“Stop!” A cold voice came from the entrance of the tent.
You Xiaowei did not rise but turned his head to glance back, leisurely saying, “Brother, can’t you see your elder brother is having some fun?”
Jiang Ci noticed a Longfeng Guard standing at the tent entrance and recognized him as Xu Yan, who had been with Pei Yan for many years. Seeing him was like seeing a savior, and she quickly scrambled to her feet, but You Xiaowei extended his right fist to block her.
Xu Yan said coldly, “Let her go!”
You Xiaowei slowly turned around, “Who do you think you are to ruin my fun?!”
Xu Yan took a token from his waist. “Longfeng Guard Xu Yan.”
You Xiaowei looked at the token and burst into laughter. “Brothers, what do you think? Isn’t it funny? A mere Longfeng Guard dares to meddle in our Hexi Army’s affairs!”
The wounded soldiers of the Hexi Army laughed in unison, mocking the Longfeng Guard. Xu Yan endured the humiliation and said, “You are violating military regulations. Although my rank is not as high as yours, I still have the authority to intervene.”
“What if I refuse to let you intervene?” You Xiaowei laughed even more proudly, his right hand reaching toward Jiang Ci’s cheek.
Xu Yan shouted angrily, launching a flurry of punches. You Xiaowei’s smile faded, and his expression turned serious as he swiftly countered Xu Yan’s attacks.
After more than ten exchanges, Xu Yan felt a surge of alarm. From the techniques being used, it was clear that You Xiaowei was a master from the Ziji Sect. The Ziji Sect had always acted on the orders of the Duke of Zhuang, and many of their disciples had joined the high-ranking Hexi Army. Although You Xiaowei had an injury on his left arm, Xu Yan realized he was not his match.
Thinking quickly, Xu Yan surmised that You Xiaowei’s skills and military rank were not simply for show; he must have ulterior motives for harassing a mere medicine boy. It was likely they wanted to create trouble, taking advantage of General Ning’s “serious injury” to find an excuse to leave Niubi Mountain and avoid being caught up in the war, thus escaping military discipline.
As Xu Yan calculated, he continued to fight, stealing a glance at Jiang Ci. She understood the signal and quickly leaped toward the tent’s exit.
However, the Hexi soldiers were already on guard. Several agile figures blocked her path, and one of them grinned wickedly, saying, “Little girl, trying to leave? Not so easy! Let the boss have his fun first before you go!”
You Xiaowei suddenly changed his tactics, and the sound of fists whooshed through the tent. Xu Yan was forced into a corner, and You Xiaowei laughed, “Everyone, see clearly! It’s the Longfeng Guard who provoked us! They can’t tolerate us; it’s not us who are causing trouble!”
“Of course!” the Hexi soldiers laughed uproariously.
After another ten exchanges, Xu Yan was increasingly exhausted but still fought back fiercely, saying coldly, “Xiaowei, I advise you not to cause trouble. If this escalates, it won’t be good for you!”
You Xiaowei laughed heartily, “I want to see what Ning Jianyu can do to me! Brothers, attack!”
Several Hexi soldiers surrounded Xu Yan. Already struggling against You Xiaowei, he found it even harder to fend off the group attack. After several dozen exchanges, he was knocked to the ground.
You Xiaowei were extremely pleased and turned to Jiang Ci. Alarmed, she was about to call for help when a dark figure suddenly appeared at the tent entrance, calmly saying, “Let her go!”
You Xiaowei was taken aback, then laughed, “What a lively scene! One falls, and another comes!”
Jiang Ci turned to look and saw a young man in black standing at the entrance. She vaguely remembered seeing him before and, after a moment of thought, recalled that he was one of the Bright Guards who had come with Wei Zhao.
You Xiaowei scrutinized the newcomer and coldly said, “The Longfeng Guard is bullying us, and we are forced to retaliate. Kid, even if you call Ning Jianyu here, we won’t back down!”
The Bright Guard smiled and said, “I’m not a Longfeng Guard, but I can still deal with you.” He then pulled out a token from his robe.
You Xiaowei looked down at the token, his expression changing several times before he suddenly looked up. “You are—”
The Bright Guard put the token back into his robe and said indifferently, “Don’t worry about who I am or what I’m doing here. If you still recognize Gao Cheng as your superior, then let her go!”
You Xiaowei pondered for a moment and said, “Since you have the Duke’s token, I’ll give you this face. Brothers, let her go!”
The Hexi soldiers stepped aside, and Jiang Ci hurried to stand behind the Bright Guard. The Bright Guard glanced at Xu Yan and said, “I don’t care about your issues with the Longfeng Guard, but I advise you not to escalate this. It won’t be good for you.” With that, he turned to leave.
You Xiaowei watched his retreating figure and coldly ordered, “Let this kid go!”
Jiang Ci followed the Bright Guard and said, “Thank you so much, big brother!”
The Bright Guard smiled, “No need to thank me. Just stay away from them in the future.” He quickened his pace and disappeared into the night.
Jiang Ci watched him vanish, then heard footsteps approaching. She saw Xu Yan coming closer and hesitated before softly saying, “Thank you, Brother Xu.”
Xu Yan felt a bit embarrassed and after a moment replied, “Miss Jiang, you should rest early.”
As he turned to leave, Jiang Ci called out, “Brother Xu.”
Xu Yan paused, and Jiang Ci smiled, saying, “In the future, if I’m reading late, you don’t need to guard outside the tent. You can rest early; I won’t run off.” With that, she didn’t look back at the somewhat awkward Xu Yan and entered the medical tent.
As the moon rose high in the sky, the Huan army camp was quiet, with only the soldiers on night watch patrolling back and forth. The soldiers were resting in their tents, conserving their energy for the battle the next day.
Yi Han lifted the tent flap, and Yan Shuangqiao quickly put down the book she was reading, standing up. After hesitating for a long time, she finally called out softly, “Father.”
Yi Han sighed inwardly and replied gently, “You don’t need to be so formal with me.”
Yan Shuangqiao poured him a cup of tea. Yi Han looked around the tent and then turned to her, saying, “Shuangqiao, you should listen to me and go back to the capital.”
Yan Shuangqiao lowered her head and remained silent.
Yi Han softened his tone further, “Shuangqiao, this is a battlefield. It’s very inconvenient for a girl to stay here. I’ll send someone to take you back to the capital. Your grandfather has been wanting to see you.”
Yan Shuangqiao shook her head slightly and said softly, “I want to find my junior sister.”
Yi Han sighed, “I’ll help you find your junior sister. If she’s in Pei Yan’s hands, as long as our army can defeat Pei Yan, we can surely bring her back. If she’s not with Pei Yan, as our army moves south, I will also send people to look for her.”
“Then I’ll follow the army. You all fighting is your business; I only ask you to help me find my junior sister.” Yan Shuangqiao raised her head and looked directly at Yi Han.
Looking into her clear, water-like eyes that resembled someone he knew, Yi Han felt a pang of guilt and said softly, “Since you insist, I won’t force you. However, our soldiers are different from the Huachao; they are quite cautious about having women accompany them. Although the prince has allowed you to stay in the army for my sake, you can only stay in the tent and cannot go out.”
He turned around and added, “As for Ming Fei, I’ll have him accompany me. He’s quite capable, and if he can achieve military merit, I can arrange for him to enter the First-Class Hall. It won’t be difficult for him to make a name for himself in the future.”
Seeing him lift the tent flap, Yan Shuangqiao opened her lips a few times before finally saying, “Your injury—”
Yi Han felt warmth in his heart and smiled, “It’s a minor injury; I recovered long ago.”
Yan Shuangqiao lowered her head and said softly, “The battlefield is dangerous; please be careful.”
Yi Han smiled as he stepped out of the tent, feeling refreshed. He turned to see Ming Fei approaching and patted his shoulder, speaking softly into his ear, “Listen, I don’t care about your background. If you truly treat my daughter well, I’ll grant you wealth and honor. If you betray her, I’ll make sure you have no place to be buried!”
Ming Fei slightly turned to face Yi Han, calmly saying, “Yes, Ming Fei understands.”
Seeing that the main tent still had lights on, Yi Han smiled and entered. Yu Wen Jinglun was sitting under the lamp, playing with a powerful crossbow he had seized from the Hua army, while Teng Rui sat beside him. On the table between them lay a piece of rattan armor. Yi Han approached to take a closer look, then lifted the rattan armor and weighed it in his hands, exclaiming, “Mr. Teng is indeed remarkable!”
Yu Wen Jinglun stood up, and Yi Han quickly hung the rattan armor on a wooden post in the tent. Yu Wen Jinglun stepped back a few paces, nocking an arrow onto the crossbow. The sound of the bowstring twanged, and the arrow shot into the rattan armor with a “thud.”
Yi Han took down the rattan armor and presented it to Yu Wen Jinglun. Teng Rui also stood up, and the three of them lowered their heads, looking at the arrow that had penetrated the rattan armor by seven or eight points, smiling at each other.
Yu Wen Jinglun was somewhat excited, saying, “Mr. Teng is truly a genius!”
Yi Han laughed, “So that’s why you’ve been away from the army these past few days—to find this rattan!”
“Yes,” Yu Wen Jinglun replied. “Mr. Teng has worked hard, staying up for three days and nights without sleep. After finding this rattan, he made this rattan armor. I thank Mr. Teng here!” He was about to bow deeply.
Teng Rui quickly caught Yu Wen Jinglun’s arms, repeatedly saying, “How dare I!” He added, “Your Highness, I’ve already had people cut down a lot of rattan. Now I need to gather the soldiers to work through the night to make this rattan armor.”
Yu Wen Jinglun nodded, “That’s natural. However, we have something more important to do.”
Yi Han asked, “Your Highness, what do you want to do?”
Yu Wen Jinglun looked outside the tent and said slowly, “I want to determine where Pei Yan is right now!”
Although Niubi Mountain was a military stronghold, the scenery was quite beautiful. To the south flowed the rushing Xiao Jing River, while to the north, two massive caves in the cliffs resembled two holes in a cow’s nose from a distance. The mountains were densely forested and lush, with occasional wildflowers blooming among the rocks, adding a touch of beauty.
At dusk, Jiang Ci stood at the entrance of the medical tent, gazing at the two caves in the northern cliffs, her thoughts in turmoil.
After a long moment of contemplation, she turned and entered the tent, preparing the medicinal soup. By the time she finished, the moon was already high in the trees. The camp was extremely quiet at night, with only the sound of her soft footsteps. Tong Min saw her coming and lifted the tent flap, but Jiang Ci paused. Tong Min asked in surprise, “What’s wrong?” Jiang Ci smiled and walked into the main tent.
Xu Jun took the medicine and frowned, saying, “Cui Junshi, Cui Xieyuan, why is this medicine getting more bitter?”
Cui Liang laughed, “Don’t you want to recover quickly so you can take Zhang Zhi Cheng’s life yourself? I added a few bitter herbs to help your wound heal faster.”
Mentioning Zhang Zhi Cheng, Xu Jun perked up and plopped down beside Pei Yan. “Marquis, since he isn’t attacking, let’s take the initiative! I don’t believe the brothers of the Longfeng Cavalry can’t defeat his subordinates!”
Ning Jianyu shot him a glare. “The Marquis wants a quick resolution, but we are outnumbered. Even if we fight to the death, we won’t be able to take them down in a few days. If we fall into a stalemate, General Tian’s side will be in danger.”
Xu Jun dared not speak further and sat quietly, watching Pei Yan and Cui Liang play chess.
Jiang Ci placed the medicine bowl into the basket. After hesitating for a long time, she noticed Cui Liang’s outer garment tossed on the bed. An idea struck her, and she turned to Cui Liang with a smile. “Brother Cui.”
“Hmm? What don’t you understand? I’ll explain after I finish this game,” Cui Liang replied, focused on the chessboard.
Jiang Ci smiled and said, “There’s nothing I don’t understand today.” She approached the bed, bent down to pick up Cui Liang’s garment, and said, “Brother Cui, your clothes are dirty. I’ll take them to wash.”
Having lived together in the Western Garden for many days, Jiang Ci had been washing their clothes without him noticing. Cui Liang casually dropped a piece and said, “Thanks for the trouble, Xiao Ci.”
Wei Zhao was lying on a bamboo couch nearby, reading. Hearing Jiang Ci approach, he glanced up at her. Jiang Ci’s face flushed slightly as she opened her lips, seemingly about to speak but not making a sound. Wei Zhao instinctively tried to read her lips, and he thought he caught her saying, “Thank you, Third Master.”
Before he could react, Jiang Ci had already turned away. Xu Jun jumped over, grabbed the clothes from the bed, and handed them to Jiang Ci. “Xiao Ci, help me wash these too. My guard is too rough and ruined a few of my military uniforms.”
Ning Jianyu turned back and laughed, “You’ve got a good idea there.”
Jiang Ci accepted the clothes, smiling, “Alright.” She turned and walked to Wei Zhao’s side, softly asking, “Lord Wei, do you have any clothes to wash? I can wash them together.”
Wei Zhao did not look up, merely grunting in response. Jiang Ci happily picked up the clothes from his couch, and Ning Jianyu tossed his white robe over as well.
Jiang Ci carried a pile of clothes as she walked outside the tent. When she reached the entrance of the inner tent, she glanced back at Wei Zhao.
Pei Yan sat in his chair, his expression as cold as water, not saying a word.
Seeing him take a long time to make a move, Ning Jianyu called out, “Marquis!”
Pei Yan looked up at Wei Zhao, who was leisurely reading on the bamboo couch. After a long silence, he said, “Jianyu, have Tong Min send a message: No one is to remain within a hundred paces of the main tent. Also, you and Xu Jun should cover your faces and temporarily move elsewhere with Ziming. I have something to discuss with Lord Wei.”
Ning Jianyu was taken aback, seeing Pei Yan’s expression unusually serious. He quickly replied, “Understood.”
—