“But the question is, will your entrapment strategy put me in danger?” Mo Sigui asked, folding his arms.

Chu Dijiang raised an eyebrow. “Do you think that person won’t come to kill you without this plan? Don’t you know how big of a mess you’ve made?”

Seeing Mo Sigui about to retort, Chu Dijiang interrupted, “Don’t use our Xiao Jiu as an excuse. With your nature of recognizing only medical ethics and not even your kin, it’s only about whether you’re interested, not who the patient is! This time, I don’t necessarily have to cover for you.”

Hearing this, Mo Sigui understood. He hated owing favors the most, so he frowned, “What do you want? Better make it clear now. I can owe money or my life, but I won’t owe favors! If anyone’s going to owe, it should be others owing me.”

“Help me treat the scars on my face,” Chu Dijiang said.

“Is it that simple?” Mo Sigui didn’t believe it.

“People are selfish. Others’ lives might not be worth a strand of one’s hair, let alone one’s face.” Chu Dijiang had already figured out most of Mo Sigui’s personality. If he tried to coax him with kind words now, Mo Sigui would be suspicious. Instead, saying some harsh truths would gain his trust.

Mo Sigui neither agreed nor disagreed. “Fine, if that’s what you think, I’ll gladly accept.”

“How is Ah Jiu’s condition?” Chu Dijiang asked.

“Which illness are you asking about?” Mo Sigui’s phoenix eyes lifted slightly as he smiled. “She doesn’t have just one or two problems.”

Chu Dijiang said, “All of them.”

“Why should I tell you?” Mo Sigui had finally found Chu Dijiang’s weak point and wasn’t about to let go easily.

Chu Dijiang smiled casually, “I don’t necessarily need to know right now.”

But Mo Sigui heard the implication in these words: due to their current cooperation, it wasn’t convenient to use force now, but after this was over, who knows?

His face darkened slightly, and he snorted. As he was about to turn and leave, he saw Lou Xiaowu and An Jiu hurrying over.

Lou Xiaowu was holding a piece of paper. “Brother Mo, someone sent a message by arrow.”

Mo Sigui went forward to take it, read it once, and then turned to hand it to Chu Dijiang.

The letter demanded that Mo Sigui come alone to the appointment, or else they would kill the medicine boy.

“Hmph! Do I look that easy to threaten?” Mo Sigui indirectly scolded, angrily saying, “I’ll bring a whole group of people and see if he dares to kill anyone. I won’t even blink!”

Chu Dijiang used his inner force to shatter the letter, the paper fragments flying like snow in the wind.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Mo Sigui asked him.

“Our deal doesn’t include other people’s lives,” Chu Dijiang said.

Mo Sigui fell silent.

Everyone returned to their tents. An Jiu was very enthusiastic about making firearms, so she went with Lou Xiaowu.

Chu Dijiang originally planned to follow but then thought Ling Ziyue might need to find him, so he returned to the main tent.

Not long after, Ling Ziyue indeed came looking for him.

“How are your injuries, brave warrior?” he asked.

Chu Dijiang said, “Nothing serious.”

After exchanging a few casual words, Ling Ziyue spoke of his purpose, “Recently, someone secretly infiltrated the camp, kidnapping the divine doctor’s medicine boy and medicine box. Does this mean this person can freely enter and exit the camp?”

“More or less,” Chu Dijiang knew that person might not truly come and go as they pleased, but for the Song army, it was already a great threat. No wonder Ling Ziyue was nervous.

“For him, there are no secrets here anymore,” Ling Ziyue’s face was grave. “The Liao army will likely soon know that the Song army doesn’t have explosive crossbows.”

Once the Liao army confirms this, they will quickly launch a more fierce attack.

This was within Chu Dijiang’s expectations. “The general should prepare early.”

“What worries me is that the Liao army still has more than ten explosive crossbows.” Ling Ziyue bowed deeply. “May I humbly request your assistance for the sake of the Song people?”

Chu Dijiang quietly accepted his bow but didn’t commit fully. “I’ll do my best.”

“Thank you!” Ling Ziyue cupped his hands, paused for a moment, then coughed awkwardly, “May I ask… when can you set out?”

He was referring to taking Lou Xiaowu into the enemy camp to dismantle the explosive crossbows.

“Barring any changes, I can take people to dismantle the crossbows tomorrow evening,” Chu Dijiang said.

The kidnapper’s letter set the meeting time for tonight at midnight. Chu Dijiang was accustomed to leaving himself some time to deal with variables. Moreover, he didn’t need to account for his whereabouts to anyone. His willingness to tell Ling Ziyue was out of respect for the hero.

“You are truly righteous,” Ling Ziyue stood up. “Then I won’t disturb you further.”

Chu Dijiang said, “General, return to your main tent tonight. This is a military camp, and I’ve already overstayed my welcome.”

Before Ling Ziyue could answer, Chu Dijiang’s form flickered and disappeared from the tent.

Ling Ziyue stood with his hands behind his back, frowning in thought.

After a while, he strode to the desk and wrote a memorial, suggesting to incorporate part of the Konghe Army into the main camp.

Ling Ziyue knew clearly that once this memorial reached the emperor, the thin trust between them would instantly shatter. However, he didn’t care about that anymore. He had been through countless wars, large and small, standing on the edge of death many times. Living until today was already a bonus. Since he had long since come to terms with life and death, why bother hiding anymore? The emperor wouldn’t appreciate this sentiment, so he might as well go all out and do something concrete for the country and the people.

He wrote the entire memorial in one go, read it over and over, then sealed it and called someone to send it to Bianjing.

After doing all this, Ling Ziyue picked up his brush again and wrote a letter: “My wife…”

After writing these two words, his brush stopped in mid-air, ink dripping and spreading on the paper.

The Ling family had produced generals for three generations. Ling Ziyue’s grandfather was once a fierce general under Taizu, leading troops against the Liao state even when he was nearly seventy. His father died from an arrow wound that became infected after a great battle with Liao.

Ling Ziyue joined the army as a youth and married at twenty. His wife was the daughter of a traveling merchant from the border region, without a prestigious family background. They had enjoyed a few years of loving married life together.

Later, Ling Ziyue’s mother fell gravely ill, and he brought his wife and children back to Bianjing for the funeral. At that time, the court was short of border defense generals. So after Ling Ziyue’s mother passed away, the emperor posthumously titled Ling Ziyue’s deceased grandfather as Founding Grand General and his late father as Nation-Guarding Grand General. Ling Ziyue was appointed Grand General and sent to guard the border, but his wife and children were kept in Bianjing to observe mourning for the Founding Grand General, Nation-Guarding Grand General, and their wives.

This mourning period had lasted all these years.

Ling Ziyue felt deeply guilty towards his wife and children, owing them too much. He had too much to say; how could a single sheet of paper contain it all?

“My wife, I am well in all respects…”

He still wrote a family letter as usual, just making it a bit longer. He thought, that even if his own life was uncertain now, he should try his best to keep his wife and children safe. If he couldn’t, all he owed would have to be repaid in the next life. There was no need to alarm them with dangerous words now, making them anxious.

The moon was high in the sky.

Torches were lit in the camp.

Mo Sigui and the others left the main camp together, heading towards the meeting point specified in the letter.

As they rushed along, An Jiu felt puzzled. She took the chance to exchange a glance with Chu Dijiang, seeing a hint of amusement in his eyes.

“Didn’t Mo Sigui say he didn’t care about the medicine boy’s life?” An Jiu asked in a low voice.

“He’s probably lying to himself,” Chu Dijiang didn’t particularly try to avoid the topic. “You can see a bit from his feelings for Lou Mingyue. His apparent lack of emotion hides deep feelings. In the end, he’s only hurting himself. Lou Mingyue is determined to go down her chosen path, so she’s not as conflicted as him.”

These words struck Mo Sigui like a thunderbolt, startling him to his core.

The most frustrating thing in life is the struggle of choosing at a crossroads. Choose one path, and you’ll always wonder if the other would have been better.

To stubbornly follow one path requires not only courage but also talent.

In this aspect, Mo Sigui was far inferior to Lou Mingyue.

“Ah Jiu, I’ll go with Mo Sigui. You hide nearby and wait for my signal to attack,” Chu Dijiang instructed. “If I draw my sword, you can seize the opportunity to shoot.”

An Jiu thought he was being overly cautious, but naturally had no objections to his arrangements.

As they approached the location, An Jiu separated from them, finding a high point nearby to hide.

There was a gentle slope here that could partially obstruct the view, with many escape routes.

The wind rustled through the waist-high grass, making the wilderness seem even quieter.

After waiting for about the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, something seemed to be moving through the grass towards them. Chu Dijiang and Mo Sigui could only see the grass shaking violently as if some fierce beast was passing through.

An Jiu, hiding on higher ground, could see that it was a person.