Faced with this scene, Yelu Qianqian was stunned speechless!

Wanyan Lie, such an arrogant man, a man who hated their young couple so bitterly, who had just moments ago cursed them as adulterers and demanded a duel with Situ Haonan!

Who had humiliated Situ Haonan, humiliated Xijing, and refused outright to apologize to Xijing!

Yet now, this same arrogant, contemptuous man had been so thoroughly subdued by Ziqing that he stood bent at the waist, head bowed, presenting the marshal’s order with both hands, waiting respectfully before her and Situ Haonan!

As long as Situ Haonan didn’t speak, he would have to keep waiting like this indefinitely!

Watching Wanyan Lie, Yelu Qianqian felt this reversal of fortune was simply too satisfying, gave her so much face, felt so incredibly gratifying. She slowly turned to look at the assembled Xijing officers behind her, grinning foolishly with delight, and murmured to herself, “Well then… approved, I suppose!”

Approved?

That was something a master said to a servant!

That was something a superior said when giving approval to a request from below!

Ziqing couldn’t help but laugh—she really thought Yelu Qianqian was quite the character!

“Approved?”

General Dugu, heart pounding with apprehension, could hardly believe what he was witnessing, still half-expecting Wanyan Lie to suddenly leap up and explode with rage.

At that very moment, Situ Haonan tossed the horn to the horn-bearer, who immediately understood and blew the horn at once. Instantly, the entire crowd erupted as one voice, a sound that shook heaven and earth, “Approved! Approved! Approved!”

In that instant, the Xijing army’s morale soared, earth-shakingly triumphant, while the Xiliang soldiers wilted, one after another lowering their heads, none daring to look up!

Wanyan Lie likewise remained bent low, both hands still raising the marshal’s order high, his disheveled hair hanging down over a face like a demon on the verge of eruption.

He hated—hated that Yelu Qianqian had seduced Situ Haonan, hated that Situ Haonan was Jun Beiyue’s friend!

He hated even more that a woman like Han Ziqing had been claimed first by Jun Beiyue!

He gritted his teeth, but everything now was beyond regret, beyond fate’s reach.

Finally, Situ Haonan looked toward him and said coldly, “Approved. This commander, on behalf of Xijing, accepts Xiliang’s surrender, and cordially invites the Xiliang emperor to Akbachu City to attend the peace conference!”

Only then did Wanyan Lie raise his head and straighten up. He took deep breath after deep breath, not answering Situ Haonan at all, only glaring resentfully at Ziqing before turning and walking away.

Ziqing felt somewhat helpless—she knew she’d made another enemy for herself. Of course, an enemy like this, she had no need to take to heart.

Situ Haonan cast Ziqing a grateful glance, then raised the marshal’s order high and turned to face the assembled Xijing officers and soldiers, feeling that at this moment, the heavy burden on his shoulders had finally, completely lifted!

He took a deep breath, raised the marshal’s order high with one hand, lifted Yelu Qianqian’s hand with the other, and shouted, “Brothers, we’ve won, the war is over! We’ve won! Won!”

His last two shouts were bellowed with everything he had, utterly exhilarating, prompting Yelu Qianqian to cry out loudly as well, “We’ve won, won! Hahaha, won, we get to go home now!”

In an instant, the whole crowd rejoiced, the ringing blast of horns proclaiming to the entire land of Xijing, to the blue sky and white clouds, that the war was over, Xijing had held its ground, they had won!

Soon the cooking soldiers brought out fine wine, jar after jar quickly passing through the ranks. Situ Haonan still held tightly to Yelu Qianqian’s hand, raising a wine jar with the other to toast everyone, “Come, this commander will drink first as a toast!”

With that, he drained an entire jar in one go!

“Haha, the future son-in-law can really hold his liquor! Come, this general will drink too!” General Dugu was equally hearty, and even Yelu Qianqian, who could barely drink at all, raised her own wine jar!

Soon, beneath the collapsed city wall, the celebration grew lively—cheers, toasts, laughter, and shouts of joy rang out one after another, while within the city, the Xiliang soldiers had no choice but to pack up and retreat back to Xiliang!

A single wall apart, two entirely different scenes—the victor crowned king, the loser branded a bandit!

The joy of Xijing’s victory didn’t touch Ziqing. She leapt up and sat atop the city wall, gazing from a distance at Situ Haonan and Yelu Qianqian celebrating, the corners of her mouth curving unconsciously into a warm smile.

She wondered whether the scene of the great victory on the northern front was just as lively, whether Jun Beiyue was personally rewarding his brothers-in-arms. It was said that earning a personal reward from Prince Yao himself was no easy feat.

Or perhaps Jun Beiyue was already on his way. Ziqing pulled out a pill and tossed it into the air, tilting her head back to catch it in her mouth, landing it perfectly.

Counting the days, he should be setting out by now, shouldn’t he?

Perhaps by the time she returned to Akbachu, that man would already be standing at the city gate, waiting for her!

At this thought, the warmth of Ziqing’s smile deepened, gradually growing brighter, more radiant.

In this war, she hadn’t shamed Jun Beiyue, nor had she shamed herself. Situ Haonan had used his own actions to silence the Xijing ministers, while she had used her own indelible, irreplaceable, even unsurpassable military achievements to silence Prince Baxian and Imperial Physician Gu and their ilk!

After the peace conference, Jun Beiyue would no longer be just Da Zhou’s God of War, Da Zhou’s prince—he would become the ruler of the entire Longyuan continent, from the Xiongnu in the north to Dongqin in the east, to Xiliang in the west, all would submit beneath his feet!

Though there was still some distance to go before he ruled all of Longyuan, the achievements so far were already unprecedented, unmatched by anyone before or since!

At this thought, Ziqing finally couldn’t help but feel a rush of excitement. She stood up abruptly, only to feel an odd wave of dizziness—not like physical weakness, but more like lack of sleep.

Still, she steadied herself and it passed. She gazed off toward the east, her eyes bright, as if she could already see that dashing, magnificent man, sword in hand, as if a god descending swiftly from the eastern horizon.

The one-month promise drew near—Jun Beiyue, are you on your way yet?

Where was Jun Beiyue at this moment?

Jun Beiyue had already entered Xijing territory, having just received a letter from Yingzi!

After encountering Nanny Qin, he had spent three full days and nights breaking through a major internal barrier, converting his primal energy into internal power, driving out the cold energy from his body entirely!

He rarely acknowledged things to Ziqing—the matter with Bai Mengmeng was one such acknowledgment, and even if it cost him dearly, he wouldn’t go back on it, let alone endure a mere three days of torment!

And having survived this bout of poisoning, he could now easily convert between primal energy and internal power at will, having reached the very pinnacle of the Gu Clan’s internal cultivation!

Not to mention the Longyuan continent—even on Liuxian Island, no one would be his match!

After driving out the cold energy, he didn’t even pause to rest, riding hard without stop, even running his horse to death. With no post station to change horses, he simply used lightness skill to press onward the rest of the way.

And it was only now that he stopped, because of Yingzi’s letter.

Travel-worn and dust-covered, he remained nonetheless imposingly noble, breathtakingly handsome, radiating an aura impossible to look away from.

He lowered his head, focused intently on every word of the letter…

Yingzi’s letter faithfully reported Situ Haonan’s reaction upon seeing Ziqing, as well as Yelu Qianqian’s reaction, and even Wanyan Lie’s continued refusal to surrender!

A complicated look flickered through Jun Beiyue’s eyes. He silently destroyed the secret letter, then spurred his horse onward once more…