At that moment, another subordinate reported to Wang Yun: “All the other troops have held their positions as the General commanded, but Zhao Guibei of the Qian Bei Camp took over a hundred men and left camp without authorization to cooperate with the Qianxi Grain Transport Camp…”

Upon hearing this, Wang Yun narrowed his eyes sharply. So that was it! No wonder a good-for-nothing had suddenly become so capable and fierce — someone had defied his orders and given Han Linfeng unauthorized assistance!

Zhao Guibei? Princess Yuyang’s stepson? What did he have to do with any of this? He had actually gotten himself mixed up in it too?

Could it be that Zhao Dong had some scheme of his own brewing in secret? When it came to competing for the position of Commander-in-Chief stationed in the northern region, the one who had contested it most fiercely with Wang Yun had been Zhao Dong.

Had it not been for Princess Yuyang refusing to let her husband venture into danger, going to petition the Emperor on his behalf, Zhao Dong might well have seized command of the north’s heavy troops long ago.

Could he be unwilling to let the matter rest, and have sent his own son here to make things difficult?

For a time, Wang Yun’s scheming, intrigue-prone mind began to turn it all over, spinning the affair into something far more elaborate than the truth actually was!

No matter how one threatened Wang Yun, he never would have guessed that winning over the young general had required nothing more than a wager.

Han Linfeng had bet him that if he could put Zhao Guibei flat on the ground within ten moves, the young general would have to do one thing for him.

As it turned out, Han Linfeng’s specialty — a small grappling technique — sent Zhao Guibei sprawling face-down in the dirt within five moves.

The young general was so thoroughly thrown that every limb felt refreshingly loose, and he was won over body and soul with admiration. He was willing to mobilize troops unofficially to help Han Linfeng. So Han Linfeng and his subordinates also put on the uniforms of the Qian Bei Camp’s soldiers, and he led his men into Demon’s Grove to eliminate the bandits.

Zhao Guibei, for his part, went to harass the rebel army. In this manner the forces split into two prongs — one move, three gains.

Word has it that this mission to deliver provisions to the front had been completed without a hitch, leaving both Qiu Zhen and Wang Yun in a state of ongoing astonishment.

Yet Han Linfeng himself felt little sense of triumph. He was now genuinely aching to return home — eager to hurry back to Fengwei Village and see whether, as evening drew near, someone in that courtyard had left a lamp burning for him.

Beyond the subordinates and soldiers who had assisted him with this diversionary campaign, there was one able and indispensable person whose contributions had been pivotal.

Had she not laid the groundwork with her connections, arranged the timely procurement of provisions, and — bearing the accusations of an extravagant Su Daji — provided cover for him to transport the grain in separate batches, how could things have gone so smoothly?

After Han Linfeng returned from Jia Yong Prefecture, he hurried back to the small courtyard at Fengwei Village, eager to bring her the good news.

Qingyang by now also understood his master’s heart. He recalled what he had seen a few days prior when he had gone to deliver something to Shizi’s consort at the Fengwei Village courtyard — he had found her being harshly berated by people sent from the Prince’s manor… Shizi’s consort had truly endured no small amount of grievance.

Riding alongside as they pressed forward, he said: “Shizi, I must say I am in awe of you. However did you manage to bring home such a capable and virtuous wife from that back alley in the capital? You may not know — the consort sent people a few days ago to rebuke Shizi’s consort, and she took it all without a word. It just so happened that I arrived in the middle of it, but she still told me not to breathe a word to you, so as not to distract your attention.”

Han Linfeng’s heart clenched upon hearing this. He lashed the horse sharply several times and quickened his pace toward Fengwei Village.

By the time he arrived, it was nearly the small hours before dawn. In a veil of morning mist, he dismounted at the courtyard gate.

After signaling the maidservant who opened the gate to remain silent, he made his way noiselessly to the door of the bedchamber.

But before he could push the door open, he heard from within the room a voice — slightly hoarse with the rawness of just waking, urgent in its tone: “Xiangcao — is there someone at the door? Has Shizi sent word?”

Luoyun had been roused by the sound of hoofbeats outside the courtyard. By her reckoning, even at the fastest, Han Linfeng would not return until evening, or perhaps early the next morning.

So movement this early made her heart contract — he had only so many men at his disposal, yet there was no telling how many enemies lurked in the shadows.

Swords and blades know no mercy, and no matter how formidable his martial skill, there would come moments where a tall horse meets a short stirrup. Someone arriving at this hour of early morning was truly alarming — she could not know whether the news they brought would be of disaster.

She called out but no one answered. All she heard was the creak of the door, as though someone had entered silently.

Su Luoyun made no sound. She only slipped her hand beneath the pillow.

There lay a small dagger she had recently purchased.

Ever since the ambush on the road to camp that last time, she had come to understand clearly — this close to the front lines, once the military situation shifted, the fires of war could reach the nearby villages in an instant.

During the times when Han Linfeng was not at her side, she kept a dagger beneath her pillow. It was not that she distrusted the guards watching over the courtyard — it was simply that she was accustomed to preparing for the worst. Should the village fall, or should someone try to abduct her to threaten Han Linfeng, she wanted to preserve for herself one final choice.

She would rather end her own life than allow herself to be seized by bandits and used as leverage against Han Linfeng.

Moreover, her younger brother had already taken up an official post — if her honor were compromised and the matter became known, it would leave both her brother and Han Linfeng unable to hold their heads up in public.

But after the commotion at the door there came silence, and to a person who could not see, it sounded as though a thief had crept in and noiselessly dispatched every guard in the courtyard.

So upon hearing the door open yet no one enter, she could no longer restrain herself — she drew the dagger from beneath the pillow and concealed it within her quilt.

But the sky had already begun to lighten faintly, and Han Linfeng had a clear view of the forced composure written all over her face, and the small motion of her drawing the dagger.

In that instant he suddenly understood her quiet dread, and truly could not bear to frighten her any further. He hastened to speak: “Ah Yun — it is me!”

When that familiar, deep, resonant voice reached her ears, Su Luoyun felt her entire body go limp with relief, and her eyes moistened involuntarily: “You frightened me again?”

Han Linfeng’s heart ached terribly.

He had always believed he looked after this woman well, yet had never once thought about how much she gave for him that he did not know.

She lived alone in a small courtyard in a strange land — clearly frightened, yet never saying a word of it. Until just a moment ago, when she believed a thief had entered, the helplessness written across her delicate face…

Had an intruder truly come, with that toy-like thing in her hand — was she prepared to fight to the death?

When he asked about it, Luoyun gave a bitter smile: “I am a blind woman — besides myself, who else could I harm? If bandits and thieves truly broke in, all I could do with this dagger was preserve my honor…”

Before she had finished speaking, the dagger in her hand had already been snatched from her grasp and flung away with force.

“Since when have you ever cared about your reputation? I should think it was concern for your younger brother, or fear of being used as a threat against me, that made you do this.” He stated it with certainty.

Seeing that she said nothing, he knew he had guessed correctly.

“As long as I still draw breath, I will never let you fall into such a situation. And should that day ever truly come… the people who truly care about you would wish for you to go on living. If a man’s honor requires a woman to die in order to be preserved, he would be better off finding a well and drowning himself in it!”

Hearing his fierce and vehement words, Luoyun smiled and followed the sound of his voice, falling into his arms: “Who would have thought you’d be back so quickly — sneaking in without a sound to frighten people! Besides, I only had it for self-defense. You speak as though things had truly come to that?”

Han Linfeng was afraid his armor would press uncomfortably against her. He kissed her once on the cheek, then set her to one side and stood to remove the armor.

Once he had stripped down to his inner garments, he lunged toward her like a hungry tiger upon a lamb. But Luoyun pressed her hand to her nose and said: “You haven’t bathed in several days — you smell dreadful. Go wash yourself first!”

In truth the robust masculine scent was not particularly unpleasant — for someone who had kept an empty bed for many days, it was even, in a way, somewhat stirring.

But Luoyun felt a wash was still preferable. Han Linfeng, however, pulled her up with one arm and said: “I am too lazy to summon the maidservants. Help me wash.”

In the end, he did not even call for water. In the side chamber of the bedroom, using the leftover cool water from Luoyun’s bath the night before, he gave himself a rough wash and then carried her back to the bed.

The two of them fell into each other’s arms.

The longer a marriage goes on, the more that man seemed to have learned all manner of tricks from who knows where — so much so that even though Luoyun could not see, she felt a flush of warmth spread through her from head to toe.

Fortunately this was her own private little courtyard with no father-in-law or mother-in-law about. Otherwise, lingering so late into the morning without rising, tangled together in bed like this, would surely have earned them a scolding.

Han Linfeng’s move this time had achieved three ends with a single stroke: he had delivered the burning problem of the grain provisions, dealt Qiu Zhen a punishing blow, and seized the opportunity to dispatch men to rescue his elder brother Cao Sheng from his confinement.

With everything accomplished to satisfaction, he could finally ease the tension in his nerves and return home properly to rest and keep his wife company.

Luoyun, upon hearing that Zhao Guibei had led over a hundred pig bladders filled with excrement and urine to cause havoc at the rebel army’s camp, could not help but burst out laughing.

“How did you persuade young General Zhao to provide cover for Commander Cao?”

Han Linfeng smiled faintly: “You know what he is like — his mind is a touch on the simple side. I only had to make a wager with him, then goad him with a few provocative words, and he could not restrain himself from going to avenge his brothers. I was worried he might go too far and get himself caught in that mess, so I had Qingyang go along to keep things in check. Zhao Guibei had no knowledge of Cao Sheng’s situation — he vented his anger and came back.”

Su Luoyun gave a nod, then asked: “Everything else went smoothly?”

Han Linfeng considered the reports his subordinates had brought back: “Apart from Elder Brother Cao’s daughter, everything else was all right… That Cao Pei’er refused to go with her mother, and had to be knocked unconscious by my men before she could be brought out.”

Luoyun heard this and asked with puzzlement: “Does she not know what Qiu Zhen has done to her father?”

Han Linfeng let out a long sigh: “She refuses to believe it. She insists that her father, weakened by his serious illness, developed a paranoid suspicion, and so imagined that Qiu Zhen had drugged him… That girl is like a woman bewitched by a fox spirit — she hangs on Qiu Zhen’s every word.”

Su Luoyun thought of what Xiangcao had said about Qiu Zhen’s exceptional handsomeness. Small wonder he could bewitch an inexperienced young girl into losing all reason, abandoning even her own parents.

Still, it was fortunate that everyone had been rescued. Time would tell whether the girl could come to her senses given enough distance.

Cao Sheng’s identity was sensitive, so Han Linfeng had him assume the alias Qiao An and take on the pretense of a traveling merchant who had fallen ill far from home, arranging for him to be lodged at Han Shuang Temple, located in the neighboring prefecture to Liangzhou.

A place outside civil jurisdiction, beyond the reach of common law — comparatively speaking, it was safer.

Yuan Xi, upon learning that his elder brother had been rescued, refused to wait another moment and had already been conveyed by carriage to Han Shuang Temple to visit him.

Luoyun was genuinely curious about Cao Sheng — such a storied and legendary figure — but for the sake of propriety, it would not be appropriate for her to pay a visit in person. She could only learn of the Commander’s condition through what Han Linfeng told her.

Cao Sheng had never fully purged the arrow’s poison from his earlier injury, and the treatment had been delayed besides; compounded by his long confinement to bed, his back had developed bedsores.

Although the physician Han Linfeng had brought in was no ordinary practitioner, even he shook his head repeatedly, indicating that this man was sustained by nothing more than a thread of life. He would do his utmost, but whether “Master Qiao” recovered would depend on his own fortune.

Cao Sheng himself was clear-eyed about his condition, and responded to it with the equanimity of a man at peace. He smiled and took Han Linfeng’s hand as he came to visit: “Every person must die one day. I always thought I would fall on a battlefield reclaiming lost territory. To die peacefully in a bed like this — it feels rather dull… There is one thing I have never been able to set down, yet no longer have the strength to remedy. I can only place my hope in you.”

Han Linfeng replied gravely: “As things stand now, Qiu Zhen is expanding his territory one stretch at a time. The lost lands are more than half recovered. I imagine it will not be long before they are entirely reclaimed.”

Cao Sheng shook his head with a rueful helplessness: “His wolfish ambitions go far beyond recovering lost territory. He wants to proclaim himself king — to ascend to supreme power! I fear that I have reared a tiger and brought disaster upon myself, and that I will leave behind the posthumous infamy of a man who brought ruin to the state…”

He paused briefly to gather himself, then continued: “With my sudden disappearance, I am afraid Qiu Zhen will no longer be able to use me as a rallying banner. There is no telling what he will do next.”

Hearing this, Han Linfeng said slowly: “Elder Brother Cao — your reputation among the common people runs far higher than that glory-chasing, self-styled war god could ever claim. As long as Elder Brother still lives, he can never truly take your place.”

Cao Sheng said with despondence: “But my days are numbered. I most likely do not have long…”

Han Linfeng simply held his hand, and said with quiet significance: “To keep a demon in check, it is sufficient to invoke the sacred name of a true deity. If Elder Brother cannot rest easy over the threat that Qiu Zhen poses, I do happen to have an idea…”

Back on Qiu Zhen’s side — after many days, he had finally pieced together the full sequence of events at Demon’s Grove.

When he learned that such a massive consignment of provisions had somehow gathered like sand forming into a tower, assembling at Jia Yong Prefecture without anyone knowing or seeing how, Qiu Zhen’s deep-set eyes narrowed with a cold and fierce intensity.

One of his subordinates also spoke up: “These past few days I made inquiries with our informants in Jia Yong Prefecture. It seems it was the young general from the Qian Bei Camp, Zhao Guibei, who sent troops to reinforce Han Linfeng. The people who came to cause havoc at our camp were Zhao Guibei’s men. Could the scheme of concealing a covert move openly have also been Zhao Guibei’s idea?”

Qiu Zhen asked with a frown: “Zhao Guibei?”

The strategist said: “He is Prince Consort Zhao Dong’s son. Young as he is, his martial skill is said to be remarkable. He came to the northern region specifically to make a name for himself… Though this tactic of climbing a cliff face using ropes to launch a surprise attack from the rear seems to have appeared before, several years ago. At the time, a subordinate of Commander Cao’s showed exceptional skill at ambush tactics — it was that so-called ‘Iron General’ of earlier days, who had a particular liking for this kind of diversionary maneuvering. He never showed his face, and by his bearing appeared to be young. They say Cao Sheng had come to know him by chance and count him as a sworn brother; on several occasions he led his men to cooperate with Commander Cao in carrying out impressive long-range strikes of a thousand li, causing the Tiefu people tremendous suffering. But after that brief flowering, he vanished without a trace. Do you think Cao Sheng was rescued because this mysterious figure has returned?”

Qiu Zhen found himself thinking of how that group who had launched the surprise attack had seemed to strike with particular viciousness toward those wearing masks — as though they bore a very deep and personal grudge.

Could it be that the former “Iron General,” aggrieved that Qiu Zhen had usurped his renowned name, had come looking for an opportunity to settle the score?

And this Zhao Guibei — could he not be the hidden benefactor who had assisted Cao Sheng? Yet by careful calculation, the ages seemed not to match up. Was Zhao Guibei mature beyond his years?

If he truly were the former leader of the Iron-Masked Army, it would explain why the Qian Bei Camp’s soldiers had been willing to provide cover for Cao Sheng’s escape. But for a general’s son to covertly aid Cao Sheng…

Then again, Zhao Dong was famously among the war faction at court. For him and his son to secretly support Cao Sheng was not entirely without logic.

And so, between one round of calculations and the next, young General Zhao rose to divinity overnight — in both Wang Yun’s and Qiu Zhen’s minds he was now invested with the golden mantle of a true and formidable deity, a figure of deep cunning and hidden depths, not to be underestimated!

As for why neither of them gave Han Shizi a second thought — it was not that these two men were especially foolish. The simple truth was that Shizi had played the pig to eat the tiger quite thoroughly.

Qiu Zhen had once conducted a covert observation of the Qianxi Grain Transport Camp. He had stood atop a small hill and happened to see Han Linfeng, wine flask dangling, rolling dice on the practice ground’s elevated platform with a group of subordinates…

As for the man himself, what the scouts had uncovered of his background was this: he had dropped out of the academy before the age of thirteen, had a fondness for frequenting brothels, and enjoyed surrounding himself with companions for revelry.

The sunlight had been particularly strong that day, and the gold threads woven through Han Linfeng’s floral robe were so dazzling that Qiu Zhen’s eyes were almost blinded by them. He had caught a distant glimpse from the hilltop of a loose and slovenly camp and gone away satisfied.

Yet who could have imagined that this very link he had dismissed without a second glance would deal him such a devastating blow.

From all of this, however, it was evident — Han Linfeng that good-for-nothing must have been born under a particularly fortunate star, surrounded by clever and capable people.

His thoughts drifted to the blind wife Han Linfeng had married. Back at the fragrance shop, she had suddenly inquired about the purpose of the elk grass he had been purchasing.

He had been on his guard at the time, and although he had left the city promptly, the pursuing troops from the Qian Bei Camp had entered shortly afterward — and from what he heard, they had made straight for the fragrance shop.

So it seemed that fools really do have their own good fortune — not only had this one married a perceptive and quick-witted wife, but he had capable people like Zhao Guibei quietly at his side as well…

With Cao Sheng no longer in his hands, Qiu Zhen needed a convincing story to stabilize the army’s morale. For with no grain and no silver, if he could not take Jia Yong Prefecture, he would be slowly strangled to death in this winter.

With this in mind, Qiu Zhen aligned his account with his trusted inner circle, and announced publicly and uniformly that Commander Cao had been abducted by an assassin sent by Wang Yun of Jia Yong Prefecture during the confusion of battle, and had in all likelihood been killed.

In order to rescue Commander Cao, the entire army must unite as one and take Jia Yong Prefecture in a single stroke — capturing the treacherous Wang Yun and delivering the Commander!

The moment this battle cry was raised, it won the immediate and wholehearted rallying of the rebel army from top to bottom.

Rebel forces scattered across the occupied prefectures and counties stirred into motion, mustering and converging in a great surge toward Jia Yong Prefecture.

A fierce and intense siege was now on the verge of erupting.

On the subject of Wang Yun — his temper had not been particularly good these past few days.

He had originally made preparations to withdraw, transferring his family members and personal belongings to Hui City.

His plan had been to submit the memorial and then abandon the city and retreat.

But now that the provisions had been successfully delivered, if he declined to fight any further, he would be handing the faction of the Ninth Prince a glaring and unmistakable weapon to use against him.

When Qiu Zhen’s forces arrived at the city walls, no matter how unwilling Wang Yun was, he had no choice but to brace himself and engage.

Han Linfeng remained at the rear, stationed at the grain transport camp, untouched by the fires of battle. He dispatched numerous scouts to monitor the situation at the front.

Meanwhile, back in the small courtyard at Fengwei Village, a pot of rabbit — hunted by Han Linfeng himself — was simmering over the fire. Han Linfeng was using this fragrant rabbit meat to entertain his old school companion, Wen Qian.

Wen Qian had come to lodge at Shizi’s manor when his wife fell gravely ill. After his wife passed away, he had returned to the northern region ahead of Shizi’s departure from the capital.

Su Luoyun had not previously known the extent of Master Wen’s abilities. It was not until Wen Qian and Han Linfeng were drinking and chatting together at leisure that she learned — this Wen Qian was actually a master cartographer. Using nothing more than a small cart and three servants, he had traversed the greater part of the wild and uninhabited mountain ranges of the northern region, producing not only meticulously detailed maps but also three-dimensional sand table models.

The sand table that Han Linfeng had guided Luoyun’s hands to explore the first time the two of them had revealed their true identities to each other — that had been Wen Qian’s work.

Previously, the sand tables Wen Qian had produced were all of the twenty ceded prefectures.

But this time his primary focus of survey was the topography of the several prefectures surrounding Jia Yong Prefecture, including Demon’s Grove where Han Linfeng had deployed his forces in this engagement.

It was precisely because he had such precise topographical maps in hand that Han Linfeng had been able to turn the terrain to his advantage and encircle the grain-raiding rebel forces from behind the cliff.

Though Luoyun could not see very clearly, she could feel with her fingertips the intricacy of the sand table, and could not help but exclaim her admiration aloud.

Han Linfeng raised a cup to Wen Qian as well, offering a sincere and solemn expression of thanks.

Wen Qian waved his hand with some embarrassment: “I dare not accept your thanks. I relied on our years of friendship as school companions to shamelessly throw myself on your hospitality, then sat about in idleness while you fed and housed me. I waited a long time for a moment when you could make use of me — if I did not put my whole heart into it, how could I ever repay the debt?”

Han Linfeng laughed: “We shared the same school bench and are as close as brothers — there is no need for such distant formality. Without your maps, I fear I would now be locked in prison for failing to deliver the provisions!”

Wen Qian had lived in Shizi’s manor for an extended period and naturally knew Han Linfeng’s current circumstances. He drank a cup of wine and gave a long sigh: “I only hope that this time I have been of real help. If Jia Yong Prefecture falls, Liangzhou too will be encircled by enemies. The mountains on three sides here are connected to Liangzhou — the terrain is steep and forbidding, but with someone to guide the way, one can use them to outflank Liangzhou…”

Han Linfeng understood — from there, the advance to Hui City would open the path to a straight march on the capital.

The two men drank together in silence, both inwardly hoping that Wang Yun would not eat his fill of rice without earning it — only by holding Jia Yong Prefecture could they stem the tide of the floodwaters that would otherwise follow.

But the heavens were indifferent to the wishes of men. The situation in Jia Yong Prefecture deteriorated far more rapidly than either of them had anticipated.

Qiu Zhen’s reputation as the war god of the rebel army was not a hollow one.

In the conduct of his military campaigns, he truly had some unorthodox methods. Though young in years, his life had taken him through much early hardship when he was forced to make his own way in the world from a young age. In his childhood he had worked at a quarry, and through that had become familiar with explosive materials and fire-based tools.

When it came to storming city walls, he dispensed entirely with conventional methods such as siege ladders and battering rams. Instead, he ordered his men to carry fire-stones and incendiary devices, charging through the downpour of arrows and rocks to reach the base of the city wall. There, using iron picks, they chiseled holes into the wall, then packed narrow tubes filled with saltpeter into each section.

Once the fuses were lit, the detonations that followed were thunderous in their power. After several successive blasts, the thick city wall was riddled with small gaps by these specially formulated saltpeter tubes.

With these openings made, the rebel forces that followed used picks and iron shovels to widen the holes into breaches — the equivalent of opening freely passable gates in the walls of Jia Yong Prefecture.

Three such gates were opened in this manner. By the time Wang Yun heard that something was amiss and hurriedly dispatched men to plug the base of the walls, it was already too late.

What should have been a siege defense that could hold for a month or more was turned by Qiu Zhen into close-quarters street fighting within a mere two days.

What did it matter how many troops held the city, or how abundant the provisions? They were nothing more than meat in a jar — there to be tasted and devoured at leisure.

In an instant the defending forces threw down their armor and fled in disarray, while the rebel forces rapidly seized the city walls and the watch towers.

Under the protection of his personal guard, Wang Yun departed in frantic haste as part of the first wave to withdraw from Jia Yong Prefecture — leaving great numbers of his soldiers behind him.