After a chaotic night, Deer City’s defender Li Zhangyi was killed by a mysterious black-masked man’s arrow from a hundred yards away. Li Shuang naturally led the Long Wind Camp soldiers into the city.
Though the battle was over, Li Shuang’s work was far from done. The citizens were anxious, and Li Zhangyi’s death left the city without leadership. Li Shuang immediately appointed one of Li Zhangyi’s officials as interim defender.
With the Long Wind Camp now in Deer City, their military strength ensured that whoever became a defender would have to obey Li Shuang. However, she didn’t focus on power struggles.
After handling city affairs during the day, Li Shuang climbed the city wall at night to survey the landscape. Dozens of miles away, the Western Rong army hadn’t retreated despite their general Ashina Du’s sudden death. The vast northern plains were dotted with the smoke from their numerous campfires.
Li Shuang’s expression was grave as she silently patted the rough stone of the wall.
Beside her, Luo Teng clicked his tongue. “Damn it, General! Looks like the Western Rong isn’t planning to withdraw!”
Qin Lan pondered before speaking solemnly: “With this winter’s cold and food shortages, the Western Rong have set their sights on raiding our granaries. As for Ashina Du…” He paused, recalling the black-armored man holding Ashina Du’s head. Despite his hostility towards the mysterious figure, Qin Lan couldn’t deny the man’s actions had been deeply impressive.
“Although Ashina Du’s sudden death forced a temporary retreat, they won’t give up so easily. I suspect they’ll appoint a new leader within days to continue their campaign.”
Luo Teng snorted, “Damn it all, looks like we’ll have to face them head-on after all.”
“Not necessarily,” Qin Lan’s eyes glinted as he gazed at the distant camp. “I have a plan.”
Li Shuang turned to look at Qin Lan. Having worked together for years, she knew his thought process well. “I know what you’re thinking,” she said. “You want to evacuate the citizens and our army before the Western Rong can appoint a new general. We’d leave a skeleton crew and some provisions to buy time, allowing reinforcements from other cities to arrive before we confront their main force.”
Qin Lan lowered his gaze, a hint of admiration in his eyes. “Your assessment is exactly right, General.”
Li Shuang fell silent.
Seeing that Li Shuang was seriously considering this strategy, Luo Teng bristled. “That’s unacceptable! We’d be handing over the city we just defended! We can’t give our Great Jin’s land to these wolves!”
Qin Lan pointed towards the horizon. “Look for yourself. The Western Rong’s main force has arrived, far larger than our initial estimates. Our only option is to stall for time until we can join with our main army for a counterattack.”
Luo Teng wanted to argue further, but as he looked at the sea of Western Rong campfires, he bit his tongue. They couldn’t sacrifice all the Long Wind Camp soldiers and Deer City’s citizens just to hold the city.
He sighed heavily.
Li Shuang’s hand tightened on the wall. “I’ll consider it. For now, we must evacuate the citizens tonight.”
As she turned to leave, Qin Lan stopped her. “General, I’ll handle the arrangements. Please… go rest and take care of yourself.”
Li Shuang knew she couldn’t afford to fall ill. She nodded and headed towards her tent at the base of the wall. Just before entering, she thought she saw a shadow pass overhead. When she looked up, the wall was empty. The sentries stood rigidly, their gaze fixed in the distance, showing no signs of disturbance.
Li Shuang rubbed her eyes, realizing how exhausted she truly was.
Her sleep that night was restless. The fate of the nation, its people – how to choose, what decisions to make? Every word, every judgment she made now affected the destiny of Great Jin.
She could only hope her decisions would lead to a better future for her country.
The next morning, Li Shuang awoke to two unexpected pieces of news. First, a scout rushed in to report: “General, the Western Rong appointed a new leader last night as we predicted!”
Before Li Shuang’s heart could sink, the scout continued: “But that leader is dead too.”
“What?” Li Shuang was confused. “What do you mean, dead too?”
“The Western Rong appointed a new leader last night, but at dawn, we found a long pole halfway between their camp and our city. The new leader’s head was impaled on it. Their army is in chaos now…”
Li Shuang was stunned. “I’ll go see for myself.”
“General, they’ve already retrieved the head. Only the pole and the rope remain.”
Li Shuang was baffled. After a night of agonizing over decisions, this was the last news she expected to wake up to.
As she donned her armor and headed out, she asked, “Who killed him?” Even as the words left her mouth, the image of the black-armored man flashed in her mind.
She paused as Qin Lan and Luo Teng approached. Qin Lan’s expression was neutral, while Luo Teng was elated. “General! Their new leader is dead too! Ha! Heaven is on our side! Those wolves are getting what they deserve!”
“General,” Qin Lan called. Li Shuang nodded in acknowledgment, then asked, “Where’s Jin’an?”
The question reminded Qin Lan that they had intended to question Jin’an about the black-armored man after returning from the forest that night. But with the Western Rong invasion, everyone had been too busy to spare a thought for the child.
Now, with another Western Rong leader mysteriously killed overnight, it was hard not to think of the black-armored man with his extraordinary skills. And thoughts of him inevitably led back to Jin’an.
Qin Lan furrowed his brow. “I’ll go find out, sir.”
Li Shuang climbed the city wall and gazed into the distance. The vast landscape was empty save for a solitary wooden pole, its rope fluttering in the desolate northern wind. Though it was just a simple scene, to Li Shuang it seemed like a flag bearing the message “Death to those who pass,” protecting Deer City.
Moments later, Qin Lan returned with Jin’an.
The small boy stared at Li Shuang with his usual clear, direct gaze.
Li Shuang knelt to meet his eyes. “Jin’an, you know I mean you no harm. I want to keep you by my side, and in the future, whether it’s me or the court, we’ll entrust you with important roles because of your special abilities.”
Jin’an’s eyes lit up when Li Shuang mentioned keeping him close. She placed a hand on his shoulder, her gaze intense and earnest. “So, I want you to be completely honest with me. Can you do that?”
Jin’an nodded. “Everything I have is yours.”
Though the response sounded a bit odd, Li Shuang brushed it off, used to the child’s strange manner of speaking.
“I only have one question for you today. Do you have any connection to the man wearing the black mask?”