Wild geese flew diagonally across the vast sky as osmanthus trees spread their fragrance. The scorching heat of summer had finally faded, leaving behind the cool frost and dew of late autumn.

Early in the morning, He Yan got up, and Xiao Mai handed her a pear: “I picked it from the grove beside the training ground. It’s already washed, try it.”

He Yan, who had just finished washing up, took it and took a bite. The sourness nearly made her teeth fall out. Seeing her squinting from the tartness, Xiao Mai scratched his head embarrassedly: “The wild ones aren’t very ripe yet. They should be sweeter in a while. But since it’s autumn now, there are many wild fruits in the mountains. We can secretly pick some after daily training. These sour pears are delicious when preserved in rock sugar!”

This child was always thinking about food. He Yan said, “But we don’t have any sugar here.”

Xiao Mai paused for a moment, as if just realizing this, and said disappointedly, “That’s true.”

“Not necessarily,” Hong Shan, who had been watching them talk from the side, interjected: “Aren’t they announcing merits today? A He, you, and Shi Tou won first place in the flag competition last time. There might be sugar in your rewards today. Maybe even better things than rock sugar pears!”

At this mention, Xiao Mai suddenly became excited and said, “That’s right, Brother A He, they’re announcing merits tonight. Have you thought about what you want?”

“It’s not like I can get whatever I want,” He Yan smiled and said, “This garrison isn’t the capital city; resources are scarce.”

“Ha, he just wants to join the Vanguard Corps,” Hong Shan said while munching on a pear, “That request will be granted.”

He Yan smiled. Although she had appeared calm these past few days, she was indeed somewhat excited. Once she entered the Nine Banners Corps, it meant she would be one step closer to Xiao Jue, and she could also more openly handle the He family matters. It seemed this wish would be fulfilled tonight. So far, her military journey has been quite smooth.

After all, the Flying Swan General should be sought after wherever she went, He Yan thought with slight pride.

During the day, everything continued as usual, with training at the parade ground. But in the evening, everyone gathered at the open space near the foot of the mountain outside the parade ground to appreciate the moon. Liangzhou was different from the capital – unlike the wealthy families who would either hold feasts in their courtyards or wine houses and pleasure boats, inviting colleagues and friends with elaborate dishes. Moon appreciation in Liangzhou simply meant lighting bonfires, with recruits sitting around in groups, enjoying some rare good food, perhaps some yellow wine. Companions would boast and chat casually, drinking and eating meat while looking at the moon, and that would be it.

After leaving the training ground in the afternoon, He Yan returned to her room and secretly changed into clean clothes. The recruits in Liangzhou Garrison had fitted clothes for all four seasons, with spring and autumn attire being interchangeable. They had two sets each, one red and one black, simple in style and durable. He Yan changed into the red one and went to find Cheng Li Su first.

Cheng Li Su had visited the training ground in the morning and asked He Yan to find him in his room in the evening. He Yan guessed Cheng Li Su wanted to give her something to eat, and sure enough, when she met him, the young boy handed her a redwood basket.

The basket was exquisitely made, carved with the image of Chang’e flying to the moon. Opening it revealed neatly arranged mooncakes, fragrant and beautiful, seeming quite delicious.

“Brother He, this is for you,” Cheng Li Su said softly, “The mooncakes distributed by the Liangzhou Garrison are too crude, so I’m giving you those that others gave me.”

He Yan said, “Thank you.” She wasn’t particularly interested in pastries, but if she gave this basket of mooncakes to Xiao Mai, the child would probably jump with joy.

“You’ve never had these before, right?” A flash of sympathy mixed with pride crossed Cheng Li Su’s eyes, “These aren’t even the best ones. The pastries from Zuiyu Tower in Shuojing City are truly unparalleled. When we return to the capital together, I’ll treat you to a meal at Zuiyu Tower. Let me tell you a secret,” Cheng Li Su said like he was showing off a treasure, “My uncle also likes the food at Zuiyu Tower.”

He Yan thought that Cheng Li Su, like He Yun Sheng, had an unconditional and mindless admiration and fondness for Xiao Jue. It seemed that anything approved by Xiao Jue couldn’t be bad.

But well, to be honest, Xiao Jue was indeed quite good.

After thanking Cheng Li Su for the autumn gift, the sky gradually darkened, and He Yan carried the basket of pastries out. By now, bonfires had been lit in the wild ground at the foot of the mountain. The bonfires were bright, and many recruits had already arrived, sitting on the ground near the fires. It was said that each recruit would receive meat buns and tangerines. Wooden branches were set up near the bonfires with rabbits and fish skewered on them, clearly hunted from White Moon Mountain.

It seemed there would be meat to eat today.

He Yan was in an excellent mood, swinging the basket back and forth. The aroma of roasting game meat lingered nearby, making one’s stomach growl with hunger. She also saw large wine jars beside each bonfire. The wine probably wasn’t good quality, with a pungent smell, but at times like these, only strong alcohol going down the throat felt right.

She arrived relatively late and went to look for Xiao Mai and the others first. As she passed by other recruits, they all looked at her with strange expressions.

They were probably wondering what good things she would receive today.

He Yan walked forward happily. When she reached a spot near the mountain foot, she saw Xiao Mai and the others. They were gathered around a bonfire, and He Yan waved to him from afar, calling out, “Xiao Mai!”

The youth heard her voice and turned to look, but unlike usual, he didn’t respond enthusiastically, seeming somewhat hesitant. As He Yan got closer, she saw that besides Hong Shan and Shi Tou, Jiang Jiao, Wang Ba, and Huang Xiong were also there. The three were gathered together. He Yan put down her basket of pastries, sat cross-legged, opened the basket cover, and said with a smile, “Look what good things I brought you? No need to thank me too much.”

She picked up an exquisite mooncake and handed it to Xiao Mai. This child was always greedy for food, so she said, “Here!”

Xiao Mai hesitated for a moment, slowly reaching out to take it, mumbling something but not saying it. He Yan said to the others, “Take one if you want to eat.”

No one responded to her words.

He Yan raised her head to see everyone staring at her intently, their gazes somewhat strange. Even the usually casual Hong Shan was unusually silent. He Yan asked puzzledly, “What’s wrong? Why do you all look like you’ve seen a ghost? Did something happen?”

Hong Shan turned his head away, and a flash of sympathy appeared in Jiang Jiao’s eyes. He said, “He Yan, don’t be too upset.”

“What would I be upset about?” He Yan was completely confused.

The atmosphere was suffocatingly silent again. He Yan looked at Huang Xiong, who averted his gaze, fingering the Buddhist beads on his chest, appearing completely detached from worldly matters. Wang Ba couldn’t hold back anymore and said, “…Well, even if you didn’t get into the Vanguard Corps, don’t be too heartbroken. What happens depends on one’s efforts.”

He Yan breathed a sigh of relief and said, “I thought something had happened. How could I not get into the Vanguard Corps? I…” Her words suddenly stopped. Looking at everyone again, their faces showed reluctance to hurt her feelings. She moved her lips and heard her voice, as if floating in the air, “Really didn’t get in?”

“When you weren’t here, Head Instructor Shen went over there. Lei Hou got into the Vanguard Corps, but… didn’t mention you,” Xiao Mai said, carefully choosing his words.

“Was I forgotten?” He Yan still held onto a glimmer of hope, “Maybe it’s because I wasn’t here just now.”

“I asked the Head Instructor for you,” Shi Tou said softly, “None of us from the flag competition got into the Vanguard Corps. Among others, besides others, that Lei Hou got in by luck.”

He Yan fell silent.

Everyone watched her nervously. How much He Yan wanted to join the Vanguard Corps was something everyone had witnessed. When she first came to Liangzhou, she could barely manage the weighted runs, but for the sake of joining the Vanguard Corps, she had endured it all. With her outstanding skills, and even winning first place in the flag competition, not only could she not understand it, but even those watching found it incomprehensible.

“It’s alright, don’t be angry,” Hong Shan comforted her, “It’s just the Vanguard Corps, right? We don’t care about it. We can go to other corps – the Infantry Corps, the Cavalry Corps? With ability, someone will recognize your worth. A He, you’re like a fine steed; you need a good judge of horses. If they don’t want you, it’s because they lack vision!”

“That’s right.” Jiang Jiao also felt sorry for her. Having He Yan as an opponent was far more convincing than having Lei Hou as one. “Someone as capable as you will eventually be recognized, like gold tested in fire.”

Everyone tried to comfort her in various ways, but seeing the usually cheerful youth hanging his head without a word, his whole body showing dejection and disappointment, they gradually fell quiet.

Hong Shan nudged Xiao Mai’s arm, gesturing for him to say something. As Xiao Mai was wracking his brain trying to think of what to say, He Yan suddenly stood up and wordlessly walked away.

“Hey hey hey, where are you going?” Huang Xiong grabbed her.

The youth said bitterly, “I’m going to ask Xiao Jue for clarity – why choose Lei Hou over me? What exactly makes me inferior to Lei Hou? How can the Vanguard Corps not have my name!”

Hong Shan was startled, not expecting He Yan to be so angry as to directly use the Governor’s name. He quickly blocked He Yan’s movement: “You can’t be so impulsive! Going to find Governor Xiao now will only make him displeased, and you’ll have even less chance of joining the Vanguard Corps in the future.”

“That’s right, that’s right,” Xiao Mai awkwardly persuaded, “Brother A He, maybe Governor Xiao is deliberately keeping you back, wanting you to do something else, like joining another corps. Someone as capable as you, there’s no reason not to choose you!”

“I am already capable,” He Yan’s face turned pale with anger, “Let Xiao Jue stand before me, we’ll fight, and I’m not sure he could even beat me!”

Jiang Jiao hurriedly covered He Yan’s mouth – for such words to be spoken showed how truly angry she was.

Everyone feared she would confront Xiao Jue in her anger, so they all worked together to pull her back to sit down. Huang Xiong said, “Young people shouldn’t be so impatient. While the green hills last, there’ll never be a shortage of firewood. He’s now the Governor, and you’re a recruit – how can you speak as equals? Wait until you become an official and general yourself, then face him!”

“That would take eight or ten years,” Wang Ba muttered, “And it’s not certain to happen.”

Jiang Jiao also said, “This Governor Xiao is something – we were first place, and Lei Hou was defeated by He Yan, how could he choose Lei Hou over He Yan?”

“I heard,” Wang Ba thought for a moment, “that Lei Hou seems to have some connection with one of the instructors here, possibly a relative. Maybe it’s through the back door. I see these nobles with power and influence don’t care about common people.”

Xiao Mai couldn’t help speaking up: “Governor Xiao isn’t that kind of person! There must be some misunderstanding!”

Wang Ba glared at him: “Whose side are you on?”

Xiao Mai fell silent meekly.

“Everyone,” He Yan said, suppressing her anger, “My head hurts badly, could you let me be quiet for a while?”

Everyone immediately fell silent.

The bonfire danced before them, its flames turning the night red. He Yan couldn’t understand why Xiao Jue would choose Lei Hou for the Vanguard Corps.

She admitted she had been blind for some time, but compared to Xiao Jue’s blindness, hers was nothing. Had she not performed well enough in Liangzhou Garrison? She had performed excellently – hadn’t she won enough flags in the competition? She hadn’t left a single one for others. She had even solved the formation that ordinary recruits couldn’t handle. How could Xiao Jue not be moved by such talent?

She wanted to take back her words about Xiao Jue being decent!

He Yan felt her liver aching with anger, but unexpectedly, this wasn’t even the last of it. After a while, Head Instructor Shen came over.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, he had people bring over a small box, and said to everyone, “You’re all here, good. For winning first place in the flag competition, and since it’s the Mid-Autumn Festival tonight, these are your rewards.”

Xiao Mai went to open the box, and inside there was a small jar of wine and several pieces of silver.

“This is Eighteen Immortals wine, just this small jar is worth a hundred taels,” Head Instructor Shen said with satisfaction, “You can drink it tonight, but don’t overindulge.”

“Eighteen Immortals wine,” Wang Ba smacked his lips, “Never thought I’d get to drink Eighteen Immortals here, my life is complete!”

He instantly forgot who had just been cursing the “nobles with power and influence.”

Huang Xiong also swallowed. Being heroes, they naturally loved wine, especially precious fine wine. Even Xiao Mai, who was young and didn’t like wine, grabbed a piece of silver and bit it.

The reward wasn’t particularly grand, but it certainly wasn’t small. Amidst the general joy, He Yan stood out particularly.

She merely glanced at the box, suddenly let out a mocking laugh, and said, “Looks like our Governor isn’t doing so well either.”

Shen Han froze.

“Dead poor.” The youth didn’t even look at him, using a tree branch to poke at the firewood in the fire, head lowered and talking to herself, the sarcasm evident in her voice.

Hong Shan quickly covered her mouth and smiled apologetically to Shen Han: “This brother is drunk, drunk… talking nonsense, Head Instructor please don’t take offense at a child’s words.”

Shen Han left, bewildered.

After Shen Han left, He Yan looked at the box on the ground and couldn’t help letting out a cold laugh: “This little thing, treating us like beggars.”

“Brother, this is not bad,” Huang Xiong said patiently, “You’re just taking out your anger on this.”

He Yan was bottling up her anger and didn’t want to talk.

Huang Xiong sat down beside her, put his arm around her shoulder, looked at the dancing flames in front of them, and said in a deep voice: “Young one, don’t be discouraged, it’s just a bump in the road. Look at me,” he pointed to himself, “You’ve only lost a chance to enter the Vanguard Corps, but back then, I lost everything.”

He didn’t touch the jar of Eighteen Immortals wine, instead pouring two big bowls of yellow wine from the jar beside them, one for He Yan and one for himself. He took a sip and said, “Such strong wine!”

Seeing He Yan not speaking, he pointed to the Buddhist beads on his neck and said, “These belonged to my mother.”

The Buddhist beads were dark, gleaming with a warm luster, very incongruous with his robust build, but Huang Xiong had never been seen without them. He then pointed to the sword at his side: “This sword has killed nineteen people.”

These words were chilling, and for a moment, even Wang Ba and the others looked at him. He Yan’s eyes flickered slightly, looking at him.

Seeing that she finally reacted, Huang Xiong said in a muffled voice: “I was about your age back then. Our family had a sword manual, passed down through generations. Someone learned of it and came to buy it, but my father wouldn’t sell.”

“I was out cooling off with friends at the time. When I returned, our entire family had been silenced, everything else in the house was intact, and only the sword manual was missing.”

Xiao Mai exclaimed: “This is…”

“Someone killed my entire Huang family for that sword manual.” When Huang Xiong spoke of this, his expression was very calm, whether due to the passage of time or something else. He continued, “I reported it to the officials, but the local officials couldn’t handle the matter, so I investigated myself, spent all our family wealth, and set out alone with my sword, tracking the criminals for a thousand li. It took three full years before I found where they were.”

“I feared I might fail in my revenge and lose my life. I wasn’t afraid of death, but I didn’t want to die in vain. I was the last of the Huang family – if I died, no one would be left to seek justice for them.”

“So I pretended to be a laborer and entered their household as a long-term worker. During the day, I observed the layout and their daily habits; at night, I practiced swordplay. After a year and a half, I found an opportunity one night and avenged my family.”

This story was shocking, yet he told it matter-of-factly. The danger involved was imaginable, but this bald man’s eyes showed only calmness. He looked at He Yan and said, “A gentleman’s revenge can wait ten years. If I had risked my life immediately to seek justice, it would have ended in mutual destruction. But look now – the enemy is dead, I’m still alive, able to sit here drinking and eating meat with you. Tell me, who won?”

He was using his own story to tell He Yan not to act on impulse.

He Yan smiled slightly, about to speak, when Jiang Jiao reached out, also poured himself a bowl of yellow wine, and drank a big gulp. He wasn’t as good at drinking as Huang Xiong – his face turned red from the burning sensation. He wiped the wine from his lips and blurted out: “That’s right, everyone has difficult times. What you’re going through is nothing. Look at me – a young master of a martial arts school, sounds good, right? I even had a fiancée, we were supposed to get married this year, but she died.”

Xiao Mai’s eyes widened, about to ask, but Stone poked him, and he quieted down.

“Do you know how she died?” Jiang Jiao’s eyes were somewhat red as he said in a muffled voice, “She died for love. She loved someone else, wouldn’t marry me, so she died with that scholar! Tell me, between you and me, aren’t I more miserable?”

No wonder Jiang Jiao, with his looks and skills, had come to join the army. Probably after this incident, feeling discouraged, he simply left his hometown – out of sight, out of mind.

Everyone looked at Wang Ba, who was puzzled, then angrily said in embarrassment: “Why are you all looking at me? I don’t have any stories! What’s wrong with you all? Why are you suddenly talking about this stuff? Are you here to compare who’s more miserable?”

Wang Ba: I’m a classmate without a story.