The wilderness stretched vast with yellow grass, and a lone wild goose flew beneath the frosty sky.

Jiang Hanyuan stood atop a ridge, gazing toward the village in the distant northern foothills.

The fires in the village had been extinguished, but the burned houses left only broken walls and ruins. Wind from the depths of the northern wilderness moaned as it swept over the village and reached the ridge, carrying with it intermittent sounds of weeping that rose and fell.

This place had suffered a raid by the Beidi people at dawn this morning.

A cavalry force of nearly a hundred riders had penetrated deep into the night, avoiding the heavily guarded border zones and slipping past a regular watchtower several dozen li away.

The beacon commander responsible for that section had taken up with a widow from this village, and they had a daughter this year. Last night, he had privately left his post to return to the village. Only two men remained at the beacon tower, and since that area had been peaceful for so long, they had grown lax. The guards left behind took the opportunity to drink lazily, and by the time they discovered the threat, it was already too late.

Under the cover of darkness, the Beidi cavalry drove straight in and arrived at dawn.

These northern nomad raiders were accustomed to striking opportunistically—they would plunder what they could carry and burn what they could not.

In less than half an hour, most of the houses were burned, goods were stolen, over ten women were captured, and more than ten men who fled too slowly perished under the horses’ hooves.

Jiang Hanyuan happened to be passing through this area.

She had come out on this journey to visit Yunluo City to pay respects to her relatives. To arrive early, she had traveled through the night and set out at the fourth watch this morning. At dawn, passing through here, she saw thick smoke billowing skyward from the opposite direction.

Though the smoke was different from the beacon smoke she knew well, acting on instinct, she still stopped her horse to investigate. Upon seeing the situation, she dispatched someone to summon the local garrison under Li He, ordering them to come with all speed to provide aid. Without a moment’s pause, she then led her accompanying twenty-four riders to follow the trail left by the fleeing Beidi cavalry. They pursued closely behind, and by afternoon, when the Beidi felt they had reached safe territory, and relaxed their guard.

In recent years, when the border troops of Great Wei encountered such scattered raids, if the Beidi had successfully escaped, considering various factors, they usually would not expend great effort in pursuit. This had become one of the reasons why the Beidi repeatedly dared to cross the border and commit crimes.

Moreover, even if the Wei people truly came in pursuit, it would be impossible for them to catch up so quickly. After a night of raiding, hungry, thirsty, and exhausted, the raiders dismounted and put down their weapons to rest. During the break, they subjected the captured women to bestial acts for their amusement. Just as they were at their most arrogant, Jiang Hanyuan’s group descended like divine soldiers from heaven. With lightning speed, she first shot and killed their leader with an arrow, then led her mounted formation in a sweeping charge. The Beidi were completely unprepared and in an instant were thrown into chaos, hastily engaging in battle with heavy casualties. Not knowing how many reinforcements the enemy might have, they quickly abandoned resistance and fled in panic.

A middle-aged military officer with a full beard and robust build quickly climbed the slope and stopped behind her, reporting: “The recovered goods have all been distributed, the women have been taken back by their families, and Li He is following up on the aftermath. The villagers are very grateful and just now wanted to come kowtow their thanks to the General. This subordinate declined on the General’s behalf.”

This middle-aged man was named Fan Jing, one of Jiang Hanyuan’s trusted deputy commanders.

“How are Qi Lang and the others’ injuries?” Jiang Hanyuan turned to ask.

Though the daytime pursuit had achieved great victory—not only rescuing the captured women but also causing over half casualties to this arrogant Beidi cavalry, with the remainder either fleeing or being beheaded—the enemy were all fierce fighters, and with numerical advantage, seven or eight of her men were also wounded.

“Nothing serious, all have been treated just now. However—”

Fan Jing paused. “That beacon commander couldn’t hold on and just died. His woman came with the baby.”

The beacon commander knew his crime was punishable by death, and seeking to make amends, had requested to join the pursuit. He was wounded most severely.

“Also, the two negligent beacon guards have been bound and brought here, awaiting the General’s decision. Additionally, Li He also requests punishment.”

Below the slope, a woman knelt beside the corpse, holding her head and weeping bitterly. The baby girl was not yet a year old and was placed on the ground. Innocent and unaware of the tragedy, she crawled back and forth nearby on hands and knees, making babbling sounds.

The accompanying troops gathered nearby. A baby-faced young officer who had just finished bandaging his wounds was indignantly complaining loudly: “…The Grand General only knows how to order us to defend! Defend! Making us cower like turtles inside the pass! How stifling! Outside the pass are the vast territories of Shuozhou! Hengzhou! Yanzhou! Not only have we let the northern barbarians occupy them, most hatefully, they even cross the border to kill our people and capture our women! When will we finally be able to charge out and fight a great battle, driving these Beidi back where they belong? Even if we die charging out, it would be worth it!”

His companions were also filled with righteous anger, but hearing him mention the Grand General, they dared not speak out.

Li He, the local garrison commander who had arrived, knew that these aggressive and fierce young soldiers were all from Jiang Hanyuan’s Azure Wood Camp. Especially this baby-faced one, named Yang Hu, courtesy name Xiuming, nicknamed Qi Lang. He was skilled in mounted archery and wielded an excellent halberd, with the courage to slay generals and capture flags. In one close combat battle, he had charged back and forth through enemy lines several times, beheading over twenty enemies in a single battle. His reputation for fierce bravery and fearlessness in the face of death was known throughout the army, earning him the nickname “Desperate Qi Lang.” His background was also notable—his grandfather had once held the rank of Duke. Though the family had fallen into decline and he now relied on military service to earn merit, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. With his burden of negligence in supervision, Li He had no right to speak here and remained silent.

“Silence!”

Fan Jing shouted.

Yang Hu turned his head, seeing the bearded Fan Jing accompanying their commander, and reluctantly closed his mouth.

Li He fearfully approached and knelt, repeatedly claiming his failure of duty and requesting punishment.

The woman kowtowed to Jiang Hanyuan, weeping and pleading: “It’s my fault! All my fault, it has nothing to do with him! He hadn’t returned for several months. I asked someone to send word for him to come back once to see his daughter. I harmed him! I harmed him…”

The woman was overcome with grief, prostrating on the ground and refusing to rise, her crying filled with despair and remorse.

The setting sun swayed and sank into the wilderness. The surroundings darkened, and the wild wind suddenly gusted, causing the hem of Jiang Hanyuan’s blood-stained robes to flutter and billow.

The baby girl was attracted by this, thinking it was play. She crawled toward Jiang Hanyuan, reached out to grasp the fabric, and shook her little arms, making delighted gurgling sounds.

The woman noticed something amiss and looked up to see the female general’s face stained with blood, her eyes fixed on the infant at her feet, her expression dark as storm clouds.

The woman suddenly remembered that this female general was known by the name “Female Rakshasa.” The ring-pommel sword at her waist had killed countless people. There were also rumors that she had been raised by wolves as a child and was called the Wolf Girl. Even now, on nights of the full moon, she still craved blood, or else she would transform into a wolf with fangs and claws.

Such rumors, the woman believed completely. Otherwise, how could a woman fight on battlefields like a man, causing countless enemies to die under her blade?

The woman dared not continue weeping and frantically pleaded, crawling on hands and knees to stop her daughter. But she saw that Jiang Hanyuan had already bent down.

Under the woman’s terrified gaze, Jiang Hanyuan slowly extended one hand and gently grasped the baby’s small hand that was clutching her robe.

The hand that held the baby’s soft little hand was covered with calluses from weapons, its palm and fingers rough and coarse.

Perhaps feeling pain, the baby suddenly wailed and began to cry.

The woman was terrified beyond measure but dared not interfere, only trembling as she continuously kowtowed and begged for mercy.

Jiang Hanyuan paused, released her grip, let go of the baby, and turned to leave.

“Though the beacon commander fought to make amends, his crime cannot be fully pardoned even by death in battle. The two guards shall be dealt with according to military law—immediate execution. Write a report and inform the entire army as a warning to others. As for Li He’s fault, it is not mine to decide. Let him go and request punishment from the Grand General himself!”

After speaking, she took the reins handed to her by a subordinate and turned to look at Fan Jing, who was following beside her.

“Uncle Fan, I must trouble you to stay behind to oversee the aftermath and inspect the entire border line in this area again, ensuring there are no oversights.”

“Understood. General, go with peace of mind.”

“Also—”

Jiang Hanyuan paused slightly, glancing toward the distant figure of the woman still kneeling and crying while holding her daughter. “Give double compensation to the mother and daughter, taken from my salary,” she said quietly.

Fan Jing was startled, looked back, then agreed.

“All wounded today, return to camp on your own! The rest follow me!”

After her final words, she mounted her horse, gathered the reins with one hand, and spurred her mount to depart.

Yang Hu became anxious, leaped forward, and blocked her horse’s path, waving his freshly bandaged arm: “General, I’m fine! Just a flesh wound! I want to follow you!”

“Get back!”

Jiang Hanyuan gave a low rebuke, guided her horse around him, and departed.

The remaining dozen or so uninjured men grinned and made gestures at him, whooped once, quickly mounted their horses, and galloped away after her, leaving Yang Hu and the wounded standing in place, full of regret.

Yang Hu watched the figure in the distance growing smaller, becoming increasingly angry. Unable to contain himself, he cursed at a departing comrade who was mounting his horse.

“Zhang Monkey, you bastard! If I hadn’t saved you today and taken that blade for you, you’d be a corpse by now! And now you get to follow the General on the road! Just wait—when we get back, I’ll see how I deal with you!”

The comrade called Zhang Monkey didn’t even turn his head, instead spurring his horse faster, and was soon out of sight.

The other wounded companions left behind couldn’t help but gloat inwardly, but didn’t dare laugh, struggling to contain themselves.

“Enough, enough! Following the General’s orders, you rest tonight and return tomorrow morning—”

Facing this troublesome young man who had been personally selected by the female general and seemed to enjoy some favoritism, Fan Jing also had a bit of a headache.

Naturally, he would never show this. Maintaining his usual stern, bearded expression, he solemnly repeated Jiang Hanyuan’s orders.

Yang Hu could only give up, dejectedly glancing in the direction they had come from. But unexpectedly, he saw a fast horse carrying a messenger galloping toward them from a distance.

“Is General Changning here? The Grand General has urgent orders, commanding General Changning to return to camp immediately with all speed—”

The messenger, seeing Fan Jing and the others from afar, stood up in his stirrups on horseback and called out against the wind.

The messenger brought news from General Jiang Zuowang.

Jiang Hanyuan could only halt her journey and turn back toward her father’s permanent station, the main camp near the Yanmen Xixing Pass.

Several days later, she arrived in the depths of night.