Rolling down the slope, Luoshen couldn’t stop tumbling.

Grass blades cut her exposed tender skin, and large and small stones in the grass scraped against her limbs and body as she rolled over them continuously.

Wave after wave of pain.

But she had completely lost control of her body, only able to close her eyes as she rolled faster and faster, as if about to tumble into a bottomless abyss.

Just as everything spun around her in agony, suddenly the falling momentum stopped.

She seemed to have crashed into a wall.

This wall was solid and thick, finally ending her suffering.

What caught her were Li Mu’s arms and his chest.

She was caught by him. Her hair disheveled, face pale, clothes torn with rips exposing half a snow-white shoulder marked with scrape wounds, looking miserable and bedraggled, she slowly opened her eyes and looked at him for a moment before seeming to finally come to her senses. Trembling, she called out “Langjun,” her eyes reddening as she grabbed his sleeves with both hands and buried her head in his embrace.

She cried.

Heartache and self-reproach cut through Li Mu like knives. He held her tightly, kissing her forehead that was covered with grass debris and marked by several small scratches from grass blades.

Hou Li panted as he caught up, looked at the slope where the little white tiger had long since disappeared, stamped his feet, turned to see Li Mu’s back as he held and comforted his wife, waited a moment, couldn’t wait any longer, carefully approached with a smile, and said in his broken Chinese: “Congratulations Governor Li on successfully rescuing Madam. May I ask Madam, how did you discover that little white tiger?”

Only then did Luoshen suddenly realize there were others nearby. She quickly released her husband’s sleeves that she had been gripping tightly in her hands, struggled out of his embrace, and lowered her head to wipe away the remaining tears from the corners of her eyes.

“It’s… you?”

When she raised her face, Hou Li suddenly widened his eyes, pointed at Luoshen, and was struck speechless.

That young musician who had played the barbarian pipa that day had left an extremely deep impression on him – he could still clearly recall those features. So upon seeing the Governor’s wife’s face, though one was male and one female with very different dress, he still recognized her at once.

He was utterly astonished and stunned. Only when he saw Li Mu remove his outer garment and quickly wrap it around her shoulders, helping her up from the ground, did he come to his senses and hastily lower his head.

Luoshen knew he had recognized her, nodded at him in acknowledgment, then forced herself to calm down and described her encounter with the little white tiger.

Though she was still shaken and unsettled, Hou Li was overjoyed upon hearing this.

He raised fierce beasts and had beast trainers skilled in animal taming under him, being quite accomplished in this field himself. Seeing that little white tiger from afar earlier – only four or five months old, not only with rare coloring but high eyes, broad jaw, wide shoulders and strong build – he could tell at a glance it would become a beast king in the future, and immediately conceived the idea of capturing it.

Hearing Luoshen describe her standoff with it made his eyes light up even more: “I’ve raised many young beasts but never encountered such an intelligent creature. If I could catch it and train it, having it obey my commands in the future, I wouldn’t need any other tigers or leopards!”

He had previously seen that young musician and been amazed, but when he asked Li Mu for him and learned he belonged to Li Mu, he had to give up. Still, he couldn’t help feeling some regret.

Today he learned it wasn’t a man but a woman. Not only that, but Li Mu’s wife.

Having followed Li Mu these days in desperate pursuit, witnessing firsthand how he searched tirelessly for his wife without sleep or rest, how could he dare harbor any other thoughts? Even looking one more time seemed like an offense. After finishing his words, he bowed and hurriedly left.

A subordinate also came to apologize to Li Mu, saying they had been entangled in mortal combat by those dozens of Xianbei warriors and couldn’t break free in time, allowing the Murong siblings to escape. They had finally killed all the warriors, and the others had gone in pursuit.

Night had fallen. Li Mu knew the chances of catching up were slim.

Though his heart still burned with unresolved hatred, seeing his wife’s pale face and how she seemed to have used up all her strength after speaking a few words with Hou Li, standing unsteadily, he knew she urgently needed rest and ordered them to make camp for the night.

Tents were erected and a fire burned quietly.

Li Mu knew she had been frightened for many days, with scratches on her hands, feet, and forehead. He felt extremely sorry for her. Though they had been separated for many days, he had no thought of demanding her, fearing to tire her. He only carefully applied medicine to her wounds, then held her as she lay down, saying gently: “Sleep.”

Luoshen closed her eyes for a moment, then suddenly opened them again, looking at him still gazing down at her, a misty layer slowly forming in her eyes.

“Langjun, I was so afraid. I was afraid I’d never see you again…” Her voice carried a hidden sob.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here, I’m here…”

Li Mu’s palm stroked her back, as if comforting a frightened child.

She reached out a small hand to gently caress his lean face covered with stubble, suddenly buried her head in his embrace, jade arms wrapping tightly around him as she kissed him frantically.

“Langjun, don’t you want A’Mi anymore…”

She cried while pleading with him indistinctly, begging for his pity in every way.

What man in the world could resist such an enchanting, torturing little beauty?

Li Mu held her soft body and took her.

His solid form and familiar scent finally dispelled the shadows in Luoshen’s heart.

The moment he possessed her, she cried again.

She wasn’t dreaming – he had finally received the message she sent him and come to her side.

“Langjun, langjun—”

She panted delicately, continuously calling him langjun.

Li Mu responded to her with his body, serving her, finally exhausting her until she closed her eyes and fell deeply asleep in his arms.

After she fell asleep, Li Mu gazed at the sleeping face of the girl in his arms, her lips slightly curved as if finally completely satisfied. His eyes reddened, unable to sleep for a long time.

…

Early the next morning, Li Mu lit three ground fires. By afternoon, he had gradually summoned back his followers.

The pursuit of Murong Ti had indeed yielded nothing.

He gazed at the vast northern wilderness, stood for a moment, then simply said: “Let’s go back.”

The group prepared to return, but Hou Li wouldn’t leave, staying with his hunting dogs, saying he wanted to continue capturing that little white tiger.

Li Mu knew he was passionate about this pursuit. Having encountered a divine beast he admired, if he didn’t catch it, he probably wouldn’t be at peace even returning home. So Li Mu didn’t stop him. Grateful for his assistance this time, he left some followers to help with the beast capture while taking the rest on the return journey.

The return trip was smooth and easy. After five or six days, they reached Yi Cheng.

The siege had long ended, and the citizens had all returned to the city several days ago.

In this battle, the Yi Cheng army hardly needed to act – the Western Jin troops in the city killed each other, ending the siege themselves.

About half the lower-ranking soldiers in the army were Han people.

Unable to find anything edible, they began slaughtering the several hundred cavalry horses that had charged into the city with the infantry rather than remaining outside. A few days later, after even the last rat was caught, the red-eyed Xianbei generals and strategists secretly conspired and devised a breakout plan – secretly gathering a thousand Han soldiers in their ranks for mass slaughter, then planning to throw the bodies down from the city walls under cover of darkness, piling them into mountains to forcibly create a human bridge they could trample over to fight their way out.

Li Mu had long been prepared. As soon as the first corpse was thrown from the city walls, the defenders immediately noticed, quickly summoned men with horns, and removed the bodies.

One body thrown from the walls, one body collected below.

A hundred bodies thrown from the walls, a hundred bodies collected below.

The human bridge plan failed, and news of the Western Jin generals slaughtering lower-ranking Han soldiers spread.

The remaining Han soldiers in the army, though they were all now killing machines who slaughtered without blinking, had either been forcibly conscripted or joined the military to survive in chaotic times for food. Learning this news, they secretly discussed, all turned coat, charged into camps to kill their superiors, then fought each other with the Xianbei soldiers.

For those two days, the city became a living hell.

By the seventh day of the siege, the remaining several thousand Western Jin Han soldiers who had killed the last Xianbei person climbed the city walls, requested surrender, and swore to become Han soldiers again, serving Li Mu loyally.

Only then were the sealed city gates reopened.

This battle, while not a major war for Western Jin, was one Emperor Gu Huilong was determined to win. First to establish authority, second to boost morale for the coming attack on Chang’an and gain an auspicious start. So besides adequate provisions, the accompanying forces were all top-equipped, even including two thousand cavalry – truly elite troops with superior weapons. They never expected such an outcome, not only losing troops and generals but benefiting their opponent.

Yi Cheng captured complete supplies – swords, spears, bows, arrows, enough grain to feed the entire city’s military and civilians for a month, plus two thousand warhorses – a rich haul.

To repay Hou Ding’s previous kindness in lending grain, Li Mu selected a thousand of the warhorses to send to Chou Chi.

Warhorses were precious. In some sense, they were even more valuable than soldiers.

Hou Ding had long received news of the Western Jin army attacking Yi Cheng, knowing this was Gu Huilong’s show of force against him.

He hadn’t been confident Yi Cheng could hold out. Though Li Mu hadn’t asked for help, Hou Ding was prepared to send troops at any time, but unexpectedly, not only did he not need to send troops – news came of Yi Cheng’s great victory, and a few days later, he gained a thousand healthy horses out of nowhere, overjoyed beyond measure.

Reciprocating courtesy, he prepared fifty carts of grain. Learning that Li Mu’s wife had paid money to buy hemp from locals, he ordered the people to harvest large quantities. Within a few days, he had collected dozens of carts and sent them together with the grain to repay Li Mu’s gift.

After Li Mu received them, he kept out military rations and distributed the rest equally among all households.

The entire city celebrated, adults and children beaming with joy.

…

On the day Luoshen returned to the city, as they neared the gates, word spread and almost all citizens poured from their homes onto the streets, lining the roads to welcome her.

Gao Huan personally drove his sister’s carriage, sending her back to the Governor’s mansion.

Entering the Governor’s mansion, Luoshen discovered that this place she had gradually organized had suffered new calamities during the seven or eight days of siege.

The front hall need not be mentioned – walls had collapsed, several more rooms were burned, just recently repaired. The back area, though cleaned up these days, had been a complete mess when they first returned according to A’Ju and the maids. The flowers Luoshen had planted in the courtyard were also trampled and destroyed.

A’Ju had spent these days in self-reproach, regret, and worry. Finally seeing Luoshen return safely, she hugged her and cried. After crying, she led all the servants and maids to kneel on the ground, saying it was all her fault for being too careless – not only failing to notice the blind woman’s strangeness earlier, but allowing a person of unknown origin to get so close to her. She had failed in her duty and betrayed the Eldest Princess’s trust in her.

A’Ju wasn’t usually such a rule-breaking person. On the contrary, she took hierarchy very seriously.

In the past, back in Jiankang, she would never have allowed an outsider to get so close to Luoshen.

But after coming here, everything was different from Jiankang. Sometimes for convenience, compromises were inevitable. Luoshen was most kindhearted and compassionate to the weak, showing no airs toward subordinates. The city residents were extremely respectful and loving toward her, everyone was friendly. Over time, A’Ju gradually relaxed some former rules. Combined with the special circumstances those days when everyone lived together, and her being busy leading servants and maids in work, a moment’s carelessness led to such disaster. How could she not blame herself and regret it?

How could Luoshen bear to let her blame herself so? She quickly helped her up and had everyone else rise too, saying it was her own oversight and they shouldn’t blame themselves excessively.

A’Ju wiped her tears and after rising, led people to serve and settle Luoshen. Once settled, she had Qiongshu stay nearby to attend to her, then summoned everyone to another room, saying:

“Listen well, all of you. Just now the young mistress said it was her oversight – that’s her kindness, giving us servants face. But we can’t be shameless ourselves!”

Everyone was silent, the atmosphere heavy.

“Since coming here, I’ve been slack too. Starting with me, I’ve thrown away some of our former rules. In this incident, if we’re talking about fault, I’m most at fault! You’ve all followed my lead, forgetting that our primary duty here is to serve the young mistress well!”

Her gaze was stern as it swept over the crowd before her.

“Other matters the young mistress assigns aren’t unimportant – we must do them too. But remember this: no matter what, nothing compares to serving the young mistress well!”

“From today, I’m arranging shifts for you. When it’s your turn, even if the sky falls and people are dying, you don’t need to care! Whether day or night, with or without business, once you leave this courtyard, there must never be no one attending the young mistress! And we can never again let people of unknown origin casually approach her!”

“This time fortunately the young mistress is unharmed and returned safely. Otherwise – I’m not trying to frighten you – you know yourselves that starting with me, one by one, none of us would expect to live!”

“Did you hear?”

Her voice was unusually stern.

“We heard. We’ll heed nanny’s teachings!”

Everyone responded in unison.

A’Ju nodded slightly: “Good that you remember. All go do your work.”

…

In the back courtyard, A’Ju reflected painfully on the lesson to eliminate hidden dangers. That same day, in the front courtyard of the Governor’s mansion, Li Mu had just escorted Luoshen back to her room and come out when he saw Jiangtao, Fan Cheng and others also kneeling on the ground, kowtowing to request punishment.

Li Mu was silent for a long while, then had everyone rise, saying: “This oversight began with my errors. Mending the fold after losing sheep, checking for leaks and filling gaps, learning lessons – this is the right path.”

Fan Cheng was extremely ashamed, blaming himself for failing in his duties that day. With those behind him, he was slow to rise.

Jiangtao also looked ashamed, saying: “It’s still my careless handling. Yi Cheng’s reputation is gradually spreading. In the future, more and more refugees will pour in, and spies and agents will be inevitable. This time it was the Xianbei Murong Ti who found a gap. Next time we don’t know who it will be. While the Governor was rescuing Madam these days, I’ve re-examined all city residents. Anyone who came alone without friends or acquaintances has been separately registered. All new entrants will be handled this way in future.”

“Previously when there were few residents, there were no rules. Now with more and more people, I propose appointing one household head for every ten households to manage affairs. I also propose issuing orders for residents to watch for suspicious behavior among those around them. Report immediately if there’s anything. If spies are caught, there will be rewards, to prevent more infiltration.”

Sun Fangzhi also said: “Those thousands of surrendered troops, I’ve scattered and incorporated into various units, handed over to Guo Zhan, Dai Yuan and others for training. Daily passwords in the army change constantly. Governor, rest assured – there will be no errors in this area.”

Li Mu stood and cupped his hands: “When you all resolutely came with me to this place, in less than a year this barren land has today’s vitality and the army has successfully expanded with far-reaching fame. Even if I Li Mu had three heads and six arms, with my strength alone, such results would be absolutely impossible. General Fan has also worked hard. It’s entirely thanks to all of you that Yi Cheng has today, and that I Li Mu am truly a governor. Now everything is just beginning. Stronger enemies lie ahead. From now on, I need your full support even more.”

He looked at Jiangtao and Fan Cheng.

“When I came, Madam specifically had me tell you that this accident was her own oversight and major fault. She has returned safely and wants you not to feel guilty about this matter anymore. Listen to her. Let this matter pass. Just don’t repeat such mistakes in future.”

Fan Cheng was deeply grateful and kowtowed his thanks.

Li Mu helped him up and turned to Jiangtao: “During my absence these days, has there been any new information?”

Jiangtao nodded: “I was just about to tell you. General Yang sent someone with a letter the day before yesterday, saying Xu Mi and Lu Guang have decided to jointly dispatch troops, taking advantage of Western Jin and Northern Xia fighting over Chang’an to attack Yuzhou. He’s already received Xu Mi’s orders and is preparing to march.”

He handed over a letter.

Li Mu took it, opened and read it once, pondered silently, then passed it to Jiangtao.

Jiangtao quickly looked with Sun Fangzhi.

Sun Fangzhi exclaimed: “Lu Guang is sending his son as General? Didn’t he go to Jiaozhou as governor? Is Lu Guang trying to win a great victory during the new emperor’s ascension to help the Lu family turn things around?”

“I haven’t met this eldest son of Lu, but I heard he was also one of Jiankang’s top romantic figures. If he really wins this time and retakes Yuzhou from Northern Xia, that would truly be a great achievement, stealing all the limelight.”

Just as Sun Fangzhi finished speaking, he suddenly remembered the former connection between the Governor’s wife and the Lu family’s eldest son. Knowing he had misspoken, he quickly changed his tune with a grin: “Naturally, no matter how much limelight he steals, he was still Governor Li’s defeated opponent back then. Moreover, a centipede dies hard – Northern Xia may not just surrender and obediently hand over Yuzhou they’ve occupied for decades. Whether this battle can ultimately be won is still uncertain in my view.”

Li Mu glanced at him without commenting.

…

Half a month later, news came that war had erupted in Longxi.

Western Jin Emperor Gu Huilong personally led two hundred thousand troops in a massive attack on Western Capital Chang’an.

Northern Xia deployed heavy forces to respond. The two sides met near Ba City, a hundred li from Chang’an, and battle commenced.

As the war continued expanding, day after day, more and more refugees fleeing with their families from the Longxi direction sought shelter in Yi Cheng to avoid the chaos. On the busiest day, numbers reached over a thousand.

Yi Cheng was in a stage of rapid expansion. Clearing wasteland and fighting wars depended on people.

Refugees couldn’t be refused entry, but given the previous lesson, Jiangtao was doubly cautious about examining refugees’ identities. He specifically designated an area in the city solely for housing new arrivals, surrounded by soldiers for separation, with registered entry and exit and night curfews strictly prohibiting residents from leaving without cause. Violators would be expelled from the city.

The system was implemented strictly yet orderly, so though the city’s population had greatly increased, order was maintained without any sign of chaos.

On Luoshen’s side, she didn’t let the previous incident stop her from helping. She continued as before, teaching children to read and write, organizing women to spin thread with the dozens of carts of materials Hou Ding had sent, weaving cloth, busily making shoes and clothes for the army.

The only difference from before was that A’Ju was now extremely cautious, never letting her leave the Governor’s mansion alone and not allowing strangers to approach even one step.

Li Mu needless to say had strengthened the Governor’s mansion’s security, with rotating guards day and night, not allowing any more oversights.

But no matter how thoroughly one guards against things, sometimes unexpected incidents still occur.

This afternoon, Luoshen was in her room, accompanied by A’Ju and several maids, personally sewing an undergarment for Li Mu.

Knowing her needlework skills were limited, though it was an undergarment others couldn’t see and Li Mu wouldn’t mind, she still worked extra carefully, every stitch and thread precise. She was concentrating intently when suddenly a maid rushed in, threw open the curtain with a panicked expression, and cried: “Madam, terrible news! A tiger has run into our home! General Fan says a tiger Hou Li caught escaped its cage and jumped into our home! He told me to quickly warn Madam to close doors and windows tightly and absolutely not come out! He’s leading people to capture it, and will notify us once it’s caught!”

As the maid’s words ended, everyone in the room was shocked and alarmed.

A’Ju reacted as if facing a great enemy, immediately stood up, hastily had everyone return to their rooms and close the courtyard gate, then went inside and tightly barred doors and windows before leading the group to shield Luoshen behind them.

Luoshen was initially startled too.

She truly couldn’t imagine that in broad daylight, a tiger would actually run into the Governor’s mansion.

Then on second thought, she suddenly remembered that little white tiger she had stared at for so long in the grassland half a month ago.

She had been too frightened at the time. Thinking back afterward on the scene, it did seem somewhat like what Hou Li had said – the little white tiger probably hadn’t intended to harm her then. Otherwise, it would have pounced long ago.

In a blink, it had been over half a month. Just yesterday she had wondered whether Hou Li, who had stayed behind saying he wanted to catch that little white tiger, had succeeded. She never expected such a coincidence that today a tiger would enter their home.

Could this be the same little white tiger that had chased her that day?

For some reason, perhaps knowing there were many people in the Governor’s mansion, she wasn’t as nervous as A’Ju and the others. She listened carefully to the sounds outside.

At first, the faint shouting seemed to come from the front hall.

Gradually, the shouting grew louder, apparently heading toward the back courtyard.

“Quick, shoot arrows! Kill it! Absolutely can’t let it reach the back!”

The guards’ voices were clearly audible.

Suddenly, a long tiger’s roar echoed throughout the Governor’s mansion.

Everyone in the room went deathly pale. Several timid maids were so frightened they trembled and collapsed to the ground.

Luoshen’s heart suddenly beat faster. She quickly ran to the window, poked through the window paper, and peered out through the window lattice.

“Young mistress, don’t look! Don’t be frightened!”

A’Ju followed, desperately trying to pull her back.

Just then, Luoshen saw a white shadow suddenly leap from the wall into the courtyard and land.

She recognized it immediately – it was precisely the little white tiger she had faced off with before, with a ring of black fur around its neck like a necklace.

Only now it no longer had the impressive bearing of when it had run out to frighten her initially.

A broken chain hung around its neck, two arrows stuck in its rear end left and right, its hind foot bleeding. After jumping into the courtyard, it ran like a headless fly, limping toward the corner. Reaching the front and seeing no way out, it tried to leap the wall again.

But this time, as if exhausted, with the wall so high, its front claws scratched up, struggled a few times, only scraping off a few bricks before falling to the ground with a wail. Getting up, it suddenly saw the bamboo grove and seemed to think of a hiding place. Just as it was about to run over, the courtyard gate was kicked open.

Luoshen saw Li Mu rush in holding a long staff, reached the white tiger in a few steps, blocked its path, and swept horizontally with his staff.

Accompanied by a miserable “wail,” the little white tiger flew up entirely, crashed heavily into the wall, and fell to the ground again.

One of its leg bones seemed broken by Li Mu’s blow. It struggled up then collapsed powerlessly, wailing as it looked at Li Mu approaching, its eyes full of terror.

“A’Mi, are you alright?”

Li Mu called out.

“I’m fine—”

Luoshen quickly replied, pushed open the window, and stuck her head out.

The little white tiger heard her voice, turned to see her, seemed to recognize her, suddenly changed to whimpering sounds, cowered on the ground, and looked at her pitifully with both eyes.

“This beast is fierce – drag it out and kill it!”

Li Mu used his wooden staff to firmly pin down the little white tiger that seemed trying to get up, and shouted back.

Guards responded, brought iron chains up, looped them around its body, and with several people working together, quickly wound it tightly and dragged it toward the exit.

“Whimper—whimper—”

The little white tiger struggled, claws constantly scraping the ground, leaving clumps of mud wherever it passed. Its two eyes looked at Luoshen at the window, its cries utterly miserable.

Luoshen’s heart suddenly softened. She quickly said: “Langjun, don’t kill it, alright? It was captured when it was perfectly fine – it’s also pitiful. Just release it back where it came from.”