But the entire city still maintained high alert until Fu Ruoxi, riding at the very front, held up the severed head of Liang general Gu Shanhai and shouted: “This subordinate Fu Ruoxi returns from reinforcing Fire God Mountain! I have taken the head of Liang army general Gu Shanhai!”

No one had expected Fu Ruoxi to be so valiant, not only rescuing people but also beheading a fierce Liang general!

Liu Hong was overjoyed and shouted, “Quickly open the city gates!”

Bai Qingyan swiftly rushed down from the city tower, with Lu Ping and the Bai family guards immediately following.

Watching the city gates open, Fu Ruoxi, Lin Kangle, and Wang Xiping rode into the city. As soon as Fu Ruoxi dismounted, she said, “Quickly prepare food and drink! The brothers trapped at Fire God Mountain are all starving!”

After speaking, Fu Ruoxi strode quickly toward the tense-looking Bai Qingyan, cupping her fists and saying: “Princess, the Liang army suddenly sent reinforcements. County Princess Gaoyi… to save the Jin army brothers who had been trapped for nearly half a month, led people to draw the Liang army away deep into the forest. Now the Liang army has set fire to the mountain and surrounded it below. This subordinate is incompetent and truly had no way to rescue County Princess Gaoyi, so they could only return first! Please forgive this transgression, Princess!”

“Princess, rest assured!” Wang Xiping wiped the soot from his face and said, “Du Sanbao has taken a battalion of men and is searching for County Princess Gaoyi in the mountains.”

Bai Qingyan’s hand gripping the Sun-Shooting Bow tightened, and suddenly, cold intent surged forth, her spine trembling. She bit her teeth tightly and said nothing, untying the iron sand weights wrapped around both arms and striding forward to grab the reins and leap onto a horse: “Bai family guard army! Mount up!”

“Yes!” The Bai family guard army’s voices thundered like a bell.

Lu Ping clenched his teeth and led twenty Bai family guards to leap onto horses, their entire bodies seething with killing intent, ready to rush to Fire God Mountain with Bai Qingyan to rescue Bai Jinzhi.

“Princess!” Fu Ruoxi called out with guilt in her heart.

“Princess!” Liu Hong’s eyes widened as he shouted, not caring about anything else, as he rushed forward to grab the reins of Bai Qingyan’s horse, crying out: “Princess! The Liang army is burning the mountain. County Princess Gaoyi has no possibility of survival! Even General Fu Ruoxi had no solution. Even if you go, Princess, it would be sending yourself to death!”

“So, leaving Du Sanbao and his battalion of men there – is that to let them go die?” Bai Qingyan’s eyes were frosty as ice, forcefully pulling back the reins.

Liu Hong gritted his teeth and blocked the path of the steed. To prevent Bai Qingyan from rushing to Fire God Mountain to her death, he shouted: “The Princess is different from Du Sanbao and the others! Though I am the Jin army commander, the Princess possesses the talent of a general and commander, and is the one who formulates our army’s marching strategies! Du Sanbao can die! But the Princess cannot come to harm!”

“Move aside!” Bai Qingyan was furious beyond measure. Her heart burned with desire to save her sister, her eyes reddening. Not wishing to engage in verbal debate with Liu Hong, she raised her whip and spurred her horse straight toward Liu Hong’s direction: “Hya!”

“Commander, be careful!” Fu Ruoxi rushed over and directly tackled Liu Hong aside.

The steed Bai Qingyan rode leaped up and jumped over Liu Hong and Fu Ruoxi.

Before Liu Hong could stand up, he shouted: “Stop the Princess of Zhenguo!”

At the commander’s single command, the generals and soldiers desperately rushed forward, using their flesh and blood to block the city gate. The steed beneath Bai Qingyan reared up neighing, forcibly stopping its steps.

“Evil kills one person for selfish desires, good kills a hundred for the world’s ten thousand people. Even if sacrificing your fourth sister to save Jin’s border people, what’s wrong with that? Prince Zhenguo Bai Qishan, to protect the Jin people and prevent the enemy from disrupting military morale, raised his bow and shot five young masters of the Bai family! Yet you are only concerned with saving one person before your eyes – do you still deserve the title ‘Zhenguo’?!”

Liu Hong hurriedly got up, rushing toward Bai Qingyan while shouting himself hoarse, his neck veins bulging, stepping forward once again to grab Bai Qingyan’s reins: “Princess! The greater good is paramount! Tens of thousands of border people are paramount!”

“The Jin army’s marching strategy has already been decided. Can’t General Liu Hong also execute the plan? Are Jin’s generals and soldiers truly so useless that they need a woman like me to achieve victory?”

“This morning, the Princess told me that whether it’s the Bai family, Jin soldiers, or me! We all came here for the four words ‘protect borders and safeguard people’! County Princess Gaoyi is the same! For the Princess to go risk danger for County Princess Gaoyi alone – is this what County Princess Gaoyi would want to see? What County Princess Gaoyi wants to see is driving the Liang dogs back to their Liang state!” Liu Hong spoke rapidly and urgently. “The Princess possesses the talent of a general and commander rarely seen in a century, and absolutely cannot come to harm! To exchange such talent for County Princess Gaoyi, whose chances of survival are minimal – is it worth it?!”

“The Bai family’s righteousness… if sacrificing one’s own life can preserve comrades’ safety, the Bai family is willing to give their lives for righteousness! That’s why County Princess Gaoyi sacrificed herself to lead the Liang army into the deep forest! I believe County Princess Gaoyi has deep feelings for Princess Zhenguo and would not hope for the Princess to go risk danger!”

Bai Qingyan forcefully pulled back the reins: “If you speak to me of righteousness, then I’ll tell you what righteousness is! The Bai family army’s righteousness is to never abandon any comrade who has lived and died together, shared blood and battle! This is why the Bai family army fights bravely without fear of death, confidently entrusting their backs to comrades, and willingly entering dangerous situations for the greater good! This… is also why the Bai family army has always been victorious and undefeated! Today, even if it weren’t my fourth sister trapped at Fire God Mountain, any person in the Jin army who sacrificed their life to save comrades, Bai Qingyan would also risk her life to rescue them! This has nothing to do with good and evil, nothing to do with worth or not worth! This is a belief! This is righteousness! If today on the battlefield you can abandon one person, tomorrow you can abandon ten thousand! How is this different from commanders like Xun Tianzhang, who treat soldiers’ lives as worthless?”

The Jin army soldiers who had just returned from the raid on Fire God Mountain heard Bai Qingyan’s words, and somehow their hearts surged with hot blood.

As Jin soldiers, they had once envied the ever-victorious, undefeated Bai family army. So the Bai family army was ever-victorious and undefeated because they knew their comrades wouldn’t abandon them, so they dared entrust their backs to comrades, dared to… enter dangerous situations themselves.

Liu Hong’s fingers at his side hadn’t moved, but suddenly he remembered that military song of the Bai family army!

Live together, die together…

Speaking of this very feeling of the Bai family army never abandoning their comrades.

“If you speak to me of affection! The one trapped at Fire God Mountain is my fourth sister, and I am the eldest sister! The responsibility to protect Bai Jinzhi is more important than my life! Even if it means my body is torn apart and I die without an intact corpse in exchange for a thread of safety for her, I would gladly accept it!” Bai Qingyan clenched her teeth, her deep eyes sharp as blades, sweeping over the Jin army blocking the road. “I don’t wish to cross swords with my comrades. Quickly move aside! I’ll only take the Bai family guards, not a single Jin soldier! If anyone dares to obstruct… don’t blame me for accidentally injuring someone! Move!”

Bai Qingyan’s murderous “Move!” intimidated the Jin army, who had blocked her in unison, and they scattered to clear the path.

Liu Hong knew the Bai family army’s style, and seeing Bai Qingyan’s firm attitude, knew he could no longer obstruct her. He stepped aside to clear the way.

Bai Qingyan’s heart burned with urgency. As soon as Liu Hong moved aside, she led the Bai family guard army galloping out swiftly.

Liu Hong clenched his fist and called out loudly: “General Wang Xiping, I command you to take men with light equipment to escort the Princess to Fire God Mountain for the rescue! You must… protect both the Princess and County Princess thoroughly! Don’t linger in battle – once you’ve rescued them, return immediately!”