Nanyi was sleeping soundly when someone shook her awake.

“Your friend is here,” a voice said by her ear.

Nanyi drowsily pushed away the person’s hand: “I don’t have any friends.”

“It’s Master Song.”

“Don’t know him…” Nanyi’s eyes were still closed, her mind foggy. She answered casually, then suddenly reacted—Master Song?!

She instantly woke up, sitting bolt upright.

“Where is he?”

Her gaze immediately collided with that person. He was crouching before her, wearing a black hooded robe, wrapped up tightly. This austere outfit lent his face a sharp edge, but his eyes looking at her contained the same gentle smile as always.

She didn’t need to look up at him—he always positioned himself at a level comfortable for her.

Having survived calamity, she felt deeply moved. In an instant, Nanyi’s eyes shamefully reddened. Looking down at herself—ragged and unkempt—she actually felt somewhat self-conscious.

“Master Song,” she called softly.

Song Muchuan removed his outer robe and draped it over Nanyi, pulling it snug. “Madam, I received your clothing. Thanks to you.”

Nanyi’s heart immediately settled.

“I’ve already explained the outside situation to Captain Ying. I have a plan that can help the Yucheng Army deceive heaven and cross the sea, solving everything once and for all. The situation is urgent—I’ll explain the details once we’re safe. Follow me.”

Nanyi nodded without hesitation.

In her heart, she felt that Song Muchuan had become extremely capable since his transformation. Lurking beside the Qi people while working for Bingzhu Division, this person must be full of wisdom. With him here, everything could be resolved smoothly.

Nanyi and the Yucheng Army followed Song Muchuan along mountain paths shrouded in night. The group dared not light any flame, groping through the darkness, not daring to make loud sounds.

Suddenly, everyone heard a violent explosion from behind. Fire instantly illuminated half the mountain base. The earth shook and mountains trembled, causing stones to tumble down.

Nanyi instinctively crouched to avoid debris, but the expected falling rocks didn’t hit her—someone had shielded her. She looked up to see Song Muchuan protecting her with his body.

Nanyi noticed that despite such commotion, he showed no surprise or panic.

“Don’t stop. Everyone keep moving forward. We must get away from the Qi soldiers quickly,” Song Muchuan said firmly to everyone.

Nanyi looked back with some trepidation and asked Song Muchuan quietly, “Master Song, what happened down there?”

“The Qi soldiers will think the Yucheng Army has been blown up in the tunnel, completely annihilated. Only this way can we deceive heaven and cross the sea, so the Yucheng Army won’t face pursuit in the future.”

Nanyi was shocked, struggling to keep the amazement from her voice: “You set off the explosives?”

Song Muchuan looked at Nanyi, his face showing a rare smile of having the universe in his grasp, tinged with adorable cunning: “The Qi people set them off themselves—though of course, I was afraid they didn’t use enough, so I added some extra explosive materials.”

Nanyi’s mouth fell open. It took her a long time to react. Song Muchuan had helped the Qi people blow up the tunnel to create the illusion of the Yucheng Army’s death? But how did he know the Qi people would use explosives… had he orchestrated it?

Bingzhu Division truly was omnipotent! Nanyi was completely in awe.

She thought of something else and asked worriedly: “But when they examine the ruins afterward and see there aren’t many bodies inside, won’t they be exposed?”

“The tunnel structure is fragile. Once exploded, it will trigger landslides. The Qi people will find it difficult to thoroughly investigate, nor is it necessary. Moreover, I already had the Yucheng Army leave some armor in the tunnel. Second… there are scapegoats.”

Scapegoats… who?

Gusha had been waiting in Li Du Mansion for good news from the mountains, but instead witnessed an explosive fire. He was very confused—he hadn’t ordered his men to bring gunpowder.

Could it be intense combat with Wanyan Jun’s forces? How could a group of deserters have such fighting power?

His heart was anxious. Though he should be at home “self-reflecting” at this moment and couldn’t interfere in military affairs, he couldn’t restrain himself and rushed to the ferry, wanting to see what was happening in Hukui Mountain.

Upon reaching the ferry, he saw Wanyan Jun already returning with his men.

Wanyan Jun’s face was full of spring pride, clearly victorious, leaving Gusha very confused.

Where were his men?

Seeing Gusha, Wanyan Jun feigned surprise: “General Gusha, what are you doing here so late? Oh—I know, you want to be first to celebrate our annihilation of the Yucheng Army!”

“You annihilated the Yucheng Army?” Gusha couldn’t believe it.

Wanyan Jun said proudly: “We found the Yucheng Army’s hiding place in a secret tunnel in the mountains. For a quick victory, we threw explosives directly into the tunnel, annihilating the Yucheng Army without losing a single soldier.”

Gusha was stunned.

All blown up? If his men had gone in first, wouldn’t that mean…

He suddenly realized—damn it, Wanyan Jun was the mantis stalking the cicada while the oriole waited behind.

He had worked hard to find the Yucheng Army and sent people down to attack, while a few pipes of explosives had buried both his men and the Yucheng Army together in that tunnel.

Bastard! I’ll kill you!

Gusha was instantly furious!

—What he had sent out tonight was his most trusted personal guard unit! Completely annihilated! Not even a single body remained!

Gusha stared at Wanyan Jun’s smiling face, his hand on his sword hilt, the fire in his chest about to explode uncontrollably.

Seeing Gusha’s expression, Wanyan Jun looked puzzled: “What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy that the Yucheng Army was destroyed, General Gusha?”

A trusted aide quickly restrained Gusha, smoothing things over: “The General is naturally happy for Lord Wanyan, but he suspects this matter might be suspicious…”

Wanyan Jun said: “The mountain collapsed severely. We only found some armor fragments and bloody limbs in the ruins, but it’s still enough to confirm they were indeed the Yucheng Army.”

In his rage, Gusha retained a shred of reason. He understood—buried under the mountain, this was a case with no witnesses.

He had no place to seek justice—because tonight’s action hadn’t been reported and was unauthorized! If investigated, he would face punishment and likely be transferred back to Great Qi.

If he killed Wanyan Jun in private revenge, it would only create greater turmoil in Li Du Mansion. If Prince Ling’an escaped as a result, he would become Great Qi’s complete sinner.

Endure it, endure it.

Even so, after parting with Wanyan Jun’s group, seeing no one around, Gusha could no longer restrain himself. In impotent rage, he drew his sword and hacked at the roadside earth god statue, splitting even the incense burner in half.

An ill-timed wind blew over, sweeping up the ash from the ground and plastering it all over Gusha’s face.

Wanyan Jun returned home near dawn. Xu Kouyue had waited all night. Hearing footsteps outside, she quickly lay back down pretending to sleep.

After rustling sounds of clothing, the man, still carrying cold air, lay down behind her. His movements showed no hostility. Xu Kouyue sensed Wanyan Jun’s night operation had gone smoothly, but this wasn’t good news for her. She wanted to know the result, so she pretended to be awakened, opening sleepy eyes.

“My lord… you’ve returned.”

The moment she lied, her heartbeat spiked. Fortunately, the room was dim and facial expressions weren’t easily noticed.

Wanyan Jun was indeed pleased, stroking Xu Kouyue’s face with interest: “Tonight we annihilated the Yucheng Army—complete victory.”

Xu Kouyue’s face showed a trace of panic, momentarily unsure what to say. She absolutely couldn’t utter congratulations.

Wanyan Jun laughed. He was clearly in a good mood and didn’t intend to argue with Xu Kouyue: “Don’t worry. The Yucheng Army was all blown up in the mountains—not one survivor. It won’t implicate your aunt.”

Xu Kouyue forced a smile to match Wanyan Jun’s mood: “Thank you, my lord…”

Wanyan Jun embraced Xu Kouyue and lay down: “I’m exhausted. Time to sleep.”

Soon, Wanyan Jun fell asleep holding Xu Kouyue, but her mind remained chaotic, thinking messily, sensing something suspicious about it all.

Had Xie Queshan really betrayed the Yucheng Army…?

But for an army of over a hundred to leave no remains was very strange. A bold and baseless thought entered her mind—could the Yucheng Army have already escaped like cicadas shedding their shells?

She preferred to believe that army still lived in some corner of Hukui Mountain.

She had an inexplicable intuition that Xie Queshan wouldn’t harm fellow countrymen so cruelly. The secret letter she had helped him deliver must have played some role.

With this thought, Xu Kouyue fell into uneasy sleep.

The Yucheng Army withdrew to the Taoist temple where they had originally stationed to rest briefly. This place had already been searched by Qi soldiers—they wouldn’t think to return in the short term.

This plan required perfect coordination inside and out, with timing that had to be precisely controlled. It wasn’t just a battle of wits but of understanding human nature—too much or too little would arouse suspicion. Ying Huai immediately felt great admiration for this scholar who had rushed here in the night. With four ounces, he had deflected a thousand pounds, resolving a disaster.

Song Muchuan couldn’t stay long in this place. Tomorrow he still had to go to the Bureau of Waterways and would need to return to the city after brief preparation.

He had intended to bring Nanyi back to the city, but saw her hesitate.

“I want to stay here,” she blurted out words that surprised everyone.

Ying Huai’s eyes widened: “Aren’t you the Xie family’s young madam?”

“I’m not. I lied to you,” Nanyi said stubbornly. “But you owe me for escaping disaster. What’s wrong with sheltering me? I only need three meals a day. I have strength and can do odd jobs—I won’t burden you.”

“This is a military camp,” Ying Huai gaped for a long time, organizing his words before managing this sentence.

“I know it’s a military camp. I want to stay and learn martial arts from you. Once I have some skills to protect myself, I’ll leave.”

Song Muchuan listened quietly for a while, then said to Ying Huai: “Captain Ying, may I speak with the madam privately?”

Ying Huai felt relieved, eager to leave the room immediately. His tone even carried gratitude: “Please, please do.”

Once Ying Huai left, only Nanyi and Song Muchuan remained in the room. Afraid of drawing attention, they didn’t dare light many candles, leaving the surroundings somewhat dim.

“Madam, can you tell me now what really happened that night?”

Song Muchuan asked without urgency. Though his heart held countless questions, whether Nanyi spoke or not, he would respect her choice.

Nanyi felt confused. Many things had happened that night. She harbored deep hatred and anger, but when she tried to speak, she remembered that shocking kiss and felt guilty.

She suddenly lost her words, not knowing how to answer.