Ignoring the curious gazes of those around her, Ye Li calmly tucked the handgun back into her sleeve and smiled, “We should leave now, before we’re surrounded.” The group glanced at the Western Ling soldiers running towards them from below and decisively gathered their things to depart. The mountain path lay on the other side, where they had already prepared swift horses at the foot of the mountain. By the time their pursuers made it around, they would be long gone on horseback.
After leaving the cliff, the group rode hard until they reached Flying Swan Pass, where they finally caught their breath. Feng Zhiyao burst into laughter, and the others shared equally relaxed smiles. Since Mo Xiuyao’s disappearance, although the entire army remained orderly, there had been an undercurrent of unease and suppression. Today had been their most enjoyable outing in quite some time.
Han Mingyue looked at Ye Li and asked softly, “Princess Consort, might I examine that… hidden weapon of yours?”
“Hidden weapon?” Ye Li raised an eyebrow and casually handed over the gun. Han Mingyue thanked her and carefully accepted it, too eager to wait until returning to examine it as they walked. Beside them, Feng Zhiyao and Han Mingxi also craned their necks to look. However, they weren’t as well-versed in such matters as Han Mingyue, so they weren’t in a rush to handle it. Only Qin Feng, who had always followed Ye Li, showed no trace of surprise. He had not only seen these things before but knew where they came from, so he lacked the others’ curiosity. However, after witnessing the Princess Consort’s demonstration of its killing power today, he felt somewhat eager to try it himself.
Han Mingyue frowned in concentration while his hands continued exploring the object. He even tried holding it as Ye Li had done, attempting to discover its mechanism. When the black barrel pointed towards him, it gave Feng Zhiyao cold sweats. Though he didn’t know what exactly it was, he hadn’t forgotten that the thing that wounded Lei Zhenting had shot from that small black hole. He quickly dodged aside, saying, “Han Mingyue, be careful!”
Han Mingyue smiled and raised an eyebrow, saying, “It doesn’t work.” He had already found the trigger mechanism, but pulling it produced no results. Han Mingyue also knew this wasn’t the time or place to discuss it, so he didn’t question Ye Li further, simply continuing to examine it in his hands.
As soon as they entered the manor, Han Mingyue quickly returned the gun to Ye Li, and everyone else looked at her expectantly. Ye Li smiled faintly, inserted a black magazine into the gun, released the safety catch, and raised it toward the sky for a shot.
With a bang, a sparrow fell from the sky. When everyone looked, the small sparrow had two bloody holes in its body. The projectile had passed straight through the sparrow’s body.
“Excellent weapon!” Han Mingyue praised. Although shooting sparrows was something they could easily do with just a pebble given their martial arts skills, Han Mingyue could tell that this weapon’s projectile traveled far faster than ordinary hidden weapons, perhaps even rivaling the arrows of Black Cloud Cavalry’s finest archers. More importantly, this weapon seemed to require no internal energy or physical condition from its user – only good aim was necessary.
Ye Li shook her head and said, “The sound is too loud.” She couldn’t find more advanced weapons, and creating a silencer was impossible for the moment. So for night raids, this thing was less useful than a bow and arrow. However… a trace of nostalgia passed through Ye Li’s eyes. When she first regained her memories, she never imagined she would encounter such things again in this life, even though they would be museum pieces in her previous life.
“Princess Consort, may I try?” Han Mingyue asked. As someone known for his broad knowledge, he naturally had a great interest in unknown objects.
Ye Li handed it over casually. Han Mingyue looked around and aimed at a lantern hanging under the eaves, pulling the trigger. Despite the bang, the lantern remained in place, while the bullet embedded itself in the nearby wall.
“Hahaha!” Feng Zhiyao burst into laughter, “Han Mingyue, surely you haven’t gotten rusty over these years?”
Han Mingyue was clever enough to understand the issue after one attempt but didn’t explain. Instead, he handed the gun to Feng Zhiyao with a smile, “Third Young Master Feng is also a famous marksman, why don’t you try?”
Feng Zhiyao responded carelessly, “Why not!”
“Bang!” The white lantern continued swaying gently in the breeze, and Feng Zhiyao’s face immediately twisted. Ye Li took back the gun and smiled faintly, “This indeed doesn’t require internal energy or physical strength. However… there is some recoil. So… it still takes some practice to master.” Did these people think that just because they could throw hidden weapons accurately, they could hit a target at a hundred paces on their first try with a gun?
“Jun Wei… Jun Wei, we’re such good friends… could you give me one?” Han Mingxi’s eyes lit up as he looked eagerly at Ye Li. While this weapon might not mean much to others with strong martial arts, for someone like Han Mingxi with first-rate lightness skills, second-rate internal energy, and third-rate martial arts, it was practically a divine weapon.
Ye Li turned to look at him and casually tossed over the gun, saying, “Find Qin Feng later to teach you how to use it. Be careful… if this hits vital points, it’s far more troublesome than bows or hidden weapons.” This was not Ye Li trying to frighten Han Mingxi. Forget about hitting vital points – just being shot anywhere, if the bullet passed straight through it wasn’t so bad, just leaving a hole. But if it remained in the body, just figuring out how to remove the bullet would torture quite a few people. As for post-injury infections, due to the trace amounts of gunpowder and the deep internal wounds, the infection rate was definitely tens or even hundreds of times higher than ordinary sword wounds.
Having witnessed the weapon’s power, Han Mingxi naturally held it with great care.
Seeing how easily Han Mingxi had obtained the precious weapon, both Feng Zhiyao and Han Mingyue were also moved, “Princess Consort…”
Ye Li felt her scalp tingle and said helplessly, “Don’t ask me, only three of these exist right now. You’ll have to wait sometime for more.” Of course, there were many defective ones, but Ye Li wouldn’t dare give those to Feng Zhiyao and the others – an accidental discharge would be too problematic. Ye Li calculated that in another two or three years at most, these standard handguns could be mass-produced, and perhaps even improved upon. Ye Li wasn’t sure if introducing firearms to the Cold weapon era was right or wrong. But since she had these things in hand, along with the foundation left by the previous dynasty’s founding emperor, she naturally couldn’t ignore them. The progression from cold weapons to firearms was an inevitable trend in human development, and there was nothing wrong with being a step ahead.
Unable to get the weapons, Feng Zhiyao and Han Mingyue were somewhat disappointed but understood there was no helping it. They could only make Ye Li promise that when more were made, they would receive priority. Ye Li had to agree.
Han Mingxi looked at his elder brother and somewhat reluctantly offered his newly acquired treasure to Han Mingyue, “Big brother, you can try it first.” Han Mingyue took it, turned the gun once in his hand, and raised it for another shot. The Bright Moon Young Master was known for his ability to infer by analogy and draw connections, and this time he hit the lantern under the eaves perfectly.
Feng Zhiyao frowned and said, “This thing is too loud.” If it could be completely silent, it would be the perfect tool for assassination and sneak attacks. From Feng Zhiyao’s perspective, if several people fired simultaneously at close range, even an expert of Lei Zhenting’s caliber would probably struggle to escape unscathed.
Ye Li raised an eyebrow. Silencers existed, but they couldn’t be made for now.
Hearing Feng Zhiyao’s words, Han Mingyue looked down at the object in his hands thoughtfully.
“Speaking of which, we still don’t know what this hidden weapon is called,” Han Mingxi asked. Such an amazing weapon needed a magnificent and shocking name.
Unfortunately, Ye Li’s answer left him quite disappointed, “This is called… a gun, a handgun.”
“Gun?! How is this anything like a gun?” Feng Zhiyao was the first to object. The spear was the king of weapons and a battlefield necessity. Though Mo Xiuyao now mainly used a sword, in his youth he had wielded a Dragon-Coiled Silver Spear across battlefields, striking terror into enemy armies. Ye Li smiled and said, “In any case, it is a gun.” She waved her hand to indicate the discussion was over. She had no desire to give her precious weapon some strange and exotic name.
Giving Feng Zhiyao no chance to object further, Ye Li waved and left directly. They had just fired several shots here, which had surely attracted attention. She didn’t want to be surrounded by a crowd of people. Han Mingyue was still curiously examining the object in his hands, his expression suggesting he wanted to take it apart and study it. Unlike Feng Zhiyao, he had no attachment to weapon names. Even if Ye Li had called it a sword, he would have accepted it as such – as long as it worked well.
Ignoring Feng Zhiyao’s protests, Han Mingyue left without looking back, carrying his newly acquired weapon. Only Han Mingxi and Feng Zhiyao were left staring at each other. After a while, Feng Zhiyao asked, “You think this name makes sense?”
Han Mingxi smiled at him and said, “I’ve never used the kind of gun you’re talking about, so I think… the Princess Consort’s choice of name must be very appropriate.”
Feng Zhiyao rolled his eyes slightly – he shouldn’t have asked Han Mingxi. Apart from his elder brother, Han Mingxi was most obedient to the Princess Consort’s words.
Seeing his dejected appearance, Han Mingxi patted his shoulder consolingly, “The name doesn’t matter. The Princess Consort’s hidden weapon is called a gun, but doesn’t that mean your spear is still a gun too?” So, from beginning to end, Ye Li had forgotten to tell them – it wasn’t a hidden weapon at all.
Twenty li outside Flying Swan Pass, in the Western Ling army camp, they had just suffered a mysterious attack from the Prince’s manor, with even the martial arts master Lei Zhenting seriously wounded. This left the originally aggressive Western Ling army like a goose suddenly grabbed by the neck, immediately choking. Because they didn’t know if the Mo family army had more such strange weapons, the Western Ling army didn’t dare camp too close to Flying Swan Pass and had to retreat about ten li.
In the army camp, inside Lei Zhenting’s main tent, his shoulder clothing had been removed, and several doctors frowned as they examined him. They could see a moderate-sized bloody hole below Lei Zhenting’s right shoulder. This puzzled the highly skilled doctors. If it had been an arrow or hidden weapon, that would have been manageable – arrows could be pulled out directly, and hidden weapons generally didn’t penetrate too deeply. But the Southern Marquis’s current wound went deep into his body, barely missing his shoulder blade. This was bad enough, but although they couldn’t see what kind of hidden weapon it was, they could tell it must have been small and without particularly sharp edges. Trying to remove it without harming the Southern Marquis would be extremely difficult.
Another method would be to use internal energy to force out the hidden weapon directly. However, in the army, only Lei Zhenting currently possessed such profound internal energy. Lei Zhenting’s left hand… had been cut off by Mo Liufang over twenty years ago. Even if Lei Zhenting’s wound wasn’t on his right shoulder, even if it had been on his left shoulder, he still couldn’t raise his hand to force the hidden weapon out of his back. One wrong move and bones that weren’t originally injured would truly be damaged.
Lei Zhenting’s expression remained composed as he looked down at the bloody hole below his shoulder, frowning but showing no sign of pain. “What do you think?”
One physician thought for a moment, then stepped forward and said, “Your servants are incompetent – we’ve never seen such a hidden weapon before.”
“What would happen if we forcibly removed it?” Lei Zhenting asked.
The physician cautiously replied, “My Lord’s martial arts are powerful. If forcibly removed… with proper care, there shouldn’t be major consequences. However… I’m afraid for the next few months, my Lord’s right hand would…” The physician left the rest unsaid, knowing the Southern Marquis would understand his meaning. But the Southern Marquis already only had one arm – if his right hand became unusable now, wouldn’t he essentially become an invalid?
Lei Zhenting’s gaze darkened, and after long contemplation, he finally asked, “What if we temporarily leave it in?”
“Absolutely not,” the physician hurriedly replied. “My Lord absolutely must not. Though we don’t yet know what material this hidden weapon is made from, leaving it in the body is extremely inadvisable. Not to mention the potential harm this unknown object could cause to the body, the wound is too deep and could lead to internal infection. Eventually… my Lord might lose all movement in the entire shoulder. Even… death could result.”
Though saying this to Lei Zhenting put great pressure on the physician, if the Southern Marquis died due to improper treatment, they would be in an even worse situation. So despite Lei Zhenting’s intense gaze, the other physicians unanimously supported their colleague’s assessment.
Lei Zhenting remained silent for a long time. He was normally a decisive person, and even in the current situation, he couldn’t show any hesitation or anxiety. After quickly analyzing the current situation, he asked, “If we remove it forcibly now…”
“Your servants will do our utmost,” the physicians replied in unison.
Lei Zhenting sighed and said, “Then so be it.” It wasn’t that Lei Zhenting didn’t want to try other methods. But currently, there aren’t many people in the world capable of using pure internal energy to force out the hidden weapon from his body without causing fundamental damage. Originally he counted as one, and then there were Mo Xiuyao, Ling Tiehan, and Mu Qingcang. Among others, perhaps the original Dongfang You, Ren Qining, and Han Mingyue could also try. But right now, he couldn’t – or shouldn’t – seek help from any of them.
Waving for the physicians to go prepare, Lei Zhenting sighed alone in his tent. To suffer such a serious injury right at the start of the campaign – Ye Li… This Marquis still underestimated you. For some unknown reason, Lei Zhenting felt an ominous premonition rising in his heart.
Meanwhile, Lei Zhenting was surrounded by physicians trying to extract the bullet. Although these physicians were highly skilled, this was their first time encountering such a thing as a bullet. Moreover, the bullet had penetrated deep into the flesh, barely missing the bone. These physicians had no experience with such wounds, and even though they eventually managed to extract the bullet from Lei Zhenting’s shoulder with the utmost care, they also made his shoulder injury more severe. It would likely take three to five months to heal, and even after recovery, some moderate lasting effects would probably remain. At the very least, among the four great martial arts masters of the world, Lei Zhenting might now have to take the last place.
The Western Ling army had been about to reach the city walls, but after a tremendous explosion, they suddenly retreated, leaving only bloodshed and corpses behind. This made the soldiers at Flying Swan Pass equally curious. In the General’s Manor, Ye Li was cornered by Old General Yuan Pei. After hearing Ye Li’s account of events, Yuan Pei burst into laughter, “Excellent weapon! Truly Heaven is helping our Mo family army!”
Feng Zhiyao rolled his eyes and said, “Elder Yuan, what do you mean Heaven’s help? These things were created by the Princess Consort.” If Heaven wanted to help the Prince’s manor, they wouldn’t have had such bad luck and hardship these years.
Yuan Pei stroked his white beard and laughed repeatedly, “Good, good. We truly owe thanks to the Princess Consort. Princess Consort, those… bombs, gunpowder, and such – do you have more?”
Ye Li shook her head regretfully and said, “Today’s operation used up all our stock from the past two years.” It should be noted that to kill tens of thousands of people in one blast would require no small amount even in modern times. Not to mention the Western Ling army camp was on flat ground with nothing around – it was pure explosive power. With current technology, if made into grenades, one could maybe kill two people. Placing them together and igniting them directly had more power.
Feng Zhiyao said, “Lei Zhenting being unable to personally take the field is advantageous for us.” At the very least, because of today’s events, the Western Ling army’s morale would be crushed and wouldn’t recover anytime soon.
Ye Li smiled and nodded, “Indeed. That being the case, everyone prepares well. I’ll trouble you all with Flying Swan Pass.”
Everyone rose and said, “We obey your command!”
On another front, Cold Huai and Lü Jinxian, who had been stationed at the original Chu capital of Changxing, had joined forces outside Liyang City where Mo Jingli’s army was stationed. After Mo Xiuyao’s death, the entire battlefield had begun shifting northwest, and the originally crucial Hangu Pass had become ignored. Mo Jingli was blocking the way in Liyang City, trying to stop the Mo family army’s advance. Meanwhile, Cold Huai and Lü Jinxian were rushing to reinforce the Prince’s manor at Flying Swan Pass. Neither side would yield, and in just a few days there were several battles with casualties on both sides. In the end, Mo Jingli simply closed the city gates and refused to come out. After all, he didn’t need to annihilate Lü Jinxian and Cold Huai – as long as he held Liyang and prevented them from passing, he had already won.
This strategy of avoiding battle frustrated Lü Jinxian and Cold Huai more than facing them directly. Sieging a city was extremely time-consuming – the Northern Territory’s siege of Wisteria Pass had lasted half a year without success, and later the Great Chu capital took over three months. But time was what they lacked most now. Even though Cold Huai and Lü Jinxian were typically calm and composed people, they couldn’t help but curse Mo Jingli’s despicable tactics in their hearts.
In the Mo family army’s main command tent, Lü Jinxian paced back and forth with furrowed brows, while Cold Huai, He Su, and others sat to the side with equally furrowed brows. Cold Huai put down his teacup and sighed, “General Lü, please stop pacing – you’re making my head spin.”
Lü Jinxian froze and then had to sit back down. With a heavy expression, he said, “In just half a month, Lei Zhenting has already led tens of thousands of troops to pressure Flying Swan Pass. Moreover, the Western Ling border continues to send reinforcements northward. I’m worried…” Worried that the Princess Consort won’t be able to hold on.
At Flying Swan Pass, except for Old General Yuan Pei, all the commanders were young. Though General Yuan Pei was skilled in warfare, he was already over seventy – how could one not worry?
Cold Huai said, “If Flying Swan Pass truly can’t hold, the Princess Consort will certainly recall the Southern Marquis and General Murong. That would buy some time, but what we need to do is break through Liyang City as quickly as possible. Otherwise… even if Flying Swan Pass falls now, we can only anxiously wait here.”
“Mo Jingli has been hiding like a turtle these past few days, refusing to come out no matter how we insult him. What can we do?” Yun Ting said angrily. Of course, this anger was directed at Mo Jingli, who was holed up in the city refusing to meet them in battle.
Xu Qingfeng frowned and said, “What if I lead some men to infiltrate the city, then coordinate from inside and outside…”
Lü Jinxian shook his head and said, “No good. Liyang City is naturally easy to defend and hard to attack. Moreover… there are 800,000 troops in the city. Mo Jingli isn’t short on manpower now – though the Qilin is formidable, trying to sneak in too many people probably wouldn’t accomplish much.” If there were gaps in the defense of a city guarded by 800,000 troops that could be exploited, Mo Jingli might as well bury himself now.
Cold Huai raised an eyebrow, suddenly smiling as he said, “Right… 800,000 people… how much food do you think Mo Jingli has in Liyang?” Liyang wasn’t an especially large city, and more importantly, it wasn’t one of Great Chu’s main food-producing regions. So the stored supplies absolutely wouldn’t be abundant. The daily food requirements for 800,000 people were no small number.
Hearing this, Yun Ting raised an eyebrow and smiled, “We can help him out! If we can’t sneak in too many people, surely it’s possible to send in a few experts to start some fires.”
Xu Qingfeng stood up and nodded, “No problem, leave this matter to me.”
This kind of task naturally could only be entrusted to the Qilin, who had the Mo family army’s strongest individual capabilities and mastery of various skills. Lü Jinxian nodded and said, “We trouble Commander Xu. Mo Jingli will certainly take precautions, so Commander Xu must be extremely careful.”
Xu Qingfeng nodded, “The generals need only await good news.”
Without further discussion, Xu Qingfeng bid farewell to everyone and left the tent directly. Cold Huai sighed and said, “Let’s hope Commander Xu succeeds quickly.”
He Su thought for a moment and asked, “Should we arrange troops to intercept Great Chu’s supply convoys coming from behind?”
Lü Jinxian waved his hand and said, “That won’t be necessary. If Mo Jingli has more supplies coming, let them through.”
Though they didn’t know what Lü Jinxian had planned, seeing his composed demeanor suggested he had everything figured out, so no one asked further questions.
“Reporting to General Lü and General Cold, a Young Master Ye is requesting an audience outside the command post,” a guard came in to report.
“Young Master Ye? Who is that?” Everyone looked confused.
Lü Jinxian thought for a moment and said, “Invite him in.”