Having won the battle, Qin Jixun naturally wanted to reward his soldiers. The clan heads of the Qin and Wei surnames generously sent out all the beef, mutton, and sorghum wine from their clans. Outside the felt tent were the sounds of soldiers happily moving firewood back and forth.

Ni Su’s chin rested on Xu Hexue’s shoulder. She hesitantly lifted her hand that had been placed on his back. The glass lamp illuminated her palm, completely wet with blood. Her finger joints flexed once. The blood began to gradually transform into fine luminous dust at a slow speed, floating ethereally.

Footsteps approached outside the felt tent. Xu Hexue almost immediately released Ni Su. Qingqiong, holding incense and candles in one hand, lifted the felt curtain with the other and saw the two of them sitting facing each other on the felt carpet.

Ni Su immediately stood up to take the incense and candles from his arms, only to discover that standing before him, he seemed to have grown somewhat taller than her.

This kind of change was commonplace for Qingqiong. He had already endured the most difficult time of flesh and bone growth. Now, aside from still fearing the cold, he was much better.

“Let me help you clean the candlesticks, Miss Ni.”

Qingqiong said.

“You’ve only just gotten better. Go back and sit. Later I’ll get some mugwort leaves—you can soak your feet in them tonight, it might make you feel better.” As Ni Su spoke, she carried the incense and candles back to the desk, cleaned the candlesticks one by one of their residual wax, then placed the candles on them one by one and lit them using the candle flame from the glass lamp.

“Young Master Ni!”

A burly shadow appeared outside the felt tent. Ni Su saw his hand had already touched the felt curtain. She turned back to look at Xu Hexue’s faint form and immediately called out: “Commander Wei, don’t come in!”

Wei Dechang’s hand grasping the felt curtain paused. “Young Mistress Ni, why is this?”

“He’s wounded. I’m treating him right now.” Ni Su quickly ran to Xu Hexue’s side, crouched down, and pulled the quilt to wrap him up tightly. She turned her head to look at the shadow cast on the felt curtain. “If Commander Wei has something to say, please wait until later.”

Wei Dechang didn’t know why he couldn’t enter while she was treating wounds, but he still released his hand and stood outside the felt tent. “No, I must speak now!”

“Young Master Ni—” Wei Dechang had drunk several bowls of wine. His rough voice carried some drunkenness. He hadn’t yet removed his blood-stained armor. Unconsciously standing straight outside the curtain, he clasped his fists and bowed. “This old Wei has come to apologize to you! Today Commander Yang and I were truly impulsive. I’m a rough man—my mind doesn’t have all those twists and turns, and I’m not as thorough in my thinking as you and my sworn brother. But this old Wei guarantees that from now on, it won’t happen again!”

Xu Hexue was wrapped in Ni Su’s quilt. She hadn’t had a moment to rest all day, so the quilt actually didn’t have her warmth.

Wei Dechang waited outside for a moment. Just as he was wondering in his heart, he heard Xu Hexue’s voice from inside: “Commander Wei need not be like this. You have the courage to fight a hundred alone. Without this, General Qin would have had no confidence in sneaking into Shi Monu’s encampment and destroying his provisions.”

“My brute strength is still of some use.”

Wei Dechang stood straight, laughing somewhat embarrassedly. “Commander Yang originally also wanted to come apologize to you, but just now at the feast, I got him drunk. Right now he’s sleeping soundly.”

“Got him drunk?”

Xu Hexue keenly grasped the key point.

“Yes, sworn brother said that Commander Yang has achieved considerable merit recently and told me to have a good drink with him. His alcohol tolerance isn’t as good as mine—just two jars and he was unconscious, hahahaha…”

Xu Hexue stared at the shadow on the felt curtain. “Commander Wei, where is General Qin?”

“Him…”

Wei Dechang’s words trailed off halfway as he heard some movement. He turned his head just in time to see Qin Jixun approaching with one hand on his pine-pattern precious sword. He immediately called out: “Sworn brother!”

Qin Jixun looked him up and down. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to apologize to Young Master Ni.”

Wei Dechang pointed at the felt tent.

Qin Jixun patted his sworn brother’s shoulder. “Dechang, it’s almost time to change the guard. Go quickly and arrange for someone to relieve the men on the city tower. Remember, they can drink wine, but they cannot drink much. In these troubled times, we cannot let down our guard at any moment.”

Wei Dechang scratched his head. “But you told me to get Commander Yang…”

“Your alcohol tolerance is too good. I forgot earlier to tell you to restrain yourself. This matter is my fault.” Qin Jixun’s expression was normal. “Go quickly.”

Involving military affairs, Wei Dechang didn’t delay. He nodded and turned to leave.

Inside the felt tent, Xu Hexue quietly listened to their conversation. Only one person’s shadow remained outside the felt curtain. Qin Jixun said from outside: “Young Master Ni, how is your wound? May I come in?”

During Qin Jixun and Wei Dechang’s conversation, Qingqiong had found a thin, wide blanket. Ni Su and he together moved over the wooden clothes rack and draped the blanket over it, making it serve as a screen.

“General Qin, please come in.”

Ni Su stood straight and raised her hand to wipe the fine sweat from her forehead.

Qin Jixun lifted the felt curtain and entered. He only felt the interior was bright as day. The simple “screen” blocked his view. Ni Su stepped forward. “General Qin, he’s been wounded and is currently not covering his face. It’s inconvenient to meet with you. Please forgive him.”

Qin Jixun naturally remembered this Young Master Ni had a facial ailment. He nodded. “Speaking with Young Master Ni like this is also acceptable.”

Qingqiong moved a chair behind him, then left the felt tent together with Ni Su.

They didn’t go far—just a few steps away. Ni Su asked Nanny Zhong for two steamed buns and two bowls of hot soup, then sat down to eat with Qingqiong.

Qingqiong bit into a steamed bun but still couldn’t hold back: “Miss Ni, why don’t you try to persuade him? He’s always tormenting himself like this, but how many people here will remember his kindness? Even if they can remember, they remember him as Young Master Ni, not as…”

Not as Xu Hexue.

Qingqiong pressed his lips together and didn’t say it out loud.

“He’s not doing these things to make people remember his kindness.”

The hot soup contained pepper. After drinking several mouthfuls, Ni Su’s body, which had grown cold from that embrace, warmed considerably. “Most people in this world have their own way they adhere to. Some people, even if they die, will not forget their way.”

She was determined to practice medicine, but never to make all the women in the world remember her kindness, so she understood his way.

“I cannot stop him.”

Ni Su looked at Qingqiong beside her, wrapped tightly in a thick cloak. “I want to help him.”

The cold moon hung high, sparse stars dim. Bonfire after bonfire burned in the city, flames leaping. Soldiers gathered together drinking wine and eating meat—it was extremely lively.

This was their most triumphant moment since defending Yongzhou.

Inside the felt tent, across the wooden rack draped with the felt blanket, Xu Hexue directly asked Qin Jixun: “Did the General deliberately have Commander Wei get Commander Yang drunk?”

“Young Master Ni’s attention to detail is like dust.”

Qin Jixun was stunned for a moment, his hands braced on his knees. “To be honest, even though we won today, there is unease in my heart.”

Xu Hexue coughed twice, his voice transparently weak. “So General Qin has already sent people to inspect the Mount Tianju bird path?”

“Correct.”

Qin Jixun nodded. When Shi Monu retreated wounded and he heard this Young Master Ni say not to pursue, he realized Young Master Ni and he had perhaps thought along the same lines.

“The Mount Tianju bird path is repaired every year. When Song Song was here, no matter how greedy he was, he didn’t dare neglect Mount Tianju’s fortifications. I truly wonder why precisely at this time, it would develop flaws.”

Qin Jixun’s expression became much more serious. “Young Master Ni, I suspect there is a traitor at work inside Yongzhou City.”

If his guess was true, then for Yongzhou City, this was truly an extremely serious matter. This was also why he didn’t tell Wei Dechang his suspicions.

Wei Dechang was straightforward and easily impulsive. Once this matter was publicized, it would cause panic among the people in the city.

The reason he had Wei Dechang get Yang Tianzhe drunk was also to have Duan Rong replace Yang Tianzhe in inspecting Mount Tianju.

“General!”

Suddenly hurried footsteps approached outside the felt tent. Qin Jixun recognized Duan Rong’s voice and immediately said: “Come in.”

Duan Rong lifted the curtain and entered. Seeing the wooden rack blocking the middle, he was stunned for a moment, then presented the broken wooden plank in his hands with both hands. “General, I found this timber at the bottom of the mountain ravine below Mount Tianju. As expected, there’s something wrong!”

Duan Rong was panting, his entire forehead covered in sweat. “The side with the larger blade cut is the front.”

Fortunately, the candle shadows in the felt tent were bright. Qin Jixun took it and examined it carefully. His expression changed repeatedly. He immediately passed it under the wooden rack to Xu Hexue. “Young Master Ni, take a look.”

Xu Hexue took it. This piece of damaged timber was quite thick. Both sides had blade marks, but the cuts were different sizes.

“The barbarians’ golden swords are extremely heavy. When they climbed Mount Tianju at night, it would be inconvenient to carry swords. Even if they brought them, lifting them from below to damage the bird path would be twice the effort for half the result. Using daggers would be more suitable for them. Indeed, the back side more closely matches a dagger’s cutting length.”

The front side was the surface the Yongzhou army on the bird path walked on repeatedly—it showed both wear and dirt. Looking at the back side, apart from those dense blade cut marks, it was much smoother and flatter.

The Mount Tianju bird path wasn’t destroyed by barbarians from below—someone had sabotaged it from above beforehand.

The sounds of revelry outside were loud, yet Qin Jixun’s heart turned cold. “On Mount Tianju, half the garrison are my Qin family soldiers, half are the rebel army.”

“It naturally cannot be our Qin family army’s men! But—” Duan Rong furrowed his brow, full of doubt. “But since Commander Yang came to Yongzhou City, he’s been sparing no effort to defend the city together with us. He’s killed quite a few barbarians. Today he even burned Shi Monu’s encampment together with Commander Wei and killed Nie Lingu’s nephew Sasuo. In my view, even if there is a traitor, it absolutely cannot be him.”

Actually, Qin Jixun also had this doubt in his heart. If it were Yang Tianzhe, he absolutely couldn’t have devoted himself so wholeheartedly to Yongzhou. “Who were the military officers responsible for guarding Mount Tianju yesterday?”

“From our army yesterday, it was the three Liu brothers—Liu Yong, Liu Huo, and Liu Zhong. From Commander Yang’s army, it was Dong Chengjiao, Hu Da, and Sun Yanli.”

“Where are they now? Call them to my tent. I’ll question them.”

Qin Jixun stood up.

Duan Rong received the order and immediately ran out. Qin Jixun turned to Xu Hexue and said, “Young Master, you’re wounded. Please rest well.”

Qin Jixun had just left the felt tent when he ran into Duan Rong hurrying back. “General! Dong Chengjiao and Hu Da are no longer at the feast!”

Inside the felt tent, Xu Hexue had just supported himself and struggled to stand when he heard Duan Rong’s shout. He walked slowly to the felt curtain. “Duan Rong, do those two have any assignment tonight?”

“Dong Chengjiao has to deliver conscripted laborers and arrows from the weapons camp to Mount Tianju.”

The Yongzhou army’s weapons camp was set up in a residential building—space the Qin family had cleared out. All the craftsmen making weapons ate and lived here, and it was quite spacious.

On the brightly lit upper floor, all the craftsmen gathered together. Everyone was more or less nervous, pushing each other. An old man nudged the person beside him with his elbow. “Fan Jiang, you stand in front!”

These past days, Fan Jiang had been circling this bed crossbow together with these people. His hands were covered with tiny wounds. He nervously rubbed his hands together—it hurt like needle pricks. In the end, he still limped to the back of the bed crossbow. Just relying on them, they couldn’t draw the crossbow’s bowstring, so he called out: “Brothers outside, come in and help!”

Hearing this, the soldiers guarding the corridor immediately ran through the door. Looking at that triple-bow bed crossbow, their faces also showed some curious and expectant expressions.

They helped push the bed crossbow to the railing outside.

“Quick! Let’s all use our strength together!” The most senior craftsman raised his hand. Everyone gathered behind the bed crossbow. Everyone’s gaze focused on the iron-feathered arrow resting against the bowstring.

From their commanding height, the arrow pointed toward an empty alley that had been cleared.

They pulled the bed crossbow together, almost all unconsciously holding their breath.

“Release!”

Fan Jiang’s dry lips trembled as he shouted vigorously.

Everyone simultaneously released their force. The iron-feathered arrow—three chi and five cun long, five cun thick—pierced the wind, grazing their eardrums, and shot out with tremendous force.

The soldiers reacted first, remembering the direction from before, and ran out quickly.

It was hard to see clearly at night. Fan Jiang and everyone else waited anxiously on the upper floor for the soldiers’ return. After about two cups of tea’s time, the soldiers, panting, returned the retrieved iron-feathered arrow. One soldier wiped the sweat from his face and laughed: “Fifteen hundred paces!”

The upper floor was silent for an instant, then burst into successive voices: “It worked!”

Fan Jiang stood stunned. The old craftsman with graying hair shook his head. “Fan Jiang! Did you hear clearly? We succeeded! We have fifteen hundred paces!”

“I heard.”

Fan Jiang touched the iron-feathered arrow. “I heard…”

A triple-bow bed crossbow with a shooting range of fifteen hundred paces—they had made it.

“Thus we have several more advantages over those barbarians!” The soldiers were also extremely happy.

Qin Jixun had also distributed some beef and mutton to the weapons camp. All the craftsmen only now felt hungry after working until this point. One by one, they went downstairs talking and laughing. The white-bearded old craftsman saw Fan Jiang still standing dazed before the bed crossbow and called out with amusement: “Hey, Fan Jiang, I’m talking to you! What are you thinking about?”

Fan Jiang slowly raised his head and met the white-bearded old man’s smile. He couldn’t help smiling too. “Nothing, Old He. I just suddenly feel that I also have some use.”

The white-bearded old man looked at him. “What kind of talk is that? Of course you have use. We craftsmen all have our own uses. How others despise us doesn’t matter. What matters is that we ourselves must respect ourselves in our hearts!”

“You usually do carpentry work like making trunks and repairing houses, but now haven’t you also made this treasure for killing barbarians? You’ve been working here day and night, more desperately than any of us. I can also see that you actually have great talent in this area and are willing to endure hardship. If you don’t mind, from now on work with me in the military camp. I’ve spent half my life making these weapons. As long as you want to learn, I’ll teach you everything.”

Fan Jiang was shocked. “Old He, I…”

“What? Unwilling?”

Old He raised his slack eyelids.

“Willing!”

Fan Jiang didn’t hesitate. He held that heavy iron-feathered arrow in his arms. “Old He, I’m willing.”

At this moment, he thought of his wife A Shuang, thought of the various torments she suffered while alive, thought of his own leg injured when the barbarians invaded Yongzhou City. Many emotions surged in his chest, like the sea overturning. “Someone like me, though I cannot go onto the battlefield, can hardly draw a bow, and cannot use a sword, I can make the best bed crossbows and sharpest arrows for our soldiers to use…”

Who says a carpenter cannot have aspirations to serve the country?

Who says that with his lame leg, he cannot demand from the barbarians the blood debt owed to his wife?

“Well said!”

Old He’s eyes filled with laughter. He reached out to pat his shoulder. “Let’s go, have a bowl of mutton soup. The good news from here will be sent to General Qin soon.”

“You go first. I’ll tidy up here.” Fan Jiang pointed at the mess in the room.

“Don’t be so diligent. They haven’t tidied up either.”

Old He shook his head but still turned and walked down the stairs.

Only Fan Jiang remained upstairs. He swept up the debris in the room, then limped to the long table to look at the diagrams for a while—the fruit of his and these craftsmen’s labor over recent days.

He looked again and again, involuntarily leaning the broom against the corner of the table, then slowly sitting on the floor. The candlelight couldn’t reach this corner. In the shadow, he called out softly: “A Shuang?”

He called several times in succession.

No one answered him.

He sat in silence, crumpling the diagram.

Suddenly there was commotion below. Before he could stand up, he heard a series of hurried footsteps drawing closer and closer. From under the desk, he saw two people enter first, with soldiers following behind. One of them directed: “You all hurry up, don’t miss the time to leave the city!”

So they had come to move the iron-feathered arrows.

Fan Jiang was about to stand when the soldiers who had moved the iron-feathered arrows quickly left. That door was hastily closed by the person wearing a dark green robe. “You’re leaving the city this time and not coming back?”

Fan Jiang froze abruptly.

“Naturally not coming back. General Yelu Zhen is near Ru Mountain. Now that Shi Monu is also wounded, our objective has been achieved. I naturally must return to report to General Yelu Zhen.”

The other person wearing a black robe lowered his voice. “I’ve thoroughly understood Yongzhou army’s city defenses. When the General comes to attack the city, it will be as easy as turning over one’s hand.”

“What do you plan to do with those laborers?”

“Naturally kill them all. Should I bring them along to Ru Mountain?”

Fan Jiang’s legs nearly went soft. He clearly heard them mention a general with a barbarian name.

Yelu Zhen—clearly the barbarian general who attacked Yongzhou City sixteen years ago!

They were traitors!

Fan Jiang’s gaze moved upward and saw a divine arm crossbow at the corner of the table. Without thinking, he very lightly took it in hand. Those two were still talking. He slowly moved under the desk and looked up.

The divine arm crossbow aimed at the person with his back to him.

His mind was completely filled with his wife A Shuang’s face, remembering her fear and hatred of the barbarians, remembering those painful memories that tormented her in life and death.

His eyes moistened, his finger joints tensed.

No—

It won’t work.

His fingers suddenly relaxed. He needed to first tell Young Master Ni about this, tell General Qin! He couldn’t let this traitor leave the city!

However, when his gaze lifted, he suddenly met a pair of sinister eyes.

“Hu Da, there’s someone behind you.”

That person stared intently at Fan Jiang.

The man called Hu Da immediately started to turn around, but Fan Jiang immediately shot the arrow. The black-robed man couldn’t pull him away in time. Hu Da was pierced through the chest by an arrow.

Fan Jiang’s palms were covered in sweat. He shot several more arrows, but they were all dodged by the now-prepared black-robed man. Seeing him draw his blade, Fan Jiang immediately stood up. In his panic, he crashed open the lattice window beside him and tumbled out.

“Someone come!”

He limped down the stairs. “Come quickly! There’s a traitor in the rebel army stealing Yongzhou’s city defenses! Yelu Zhen is near Ru Mountain!”

Fan Jiang strained his voice, using all his strength, shouting over and over:

“Yelu Zhen is near Ru Mountain!”