The supervisor’s expression darkened. He had been doing well in the capital, and being suddenly assigned as a supervisor was already frustrating enough. Now, even a mere shadow dared to challenge him. This was unacceptable!

“You’ve got quite an attitude!” The supervisor slammed the table, causing the teacups to rattle and spill the tea. “Let me make it clear who takes orders from whom!”

In a flash, Gao Dashuang grabbed the supervisor’s collar and lifted him, hissing menacingly, “We’re men who live on the edge of death, with our heads hanging by our belts. We’re here on His Majesty’s orders to lend our meager strength to this battle, not to watch you throw your weight around! You’d better behave yourself, or we might skin you alive before we even face the Liao army!”

The others remained motionless as if they hadn’t seen or heard anything.

The supervisor’s face turned ashen with anger, but Gao Dashuang’s bloodthirsty aura left him too terrified to utter a word of protest.

Seeing this, Gao Dashuang grew even more contemptuous. He tossed the supervisor back into his chair with disgust. “We’ll take our leave.”

Hearing his words, the others swiftly exited, vanishing into the moonlight in an instant.

The supervisor glared at the empty doorway, his teeth grinding and his expression gloomy, a mix of fear and rage.

The group stopped in a dark spot about a hundred paces from the supervisor’s residence. They each found a place to settle – some in trees, some on rooftops, others in dark alleys…

As everything quieted down, Gao Dashuang’s mutterings could be heard from an alley, “Tch, why bother with that supervisor? We should’ve just slept in that mansion.”

He too wanted to stay somewhere comfortable, but seeing the supervisor’s official airs had ignited his temper. Did those scholars know anything about warfare? The Great Song would eventually fall to these weak yet arrogant fools! Seeing someone who knew nothing putting on airs gave Gao Dashuang’s headache. However, the supervisor did have direct command over him, and if he sought revenge, there was little Gao Dashuang could do.

Now that he’d calmed down, he realized there was no point in making things difficult for himself…

Gao Dashuang felt he was being too impulsive. It was like courting death!

What he didn’t know was that his earlier display of “heroism” had successfully salvaged his image from that of a “dead eunuch.” An Jiu and the others, who had initially been reluctant to accept him as their leader, now tacitly acknowledged his position.

Although Gao Dashuang’s actions were irrational, he was right – they were people who lived with death at their heels. Being able to live a bit more freely was a kind of solace for them.

“Aren’t we going to see the Great General?” Li Qingzhi asked.

After a moment of silence, Gao Dashuang replied from the alley, “We haven’t received orders to do so.”

The Konghe shadows had to strictly follow orders from above. Without specific instructions, they couldn’t act on their own in such matters.

An Jiu paused before asking, “Who is this supervisor?”

Gao Dashuang was still holding a grudge and initially didn’t want to respond, but he felt compelled to vent. “His name is Zhao Ling. He passed the imperial examinations seven or eight years ago but didn’t rank very high. He’s not well-known in the capital, but he has some distant relations with the royal family. He’s skilled at maneuvering, so his official career has been smooth. I don’t know why he was recommended as a supervisor this time. How could someone like him understand warfare!”

As he spoke, his anger flared up again.

Unable to meet the army commander and hear Gao Dashuang’s words, everyone felt a deep sense of helplessness.

Could a scholar who had never experienced war and only knew how to maneuver in court truly understand warfare? As Konghe shadows, none of them valued their lives too much, but the thought of dying due to meaningless orders felt both tragic and absurd.

Silence fell.

On the second night of waiting for orders, three light coughs came from Supervisor Zhao Ling’s courtyard.

“Everyone, move out. Sui Yunzhu and I will appear, the rest of you stand by around the courtyard,” Gao Dashuang ordered.

Black shadows flitted through the night, reaching the supervisor’s residence in the blink of an eye.

Gao Dashuang and Sui Yunzhu appeared silently before Zhao Ling like ghosts materializing two zhang away.

Zhao Ling, still smarting from Gao Dashuang’s threats two days ago, felt uncomfortable. After waiting a while without Gao Dashuang speaking, he coughed a few times and said in a deep voice, “The Liao cavalry has been pillaging border villages these past two days. I want to know the distribution of Liao forces. You have three days to report back.”

“Understood,” Gao Dashuang accepted the order, remaining still.

Zhao Ling said, “That’s all.”

Gao Dashuang and Sui Yunzhu vanished.

The others gathered around.

“You heard the mission. Lou Mingyue, Li Qingzhi, and Qiu Yunran will handle this,” Gao Dashuang said.

“Yes!” the three responded in unison.

After they left, Gao Dashuang’s eyes fell on An Jiu. He said irritably, “If your lightness skills weren’t so poor, I wouldn’t want you hanging around me at all!”

An Jiu replied calmly, “If you truly dislike someone, there’s no need for pointless words.”

Gao Dashuang was taken aback. Thinking carefully, he realized his dislike for An Jiu stemmed from minor issues and an inexplicable feeling, not deep-seated hatred. That’s why he vented his emotions on her.

Most people find it difficult to remain calm when faced with insults, but she had seen through something he hadn’t clearly understood. She was either incredibly composed or highly perceptive.

The northern wind was still sharp, and the night was much colder than in Bianjing.

They kept watch around the courtyard, eating dry rations, while Supervisor Zhao Ling had a late-night meal prepared – six dishes and a soup, with some wine.

This disparity made everyone feel increasingly resentful.

Only An Jiu seemed oblivious, eating her dry rations in large bites.

Gao Dashuang took a fierce bite of his dry bread and glared at An Jiu. “No self-respect!”

An Jiu finished a piece of bread, wiped her mouth, and said coldly, “Is drooling over someone else’s food more respectable?”

Gao Dashuang gritted his teeth in frustration. “You’re incompetent, seductive in appearance, and your words are unlikeable. You’ve only survived this long due to luck from your past life. If you don’t use it wisely, be careful Heaven doesn’t take it back in an instant!”

“Thanks for your concern,” An Jiu tied on her face covering and replied indifferently. “In return, I’ll kindly remind you that Heaven might be more interested in anomalies.”

The implication was clear – she was calling him neither male nor female. Gao Dashuang’s face instantly turned ashen, and the dry bread in his hand crumbled to dust.

“Please calm down, my lord,” Sui Yunzhu quickly intervened.

Gao Dashuang snorted, “Someone like her who defies natural order doesn’t need me to act. If you want to plead for her, you’d better start burning incense to Heaven!”

Sui Yunzhu offered him her bread. “Please, my lord.”

Gao Dashuang was about to take it when An Jiu coolly said, “Someone so respectable still eats dry bread?”

“I won’t eat! I’ll keep watch here. If there are orders, I’ll take them. Wait for me to return and arrange things!” Gao Dashuang said through gritted teeth before vanishing into a cluster of buildings.

Sui Yunzhu sighed, “Lady Mei, it’s not good to provoke him like this.”

“He won’t do anything,” An Jiu had a keen intuition. Despite his affected mannerisms, Gao Dashuang wasn’t petty. This was evident from how he recounted the Liao-Song battles.

Seeing Sui Yunzhu still worried, An Jiu said, “I feel his nature is somewhat similar to Li Qingzhi’s.”

“Similar?” Sui Yunzhu was slightly surprised. How could a rough, bold man and a fussy, sarcastic person have anything in common?

But now that An Jiu mentioned it, Sui Yunzhu suddenly recalled Gao Dashuang’s words when he spoke of his experiences. That mindset indeed didn’t seem petty.

Realizing this, Sui Yunzhu couldn’t help but glance at An Jiu again, discovering that she didn’t understand this woman at all, who seemed to always speak without filtering her thoughts.

Halfway through the supervisor’s late-night meal, an armored military officer strode in with his men.

This man appeared to be around thirty-five, tall and imposing. His chiseled features were half-hidden by a beard, with a deep scar on his cheek. His hair was messily bundled on top of his head, and though his armor was relatively clean, he had an overall unkempt appearance.

What caught An Jiu and the others’ attention was the aura of death that surrounded this officer – the kind that could only be accumulated from mountains of corpses. Standing there, he exuded an intimidating presence without even trying, capable of cowing ordinary people without doing anything.

Someone went in to announce his arrival. Zhao Ling hurried out to greet him, still reeking of alcohol.