Jiang Xingyan looked at Yun Chunfeng in disbelief.
Yun Chunfeng curved his lips into a faint smile, his voice laced with deep concern and reluctance:
“It’s not just that otherworldly visitor who wants this war over as soon as possible—Yun Ge’er wants it too.”
He casually switched between reality and dream.
There lay Huo Ci’s body, slowly reclining on the bed, sleeping right beside Little Ya.
Her soul, now freed from Jiang Xingyan’s form, stared back at him with wide, phoenix-like eyes, utterly dumbfounded.
He walked over slowly, cupped her delicate little face in his hands, and gently pecked her cool, soft lips.
“Miss, you must have sensed it too, haven’t you?
The day we return victorious is the day your soul returns to its rightful place.
Yun Ge’er has waited for that day—far, far too long.
With Fourth Senior Brother’s pill formula this time, we can surely turn the tide for now and catch Beiluo completely off guard.
If we can end this swiftly, then Yun Ge’er will never—ever—leave your side.”
——-
Dawn broke.
Jiang Xingyan rode her warhorse at full gallop.
Even the fierce wind howling past couldn’t blow away the blush on her face.
Just thinking about Yun Ge’er’s alluring expression made her flush from the tips of her ears all the way down to her neck.
She could hardly imagine how clingy he’d be once they swapped back.
She pushed forward at top speed, having long since overtaken the ten thousand soldiers sent out the night before, racing toward Shanhai Pass.
Along the way, she traveled by night and rested by day, drinking when thirsty and eating when hungry.
Finally, on the morning of the third day, she arrived at Shanhai Pass.
Thankfully, Huo Ci’s physique was sturdy—a born warrior.
If it had been an ordinary person, they would have collapsed from exhaustion and needed at least ten days to half a month to recover.
Even though she’d mentally prepared herself for the situation at Shanhai Pass before coming,
the moment Jiang Xingyan saw the half-collapsed city wall from afar, her heart sank to the bottom.
As she drew closer, all she could see were severed fingers and scattered remains everywhere, the stench of blood so thick it made her nauseous.
Her eyes stung with tears. She was about to call out for Xin Zhui when she heard a timid voice shout: “General?”
After him, countless voices choked with emotion cheered: “It’s the General!”
Jiang Xingyan whipped her head around—and saw hundreds of soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder at the breach in the city wall.
They were using their own flesh and blood as a new wall.
Standing right in the middle was Huo Ci.
In that instant, hot tears rolled down her face.
At that moment, she completely let go of her hatred for Huo Ci.
Just as she’d told Sun Yaxiang: people are complicated.
She decided she would no longer make things difficult for him—nor for herself.
They were both good people in their own right, and her grandfather hadn’t misjudged.
They just weren’t meant to be together.
In this lifetime, they were comrades who had fought side by side through life and death.
So let the old grudges go. Live their own lives. Hold no more resentment.
The city gates opened, and Jiang Xingyan spurred her horse inside.
There were no more gruesome sights within the city.
It seemed the soldiers had used human-wave tactics to hold the enemy outside the walls.
Xiao Zhunhuai rushed over.
Dark circles hung under his eyes, as if he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in days.
“General Huo, why have you come alone?”
Jiang Xingyan’s tone was firm, instilling great courage in those who heard it.
“I already have a plan to defeat the enemy. Gather twenty thousand soldiers and await my orders!”
Xiao Zhunhuai’s eyes gleamed with anticipation.
He knew it—this extraordinary woman would bring them a miracle.
Just like she had in Qingzhou.
Soon, out of fifty thousand soldiers, only ten thousand remained uninjured.
Every single one of them gritted their teeth, eyes blazing with fury.
If not for military discipline, they would have already charged out to fight the Beiluo dogs to the death.
Jiang Xingyan stood on the reviewing platform, sensing the soldiers’ indignation and rage. She cleared her throat and called out loud:
“Men, do you know why I haven’t sent you out to face the enemy?”
“No, General!”
“Because you are the last defensive and counterattack force of our Huo Family Army at Shanhai Pass!
If all of you were killed or maimed, and we couldn’t hold out until reinforcements arrived, we’d be completely wiped out.
Is that what you want?!”
“No!”
“Then heed my orders—return to camp, rest, and regroup. Wait for the command to advance.
I want to see what you’re truly made of. The one with the most enemy heads taken will be handsomely rewarded!”
“Yes, General!”
With those words, the soldiers’ hearts suddenly cleared.
Their anger transformed into morale, and they filed off one by one.
Huo Ci, who had been called back, stood behind Jiang Xingyan with a downcast, sheepish look.
He had led the third contingent to Shanhai Pass.
Along the way, they ran into two days of torrential rain.
The downpour was fierce, like buckets being emptied from the sky.
The heavy rain eroded the roads and loosened the mountain slopes.
For safety, he could only take the ten-thousand-plus soldiers to take shelter midway and wait for clear skies.
By the time he finally arrived at Shanhai Pass, the city wall had already been blasted open, and casualties had exceeded half.
Even Xin Zhui—
“Where is Xin Zhui?”
Jiang Xingyan suddenly felt a pang of unease.
It was Xin Zhui who had requested reinforcements. She’d been here for a while now, yet he still hadn’t come to brief her on the situation over the past few days.
“He’s in the camp tent.”
Seeing Huo Ci’s hesitant, evasive manner, a chill ran down Jiang Xingyan’s spine.
“What happened to him?!”
At the shock and pain in Jiang Xingyan’s eyes, Huo Ci quickly waved his hands: “No—it’s not what you think.
That night, Beiluo launched a surprise attack. Xin Zhui charged to the front and got wounded.”
“Take me to him at once.”
Though Huo Ci didn’t slow his pace and hurried toward the tent where Xin Zhui was recuperating,
his heart was filled with sour bitterness.
Even Xin Zhui now ranked higher in A Yan’s heart than he did.
Just look at how anxious she was—that’s how much she cared.
They arrived at a tent thick with the smell of medicine.
It was dim and gloomy inside, the furnishings barely visible.
Huo Ci signaled the attendant soldier to light the candles.
Xin Zhui’s face, as pale as gold paper, suddenly appeared before Jiang Xingyan.
He looked even worse than when he’d been flogged a hundred times with boards smeared in fecal filth.
His body was tightly wrapped in several layers of bandages, yet black blood still seeped through.
“It was late at night. Xin Zhui took a bundle of torches and went beyond the city wall, willing to risk his life just to light up the surroundings.
He tossed several torches in different directions, and then a pack of Beiluo scum swarmed him.
The archers, afraid of hitting Xin Zhui, could only shoot at the enemies closing in on the wall.
Xin Zhui couldn’t fend off so many with his bare hands and was soon cut down.
Their blades were all coated with potent poison.
The assault battalion soldiers rushed out and dragged him back.
If it weren’t for the detox pill given by the Imperial Advisor last time—which seemed to have some lingering effect in his body and protected his heart meridians—he probably wouldn’t have made it this long.”
Though Huo Ci’s account was brief, Jiang Xingyan could feel the brutality of that night’s battle.
She had a luminous pearl, but Xin Zhui didn’t.
He had to light up the darkness around him himself.
It wasn’t recklessness—it was the only choice he had.
Jiang Xingyan frantically pulled a detox pill from her pocket.
“Quick—give him another one!”
“Absolutely not!”
Xiao Zhunhuai rushed in from outside the tent.
“The Imperial Advisor said that the detox pill cannot be taken twice within a month.
Otherwise, it becomes the deadliest poison under heaven!
Deputy General Xin took one internally and applied one externally just days ago. It cannot be used again now.”
Jiang Xingyan froze: “How could this be…”
She looked down at Xin Zhui, lying prone on the military cot.
If not for the faint rise and fall of his back, there wasn’t a single sign that he was still alive.
Jiang Xingyan walked over quickly and knelt beside his bed.
She said only one sentence: “Xin Zhui, I command you—wake up.”
