After three days of travel, the convoy had left Shuofang’s alert perimeter. After choosing a sheltered mountain hollow to make camp, Yun Ye summoned all the prominent figures of the convoy and held a meeting in a large tent. Once everyone was seated, Yun Ye pulled out the military order from his bosom and said to the group: “This order from Commander Li summoning us to the central military camp is fake.”

Cheng Chumo remained carelessly bored as always. Sun Simiao showed no expression, seemingly having long transcended emotions. Only Xu Jingzong’s face changed drastically. He took the document to examine it carefully, and only after a long while did he raise his head to ask Yun Ye: “My lord, this document isn’t fake. Both the handwriting and the Grand Commander’s seal are correct. If there were problems, Grand Commander Chai would have noticed.”

As a scholar, Xu Jingzong was undoubtedly qualified. He’d seen Li Jing’s handwriting before, and having been immersed in official circles for many years, his ability to identify seals was already incomparably proficient. If he said this document was genuine, it wouldn’t be fake. Unfortunately, he greatly underestimated the methods of the demons and monsters in this world.

“Old Xu, you’re not wrong—the handwriting undoubtedly comes from Li Jing’s hand, and the Grand Commander’s seal is undoubtedly Li Jing’s. It’s just that someone took this document ordering me back to the capital, cut and pasted it, and it became a document ordering me to report to the army for service.” For the first time, Yun Ye’s expression was grave.

Xu Jingzong picked up the document to examine it carefully again. Only after a very long time did he raise his head with a bewildered expression. Naturally he couldn’t see it. Yun Ye pulled out a magnifying glass ground from crystal stone from his bosom and handed it to him, gesturing for him to look again.

Not understanding its use, Xu Jingzong held the magnifying glass, not knowing how to use it. When he accidentally passed it before his eyes, he was suddenly startled. Placing the magnifying glass before his eyes, a huge eyeball appeared before everyone, provoking roars of laughter.

Xu Jingzong felt somewhat ashamed, feeling like a country bumpkin. After figuring out how to use the magnifying glass, he carefully examined the document with it. Now, the paper’s seams were clearly visible. He took a long breath and said to Yun Ye: “My lord, this document is indeed fake. Being able to forge such a document is truly ingenious craftsmanship.” After speaking, he returned the document to Yun Ye and very smoothly stuffed the magnifying glass into his own bosom.

Indignant, Sun Simiao snatched the magnifying glass from his bosom and carefully placed it in a wooden box lined with silk cloth before finally putting it in his own bosom. Xu Jingzong touched his nose, somewhat embarrassed. The first time taking without asking and being caught—his face couldn’t quite withstand it.

“Old Xu, when we return to the capital, I’ll give you one. This one is Daoist Sun’s treasure. I also begged for a long time before he’d let me use it for a while.” Yun Ye had now thought it through—the academy couldn’t only have morally upright gentlemen; it must also have a few scheming men, like Xu Jingzong. But recruiting such people required a prerequisite—that they have a strong sense of identification with the academy. Without this prerequisite, rashly recruiting them in would only be disastrous.

Hearing Yun Ye say this, Xu Jingzong’s expression improved considerably. There weren’t many people in the world who could give Sun Simiao attitude. Being humiliated by him didn’t count as losing face.

“My lord, since you discovered early on that the document was fake, why did you still risk leaving the city? A son of a thousand gold pieces doesn’t sit beneath a precarious hall—my lord made a mistake in strategy.”

“Actually, the one who first discovered something wrong with the document wasn’t me, but Daoist Sun. I was just curious—Grand Commander Li wouldn’t torment me like this. Even if I made a mistake, at most he’d order me back to Chang’an. Why would he have me travel a thousand miles regardless of danger? To put it arrogantly, if something happened to me, Li Jing couldn’t bear the responsibility. So I took the document to consult with Daoist Sun. Who knew Daoist Sun would actually smell a medicinal scent on the document? Looking with the magnifying glass, it became clear at a glance. Speaking of this, I must thank the Daoist for his life-saving grace. Otherwise, we’d have entered the gates of hell without knowing what happened.” After speaking, Yun Ye cupped his hands toward Sun Simiao.

“Hmph! I’ve long told you to keep a low profile and honestly stay at the academy without showing off. Have you ever listened once? Being schemed against this time is good—it’ll teach you a good lesson.” Sun Simiao’s face, usually calm as an ancient well, finally showed anger and became animated.

“I found Commander Chai and checked the document he received. His people have no problems. It seems this time someone is targeting me. From the forgery techniques, Master Gongshu saw the shadow of a hidden sect. These foolish things are still fantasizing about immortality—truly incorrigible.” Yun Ye very much looked down on those cowards who couldn’t face death.

“Didn’t Commander Chai arrange backup? Our forces are still rather thin.” Xu Jingzong began to worry about their situation.

“Thirty miles behind us are five hundred elite cavalry. As long as we send a signal and hold out for half an hour, they’ll arrive. I don’t believe any hidden sect can wipe out our force in half an hour.” Cheng Chumo waved his fist, speaking with certainty.

“They lured me out—I estimate it’s not to eliminate me. Otherwise, there were plenty of opportunities in Shuofang or Chang’an. In this frozen wasteland, going to such great effort, they probably have something to say to me and don’t want people to know of their existence, so they’re playing tricks to deceive people. Let’s pretend we don’t know and respond to changes with constancy, see what tricks they have. I also want to know who has such great interest in me.”

After the meeting, Old Zhuang and Old Niu’s guard captain went to inform the auxiliary soldiers one by one, having them prepare mentally. Gongshu Jia loaded arrows onto the crossbow carts and prepared three crossbow strings, ready to string them at any time. Seeing everything prepared, Yun Ye returned to his small cave to sleep. The auxiliary soldiers had dug a row of caves along the hillside—none large, barely able to fit two people sleeping.

The night was deep. As the heated stones gradually cooled, the cave slowly became cold. Cheng Chumo hadn’t fallen asleep. Draped in sheepskin and gripping his horizontal blade, he sat cross-legged on the sheepskin. The oil lamp in the cave gave off dim light, and his dark armor flickered with intimidating coldness.

A tense night yielded nothing. No one came to disturb them—not even a single wolf. In the dim dawn light, the convoy needed to set out again. Since they were pretending to rendezvous with Li Jing, everything needed to look authentic. If even they felt it was fake, how could they deceive others? Yun Ye decided to actually go find Li Jing. When the time came, he’d scare him with the fake document and see if he could gain some more benefits. He Shao still had a huge pile of copper coins—he didn’t plan to transport them back to Chang’an, as that wouldn’t be economical.

Cheng Chumo, having not slept all night, was still full of vigor. He didn’t ride the sled but sat on horseback, wearing leather gloves and holding his mace, never leaving Yun Ye’s side. Xu Jingzong lay in the canopy reciting texts, his voice rather loud. Knowing he was nervous—fortunately, he hadn’t reached the point of losing composure. The great schemer of history was indeed extraordinary. The old saying that great villains are also men of great wisdom and courage truly didn’t deceive!

The sun had not yet risen, and the horizon’s edge was still shrouded in mist. Suddenly, a camel caravan appeared ahead. Yun Ye’s convoy immediately stopped, and all the auxiliary soldiers loaded their crossbows. For this journey, Yun Ye had equipped many crossbows—basically two per person. In a small-scale conflict, who could break through such dense volleys?

A person emerged from the opposite group, placed his hand on his chest in salute, and called out loudly: “We are the children of Allah, merchants doing business on the great grasslands. Noble general, please allow me to present our gifts to you. We hope the noble general will permit us to continue doing business on this beautiful land.” After speaking, someone behind him brought forth an exquisite silver plate piled with various fine silver vessels.

Yun Ye’s warhorse stopped twenty meters away. Cheng Chumo was by his side, his full iron armor like a demon god manifest. The convoy also quickly formed a circle. Seeing his subordinates prepared, Yun Ye looked at the half-round of red sun just peeking out and asked the merchant: “Are you certain you’re children of Allah?”

“Yes, my general. We came from distant Medina to this land blessed by Allah to spread Allah’s will to all directions. Doing business is just incidental. Noble general, my camel caravan has the finest wine and beautiful Persian virgins. Noble general, this is our heartfelt offering.”

Yun Ye sighed, looked at the indistinct heads behind the camel caravan, and said to the so-called Arab: “You speak well, except it’s sunrise now. Moreover, wine is a mortal sin for Muslims. You’re seeking death—you can’t blame me.” After these words, he said to Cheng Chumo: “Capture this person alive.”

Yun Ye turned his horse and galloped back to the convoy. Cheng Chumo lightly tapped his horse’s belly, and his steed suddenly lunged forward, chasing after the Arab. A large number of cavalry poured out from behind the camel caravan, charging toward the convoy. Their weapons were strange—all curved swords, and even stranger, they had no bows and arrows.

The fleeing Arab hadn’t run a few steps before Cheng Chumo caught up. His mace struck fiercely across the man’s back, and the Arab flew up spitting blood. Cheng Chumo spurred his horse past, bent down to grab his belt, laid him across the saddle, and turned back to the convoy.

The Arabs’ camel caravan scattered. Several hundred tall horses like an iron torrent, howling, charged down the small hillside.

Gongshu Jia ripped off the hemp cloth covering the crossbow cart and, aiming at where the people were thickest, pulled the trigger. A sound like tearing fabric came, and instantly a huge hole appeared in the chest of the Arab charging at the front. His body was lifted high by the siege bolt and thrown backward. When the siege bolt’s momentum was exhausted, three Arabs were strung on the five-foot-long siege bolt shaft, instantly trampled into pulp by the charging warhorses.

The Arabs seemed unafraid of death, still madly spurring their horses to bring them to maximum speed. Two more giant arrows flew out, each precisely attacking the spearhead of the Arabs’ charging formation. Each giant arrow carved a bloody path through the crowd.

The riderless warhorses running wild slightly slowed the Arabs’ speed. At this moment, Old Zhuang had already ordered the front row of crossbowmen to pull their triggers. Over a hundred black crossbow bolts flew out with a buzzing sound. These were special tailless crossbow bolts forged from pure steel, much faster than ordinary tailed crossbow bolts. The Arabs’ leather shields couldn’t protect them at all. The triangular arrowheads easily tore through the leather shields and embedded deeply in their bodies.

On the chaotic battlefield, Yun Ye discovered he was incomparably clear-headed, without the slightest discomfort. Being downwind, the wind carried the intense smell of blood to him. He actually enjoyed taking a long breath—as if every cell in his body was cheering.