After that Xiliang soldier struggled to cross the river alone, he looked at Bai Qingyan sitting majestically on her fine horse, her armor gleaming coldly, and couldn’t help but think of the Xiliang brothers burned in Weng Mountain Canyon. He felt as if he was looking at a bloodthirsty asura, and lowered his head saying: “My commander wishes to meet with General Bai face to face. General Bai may choose the location.”

“Oh…” Bai Qingyan responded indifferently, raising her eyes to look toward Yun Poxing. “Tell your commander that we’ll meet upstream on the Jing River! I’m quite busy with many affairs, and I only have a bit of time right now. If your commander still needs to prepare, then we might as well meet on the battlefield another day instead.”

Bai Qingyan was also guarding against Yun Poxing setting an ambush, so if they were to meet, it should be quickly, giving Yun Poxing no time to set a trap.

The Xiliang soldier poled his bamboo raft back across and relayed Bai Qingyan’s words to Yun Poxing.

Yun Poxing pointed upstream with his horse whip and rode off first.

Before departing, Bai Qingyan turned to instruct the Jin cavalry behind her: “Send someone back to fetch a box of the pastries the Crown Prince gifted us.”

“Yes!”

Soon, Bai Qingyan and Yun Poxing rode swiftly upstream to where the river was narrow and shallow. To show his sincerity, Yun Poxing rode his horse through the water to cross over.

“General Bai, I have come to seek peace,” Yun Poxing spoke directly from his heart. “As long as General Bai returns my son’s head to this old man, hereafter Xiliang and Jin State will not violate each other’s territory, with the Jing River as our border, and we shall fight again after three years.”

Indeed, with grain supplies as backup, Yun Poxing’s confidence was restored. Even after being defeated, he still dared to propose the same arrangement as before, with the two countries using the Jing River as their boundary.

Bai Qingyan laughed instead of getting angry: “Matters of peace negotiations are not mine to decide alone! However… I find your tone quite arrogant. Your Xiliang allied with Nanyan to attack our Jin State, and after being defeated… You want peaceful coexistence as if nothing happened. Where in the world is there such a cheap deal?”

“Then what do you want?” Yun Poxing asked.

“It’s not what I want, but rather what Xiliang must do to stop this war… You need to cede territory, pay reparations, and provide hostages to have even a thread of hope.” Bai Qingyan’s eyes flashed coldly as she looked at Yun Poxing. “As for your son’s head, I’ve already acted against my nature by preventing Jin soldiers from using it as a chamber pot. If you want it back… certainly, but in three years.”

Yun Poxing was so enraged his hands trembled, gritting his teeth: “It seems General Bai wants to continue fighting. Don’t forget that our Xiliang army outnumbers your Jin forces several times over!”

“Indeed, and don’t you forget… who spared your dog’s life in Weng Mountain Canyon, allowing you to survive!” Her face was cold as water, her eyes unconcealed in their mockery. “And don’t forget how I slaughtered your hundreds of thousands of Xiliang troops in Weng Mountain Canyon, leaving not a single one!”

“You’re arrogant!” Yun Poxing raged in defeat. “This old man was caught off guard and lost one battle! Do you think you can defeat me every time?!”

“Then why have you hung the no-battle flag for days, not daring to fight?” She chuckled softly. “Oh, right, you probably have no food, waiting for Xiliang to transport grain and supplies to you. Let me guess… your grain supplies are coming through Chuanling Mountain, aren’t they? There’s a place with treacherous terrain. I think… that place is where you once ambushed my grandfather!”

Yun Poxing instantly understood Bai Qingyan’s meaning. His whole body tensed, and his nervous emotions affected his war horse beneath him, causing the horse to stamp its hooves restlessly.

“You dare come find me today, speaking with such an arrogant tone about so-called peace negotiations, only because your Xiliang army’s grain supplies are about to arrive, giving you the confidence to negotiate with me. But what a pity… I will not allow Xiliang’s grain supplies to enter the Xiliang military camp!” Bai Qingyan smiled faintly.

Yun Poxing turned back to signal his subordinates, who had come with him, to go report the news. Xiao Ruojiang’s eyes darkened as he raised his hand.

The archers immediately drew their bows to full draw, aiming at Yun Poxing’s group.

In an instant, men were startled, and horses neighed. Yun Poxing’s men all drew their swords, the atmosphere tense and ready to explode at any moment.

The Xiliang soldier on horseback, preparing to cross the river to rush back with the news, was struck through the heart by Bai Qingyan’s arrow and fell into the river.

“Bai Qingyan, what is the meaning of this?!” Yun Poxing shouted.

Bai Qingyan put away her sun-shooting bow and spoke with casual indifference: “General Yun, you probably haven’t eaten your fill these past few days! I have here a box of pastries gifted by the Crown Prince. General Yun can sit here peacefully and eat pastries, and wait until news comes that your Xiliang grain supplies have been intercepted before leaving!”

Yun Poxing looked at Bai Qingyan sitting upright on her horse, imposing and aggressive, her killing intent so fierce that people dared not meet her gaze directly. He forcibly suppressed the panic in his heart.

Bai Qingyan was right. It was precisely because grain supplies were arriving today that Yun Poxing couldn’t contain himself and came to demand his son’s head from Bai Qingyan!

What a formidable young woman, to calculate his moves so precisely!

For the first time, Yun Poxing felt genuine fear toward someone other than Bai Weiting, his scalp tingling with dread.

Yun Poxing gripped the reins in his hands tightly, watching as a Jin soldier approached carrying a box of pastries. His face had already turned pale as paper, his features contorted as he glared at Bai Qingyan, wishing he could kill her on the spot!

“There’s one more matter regarding Nanyan. I wonder if General Yun has heard – Nanyan’s grain supplies were seized by the Bai family army at Yao Pass! Calculating the timeline, the army returning to Nanyan should be reaching Yao Pass today! Do you think… the Bai family army can annihilate Nanyan’s elite forces at Yao Pass, cutting off the possibility of Xiliang negotiating with Nanyan again and requesting Nanyan to send troops?” Bai Qingyan discussed the life and death of tens of thousands of elite soldiers as casually as discussing the weather.

Wind carrying moisture whistled past their ears. Yun Poxing was shocked and dizzy, nearly falling from his horse.

He struggled to suppress the angry flames of hatred and the fear in his heart, staring fixedly at Bai Qingyan. That woman sat steadily on her horse with casual indifference, the morning light illuminating the turbulent river water, reflecting the sharp gleam and cold light in her eyes, making him feel as if his water-soaked clothes had been frozen to ice by the wind.

Killing intent spread between the two of them, and clearly Bai Qingyan’s murderous aura was stronger despite her calm demeanor.

He had lost!

This battle was a complete defeat.

But he didn’t understand – if this young woman was so formidable, why didn’t Bai Weiting continue bringing her to the battlefield?!

Could it be that this young woman was the final thread of hope Bai Weiting left for the Bai family?! So Bai Weiting dared to bring all the Bai family’s sons and grandsons to the battlefield?!

He didn’t understand. There was too much Yun Poxing didn’t understand, but deep in his heart, he was genuinely afraid.

Even though his Xiliang army outnumbered the Jin forces, he didn’t dare continue fighting. From the moment he began engaging with Bai Qingyan, she had calculated everything without omission, beating him so thoroughly he had no power to resist, only able to retreat in embarrassment back to the south of the Jing River.

In his extreme grief and fury, Yun Poxing instead calmed down. Not only had Bai Qingyan brought mostly archers, but Bai Qingyan herself was a divine archer. His hope of fighting desperately to break through and return to report the news was likely nonexistent.

Since Bai Qingyan hadn’t killed him immediately, she would surely release him once news came that the grain supplies had been intercepted.

Resigned to his fate, he asked Bai Qingyan with a hoarse voice: “Will you truly give me three years?”