The battle was raging fiercely along the Grand Canal.

Xiao Jue ordered twenty elite soldiers to dive underwater with iron claws to pierce the hulls of the Wutuo warships. With thousands of Wutuo vessels, it was impossible to breach them all, and exerting force underwater proved difficult. Working in groups of ten, they targeted the two central ships with concentrated strikes. As a result, the formation of Wutuo warships connected by iron hooks fell into chaos. As they frantically tried to cut the iron hooks, they could only watch helplessly as He Yan’s small boats escaped before their eyes.

“These bastards!” Ma Ka was furious. He snatched a bow and arrow from a nearby soldier and shot at the swimmers in the water. However, the twenty selected soldiers were all exceptional swimmers with agile movements, and they dodged immediately. This pattern of pursuit and retreat completely disrupted the Wutuo forces’ rhythm.

“Keep using the iron hooks,” Ma Ka commanded with a dark expression. “They can’t stay underwater forever. Capture that woman first!”

The woman who had impersonated Mu Hongjin had greatly humiliated him. Wutuo men valued their faces above all else. If he couldn’t capture this woman today, his subordinates and confidants would secretly mock him. Even if they won the battle, when they returned to Wutuo City, this incident would still become a laughingstock, spreading everywhere.

Only by capturing and severely torturing that woman could he salvage his dignity.

“After them!”

A slight breeze brushed against their faces, bringing a faint tickling sensation. Though barely perceptible, it was immediately noticed.

He Yan looked at Mu Yi, whose eyes were filled with joy: “The wind has come!”

Though it was a gentle breeze, heaven had finally taken their side.

With enemy ships in relentless pursuit, He Yan furrowed her brows: “Lead them into the ambush zone.”

“Yes!”

The small boat seemed to flee across the water, desperately rowing away, appearing rather pitiful next to the towering vessels surrounding it.

“Where are they heading?” asked the Vice Commander at his side.

Xiao Jue watched the direction of He Yan’s small boat. If he remembered correctly, there were several hidden reefs in that section of the calm Grand Canal. While small boats could easily avoid them, for large ships…

Xiao Jue said: “Follow them. Disperse the Wutuo forces.”

“Commander?”

“The wind has risen,” he said coldly, lowering his eyes.

The breeze remained gentle, like lovers’ playful caresses, swirling around everyone. Mu Yi rowed desperately, only asking He Yan: “Miss He, can we light the fires now?”

“Not yet,” He Yan replied. “The wind isn’t strong enough.”

Without stronger winds, even if they lit the fires, they couldn’t immediately engulf thousands of Wutuo warships in flames. The enemy had various methods to quickly extinguish fires, so timing was crucial.

“Then what do we do now? They’re catching up!” Mu Yi worried.

He Yan looked back once and said: “I’ll hold them off.”

“You?” Mu Yi was concerned. “Can you manage alone? Let me come with you.”

“No need,” He Yan patted his shoulder. “Take this boat and stay in position with the others. When the Wutuo ships see our vessels, they’ll likely come to engage. You must protect the boats,” she paused before adding, “and protect yourselves.”

Before Mu Yi could finish saying “But…” He Yan had already sprung from the boat’s bow, flying toward Ma Ka’s large vessel.

“Why did Miss He go alone!” the Vice Commander exclaimed in surprise.

Xiao Jue said: “Begin the attack.”

With a loud crash, the small boat collided with the large ship, causing it to tilt slightly. Ma Ka’s face turned ashen with rage. “Why won’t you disappear?” He sneered, “Thinking you can stop an army with just a few thousand men? Since you’re so eager to die, this general will grant your wish!”

He swung his blade and shouted to those behind him: “Warriors, attack!”

The two forces clashed together. Though outnumbered, the Jiyang City troops showed no fear. Their leaders, He Yan, and Xiao Jue, mixed among Ma Ka’s surrounding forces. He Yan’s whip, fitted with iron claws, proved as effective against people as it had been against ships. With one sweep, she sent a man flying.

However, the whip wasn’t like a sword or blade – once it pierced someone, it took time to withdraw. As more Wutuo soldiers surged forward, with enemies pressing close behind, she had barely kicked away one attacker when another attack came from behind. He Yan dodged sideways, and a gleaming long sword appeared before her.

Xiao Jue stood back-to-back with her, his sword dripping blood. Withdrawing Yinqiu from a Wutuo soldier’s chest, he softly reminded her: “Be careful.”

“Commander,” He Yan said, “let’s fight together!”

Standing back-to-back, one with a sword and one with a whip, they entrusted their backs to each other. Though they had never fought together before, they developed a remarkable chemistry in this life-or-death moment. Like kindred spirits sharing the same mind, their movements required no verbal communication, naturally complementing each other.

For a time, the Wutuo soldiers couldn’t get near them.

The Vice General parried a Wutuo soldier’s attack and turned to witness this scene, pondering: “What is Miss He’s background? Her martial skills are extraordinary.”

She wasn’t relying on Xiao Jue’s protection or intervention – she fought alongside him as an equal, not only avoiding being a burden but matching his movements perfectly.

“General, this woman is formidable!” an advisor told Ma Ka.

While Xiao Huaixin’s prowess was expected of the Great Wei’s Right Army Commander and General Feng Yun, this woman’s name was unknown, and she appeared quite young. How could she be so skilled? Could it be that Great Wei’s military was filled with talents like Xiao Huaixin?

Ma Ka began to regret volunteering to attack Jiyang. Seeing Jiyang’s limited forces and Mu Hongjin, a woman, in command, he had thought taking the city would be simple and had claimed this achievement for himself. Who would have thought he’d encounter Xiao Jue and this troublesome woman? Together, their skills were exceptional. Even the Jiyang City troops defied expectations – just days ago, spies had reported that they hadn’t seen combat in years, their formations were outdated, and they were no match for Wutuo forces. Yet in actual battle, their morale was high, their spirit undiminished, and their tactics different from before.

Though the Jiyang forces had been reduced by half, for Wutuo’s army of 150,000 to fail to take the city immediately and instead suffer losses was an unspeakable humiliation!

“Reinforce them! Charge!” Ma Ka watched the pair surrounded by Wutuo soldiers through gritted teeth. “I refuse to believe they can defeat my 150,000 men!”

The ship’s mast stood rigid, but the banners began to move – not with the earlier slight tremor, but with visible motion, like birds spreading their wings.

“The wind has risen!” He Yan’s voice couldn’t hide her excitement. “Commander, the wind has truly risen!”

No longer a gentle breeze, it had become a clear wind, perhaps soon to strengthen into a gale or storm.

Moreover…

“It’s a southeastern wind!” He Yan’s eyes curved with joy. “It’s a southeastern wind, Commander.”

Xiao Jue glanced at her and said: “Now we can lure them into our trap.”

He Yan met his gaze, a smile flashing between them, and leaped up saying: “Let’s go!”

The two broke through the encirclement, appearing exhausted as they jumped onto a small Jiyang boat. The Jiyang soldiers aboard rowed desperately, as if trying to carry them to safety.

“Trying to escape?” Ma Ka sneered, waving his hand. “After them! Today we must take both their heads!”

At this point, with Jiyang’s forces dwindling, Xiao Huaixin and that woman were outnumbered. Though a flicker of doubt crossed Ma Ka’s mind – was Xiao Huaixin the type to abandon his troops and flee? – this suspicion was quickly overwhelmed by the joy of imminent victory. No matter how brave and invincible they were, with so few men, they stood no chance. The Great Wei people had a saying, “As long as the green mountains remain, there will always be firewood to burn.” Perhaps these two, seeing the situation turn against them, planned to escape and bide their time for a future comeback. But Ma Ka was determined to hunt them down today.

His advisor hesitated: “General, we shouldn’t pursue a desperate enemy. We should eliminate the remaining Jiyang forces here and take the city – that’s the proper course.”

“What do you know!” Ma Ka sneered. “The Jiyang forces are already scattered. If we capture Xiao Huaixin…” Greed flashed in his eyes. “Our Khan will reward me generously. This will be a historic victory!”

Everyone in Wutuo knew he had come to take the city, and now he would not only capture Jiyang but also kill the feared Xiao Huaixin. This would be worth boasting about for a lifetime! Moreover, he had suffered no small humiliation from that woman who had impersonated Mu Hongjin. Being vindictive by nature, Ma Ka couldn’t let this go.

All he wanted now was to hunt them down completely.

“After them!”

The small boat sped ahead, while countless hidden reefs lay beneath the vast Grand Canal’s surface. Regular merchant vessels knew to avoid these areas from experience, but these Wutuo forces might not know.

Nor did they know what weapons lay hidden in the inconspicuous small boats scattered around them.

“General, have you noticed those small boats?” the advisor asked Ma Ka.

Dozens of small boats had appeared on the water around them. They appeared to be Jiyang military vessels, though their crews seemed smaller than the earlier Jiyang forces. They were positioned at various points around the Wutuo fleet, maintaining an ambiguous distance, as if harboring ill intent.

As the sense of foreboding grew stronger, the advisor spoke up: “General, could this be an ambush? Should we…”

“What ambush! If you’re scared, go crawl back home – Wutuo armies have no place for cowards!” Ma Ka kicked the man beside him. “Just a few boats and you call it an ambush? Are you trying to make people laugh? With our fleet and numbers, this isn’t an ambush – it’s suicide! Watch carefully, everyone is ready. When they get closer, release the arrows!”

The advisor reconsidered and found Ma Ka’s words reasonable. These Jiyang boats were like moths to a flame – even approaching from all directions, they stood no chance of victory.

He Yan had already given the signal, and the remaining boats led by Mu Yi earlier were all converging on their position. He Yan looked back at the pursuing Wutuo warships, which were drawing ever closer.

At the same time, the wind grew stronger.

It made the banners on the ships snap and flutter, making her heart ripple with irrepressible joy.

“Should we light it?” He Yan asked Xiao Jue.

Xiao Jue’s lips curved slightly, “Light it.”

The two ordered the surrounding Jiyang soldiers to stop rowing. “Quick, into the water!”

“Splash, splash, splash—”

The sounds of people diving into the water came one after another, bewildering the Wutuo soldiers on their ships. “Why are they all jumping into the water?”

“Ready the iron hooks! We can still fight them even if they’re in the water,” Ma Ka said darkly, assuming they had exhausted all options and reached their end.

He Yan smiled slightly, stepping onto the boat’s bow and taking out a flint from her robes.

“Ts—”

A faint sound sparked from her hand, too subtle to draw attention. The girl’s eyes sparkled with a mischievous smile, “Here’s a grand gift for you, catch it well!”

A spark flew through the air like a shooting star, landing on the ship. Simultaneously, the sounds of Jiyang soldiers diving into the water echoed from all directions.

The spark landed on the upturned curtains and the oil-soaked kindling. With a tremendous “BOOM,” the small boat erupted in a massive fireball that seemed to illuminate the entire sky.

The Wutuo warships were quickly engulfed in flames as the wind grew stronger, blowing the fire diagonally toward their fleet.

…

The commotion on the Grand Canal seemed to reach Jiyang City.

Lin Shuanghe walked out of the Cui mansion’s back courtyard, looking into the distance, and muttered, “What was that sound?”

Zhong Fu beside him also listened intently but couldn’t answer. After a moment, Zhong Fu looked at Lin Shuanghe and asked, “Young Master Lin, are you staying here?”

He now knew Lin Shuanghe’s true identity. The notion of an “elegant Manager Lin” was indeed nonexistent in this world—at least in all his years, he had never seen one. This young man appeared refined and proper, reportedly a doctor, unlike Xiao Jue and He Yan, without any martial skills. Why stay here instead of evacuating with the civilians?

“There are so many sisters in this mansion,” Lin Shuanghe smiled. “If I leave, who will protect them?”

Zhong Fu was momentarily speechless—he spoke as if he were truly capable.

“Commander Cui’s wives are all still in the mansion. If these ladies dare to stay, how could I flee alone? I am a man after all,” Lin Shuanghe waved his fan, his smile as carefree as ever. “A man should protect the ladies.”

The second Concubine watched Lin Shuanghe talking with Zhong Fu through the window, resting her chin on her hand: “This Young Master Lin looks so delicate, but he’s quite manly when it counts. If I were ten years younger…”

“Then what?” Wei Concubine glared at her. “How can you think about such things at a time like this!”

“I was just saying, sister, why are you so agitated?” The second Concubine stretched lazily. “We don’t even know if we’ll survive today, can’t I dream a little?”

“Pah, pah, pah,” the Fourth Concubine said. “Second Sister, don’t jinx us. The Master will surely defeat those Wutuo people. We’ll not only survive today but tomorrow too, and live for many, many more days! Didn’t Master say that Qiao Huanqing is Great Wei’s General Feng Yun? With General Feng Yun here, we’ll win this battle. Don’t worry!” She spoke quickly and anxiously, seeming confident, though it wasn’t clear if she was comforting others or convincing herself.

Third Concubine was prone to crying, tears having welled in her eyes for a long time. Hearing this, she finally broke down, sobbing: “What difference does General Feng Yun make? Our city hasn’t fought a battle in so many years, we have fewer soldiers than civilians, and he’s not a deity. I’m still so young, I don’t want to die, I… Master hasn’t even favored me for long, I’m so scared…”

“Stop crying!” Wei Concubine snapped sternly. Seeing Third Concubine flinch but still unable to hold back her tears, she finally sighed and handed her a handkerchief, her voice softening, “What’s there to fear? Though we’re concubines, we’re still members of the Commander’s household. We can’t be crying and hindering while the Master risks his life at the front.”

“Even as concubines, as women, we are still Commander Cui’s women. We must have dignity and not fear death. If we win this battle and Master returns alive, we’ll celebrate and prepare feasts to comfort him. If we lose… if Master doesn’t return, we won’t live under Wutuo rule. We all have ropes ready—everyone dies eventually, it’s just a matter of sooner or later.”

“At least we sisters are together. Even if there’s truly no way out, we’ll have each other’s company on the path to the underworld. What’s there to fear?” she said.

Second Concubine burst out laughing, tears glinting in her eyes as she held the Third Concubine’s hand, saying, “That’s right, we sisters are together, there’s nothing to fear.”

Third Concubine sniffled as she wiped her tears, refusing to speak. The Fourth Concubine looked out the window and murmured, “The wind is rising.”

…

“The wind is rising,” Mu Hongjin looked at the trees outside.

At first, it was just a light breeze, but it quickly grew stronger, making the willow branches sway wildly as if they might be uprooted at any moment. The pond’s surface rippled with small waves.

The prince’s mansion was empty inside and out, except for a few elderly servants who had stayed by her side. Those who could leave, she had sent away with the evacuating civilians. Better to save as many as possible than have them needlessly die here.

“What was that sound just now?” she asked her maid.

The maid shook her head.

“Of course,” Mu Hongjin sighed, “how would you know.”

That tremendous boom had been startling, heard throughout the city. It seemed to come from the direction of the Grand Canal. Servants sent to gather information had returned twice, reporting that Xiao Jue’s Jiyang forces were battling the Wutuo army on the water. The Wutuo forces hadn’t yet landed to enter the city, but… the Jiyang forces had lost half their numbers.

Uneven forces, and insufficient strength—this battle truly put Xiao Huaixin in a difficult position. Mu Hongjin thought to herself, hating her powerlessness. If she knew how to command troops and lead charges, she wouldn’t have to sit helplessly in this empty mansion, futilely waiting for an outcome.

If the city fell, she would die with it; if it stood, she would continue living—this seemed to be all she could do now.

The wind blew in through the window, knocking her mirror off the soft chair with a bang. Mu Hongjin started, going to pick it up.

It had already been dropped once before, leaving a slight crack. This fall was harder than the last, covering the entire surface with cracks. As soon as she touched it, the mirror shattered. The broken pieces fell onto the soft carpet like jewels scattered across the sky, or like memories scattered in the depths of her heart.

Her heart suddenly ached. She bent down, and for some reason, tears began to fall.

…

Deep in the dense forest, a white-robed swordsman was surrounded by hundreds of Wutuo soldiers.

Blood dripped steadily from his long sword, and his white robes were largely stained red—it was impossible to tell whether with his blood or others’.

“Attack!” The Wutuo soldiers came in waves, but this man’s swordsmanship was exceptional. He could fight ten or a hundred alone and still hadn’t fallen.

But he had sustained many wounds.

His arm had been cut by a Wutuo blade, leaving a long scar, and his leg was bleeding too. Yet his movements remained graceful, like the clouds on Mount Qiyun, impossible to grasp. He seemed like an immortal descended from the heavens to undergo trials, forever calm and smiling.

He made the surrounding carnage seem almost ethereal, like the heroic youths from old stories—swordsmen of the jianghu, with sword and zither, beneath vast skies.

But even heroes have their limits.

Liu Buwang’s vision was beginning to blur and grow hazy. Setting up the formation earlier had already depleted much of his energy, aggravating an old ailment. Now he was at his last strength.

But every moment he could hold on meant another moment of peace for Jiyang City.

The wind was rising gradually, and his smile grew brighter and more radiant, like years ago when he would pretend indifference to a young girl in red teasing him with silver bells, secretly smiling to himself when he turned away.

A blade struck at his face. Liu Buwang leaped to avoid it, and in the movement, something flew from his robes. He instinctively reached out to catch it, clutching it in his palm.

It was a silver bracelet, engraved with small wild daisies around its edge. The years had smoothed its rough edges until they were silky, and it still held human warmth, slightly hot to the touch.

Someone had once told him: “This is called the Heart’s Delight Bracelet. Give one to your beloved to wear, and you’ll never be separated for life.”

Seventeen-year-old Mu Hongjin had begged him: “Sir Liu, give me one!” But he had coldly replied: “She’s not my beloved.”

Yet when returning to the mountain with Yu Shu, meeting the old woman again at the foot of Mount Qiyun, he had inexplicably bought that bracelet.

Liu Buwang hadn’t understood why he did it then. He tried to convince himself it was because he worried Mu Hongjin would be bored waiting alone at the inn, and when they returned, she would surely act affected—the bracelet would be a gift to silence her. Unfortunately, in the many years that followed, he never had the chance to give it to her.

Perhaps there had been a moment, perhaps there had been many moments, when he had truly wanted to spend his life with that beautiful, radiant girl, together forever.

“Squelch—”

A long blade stabbed him from behind, its tip emerging through his chest as if trying to split open his heart so he could see clearly for himself who truly held his heart.

The Wutuo soldier behind him laughed loudly, saying: “This head is mine! No one can compete with me for this military achievement!”

Raucous laughter erupted all around.

Liu Buwang fell.

As he fell, he still clutched the Heart’s Delight Bracelet tightly.

The wind, like a maiden’s hand, gently caressed his brow as he lay back, no longer having the strength to stand.

In his haze, he seemed to return to many years ago, when he first left the mountain.

That year, the young man had ridden forth with his sword, full of grand aspirations. His senior brother had teased him, saying women in the mortal world were tigers, warning him not to let the mundane world cloud his eyes. He had pouted dismissively, then turned to see a girl in red with long braids sitting beneath a tree, peach blossoms falling like rain.