“So this is the army a woman raised! Ha ha, just like this!”

“Yelu Qianqian, take your women’s army and get lost while you still can!”

…

Amid the mounting jeers, unrest began stirring within the Xijing army — after all, these were hot-blooded men, how could they endure such insult and provocation!

But just as that general was about to step forward, a cold, commanding voice cut through all the jeering and unrest, silencing the entire battlefield in an instant, even the pounding of the battering ram coming to a halt.

“This general will accept the challenge!”

That voice!

Yelu Qianqian whipped her head around, and there, amid the vast expanse of heaven and earth, stood that familiar figure — silver spear, white horse, striking and noble as a god descended from the heavens. Yet those eyes, gazing at her from a distance, carried a sorrow as thick and impenetrable as this bleak, wintry desolation.

“Haonan…”

Yelu Qianqian murmured, her voice so faint, so low, even she herself could barely hear it — she realized she hadn’t spoken this name in so, so long.

Haonan… Situ Haonan…

He’d come!

Just a moment ago, how desperately, desperately she’d wished this man would come!

In that instant, all the pain, all the fear, was forgotten — all she wanted was for this man to come!

And he really had come!

Situ Haonan, spear in hand, rode forward on his horse. Those few words alone had completely turned the tide — the unrest within the Xijing army settled at once, every soldier filled with renewed confidence, while within the Xiliang army, chaos erupted, the general and his officers retreating, slipping back step by step without a sound.

Situ Haonan came before Yelu Qianqian, his gentle eyes carrying a sorrow that would never fully fade even in a lifetime, yet he still forced a smile for her, a smile full of tender indulgence. “I’m here.”

Yelu Qianqian covered her mouth, biting her lip, looking at this man before her — visibly thinner, travel-worn, his eyes bloodshot — her heart wrenching as though cut by a blade!

Ziqing’s words surfaced in her mind once again, “Qianqian, you must be brave. You have to be brave — only then will Haonan know what to do.”

Tears welled in her eyes.

Through blurred vision, the man before her was still smiling, a smile that made her heart bleed.

“Don’t worry, the moment Beiyue and Ziqing arrived, I rushed straight here. Ten days — we’ve been apart ten days,” Situ Haonan said quietly.

At these words, Yelu Qianqian finally couldn’t hold back any longer, throwing herself into his arms, holding him tight, tight.

She knew — she had always known that ever since they’d returned from the fire mountain, no matter how fiercely she’d resisted him, he had stayed by her side, watching over her in secret, never once leaving!

Only when he’d had to go to the battlefield had he finally been forced to leave, and even then, he’d apparently been counting the days, one by one — ten days…

This embrace was still just as warm. Yelu Qianqian knew she had to be strong, that she couldn’t cry right now.

She fought back the pain with all her might, suppressing it — she wanted to cry, but no longer for herself, but for Haonan, out of pure heartache for him!

“Silly girl, cry if you need to. As long as you’re in my arms, I’m not afraid of your tears. Cry if you want to,” Situ Haonan said gently.

A man wasn’t meant to keep a woman from crying — he was simply meant to make sure she never had to cry outside his arms.

“Cry. It’s alright. I’ll make everyone wait. Once you’re done crying, you’re still the commanding general, and I’m still your general — I’m willing to serve you for the rest of my life.”

Situ Haonan smiled faintly, his voice light and clear, making no effort to lower it — everyone around them heard every word clearly!

Yet everyone remained silent. Though no one knew for certain whether the princess was crying from the nervousness of leading troops for the first time, or for some other reason, in their eyes, it was perfectly natural for their princess to cry — she’d always been a princess prone to tears anyway. In any case, as long as the princess and her consort shared such devoted affection, that was all that mattered!

With the prince consort here, they had nothing to fear from Xiliang!

Atop the wall, everyone watching this scene unfold was equally baffled, none more so than the general, whose brow furrowed deeply as he retreated step by step.

Situ Haonan had come too — going one-on-one with this man would be suicide!

Only once he’d backed all the way to the wall did the general finally steady himself, immediately whispering, “Retreat! Retreat now! Quick!”

But at that moment, Yelu Qianqian wasn’t crying anymore.

She lifted her head high, her long whip pointed straight at the city gate, and though tear-streaked, her voice rang out firm and unyielding, “Who will be the first to accept the challenge!”

After this, no one dared to speak.

Situ Haonan hurled the commander’s token hard, sending it flying to lodge in the great city gate, and said coldly, “The Princess of Xiliang doesn’t tolerate cowards. Today, you either surrender or die. If you wish to surrender, open the gates. If you wish to die, step forward and fight this general!”

His words were the height of arrogance, leaving the entire wall in uproar, the general’s face ashen, utterly at a loss. But just then, several generals, and no small number of soldiers, began fleeing toward the gate!

“You!”

“Stand your ground, all of you!”

“Whoever takes one more step forward, this general will kill them!”

…

Despite the general’s warnings, no one stopped. In fact, before this group could even reach the gate below, the soldiers stationed there had already thrown it open, and troops poured out in waves, casting down their weapons, raising both hands in surrender.

Seeing this, the general stood atop the wall, so furious his eyes looked ready to split open!

“Situ Haonan, Yelu Qianqian, if you dare accept the surrender of my troops, this general will make sure the entire army knows…”

But before he could finish, a white blur flashed past, and before anyone could even register what had happened, Situ Haonan had landed right beside the general, seizing him savagely by the throat.

“This general is telling you — if one person knows of that matter, this general will kill that one person; if an entire city knows, this general will slaughter the entire city! And you — just like Wanyan Lie — we refuse your surrender!”

With that, Situ Haonan tightened his grip with brutal force, snapping the general’s neck in an instant!

The blood-soaked head was hurled down from the wall, landing right in front of the surrendering troops, leaving everyone stunned in horror.

It was unclear which general knelt first, but in an instant, every soldier dropped to their knees before Yelu Qianqian, “Spare us, Princess! Spare us, Princess! We’re willing to surrender to Xijing, forever loyal to Xijing’s service!”

Yelu Qianqian looked down at the men before her, her gaze icy cold. “Very well, all of you, rise. You’ll serve as the vanguard, marching with me straight to Xiliang. On the day of our great victory, this princess won’t treat you unfairly!”

Since ancient times, the victor claims all — no one could fault that. Having chosen to surrender, these soldiers had also, in the same breath, silently accepted their own betrayal.

No one raised any objection, and everyone rose to their feet.

Yelu Qianqian watched them coldly, thinking to herself that she absolutely must fight her way through, all the way to the end!

She wouldn’t kill Xiliang’s soldiers — she wanted every single one of them to submit beneath her feet, to march with her all the way to Wanyan Lie himself!

She wanted Wanyan Lie to see, with his own eyes, that every one of his soldiers now bowed before her!

She wanted him to taste, for himself, what it felt like to have all his pride, all his dignity, utterly shattered!