The day before the Snow Cleansing Festival, most citizens of Lu City had returned home and settled in. According to tradition, a lantern festival was to be held on the night before the Snow Cleansing Festival.
This year, due to the tense situation outside the city and the citizens having just returned from their refugee flight, preparations weren’t as thorough as usual. However, everyone’s enthusiasm for celebrating the festival was unprecedented.
Throughout Lu City, every household was decorated with lanterns and festive ornaments. Light snow drifted from the sky, and the desolate landscape made the red lanterns appear even more enchanting.
While the citizens were celebrating, the vigilance on the city walls couldn’t be relaxed. Li Shuang led her guards to patrol the walls. Finding nothing unusual, she descended. Upon reaching the main camp, she found several generals had roasted meat to share with the soldiers.
Luo Teng brought Li Shuang the largest piece of meat. “General, we usually have nowhere to spend our wages. We discussed it and went to the market during the day to buy plenty of meat. We had the former city guard’s cook roast it. Tomorrow’s the festival, so tonight we’re giving it to our brothers to build up their strength. Here, I saved the best for you.”
Li Shuang laughed at the sight of the meat piece larger than her head. “What? Do I look like I can eat more than you?”
“Being able to eat well is a blessing!” Luo Teng said. “Those pampered ladies eat less than cats and are always sickly. One’s afraid to even touch them. Not like you, General – you can take whatever comes your way.”
Qin Lan, standing behind Li Shuang, shot him a glance. “Luo Teng, you’re being too familiar.”
Luo Teng waved his hand dismissively. “Hey, our General doesn’t mind such things. Here, General.” He pushed the meat forward again, and Li Shuang accepted it with an amused expression. “Fine. Eat what you should, but don’t relax your vigilance after eating.”
“Yes, General!”
Li Shuang returned to her tent with the large piece of roasted meat. It was well-prepared – golden in color, neither too fatty nor too lean. She cut off a piece with her knife and took a bite. The skin was crispy while the inside was tender and juicy. The meat must have been fresh, as it had excellent texture. Li Shuang nodded as she ate, thinking that Li Zhangyi’s cook was indeed skilled – no wonder he had grown so plump.
After eating two pieces of meat, Li Shuang suddenly thought of Jin An. The boy was at the age of growing up, and extra meat wouldn’t hurt him. She ordered someone to call for Jin An. While the soldier went to fetch him, she busied herself cutting the meat, separating it from the bone, and placing it in a bowl. Just as she finished, the soldier returned empty-handed, reporting, “General, the boy can’t be found again.”
Li Shuang pondered, suspecting he had gone to pass information to someone again.
But nothing significant had happened in the military camp lately – what information could he be reporting? Details about her daily life? Li Shuang waved the soldier away. Just then, the lantern festival outside the city walls reached its peak of excitement. She glanced outside the tent, and Qin Lan happened to catch her looking.
Rarely seeing Li Shuang interested in such things, Qin Lan’s lips curved slightly. “General, it’s the Lu City Lantern Festival today. There’s nothing urgent in camp, why don’t you go take a walk? You’ve been too tense these past days, you should relax a bit.”
Qin Lan’s suggestion stirred something in Li Shuang’s heart. “The camp…”
Qin Lan’s smile deepened. “With me here, General, please don’t worry.”
“Very well.” Li Shuang stood up. “I’ll go for a short walk and return.” Before leaving, she didn’t forget to order the remaining roasted meat to be sent to the guard camp, not wanting to waste such a rare northern delicacy.
Since Li Shuang was going out inconspicuously, she took only one personal guard. Qin Lan assigned Ji Ran to accompany her. Ji Ran was tall and imposing, among the most striking figures in the entire Changfeng Camp. With the festival crowds outside, having Ji Ran clear the way for Li Shuang would ensure a smooth passage.
Things indeed went as Qin Lan had predicted.
Lu City’s lantern festival, including tomorrow’s Snow Cleansing Festival, was also the biggest trading market of the year. Everyone would purchase most of their necessities for the next few months on this day, making the market particularly lively and crowded.
Li Shuang and Ji Ran went to the market. Seeing such a tall figure, people instinctively stepped aside, allowing Li Shuang to walk through the crowded streets without difficulty.
As they passed various street stalls, Li Shuang was merely taking in the rare festive atmosphere when her gaze suddenly stopped at one small stall. It was displaying masks – specifically, uniform black face masks that looked remarkably similar to the one worn by the mysterious man. Li Shuang stopped.
“Young man,” she picked up a black mask and called to the vendor, “I haven’t seen these masks being sold in previous years. Why make so many for sale this year? Is there some new tribe or country beyond the border with a custom of wearing masks?”
“Oh, customer, you don’t know?” The vendor had just finished packaging a mask for a woman with a child, who happily put it on immediately. After collecting payment, he continued, “It’s not about any tribe or country. Remember the battle outside the city some days ago? The Xi Rong army was at our borders, everyone was panicked and fled. We thought we wouldn’t have any peace this year, but then a hero emerged from our Changfeng Camp!”
“A hero from Changfeng Camp?” Li Shuang turned to look at Ji Ran, who was just as puzzled.
“Yes! The hero of Changfeng Camp! They say this hero was strong and mighty, single-handedly saving General Li Shuang from the chaos of battle. You know General Li Shuang, right? That female warrior! The commander of Changfeng Camp! Hey, that woman is quite formidable…”
Li Shuang interrupted him: “Tell me more about the hero.”
“Oh, right. This hero saved General Li Shuang from the chaos, then from a hundred li away, killed that traitor Li Zhangyi with bare hands! Finally, the hero charged alone into the Xi Rong army and with two swift moves, chopped off the Xi Rong general’s head! Then, using mystical powers to cover great distances in an instant, returned to the battlefield and threw down the general’s head, frightening the hundred-thousand-strong army into retreating thirty li!”
The vendor had told this story many times, telling it with great animation as a crowd gathered around to listen.
Ji Ran coughed and whispered in Li Shuang’s ear, “General, is that how it happened?”
During the chaos at the city gates that day, Ji Ran had been deep in enemy lines, focused on killing foes. By the time he realized what was happening, the enemy was already retreating. Only after returning to Lu City did he learn someone had beheaded the Xi Rong general.
The lower-ranking soldiers were abuzz with gossip, but since he was Li Shuang’s guard, regular soldiers didn’t dare gossip with them. The higher-ranking officers kept tight-lipped, and they didn’t dare ask. As a result, the personal guards in the guard camp probably knew the least about that day’s events and these circulating stories among anyone in Changfeng Camp.
“The order’s a bit wrong, and the description’s a bit exaggerated… but that’s roughly what happened.”
Talk of mystical distance-crossing powers had turned it into a tale of sorcery – Li Shuang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
But Ji Ran’s eyes lit up with amazement.
The vendor continued enthusiastically: “That’s not all! The hero later beheaded two more generals chosen by Xi Rong, taking three important heads in total! Each one was a significant figure! And then, on that final day, the hero single-handedly entered the enemy camp and set it ablaze, sending those Xi Rong wolves running with their tails between their legs, not daring to even look back!”
“Bravo!” “Excellent!”
The surrounding crowd burst into applause…
Li Shuang: “…”
“And yet such a hero, with such magnificent martial arts! Such a patriotic defender of our homeland! Didn’t even leave behind a name! The only thing anyone remembers is the half-mask worn on their face, just like…” The vendor picked up one of his black masks, “this one!”
“I’ll take one!” Someone immediately offered money.
After the first buyer, a second quickly followed, then more and more. Soon, all those who had gathered to hear the story were buying black masks, leaving the vendor struggling to count money fast enough.
Li Shuang was gradually pushed to the side by the crowd.
She didn’t mind, quietly pulling a black mask from a corner gap and examining it briefly before flicking a piece of silver directly into the vendor’s money pouch hanging at his waist.
Li Shuang took the mask and left discretely.
Ji Ran asked puzzledly beside her: “General, what did you buy that for?”
“I noticed someone’s been wearing his for a while. Thought I’d give him a new one next time.”
Ji Ran started: “General… by someone, do you mean that mysterious person with the black mask?”
Li Shuang just smiled without answering, though her peripheral vision caught a slight movement in the shadows at the corner of the crowd. The tree’s shadows moved without wind, and Li Shuang understood but didn’t point it out. She simply put the black mask on and turned to Ji Ran: “How do I look?”
Ji Ran immediately stood at attention and saluted: “General looks imposing no matter what!”
His voice was so loud that people nearby turned to look. Before Li Shuang could reprimand him, a soft female voice called out: “Brother Ji?”
Li Shuang turned toward the voice to see an adorable young girl with shallow dimples, looking exceptionally sweet – a rare gentle beauty among the frontier women. Ji Ran turned and smiled: “Oh, Miss Lu.”
Miss Lu’s gaze quickly swept over Li Shuang, who immediately asked: “You know my guard?”
“Guard?” She realized suddenly, “Ah! You’re…” she looked around and lowered her voice, “General Li.”
Li Shuang smiled politely: “Pleased to meet you.”
“I wouldn’t dare… I… I just heard Brother Ji’s voice and wanted to say hello. I’m sorry for disturbing you, General…” She kept her head low, clearly embarrassed. Ji Ran helped explain: “She’s from the Lu family pharmacy in town. When Jin An was sick, I bought medicine from their shop. During the chaos, Master Lu refused to leave Lu City, saying if there were wounded soldiers during the battle, they could use their medicine to treat them. Truly admirable.”
Li Shuang nodded, noticing Miss Lu’s blushing cheeks, and smiled knowingly: “Indeed admirable. Miss Lu must be an excellent young lady. You two chat, I’ll go look at the lanterns nearby.”
As Li Shuang turned to leave, Miss Lu’s eyes were full of starlight and gratitude, but Ji Ran interjected: “That won’t do! Deputy Commander Qin specifically ordered me to accompany you, General. I won’t leave your side for a moment, sworn to protect you with my life.”
Ji Ran looked at Li Shuang with determination, leaving her momentarily speechless. Seeing Miss Lu’s disappointed expression, a plan formed in her mind: “Very well, in that case, might I trouble Miss Lu for a favor? I’m not familiar with the lantern festival – would you mind accompanying us and explaining things?”
The young girl naturally agreed immediately.
Li Shuang walked in front, deliberately leaving space for the two behind her.
She knew her guards well – they were all hopeless cases when it came to marriage. Finding a spouse wasn’t easy, but she couldn’t let her subordinates remain single along with her. Better to match them up when possible.
Along the way, Li Shuang walked and observed while wearing the black mask, listening to Miss Lu occasionally explain things to them: “This snack is a Lu City specialty. Have you and Brother Ji tried it, General? If not, I could make some for you both next time.”
Li Shuang’s response wasn’t important – she just nodded vaguely – but Ji Ran seriously replied: “The General can’t eat food from outside the military camp, it might be poisoned.”
“…”
Li Shuang turned back with a helpless look at Ji Ran, who caught her gaze but completely missed its meaning. She could only look sympathetically at the suddenly silent young girl, finding her utterly pitiful.
Her guards… no wonder they couldn’t find wives.
Just then, the despondent young lady suddenly stumbled, falling forward. Ji Ran’s reaction was lightning-fast, catching her with one arm – an arm strong enough to lift ten maidens. His catch was perfect, and Li Shuang inwardly cheered.
She discreetly kicked a small stone that hit the girl’s ankle. The girl let out a small cry of pain, and Li Shuang immediately asked: “Did you twist it?”
Miss Lu started to say “No…” but looking up through the black mask at Li Shuang’s meaningful gaze, she proved cleverer than Ji Ran and changed it to: “Not… too serious.”
Ji Ran frowned: “You twisted it?” He crouched to look, but Li Shuang stopped him.
“What are you thinking? She’s a proper young lady – you can’t take off her shoes in the street! Her family runs a pharmacy, they’ll know how to treat a minor sprain. Take her home now, let her family tend to it.”
“Yes.” Ji Ran agreed and supported Miss Lu, but then remembered: “But General, you…”
“I’ll wait here for you to return. These are just common citizens, what could happen?”
Ji Ran thought for a moment and finally agreed.
Watching him carry Miss Lu away, Li Shuang smiled and walked forward a few steps. She looked down at the snow on the ground when suddenly there was a “Bang!” – fireworks were being set off in the center of Lu City. Li Shuang looked up, but instead of seeing the fireworks, she saw someone standing before her.
The fireworks burst behind him, making him appear like a legend stepping out of ethereal beauty like an illusion made real.
Each of his appearances was mysterious and eerily timely.
He wore a black mask, identical to hers. Through their masks, they saw themselves reflected in each other’s eyes.
Li Shuang smiled: “Hero, have you been well?”
“I have.” Seeing her smile, his eyes curved slightly too. “Are you happy to see me?”
Happy? Perhaps… a little.
Knowing he was unharmed, seeing him alive and well, she probably was a bit happy… maybe.