“Zhu Erlang’s death would be insignificant enough, but he had to drag so many others to their deaths by arrows and swords. Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot – utterly foolish!” Niu Wuniang looked at Ji Yingying with contempt and sneered.

Brother Zhu won’t die! It was all Niu Wuniang’s fault – otherwise, she, Zhu Erlang, and Xianger wouldn’t have been caught by the Nanzhao forces! Being Tang people, yet harming their kind for personal gain, willingly becoming Nanzhao’s running dogs.

If Zhao Xiuyuan hadn’t led the way, perhaps her nephew wouldn’t have died, her mother wouldn’t have despaired, and her brother and sister-in-law would still be alive. How dare she say Zhu Erlang’s death would be insignificant! Rage blazed in Ji Yingying’s chest as she lunged at Niu Wuniang: “I’ll kill you!”

Probably not expecting Ji Yingying to attack her, Niu Wuniang screamed as Ji Yingying grabbed her hair. She was struck several times before reacting: “You think you’re the only one who can fight?”

She was a military officer’s daughter after all – even without Seventh Miss’s supernatural strength, she was skilled in archery and horsemanship. She had only been caught off guard when Ji Yingying straddled her and struck wildly. Niu Wuniang grabbed Ji Yingying’s hands and threw her to the ground. Just as she was about to strike back, she received a heavy blow to her back, and her heart nearly jumped out of her mouth before she blacked out.

Ji Yingying pushed her away, panting, and saw a young woman standing before her holding a river stone.

“I… I’ve never… Is she… is she dead?” The stone fell to the ground as the young woman, pale-faced, trembled while looking at Niu Wuniang.

Ji Yingying kicked Niu Wuniang hard, hearing her groan. She snorted: “Evil lives a thousand years – she won’t die. Thank you for helping me.”

Tears slid down the young woman’s face as she mumbled: “My brother is in the Xichuan army…”

Ji Yingying sighed, gently embracing her.

The Nanzhao soldiers had already suppressed the chaos outside. That deputy commander had been watching the activity in the enclosure the whole time. The fight had been too brief for him to intervene. Hearing that Niu Wuniang wasn’t dead, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and shouted through the fence: “Everyone behave yourselves!”

The people inside voluntarily moved away from Niu Wuniang, leaving her lying alone on the ground.

It took a full three days for over ten thousand people to be escorted across the bridge.

On the fourth day, Ji Yingying and a group of military dependents were finally released to cross the river last.

The surging river water rushed beneath the bridge. Standing on it, one felt as if person and bridge alike were being swept away by the torrential flow, creating such dizzying sensations that people dared not look down.

The Nanzhao soldiers standing on both sides of the floating bridge formed two human walls to prevent people from jumping. Perhaps because this last group was all young women, the Nanzhao soldiers had relaxed their vigilance. Countless boats coming from the opposite shore to receive troops drew much of their attention.

Ji Yingying moved slowly with the crowd. A soldier in front turned his face to watch the boats on the river. She stared at that soldier, gripping her small knife tightly.

“You promised me you wouldn’t try to escape. My merit rests on you, so I have to watch you.”

The voice came from behind her. Ji Yingying turned to see it was the deputy commander. She smiled radiantly: “I keep my word. Thank you for taking care of me along the way.”

The deputy commander said meaningfully: “The floating bridge is swaying – be careful not to fall.”

With him watching, there would be no opportunity. Ji Yingying secretly cursed, then kindly suggested as she watched Niu Wuniang stumbling ahead: “I grew up walking in fields, I won’t fall. General, perhaps you should worry about Second Madam Zhao instead. She was raised in the inner chambers – she must be frightened.”

“Second Madam Zhao has Prince Bai’s golden token for protection. If Prince Bai’s central army returns before General Chi Kuang, her days will be much better than yours. Better worry about yourself.”

What benefit had Niu Wuniang promised Sheng Fengze? Ji Yingying remained curious. She saw that tents had already been pitched on the riverbank ahead, and none of the military dependents who had crossed were being taken away. It seemed they would be delayed at the riverbank for some time. Perhaps there would be another chance.

The several hundred-meter-long floating bridge, no matter how slowly the crowd moved, eventually had to be crossed. They were still confined in newly built enclosures on the riverbank, but this time several hundred people were held together.

In the middle of the night, the Nanzhao military camp suddenly erupted in chaos. The commotion woke those confined in the enclosure. A dense array of lights appeared on the horizon across the river. As they neared the riverbank, the torch lights became visible.

Could it be the Tang army in pursuit? The Tang people grew excited, rushing to the fence to look.

“General Chi Kuang has returned to camp!” a Nanzhao soldier shouted excitedly.

One sentence extinguished their hope, and the enclosure once again fell silent.

Ji Yingying looked toward the opposite shore. Lights were lit on both the floating bridge and the boats receiving soldiers. The lights reflected on the river, creating flowing colors. She remembered last year’s Lantern Festival when she and Yang Jingyuan released sky lanterns by the lake near Sanhua Tower. She rested her face against a wooden post, murmuring: “Third Brother, why haven’t you come yet?”

Chi Kuang led the Left Army of fifty thousand men. He had held the rear at Meizhou. After the city fell, about thirty thousand remained. Retreating south, the army gathered forces tasked with delaying the Tang army along the way. By the time they reached the Dadu River, the force numbered over forty thousand.

“Abandon heavy equipment! Cross the river quickly!”

The orders were passed down. The army rushed across the river. Even so, by dawn, several thousand men still hadn’t managed to cross.

The deputy commander met Chi Kuang on the shore, seeing his armor stained with blood, his eyes bloodshot. As he sat in the main tent drinking a large bowl of water and still struggling to catch his breath, the deputy commander anxiously inquired: “General, you’ve had a difficult journey. Among the captured people, I discovered…”

“Report! The Tang army is in pursuit!” The scout’s report interrupted the deputy commander’s words.

Chi Kuang violently smashed the water bowl to the ground: “Damn it! I haven’t slept in four or five days. How has he caught up again!”

He grabbed his great sword and ran out of the main camp.

On the opposite bank, the Great Tang military banners flew high in the wind. A trail of dust rose on the horizon, with hoofbeats that sounded like muffled thunder even across the wide river.

“The Tang army has come!”

The words carried by the river wind energized those confined in the enclosure and crying immediately broke out.

Soldiers on the floating bridge ran forward desperately. On the opposite shore, soldiers fighting to board boats became a tangled mass, even causing several boats to capsize from the crowding.

The Tang army arrived in an instant, cavalry charging straight at the Nanzhao soldiers on the shore, swinging their sabers mercilessly.

Yang Jingyuan’s eyes were fixed only on that floating bridge no more than two zhang wide as he spurred his horse toward it.

“Yang Jingyuan, you chase me to the death… Burn the bridge! Set fire to the bridge!” Chi Kuang stared at Yang Jingyuan in his bright armor riding a white horse, screaming hoarsely.

A general began crying: “General, we still have thousands of men who haven’t crossed the river!”

Chi Kuang kicked him, cursing: “If the Tang forces take the bridge, we’ll lose more than just thousands!”

The deputy commander, hearing Yang Jingyuan’s name, remembered Ji Yingying: “General, I’ve captured Yang Jingyuan’s wife Yang Ji-shi! And several hundred Tang military dependents!”

Chi Kuang was overjoyed: “Bring her here! Quickly!”