The Great Zhou soldier who had laid down Guan Liang’s corpse watched his companion disappear into the night, then quickly left to rendezvous with the other four.

The four were still waiting in place. Seeing him return, they cast questioning looks.

This soldier nodded, indicating everything had gone smoothly.

Joy flashed in the four’s eyes, then their expressions became solemn.

No one spoke. They patted each other’s shoulders, then quietly dispersed.

Before long, fires began rising in succession.

Patrolling soldiers discovered the anomaly and immediately struck the gong: “Fire! Fire!”

Those who heard the commotion rushed out in panic to investigate. Someone else shouted: “It’s the granary! The granary’s on fire!”

Those who heard turned pale, running toward the granary while shouting: “Disaster! The granary’s on fire!”

Qi Shuo lay in his tent. Hearing the shouts, he grabbed his thick outer garment and walked out while putting it on, just in time to see Wuye also emerging from his tent.

“Uncle.” He quickly walked to Wuye’s side.

Wuye’s expression was dark. Too preoccupied to make small talk, he said: “Come, let’s go see.”

More and more people rushed toward the granary. In the chaos, five Great Zhou soldiers who had removed their black tight-fitting clothes and were now wearing garments similar to Qi army uniforms mixed into the crowd, seeking opportunities to escape.

They dared not leave too early. Instead, they took advantage of the opportunity to create more disturbances, giving their companion carrying the traitor’s head more time to escape back.

Wuye stopped in his tracks, staring at the burning location with a darkening expression.

What was on fire wasn’t the granary!

That made sense—the granary was their confidence for battle, always strictly guarded. There couldn’t possibly be any flammable materials present.

These fire points were not continuous, yet all were in the direction toward the granary—someone had deliberately set fires!

Wuye’s expression changed. He loudly ordered: “Immediately guard the camp perimeter strictly and watch for unfamiliar faces among those moving about!”

Soon one group was responsible for firefighting while another began searching for infiltrated enemies.

“Which squad are you from?”

Before long, one person was discovered.

That Great Zhou soldier brandished his dagger and lunged at the person closest to him. By the time surrounding people encircled him in a flurry of slashing, he had already stabbed and killed two Qi soldiers.

Qi Shuo watched from not far away. After those Qi soldiers dispersed, under the torchlight he saw a mangled, bloody corpse.

His hands hanging at his sides clenched tight, his chest burning as if scorched by fire.

Sacrifice was always inevitable, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt, didn’t make him furious.

This chaos was quelled after half a double-hour. Four unfamiliar corpses were dragged before Wuye.

“What are our losses?” Wuye asked the subordinate responsible for tallying.

“Reporting to General, ten soldiers are dead, eight injured. Apart from that, there are no losses.”

Besides the granary, there were also warehouses storing weapons, clothing and other supplies. Security was somewhat looser than at the granary, with no one approaching besides the guards.

“These Zhou soldiers infiltrated the camp—they couldn’t have just intended to set a few fires. Keep searching!”

Before long, the headless corpse lying under that tree not far from the camp prostitutes’ tents was discovered.

Wuye looked at the headless male corpse with an extremely ugly expression: “Who is this?”

Many people crowded over, craning their necks to look, but alas, the headless corpse wore nothing distinctive, revealing only that he was a commander. However, this was also easy to verify—commanders in camp were numbered, and a roll call would reveal the answer.

But before they could verify, someone said hesitantly: “This looks like—General Guan!”

Wuye immediately said: “Check whether Guan Liang is present.”

With this search, Guan Liang’s figure was truly nowhere to be found.

Although Guan Liang was unwelcome in the Qi army, his official rank was not low. Usually personal guards watched over his tent. Soon his two personal guards were dragged over and made to kneel before Wuye.

“You two, take a look. Is this your general?” Wuye pointed at the headless corpse.

The two personal guards already knew what had happened. Their faces deathly pale, they looked over. The instant that headless cavity came into view, they immediately shuddered.

“Yes, it’s our general!” one guard said tremblingly.

Wuye’s tone was severe: “Are you certain?”

The other guard nodded vigorously, his voice shaking: “When the general went out, he was wearing these very clothes…”

“When did he go out?”

The two guards stated the time.

“What was he doing going out so late at night? Why didn’t you follow him?”

The two guards exchanged glances.

Seeing this, Wuye’s expression darkened, and they dared hesitate no longer.

“The general, he… he said he was going to the fragrant tents and didn’t let us follow…”

“Bastard!” Wuye kicked an extinguished torch that lay at his feet, a surge of rage stuck in his chest with nowhere to vent.

The Qi military’s custom of providing camp prostitutes to comfort soldiers who could lose their lives at any moment was Northern Qi’s practice. Guan Liang going to find camp prostitutes was actually nothing much to comment on, but dying because of going out for pleasure made Wuye furious.

By now, he could be certain these Zhou soldiers had infiltrated the Qi camp with the sole purpose of taking Guan Liang’s life. Guan Liang’s head was missing without a trace, leaving only this cavity—this indicated that very likely Zhou soldiers had escaped, taking Guan Liang’s head with them.

Thinking this, how could Wuye not be angry? He immediately summoned the night patrol teams for questioning.

The commander in charge of patrol had cold sweat streaming down his forehead: “Just, just after hearing the granary was on fire, this subordinate was anxious about the fire and left for a moment…”

“Idiot!” Wuye raised his hand and slapped the patrol commander across the face.

This slap carried fury, directly knocking out one of the man’s teeth. Yet the patrol commander dared not show the slightest dissatisfaction, falling to his knees with a thud to beg forgiveness.

Wuye looked at the person kneeling before him, his expression ferocious: “You truly deserve death! Even if you neglected defense because of the fire and let enemies escape, how did they infiltrate before that?”

This was what made Wuye even more furious and alarmed.

How had these Zhou soldiers infiltrated the camp without anyone knowing?

If they could infiltrate tonight, couldn’t they do so tomorrow night as well?

“Investigate! Thoroughly investigate where the security breach is!”

On the Qi army camp side, this investigation continued until nearly dawn. Meanwhile, when the fire had just started, that Great Zhou soldier carrying Guan Liang’s head had seized the opportunity when patrol teams went to fight the fire, successfully departing and running madly toward the city gates.

The cold wind cut like knives across his face, yet his heart burned hot.

Faster, even faster!

The city gate finally appeared before him. According to plan, he blew his whistle—three long, two short.

Movement soon came from the city tower. The general who had never slept looked down, the drawbridge quietly lowered, and a rope descended the city wall.

This soldier swiftly crossed the drawbridge and climbed the city wall using the rope.

“Are there others?” the general asked.

“There probably won’t be…” The soldier’s voice was somewhat heavy. He quickly descended the city wall and rushed toward the command headquarters.

After him, actually one more Zhou soldier escaped back, but this need not be elaborated upon here.

Prince Jing and General Xu both resided in the temporarily requisitioned command headquarters. At this hour the two had not yet slept, gathered together in heated debate.