Xie Queshan suddenly stood up and paced to the window. He glanced outside—several mansion guards were patrolling, just normal security.

Wanyan Jun’s suspicious gaze followed his footsteps, watching as he quite naturally closed the window.

Perhaps the late spring temperature was somewhat cool, or perhaps he feared eavesdroppers—Wanyan Jun didn’t become suspicious. His attention wasn’t on Xie Queshan now anyway, but was focused on how to capture the Yucheng Army in one net.

“My lord, would you like to hear my honest words?”

“Young Master Queshan, speak freely. In this Li Du Mansion now, you’re the only person I can trust.”

Xie Queshan slowly walked closer to Wanyan Jun and inexplicably smiled.

“I’m grateful for your lordship’s favor, but… your suspicions about me weren’t without reason.”

There was something strange in this statement. Just as Wanyan Jun was frowning in thought, the next second a hand chop struck over.

In the second before Wanyan Jun lost consciousness, he seemed to see the determination in Xie Queshan’s eyes. He regretted it immensely, but it was already too late.

Xie Queshan drew his sword from his waist, but after a moment’s hesitation, he put it back.

Killing Wanyan Jun would save a lot of trouble, but in moments the mansion guards would discover the anomaly, and Xie Queshan wouldn’t be able to get out the door. With events happening suddenly, he didn’t have many means for covering up.

He still needed to use this identity to act—he had to remain clean.

Keeping Wanyan Jun alive was a huge hidden danger, but to buy a moment’s time, he could only do this. Xie Queshan dragged Wanyan Jun to the inner room, took the military tally from his waist, threw him on the couch, and told the mansion guards outside that he and Lord Wanyan were celebrating victory early—the lord had drunk too much and was taking a nap. When soldiers peeked in and saw the lord sleeping peacefully, they didn’t become particularly suspicious.

Once out the mansion gates, he first went to Jiangyue Ward to find Song Muchuan.

This neighborhood ostensibly remained under Qi jurisdiction, but actually all stationed troops had been quietly subdued. The Yucheng Army had changed into Qi soldiers’ clothes and were just waiting to fish in troubled waters, board the ships, and detonate the explosives when the opportunity arose.

As soon as Xie Queshan entered Jiangyue Ward, he was vigilantly surrounded by the battle-ready Yucheng Army pointing swords at him.

Song Muchuan hurriedly dismissed everyone and brought Xie Queshan to a secluded place: “Why did you come?” Since their last hasty parting, they hadn’t even had time to properly catch up, but at such a critical moment, Song Muchuan actually didn’t want to see Xie Queshan—his coming meant the plan had changed. But his fragile heart could no longer bear his close friend having even the slightest problem.

“I still need some time. Wait for my signal before boarding the ships.”

Xie Queshan spoke calmly, but Song Muchuan still detected a trace of urgency: “Is it serious?”

“Still under control.”

Song Muchuan could hear that this was both comfort and a determination to not give up until the goal was achieved. He didn’t want Xie Queshan to take more risks, but he could only restrain his personal feelings, telling himself to trust him—only this way could he give him strength.

He was brief and to the point: “What do you need me to do?”

“Before the hour of shen, send someone to watch Wanyan Jun’s mansion. If he comes out, no matter what, even if you have to kill him, don’t let him appear at the military camp.”

This directive was too intense—Song Muchuan immediately understood that Xie Queshan had completely torn off his mask and was openly challenging the Qi people. The long years of undercover work were compressed into these few hours, cutting off his arm to save his life—all the preparation was just to fight for the slightest chance of victory today.

“Alright.” Song Muchuan answered very solemnly.

“I’m leaving.” Xie Queshan didn’t stop for a moment, hurriedly turning to leave.

Watching his back, he suddenly felt uneasy.

“Xie Chao’en.” Driven by some inexplicable intuition, Song Muchuan called out to him.

That person’s footsteps paused, as if anticipating what he was going to say, deliberately not turning around, not wanting people to see his expression.

“Return victorious.” He shouted at his back.

Xie Queshan’s face showed a long-absent smile as he waved his hand.

Song Muchuan thought he might hear Xie Queshan say something, but he still said nothing, mounting his horse and leaving. Watching the hoofbeats grow distant, Song Muchuan knew he was pessimistic.

He was silently telling him: do your best and leave the rest to fate. But Song Muchuan believed that this time, heaven would be on their side.

His heartbeat was like beating drums, growing louder as Xie Queshan departed. That sound leaped from his heart to echo with the drumbeats from the other side of the city.

Wooden mallets, sheepskin surfaces—bare-chested warriors struck the war drums with ringing force, blow by blow, as horns sounded from the watchtowers.

A sudden military order made all soldiers feel they faced great enemies, quickly donning armor and forming ranks.

On the martial arts platform, Xie Queshan held up the military tally in his hand and declared loudly: “The Yucheng Army has broken through the gates and is escorting Prince Ling’an away from Li Du Mansion. The situation is critical—Lord Wanyan specifically ordered me to come mobilize troops. All soldiers listen to orders! Depart immediately and board the dragon boats! Kill the new king and capture Jinling!”

The camp commander still had some doubts, asking: “But Lord Wanyan clearly ordered us to remain stationed here…”

Just as he voiced his question, Xie Queshan didn’t waste words—he directly drew his sword and executed the man on the spot.

“Military orders state: all who disobey orders or delay shall be executed immediately. Who else has objections?!”

Xie Queshan had previously managed the army alongside Gusha, and in everyone’s eyes, he was the Han strategist who calculated without fail, quite prestigious in the army. His words carried conviction.

A natural commander—even though he held a stolen military tally in his hands, even though his words were complete fabrication, as long as he stood there and raised his arms in a shout, he could inexplicably move hearts and brook no doubt.

“Kill the new king and capture Jinling!”

“Kill the new king! Capture Jinling!”

The soldiers’ blood ran hot. Without suspicion, they immediately formed ranks and departed.

Heavy rain continued falling in the mountains.

When Yajiu’s blade chopped down, Nanyi had anticipated it, crossing her sword to desperately block. Seeing the blade press down more and more, Yajiu suddenly heard a click—his chest felt pain as a small crossbow bolt shot out from her sleeve while he was unprepared.

Damn, this woman had plenty of dirty tricks.

Yajiu absorbed the pain and unleashed his final bit of strength, viciously embedding the blade into her shoulder.

Blood flowed like a fountain, the crimson color washed by heavy rain into muddy water. Nanyi’s face was blurred by the torrential rain, but only her beast-like eyes remained wide open.

Yajiu was nearly driven mad by those eyes. He vindictively kicked the woman hard, hoping she would die quickly.

Yajiu panted heavily and retreated several steps, pulling out the small crossbow bolt embedded in his chest. She had actually aimed very accurately—due to the close distance, the bolt had penetrated deeply. But fortunately, he wore soft armor and it hadn’t hit any vital spots, with only the arrowhead stained with blood. This injury, which normally wouldn’t even matter, now added insult to injury. Besides this woman, those death warriors were all masters among masters—killing them had consumed all his physical strength. He stood with effort, already at the end of his strength.

For the first time, the bloodthirsty Yajiu felt terror. A difficult opponent didn’t necessarily have great ability, but as long as they had a fearless heart, they could drag people into hell. He didn’t want to and didn’t dare continue fighting. He didn’t know if this woman had any more tricks up her sleeve—escape was the best strategy.

Dragging his wounded body, he limped and stumbled as he ran outside. Even after running far away, looking back, he saw a figure still doggedly, tenaciously following him.

Was she insane?!

Yajiu cursed inwardly.

Looking at her form, she didn’t even have the strength to pounce on him and kill him—she could only barely avoid losing track of him.

And he no longer had the strength to kill her in return.

Only now did Yajiu realize he had underestimated his enemy. This woman was clearly the one with the lowest martial arts among the assassins.

Nanyi moved forward with unsteady steps, her gaze firmly locked on Yajiu.

She had only one thought: Yajiu must die.

At this moment, what ultimate martial arts, what divine weapons—none of it mattered. What counted was one’s final breath.

Before completing her mission, she absolutely dared not fall, because behind her were countless warriors on this land. She thought of Pang Yu, who had crashed headlong into death before her. All along she hadn’t dared admit that she feared her small sense of justice couldn’t shake this world and would instead seem laughable, yet she uncontrollably often remembered him—that someone could be steadfast unto death for their ideals, for what they held in their hearts. Only then did she suddenly discover how that had influenced her life every moment.

Pang Yu was her first teacher. Much later she had a suspicion—Pang Yu’s willingness to entrust intelligence to her, a completely irresponsible little thief, was actually very dangerous, but he had no choice and could only do so. So he used his death to teach her a lesson. When Xie Queshan had spared her life and taught her survival skills, was it also for this reason? Because she was Pang Yu’s student, he hoped she would inherit that great righteousness.

And she… she probably hadn’t disappointed her teacher.

Nanyi tore off a piece of cloth and wrapped it around the sword hilt, winding it around her wrist again and again, making this sword part of her body.

She roared and charged forward with her last bit of strength. Water splashed in the mud under her feet—that was the last flower of spring, silently magnificent.

She knew very clearly where she was going beyond this mud.

With a squelch, the sharp blade pierced flesh and blood.

Yajiu had no strength left to dodge, and he knew he couldn’t escape anyway. If not this sword, then the next. If not here, then at the next hilltop.

Human determination was the most terrifying thing in this world.

The shipyard gates opened. The newly built dozen or so dragon boats were connected front to back with iron chains, entering the water one after another as nearly ten thousand soldiers from the entire camp filed aboard.

Xie Queshan held his breath watching everything proceed in order. At this point, they couldn’t afford any mishaps. This was a battle of one against ten thousand—he needed to wait until everyone was aboard and the ships had sailed to the isolated center of the river, when everyone was trapped with no escape, before he could light the fuse. All the ships were connected together—as long as one exploded, the ships before and after would be affected and explode in succession.

On the other side, Wanyan Jun had already awakened.

He flew into a rage, never expecting Xie Queshan to dare so brazenly knock him unconscious and steal his military tally. He figured that with the tally, Xie Queshan would definitely go to the military camp first, so he immediately summoned all his mansion guards to pursue him, determined to intercept Xie Queshan.

Just as he stepped out the door, a mansion guard suddenly came to report that they had captured Princess Lingfu.

She had already been brought to the courtyard. Wearing a simple hairpin and plain dress, without makeup, she was as frail as a piece of paper that might fly away at any moment.

It had been some time since he’d seen her—this woman’s appearance had grown somewhat blurred in his mind.

Wanyan Jun’s heart immediately became alert, instantly detecting the scent of a trap.

Day and night he had ordered people to search the city, yet they hadn’t found a single clue about these royal siblings. Why wasn’t she caught early or late, but suddenly caught at this moment?

“Kill her directly.”

A trace of ruthless cruelty appeared on Wanyan Jun’s face.

He was very clear that what he needed to do now was capture Xie Queshan—his steps couldn’t be hindered by anything.

The soldier had already drawn his blade when Xu Kouyue suddenly shouted at his retreating figure: “I saved your life once—you owe me!”

Wanyan Jun’s figure shuddered violently.

She actually remembered!

He turned back in disbelief: “Stop!”

The blade tip was only an inch from her neck when Wanyan Jun’s shout made the soldier barely stop in time.

Knowing this was suspicious, Wanyan Jun still waved his hand, making the soldiers retreat.

“What do you remember?” He grabbed her face, asking somewhat uncertainly.

Xu Kouyue smiled. When facing him, she rarely had such an unrestrained expression.

“The first time I saw you, I recognized you immediately. You were that little merchant’s son who was trampled underfoot, pleading with the officials to spare your father’s life.”

Yes, in Bianjing twenty years ago, when they were still children, they had met once.

Wanyan Jun’s father had been selling felt hats in the market but was accused of giving fake copper coins as change—coins given to them by a previous customer. When officials came to confiscate their stall, he could only kowtow and beg the officials not to take his father away.

It was clearly something that could be cleared up with investigation, but the officials were too lazy to bother and insisted on arresting someone. Just then, the Princess’s ceremonial procession happened to pass through the market. That little girl, surrounded like stars around the moon, was kind enough to stop for a mere ant and speak up to resolve the situation.

He had looked up at her from the dirt. He had to be grateful for this condescension, but his pride made him detest it too. Her behavior seemed to him like silent showing off, flaunting the benevolence of those in power.

So he swore to become one of those above others, so no one could ever manipulate him again.

The purer and more spotless she was, the more he wanted to crush her, to prove he had succeeded.

Wanyan Jun hadn’t thought about his humble origins in a long time—so long it seemed like a previous life. He thought that since they were just children then, Xu Kouyue wouldn’t know. But these words of hers struck right at his shameful past, making him both furious and instantly as humble as mud.

Xu Kouyue looked at him as if she knew his thoughts: “Do you know how I recognized you? Poor people’s faces forever wear poor people’s eyes, looking at the world full of predation, as if you don’t grab, someone else will snatch it away.”

“—Even if you trample me underfoot, even if your status is above mine now, you still can’t escape your origins.”

She provoked Wanyan Jun sentence by sentence. With a slap, Wanyan Jun viciously struck her face.

Enraged, he grabbed her collar, as if shouting at her louder could cover his current sense of inferiority: “Xu Kouyue, what are you now? You still have to kneel on the ground and beg me! Beg me to favor you, beg me to spare you! Don’t you know that fortune’s wheel turns?”

“I know,” Xu Kouyue answered calmly. “Fortune’s wheel should turn to you now.”

In Wanyan Jun’s most furious, most unguarded moment, Xu Kouyue thrust the dagger hidden in her sleeve into Wanyan Jun’s heart.