brother and I managed to catch our prey

they would swirl around in the sky

to dive down and rob us of our prey.

My wolf brother could do nothing about them because they could fly.

We have even run into such a situation now?

We were supposed to attack the Tartars but now they are pursuing us.

I was already wondering why those two falcons would keep flying past us

instead of looking for prey.

Perhaps the rumor is true.

By your judgment, how many of these falcons do the Tartars have?

Those fellows have their nest up in places where people are scarce.

It's difficult to get hold of their fledglings.

They are extremely proud and carefree.

Unless they have been bred and trained since they were young

they would rather die than obey anyone's orders.

It is already impressive that the Tartars have two of them.

Do you mean to say that the Tartars only have those two falcons?

If they are so easy to raise, it wouldn't just be a rumor.

And they wouldn't have let you barge into their hinterland with just

eight hundred men last time.

Then this is a lot easier to tackle.

I'll shoot them down right now and serve them for supper.

Mister Xin.

General, those two falcons are too high up in the sky.

If they don't swoop down, it will be difficult for us to shoot them.

They are both very well-trained.

We have to be patient and wait for the right timing.

Junior horsemaster, let's go horseback riding.

Mister Xin, I don't want to miss this crucial moment.

All right then. You keep on waiting.

I didn't expect to run out of patience sooner than Wei Wu Ji.

He is unlike his restless self when he is on a battlefield.

Great!

I apologize for my incompetence.

Please punish me according to the military law, General.

Mister Xin, what is the matter with the General?

This is troublesome.

Those two falcons had undergone special training.

They are already a lot more alert than wild falcons

and a lot less playful.

That falcon is now frightened.

It won't give us another chance to shoot it down.

All right, stop looking at them. Go and have some rest.

Mister Xin... The army needs a refill of water supply.

Are there any water sources nearby?

The nearest source is the Western Sea.

But that is in the hinterland of the Tartars.

All right, we'll head to the Western Sea then.

Zhao Meng Shan! Chen Yan Guang!

- General. - General.

We'll break up the army to head out in three directions.

Let's head toward the Western Sea.

- Yes! - Go on!

You're trying to distract the enemies?

The battle is inevitable. Since we can't avoid it, we will face it head on.

Do you think that I'd be frightened?

How can you be frightened?

I am only frightened of you.

Let's go!

General, the Tartars must know that we're heading towards the Western Sea.

It seems that we will have to face them in combat.

Then combat it is. We are not afraid to go up against them.

But if the Tartars get the upper hand

we will be at a great disadvantage.

I have a plan that could get us to shoot down that feather fiend.

General, we can lure that falcon down with pigeons.

Even if the pigeons are attacked their sacrifice could turn this crisis around.

Should the pigeons get killed I am willing to pay a heavy sum

to purchase pigeons for Mister Xin when we get back to Jian-An

to make it up to Mister Xin.

Don't you even dare!

Humbleton and Rascal, don't worry.

As long as I am around, no one would dare lay a finger on you.

I will never hand them over to you.

Don't worry, I would never ask that of you.

I won't allow anyone to take them from you either.

The Ninth Lord gave you these two pigeons.

They are extremely important and mean a lot to you.

I understand that, and I empathize with you.

I also respect that.

I don't need you to forget about the past.

All I want is to spend my future with you.

If I like someone, I would want to have her.

It takes a lot of tolerance to love someone.

I will protect this beautiful memory with you.

Believe in me.

That falcon has its eyes on us.

I will handle matters in the army.

You don't have to worry.

We have no other solutions. There is no other way out!

Those are just two pigeons!

Are those pigeons more important than the lives of our men?

Is our army to be wiped out?

What else is there to consider?

General Zhao, since Mister Xin refused, then it is decided.

Are we to rob him of those two pigeons?

Even if we took them by force, those pigeons are intelligent.

They would never do our bidding!

We'll just wait here for our death then!

You...

General.

General.

I know what you have to say.

That is but a falcon.

I don't believe that we can't take down the Tartars.

General, you have to put the interest of the whole above all else!

Let's keep going!

Stop! We shall take a rest here.

No one is to wander off!

- Here. - Here.

Thank you.

Here you go.

Don't be mad anymore.

Didn't the General turn down our idea already?

I heard from my father that you are very familiar with the desert.

You've lived in the desert alone for so many years.

You must have a lot of memories in this place.

Where is Li Cheng?

That lad got very excited when he heard that we are fighting the Tartars.

He kept talking about it on the way.

I am a bit worried about him.

Could you let him ride beside me later?

Of course.

He has never been in a battle.

Life and death are in the hands of the gods on the battlefield.

The brothers who shared a drink yesterday

could be dead at your feet today.

Will the General absolutely be safe?

No one could be absolutely safe on the battlefield.

Don't worry.

The General was brought up in the Imperial Guards' camp

since he was little to fight against the Tartars.

Moreover, he was trained by Great General Wan.

He is very experienced, he should be fine.

Attack! Kill them all!

Attack! Kill them all!

Mister Xin! Come with me!

Mister Xin! I've had my revenge!

I've avenged my family!

I've made it!

I've defeated the Tartars!

I've had my revenge! I've made it!

- I've made it! - Watch out!

Li Cheng!

Li Cheng!

Li Cheng!

Li Cheng...

Am I going to die?

No... No, you're not.

Don't be upset.

I am very happy...

I've avenged my family...

I miss them so much...

I'm so sorry...

This is all my fault...

This is all my fault...

How was the assault on Nan Dynasty's army?

We tried to outflank their army from two directions but they fought us off.

We suffered great casualty in the end..

Weren't we well-informed of the enemies' whereabouts?

Although one of the falcons were shot down

we still have one alive, how could we have been defeated?

This is all because of my incompetence...

Who is the commander of Nan Dynasty's army?

It is Wei Wu Ji.

It's Wei Wu Ji again?

Is it that general who invaded our hinterland with eight hundred men?

Yes, it is him!

This man is the leading general of Nan Dynasty.

Deploy our most elite troop

to intercept Wei Wu Ji's army!

Yes!

Please reconsider, my King.

If you choose to do so, we would let off many of their other troops.

Why would we go to such a hassle to deal with one Wei Wu Ji?

No, we have been at war with Nan Dynasty for years.

Only this Wei Wu Ji has been difficult to deal with.

We must not allow him to live.

Otherwise, we would only be in more trouble.

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