Falling Flower Daoist quickly changed his tune: “If Junior Brother has no objections, then we’ll hand over the money and the goods at the same time. If there’s a need later on, you can place an order in advance.”
Xiao Zhonghua narrowed his eyes.
This attempt at backpedaling was practically an admission of guilt—the more he tried to cover it up, the more obvious it became.
From the moment they’d entered the Iron Stone Camp, he’d suspected something off about the relationship between “Huo Ci” and Yun Chunfeng. Their squabbles never seemed to come from the heart. And when it really counted, “Huo Ci” leaned on Yun Chunfeng completely.
Earlier, when Iron Stone had lit the blended powder, Yun Chunfeng had instinctively shielded “Huo Ci” beneath himself. That kind of muscle memory—etched into his very bones—couldn’t lie. And the way Senior Brother Yun Chunfeng had let slip the words “Junior Sister-in-Law” had sent a jolt through Xiao Zhonghua’s heart.
Could it be that the “Huo Ci” before him was a fake?
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Yun Chunfeng and his senior brothers possessed abilities that bordered on the divine—changing a person’s appearance so thoroughly that no one could tell the difference would be child’s play for them, wouldn’t it?
Xiao Zhonghua felt a chill run down his spine.
This was practically treating the lives of Western Zhou’s millions of citizens and soldiers like a game! At such a critical moment of life and death, they’d swapped Huo Ci out for someone else—if anything went wrong, could they bear the responsibility?
Remembering how flustered “Huo Ci” had looked just now, Xiao Zhonghua’s heart sank deeper.
No wonder he’d felt something was off. The great General Huo Ci, the Northern Pacification Commander, had seen it all—why would he lose his composure over a few casualties?
The suspicion in his mind grew sharper by the second. Just as he was about to probe indirectly for confirmation, he looked up and saw Jiang Xingyan already deep in discussion with Iron Stone and Yun Chunfeng about how to make the most of those explosive alchemical furnaces.
Xiao Zhonghua grew even more confused.
If the “Huo Ci” before him was an impostor, then what was “his” goal? Was it simply to take Huo Ci’s place on the frontier? Or did “he” want to prove that “he” was no less capable than the real Huo Ci? But why on earth would Yun Chunfeng go along with this madness! If they were found out, it would be a crime of deceiving the sovereign—one that would bring destruction upon their entire clan!
“Third Prince, what are you standing there for? Lend a hand!”
“Ah, right. I’m coming.”
Xiao Zhonghua walked over and, together with “Huo Ci,” lifted one of the alchemical furnaces. Feigning nonchalance, he asked, “General Huo, this thing is so heavy—how can our soldiers possibly carry it into battle?”
Jiang Xingyan had already figured out her plan. Since Xiao Zhonghua wouldn’t betray them, she laid it all out for him.
“Tonight, this general will take one alchemical furnace to the encampment where the Northern Luo scoundrels have set up outside Jingyu Pass. It doesn’t matter where—I just need a spot with a good number of people. I’ll light it up and toss it down. Let’s see whether their scout soldiers’ suicide bombs do more damage, or whether my alchemical furnace comes out on top.”
Xiao Zhonghua could hardly believe his ears. “General, you can’t! Just now, when that Daoist gave his demonstration, if the barrier hadn’t held, we’d all have been reduced to mincemeat!” His tone was earnest, urgent. “In that split second when the fuse catches, would you even have time to get away? The Huo Family Army cannot go a single day without its commander. I beg you to think this through.”
Jiang Xingyan waved her hand dismissively. “It’s just an alchemical furnace—I’m not worried about it. Besides, I’ve already had the National Preceptor make a longer fuse, so I should be fine. I need to go now—I can’t afford to wait until daybreak, or it’ll be much harder to pull off.”
Watching “Huo Ci” pick up the furnace and prepare to leave, Xiao Zhonghua’s mind churned with tangled emotions—like a jar of oil, salt, soy, vinegar, and tea all knocked over at once. If “he” was a fake “Huo Ci,” then what was driving “him” to charge forward so recklessly, heedless of life and death?
For the moment, Xiao Zhonghua shelved his intention to test “Huo Ci” and decided to observe for a few more days. If “Huo Ci” did anything to harm Western Zhou’s interests or showed any sign of defecting to the empire, he would expose them without mercy.
“National Preceptor, is General Huo’s mission safe?”
Yun Chunfeng lightly waved his feathered fan. “Of course.”
But Xiao Zhonghua could clearly see, deep in his shadowed eyes, the worry that lay hidden beneath the surface. And yet, that worry wasn’t directed at Huo Ci—it seemed to be peering into “Huo Ci’s” very soul.
Xiao Zhonghua’s head was full of tangled threads, all knotted into a dead end.
——-
Jiang Xingyan carried the alchemical furnace, packed it full of medicinal herbs, and applied an invisibility talisman before racing toward the border between Western Zhou and Northern Luo. With the guidance of both Yun Chunfeng and Huo Ci, her lightness skill had grown ever more refined. She flew for a long while without feeling tired at all.
When she finally stopped to catch her breath, she spotted faint campfires flickering in the distance. It seemed the Northern Luo army’s encampment lay just ahead. No wonder the letters from the garrison commanders had said they could see the Northern Luo forces from the city walls—they really weren’t far off.
Jiang Xingyan held her breath, steadied her focus, and carried the alchemical furnace as she crept low into the Northern Luo camp. She noticed that all their tents were made of sheepskin and cowhide, giving off a faint, musky smell of animal fat.
She made her way inward from the outermost rows of small tents. In half of them, the soldiers were already asleep; from the other half came muffled sobs. Curiosity got the better of her, and she paused outside one of the tents where someone was crying.
From inside, she heard a low, choked voice: “Father… Big Brother… you died so horribly… I couldn’t even recover a single bone to enshrine. Down there in the earth, you must be suffering…”
Jiang Xingyan’s heart ached, and she quickly moved on to the next tent. The cruelty of war lay in dragging countless common folk into its maw, ripping them from their peaceful lives and forcing them to endure the agony of parting from their loved ones. How could she bring herself to drop such a devastating alchemical furnace here?
By the time she finally reached the middle of the encampment, it was already past the third watch. She had to hurry.
The tents here were noticeably larger, clearly no longer housing ordinary soldiers. Jiang Xingyan set down the alchemical furnace and was just about to light the fuse when she heard the clanking of armor and metal from inside.
“Wotai, don’t you stop me—I have to go to General Baha’s tent and give him a piece of my mind!”
“Jibuha, you’re just a lowly hundred-household commander—what could you possibly say to General Baha?”
“I want him to release our prairie eagle, General Tuoba Hongxue, from that godforsaken dungeon!”
“Shh!”
It sounded like Wotai had covered Jibuha’s mouth.
“Jibuha, if you keep running your mouth without so much as a fence to hold your words in, even the King himself won’t be able to save you!”
Jibuha was hot-tempered, pacing back and forth inside the tent. “I’d rather die myself than let the King keep trusting that coward who’s as timid as a pigeon! Look at that black powder he invented—the one that catches fire—it didn’t kill a single Western Zhou pig, just blew our own brothers and countrymen to pieces! What kind of logic is that! If General Tuoba were still here—”
“That’s enough! Jibuha, if you want your head cut off, go ahead and shout louder—say General Tuoba’s name as loud as you want! Let’s see if you’ll still be able to save anyone when we’re burying you six feet under!”
Wotai’s words carried a hidden meaning. Jibuha wasn’t a complete fool—he caught the implication.
“What! Most wise Wotai, tell Jibuha your plan right now!”
Their voices grew quieter, and Jiang Xingyan could no longer make out what they were planning.
She found it strange—why would they lock Tuoba Hongxue away? That otherworldly visitor’s incredibly powerful black powder, combined with Tuoba Hongxue’s strategic brilliance, would have been more than enough to give them a real fight. From what she’d just overheard, it seemed Northern Luo had no intention of using Tuoba Hongxue at all.
Brimming with questions, Jiang Xingyan decided to go straight to the main command tent. The lights there were the brightest—it looked like someone else couldn’t sleep either.
“…General Baha, now that victory is within reach at Shanhe Pass, you absolutely cannot afford the slightest mistake at Jingyu Pass, the one you’re in charge of attacking.”
A soft, effeminate voice spoke, accompanied by a jingling string of bells.
General Baha replied in a deep, rumbling tone: “Baha understands! But every time we attack, we have to sacrifice our brave Northern Luo warriors for nothing—Baha’s heart aches!”
“Heh heh.”
The effeminate voice let out a quiet laugh. “Which family’s war doesn’t claim a few lives? Your soldiers—dying upon the miracle I’ve invented—can count it as a meritorious deed, a worthy end. Who knows, when they open their eyes again, they might see your True Lord leading them to paradise.”
What?!
It’s him?!
