On July 23rd, peasant rebel leader Wu Shuang led three thousand peasant soldiers in an attempt to forcibly break through Jiaoping Pass, fighting fiercely with the defending troops. Lu Qianqiao arrived at Jiaoping Pass on this chaotic day, bearing the Emperor’s imperial edict.
The edict was brought by the War Ghosts. Emperor Rongzheng spent his days only pursuing pleasure, never caring about military affairs. Li Chaoyang’s single statement that “General Lu has the power to repel enemies, he only lacks an opportunity” made the Emperor write the edict, transferring two thousand soldiers from veteran General Bai Zongying’s command to Lu Qianqiao’s disposal.
It was easy to imagine what reaction the troops who had been stationed at Jiaoping Pass for years would have to this edict.
Most crucially, this legendary General—he was like a dead man, lying motionless in bed all day. Was the Emperor making a joke with his empire and dynasty?
On July 25th, veteran General Bai Zongying, unable to bear the humiliation, hastily sent a memorial back to the capital, denouncing this baffling and senseless affair.
On July 30th, an even more absurd reply arrived: The Emperor had a half-sister, titled Princess Hu, known for her reputation as having “Divine Eyes.” This Princess Hu had made a prophecy for Emperor Rongzheng, saying that the battle at Jiaoping Pass would surely end in victory, with the hero being surnamed Lu. Emperor Rongzheng deeply believed in his imperial sister’s divine powers, so he asked General Bai to set his mind at ease.
Presumably General Bai Zongying would cough up blood from rage upon seeing this reply.
However, neither Lu Qianqiao nor Si Lan knew any of this. Lu Qianqiao continued being a living corpse—except for a bit of warmth at his chest, everywhere else seemed dead and stiff. They were assigned to live in a small tent, cold and desolate. Even the cooks in the pass disdained to pass by here, and they had never once seen hot water or meals.
The War Ghost who brought them here was called Li Yan, a promising young War Ghost from Li Chaoyang’s family. To this day, Si Lan still didn’t know where he hid during the day. Every day at the hour of the Dog, he would unfailingly come to check on Lu Qianqiao. As time passed, Li Yan’s expression finally lost its composure, and his beautiful red eyes unconsciously revealed a trace of anxiety.
On this day at the hour of the Dog, he again routinely lifted the tent flap to look at Lu Qianqiao. Si Lan was cooking lean meat porridge over the fire, its fragrance filling the air. Li Yan approached the bed to feel Lu Qianqiao’s forehead and couldn’t help sighing.
“Um… Master Li, the General he…”
Hearing him sigh made Si Lan’s heart jump with fear. This War Ghost seemed not yet twenty years old and had a gentler temperament, so he boldly struck up a conversation.
Li Yan walked over, sniffed the lean meat porridge in the pot, and praised: “Smells wonderful. You’re taking very good care of Young Master. Can he eat now?”
“He can’t swallow, so feeding him takes considerable effort each time.”
Li Yan nodded and helped himself to a bowl of lean meat porridge, saying while drinking: “If I remember correctly, Young Master’s birthday should be the ninth day of the eighth month, right? Today is the third day of the eighth month—only six days left.”
…So what? Si Lan’s hands couldn’t help trembling.
“It doesn’t matter telling these things to a little demon like you. Whether War Ghosts pass through their transformation ordeal successfully or not depends on the ten days before their birthday. First, touch returns, then taste and hearing will return one by one, and on the birthday all five senses are fully restored. This way, they successfully pass through the power awakening. Young Master still shows no signs of his five senses returning—I’m afraid this isn’t a good omen.”
Si Lan’s face turned pale, and he remained silent.
“In any case, let’s wait and see.”
Li Yan patted his shoulder consolingly, finished his porridge, got up and left.
This wait continued until August 5th. Lu Qianqiao still showed no signs of awakening, but the impatient veteran General Bai Zongying came, bringing a face full of rage. He stood with arms akimbo, looking at Lu Qianqiao lying on the bed like a living corpse, his voice thundering: “The Emperor expects this dead general to repel the peasant soldiers for him?! Since he holds the position, he should fulfill its duties. To ask me to transfer two thousand troops to him—I’m truly unwilling!”
Si Lan bowed his head and handed over a sealed letter, saying quietly: “General Bai, when the General could still move, he wrote a secret letter and instructed me to pass it to you. Please examine it.”
Bai Zongying sneered: “So you’re saying if I don’t come to see this esteemed general, his letter wouldn’t reach my hands? General Lu truly has great authority.”
“I tried several times to have an audience with General Bai but was blocked by others. You handle countless affairs daily—I dared not presume.”
Bai Zongying felt somewhat embarrassed by his bland remarks, snatched the envelope, tore it open, and glanced through it roughly. His expression changed instantly. He then read carefully, spending the time of a full meal before putting the thick stack of letter paper back in the envelope.
“What does he take me, Bai Zongying, for? A mere youth dares to point fingers!”
He threw the envelope violently to the ground, turned and walked away, saying: “If General Lu has such brilliant strategies, why doesn’t he take the field himself to fight the enemy? I, Bai, dare not compete with him for glory. Such tremendous merit—let General Lu earn it himself.”
Si Lan silently watched everyone leave the tent, then turned to look at Lu Qianqiao. He was still in deep sleep, his expression peaceful, with no reaction to anything in the outside world.
How could such a general take the field to fight enemies?
But the battlefield was merciless. The next day, the peasant soldiers received two thousand reinforcements. Wu Shuang brought five thousand men to storm the pass, their shouting and taunting clearly audible from ten li away. Bai Zongying stubbornly held his temper, only sending someone to deliver two sets of armor along with a message: Two thousand troops are ready—please mount your horse, General.
Si Lan could only stare blankly at the two sets of tattered armor. Could he send the General out to fight now? Obviously not! How detestable that the General was unwell now—if Bai Zongying had witnessed the General’s prowess earlier, he wouldn’t dare be so arrogant today.
Just as he was recalling the General’s former heroic bearing, he suddenly felt the tent flap being lifted. Li Yan, who usually only appeared at the hour of the Dog, entered. Seeing Si Lan sitting while Lu Qianqiao lay there, with armor thrown on the ground, Li Yan’s still somewhat boyish face immediately darkened.
“Put on the armor and mount up!” His voice was icy.
Si Lan said urgently: “How can the General fight enemies in this condition?!”
“I don’t care—whether you protect him or prop him up! If we retreat today, he will have completely lost face for our clan!”
Si Lan tearfully helped Lu Qianqiao put on the armor, hoisted him up and walked out. Reaching outside the tent, he whistled several times, and Lie Yunhua, who had been grazing and resting in the distance, immediately came riding the wind. Si Lan tied him securely to Lie Yunhua’s back with ropes while whispering instructions: “Good boy, don’t let the General fall! Run immediately if there’s danger!”
“Victory is the only option—defeat is not permitted!” Li Yan’s voice came from behind.
Si Lan turned to look at him but said nothing.
The so-called two thousand troops were mostly old, weak, sick, and disabled from within the pass, including even two rows of wounded soldiers. Upon seeing Lu Qianqiao bound to Lie Yunhua’s back, they all showed mocking and resentful expressions.
Si Lan said coldly: “The General orders: Up the platform, prepare boulders and hot oil!”
Not one person moved.
“The General orders: Up the platform, prepare boulders and hot oil!”
Dead silence.
Si Lan gritted his teeth, suddenly turned around, loudly answered “Yes, sir!” picked up a boulder used to weigh down tents—half a man’s height—and walked step by step up the platform. When he returned, he had a broken arrow in his shoulder blade, clearly shot by peasant soldiers from below the platform.
He picked up another boulder and continued up the platform.
This time he took another arrow in his waist and abdomen, blood staining his armor red.
The two thousand troops began to stir restlessly, all eyes fixed unblinkingly on Si Lan.
When he returned after moving the fifth boulder, all the broken arrows on his body had disappeared, leaving only dripping blood, trailing a long bloodstain along his path.
Finally someone couldn’t bear it anymore. Silently stepping forward, two or three men picked up a boulder together and accompanied him up the platform. Gradually, more and more people joined—eventually, all two thousand men silently followed his steps, carrying boulders in turn and heating oil, causing veteran General Bai Zongying, who was sitting in his tent watching the show, to widen his eyes in amazement.
Outside the pass were five thousand peasant soldiers—more than double the two thousand defenders. Wu Shuang was also quite an excellent leader, and five thousand men were no less formidable than five thousand elite troops. The boulder and hot oil attacks only slightly disrupted some formations in front, with actual damage being negligible.
There was no choice but to fight desperately.
Si Lan leaped onto Lie Yunhua’s back and looked down at Lu Qianqiao. He was still sleeping, completely unconscious, looking so peaceful. But perhaps this was for the best—this way he wouldn’t know that his family had abandoned his life in pursuit of honor.
Si Lan’s eyes burned with heat: “General! I won’t let you die!”
Lie Yunhua neighed loudly and was the first to charge out through the opened pass gate, like a red meteor. The two thousand men followed behind hesitantly and slowly, but the battlefield of life and death allowed no moment’s delay. They were almost immediately pierced through their formation by the peasant soldiers with overwhelming force—Wu Shuang’s target was the still-open pass gate!
Bai Zongying had somehow gotten up onto the platform and shouted loudly: “Close the gate quickly!”
The stone gate made harsh creaking sounds, ignoring the cries of the two thousand remnant troops in the distance, and slowly closed. This struck morale to its lowest point. Most had no heart to continue fighting—those who could flee fled, those who could hide hid. Only Si Lan persisted in charging at the front.
The words “fighting alone” were something he and the General had never experienced in their five years of battlefield career together. Who would have thought they would experience such tragedy today?
Before and behind were nothing but flashing blades and battle cries. Cut down one, and ten more rushed forward.
How he wanted to let Lie Yunhua carry the General away from this hellish battlefield without regard for anything!
But he couldn’t! Li Yan stood on the platform with his longbow drawn to full capacity. He knew that the moment they showed the slightest cowardice, the War Ghost’s arrow would pierce Lu Qianqiao’s heart.
The honor of the War Ghost clan, the spirit that could not be defeated or retreat, was stricter than iron law.
Every War Ghost awakened this way—in the sounds of slaughter, in the blood constantly splashing on their bodies—awakening the ancient bloodthirsty nature deep within them, growing into powerful, invincible, true War Ghosts.
A sharp pain shot through his shoulder. Si Lan could no longer hold on and dropped to one knee, barely using his long blade to block the fierce attacks from above. Even though he was a demon with a robust constitution, he couldn’t resist five thousand troops with the strength of one person. He didn’t even know how much blood he had lost, or whether he would survive this time.
Lie Yunhua suddenly let out a mournful neigh—it had been lassoed around the neck by a group of peasant soldiers who were pulling it down hard. Capture the leader first—everyone understood this principle. What could make them happier than an unconscious general hanging on a horse?
Si Lan used his last strength to rush forward, trying to protect Lu Qianqiao beneath him, but the next moment he was grabbed by a great force from behind and lifted into the air.
Exhausted and bewildered, he raised his head. The sunlight was so blinding he could barely make out that he was being carried by a giant bird, whose other claw held Lie Yunhua. Lu Qianqiao was securely strapped to the horse’s back, showing no wounds.
“What kind of dangerous operation are you conducting?”
A soft, sweet female voice from the bird’s back asked in amazement.
Such a familiar voice, so headache-inducing, a voice that made one want to cough up blood just hearing it. But Si Lan suddenly felt that her voice sounding at such a moment was more beautiful than celestial music.
A hand grabbed his back, easily pulling him up, and he landed on the broad bird’s back, gasping heavily, too exhausted to move. The next moment, the unconscious Lu Qianqiao was dropped beside him, his black hair softly covering his face, looking quite disheveled.
Si Lan struggled to lean over, checking him from head to toe, and only truly relaxed after confirming the General was uninjured.
“Are you still alive?” A hand poked at him as Xin Mei crouched opposite, staring at him with wide eyes.
Si Lan took quite a while to recover before speaking: “You… how did you come to be here…”
Xin Mei looked down at the peasant soldiers below who were shouting chaotically and continuously shooting arrows, then shook her head: “Let’s leave first. We’ll talk later.”
Si Lan was immediately alarmed: “No! We can’t leave!”
Before he finished speaking, an extremely sharp, piercing sound came thundering from the distance like lightning. Xin Mei spun around suddenly to see a War Ghost standing on a distant platform, longbow in hand, aimed at them, having shot the first arrow.