Even after returning to the city, Fan Yuan was still somewhat dazed.

When junior officers came to report the situation of soldiers repairing the inner city, he nodded absentmindedly: “Mm, send copies of the victory report to Pingzhou and Tiger Gorge Pass each…”

The junior officer looked bewildered: “General, this subordinate was reporting that the inner city is severely damaged and will require several days to repair properly…”

Only then did Fan Yuan come back to his senses. He coughed dryly: “This battle was a great victory. This general was preoccupied with sending victory reports to Liang territory. I understood what you said—you may withdraw first.”

After the junior officer left, Li Xun, who was copying military merit records at the side, said: “Old Fan, what’s wrong with you?”

Because both Mu Youliang and his son were severely wounded and currently recuperating in Panshi City, all the troops attacking Gole City this time were forces Chen Wei had brought from Pingzhou. No Chen generals accompanied them. After entering the city and settling Wen Yu, only Fan Yuan, Chen Wei, and Li Xun were temporarily staying in Gole City’s government office.

Fan Yuan pulled over a chair and sat down, clearly preoccupied. He rubbed his face, which had been blown by wind and sand for half a month and was covered with stubble. But he sighed: “I… I’m worried about Young Master Xiao and the Princess. Although Young Master Xiao has greatly assisted Great Liang this time, what he said at the city gates was still too presumptuous. I’m afraid the Princess might…”

Li Xun’s brush didn’t stop, but his words were directed to Fan Yuan: “The Princess is benevolent and wise. She absolutely won’t quibble with Young Master Xiao over such minor details.”

“Ah… that’s not what I meant…” Fan Yuan vigorously scrubbed his face twice more. Li Xun and Chen Wei obviously didn’t yet know Xiao Li had returned to the Liang camp. Now, he didn’t know whether Xiao Li’s return to the Liang camp was solely Xiao Li’s own unilateral decision, or whether Wen Yu also knew about it.

He looked around in all directions. Seeing no one left or right, unable to hold it in any longer, somewhat recklessly he said: “Old Li, don’t you think… the Princess and Young Master Xiao… seem somewhat strange?”

Li Xun’s brush stroke paused. He said: “Old Fan, watch your words.”

Fan Yuan realized what he was discussing so presumptuously and broke out in cold sweat. He quickly shut his mouth, then scanned left and right again before coughing dryly twice and laughing it off: “I… I’m just worried about future diplomatic relations between North and South…”

For a moment, no one in the government office responded. Cold wind beat against the window lattice, as if it might rain.

Li Xun glanced toward the window and said: “If we don’t have to fight wars anymore in the future, that would be quite good…”

–

When Zhao Bai entered carrying freshly brewed medicine, the imperial physician was removing needles from Wen Yu’s arms.

Probably due to fatigue from rushing all the way from Panshi City while ill and being blown by wind at the city gates, Wen Yu’s spirits weren’t very good. She leaned against the bed with a pale face and eyes half-closed. The brocade wide sleeves embroidered with intricate cloud patterns had been rolled up to her elbows. Both forearms were covered with silver needles—just looking at it made one’s heart tremble.

That day and night of drumming had damaged the meridians in her arms. Later, being busy supervising battles without receiving proper treatment, it had left lingering effects. To this day, she still required the imperial physician to regularly use silver needles for meridian therapy and conditioning.

Xiao Li stood guard at the side. Though silent, not having spoken a single word from beginning to end, his tall frame and the oppressive presence accumulated from long experience on battlefields still caused the imperial physician’s back to break out in cold sweat.

Only after removing the last silver needle from Wen Yu’s arms did the imperial physician breathe a sigh of relief, raising his sleeve to wipe the fine sweat from his forehead: “Still cannot lift heavy objects, and absolutely must avoid overexertion. Apply two medicinal patches daily. At the quickest, two months; at the slowest, half a year—it should be fine. As for the Princess’s body… the deficiency is excessive. Strong tonics are inadvisable. She must still recuperate slowly.”

Zhao Bai thanked the imperial physician and instructed the Azure Cloud Guards to see him out. She was just about to step forward carrying the tray when she heard Xiao Li speak: “I’ll do it.”

Zhao Bai’s form paused slightly, but in the end, she didn’t continue forward.

After Xiao Li took the medicine bowl from the tray, Zhao Bai placed several cloth handkerchiefs that had been boiled in medicinal solution over Wen Yu’s wrists. After some hesitation, she still took the tray and withdrew, only saying before leaving: “In half a quarter-hour when the handkerchiefs cool, remove them for the Princess.”

–

The Azure Cloud Guards standing watch outside the courtyard saw Zhao Bai emerge alone. Their expressions slightly strange, they called: “Commander…”

Zhao Bai only looked at that Azure Cloud Guard once, and the other person fell silent.

The Azure Cloud Guards and the imperial physician were all their own people. Back at the Royal Court, they had already known about the relationship between Wen Yu and Xiao Li.

The Azure Cloud Guard’s concern about only Xiao Li remaining in the room was fear he might harm Wen Yu.

After all, in Great Liang now, only the North-South conflict remained.

But since even Zhao Bai felt assured having that new Northern Border Marquis alone with their Princess, they also need not worry further.

Zhao Bai stood silently beneath the eaves with her sword in her arms. The twilight clouds hung extremely low. Blown by the cold wind, fine raindrops actually began to fall.

She glanced at the night sky, murmuring lowly: “He’s returned. The Princess should be able to rest easier now.”

After the battle at Panshi City, although they had won, Wen Yu was confined to her sickbed, yet she hadn’t slept well for a single night.

The fear and gloom that had been forcefully suppressed during those days of defending Gole City had transformed into nightmares that counterattacked during this serious illness.

Combined with Tiger Gorge Pass not sending back news for so long, Wen Yu’s heart had been constantly pressed down by a great stone.

Many times when Wen Yu awoke startled from nightmares, her entire body soaked in sweat and clothes, her whole consciousness not very clear, when Zhao Bai worriedly urgently called “Princess,” she would grip Zhao Bai’s hand tightly with cold sweat pouring down, urgently asking: “A’Zhao, is Qiyun still alive? Has Tiger Gorge Pass fallen? Has Western Liang made a comeback?”

She repeated over and over that General Gu was fine, currently recovering from injuries in Panshi City, that no battle reports had come from Tiger Gorge Pass either, that Western Liang only had remnant defeated soldiers left. Only then would Wen Yu slowly emerge from the nightmare’s panic, but her whole person was visibly pale and weak.

That day when Gu Qiyun was carried back bloody from the battlefield, Wen Yu beat drums atop the city tower. To avoid losing her composure and plunging the soldiers still defending to death into panic, she hadn’t even dared look at Gu Qiyun once. Accompanying the drum beats falling were only blood drops sliding across the back of her hand to the ground and wet traces rolling from the corners of her eyes.

After Gu Qiyun was sent back to the inner city for treatment, Wen Yu remained at the city tower supervising battle, not daring to ask a single question about Gu Qiyun’s injuries.

Zhao Bai knew the fear and worry in her heart. Along this journey, she could no longer bear to lose anything.

So she didn’t ask. Even if the worst result awaited her, then before that moment, she could continue deceiving herself.

But in the nightmares after relaxing, all the pain, sorrow, and panic came surging back, once making Wen Yu unable to distinguish whether the blood-filled scenes in her dreams were real or whether their victory was real.

After Gu Qiyun learned that Wen Yu was troubled by nightmares every night, disregarding that she herself was still covered in injuries, she moved in to live with Wen Yu.

When Wen Yu had nightmares again, she also held her hands, half-joking yet with reddened eyes, promising her over and over: “A’Yu, don’t worry. If I don’t live to seventy or eighty this lifetime, I won’t die. Father and elder brother have gone chasing after the Late Emperor and Crown Prince. I must guard A’Yu.”

From the day she resolved to journey far to Southern Chen, Wen Yu hadn’t allowed herself to show any weakness. Yet that night, covering her eyes with her hand, her slender shoulders trembling, large wet traces slid beneath her palm.

She said: “Qiyun, I dreamed Tiger Gorge Pass was also breached. He died beneath chaotic hooves before the city gates.”

Both Zhao Bai and Gu Qiyun understood who the “he” she spoke of was.

Usually, even when worried, she rarely displayed emotions so outwardly. Though she unfailingly asked daily whether any battle reports had come from Tiger Gorge Pass, she absolutely refused to mention that person’s name.

As if afraid that once she asked, the answer she received would be the one she didn’t want to hear.

Only that night, all her forcefully maintained coldness and resilience were finally shattered through repeated nightmares, also revealing her fragility and softness.

Zhao Bai suddenly realized how important that person was to Wen Yu.

She had prepared herself to reach the same destination by different routes with that person in this upheaval of rivers and mountains.

But what if she defended this half of the rivers and mountains, yet the other party couldn’t return?

Zhao Bai didn’t dare think further.

Now that person had returned victorious. Zhao Bai only felt sincerely happy.

–

A bowl of medicine was quickly fed until nearly empty. Wen Yu’s wide sleeves on both arms were lowered, piled at her forearms. Further down at her wrists, padded with thick handkerchiefs, warm cotton cloths soaked in medicinal broth were applied.

Charcoal braziers burned in the room—it wasn’t cold. But an itchy sensation still suddenly rushed up her throat. When Wen Yu raised her hand to cover her face and cough, the medicinal cloth applied to her wrists also fell onto the handkerchief covering the bedding.

Xiao Li’s brow furrowed. Almost instantly he rose and shouted toward outside: “Summon…”

Before the two words “imperial physician” could leave his mouth, his hand still bearing unhealed scabs was grasped by Wen Yu: “No need to summon the imperial physician. I caught a cold illness these past days. It’s already improved—just still coughing somewhat.”

Wen Yu’s voice was gentle, her eyes warm and serene, only her whole person still permeated with a faint weariness.

She covered her lips with one hand, coughing lowly, while tightly gripping Xiao Li with the other, saying: “Sit with me a while longer.”

The aura around Xiao Li’s entire body was extremely agitated and oppressed: “You’re uncomfortable.”

But Wen Yu smiled at him: “Yes, you won’t even talk to me anymore. I’m uncomfortable.”

Because of that bout of coughing just now, her originally pale face had only now flushed with a few traces of color. When she smiled, it was extremely beautiful. Yet Xiao Li only felt his chest was about to burst from that stuffy astringency and sourness.

On the carriage returning to the city, Wen Yu had fallen into exhausted light sleep. As soon as they arrived, Zhao Bai urgently summoned the imperial physician to examine her. Only then did he learn what condition Wen Yu’s body had reached.

His chest and throat were uncomfortably congested.

He couldn’t speak.

Knowing Wen Yu’s hands currently couldn’t exert force, Xiao Li turned and placed Wen Yu’s hand that was gripping him back onto the bedding, then wrapped her wrist properly with medicinal cloth before sitting back down on the stool himself.

He pressed his elbow against his knee, vigorously scrubbing his face. When he looked toward Wen Yu again, still unable to conceal that trace of pale crimson spreading beneath his eyes, he asked hoarsely: “What do you want to say?”

Wen Yu looked at him, her face still carrying a smile: “We agreed that after you returned from Tiger Gorge Pass, we would marry. Now you’re like this—are you going back on your word?”

Knowing full well Wen Yu was deliberately saying this, the hands Xiao Li had resting on his knees still instantly clenched into fists. The layer of crimson spreading in his eyes slowly deepened, making even his breathing grow heavier. He said: “You’re dreaming!”

The way he looked at Wen Yu was so fierce, as if finally unable to bear it anymore. What pressed down in his eyes was entirely obsessive love deep enough to drown someone: “Don’t use your current physical condition to feign ease while saying such words to me.

“Wen Yu, from defending Tiger Gorge Pass to learning you personally went to Gole City, I felt I had already died.

“You’re a liar. You lied to me to stay alive and come back to take you back to Great Liang. What about you yourself?

“These thirteen days and nine hours rushing back, not a single moment passed that I wasn’t thinking—what if Gole City has already been breached? What if you’ve already hanged yourself?”

His breathing was painfully astringent. His eyes were already entirely crimson. The hand cupping Wen Yu’s face trembled slightly, yet his gaze remained extremely fierce: “I told myself again—kill my way there. Even if it’s your corpse, I’ll bring it back to Great Liang and proclaim to all under heaven that I want to marry you.

“When I also die on the road avenging you, my bones must be buried in the same coffin with yours.

“That way in the next life you also won’t be able to escape me. You owe me this.”

Even now saying these words, his tone still carried intense desperate meaning.

Wet traces slid down onto Xiao Li’s palm—tears had rolled from Wen Yu’s eyes.

She raised her hand to cover the back of Xiao Li’s hand cupping her face, breathing slowly and deeply, yet still couldn’t suppress the astringency in her throat and heart. So when she spoke again, her voice was also hoarse. She smiled and said: ‘I hadn’t even waited for you to come take me back—how could I bear to die?

“When you agreed to marry, I already told you—henceforth, whether in the blue heavens or yellow springs, you and I cannot escape entanglement.”

His chest still ached suffocatingly, yet was also being filled extremely full by something—so full that something was about to overflow from his eyes as well.

Xiao Li closed his astringent red eyes, his breathing trembling as he pressed his forehead against Wen Yu’s.

That beating mass of blood and flesh in his left chest cavity became so peaceful.

This was his homecoming.

“If there truly is reincarnation in this world, then we’ll be entangled together, life after life.”