Jin An and Li Shuang’s eyes met. Though soldiers surrounded them, none besides Li Shuang would crouch down to look the child in the eye while speaking.
“Yes.” Jin An answered Li Shuang.
This firm single word caused a stir among the surrounding soldiers. Qin Lan especially narrowed his eyes.
In the Long Feng Camp, no one knew better than him how closely the guards monitored Jin An. Since Li Shuang ordered Jin An to stay in the guards’ quarters, he had repeatedly instructed the guards to watch the child’s every move. Yet even so, he could still pass messages to that black-armored man?
“Is he your kinsman?” Luo Teng couldn’t hold back and blurted out. As soon as he spoke, another soldier asked: “Who exactly is he? Where did he come from? What does he want?”
“Why did he have you relay information about our Long Feng Camp?”
“How was he able to kill the Xi Rong commander? And why did he do it?”
As the officers fired questions from behind, Jin An kept his eyes fixed on Li Shuang. The northern wind swept over the city wall, disheveling Li Shuang’s hastily tied hair. Amidst the chaotic questioning, little Jin An raised his small hand—the gesture childish yet somehow natural—and helped Li Shuang fix her hair, tucking the stray strands behind her ear.
“He won’t harm you.” Without answering any of the jumbled questions, his voice carried a steadiness and certainty beyond his years. “He only wants to protect you.”
Looking into Jin An’s young but serious eyes, Li Shuang momentarily lost focus. In that haze, she seemed to see Jin An’s eyes overlapping with the black-armored man’s crimson ones.
Their eyes… were so similar.
The north wind passed, and everyone on the city wall fell silent. Their gazes darted between Li Shuang and Jin An.
Only Luo Teng bellowed recklessly: “Heaven help us! Has this child turned into a spirit? It’s one thing to flirt with our general himself, but now he’s helping others do it too!”
Li Shuang coughed, Luo Teng’s crude shout bringing her back to her senses. Her mind worked quickly, suddenly arriving at a guess: “That black-armored man… could he be your father?”
Yes, this guess seemed most logical—it would explain why this child’s temperament and appearance resembled that shadow-man’s, why he, like that black-armored man, was so attached to her…
But why were they attached to her?
Could it be…
Was she… his mother?
Li Shuang was startled at her thought, though… thinking about it this way seemed to make sense.
She might truly have lost some memories in the frontier. Those memories likely involved her having a child with someone in the north, then returning to Great Jin with amnesia. Then everyone around her avoided the topic to spare her pain, so she never knew. Now that she’d come to the northern frontier, the man she’d left behind learned of her arrival and crossed the vast desert with their child to find her!
This theory made perfect sense! After all, that’s how all those popular novels wrote it!
Li Shuang stared blankly at Jin An, momentarily lost in her speculation.
But Jin An found Li Shuang’s sudden question strange: “Father?” He shook his head, “No, I don’t have a father.”
This was quite a statement. Li Shuang had heard Jin An say before that he didn’t know his origins, so his current claim of having no father probably meant he didn’t know who his father was.
“What is your relationship with that black-clothed man?”
Hearing Li Shuang’s question, Jin An replied: “You said you’d only ask one question today.”
Li Shuang fell silent—she’d said it casually, but this kid had remembered her words. Well, never mind: “Then I’ll ask you another question tomorrow, and you must answer honestly.”
“Good.” Jin An seemed somewhat happy, “You can come ask me every day.”
Ask every day, which meant seeing her every day, this close, within touching distance.
Suddenly, Jin An didn’t want to grow up anymore, because once he became an adult, Li Shuang would be so much more guarded and defensive toward him—he wouldn’t be able to gently stroke her hair or fall asleep in her arms…
With the questioning done, Li Shuang stood up and ordered guard Ji Ran to take Jin An to rest.
Though the Xi Rong army hadn’t withdrawn and the city wall remained dangerous, even though Jin An wasn’t an ordinary child, Li Shuang still habitually had him leave the tower. She turned to review military matters and discuss the situation with her officers. Seeing her busy, Jin An obediently followed guard Ji Ran down from the tower.
Ji Ran led the way. Halfway down, Jin An suddenly spoke: “Tell me…”
Ji Ran glanced at him. Jin An had always been quiet, never initiating conversation with anyone in the guards’ quarters. Since Li Shuang’s guards held higher status than ordinary officers, they naturally didn’t bother talking to this child. Thus, whether going to training or returning to camp, Jin An was like a mute… except when he saw the general…
Then the little brat’s eyes would speak volumes, shining brightly—he might as well have had a tail wagging behind him.
Now, faced with Jin An’s rare initiative to talk, Ji Ran showed proper attention: “Hmm? What is it?” He turned his head to look at the boy.
Jin An stopped walking, raised his head solemnly, and asked with complete seriousness: “If a woman is angry with me, how do I comfort her to make her happy?”
Ji Ran nearly choked on his breath.
Was this the kind of question a child should be asking?
He, Ji Ran, the eldest son, joined the army at fifteen, and now after ten years—first following General Li, fighting campaigns north and south year after year, then following Li Shuang—had thought that serving a female commander might mean just protecting her safety, with perhaps enough peace to return to the capital and quietly arrange a marriage. Who knew Li Shuang would be posted to the northern frontier… still fighting year after year!
At twenty-five, while others had children running around, he hadn’t even held a maiden’s hand!
But after all these years, the blood in his bones had turned to iron, and he’d grown used to having no maiden. How could he have expected a child’s question today to put him in such an awkward position?
If he said he didn’t know, wouldn’t that show his inexperience?
Ji Ran kept a stern face and answered in his tough-guy voice: “Give her gifts.”
“What kind of gifts?”
Damn it, how would he know!
“Something she wants.”
Jin An nodded thoughtfully, looked up at him, and sincerely said: “Thank you.”
Watching Jin An return to his tent, Ji Ran turned away and quietly wiped his forehead.
As dusk fell, Li Shuang received a reply from the capital in her tent. Upon learning of the northern border situation, the Emperor ordered Li Shuang to abandon Lu City and withdraw fifty li to Liangzhou City to join forces with armies from Yu Province and Ji Province against the Xi Rong invasion.
The current Emperor had been on battlefields in his youth and deeply understood military matters. His decision aligned with Qin Lan’s earlier strategy, but circumstances had changed. With the Xi Rong losing two commanders, their army’s morale must be in chaos. They might not be able to take the city.
This morning’s military intelligence had been rushed to the capital by fast horse, and the Emperor, upon learning this news, might make a different decision. Li Shuang planned to hold Lu City for a few more days and observe the situation.
Just then, scouts came to report that the Xi Rong army had lit huge bonfires and was beating drums and blowing horns as if they’d selected another commander.
“Such a commotion?” Luo Teng snorted coldly. “Are they showing off that they have so many men, that they can replace one killed commander with another, unafraid of death?”
“No.” Li Shuang’s eyes darkened. “Something’s strange about this.”
Another officer added: “This subordinate thinks so too. Having just lost two commanders, if they were selecting another, they should be more cautious. Such fanfare suggests other schemes.”
“They want to tell us… or rather, tell that black-armored man that they’ve selected another commander. They’re setting a trap.” When Qin Lan spoke these words, the tent fell silent for a moment.
“Will the black-armored man go?” Luo Teng asked.
No one answered. Because no one knew.
Li Shuang’s duty was to defend the city. Lu City’s garrison plus the Long Feng Camp’s forces couldn’t match even half the Xi Rong army. They couldn’t open the gates for an offensive. She could only hold the city.
She just hoped that the black-armored man would be smart enough not to step into this obvious trap. Otherwise… charging alone into an enemy camp’s trap, no matter how formidable he was, he’d hardly escape disaster.
But…
Wait.
Li Shuang stood up, and all the officers looked at her. She coughed: “I’m going out for a moment.”
She left the main camp and headed for the guards’ quarters. She now knew Jin An had contact with the black-armored man. If so, she could just warn Jin An. She could also secretly have people observe Jin An, letting him lead them to find that mysterious black-armored man.
When Li Shuang reached the guards’ quarters, Ji Ran was on duty. He gave Li Shuang a military salute, and she nodded: “Where’s Jin An?”
“General, he’s been in camp all afternoon, and hasn’t left.”
Li Shuang nodded and lifted the tent flap to enter, but inside was empty—the child who had supposedly been in camp all afternoon had long since vanished without a trace.
Li Shuang turned her head, looked at Ji Ran, and raised an eyebrow.
Ji Ran’s back stiffened: “General, I have failed in my duty!” No excuses, taking responsibility—this was the integrity of her guard.
Just as Li Shuang was about to speak, a scout outside suddenly shouted: “General! General! The Xi Rong army camp is on fire!”
Li Shuang started, left the tent, and hurried up to the city tower, where she saw in the distance a blood-red sky—the center of the Xi Rong army camp was engulfed in flames…