Like a pond of hopeless, dead water suddenly infused with vibrant life, below the city wall, people wept with joy at this news, their shouts trembling as they used every ounce of strength to hold the city gate before them.

Outside the gate, the black-armored formation moved like the tail of a giant python, unstoppable in its sharpness, instantly breaking through the enemy’s rear flank.

The rebel troops turned in panic, as if seeing demons from hell, scattering in retreat.

The rebel commander, Soaring Eagle, issued command after command trying to stabilize his troops’ morale, but no matter how loudly he shouted, it was of no use.

A city with only five thousand defenders—they had deployed nearly one hundred thousand troops to besiege it, battle after battle, yet couldn’t capture it. Now, as the Xuance Army’s crimson banner swept across like a wildfire, who still had the strength to fight?

The city gates opened wide, and the Xingyang garrison rushed out with bloodshot eyes, carrying the hatred and frustration of days of fierce fighting and the killing intent of those who had been to death’s door and back, cutting down the fleeing enemy soldiers one by one.

The situation on the battlefield quickly became one-sided. Watching the enemy being surrounded and devoured like dead leaves in the wind by that line of black-armored troops, on the city tower, Jiang Zhiyi finally lowered the sleeve arrow that had been pointed at her neck with trembling eyelashes, and fixed her gaze on the young general who had led the charge to the foot of the city.

The black-armored youth sat tall on his warhorse, the silver spear in his palm striking like a dragon, piercing through the chest of the rebel commander Soaring Eagle, twisting the spearhead to pin him brutally against the city wall. He seized the rebel’s blue banner, hurled it down with a forceful throw, and lifted his head to look toward the city tower.

His eyes met those tear-filled ones that had been waiting there all along.

From the city tower to below, their gazes met across the distance, as if crossing three lifetimes.

Yuan Ce dismounted and strode forward.

Jiang Zhiyi lifted her skirts, turned, and ran frantically, descending the city steps down, rushing out of the city gate, crossing over the corpses lying at her feet, and throwing her arms around his hard, cold armor.

Yuan Ce held his spear in one hand and cupped the back of her head with the other, pressing her tightly into his embrace.

They held each other amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Jiang Zhiyi’s hot tears fell onto his armor as she cried aloud for the first time in seven days when she hadn’t dared to make a sound even while weeping: “You finally came—”

Yuan Ce pressed his jaw firmly against the top of her head. This man, who had always been spirited and confident, who even smiled while killing, now spoke with a trembling voice, his bones shaking: “…I’m sorry I arrived late.”

The slaughter gradually subsided around them. A weak neigh sounded as a warhorse suddenly collapsed from exhaustion.

Jiang Zhiyi was startled and looked up.

In the now calm killing field, warhorses fell one after another. The Xuance cavalry riders tumbled off their mounts and collapsed on the ground, lying on their backs atop piles of corpses, wearily closing their eyes against the blazing sun above.

Yuan Ce released Jiang Zhiyi and looked her up and down: “Are you hurt?”

Jiang Zhiyi raised her head and only then noticed that his eyes were filled with bloodshot vessels and his lips were pale—he too was exhausted to the extreme.

“…No, I’m fine. What about you? Are you injured?”

Yuan Ce shook his head and raised his fingertips to wipe away her tears.

An Xuance Army soldier came forward to report: “Young General, the enemy at the West Gate has been annihilated!”

Yuan Ce finished wiping Jiang Zhiyi’s tears, looked back at his soldiers, and slowly gave his order: “Everyone, enter the city and rest. Wait for the subsequent reinforcements to arrive—”

After giving his final command, he fell straight backward.

“…Yuan Ce!” In her panic, Jiang Zhiyi grabbed his hand, falling with him and landing on top of him.

An hour later, in the east wing room of the Governor’s mansion, rear courtyard.

Jiang Zhiyi sat by the bed, looking down at the sleeping face of the man on it. She used a damp cloth to wipe his forehead, cheeks, temples, and each finger, then handed the cloth to Jing Zhe behind her.

This man, who would normally spring into action at the slightest approach in his sleep, had just had his armor removed, clothes changed, and body wiped down by Li Dafeng, and had been tended to by her for half the day, yet showed no sign of stirring, sleeping deeply.

If Li Dafeng hadn’t repeatedly checked his pulse and assured her multiple times that the Young General was truly, truly, truly just sleeping—

She would have worried he had fallen into a coma.

Only after questioning Li Dafeng did Jiang Zhiyi learn that during the days she had been suffering, Yuan Ce had suffered even longer.

In June, River West and the imperial court received similar news, only knowing that drought and famine had broken out in the three southern prefectures, but not understanding how serious the situation had become.

Earlier, when Yuan Ce had sent a message warning her to avoid the refugees, he was purely concerned about the refugees robbing her on the road. The worst outcome he had imagined was the Xuance Army having to use force against refugees to protect her, provoking public anger that River East could use to denounce River West in court.

But later, as news about the disaster in the three southern prefectures came like snowflakes, fluttering one after another, by the time she neared Xingzhou, Yuan Ce had become alert—

The Second Prince, taking advantage of the Crown Prince’s mistakes, had ordered his subordinate officials to suppress and impeach the Crown Prince, yet this only resulted in the Crown Prince being confined to reflect on his actions. The Second Prince must have been dissatisfied with this outcome.

However, facing the Second Prince’s dissatisfaction and such a severe disaster, River East had consistently refrained from stirring up trouble.

River East was strangely quiet, like the calm before a storm.

The palace was also strangely quiet, like an airtight, locked prison.

Moreover, at that time, she was wandering outside, with an unpredictable itinerary due to the summer heat, with too many possible accidents. So Yuan Ce could not sit and wait for death.

Before she entered Xingyang City, Yuan Ce had already led his army out of Guzang and deployed troops at the River West border, standing ready at the place closest to her.

Later, news spread that River East had raised an army. However, at that time, he had not yet received the imperial court’s mobilization order. Even though his army had been ready to march for a long time, he could not step out of River West.

He did not fear being labeled as a rebel, but without mobilization orders, advancing with his army would face numerous obstacles along the way. They would not be able to go directly through all the cities and passes; they could only fight their way through.

Fighting like this all the way would not only take more time but would also be like cutting off one’s arms and legs before confronting the rebel army.

That was Yuan Ce’s most agonizing time—knowing she might already be in grave danger, yet having to wait.

Fortunately, the place where he deployed his troops was not one thousand li from Xingyang, but eight hundred li. And fortunately, while waiting, he had already secretly sent out supplies and logistics and prepared the quickest marching route.

After the mobilization order was issued, the vanguard marched day and night in the intense summer heat, crossing mountains and rivers for three days and four nights, finally reaching Xingzhou.

Li Dafeng and other military doctors had set out earlier, taking about six days to get here, with their physical strength still maintainable. But the cavalry unit led by Yuan Ce had truly risked their lives, running countless horses to death along the way, with many cavalrymen falling behind. Those who successfully arrived were already at the end of their strength. The battle at the city gate was fought purely on willpower. After annihilating the enemy, neither man nor horse had any strength left.

Earlier, Jiang Zhiyi had watched Li Dafeng remove Yuan Ce’s armor; the sweat accumulated inside filled two basins.

Jiang Zhiyi raised her index finger, smoothing out Yuan Ce’s still-furrowed brow as he slept, and bent down to place a gentle kiss on his forehead.

After days of fear and rushing about, and another sleepless night yesterday, her exhaustion crashed down like a mountain. Unable to keep her eyes open any longer, she climbed onto the bed and lay down on the inner side, turning to embrace Yuan Ce as she closed her eyes.

When Yuan Ce woke, the night was already deep, and dim candlelight lit the room.

Feeling a soft arm draped across his waist, Yuan Ce lowered his eyes to silently gaze at the person in his arms. He slowly raised his hand, carefully touching her cheek until his fingertips felt genuine warmth, as if only then believing this scene was real.

Watching her sleep so peacefully, he recalled what he had seen earlier that day when the Xuance Army charged toward the city gate, and he looked up from his horse.

On the city tower, she stood alone against the wind, raising her hand high, her palm seeming to grip something…

Yuan Ce reached out his hand, exploring inside her sleeve, and found a cold arrow tube.

The moment his suspicion was confirmed, it was as if a basin of ice water had been poured over him in the hot summer, chilling him to the bone.

Yuan Ce froze, both his body and breath, staring blankly at the bed. It took who knows how long before he extracted the sleeve arrow from her sleeve.

The sleeve arrow he had personally crafted for her, now fully loaded with arrows, was not meant for her protection but to end her own life.

If he had arrived one moment later—

Yuan Ce learned for the first time that holding such a light and small sleeve arrow could make his hands tremble.

In the dim candlelight, the room was silent. Time seemed to freeze in this moment of retrospective fear.

After a while, Yuan Ce opened the arrow tube, about to remove the arrows Jiang Zhiyi had loaded, when a rolled-up note suddenly fell out.

Yuan Ce’s eyelashes fluttered as he picked up the note and gripped it in his palm. As if guessing what it was, after a moment of silence, he gently removed her arm, sat up in bed, tucked the quilt around her, and walked to the candlelight.

As he unfolded the note, elegant handwriting came into view—

“Uncle, I hope this letter finds you well. I do not know if by the time you read this, the war will have subsided and peace will have returned to the realm. I am now in Xingyang, engulfed in continuous warfare. If you are reading this letter, it means I have gone to a peaceful place free from gunpowder smoke. I hope you will take care of yourself and not worry about me.”

“It has been eleven years since Father defended Qingzhou. Over these eleven years, if I said I harbored no resentment, that would be false. I resented that Father could have chosen to mind his own business like the Fan family of River East, yet he chose to stay and defend Qingzhou. I resented that after I lost my closest kin, everyone praised father’s righteousness and his merit in supporting the imperial family, and if I did not join in the praise, I would be seen as harboring rebellious thoughts. For eleven years, I have been unable to find peace.”

“The imperial family praises father for his merit in supporting them, which led me to always believe that father chose the Emperor Uncle. But today, finding myself in a city similar to the one father defended, I finally understand that perhaps the people father chose were the soldiers and civilians of that city. My home is a home, and the homes of a city’s soldiers and civilians are also homes. Before, I had not witnessed the suffering in this world and did not know how painful and difficult it was for people in suffering. Now that I have seen it with my own eyes, if I have the power to end suffering, I cannot sit idly by. Unfortunately, I have exhausted all my efforts and have no more strategies. I can only die to prevent the warriors rushing thousands of li to Xingyang from being burdened because of me.”

“From this battle at Xingyang, I have understood father’s choice back then, and also understood where mother found the courage to give up her life for the one she loved. My knot of many years has been untied, so Uncle, please do not feel regret for me. My only fear and regret is that I am abandoning my beloved today, leaving him alone in this world, with no one to tell him: take care of yourself.”

“Uncle still has family for company, but he has no close kin or loved ones left. I know this action is a thousand, ten thousand wrongs against him, and I do not know how to earn his forgiveness. After much deliberation, I find I dare not even write a single word to leave for him. I only hope that in the next life, the country will be at peace, the four corners free from war, and he and I will be ordinary, free people, fortunate enough to spend our lives together. Jiang Zhiyi, final words from the western military camp of Xingyang City.”

Yuan Ce stood silently under the light, reading the entire farewell letter, his hand gradually tightening around it.

Suddenly, he heard a startled gasp behind him, and the person on the bed sat up abruptly.

Yuan Ce turned around to see Jiang Zhiyi sitting on the bed in panic, eyes wide open, staring out the window: “Jing Zhe, are the rebels attacking again?”

Yuan Ce put away the letter, walked toward her step by step, sat down on the edge of the bed, and gently turned her shoulders: “There are no more rebels. There will be no more rebels.”

Jiang Zhiyi slowly turned her eyes to look at the person before her, only then seeming to recall everything that had happened earlier in the day. Tears streamed uncontrollably as she lunged forward and embraced his waist: “Yuan Ce—”

Yuan Ce held her in his arms, feeling her vibrant heartbeat and warm body, and closed his eyes: “I’m here.”

“I was so afraid, I was truly so afraid…”

“Don’t be afraid anymore.” Yuan Ce lowered his head, kissing away the tears on her cheeks, and repeated, “I’m here.”