The next morning, just as dawn broke, a soldier came to report to Li Shuang that Chang Wanshan had awakened and wished to see her.
Li Shuang hadn’t slept all night, holding the paper stained with Chang Wanshan’s black blood, studying it for hours. Though the paper contained only a few numbers, through this rare piece of information, Li Shuang seemed to see that mysterious person who had been taken away, now thousands of miles distant. She could also see those blood-red eyes from their hasty parting that day…
Li Shuang was startled to realize she missed him…
Upon hearing of Chang Wanshan’s request, she immediately made her way to the Imperial Guard camp.
When Li Shuang arrived, everyone in the Imperial Guard camp bowed in greeting. As Chang Wanshan attempted to get out of bed, Li Shuang pressed down on his shoulder: “No need for formalities.”
Chang Wanshan didn’t stand on ceremony either, speaking directly: “General, the mysterious person you’re seeking is in the Wu Ling Gate at South Changshan.”
Li Shuang nodded: “I’ve seen the note. Tell me the details of what happened.”
Chang Wanshan’s eyes grew solemn as he clutched his chest, his forced composure betraying lingering fear:
“Three months ago, I followed those people’s trail southward, sending messages to Lu City along the way, until reaching South Changshan. I had intended to stop and investigate the surroundings, sending someone back with information. Who would have thought that the Wu Ling Gate Master had seen through my trail all along? Not a single letter I sent along the way made it out. In the end, I was even captured by Wu Ling Gate Master Wu Yin…”
Chang Wanshan’s hand trembled slightly as it pressed against his chest: “This subordinate is ashamed. Wu Yin’s martial arts and movement techniques were far beyond what I could match. After defeating me, rather than killing me, Wu Yin imprisoned me in South Changshan’s underground dungeon… together with the mysterious black-armored man.”
Li Shuang started with these words: “Why imprison you together? How… how was he?”
In truth, Li Shuang was desperate to ask for more details about that person, but showing too much emotion in front of the weakened Chang Wanshan would be inappropriate for a general. So she could only suppress her feelings and wait quietly for Chang Wanshan’s answer.
“In the dark dungeon, the light was too dim to make out much. During the day, the dungeon was completely silent. I only remember that every night, people would come with torches. The mysterious man was chained by his neck, his limbs spread-eagled against the wall. They would cut his chest once every day. I didn’t know what they were trying to do, but that mysterious person… for the first few days, he would occasionally regain consciousness and ask about news of the General…”
He asked about her.
Li Shuang’s heart trembled.
He still remembered her.
“…Later, he seemed to go mad, howling and whimpering like a beast in the dungeon all day, sometimes falling silent, sometimes roaring—it was terrifying.”
Li Shuang’s brows furrowed slightly, while a dull ache seemed to pierce her heart.
“Until later, when Wu Ling Gate Master Wu Yin came to the dungeon and observed that person for several days, using many methods I didn’t understand, bleeding him all over his body, tormenting him back and forth. But this only made that person more violent—he broke through arm-thick iron chains several times. I could sense that he desperately wanted to leave the dungeon, frantically trying to escape.”
For some reason, as Chang Wanshan spoke of that person, Li Shuang could almost see him in her mind—see his struggles and painful cries in the darkness, see him gritting his teeth to endure the bone-deep agony.
Even though… Chang Wanshan hadn’t described it in such detail, in this moment, Li Shuang felt as if she could experience it herself.
She closed her eyes briefly, remembering the fireworks in Lu City that day, the warmth of that mysterious person’s body in the corner of that bustling street, the clarity and gentleness in his eyes…
He had been gentler with her than the spring breeze.
“As time passed, that person showed no signs of improvement. He only grew more insane with each passing day. Later, Wu Yin seemed to run out of ideas. He casually ordered someone to dispose of me, saying there was no use keeping me anymore. I remember him saying one thing: the Jade Silkworm could no longer adapt to other hosts.”
Li Shuang’s expression darkened.
Jade Silkworm… This wasn’t the first time she had heard this term.
Chang Wanshan pointed to his chest: “They took me out of the dungeon, cut open my chest, saying they would feed me to the Gu insects. This subordinate, though unworthy, had wandered the jianghu before enlisting, and knew something of the terrifying nature of Gu arts. Even before entering South Changshan, I had prepared some medicines. Thus, I managed to delay the Gu insects’ effects on my body and found an opportunity to escape when the Wu Ling Gate disciples weren’t paying attention.”
Everyone looked at the wound on Chang Wanshan’s chest with trepidation.
These tough men, who didn’t flinch at killing with swords, still found themselves terrified at the mention of the mysterious Southern Gu arts, imagining insects crawling inside their bodies.
Chang Wanshan continued: “After I left South Changshan, my Black Wind horse, which had accompanied me for many years, had waited for me for two months. Black Wind knew the way and brought me back to the Northern Frontier. I thought I would surely die this time, so I wrote the information on paper. Who would have thought… General would save this worthless life of mine, this subordinate truly…”
As he spoke, his emotions grew agitated and he tried to rise again, but Li Shuang firmly pressed him down once more:
“This southern journey wasn’t for the country, but rather a private mission from me. You helped me at the risk of your life. I haven’t thanked you yet—being able to save you was my fortune. How could I let you thank me…”
“General, what are you saying? That mysterious black-armored man has helped our Great Jin several times. He is a great benefactor to Lu City and our Changfeng Camp, and later even protected you at the General’s mansion. Both publicly and privately, I should have gone to save him! It’s just that my skills were insufficient, and I failed to complete the task…”
“Enough.” Li Shuang cut off his emotionally charged words. She knew all of her Imperial Guards—each one was a loyal and righteous man of integrity. What the black-armored man had done, she kept in her heart, and they likewise remembered it all. They never forgot the kindness they had received.
But Chang Wanshan’s desperate attempt to save that mysterious person—he could firmly say it was for loyalty and gratitude.
While Li Shuang… all she could think of was that mysterious person’s blood-red eyes, staring at her so intently, whether focused, gentle, or passionate.
She just wanted… to see that gaze fixed upon her once more.
Li Shuang lowered her eyes and composed herself for a moment, taking a deep breath. When she looked up again, her expression showed no trace of emotion. She said to Chang Wanshan: “Rest well. I will handle what comes next.”
Seeing Li Shuang’s eyes as determined as ever, Chang Wanshan finally relaxed his body and lay down: “Yes.”
Li Shuang instructed the military physician to take good care of Chang Wanshan, then turned and left the Imperial Guard camp. At the camp entrance, Qin Lan was preparing to depart with his deputy.
Seeing Li Shuang hurrying over before Qin Lan could bow, Li Shuang asked: “Have you prepared everything?”
Qin Lan started: “Yes.”
“Give them to me. Go back, change your clothes, and stay to guard the camp.”
Qin Lan looked at Li Shuang as if he couldn’t understand her meaning: “General?”
“I will return to the capital myself.” As Li Shuang spoke, she grabbed a cloak from a nearby soldier’s shoulder and threw it over herself. She put on thick riding gloves, walked past Qin Lan, grabbed the reins from the horse’s neck, stepped into the stirrup, and smoothly mounted the horse.
Her tone and manner were as casual as if she were just saying she was going to patrol outside the camp.
But yesterday, Li Shuang’s attitude… she knew what returning to the capital and seeing Si Ma Yang might mean for her.
Qin Lan’s gaze fixed intently on Li Shuang atop the horse. Spring came slowly to the Northern Frontier, and the wind still carried winter’s desolation, lifting Li Shuang’s slightly dry hair and the edges of her cloak: “What does the General mean by this?”
“I want to save someone, and I fear I’ll need His Majesty’s help.”
Qin Lan fell silent for a moment: “General, do you know that going to the capital now, what you face will no longer be just the Western Rong invasion.”
There would also be the fetters of imperial favor, the entanglement of court interests, all those hidden, dark, unspoken hysterias seeping from everyone’s bones.
“I know,” Li Shuang answered promptly and decisively, “But there is someone I want to save, even if it means risking everything.”
Looking at Li Shuang now, Qin Lan found himself unusually lost in thought.
From past to present, he had practically grown up alongside Li Shuang. He knew well that their difference in status was an unbridgeable chasm between them, and he could only remain as he was now, looking up at her from below.
But Qin Lan had never felt Li Shuang was distant from him. In his eyes, she had always been that legendary woman who devoted herself completely to the General’s mansion and Great Jin. But now, today, at this moment, Qin Lan felt Li Shuang’s distance more than ever before.
The look in her eyes had begun to change, becoming almost unrecognizable to him.
Before, Qin Lan had never felt that Li Shuang belonged to anyone, not even the Crown Prince.
But now, he felt that Li Shuang… was about to be taken away.
And what was tragic was that at such a moment, he couldn’t utter a single word to make her stay. He understood Li Shuang, so he understood all her expressions and secrets. He knew how determined Li Shuang’s thoughts were at this moment.
She said she wanted to go save that one person, even if it meant risking everything.
She used to save people with principles, even selectively. She saved the citizens of Lu City because they were subjects of Great Jin, she saved Si Ma Yang because he was the Crown Prince.
But she wanted to save that black-armored man.
Her eyes told Qin Lan.
She wanted to save him, not for the country, not for family, not for any benefit, but only for her own heart that couldn’t remain still.
She wanted to save him, wanted him to live, wanted him to be well. She wanted to see his clean, clear eyes gazing at her tenderly once more.
She wanted so purely to save someone, with all her might, regardless of consequences, because…
Her heart had already gone to that person.