A tiny butterfly fluttering its wings in the capital could only stir a barely perceptible breeze, but whether these countless wisps of wind might gather together and transform into an irresistible storm tens of thousands of miles away remained unknown to all. However, at this moment, the subtle changes that had occurred in the capital during these past days seemed not to have reached the battlefield thousands of miles away.

This was a vast and boundless desert where scattered remnants of grass grew sparsely. The vegetation here was not lush, so there were no herds of cattle and sheep grazing. As far as the eye could see, there were only military tents erected for warfare. These tents were covered with thick felt blankets to prevent people from freezing in the cold nights.

In the innermost part of these tents arranged in a unique formation, there stood one particularly strange tent. This tent appeared extremely luxurious, even adorned with thick tassels, but it was guarded by no fewer than ten guards outside. Their clothing differed somewhat from that of the Great Jin, bearing a distinctly foreign style.

A young woman dressed in an emerald green dress walked in carrying a basket. The guards outside allowed her passage. The young woman kept her head lowered all the way, and after entering the tent, she silently placed the food basket on the table and began taking out dishes one by one. After arranging everything, she spoke softly: “Deputy General Jiang, this servant is Jin’er, a new maid assigned to serve you. You should eat something.”

The man sitting on a chair in the tent raised his head, revealing a handsome face. His complexion was somewhat pale, and green stubble had grown on his chin, yet he did not appear disheveled. Instead, he possessed a kind of rakish and unconventional charm. Hearing the young woman’s voice, he paused in slight surprise before saying: “You speak the official language. You’re from Great Jin’s capital?”

The young woman kept her head lowered and spoke quietly: “This servant is indeed from the capital of Great Jin. I was captured by the Southern Border people. When they needed someone to serve the master, they assigned this servant to you.”

Jiang Xinzhi slowly focused his gaze on the young woman. She was not old, perhaps sixteen or seventeen years old – the flower-like age of youth. Her skin was delicate enough, and her large eyes were bright and lively. However, there was an obvious burn scar on her left cheek that jarringly destroyed the beauty of her entire face, making it appear particularly frightening. It was likely because of this face that she had been assigned to serve him, a prisoner. Otherwise, if a truly beautiful young woman had been sent, she would probably have been devoured by the soldiers here, leaving not even bone fragments behind.

Jiang Xinzhi narrowed his eyes: “You’re from the capital, how did you end up being captured here?”

Jin’er paused before replying: “This servant was a laundry maid following Great Jin’s army. A few nights ago, I went out with several sisters and happened to encounter some scattered soldiers who captured us and brought us back.”

This explanation seemed plausible enough. The army would indeed bring along a group of women for daily use during campaigns – sewing and washing. These women usually lived elsewhere, so Jiang Xinzhi naturally couldn’t have seen them all. As for encountering scattered soldiers during a nighttime outing, that wasn’t impossible either.

However, listening to this young woman’s words, Jiang Xinzhi felt something was amiss, though he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. He could only slowly furrow his brow. He had been captured here for several months now, and he had no idea what was happening outside. These people held him captive yet treated him with courtesy, tempting him with high positions and generous rewards. Every day they put muscle-relaxing powder in his tea and meals, leaving his entire body weak and powerless, yet they didn’t kill him. He wasn’t clear about what these people ultimately wanted, but every day he thought about methods of escape.

He said: “Since you were captured here a few days ago, you should know how the war outside is going?”

His captors had isolated him from the outside world, leaving him unable to learn the specific state of the current war situation. He also didn’t know how Great Jin’s army was faring now. When he was captured, Guan Lianghan had also been struck by an arrow – a very deep wound that surely wouldn’t heal in a day or two. The army couldn’t go a day without a general, and the war situation was precarious.

“General Guan is severely wounded and can no longer lead troops into battle,” Jin’er said softly. “Now Great Jin is retreating steadily, with the Heavenly Jin Kingdom pressing closer step by step, having already forced Great Jin’s army to the Black Cliff Pass area. However, Deputy General Jiang need not worry. This servant heard from those above that day that the court has already dispatched reinforcements – Prince Jinying is leading one hundred thousand Imperial Guards and is on his way here.”

Jiang Xinzhi had been listening with deeply furrowed brows, but upon hearing the last sentence, he couldn’t help but pause in surprise: “Prince Jinying?” He slowly knitted his brow. If even Xiao Shao had been dispatched, it showed just how tense the current war situation truly was. Xiao Shao was Great Jin’s hidden force, seemingly born to counter certain powers, usually concealed in the shadows. The Emperor’s various indulgences toward Xiao Shao surely had reasons behind them – Jiang Xinzhi was no fool, and during his days fighting alongside Guan Lianghan, he had been able to guess at some of this. Yet now this force that had been Great Jin’s hidden strength was appearing openly in everyone’s view, even being brought onto the battlefield for a fierce battle with Heavenly Jin Kingdom. What had happened in the meantime?

He pondered deeply, but when he looked up, he noticed Jin’er was stealing glances at him with unblinking eyes. When their gazes met, Jin’er seemed like a thief caught in the act, her face flushing slightly as she quickly lowered her head and stopped looking at him.

Jiang Xinzhi keenly observed that although this young woman appeared plain, dressed very ordinarily, and constantly called herself a servant, her conduct and manner were not those of someone accustomed to serving others. On the contrary, she even carried a flowing, natural nobility. Some people’s nobility need not be feigned, especially those raised in great households – influenced by their families from childhood, they naturally exuded aristocratic bearing. The young woman before him didn’t seem like a servant but rather like a young lady. Yet compared to a typical young lady, she lacked the arrogant air, resembling instead a simple, natural ordinary woman. But… an ordinary woman appearing in an enemy army camp was inherently abnormal.

Jiang Xinzhi then said slowly: “Since you’ve come to serve me, I’ll tell you – before you arrived, there were three maids serving me in this tent, and they all died in the end.”

Jin’er paused, looking at him in confusion.

Jiang Xinzhi watched her expression closely and continued unhurriedly: “Because they were all spies sent by these people, trying every means to gain my trust and extract information from me. But I discovered them and found ways to expose them. When their missions failed, those people dragged them out and killed them. Their deaths were quite miserable too. For instance, just before you came, we had just finished cleaning up a corpse in this tent.” His voice carried a heavy, oppressive quality, along with the sharp edge of an unsheathed sword – like golden light suddenly bursting through rolling dark clouds, bringing an irresistible pressure that compelled people to speak the truth. He said: “Miss Jin’er, do you still want to stay by my side?”

Jin’er was startled by his sudden words, but after a moment, she smiled: “This servant has only come to serve Deputy General Jiang, so naturally I must stay by your side. It’s nothing to worry about. Deputy General Jiang should eat something first.”

Jiang Xinzhi paused slightly. When he met Jin’er’s eyes, he found them somewhat familiar, yet they were clear and crystalline – either truly innocent of ulterior motives, or possessing extremely deep schemes. What he had just said wasn’t entirely false, though not completely true either. Some of the maids had indeed been spies sent by the locals, while others had truly been Great Jin people who had even willingly risked danger to try to rescue him from captivity, but unfortunately all had died at the hands of these people.

As they were speaking, someone walked directly into the tent from outside. Seeing Jin’er, he didn’t ask her to withdraw, clearly regarding her as nothing. Upon seeing Jiang Xinzhi’s frowning expression, the person laughed: “Deputy General Jiang doesn’t seem very cheerful today either. What’s wrong, are you feeling stuffy in here?”

This person was dressed entirely in gray robes that covered his whole body tightly, revealing only a smooth, thin chin and beautifully shaped thin lips. By his voice, he was a young man whose voice carried a gorgeous, seductive quality for unknown reasons. He said: “Deputy General Jiang, haven’t you considered it yet?”

“Your Excellency need not waste more effort on me,” Jiang Xinzhi smiled slightly. “I don’t possess what Your Excellency seeks.”

The gray-clothed man drew closer, slowly approaching Jiang Xinzhi. His voice contained a hint of elusive laughter, like a gorgeous trailing string on a qin, carrying a somewhat tickling curve yet inexplicably making people’s hearts race, fearing that the next moment the string might snap from a high-pitched sound. The gray-clothed man said: “Deputy General Jiang, at this point, why do you still need to conceal anything? I only want to know – that letter of yours, who exactly gave it to you?”

“That letter” referred to the letter Jiang Ruan had pressed into his hands when they parted three years ago. The letter detailed various tactics that Heavenly Jin Kingdom would employ during the years of warfare with Great Jin, including some surprise attacks, and even the victories and defeats of battles that would occur in the coming years. This letter had been of tremendous help to Jiang Xinzhi. Over the past three years, he had constantly studied it, relying on it to turn schemes against the schemers or lure enemies into traps, perfectly disrupting the enemy’s ambushes time and again and winning battle after battle.

However, there was a traitor in the army – surprisingly, one of Guan Lianghan’s most trusted subordinates. This news came too suddenly, and more importantly, that subordinate had discovered the secret of this letter and secretly exchanged information with these people. In this calculated trap, facing the choice between personal safety and one hundred thousand troops, Jiang Xinzhi had been forced to make concessions and was reluctantly captured, while Guan Lianghan was severely wounded.

The contents of this letter were indeed enough to drive the enemy mad. In the previous month, they had tried various horrible methods to torture Jiang Xinzhi, but he hadn’t yielded. Later they changed tactics, providing him with good food and lodging while promising high positions and generous rewards, yet Jiang Xinzhi still hadn’t yielded.

Jiang Xinzhi was someone who responded to neither harsh nor soft treatment. After several months of interaction, these people had surely become well acquainted with his temperament. Yet they continued choosing such methods – there must be some other purpose, though Jiang Xinzhi couldn’t figure out what for now. But one thing was certain: he absolutely could not reveal Jiang Ruan’s name.

Sometimes Jiang Xinzhi wondered how Jiang Ruan had come to know about events that might occur in the future. Ever since Jiang Ruan had been brought back to the capital from the estate three years ago, he had felt something strange about her. In front of him, Jiang Ruan was just a young woman with a somewhat aloof temperament, perhaps intelligent, but the power to predict the future… thinking back to past events like the Bochang Reservoir incident, it was truly puzzling. But regardless of whether Jiang Ruan was a demon or a ghost, she was his sister, and he would never do anything to harm her. Once these people learned that Jiang Ruan had written the letter, they would certainly find ways to capture her. Even with Guan Lianghan having a traitor by his side, there might well be hidden enemies in the capital too. He had to protect Jiang Ruan.

“I’ve said this many times already.” Jiang Xinzhi supported his head with his index finger, displaying a thoroughly unruly appearance: “I merely picked it up randomly on the road – perhaps it was Heaven’s will. If Your Excellency insists on asking, you might as well ask Heaven itself. Perhaps Heaven feels that your Heavenly Jin’s destiny is running out, so it sent down this divine guidance to assist my Great Jin. Since that’s the case, considering how Your Excellency has treated me with sincerity these past days, let me offer you a word of advice: why not follow Heaven’s mandate? Everyone would be more comfortable, wouldn’t that be nice?”

For such a steady and reserved person to now speak such nonsense with complete seriousness while displaying such an unkempt manner – far from being annoying, it made him extremely interesting and drew people unconsciously closer. Jin’er kept her head down, hiding the slight smile that quietly escaped from the corners of her lips.

The gray-clothed man showed no anger either. Instead, he stood with hands behind his back, nodded, and said: “I agree with what you say about destiny, but destiny is not written by Heaven. Even if Heaven gave Great Jin a warning, this prophetic warning ultimately fell into our hands – what kind of destiny is that?”

Jiang Xinzhi remained silent for a long while before speaking: “You’re not from Heavenly Jin Kingdom. You’re from Southern Border.”

These people never discussed matters concerning Heavenly Jin Kingdom, and the soldiers stationed here didn’t dress like those fighting for Heavenly Jin Kingdom. Initially, Jiang Xinzhi thought they might be a secret army cultivated by Heavenly Jin, but later he realized this wasn’t the case, leading him to think of the legendary Southern Border Kingdom. When the late Emperor was alive, Southern Border had invaded the Central Plains and nearly claimed the entire region. Later, the late Emperor personally led an expedition and conquered Southern Border Kingdom. The kingdom fell, and the remaining Southern Border survivors were expelled to settle in the desolate borderlands of Great Jin.

Having been born and raised in the capital, Jiang Xinzhi had never had the opportunity to see these Southern Border remnants, but now, observing them, he harbored vague suspicions.

The gray-clothed man chuckled softly upon hearing this, his smooth chin tilting up slightly, creating a bewitching arc: “Yes, we are Southern Border people. So what? All people in this world will eventually become Southern Border people. This entire realm will ultimately become our realm.”

Jiang Xinzhi shook his head: “If Your Excellency wishes to dream, I won’t interfere, but I’ve already answered your question. Now, if Your Excellency has no other business, you’re welcome to leave. I need to rest.”

The gray-clothed man showed no anger at Jiang Xinzhi’s words, merely smiled faintly before turning and leaving the tent. It was Jin’er who watched the gray-clothed man’s departure with some tension.

…

After leaving Jiang Xinzhi’s tent, the gray-clothed man walked directly toward another tent in the opposite direction. This tent didn’t appear luxurious – from a distance, it seemed far less vibrant than Jiang Xinzhi’s, being entirely snow-white in color. Only upon approaching did one discover that the tent was actually sewn from large pieces of snow fox fur, pure white without a single impurity, appearing like the peak of eternally unmelting snowy mountains, distantly containing a kind of cold, otherworldly beauty.

This tent had no guards stationed outside. The gray-clothed man paused at the entrance before entering.

Inside the tent hung a circle of amethyst curtains – finest quality crystal stones, crystal clear and sparkling with brilliant white radiance that nearly dazzled the eyes. The candlelight burning in the tent was reflected by the bright stones, creating beauty like celestial jade palaces. Upon stepping inside, it felt like entering a magnificent and wondrous otherworldly paradise.

Behind the curtains, a figure could be vaguely seen – apparently dressed in red robes of unparalleled beauty, sitting properly before a seven-stringed qin without playing it. The gray-clothed man approached the curtains and slowly bowed down, his manner revealing complete reverence.

“Saintess,” the gray-clothed man said.

“How are things progressing?” After a moment, a charming female voice came from behind the curtains. This voice was utterly enchanting, like the first drop of blood-red water melting from a ten-thousand-year ice ravine when spring sunlight first penetrated it, carrying millennia of languidness and allure while containing a kind of worldly innocence that made people feel they might drown just from hearing one sentence, barely able to resist the urge to lift those glittering curtains and see exactly how absolutely beautiful the person inside was.

“Yuan Chuan is incompetent. Please punish me, Saintess,” the gray-clothed man said. Before this woman, he lowered his noble chin like a devout believer prostrating before his faith. Loyal and humble, he said: “He still won’t say who owns that letter.”

“No matter,” the person behind the curtains said lazily, almost like a beauty awakening from spring slumber stretching languidly, revealing feline charm: “If he confessed so easily, he wouldn’t be Great Jin’s God of War.”

“Saintess, what should we do now? Should we still kill Jiang Xinzhi?” the gray-clothed man asked.

“No, I want to keep him. Great Jin’s God of War – such a valuable chip is my gift to him,” the woman’s voice suddenly revealed a hint of irrepressible joy. Her already charming and crisp voice immediately became suffused with a layer of sweet mist, making her appearance even more indistinct.

The gray-clothed man paused slightly, seeming to want to say something, but ultimately said nothing, merely bowing his head respectfully with his usual humility and compliance.

“When he sees this gift I’m sending him, he’ll surely be very happy,” the voice behind the curtains continued. The earlier languidness seemed to fully awaken at this moment, sounding like an innocent child, pure and naive, welcoming someone they cherished.

“Yuan Chuan, he’s coming soon,” the woman seemed to be smiling.

“I’ve waited for him so long, and finally I can see him again,” she said.