The soldiers atop the cliff roared in unison.

Tie Ci laughed heartily.

At this moment she suddenly thought of Feiyu.

This technique of embedding weapons in cliff faces to descend was to honor Feiyu.

Are you well? Where are you now? Have you lost hope, have you suffered pain?

Trust me, I will save you.

The oncoming wind struck her face, then swept past her neck like a blade cutting. Her long hair frosted over, the frost blown away by wind, falling behind her like stars filling the sky.

She hurled the burden in her hands away, shouting loudly: “Hold on! Trust me!”

Her voice was scattered by the wind, carrying across ten thousand li of passes and mountains.

The soldiers atop the cliff looked at each other in bewilderment, not knowing to whom she was calling.

Yao Chi was thrown out, suddenly suspended in air. Thinking he must die, he screamed loudly—his “ahhh” sounds filled the mountains, causing the soldiers on the cliff to cover their ears from the noise.

Moments later he landed with a thud, bottom first. Beneath him was soft ground. Dazedly raising his eyes to look, he was only about a zhang from where he’d fallen.

It turned out they’d nearly reached the bottom already.

Yao Chi was shocked, angry, and ashamed. With a light rustling sound, Tie Ci also landed beside him. He instinctively shrank backward.

But suddenly someone above shouted: “Crown Princess, mighty!”

One voice rang out and ten thousand responded: “Crown Princess, mighty! Crown Princess, mighty!”

The entire mountain cliff echoed with continuous cries of “Mighty, mighty, mighty…” making Yao Chi’s face turn ashen.

Someone shouted loudly: “We should know when we’ve gone astray and quickly follow Her Highness the Crown Princess!”

Immediately a great number responded in agreement.

Thus nimble soldiers carrying ropes climbed up and down the cliff face, using special shooting guns to fire ropes that connected with pre-positioned hooks on the opposite side. Going back and forth, they soon wove a rope bridge.

Others tried to climb down to receive Tie Ci, but she indicated it wasn’t necessary. Stepping on the long spears, she charged back up while collecting the spears as she climbed. Seeing her go up, Yao Chi also tried to follow by climbing, but the Crown Princess burned bridges behind her—he watched helplessly as the spear ladder disappeared before his eyes, turning his face blue-white with anger.

Tie Ci paid him no mind. She carried the long spears back up the cliff and threw that bundle of spears clattering to the ground, laughing: “Wives for distribution! One person claims one wife! No taking more! No taking the wrong one!”

The soldiers had originally watched her climb up with curious eyes, hesitating whether to kowtow or what, but when she came up with this crude joke, they immediately burst into laughter. Someone laughed: “How did they become wives!”

“On the battlefield, weapons are indeed soldiers’ wives—they save lives and must be cherished.” A soldier picked up the conversation, laughing: “Your Highness Crown Princess, if it weren’t for my wife, I’d really want to give you this spear.”

“Bah! As if the Crown Princess would treasure your broken spear!”

“If it were me I wouldn’t give it. Our spear sent the Crown Princess down the cliff and brought the Crown Princess up to blue clouds—it’s a spear that brings glory to ancestors. I’m taking it back to enshrine it. For generations to come, we’ll have stories to tell!”

“Old Huang truly deserves to be the scholar in our squad—well said!”

Someone shouted: “Your Highness Crown Princess, when will you really distribute wives to us!”

Amid the laughter, Tie Ci also smiled: “Work hard, stay alive. When seas are calm and rivers clear, return home gloriously to retire. The court will issue large sums of homecoming money—marry whatever wives you want to marry!”

“Ai, I want Red Fragrance from the neighboring village!”

“No ambition—I want Jade Treasure from Wanbao Tower!”

For a time everyone began discussing wives. This topic would spark men’s interest in any era, and the atmosphere immediately became cheerful and lively.

Originally the crowd had been apprehensive, but they hadn’t expected the Crown Princess to be so approachable. They didn’t know that Tie Ci, raised in the palace, had long practiced the skill of instantly making people feel refreshed in conversation. Winning over these soldiers was effortless for her.

Moreover, she had shown restraint in her earlier actions. Except for killing one general at the beginning, she had only knocked soldiers unconscious without harming a single life.

Because at that time, what she wanted wasn’t merely to force her way through.

This vast territory and mighty armies were all hers—why should she be chased by her own soldiers like a stray dog?

Amid the discussion, suddenly a voice said foolishly:

“You all have no ambition—I want someone like the Crown Princess!”

As soon as these words came out, he was immediately slapped on the head by someone beside him: “What nonsense are you babbling? Someone as noble as the Crown Princess—is that for you to compare yourself to?”

Like cold water poured into hot oil, the soldiers looked anxiously at Tie Ci, all afraid this most noble and powerful woman in the world would be angered.

Tie Ci wasn’t angry, nor did she laugh. She stood at the cliff edge with arms folded, head slightly raised, looking at the sky and cliff to her front side.

That was the direction of Liaodong.

The clamor gradually subsided. The dark mass of people fell silent. In the silence, everyone heard that woman say leisurely: “Me? This beauty is spoken for.”

…

Xia Houchun carried Di Yiwei leaping through the mountain forest. Soon they approached the main camp’s location. Looking down from the mountain, the main camp remained the same, except the camps seemed to have had their positions rearranged, with deeper trenches dug between them and stricter patrols.

Moreover, all the camps had Scorpion Camp surrounded in the middle. Those additional camps should house people Huang Ming and Xiao Chang had brought, surrounding Scorpion Camp for round-the-clock surveillance.

While the original ordinary soldiers of Yongping were in camps outside these Huang Ming and Xiao Chang loyalists, separated by high walls and deep trenches with only one opening facing a river—in a position where they couldn’t flee even if they wanted to and couldn’t rebel even if they tried.

Yongping Army’s weapons had all been confiscated, and the supply depot and granary were enclosed within Xiao Chang’s loyalist camps.

Xia Houchun observed from above and discovered the problem: “If your Yongping Army’s weapons were all confiscated and should be stored in the supply depot, according to Da Qian military regulations, a Yongping Army unit of this size would be equipped with considerable supplies. Looking at your supply depot, it’s not that large—probably just barely sufficient. Now with these soldiers’ weapons added, how could it all fit?”

Hearing this question, Di Yiwei’s eyes narrowed as she smiled.

She loved to narrow her eyes. Her eyelashes weren’t long but were dense. When slightly lowered, there was an enchanting quality in her languid expression.

Xia Houchun stood in the shadows, glanced over, turned his head, and his hands seemed somewhat restless as he touched the tree branches beside him.

Chi Xue, noticing she might be blocking his view, very consciously shifted her position.

“Yes, tell me, why could it all fit?” Di Yiwei smiled while raising her hand to her lips and suddenly blew a sharp whistle.

This whistle was loud and sudden. At the mountain base before dawn, it pierced sharply through layers of tents, directly reaching the camp at the very center.

Xia Houchun hadn’t expected Di Yiwei to suddenly make noise, and such a commotion at that. Fearing discovery by patrol soldiers below, he was about to pull her to hide when he saw Di Yiwei step forward onto a protruding high stone.

Another sharp whistle sounded.

In a tent at the very center, ghostly lamplight suddenly flickered—bright then dim, three times in succession.

Di Yiwei, as if receiving confirmation, whistled again.

Xia Houchun: “This is…”

“BOOM.”

His remaining words were drowned in the deafening explosion.

The explosion wasn’t a single sound but countless sounds concentrated in the guard area, exploding almost simultaneously. In the darkness, countless blood-red flames erupted. In the firelight, severed limbs could be vaguely seen flying, while screams, cries for help, and sharp whistles instantly merged into one.

Then Xia Houchun saw figures burst from those exploded tents—mostly in black soft armor and black head wraps, merging with the darkness. The weapons in their hands had special designs—at first glance like blades but concealing hooks inside, forming hinges that could be used separately or opened and rotated to reap lives. Their techniques were simple and efficient, targeting only vital points. One slash, one hook, one flick, one thrust—like scorpions raising their tails, whether heads or limbs, something would inevitably fly skyward.

Without question, this was the world-famous Scorpion Camp in action.

Xia Houchun had always harbored some criticism about this. Di Yiwei had single-handedly cultivated Scorpion Camp, which was the elite of the elite among Di Family Army. However, when Di Yiwei was in trouble, Scorpion Camp couldn’t act because they were constrained—that was understandable. But why didn’t they make contact, seek help, attempt rescue, or even save themselves afterward?

Just moments ago when he saw Scorpion Camp obediently trapped in the camp center, scornful emotions had flashed through his mind. He simply hadn’t asked out of fear of hurting Di Yiwei’s feelings.

Until this moment.

He finally saw those warriors emerging from the darkness like giant scorpions rising from underground, accompanied by thunderous explosions and black smoke with dense fire. They appeared ghost-like in various tents, leaping and jumping with blade-light like silk. Wherever they passed, blood flew and flesh splattered.

In just half a quarter-hour, he had already seen various tents stained red with blood, with severed limbs thrown out piling into mountains.

Like a human hell.

Amid the slaughter and howling, Di Yiwei said flatly: “From the moment I was captured, they maintained silence. Because they needed time and needed to numb their opponents. Every night when their guards fell asleep, they began working—digging tunnels beneath their own tents.”

“Quietly digging tunnels at night all the way under the tents of those guarding them, then using gunpowder bombs to blast those tents before attacking in the chaos? So you’ve been wandering around this area, not rushing to leave or contact subordinates—you were actually using yourself to attract Huang Ming and others’ attention so Scorpion Camp would have time to dig the tunnels?”

“Correct. No need for many hands—Scorpion Camp is enough.”

“Where did the gunpowder come from…” Xia Houchun had just asked when he fell silent: “You had them carry it on their bodies all along!”

“Yongping Army is entitled to musketeer units by regulation. And distributed gunpowder bombs. But Yongping Army wasn’t assigned any because Yongping Army’s musketeer unit is Scorpion Camp. Their muskets are short blunderbusses, with each person carrying a bag of gunpowder bombs.”

“Aren’t you afraid of accidental discharge or gunpowder bomb explosions?”

Chi Xue asked this question. Di Yiwei gave her a light, indifferent glance.

Chi Xue and Xia Houchun immediately understood.

Not afraid.

Because if it exploded, it was their own responsibility.

That required constant vigilance year-round, moment-to-moment caution, sleeping with one eye open.

But if they couldn’t even do this, they weren’t qualified for Scorpion Camp where all treatments were different—even their food and drink differed from others.

This was also one of Di Yiwei’s troop training methods. She made them sit on potentially explosive powder kegs every moment to train ultimate alertness and stress tolerance, thereby achieving the ability to save themselves and fight back under any adverse circumstances.

Ordinary generals training troops only trained tactics, physical fitness, and weapons—none had been seen training like this.

Truly worthy of the scorpion name.

Like scorpions hidden beneath desert sands, silently lying dormant, but once hearing the summons, they would surge up brandishing black tail hooks.

The slaughter continued. Blood-colored waves kept spreading toward the camp’s perimeter. The ordinary camp soldiers at the outermost edge also began stirring. Some mid and low-level military officers began issuing orders, commanding soldiers to seize weapons from the panicked and chaotic guard troops.

Di Yiwei looked down from her high position, not rushing to reunite with her subordinates, still leisurely providing commentary: “Time calculations were off, some blast points weren’t quite accurate. This squad should have coordinated their advance… tsk tsk, Old Hu Si was too slow to strike. Oh my, Zhang Ting didn’t place his gunpowder bomb properly and actually got injured. Sigh, haven’t they been eating enough lately? Every one of them like they’d been smoking opium… deduct points, deduct points all around.”

She actually began critiquing battle gains and losses as if it were routine training.

Xia Houchun glanced at her, sighing inwardly.

This was truly the woman with the strongest will he’d ever seen besides the Crown Princess.

Whether hardship and tribulation, humiliation and harm, brutal warfare, or comrades killing each other—in her eyes, these were all just trials in life, one after another.

They required serious attention but didn’t even count as obstacles.

She constantly remained vigilant in peace, forever looking toward the frontier with head held high. When sudden upheaval struck, she was already prepared to face anything.

Firelight reflected on her pale cheeks, yet Xia Houchun felt he saw humanity’s most powerful and irresistible force in this frail woman.

Di Yiwei remained consistently calm without any sighs. After grading Scorpion Camp, seeing that the guarding Xiao Chang loyalists and Kaiping Army had collapsed like a landslide, she whistled again.

Below, the rhythm suddenly stopped. Scorpion Camp followed orders absolutely, all stopping their hands and beginning to count prisoners with unchanged expressions.

Soldiers lay in groups on the ground, many wounded and bleeding, looking miserable. They were all Da Qian troops, comrades—many continuously pleaded pitifully. The ordinary soldiers in the main camp had charged with righteous fury but now seeing the reversed situation felt somewhat unable to bear it. They all looked hesitantly at their officers, wanting to plead for mercy.

But they saw Scorpion Camp soldiers stride over, pushing aside those ordinary soldiers who couldn’t bring themselves to act. Stepping on severed limbs and broken arms on the ground, stepping over loudly groaning Kaiping troops, neither listening nor hearing, faces stern, they quickly and harshly bound the prisoners.

Whether comrades or not, with different positions there was no need for consideration. When Di Yiwei originally selected Scorpion Camp, she specifically chose soldiers with firm hearts and decisive action. After iron-blooded training, they became even more ruthless and resolute. Scorpion Camp swept through like a hurricane—whoever screamed loudest got bound more harshly. Gradually no one dared create disturbances, and the camp grew quiet.

Di Yiwei whistled once more.

After momentary commotion, several riders approached. Chi Xue noticed those several were all generals from the main camp—not one missing.

Soldiers followed on foot behind the generals, running toward Di Yiwei’s direction while emitting deafening cheers.

Di Yiwei climbed down from the stone without any dash, slowly and unhurriedly. The generals charging up the slope looked at her excitedly, chests heaving, eyes bright.

Some people thought of something that made their expressions somewhat unnatural, secretly glancing at Di Yiwei’s face while not daring to let their gazes touch below her neck.

Regardless of whether others were excited or shy, uneasy or concerned, Di Yiwei remained Di Yiwei. Facing the approaching officers and soldiers, she coughed once and slowly asked: “Where’s my tobacco pipe?”

Everyone was stunned, then burst into laughter. Someone laughed: “That castrated goods broke it and threw it in the latrine!”

“Huang Ming thought your inseparable tobacco pipe must be inlaid with many treasures, or made of golden nanmu wood at least. Who knew when he got it, it was just two taels of rotten wood inlaid with brass. He got so angry he broke it on the spot.”

“Commander, don’t ask about tobacco pipes anymore. Hasn’t that thing harmed you enough? Good that it’s broken—nobody’s allowed to find a second one for the Commander!”

Amid the laughter everyone was exceptionally happy. The officers and soldiers who had initially felt uncomfortable remembering the naked Commander displayed in the prison cart gradually relaxed greatly due to her attitude that remained the same as before, joining the joking crowd.

In the laughing voices, Di Yiwei suddenly turned and said quietly to Xia Houchun: “Regrettably, your master has lost his last chance.”

Xia Houchun’s eyes flashed as he was about to inquire, but suddenly the sound of many horse hooves came from the distance.

Huang Ming and Xiao Chang came rushing with their men in exasperation.

Xia Houchun’s eyes contracted, very surprised that Huang Ming and Xiao Chang still weren’t fleeing at this moment.

With Scorpion Camp’s counterattack, the main camp had instantly returned to its old master. It was foreseeable that other camps would definitely be restless too. Huang Ming and Xiao Chang couldn’t control them—Yongping Army was still Di Yiwei’s domain. Why weren’t they fleeing but instead walking into a trap?

Huang Ming and Xiao Chang galloped forward with pale-faced Lou Xi behind them, and Cui Shi wrapped entirely in black robes was also among the crowd.

As soon as Chi Xue saw Cui Shi, she felt her heart skip—that bad feeling came again.

Huang Ming and Xiao Chang didn’t dare approach closer than twenty zhang from the camp gate, seeing the situation in the main camp with iron-blue faces.

When Di Yiwei escaped from the back mountain, the two weren’t worried and immediately notified Deputy General Xie, who was closest to Liu Chen.

Deputy General Xie’s camp had set up an inescapable net—as soon as Di Yiwei stepped one foot in, she could never escape again.

Unexpectedly, Di Yiwei didn’t even trust Deputy General Xie.

Xiao Chang looked at the expressionless Scorpion Camp covered in fresh blood and smoke. Those killing gods looked at him with the gaze of viewing dead men.

A ruthless, desperate expression slowly appeared on his face.

Today’s situation was life or death.

He took a deep breath and called to the opposite side: “Everyone, don’t forget that Di Yiwei’s crime of colluding with enemies and betraying the country still stands, plus the great crime of resisting imperial edicts and fleeing to avoid punishment! Following such a lawless prisoner who recognizes no ruler or father—do you want to completely rebel and turn traitor?”

“The Commander was wrongly accused!”

“Even if she was wrongly accused, she should first go to the capital to defend her innocence! His Majesty’s edict was for her to resign her post and go to the capital for investigation. Her not going is resisting the edict! You’re harboring a criminal and opposing the court and imperial edicts—have you thought of the consequences? Have you thought of your families still in the capital?”

Di Yiwei suddenly laughed and said: “Following the edict, resigning my post to go to the capital—I complied. Pacifying military morale and stabilizing the overall situation—I also did that. Then, how did you treat me?”

She said: “Half my life in military service, loyal to ruler and dying for country, yet this is the result I received. Such a nation, such a court, such ministers—even if I again lay down my weapons today and enter the prison cart myself, would you definitely spare our families? Since I bear this false name, I might as well make it real. Wait for me to fight my way to the capital and see whose families die faster!”

Xiao Chang: “Di Yiwei, you’ve gone mad!”

Di Yiwei chuckled, revealing sharp white teeth: “Much obliged for the compliment. I’ll tell His Majesty later that Di Yiwei’s rebellion today was entirely due to the forcing efforts of you gentlemen.”

Huang Ming shrieked: “Di Yiwei, you’re a woman—what are you so arrogant about? Sickly and weak, who knows what means you used to climb to the Commander position. Now you even dare say such things. Don’t you think about what qualifications you have to boast, what qualifications to incite officers and soldiers to rebel with you—is it based on your body that everyone has seen?”

Di Yiwei’s smile didn’t change: “Based on me still being the Commander while you’ll forever be a ball-less eunuch. Dead eunuch, if you think you can talk, say more. For every sentence you say, I’ll cut you one more place in the future—keep count yourself.”

Huang Ming shrieked: “You’ll die without a burial place!”

“Before that, you should think about where you’ll be buried.” Di Yiwei smiled.

Huang Ming stopped talking. After a moment, he began laughing sinisterly.

He said: “You can disregard the lives and families of these hundred thousand soldiers, but can you also disregard your life-saving benefactor right before your eyes?”

Di Yiwei’s eyes contracted.

Huang Ming and Xiao Chang stepped aside left and right.

The troops behind also parted, revealing those at the very center who were surrounded layer upon layer—over ten bound women.

Disheveled hair and dirty faces, trussed up, their worn cotton jackets torn inside with blackened cotton showing through.

After seeing clearly who they were, Di Yiwei’s face became dark as water. Even someone as gentle as Chi Xue couldn’t help cursing quietly.

They were actually Old Shen’s wife and others—the women from the village who had participated in rescuing Di Yiwei that night.