Lu Qianqiao did not return to the War Ghost clan. He remained on the battlefield, where smoke still filled the air and the remaining peasant soldiers fled in all directions under the encirclement of armored troops.

Another victory.

That day, Xiang Rong had requested an imperial edict from the Emperor, and it had been ten days since he arrived at Changgeng Pass with the sacred decree. This was the northernmost checkpoint of Qiong Kingdom, where recently not only peasant soldiers had been invading, but even Tianyuan Kingdom from across the sea frequently provoked them. It was said that Tianyuan Kingdom had a crown prince who, bearing the mandate of heaven and possessing demon blood in his veins, was unmatched in courage. With wild ambition, he launched offensives against the four neighboring kingdoms, and many small nations had already been devoured by him.

Fortunately, Qiong Kingdom was surrounded on all sides by either towering mountains or vast oceans. Separated by mountains and seas, the enemy dared not rashly deploy large armies, but only colluded with peasant soldiers to occasionally make small raids, testing their strength.

The wind swept up the gunpowder smoke, and the bloody smell hit him head-on. Lu Qianqiao closed his eyes, feeling his entire body trembling slightly.

He liked this scent. Holding his long whip and galloping across the battlefield on horseback like this felt like liberating his entire life from its cage, shaking off all those people and things that entangled him, made him uneasy, troubled, and reluctant to let go.

“Chase them down! Don’t let a single one escape!”

Lie Yunhua let out a high-pitched neigh, spread his four hooves and leaped through the air, being the first to charge forward in pursuit of the fleeing soldiers. The black long whip swept through like a hurricane, leaving only sprays of blood wherever it passed.

He had never loved the thrill of pursuit and slaughter as much as he did now. The only regret was that his opponents were too weak—the War Ghost’s instinct yearned for even stronger enemies.

Something hard pressed against his armor in his chest. Lu Qianqiao unconsciously pulled it out—it was the Heavenly Lady’s doll. Its beautiful face was already stained with some blood, blurred and unsightly.

He felt it was both strange and familiar, and unconsciously, a gentle emotion welled up from the depths of his heart.

Every day he would bring this doll to the battlefield. He remembered everything from before, but he couldn’t understand why he had once been so weak and confused. Why hadn’t he liked fighting? Why had he bothered making those boring dolls when he had nothing else to do? Why… had he been unwilling to kill that soft, rabbit-like girl? Unwilling to kill those wretched and useless little monsters?

He didn’t understand why, but it was as if his body remembered an absolute command. Whenever killing intent arose and he wanted to return to the Imperial Tomb to slaughter everyone clean, he would take out the doll and touch it, and the killing intent would gradually subside.

Lie Yunhua didn’t quite understand why his master on his back suddenly stopped moving, and looked back in confusion, nudging his leg with his nose.

“…Forget it, let’s go back.”

Lu Qianqiao put away the doll, turned his horse around, and sounded the gong for retreat.

He didn’t like the doll to be stained with blood. He had to wash it clean, otherwise she would be angry if she saw it. Though, perhaps she would never see it again in her lifetime?

A faint pang of pain flashed through his heart, then quickly disappeared.

“You saw it—he’s almost becoming a perfect War Ghost now, which means he’s completely changed into a different person. No matter what you say to him, it won’t get through.”

The magnificent long carriage was hidden behind the clouds, and the Great Monk folded his arms, shaking his head and sighing.

“You should still come with me to the Fox clan. There are also people from my clan guarding your home, so we can bring them back together.”

Xin Mei cupped her chin and crouched in front of the carriage in a daze, completely ignoring what he was saying.

Lu Qianqiao must not be eating or resting properly. After just a few days apart, he had already lost weight. His face, which already had little flesh to begin with, now looked travel-worn and dusty—not attractive at all.

Oh right, he seemed to be looking at the Heavenly Lady’s doll just now. No wonder she had searched for a long time at the Imperial Tomb and couldn’t find it—he had taken it away. He didn’t even tell her, making her sad for a whole night.

She touched her body. She had left the General’s doll at the Imperial Tomb and hadn’t brought it with her. In her pouch was only a small wooden rabbit carving he had made for her, about half the size of a palm. Its long ears had been rubbed smooth and shiny by her touch.

“There’s a cliff over there. I want to go over.”

She pointed to the cliff face that was separated from Changgeng Pass by a gorge.

“What for?” The Great Monk looked at her suspiciously.

“To see him, of course!”

Xin Mei looked back at him as if he were an idiot.

…If he had known this girl would be so troublesome, he shouldn’t have agreed to this damned task!

The Great Monk’s face turned green as he landed the long carriage on the opposite cliff. But he saw that she didn’t do anything unexpected—she simply got off the carriage and sat under a tree, caressing that small wooden rabbit carving.

Wasn’t she supposed to be looking at Lu Qianqiao? Was this how she was going to look?

The Great Monk dozed off boredly in the carriage, waiting until the moon reached the middle of the sky. The small moon at the zenith looked like it had been bitten by the celestial dog, but it was bright and clear, though not very round.

Xin Mei suddenly stood up. The Great Monk immediately opened his eyes and saw her walk to the cliff’s edge, cupping her hands around her mouth—

“Lu Qianqiao—! I came to see you—!”

She shouted loudly, her sweet and soft voice echoing endlessly in the mountain valley.

“If you’re a man, then hurry up and come out! Hiding around isn’t the behavior of a hero—!”

The voice continued to echo, echo…

What a reckless girl! The Great Monk was stunned.

“Lu Qianqiao! How can you start something and then abandon it? Come out—! Make things clear—!”

There was a commotion at Changgeng Pass, and the soldiers looked toward the main tent with strange expressions. This… was their commander’s private matter, which they couldn’t really interfere with, but still, starting something and abandoning it… that was going too far… Though the Cavalry General had only been here for a few days, everyone in the pass held him in awe and fear. Who would have thought, who would have thought that hidden beneath his cold exterior was actually a wild and passionate heart!

Just as the whispered conversations reached their peak, the tent flap of the main tent was finally swept open, and General Lu Qianqiao emerged with his outer robe draped over him, his hair loose, his face dark as water, showing no expression.

He walked toward the cliff direction, still carrying his long whip in his hand—that poor girl! Could it be that she would be killed by the furious and embarrassed general?!

Xin Mei was still cupping her hands around her mouth, shouting: “Come out quickly—! I’m waiting for you at the opposite cliff edge—!”

The next moment, a cold voice carried over from the opposite cliff with the wind: “Why did you come?”

She stopped abruptly, and in wild joy, focused her gaze toward the opposite side. The moonlight wasn’t bright enough to see his face clearly; only his red eye glowed brilliantly in the darkness, fierce as a wild beast.

“You stole my Heavenly Lady!”

This accusation hit like a thunderbolt, stunning both the Great Monk behind her and Lu Qianqiao across from her. Her first words should have been “I miss you so much, why did you leave,” or at the very least “Don’t worry, I’ll wait for you”—how could she come out with such a baffling statement?

“But it’s okay, I’m magnanimous.” She waved her hand. “I’ll give the Heavenly Lady to you!”

The Heavenly Lady… Lu Qianqiao unconsciously reached toward his chest, but he hadn’t brought the doll out. Although the opposite cliff wasn’t far, he couldn’t see her clearly either, only vaguely making out her light blue dress hem fluttering in the wind.

Why had she come? Why did she come? He didn’t understand, but his body was trembling slightly at her arrival.

She was right there across from him. With all his strength, he could leap over in one bound—leap over and kill her!

He gripped his long whip tightly, excited by the coming carnage, his double pupils dilating.

“Lu Qianqiao, you must take good care of the Heavenly Lady and treat her as if she were me.” Xin Mei gestured to him. “Give her a bath every day, don’t let her get all dirty. Wash her clothes regularly, and don’t forget to comb her hair. Remember to kiss her goodnight before bed—that’s the most important thing!”

“…Are you finished?”

Along with his voice came the sharp wind from his dancing whip. Someone behind her erected an invisible barrier at the cliff’s edge, so he couldn’t jump across. He could only swing his long whip, trying to tear her apart with the cutting wind.

Even with the barrier blocking him, the sharp whistling wind still penetrated through. With a “swish” sound, the clothes near her collarbone were torn with a gash, and blood seeped out very slowly, gradually staining her collar red.

Xin Mei continued: “You need to eat properly too! Don’t just focus on killing people! There are many things in this world more fun than killing! You’re always so arrogant—if you lose to some bloodline or instinct, you’d be too embarrassing! Also, sleep on time, otherwise you won’t be able to get up in the morning and will want to stay in bed. When you’re away from home, staying in bed is very childish!”

Another gust of wind struck, hitting her waist and abdomen. The pouch tied at her waist fell to the ground, and the small wooden rabbit carving inside rolled out. She quickly picked it up and patted off the dust.

“…Lu Qianqiao, actually I have many things I want to say to you.” She lowered her head to think, then smiled with a furrowed brow. “We actually weren’t together for very long, and I was never… very gentle or considerate toward you…”

Things like preparing soup and meals for her husband—that only happened for a few days after their wedding. After that, the task of taking care of people still fell to Si Lan, who went from being a nanny to one person to being a nanny to two people.

“But, but there are some things I would never entrust to anyone else.” She gripped the small rabbit tightly. “I’ll come see you again in a couple of days, and I’ll tell you all those many things bit by bit. If you finish fighting, you must remember to come home. I will—I will always wait for you at home.”

Come home…

Lu Qianqiao stopped swinging his long whip. Though the distance wasn’t far, he seemed to be able to see her clearly in an instant—the light blue clothes stained with blood, but she was smiling, her snow-white and soft cheeks, her bright eyes with clear black and white, smiling innocently.

“Well, I’m leaving now.”

Xin Mei waved at him: “The day after tomorrow night, when the moon climbs to the zenith, same place at the cliff’s edge.”

Was it really okay to just watch her leave like this? A voice in his heart asked him softly.

…I don’t know, I don’t know. Lu Qianqiao gripped his long whip tightly. That vague, aching pain in his heart surfaced again. Watching helplessly as her figure disappeared into the woods, the killing intent that had filled his blood vanished without a trace in an instant. He felt clumsily at a loss.

He seemed to recall some sweet fragments—he had once focused intently on carving dolls for her, her cool long hair falling on the back of his hand, fragrant and slightly intoxicating.

Did he really want to abandon all that?

Under the bright moon and by the snowy cliff, no one answered him.

The general returned to his tent, kissed the Heavenly Lady goodnight, and fell asleep in confusion.