Inside Rundou City, cheers erupted everywhere. Below the city tower, soldiers were delighted at the sight of countless arrows scattered on the ground, too many to be carried away even by cart.

The Wuto people’s arrows were sharper and more durable than those of Great Wei. No one had expected such a windfall – gaining tens of thousands of arrows without any effort. Though borrowing arrows was secondary, what mattered most was how this victory cleared away the frustration of being helplessly cornered by the Wuto people for days. The Wuto people had tried to trap them, but now they had dealt them such a significant loss that left them speechless.

“They’re nothing but brainless brutes who only know how to use brute force!” Zhao Shiming stroked his beard and said with a smile. “They know nothing of strategic warfare.”

He looked at the youth walking ahead, hurried to catch up, and said, “This time, we owe our thanks to Young Lord He!”

Already addressing him as “Young Lord He”? He Yan smiled and said, “If not for everyone in the city working together these past days to make so many straw men, I alone couldn’t have achieved this.”

Zhao Shiming’s impression of this young person improved even further. He thought to himself that it was no wonder they had been appointed to office at such a young age – neither claiming credit nor showing arrogance, far better than Li Kuang’s dog-like temper. He asked, “So what should we do next?”

He Yan glanced at the little old man, then looked at the people around them. The soldiers were also staring at her intently. When she first arrived in Rundou, she had only felt a deadening atmosphere in the city, with everyone listlessly waiting for death behind the gates. But after just one night, their eyes now held something called ‘hope’.

Hope was always especially precious.

“I will discuss the next steps with Commander Li, but there is one thing I need your help with, Master Zhao,” He Yan said.

Zhao Shiming quickly smiled and agreed, “Of course, of course, Young Lord He, please speak freely.”

“This matter will require the effort of all the craftsmen in the city,” she lowered her eyes, “to make masks for me, as quickly as possible.”

In the main hall, Li Kuang turned around to look at the two people before him. Qiluo stood behind Li Kuang, glaring vigilantly at the beautiful woman in the room.

Ying Xiang handed over a token and scroll. Li Kuang took them, and after reading them, addressed Chu Zhao: “So it’s Fourth Young Master Chu.”

The name of Fourth Young Master Chu was far more renowned than that武安郎 who had come earlier. After all, with a famously romantic father and a teacher who held sway over the court, plus being blessed with gentle good looks, such a person would naturally draw attention in any crowd.

“Commander Li, my master was trapped in Rundou while returning to Shuojing. Given Rundou’s current situation… the Prime Minister has ordered, could Commander Li escort the young master out of the city?”

Hearing this, Qiluo quietly sighed in relief. This woman was so beautiful that if she stayed in Rundou, it would be concerning. What if Li Kuang took a fancy to her and took her as a concubine? Her position as the most favored concubine couldn’t be given up easily.

Li Kuang looked at Chu Zhao and said, “That’s not difficult.”

No matter how dissatisfied he felt, he couldn’t deny a favor to Xu Jingfu. Li Kuang couldn’t help but think of He Yan – how different people could be. He Yan had come from distant Liangzhou out of concern for Rundou, willing to share its fate, while Chu Zilan, already in Rundou, was thinking only of saving herself and leaving early.

However, he didn’t have the power to force people to stay. The tunnel that General Feiong had dug years ago to bring civilians in had now become a passage to send these helpless young lords and masters out.

Suppressing his resentment and frustration, Li Kuang put on a smile that could even be called somewhat ingratiating. “After Fourth Young Master Chu leaves the city when passing through Jinling or other cities, could you perhaps seek military aid for Rundou?” He anxiously rubbed his hands, “Right now, Rundou is in dire straits. If the Prime Minister would be willing to help…”

“Of course,” Chu Zhao smiled gently, “Once I and my servant safely leave the city, we will certainly try to seek aid for Rundou from all directions.”

“Thank you.” Li Kuang felt somewhat stifled – when had Great Wei’s survival come to depend on being manipulated by a powerful minister? The Wuto people had likely seen through the imperial court’s corruption and were taking advantage of the situation.

Just then, someone else entered, saying, “Commander Li, after today, I plan to…”

He Yan’s voice cut off abruptly as she saw Chu Zhao, and exclaimed in surprise: “Brother Chu?”

“Brother He?” Chu Zhao was also stunned. “What are you doing here?”

He Yan never expected to encounter Chu Zhao in Rundou, and simply said, “I… came as reinforcement.”

“What?” Li Kuang was also surprised. “You two know each other?”

“Fourth Young Master Chu stayed in Liangzhou Wei for some time before,” He Yan asked, “Brother Chu, you still haven’t told me why you’re here?”

“Ying Xiang and I were passing through Rundou on our way back to the capital when the Wuto people attacked the city, temporarily trapping us inside. I never expected to meet Brother He here,” Chu Zhao said, then smiled, “I suppose it’s fate.”

Who could have imagined that after she and Chu Zhao had left separately with such a long interval between them, they would meet in Rundou? This truly fulfilled Chu Zhao’s earlier words about “traveling together.” Although there were many questions, now was not the time to talk. He Yan said to Chu Zhao, “Brother Chu, I have matters to discuss with Commander Li right now. If you’re not in a hurry, could you wait until after I finish speaking with him?”

“It’s fine, I’m not in a hurry.” Chu Zhao made a “please proceed” gesture.

He Yan then said to Li Kuang, “Commander Li, shall we speak inside?”

Li Kuang went into the inner room with He Yan. Qiluo glanced at the two of them, bowed slightly, and left the room. Ying Xiang hesitantly spoke up, “Fourth Young Master…”

“We’re not leaving for now.”

“But the Prime Minister…”

“I have my plans.”

After a while, Ying Xiang finally said, “Fourth Young Master, are you staying because you’re worried about Young Lady He?”

Chu Zhao didn’t answer her question, his smile fading. “Ying Xiang, you’ve said too much.”

Ying Xiang fell silent.

Inside the room, Li Kuang turned to look at He Yan, “Still hanging straw men? The Wuto people won’t fall for the same trick twice.”

“Though the Wuto people are foolish, they are also cunning. After being taught a lesson once, they will only become more suspicious in the future. Hanging the straw men at night costs us nothing, so why shouldn’t Commander Li try? If they’re still willing to take the bait, collecting more arrows would be good.”

“What if they don’t take the bait?”

“That would be even better.”

Li Kuang shook his head: “Brother He, I don’t understand what you’re trying to do.”

He Yan looked at Li Kuang. She had once fought alongside Li Kuang on the battlefield. Li Kuang was a serious, rigid person who fought battles by the book. Though capable, he didn’t like using strategies. He Yan turned around to look at the map hanging on the wall and said, “Commander Li, if you were the Wuto people, knowing you were made a fool of last night, and then seeing the same trick today and tomorrow, what would you do?”

“I would be furious and never fall for it again!”

“You wouldn’t shoot at people coming down from the city tower anymore?”

“Of course not.”

“That’s perfect,” He Yan turned back and looked at him with a slight smile, “Then the third time, our people can leave the city directly. After all, they’ll think anyone coming down from the city tower is just another fake straw man.”

Li Kuang was stunned.

Everyone knew the story of the boy who cried wolf – after being fooled once or twice, even a fool wouldn’t believe it the third time. The Wuto people were the same – after wasting so many arrows, they wouldn’t shoot at straw men anymore even if there were more attempts. Little would they know that on the final attempt, those straw men would be quietly replaced with real Rundou soldiers, who would slip into their camps under the cover of night.

Li Kuang understood He Yan’s meaning, but he still had questions, “You mean to send people out of the city?”

“Commander Li, I’ve said before – defense is not as good as offense. If we continue defending like this, sooner or later the Wuto people will launch an all-out attack. Yesterday’s arrow trick has already angered them. Now when they’re least calm is our chance to find an opportunity. If we wait until they’ve recovered, when they attack again, Rundou’s small force won’t be able to stop them from breaking through the city gate.”

Li Kuang listened with trepidation and couldn’t help saying, “I know this, but even with a night raid, we still don’t have enough troops!”

“We’re not trying to eliminate all the Wuto troops – that’s impossible. What we need to do is burn their supplies and break their morale. Without supplies, the Wuto people will panic, and their army’s morale will be unstable. They will become more hesitant about attacking Rundou, buying us time,” He Yan said, “Commander Li, seek help from Jinling.”

“Jinling?”

He Yan looked at him: “Commander Li, stop placing hope in those who offer none. General Feiong won’t come – if he were going to come, he would have come already. If Rundou is to be defended, we must find another way to survive. Even if you trust He Rufei completely, the lives of tens of thousands of Rundou civilians should be worth more than your trust.”

The youth’s gaze was firm, their tone leaving no room for argument. For a moment, Li Kuang’s heart wavered. After a while, he looked at He Yan: “Easy to say, but even with a night raid, how can you guarantee we’ll be able to burn the Wuto people’s supplies? They have numerous troops guarding their supplies – we’d likely be discovered before we could even get close.”

“Five hundred men.”

“What?”

“I need five hundred elite soldiers,” the youth said, “Commander Li knows better than I what the vanguard means. With me leading a vanguard of five hundred men, we will burn their supplies. Even if we die on the battlefield, die by Wuto blades, it doesn’t matter – please have Commander Li continue defending the city, don’t waste everyone’s sacrifice.”

“Of course,” she said, “if we can bring back Huya Te’s head, that would be even better.”

After the straw man arrow trick that day, for three consecutive days, when dusk fell, dozens of ropes would slowly lower down from Rundou’s city tower, with “people” hanging from the ropes descending to the ground, soon replaced by another batch doing the same.

At first, the Wuto people would test by shooting dozens or hundreds of arrows, but eventually, tired of being fooled, they only lazily shot a few arrows before stopping.

All craftsmen in the city gathered to make masks through the night. Wang Ba hauled a cart full of boxes over, and together with others, moved all the boxes to the ground. He said to He Yan, “They’re all here.”

Under everyone’s gaze, He Yan stepped forward, bent down, and lifted the lid of one box, which was packed full of masks. Zhao Shiming picked one up to look at it and saw that the mask had a green face with fangs and eyes like brass bells, looking quite terrifying. He let out an “Ah!” and dropped it back into the box. He muttered, “How frightening.”

“Brother He, are we going to wear these masks to fight the Wuto people?” Xiaomai asked nervously, “These… these are all demon masks! They’re too scary.”

He Yan smiled, “Are they that scary? I don’t think so.”

Back in Jiyang, a single “Fox Lie” mask had been enough to make Ling Xiu and the others keep their distance. If they saw these current ones, they would probably be scared pale. When Zhao Shiming helped her gather all of Rundou’s craftsmen to make masks, He Yan had only one requirement – the more strange and terrifying they looked, the better, preferably like the demons from the eighteen levels of hell in Buddhist statues, fierce and ugly.

Looking at these herself, she thought they were truly ugly, but not particularly frightening. Perhaps because in her life, humans had been far more terrifying than ghosts, and she had seen truly horrifying and strange things far beyond these.

Among the masks in the box, the topmost one was notably different. This one didn’t have all those fancy patterns painted on it, instead appearing to be cast from iron, completely sealed except for openings for the eyes and chin. He Yan picked up this mask and gently placed it over her face.

Wang Ba complained, “Why does yours look so much better? Can’t we be treated equally? Why do we have to wear these masks that even dogs would find ugly?”

Li Kuang, standing to the side, drew in a sharp breath and exclaimed, “General Fei!”

Everyone turned to look at Li Kuang. Jiang Jiao smiled, “Commander Li, Brother He is only a Wuan Lang now, not yet promoted to general.”

Li Kuang realized his words had been misunderstood and explained, “I meant that mask – it’s General Feiong’s mask.”

When he had fought alongside He Rufei years ago, He Rufei had worn a very similar-looking mask. He had mischievously tried to remove it several times, but the mask seemed permanently attached to He Rufei’s face and couldn’t be taken off. Later, his beloved concubine Qiluo told him that He Rufei was very self-conscious about the scars on his face, so it would be better not to expose others’ shortcomings, and Li Kuang gave up on the idea.

Years later, He Rufei returned to the capital and reportedly removed his mask before the Emperor, revealing a handsome and striking face that had amazed everyone. When Li Kuang heard this news, he was furious, feeling that this person was sick and that all the talk of being “ugly and plain” had been lies. Perhaps it was just to create a dramatic effect, just to give people a contrast.

Except for seeing He Rufei once at court in the capital later, the two of them hadn’t met for several years. Now, in this youth before him, he saw shadows of He Rufei from those years. The same courage and generosity.

But he wasn’t He Rufei.

Li Kuang wondered to himself, perhaps He Rufei had a brother at home, this youth was still young but already showed the bearing of a great general. And they both had the surname He… Had He Yuansheng, like Chu Linfeng, also raised an illegitimate child somewhere?

He Yan didn’t know Li Kuang’s thoughts had wandered so far. Beside them, Jiang Jiao asked, “General Feiong’s mask? Commander Li means this mask is very similar to General Feiong’s?”

Too much time had passed, and he couldn’t clearly remember the details of the mask He Rufei had worn back then, but feeling it was about the same, he nodded, “Very similar.”

He Yan smiled slightly. Since He Rufei had replaced her as “Feiong,” she hadn’t expected there would come a day when she would wear this familiar mask again.

“Brother He, what exactly are you planning to do?” Huang Xiong asked puzzledly.

“Real and fake, true and false – Huya Te has never seen the real General Feiong. But he must have heard about the masked general’s fierce battles with the Xi Qiang people years ago. When I wear this mask and charge into the enemy camp, they won’t know who’s behind it. Their wariness will disrupt their morale, and that will be our opportunity to strike.”

“You…” Li Kuang suddenly understood.

“I’m going to impersonate General Feiong,” the youth said.

The night grew deeper, and a fine drizzle began to fall.

Cricket chirps echoed across the plains, and in their tents, the Wuto soldiers were resting.

The “borrowing arrows with straw men” trick that Li Kuang had pulled from Rundou City a few days ago had wasted ten thousand of their arrows, and they were still cleaning up these past few days. Ten thousand arrows was no small number, and their original plans had to be changed. In his fury, Huya Te had executed several archers.

Yet Li Kuang’s “straw men” continued to appear each night, lowering from the city walls. At first, the Wuto soldiers remained vigilant and shot volleys of arrows, but later they refused to be fooled, even feeling that Li Kuang’s actions were mocking and insulting them. Huya Te raged, “When we break through the city, I will bury all of Rundou’s forces alive! I will dismember that bastard Li Kuang in front of the entire city!”

After all, being thoroughly fooled was an extremely humiliating thing. He had been mocking Maka earlier, not expecting it would be his turn so soon.

“General, what should we do if Li Kuang lowers those straw men again tonight?” a subordinate asked.

“What to do?” Huya Te asked with a dark expression, “Do you want me to be made a fool again? Idiot!”

The subordinate could only respond meekly.

On the city wall, He Yan, dressed in black, was tying ropes to herself. Behind her were the five hundred elite soldiers Li Kuang had selected from Rundou’s forces, each one skilled in combat.

Xiaomai and Hong Shan weren’t originally part of Liangzhou Wei’s vanguard and were only average fighters. Looking at their preparing comrades, Xiaomai worriedly said, “Brother He, will the Wuto people not shoot arrows at us? If they do shoot, won’t it be too late for everyone to turn back?”

He Yan stood on tiptoe and patted his head. Although Xiaomai had grown taller than her, in many ways he was still like a child, often reminding her of He Yunsheng. She patiently explained, “All things in the world are born from something, and something is born from nothing. On the first day, we borrowed arrows with straw men, creating this illusion, and deliberately let the Wuto people see through it. They believe they’ve figured out our strategy and have lowered their guard. After this, we turn nothing into something, false into true, empty into real. When we raid them at night, Huya Te will surely think it’s fake and won’t prepare defenses. We’ll take advantage of this opportunity when they least expect it.”

“But how can you be sure?” Xiaomai persisted.

He Yan replied, “Nothing in this world is certain. I can only try my best to guess Huya Te’s thoughts.”

This was both a battle of wits and a huge gamble.

He Yan turned to look at everyone behind her. These carefully selected Rundou soldiers, though thin and haggard from the long attrition with the Wuto people, had a fire burning in their eyes. Having been pushed to their doorstep, they finally had a chance to strike back. Even if it cost them their lives, the men of Great Wei would not hesitate.

“When we go down, the Wuto people might not shoot arrows, but they might. Brothers who get hit by arrows must not make a sound or move,” He Yan paused before continuing, “Only if we truly act like ‘straw men’ will the Wuto people believe we are ‘straw men.'”

Li Kuang’s expression was grave; he naturally understood what He Yan meant. War meant sacrifice, especially for these five hundred elite soldiers tonight. If they made sounds or moved after being hit by arrows, the Wuto people might discover the truth, and all their efforts would be wasted.

But enduring the pain of arrow wounds was incredibly difficult, too difficult.

“Perhaps an arrow will wound us, perhaps kill us,” He Yan looked at each person, her voice calm, “But we must remember our purpose. Even if we die, we die defending Rundou. The Wuto arrows have no specific target, they could strike anyone, including me. I need you to understand the possible consequences. If anyone can’t accept this, you can step forward and leave now. But if one person causes the entire night raid to fail, I will not be lenient!”

The youth’s expression was stern, eyes flashing cold light. Usually seeming gentle and approachable, when turned cold, no one dared to object. Not a single person stepped forward.

Li Kuang was surprised to realize that he had unconsciously handed over Rundou’s command to this youth. Though still young, and even though he hadn’t known this Wuan Lang He Yan before, somehow he had the ability to convince people, just like General Feiong when he was still a vice general that year.

“Is everyone ready?”

“Ready!”

“Good.” He Yan’s lips curved slightly as she placed the mask over her face.

The mask covered the youth’s face, and with it, even that touch of youthful innocence disappeared, leaving only a pair of beautiful eyes, sharp as blades, concealing all their cutting edge.

She walked up to Li Kuang and, before he could react, took the sword from his hand.

“Commander Li, let me borrow your sword.”

“Hey…” Li Kuang was slightly annoyed. This person acted too naturally.

Li Kuang’s sword was a good one – though not comparable to Qinglang, it was still sharper and lighter than ordinary swords. He Yan tested the weight of the sword in her hand, and for a moment, seemed to return to past battlefields, when she was still that general leading the Fuyu army in charge, her blood still hot.

“General Feiong can’t be without a sword.” She turned her head, her voice cold, “Men, put on your masks and follow me!”