“General, Thin Head-Tuo suddenly popped up from underground.
He gave the Second Prince, who was waiting in the camp, quite a scare. Please hurry and take a look!”
Xin Zhui rushed in hastily, his face still completely pale.
“Hold on, I wanted to talk to you earlier. Why aren’t you staying in your tent to recover from your injuries? What’s with all this running around?”
Xin Zhui lowered his head and mumbled for a long time without getting a single word out.
Jiang Xingyan pretended to be displeased: “So, you don’t want to go to the battlefield in a few days, is that it?”
Xin Zhui jerked his head up, his eyes filled with panic: “No, I want to go. I must go!”
Sensing something off about his mood, Jiang Xingyan grew even more puzzled: “Xin Zhui, what’s really going on with you?”
Xin Zhui glanced at Yun Chunfeng, whose expression didn’t look too friendly. Then, steeling himself, he dropped to one knee and said in a choked voice:
“Please, A-Xing, don’t look for another deputy general. I can do it. I can do anything.”
Jiang Xingyan suddenly understood.
So that was it. He was trying to prove how useful he could be to her.
The threat she had made to him when he was hanging between life and death—that he had to pull through—had really carved itself deep into his heart.
“Ahem!”
A light, jealous cough came from behind her, carrying a hint of sourness from Yun Chunfeng.
Jiang Xingyan gave him an affectionate glance, and Yun Chunfeng let out a helpless sigh.
Seems like being too likable isn’t always a good thing for the young lady.
One after another, they all had their eyes set on her.
“Brother Yun, go see what news Mei Shisanniang’s people have brought back.
And young lady, don’t forget to come by later.”
Jiang Xingyan chuckled.
Look at that pitiful, jealous streak—as if she was about to run off and find someone new.
“Brother Yun, don’t worry. You’re the only one.”
The tips of Yun Chunfeng’s ears turned red. Hugging Little Ya, who had already covered her ears, he quickly walked out.
That was exactly the answer he had wanted to hear.
Xin Zhui knelt on the ground, his body trembling slightly beyond his control.
Did he really have no chance left?
If A-Xing ever returned to her original body, it would only become harder for him to even see her again.
“Xin Zhui, as a deputy general, you’re qualified.
But you can’t just be a deputy general for your whole life.”
Xin Zhui suddenly looked up and met Jiang Xingyan’s calm gaze.
“But—”
“Back then, when Old General Huo raised you by his side, it wasn’t just to make you Huo Ci’s right-hand man. He must have also wanted you to one day stand on your own, don’t you think?”
Xin Zhui’s eyes grew even redder.
“As a general, you have to make choices and sacrifices.
Right now, Beiluo is watching us like a predator. We have to prepare our troops and horses for a war that could break out at any moment.
But here you are, ignoring your own weakness and doing things that delay your recovery.
If we had to go into battle tomorrow, what would you do?”
Xin Zhui was speechless: “…A-Xing, I didn’t think it through.”
“Exactly. You often do that.
Back in Qingzhou, you acted on a whim to save that warhorse. Did you ever consider what the consequences might have been?”
Xin Zhui’s heart ached terribly.
He had almost gotten A-Xing killed!
“This is the difference between you and Huo Ci.
Before he takes one step, he can already see what’s going to happen in the next several.
But you? You only focus on what’s right in front of you.”
Xin Zhui hung his head low, deeply ashamed.
Old General Huo had told him this before, and Huo Ci had also pointed it out to him.
But back then, he only wanted to be Huo Ci’s deputy and never took it seriously.
Now that A-Xing had laid it bare, he felt utterly mortified.
“Xin Zhui, you’re very talented. If you can learn to make choices and understand when to advance and when to retreat, given time, you won’t be any worse than Huo Ci.
The future of the Huo Family Army might one day rest on your shoulders. You need to think this over carefully.”
After studying the art of war, Jiang Xingyan had long understood the fate awaiting the Huo Family Army.
Whether it was outstanding merit that overshadowed the ruler’s or military power slipping out of the ruler’s hands—neither was something any monarch could tolerate.
At the earliest, after Beiluo was destroyed, and at the latest, when the balance of power in Daxia was stabilized—that would be the day the hunting dogs were boiled and eaten.
Xin Zhui knelt there in a daze.
A-Xing was right. He couldn’t keep acting so willfully anymore.
A-Xing wouldn’t like a childish fool.
——-
When Jiang Xingyan returned to the main tent, Fat Head-Tuo had already left.
Xiao Zhenhuai was pale, leaning back on the camp bed—probably quite startled earlier.
Yun Chunfeng had a grave expression, lost in thought.
The moment she stepped inside, it was like fresh, living water pouring into a pool of frozen stillness.
Both of them immediately showed signs of liveliness.
“Young lady, here’s a letter from Mei Shisanniang.”
Jiang Xingyan took a piece of lotus-flower stationery that carried a faint, delicate fragrance.
She had to admire Mei Shisanniang for finding such fine paper even while staying hidden in tunnels.
On it was written neat and elegant small-character calligraphy.
It was hard to connect with the seductive and alluring image she usually projected.
Jiang Xingyan couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: Mei Shisanniang, what other surprises are you hiding that I don’t know about?
“To General Huo, or to that clueless, grumpy Taoist—either may open this:
Little sister has safely entered Beiluo territory. However, I tried several tunnel exits, and all of them were sealed shut. Little sister doesn’t know why.
So I’ve had to go back to my old trade—digging tunnels again.
All day long, my face is covered in dust and dirt. General Huo, you’d better not look down on little sister for this.
I’ve made such a big sacrifice. If you don’t make me a colonel in the Embroidered Garment Camp, I really won’t agree to it.
Alright, alright, time to talk business.
As soon as I arrived in Beiluo, I heard an earth-shaking boom. The ground trembled and shook so hard, little sister and my four companions almost got crushed to death in the tunnels.
My poor little heart is so flustered. I wonder if this is the abnormality General Huo was looking for?”
Jiang Xingyan unconsciously began nibbling on her thumbnail.
An earth-shaking boom, ground trembling and shaking—those key words swirled around in her mind, refusing to leave, and for some reason, they filled her with an immense sense of fear.
“Brother Yun, this is—”
“Don’t be afraid, young lady. Brother Yun is here for everything.”
Seeing the calm confidence on Yun Chunfeng’s face, Jiang Xingyan’s heart instantly settled down.
Then her eyes fell on Little Ya, who had somehow already fallen asleep in his arms, and her heart tightened again.
On this march, Brother Yun would have to go along.
Huo Ci was still unconscious, and the martial skills in this body of his hadn’t recovered yet.
What was to be done about Little Ya?
Leaving her in the camp—Jiang Xingyan wouldn’t feel at ease.
Bringing her along—that would be far too dangerous.
Her thoughts involuntarily turned to that person.
If it were him, he would definitely be able to protect Little Ya, wouldn’t he?
But what would he do about Shangguan Luoyue?
“He Han, Yu Jiaojiao, where are you?”
“Here!”
They had been hiding near the main tent, fending off all the half-baked challengers, which had eased a lot of the burden on the guards.
“Head immediately to Daxia. Gather all the news on Shangguan Hanshan and Shangguan Luoyue and send it back here.”
“Understood!”
Yu Jiaojiao was full of determination to complete this mission flawlessly.
“Hey, senior fellow apprentice, this time, no more slip-ups, okay?”
“Okay.”
