As Ziqing pursued them, she left markers along the way for the Shadow Guards.

But she knew chasing this way indefinitely wasn’t a real solution. Setting aside the incalculable strength of the Lord of Nangong City, Madam Situ’s martial skill alone was roughly a match for her own — and then there was still Nanny Qin to factor in.

Ziqing had to weigh her odds of success in pursuing them. If she chased after them and failed to save Yelu Qianqian, only to get herself killed in the process instead, that wasn’t like her at all!

As she pondered this, her hand reached back over her shoulder — only to grasp at empty air!

Ziqing’s heart lurched. Where was Wuzheng?

She always carried Wuzheng on her back. Wuzheng, like Liuguang, wasn’t just her most treasured possession — it was also one of her most essential weapons!

It had still been with her during the fight with Nanny Qin, and it had still been with her when she’d fought off the wolves!

Ziqing furrowed her brow, trying to recall. It seemed that ever since she’d woken up at Xuanyuan Lige’s, she hadn’t given her Wuzheng a single thought!

One thing was certain: that zither had either been left at Xuanyuan Lige’s, or it was with Yu Xiaomeng.

Looking back, she’d already put considerable distance between herself and the small Mobei town. Since she’d been careful to keep from being discovered, she was already quite far from the father and daughter ahead of her — if she turned back now to retrieve Wuzheng, she’d surely lose their trail!

And once she lost the trail, even though she knew the general direction was southeast, the southeast was so vast, so far — where would she even begin to search!

And what if they were, in fact, just up ahead?

This was no moment to allow for even the slightest mistake!

After weighing it a moment, Ziqing, though her heart ached at the thought, finally decided to set Wuzheng aside for now.

Still, she couldn’t just keep tailing them so blindly, doing nothing else. She’d left markers along the way, but she had no idea when the Shadow Guards might find them.

Her most urgent task was to contact the Shadow Guards immediately — to gather the Shadow Guards and the Xijing forces to surround and cut them off!

At the same time, she needed to notify the Emperor of Xijing and Jun Beiyue.

After all, this matter now involved Nangong City, and Nangong City’s influence in the Mobei region absolutely could not be underestimated.

As Ziqing weighed her options, she kept close on their trail, and before long, the path led up into the snowy mountains. By this time, the sky had fully brightened.

The moment had come!

Standing on the mountainside, Ziqing didn’t immediately follow them down. Instead, she watched their retreating figures from a distance, preparing to send a signal to the Shadow Guards.

This position was ideal — far enough to avoid detection, yet close enough to keep constant watch on their direction.

Ziqing made her decision at once and sounded the special Shadow Guard whistle. The distinctive whistle produced a unique eagle’s cry, serving as a coded signal that only the Shadow Guards could understand!

The moment the sound rang out, it echoed like the shrill cry of an eagle soaring high above.

The Lord of Nangong City, who had been hurrying along, suddenly stopped in his tracks. “Daughter, do you hear that sound…”

“Just an eagle’s cry, that’s all.” Madam Situ paid it no mind.

“Listen carefully — there’s something odd about it.” The Lord of Nangong City said again — after all, he was a man of vast experience. But just as he tried to listen carefully, the sound had already faded away.

“It’s just the cry of a snow eagle, nothing more.” Madam Situ said, somewhat impatiently, urging them to hurry along. Throughout this journey, her father had been overly cautious — he wanted to help her, yet didn’t want to reveal his identity as the Lord of Nangong City.

Still uneasy, the Lord of Nangong City glanced back, then walked back a few steps, carefully surveying the area. Only once he confirmed they weren’t being followed did he finally relax!

Up on the mountainside, Ziqing had seen all of it. The corners of her lips curled into a cold, faint smile — playing detective games with her? The Lord of Nangong City might be a veteran of the martial world, but he was no match for her experience!

If it came down to a direct fight, she certainly couldn’t beat the Lord of Nangong City. But when it came to tailing someone without losing them or being spotted, she could keep up with ten Lords of Nangong City, no problem!

Two signals were enough to tell the Shadow Guards her location, and also to indicate this was an extremely urgent matter requiring everyone to be gathered.

Once the signal was successfully sent, Ziqing let out a small breath of relief, then observed the movements of the two figures below, estimating their likely direction over the coming stretch before rising to head back down the mountain.

But just as she abruptly stood up, a sudden wave of dizziness struck her, as if a bolt of lightning had shot straight through her skull — dizzy and aching all at once, her vision flickering black and white before her eyes, forcing her to sit back down.

What was wrong with her?

She had always known her body hadn’t fully recovered since falling into Yanzi’s hands the last time, but this seemed to exceed even her worst expectations — it was frighteningly bad.

She had never been one to push herself beyond her limits, but at this critical juncture, she had no choice but to force herself.

Ziqing knew that if she stayed seated for too long, standing back up to continue the pursuit would become nearly impossible.

The longer she sat, the more she’d want to lie down, and once she lay down, she’d want to sleep.

Her spirit wasn’t tired — but her body was.

She had to get up. She had to push herself while she still had the strength left!

She stared unblinkingly at the figures below, growing smaller and smaller in the distance. She had no time to waste at all.

Think of Jun Beiyue!

Think of him, right now, surely charging fearlessly across the battlefield on the Northern Frontier, surely sweeping through all before him, surely displaying unmatched valor.

She had always hoped he could soar freely, could fulfill his own worth, his own dreams.

She had always worried that she might become, just as Prince Baxian had said, nothing but a burden holding him back.

Not for Qianqian’s sake, not for Xijing’s sake — for Jun Beiyue’s sake alone, Han Ziqing, stand up.

He was a prince of Da Zhou, and also your husband.

For the sake of the Jun Beiyue who had pointed at your nose and declared you his wife;

For the sake of the Jun Beiyue who, unafraid of your background as an orphan from an isolated island, said he wanted children with you;

For the sake of the Jun Beiyue who, though so fastidious he couldn’t bear to touch other women, held you close in his arms to sleep, every single night:

Han Ziqing, stand up!

All that surging turmoil condensed into a single phrase: for Jun Beiyue!

A cold, defiant smile curved at Ziqing’s pale lips. How could a small difficulty like this possibly defeat her?

Whatever else, she had once been a mercenary lord who’d commanded battlefields!

With one hand, she pressed hard into the acupoint of her right hand, drawing blood to jolt herself awake; with the other, she braced against the rock. Enduring the waves of dizziness coming faster and faster, she paused a moment, then abruptly surged upright, standing perfectly straight — commanding and graceful all at once!

The blood on her right hand still flowed, but she paid it no mind at all. Her sharp, cold eyes fixed on the retreating figures growing more distant below, scanning the terrain across the entire mountainside, calculating the fastest, most efficient path to catch up.

She watched coldly, calmly calculating. Her small figure, dark clothing fluttering in the wind, looked as though she were some deity atop the snowy mountain, surveying everything below.

Yet she had no idea that Xuanyuan Lige, still worried about her, had followed her all this way and now stood watching silently, his heart aching more than words could say at the sight of her bleeding hand.

He wanted nothing more than to rush out right then, wrap his arms around her, and tell her: foolish girl, enough, that’s enough — let’s go back to Mobei.

But he didn’t. He only followed silently, saying nothing.

On one side was Dongqin, was Nanny Qin who had raised and protected him with such care. On the other side was her. He could only follow along in silence, unwilling to even consider what he ought to do.

He had thought she would eventually give out, that she wouldn’t be able to keep pace with the Lord of Nangong City and Madam Situ. He’d never imagined she would push through like this.

Not a trace of weakness or fragility showing — what he saw instead was another version of her that, though not on an actual battlefield, was every bit the equal of her husband, the War God himself!

…