Below Mount Jiashi, during the dry season, a trickle flowed shallowly through the low-lying riverbed, not even reaching the horses’ hooves, shattering countless reflections of people and horses on the water’s surface.

A henchman stepped through the stream water to Pei Song’s side and clasped his hands: “Master, everything has been arranged.”

Pei Song’s eyes narrowed slightly in the sunlight as his hand held the reins in a shallow nod.

The henchman made a gesture toward the front. At the moss-covered stone mortar by the riverbank, a tremendous explosion soon rang out, and the air filled with a heavy saltpeter smell.

The henchmen went forward to clear away the remaining rubble from the explosion site and urgently called to Pei Song: “Master, we found it!”

Pei Song spurred his horse through the stream and drew close. Dismounting and seeing the opening that could only allow one person to pass through bent over, he pulled his lips in what could have been mockery or sarcasm and murmured softly: “Old man, you’ve finally helped me once.”

An accompanying Western Ling junior officer looked at the wind-dried filth remaining in the cave and said with surprise: “This is a privy passage leading down from the mountain?”

He looked at Pei Song, his tone unconsciously carrying some interrogation: “With such a secret passage into the pass, why didn’t the Prince Consort inform General Nuge’er earlier?”

Pei Song’s eyes were ice-cold, yet his lips still held a smile: “Does General Tusai think that with this secret passage, you could attack into Tiger Gorge Pass?”

That Western Ling junior officer didn’t respond, clearly having his thoughts exposed.

Pei Song said with slight sarcasm in his tone: “This privy passage leads to the Liang people’s border defense camp on Mount Jiashi. If you wanted to use this passage for a surprise attack, before you could even kill your way out of the border defense camp, the entire army would already be annihilated.”

That junior officer said: “Then what is the Prince Consort’s purpose in bringing us here?”

Pei Song’s lips still held a smile: “This supervisor has said before—Yang Shuo is this supervisor’s man.”

That junior officer wanted to say more but was interrupted by a shout from Pei Song’s henchman: “General Tusai, you also witnessed on the road how troublesome that Great Liang cavalry was. They spread the news about there being a mole inside the pass ahead of time. Now everyone up and down Tiger Gorge Pass suspects General Yang Shuo is that mole. Even if General Yang Shuo wanted to feign defeat and then bear humiliation to surrender to protect the common people in the pass, it would certainly attract criticism. Now only if our master enters the city can they discuss matters at length. This method of entering the pass was also told to our master by General Yang Shuo.”

That henchman continued with a warning tone: “If our master had any intention to conceal something, would he need to bring the General and your group on this journey?”

That Western Ling junior officer was left speechless and finally clasped his hands toward Pei Song: “This subordinate was merely anxious to enter the pass and absolutely didn’t mean that!”

Since Nilu’s death, Nuge’er had been constrained by Pei Song, but to a large extent it was only because Pei Song was the “key” to entering the pass.

Last night, Pei Song ordered Nuge’er to lead the great army in an all-out attack on the city today, while he personally led a team of personal troops to secretly depart overnight, claiming he would soon make Tiger Gorge Pass “fall in defeat.” Only then did Nuge’er send his trusted beloved general to follow along, ostensibly to lend assistance but in reality no different from surveillance.

Fortunately, Pei Song didn’t seem to care about these things and readily agreed.

Now he pulled his lips, still with an excellent temper, and said: “Time is pressing. The General can have his men enter first.”

That Western Ling junior officer made a gesture to the soldiers behind him, and the Western Ling soldiers behind crawled into the privy passage in order.

After the last Western Ling soldier also entered, Pei Song also made a “please” gesture to that Western Ling junior officer: “General, please.”

That Western Ling junior officer hesitated as he crouched down. Just as he was about to go toward the cave entrance, he suddenly felt a forceful wind strike from behind. He dodged to the side in time but still felt a chill at his throat.

He collapsed limply at the stone mortar by the cave entrance. Looking at the blood-dripping dagger in Pei Song’s hand, because his vocal cords had been severed along with his throat, making sound extremely difficult, he could only cover his neck that continuously gushed blood with his hand and say in a breathy voice: “You… you… don’t…”

Pei Song took out a handkerchief to wipe clean the bloodstains on the dagger. His black lashes lazily drooped over his eyelids as he said indifferently: “Is General Tusai trying to say, don’t celebrate too early—you’ve already had someone return to camp to report?”

That Western Ling junior officer’s eyes widened, seemingly extremely shocked that Pei Song even knew about the secret signal he had secretly given to his last personal guard when having his subordinate soldiers enter the privy passage.

At this moment, a henchman waded through the stream and approached, throwing a bloody severed head before the Western Ling junior officer and saying to Pei Song: “Master, the person has been intercepted.”

When the Western Ling junior officer clearly saw the face of the soldier whose head had been severed, he seemed to want to roar in grief, but his vocal cords were severed and his throat was already choked with blood. He could only say discontinuously in a breathy voice: “You… you deceived the Princess… and… and the General…”

Then with eyes wide open, full of anger and unwillingness, he stared at Pei Song and died.

Pei Song casually threw the handkerchief that had wiped the dagger’s bloodstains onto the other party’s corpse. His casual downward glance regarded them like ants as he said lightly: “Don’t worry. When Nuge’er enters the city, this supervisor will send him down to see you.”

A henchman removed the token from that junior officer’s waist and presented it to Pei Song. He reached out to receive it, then looked at that sun shadow in the sky and pulled his lips lightly: “Teacher, the Mandate of Heaven is on our side.”

Yang Shuo had never been his man. Everything was just a pretense to lure Western Ling to dispatch troops to Tiger Gorge Pass.

This privy passage was built when Qin Yi guarded Tiger Gorge Pass and established the border defense camp on the mountain years ago. Later, after everything at the border defense camp on the mountain was complete, to avoid leaving hidden dangers, Qin Yi ordered people to block this privy passage.

Because this matter concerned the safety of all of Tiger Gorge Pass, the existence of this privy passage was later known only to the confidants by his side.

When Qin Yi became involved in that succession dispute case and was wrongly imprisoned, his confidants were also thoroughly purged. In this world, besides Qin Yi, he was the only one left who still knew about this privy passage.

What he schemed for in defecting to Western Ling was never to help He Yi conquer Great Liang, but rather to borrow Western Ling’s power to seize back everything that had originally been within his grasp!

After the Wen woman and that man surnamed Xiao died outside the pass, who else in Liang territory could stop him?

Relying on the treacherous advantage of Tiger Gorge Pass and Hundred Blade Pass, even if Western Ling wanted to settle this account with him in the future, what could they do to him?

Moreover, He Yi would have to still be alive at that time to settle accounts with him!

–

Mount Jiashi border defense camp.

A patrol of border defense troops walked between the camp tents, their footsteps and the sound of iron armor colliding almost in the same rhythm.

When the last patrolling soldier passed by, a hand suddenly reached out from between the camp tents, covered his mouth and nose, then struck heavily with a hand-chop at the back of his neck. That patrolling soldier immediately fainted and was silently dragged behind the camp tent.

On the open ground, over ten corpses of border defense troops who had been stripped of their armor already lay in disarray.

The henchman stripped the armor from the border defense soldier he had just knocked out, then slit the other party’s throat with a dagger. Putting on the freshly stripped armor, he said to Pei Song: “Master, we’ve all changed.”

The privy passage opening on the mountain had long been abandoned. Stone slabs were placed over it and it was converted into a storage room for miscellaneous items.

After Pei Song’s group came out from the storage room, they lurked here and ambushed over ten border defense troops who passed by.

Pei Song had also long since changed into a suit of border defense troop armor. He fastened his wrist guards, took out the waist token seized from the Western Ling junior officer’s body, and commanded the accompanying Western Ling soldiers in the Western Ling language: “You all kill your way out from the western side of the border defense camp.”

His expression was cold and indifferent: “Whether it’s massacring villages or burning towns, spare no cost to spread the news that Yang Shuo is a mole who coordinated from inside to let you enter the pass.”

Those Western Ling soldiers, seeing the token, had no doubts. They immediately placed fists against their chests in salute to Pei Song, then went to execute the orders with ferocious and excited expressions.

An accompanying henchman asked: “Master, where do we go next?”

Pei Song’s lips curved in a bloodthirsty smile: “Naturally to the Yang residence.”

–

At the explosion site below Mount Jiashi, Xiao Li led the Wolf Cavalry on horseback, wading through the stream to pursue to this location. They discovered the corpse of the Western Ling junior officer collapsed at the cave entrance and dismounted to examine it.

An accompanying Wolf Cavalry member used a scabbard to turn over the severed head on the ground, furrowing his brow in confusion: “They’re all Western Ling people?”

He looked at Xiao Li: “Marquis, could it be that Pei Song had internal strife with these Western Ling people?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he himself felt something was wrong. If there had really been internal strife, there should be more than just these two people dead here.

Xiao Li carefully examined the knife wound on that Western Ling junior officer’s neck, his gaze falling on the blood-stained silk handkerchief on the Western Ling junior officer’s body.

The Western Ling junior officer maintained the posture of one hand covering his own neck and one hand hanging down even in death. That bloodstained handkerchief was obviously not his, but rather seemed like someone had used the handkerchief to wipe clean some sharp weapon before casually discarding it.

A Wolf Cavalry member nearby shouted: “Marquis, there are traces of people passing through this cave passage!”

Only then did Xiao Li shift his attention to that cave passage. He lifted his hand to twist the dried debris at the cave entrance, then looked at the entire Mount Jiashi’s terrain, instantly understanding this cave passage’s former use.

The only ones who could have dug out this privy passage here were the defending troops inside the pass from before.

A cold chill suddenly rose in his heart. He immediately ordered: “Tian Wu, quickly go find Old Tiger. Tell him if there’s any disturbance inside the pass, provide support at any cost.

“The rest of you, follow me in pursuit!”

–

That Western Ling troop made quite a commotion, quickly causing panic within the border defense camp.

After all, Tiger Gorge Pass’s city defenses were solid and occupied a natural advantage. It had never been breached in over ten years. The news of the Western Ling army attacking the city had only been transmitted from the pass this morning, yet now Western Ling troops had attacked into the border defense camp. Could it be that Tiger Gorge Pass had already fallen?

Connecting this with the rumor that Yang Shuo was a Western Ling mole, for a time, unknown panic spread like plague throughout the entire camp. Military morale had already collapsed into scattered sand.

Pei Song led his henchmen disguised as border defense troops and left the camp without any effort. Halfway, they even intercepted and killed the messenger sent by the camp’s commanding general to report to the city, taking his place.

After arriving at the General’s residence and explaining the border defense camp’s disturbance, because the group’s clothes and appearance were disheveled and they had the border defense camp commanding general’s personal letter taken from the messenger as proof, the household guards remaining at the Yang residence didn’t maintain defenses. Though they didn’t know what had caused the mountain’s disturbance, they were very clear this was aimed at their General.

They invited Pei Song’s group to first enter the side hall to rest, summoned the household physician to come bandage their wounds, and hurriedly ordered servants to notify Lady Yang to have her pack valuables and take the two sons to evacuate Tiger Gorge Pass first.

Just as they were about to brew tea and ask more details about the border defense camp attack, a sword unexpectedly pierced through the heart.

With a “clang,” the teapot fell from the household guard’s hands and shattered into pieces.

That household guard looked at the bloodstained sword piercing through from his chest cavity, slowly raised his head to look at Pei Song, his expression both shocked and astonished, yet also carried some bewilderment and helplessness: “You…”

Pei Song pulled out the sword. Bloodstains splattered onto his face. His lips held a slight smile, his expression cold and indifferent: “Just cleaning house for my Qin family.”

That household guard’s chest clothing was already completely soaked with blood. His entire person lost all strength and pitched forward, falling onto the low table and sweeping all the teacups and utensils on it to the ground.

Because of Pei Song’s words, he struggled to raise his head, his blood-stained finger pointing at him as he spoke with difficulty: “You… you are…”

Pei Song seemed unwilling to mention that name that disgusted him again. He only pulled his lips coldly, his dark eyes looking dimly at that household guard: “Remember, it was Yang Shuo who harmed you all. It was he who made you Wen family dogs.”

Just at this moment, screams also came from outside the door. Blood splattered on the door, dripping down the gauze of the carved wooden door.

A henchman pushed open the door, kicked aside the corpse blocking the doorway, and clasped his hands toward Pei Song: “Master, everything has been cleaned up.”

Pei Song asked: “What about Yang Shuo’s wife and children?”

The henchman replied: “They were protected by a group of household servants and fled toward the back door. This subordinate has already ordered all exits sealed—just waiting to catch turtles in a jar.”