Barbarian soldiers in black armor piled up and pressed close like dense clouds. The cavalry’s sharp spears all thrust toward Xu Hexue. Seeing this from the city tower, Shen Tongchuan immediately shouted: “Release arrows!”

The soldiers atop the city wall manipulated the bed crossbows to release countless iron-feathered sharp arrows that tore through the fierce wind with short, sharp sounds. Qin Jixun seized this opportunity to tear open a gap among Shi Monu’s personal guards. Just as he raised his blade and moved forward, he encountered Xu Hexue leaning back and flipping over, stepping on the barbarians’ pressing spears to leap upward.

Shi Monu had taken a sword thrust to his side. One hand covered the bloody wound. Though not fatal, he could no longer continue fighting. A personal guard quickly mounted Shi Monu’s horse, pulling the reins and shouting: “Protect the General! Retreat!”

The barbarian soldiers surrounded Shi Monu protectively and rapidly withdrew in tight formation. In the distance, the trembling sound of hoofbeats trampling the ground was heavy. Amid the flying dust and sand, Shen Tongchuan held the commanding height and recognized their own banners bearing “Qi” and the surnames “Qin Wei.” He immediately raised his hand. “Stop! Commander Wei has returned!”

The rain of arrows suddenly ceased.

Behind Wei Dechang was Nie Lingu, who had led troops in pursuit. Amid the chaos, seeing Shi Monu wounded, Nie Lingu panicked. He couldn’t care about Wei Dechang and his Wei family army ahead—he hurried to meet Shi Monu.

Wei Dechang’s eyes saw the barbarian soldiers retreating in panic. “Sworn brother! The barbarians already show signs of defeat! Let’s quickly join forces and pursue them to victory!”

“No.”

Qin Jixun’s armor was bathed in blood. He saw that Wei Dechang and Yang Tianzhe turned their horses around before even coming close. Before he could respond, he heard Xu Hexue speak.

Xu Hexue’s garment hem was mottled with bloodstains. Several strands of disheveled hair at his temples were blown wildly by the wind. Qin Jixun suddenly saw his knees buckle, the sword edge embedding into the ground. As he stumbled, Qin Jixun immediately stepped forward to support him: “Young Master Ni!”

“General Qin, have them return.”

Xu Hexue struggled to stand straight. The hand gripping the sword trembled faintly within his sleeve.

“Duan Rong, wave the flag!”

At Qin Jixun’s command, Duan Rong immediately had the soldiers wave the banner. Wei Dechang saw the banner signaling to cease battle. It was like being doused with cold water over his head—he had no choice but to turn back with Yang Tianzhe leading the soldiers.

“Sworn brother! What a good opportunity! Commander Yang has already burned Shi Monu’s provisions, and he’s been wounded. Right now his morale is greatly reduced. If we pursue at this moment, we might be able to catch them all in one net!” Wei Dechang galloped to the city gate, dismounted, and spoke urgently.

Yang Tianzhe followed closely behind. “Yes, General Qin, we absolutely cannot let Shi Monu go at this time!”

“Have you forgotten what our top priority is right now? It’s defending the city!” Qin Jixun’s expression was solemn, his voice stern. “Before reinforcements arrive, no one is permitted to act rashly!”

The war drums had ceased. Cold wind swept the ground. The sky had also become much dimmer. Ni Su lit the glass lamp and leaned against the city wall. Seeing Shen Tongchuan hurriedly lift his garment hem as he descended from the city tower, she looked behind him but never saw that person. Her heart leaped as she couldn’t help moving forward. “Magistrate Shen, where is Young Master Ni?”

“Young Master Ni is outside! He seems to be wounded!” Shen Tongchuan hastily replied, then immediately ordered the soldiers guarding the inner city gate to open it.

The city gate slowly opened. Before Shen Tongchuan could peer into the barbican, he saw Ni Su had already run past him swiftly. Inside the barbican, besides standing warhorses, there were corpses covering the ground. Where the lamplight illuminated, blood flowed freely. The piled corpses almost blocked her steps.

The outer city gate opened. In the dim twilight, with torches not yet lit in the city, everything was gray and hazy. The howling wind was like the wailing of fierce ghosts. Blood dripped steadily.

Countless soldiers poured in, cleaning up the corpses on the ground. The barbarians’ bodies were tossed aside, almost piling into a small mountain, while every Qi soldier’s body was solemnly carried into the city for proper burial.

“Young Master Ni, you’re wounded? Quick, quickly call for the medical workers from our camp!” Though Wei Dechang was dissatisfied that Xu Hexue had counseled Qin Jixun against pursuing Shi Monu, seeing him wounded, he also showed nervousness.

“No need.”

Xu Hexue held his sword in one hand and refused Qin Jixun’s support. He walked through the city gate with slow steps, only feeling the darkness before his eyes dispersed by a warm-colored light.

That light spread across the ground soaked with blood. His lashes slowly lifted. Opposite him was a woman wearing a pale purple shirt and skirt, her hair arranged in a triple-coil bun with only a single ivory jade hairpin as decoration. A clean white long scarf half-covered the top of her head and also masked half her face.

She held a glass lamp in her hand. The candle flame inside the lamp danced—it was the only light source illuminating his eyes.

“I have a medical worker.”

Xu Hexue suddenly said.

His whole body ached with numbness. Taking extremely difficult steps, he walked toward her, stepping on the light scattered by the glass lamp, one step, one step.

The closer he walked, the clearer his eyes became.

He saw clearly her reddened eye sockets, the glistening tears. Suddenly, his steps paused.

Between them was still some distance. The instant their eyes met, Ni Su’s tears fell like petals. Suddenly she ran toward him, arms outstretched, embracing his waist.

Xu Hexue’s spine went rigid. After a long moment, he lowered his eyes and saw the long scarf had slipped, revealing her hair bun. He reached out his hand, stopped in midair for a moment, then very gently, very gently touched her hair.

Shen Tongchuan, standing at the inner gate, saw this scene. He wanted to approach but felt it somehow wasn’t quite appropriate. He touched his nose and didn’t move.

“Let’s go quickly.”

Ni Su sniffled, released him, supported his arm, and walked toward the inner gate. Passing by Shen Tongchuan, Xu Hexue casually returned that sword to him.

Shen Tongchuan watched the backs of the two supporting each other as they walked forward. He had never felt his sword so heavy. He lowered his head and watched a blood droplet slide down the sword edge and fall.

“Dechang, I know what you’re thinking in your hearts.” Qin Jixun stood inside the barbican, also just withdrawing his gaze from Xu Hexue’s departing back. “You think I listen to him too much.”

“Sworn brother…”

“But I’m not a fool!”

Qin Jixun suddenly interrupted sternly, “If he had no ability, if what he did made no sense, why would I, as the Yongzhou army’s main general, need to listen to him!”

“Do you think when Shi Monu intended to retreat, why did he suddenly risk exchanging blows with Shi Monu?”

Qin Jixun’s gaze moved back and forth between Wei Dechang and Yang Tianzhe. “You hadn’t returned yet. If Shi Monu had retreated then and encountered you head-on, wouldn’t that have given Shi Monu and Nie Lingu the perfect opportunity to attack you from front and rear?”

Xu Hexue’s intention wasn’t to kill Shi Monu but to buy time for Wei Dechang and Yang Tianzhe. And with Shi Monu wounded, it also threw Nie Lingu into disarray—his mind no longer on battle, only on retreat. Thus, another bloody battle and its consumption were avoided.

Both Wei Dechang and Yang Tianzhe were struck speechless.

Qin Jixun looked at the pine-pattern precious sword Yang Tianzhe returned. He reached out to take it. “I don’t know what you’re thinking in your hearts, but I—the more I know this person, the more I regret what might have been.”

“Strategy fills his chest, his sword deflects ten thousand blades of light.” Shen Tongchuan, holding that sword Xu Hexue had used, approached them. “Such a person, whether devoted to the battlefield or residing in court, should have had limitless prospects.”

Unfortunately, he was someone who would not remain in this world much longer.

Sudden silence enveloped the four of them. Today should have been their greatest victory against Shi Monu in recent times, yet all four wore somewhat heavy expressions.

“I’ve wronged Young Master Ni.”

Wei Dechang’s face was full of shame.

“As General Qin said, for someone like Young Master Ni, I truly shouldn’t have been so offensive.” Yang Tianzhe also bowed his head.

Taking advantage of the dim twilight, fortunately the torches on the city wall hadn’t yet been lit and only the glass lamp in Ni Su’s hand illuminated Xu Hexue—for now, no one had discovered that Xu Hexue’s form, compared to ordinary people, had become somewhat faint.

Ni Su lifted the felt curtain and helped him inside. Qingqiong, who had been lying on the felt carpet, seeing this, struggled to sit up. Being a ghost fetus, he could naturally keenly perceive Xu Hexue’s difference. He immediately got up, dragging his sluggish, stiff body outside to find incense and candles.

There was still some tea water brewed with silver grass dew remaining. Ni Su was about to take it to warm on the stove when she heard him say: “No need. Give it to me.”

Ni Su said nothing and handed him the tea bowl.

She watched his hand holding the tea bowl, noticed his trembling, and vaguely saw the blood-red wounds beneath his sleeve—one after another.

“Young Mistress Ni.”

Outside the felt curtain, Nanny Zhong’s voice came. “Clan Head Wei heard you have the family skill of golden needle acupoint stimulation, so he sent someone to ask you to go treat his legs.”

Over these past one or two months, Ni Su had used her medical skills to cure the refugees’ women and children suffering from illness, and also followed the camp’s medical workers to treat the wounded soldiers’ external injuries. Almost no one here doubted her medical skills anymore. Women in the city having difficult births or hidden ailments all began seeking her for treatment.

Chatting idly with people, Nanny Zhong had let slip that Ni Su came from Que County in Jiangnan, from a family of physicians, and that she had the family skill of golden needle acupoint stimulation—this too had spread from Nanny Zhong. The old steward from the Wei residence, continuing Nanny Zhong’s words outside the felt tent, said: “Young Mistress Ni, when autumn cold arrives, my master’s knees begin to ache. Hearing you know acupuncture, why not come to our residence and give it a try? If your method works, my master will certainly reward you.”

Arrogant masters raise arrogant servants. These words were condescending. Ni Su’s eyes were filled with the cracked wounds on this person’s arms before her. Her heart swelled with anger. She turned her head to look at the shadow cast on the felt curtain. Wind blew the curtain, and that shadow seemed somewhat distorted. “I won’t go!”

The old steward outside clearly hadn’t expected this woman would be so ungrateful. His expression changed, his tone becoming worse. “Young Mistress Ni, if not for the war situation, do you think our master would want a young woman like you to examine his legs?”

“For the medical workers in the city, you can find whoever you like. My golden needle acupoint stimulation skill isn’t well-learned. I won’t test it on your old clan head. I’m afraid he can’t afford to be tested on!”

Ni Su’s needle-sharp words made the old steward’s face flush red and white in turns. He snorted coldly outside. “What a sharp-tongued woman! Doesn’t know what’s good for her!”

The shadow outside the felt curtain disappeared. Ni Su turned back to meet Xu Hexue’s gaze. She took away the empty tea bowl from his hand. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“What’s wrong?”

Xu Hexue was so weak that his speech was almost only breath. One hand braced against the corner of the table.

“If I don’t treat his leg ailment, he won’t die.” Ni Su could barely suppress the sourness at the tip of her nose. Her eyes welled up with tears again as she looked at his pale face. “But what about you?”

You’re dead.

All the medicine and remedies in this mortal world cannot cure your pain.

“He—”

Tears slid down her cheeks. Ni Su’s voice trembled. “He was one of those who sliced you apart. Why should he get to live to see children and grandchildren fill his house, while you cannot?”

Xu Hexue stared at her blankly. The glass lamp’s light was silent, using its faint power to slowly repair his damaged soul fire, condensing the luminous dust that kept dispersing from him.

He raised his hand. Before it could touch the tears on her cheek, Ni Su suddenly embraced him again.

She held him not tightly at all—instead, she was careful everywhere. She didn’t know where beneath his garments all those slicing wounds were. She actually very much wanted to see, but she knew he wouldn’t be willing.

“If I go treat his leg ailment, what would that make me?”

She said chokingly.

Xu Hexue felt that this sentence from her was like a key she personally handed to him. As long as he yielded to her, he could unlock the shackles restraining the desire in his heart.

Luminous dust floated. The solitary lamp swayed.

Xu Hexue suddenly embraced her in return, with such force that he didn’t care at all about the cracked wounds beneath his garments. His arms tightened, encircling her in his embrace.

Ni Su felt as if she were wrapped in accumulated snow. The heart in her chest wouldn’t stop beating rapidly.

She actually very much wanted his embrace.

Even if it was this cold.

“Xu Ziling, this will hurt you very much.” Her hand rested lightly on his shoulders and back.

But he asked, “Will you feel very cold?”

She couldn’t bring herself to say his body was very cold. Xu Hexue knew she was unwilling to say it, just as he was also unwilling to confess his pain to her.

His cool brow and eyes showed not the slightest ripple of emotion.

Yet he bowed his head, resting against the hollow of her neck.

“Just for a while.”

Just for this while, he would yield to her.

Yield to this moment’s selfish desire.