A streak of the setting sun reflected on the horizon.

Several Turkic soldiers cut down the last Imperial Force soldier. That soldier was truly valiant—even on the brink of death, he suddenly lunged and stabbed one of their companions with a dagger. The Turkic soldiers were still shaken by this. The Khagan’s Wolf Guard, who had come on horseback to survey the battlefield, pulled on his reins and asked, “Have you seen Guo Qinwei?”

“No.”

The Wolf Guard glanced at the Imperial Force soldier on the ground, who was still convulsing and spitting blood. This soldier was clearly beyond saving, but even so, his eyes were still fixed in a death stare at them. The Wolf Guard couldn’t help but curse, “These Han people truly aren’t afraid of death.”

“Isn’t that the truth?” a Turkic soldier grudgingly replied. “Ten of us, and he still took down three.”

“That’s quite good. Do you know how many of our men were killed by their remnant force of two hundred? A full thousand!” The Wolf Guard gnashed his teeth. “They always said the Imperial Force Army was fearless in the face of death. It’s truly so.”

He angrily raised his whip and shouted, “Everyone listen! The Khagan commands that Guo Qinwei must be captured alive! Whoever captures Guo Qinwei will be richly rewarded!”

After speaking, the Wolf Guard cracked his whip and galloped away. The remaining Turkic cavalry, hearing this, became excited. One by one, they mounted their horses to search for Guo Qinwei. The Turkic soldiers from before were also preparing to mount their horses, but one of them noticed that the Imperial Force soldier he had cut down was now dead, with eyes wide open. There was a silk handkerchief wrapped around his arm that looked quite valuable. So before mounting his horse, he bent down and yanked off the blood-stained handkerchief, tucking it into his robe, then mounted his horse to search for Guo Qinwei.

In the Loyalty Shrine, Guo Qinwei’s body had grown cold. Cui Xun knelt woodenly beside the corpse, looking at the commander who had cared for him meticulously for three years. The tears on his face had long dried, replaced by a deathly calm. But when he heard footsteps entering the Loyalty Shrine, his pale fingers instinctively tightened around the iron-framed bow on his knees.

A squad of Turkic soldiers burst in, led by a man in heavy armor who appeared to be the Wolf Guard. “Afuli” in the Turkic language meant “wolf,” and the Wolf Guard were the most elite warriors under Khagan Nidu. The Wolf Guard entered the Loyalty Shrine and initially rejoiced, “Guo Qinwei is here!”

But he quickly became enraged, “Guo Qinwei is already dead!”

Khagan Nidu had repeatedly emphasized that they must capture Guo Qinwei alive, because Guo Qinwei was the Great Zhou’s most famous general. Capturing Guo Qinwei alive would be a great humiliation for the Great Zhou. But unexpectedly, Guo Qinwei had slit his own throat in this dilapidated temple.

Beside Guo Qinwei was a young Imperial Force soldier, his face and body splattered with blood. The Wolf Guard frowned. Guo Qinwei was dead, and the rest of the Imperial Force Army was also dead. He would have no way to explain this to Khagan Nidu. He narrowed his eyes and gestured, “Capture him!”

The Turkic soldiers behind him surged forward like wolves and tigers. Cui Xun gripped the iron-framed bow on his knees tightly. Guo Qinwei’s words before his death still echoed in his ears:

“You cannot die, you must live.”

Cui Xun’s fingers gripped so tightly they hurt, but he still did not resist. The Wolf Guard sneered, not expecting to find such a coward among the Imperial Force Army.

A Turkic soldier kicked Cui Xun to the ground, and the group swarmed him, preparing to bind him and present him to Khagan Nidu. Cui Xun initially allowed himself to be bound, but then he unexpectedly caught sight of a blood-stained white handkerchief peeking out from one of the soldier’s robes.

His body suddenly began to tremble. Before the Turkic soldier could react, this seemingly submissive, lamb-like Han youth suddenly moved with the agility of a leopard. He grabbed the iron-framed bow and used the bowstring to garrote the Turkic soldier’s neck. With a powerful pull of his arm, the bowstring severed the soldier’s head. Warm blood sprayed all over the youth’s head and face.

Everyone was shocked. With blood covering his face and eyes, Cui Xun looked completely crimson. He gripped the iron-framed bow—its body made of dark iron, incredibly heavy—and swung it at the heads of the other men. Several of them immediately had their skulls shattered, dying on the spot.

This sudden turn of events left even the Wolf Guard dumbfounded. More and more Turkic soldiers poured into the Loyalty Shrine. The Wolf Guard came to his senses and shouted, “Take him alive!”

Cui Xun clutched the iron-framed bow, his body drenched in blood. At his feet lay the bodies of many Turkic soldiers, sprawled in all directions. His black eyes were filled with burning rage. He couldn’t remember how many he had killed, only that several more heads had rolled on the ground. The scarlet blood seeped into the black iron, making the cold metal feel scalding hot. Suddenly, a long sword struck the back of his knee. Cui Xun staggered, and in that moment of vulnerability, the Wolf Guard’s sword slashed across his wrist. The iron-framed bow fell to the ground. The Wolf Guard kicked him in the abdomen, sending him rolling to the ground. Blood spewed from his throat, and the Wolf Guard pinned him down with a foot on his back, rendering him immobile.

Cui Xun’s strength was exhausted, leaving him powerless to resist. A sense of humiliation washed over him, that of being at someone else’s mercy. His fingers suddenly touched a sword—the one Guo Qinwei had used to take his own life.

If he grasped this sword, he could make one last desperate struggle. At the very least, he could kill himself.

But his fingers twitched and ultimately did not grasp the sword. Instead, he allowed the Turks to forcefully twist his arms and bind him securely. When the hemp rope cut into his wrists, he looked vacantly at Guo Qinwei’s fallen corpse, and tears finally streamed down his face.

Chang’an, Cui Residence.

Cui Xun, who had been resting on his bed, suddenly woke with a start. He sat up, a few strands of his ink-black hair, damp with cold sweat, clung to the side of his neck. He stumbled off the bed and, amidst the clanking of his shackles, walked to the purple sandalwood table. He sat cross-legged, then poured himself a cup of cold tea and drank it all at once.

Why had he dreamed of Luoyan Ridge again?

Since Li Ying had lit the calming incense for him, he had rarely dreamed of Luoyan Ridge. But today, that tragic scene had once again appeared in his dreams, leaving him deeply disturbed.

He lowered his lashes. The humiliation of being captured by the Turkic Wolf Guard at Luoyan Ridge was still fresh in his memory. Yet, he never imagined that in the years to come, that moment of humiliation would no longer be considered humiliation at all—it could even be considered kind treatment.

He poured another cup of cold tea. The tea was bone-chillingly cold, and the previous cup had already caused a dull ache in his stomach, but he seemed not to notice and was about to drink again when he suddenly saw the soft white silk cushioning his shackled wrists.

He froze instantly.

He pressed his lips together and slowly set down the cup of cold tea. His cold fingers slowly touched the white silk, and the unease in his heart gradually began to dissipate.

The white silk was woven from the finest, softest silk, warming to the touch. He felt his cold fingers gradually warm up, and the gentle, beautiful figure seemed to appear before him.

He opened his mouth and silently mouthed three words: “Ming Yue Zhu.”

But a jumble of footsteps interrupted his thoughts. Cui Xun frowned slightly.

He lowered his head, removed the white silk cushioning his shackles, and folded it neatly. When Lu Huai, the Deputy Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, pushed open the door, he saw the condemned traitor carefully folding the white silk.

Lu Huai snickered, “Minister Cui seems to be in good spirits.”

Cui Xun ignored him and continued folding the silk. Being treated as invisible, Lu Huai felt awkward. He said, “Cui Xun, I’ve come to inform you that in twenty days, Guo Qinwei’s head will arrive in Chang’an.”

Cui Xun still ignored him and showed none of the fear Lu Huai had expected. Instead, he calmly continued folding the white silk. Watching this, Lu Huai thought either the man hadn’t killed Guo Qinwei, or he was too cunning to reveal any sign.

Lu Huai believed the latter was more likely.

He snorted and said, “Cui Xun, it doesn’t matter if you don’t speak. In twenty days, the truth will come to light!”

With that, he turned to leave. But just as he reached the courtyard, he heard a commotion outside.

Then, more than a dozen youths rushed in. These youths were dressed in hemp cloth, clearly of common birth. Lu Huai shouted, “Who are you people?”

The prison guard who had followed them in said helplessly, “Deputy Minister, they claim to be family members of the Imperial Force Army, here to avenge their late commander.”

The youth who had rushed in at the front held his head high and said, “My name is He Shisan. Imperial Force soldier He Jiu was my elder brother. Cui Xun killed General Guo, and the Empress Dowager still wants to protect him. We’re here to avenge General Guo!”

Lu Huai was furious. “How dare you! Setting aside the fact that the case remains unclear, how could someone of your status dare to criticize the Empress Dowager?”

The youth, who appeared to be thirteen or fourteen years old, showed no fear. “Are you also protecting Cui Xun?”

Lu Huai trembled with rage. The accusation of “protecting” was the greatest insult to him. He shouted, “Ignorant child! Drive them out at once!”

The prison guards moved to expel them, but the youths, full of righteous indignation, began to scuffle with the guards. Hearing the commotion, Cui Xun slowly walked out from his bedchamber. Dressed in prison garb and laden with shackles, he should have appeared wretched, but his expression was calm, his eyes showing neither joy nor sorrow as he steadily gazed at the youths.

Someone shouted, “The traitor has come out!”

The youths, held back by the prison guards, all raised their heads to look at Cui Xun.

In the prison cell of the Ghost Judge Hall, after Guo Qinwei had finished recounting everything that happened at Luoyan Ridge, he sighed deeply and asked Li Ying and Ashina Jia, “May I ask the two princesses, after the Seventeenth Young Master was captured, did the Turks mistreat him?”

If Li Ying could have taken human form, Guo Qinwei would have seen her crying inconsolably. Ashina Jia bit her lip and lowered her head, tears welling in her eyes. She didn’t know how to answer. As Guo Qinwei grew suspicious, he was about to say something when he suddenly heard a clear, spring-like voice from the glowing ghost fire: “No, Cui Xun is, after all, a son of the Boling Cui clan. His status is noble. The Turks didn’t mistreat him; in fact, they were quite polite to him. He stayed in Turkic lands for two years, found an opportunity, and escaped back to the Great Zhou.”

Hearing Li Ying’s words, Guo Qinwei felt somewhat relieved. He asked Li Ying again, “After the Seventeenth Young Master escaped and returned, did the common people of the Great Zhou and the families of the Imperial Force Army hold any grievances against him?”

At the Cui Residence, He Shisan suddenly crouched down, picked up a pebble, and threw it at Cui Xun.

The pebble struck Cui Xun’s forehead, breaking the skin. A string of blood drops, like red beads, flowed from the corner of his eye down his pale face, leaving a trail of crimson.

Like tears of blood.

Within the glowing ghost fire, Li Ying desperately bit her hand, trying to make her voice sound cheerful as she told Guo Qinwei, “No, the common people of the Great Zhou and the families of the Imperial Force Army knew his capture was unavoidable. Besides, he didn’t surrender to the Turks. Why would they hold grievances against him? Everyone understood his situation.”

Ashina Jia could no longer hold back her tears, which fell in streams. Before Guo Qinwei could grow suspicious, she raised her head, smiling through tears, and said, “What Princess Yong’an says is true. I’m crying because I remember when he was in the Turkic lands, I didn’t dare to tell him my feelings. Now, everything is too late. That’s why I’m crying.”

With both Ashina Jia and Li Ying speaking this way, Guo Qinwei finally felt at ease. He sighed, “If the Turks didn’t mistreat him, and the people of the Great Zhou understood him, that’s good, that’s good…”

The blood dripping onto the stone bricks seemed to bloom like an eerily beautiful flower. Encouraged by He Shisan, the other youths eagerly picked up pebbles from the ground and threw them at Cui Xun. Lu Huai stepped forward, shielding Cui Xun. He raised his sleeve to protect his face as several pebbles struck his body, causing sharp pain. Lu Huai was furious. He lowered his sleeve and shouted at the prison guards, “Are you all dead?”

The prison guards jumped in shock and drew their swords. “That’s our Deputy Minister of the Court of Judicial Review! Stop at once!”

Seeing the gleaming swords, the youths finally quieted down. Lu Huai sneered, “Afraid now? Too late! Take them all to the Court of Judicial Review and give each twenty strokes of the paddle! Beat them hard! Let’s see if they dare to do this again!”

He suddenly remembered something and added, “After the beating, interrogate them! Find out who gave them the audacity to storm the residence of a government official!”

The prison guards, having received their orders, began to take He Shisan and the other youths away. Cui Xun, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly said, “Let it go.”

Lu Huai could hardly believe his ears. “What did you say?”

Cui Xun repeated, “Let it go.”

Lu Huai looked at the blood flowing from Cui Xun’s temple and found it hard to believe. Was this still the same vengeful Cui Xun? He couldn’t help but ask, “Why let it go?”

Cui Xun calmly replied, “Do I need a reason?”

Lu Huai was stunned. After a moment, he sneered, “You think it can be dismissed just because you say so?”

Now it was Cui Xun’s turn to be stunned. “I’m the victim here, and I’m not pursuing the matter. What are you pursuing?”

“Victim?” Lu Huai snorted coldly. “What victim? Cui Xun, let me tell you, you’re imprisoned here under the custody of the Court of Judicial Review. This is the prison of the Court of Judicial Review. Those who dare to storm it must face the consequences! How can you decide whether to pursue this or not?”

Cui Xun was momentarily at a loss. He pressed his lips together, appearing extremely tired. He said, “Then do as you please.”

With that, he dragged his shackles back to his bedchamber without giving Lu Huai another glance. Listening to the clanking of chains and watching his prisoner’s back, Lu Huai felt an inexplicable anger rising within him.

Just then, a prison guard carrying a wooden food box arrived. From a distance, Lu Huai could already smell a rancid odor. He said, “Stop.”

The prison guard halted and respectfully bowed to him. Lu Huai asked, “What is this?”

The prison guard replied, “Deputy Minister, this is the prisoner’s meal.”

Lu Huai walked to the prison guard and looked at the wooden food box. “Open it.”

The prison guard was reluctant but still opened it. Lu Huai took out a bowl of rice. On top of the rice was a single, wilted green vegetable. The stench of rotten rice was overwhelming, making one nauseous.

Lu Huai flew into a rage. He smashed the bowl to the ground. “You call this food? Even dogs wouldn’t eat this!”

The prison guard was so frightened he fell to his knees. Lu Huai was so angry he felt dizzy. He looked around at the other trembling prison guards. “Earlier, the Empress Dowager said that if Cui Xun were to be imprisoned in the Court of Judicial Review, she feared his life would end before Guo Qinwei’s head arrived. I felt quite wronged then, but now I see the Empress Dowager had remarkable foresight.”

The other prison guards all knelt. “Deputy Minister, please forgive us.”

Lu Huai clenched his fist and said, word by word, “Listen to me. As an official, I, Lu Huai, seek only justice. Even though Cui Xun is now a prisoner, I will treat him fairly. From today onwards, if Cui Xun loses so much as a hair while in custody, I will hold all of you accountable!”