“Right, right, right! Little Marshal Bai, let’s enter the city first…” Wei Zhaonian also nodded and stepped aside to let Bai Qingyan enter first.

Bai Qingyan nodded and led Bai Jinzhi by the hand, looking at Wei Zhaonian who had lost one eye… the most strategic general under her fourth uncle’s command.

After giving Wei Zhaonian a solemn nod, she entered the city together with the generals and the wounded Bai Family Army soldiers who had come to welcome them.

Since Bai Qingyan was a woman and most military physicians were men, her wounds were treated by Bai Jinzhi.

After Bai Jinzhi finished treating the wound on Bai Qingyan’s shoulder, she came out carrying a basin of bloody water with red eyes, only to see Xiao Ruojiang waiting outside the door with Physician Hong.

“Xiao Ruojiang?! Physician Hong?!” Bai Jinzhi called out in surprise, her face full of astonishment. “How are you in Nan Jiang?! Did you also sneak here?! Did you… Sneak into the military camp?”

Xiao Ruojiang, carrying Physician Hong’s medicine chest, looked at the basin of bloody water that Bai Jinzhi was holding. His fingers hidden in his sleeves tightened slightly. After bowing respectfully, he said: “The eldest miss sent this humble one ahead with others to Nan Jiang to gather intelligence! Physician Hong, who had just arrived at Weng Mountain, heard that the eldest miss had returned to Weng City with the Bai Family Army and had come here. This humble one happened to encounter Physician Hong as he was entering the military camp, which is how I was able to enter, thanks to Physician Hong’s presence.”

“This is… the eldest miss is injured?!” Physician Hong was greatly alarmed. “Where is she hurt?!”

“Her shoulder is injured. Fortunately… the wound isn’t too deep, and the bleeding has been stopped!” Bai Jinzhi felt pained in her heart. She turned back toward the room and called out: “Elder sister, Physician Hong and Xiao Ruojiang are here!”

“Let them come in!” Bai Qingyan sat at a table lit by an oil lamp, her face pale, fastening her clothes.

After Xiao Ruojiang bowed respectfully to Bai Jinzhi again, he entered: “Eldest miss, this humble one is incompetent… just as I returned to Weng City, the city was sealed—no entry or exit allowed! That’s why this humble one couldn’t meet with the eldest miss in time!”

“Is the eldest miss all right?!” Physician Hong, upon entering, took out his pulse pillow and sat down, gesturing for Bai Qingyan to extend her hand for him to check her pulse. “Let me take a look!”

Since Bai Qingyan was a young woman and her injury was on her body, Physician Hong couldn’t examine it directly and could only check her pulse.

“I’m fine, Physician Hong!” Bai Qingyan placed her wrist on the pulse pillow as instructed, letting Physician Hong check her pulse.

“Good! Good!” Physician Hong let out a long breath of relief, his eyes showing some joy. “This time, when checking the eldest miss’s pulse, I discovered that the cold syndrome in the eldest miss’s body seems much improved. It appears… this old man’s previous advice for the eldest miss to rest quietly was wrong!”

“Why isn’t Physician Hong with the Dong family’s death warriors but came to Weng City instead?” She lowered her sleeve and asked.

“This old man originally wanted to go to the battlefield to treat our wounded Bai Family Army soldiers, but by the time I reached Weng Mountain, the eldest miss had already returned to Weng City with the Bai Family Army soldiers, so I followed here.” Physician Hong put the pulse pillow back in his medicine chest. “I’ll go check on the other injured Bai Family Army soldiers!”

Seeing Bai Jinzhi come in, she said: “Little Four! Help Physician Hong carry his medicine chest.”

“Yes!” Bai Jinzhi ran over obediently to take the medicine chest for Physician Hong, making him repeatedly say he didn’t dare accept such courtesy.

“Physician Hong, please don’t be so polite! Let’s go!” Bai Jinzhi shouldered the medicine chest and led the way out first. Only then did Physician Hong bow to Bai Qingyan and hurriedly leave.

With only Bai Qingyan and Xiao Ruojiang left in the room, she finally asked: “Did you find any news about my seventh and ninth brothers and Shen Qingzhu?”

“Replying to the eldest miss, this humble one couldn’t find news about the seventh and ninth young masters, but I know that Miss Shen went alone to the Western Liang capital. This subordinate has already sent people to search for Miss Shen, ordering them to ensure Miss Shen’s safe return if they find her.”

Xiao Ruojiang kept his eyes lowered as he reported methodically, then took out a neatly folded sheepskin map from his chest and bowed as he handed it to Bai Qingyan: “According to the eldest miss’s instructions, this humble one has thoroughly scouted the Western Liang main camp. This is the military camp distribution map.”

She nodded: “Foster brother, you’ve worked hard!”

Seeing Bai Qingyan holding up the oil lamp to carefully examine the Western Liang camp’s troop distribution map, Xiao Ruojiang lifted the hem of his long robe and knelt, saying: “This humble one heard that in half an hour, the eldest miss will select two thousand men to go to the Western Liang main camp to reclaim the heir’s head. This humble one requests permission… to accompany the eldest miss! In this battle… Yun Poxing brought his eldest son and eldest grandson with him, but never let them fight, wanting to accumulate military merit for his descendants so they can claim official positions when they return to Western Liang!”

Xiao Ruojiang looked up with red eyes and said: “This humble one… has already identified Yun Poxing’s eldest son and eldest grandson. This time I will surely sever their heads and let Yun Poxing’s children and grandchildren experience what it’s like to have their bones scattered!”

Besides this reason, Xiao Ruojiang also wanted to protect Bai Qingyan.

Bai Qingyan was injured in this battle at Weng Mountain, and Xiao Ruojiang knew better than anyone what her physical condition truly was. He had heard that on the journey to Nan Jiang… Bai Qingyan had picked up the Sun-Shooting Bow by essentially torturing herself, but she still couldn’t handle close combat—otherwise, how would she have been injured?!

If no one protected her during this raid on the Western Liang main camp and Bai Qingyan was injured again, he would have failed the trust placed in him by the Bai family’s mistress Dong Shi and his mother, and would have failed the life-saving grace the former Deputy Marshal had shown to him and his brother.

Bai Qingyan knew that Xiao Ruojiang was thinking of her father’s head, currently hanging high in the Western Liang camp, thinking of how this time her father’s remains couldn’t return to the capital.

Her throat constricted. Understanding Xiao Ruojiang’s loyal devotion, she nodded and said with a choked voice: “Then I’ll trouble foster brother to make this journey with me!”

The entire Bai Family Army, because of Little Marshal Bai’s return, was in high spirits. They all replenished their strength and roared with eagerness to follow Little Marshal Bai in raiding the Western Liang main camp to reclaim the Deputy Marshal’s head.

Even Wei Zhaonian, who had lost one eye, put on his armor and took up his long sword, preparing to raid the Western Liang camp together with Bai Qingyan. Hearing that Physician Hong was in the wounded soldiers’ tent, he came over to greet Physician Hong.

Cheng Yuanzhi, who was bare-chested and having Physician Hong extract a broken arrow from his shoulder, looked at Wei Zhaonian, already in armor, and laughed: “Old Wei, you shouldn’t go! With one eye blind, in the dark, you might fall off your horse!”

Just as Cheng Yuanzhi finished speaking, Physician Hong yanked out the arrow forcefully, and blood sprayed. Cheng Yuanzhi gritted his teeth desperately, his face flushing red, but refused to cry out.

The young military physician standing behind Physician Hong hurried to press a cotton cloth against Cheng Yuanzhi’s wound.

“Hold it tight, don’t let go. Apply medicine to him in a moment and bandage it up. This wound is at the shoulder blade and needs proper care for a while!” After Physician Hong finished speaking, he cleaned his hands with water, wiped them with a towel, and went to see the next injured soldier.

Physician Hong had followed Bai Weiting his entire life. Although he was only a military physician, he held extremely high prestige in the Bai Family Army, which was why Xiao Ruojiang could easily enter the military camp by following Physician Hong.

Bai Qingyan came to the temporarily erected tent where Physician Hong was treating the wounded soldiers, lifting the curtain to enter.