The roosters crowed mournfully as dawn broke in the east.

Yongzhou seldom saw rain, but today brought a downpour. Moist rain mist hung in a thin layer as Qingqiong descended into the well holding a pitch-black earthenware jar containing the ashes of his father, Fan Jiang.

“Are you certain he doesn’t need proper burial?”

Duan Rong couldn’t help but ask.

“This dried well is the place that will most put Uncle Fan’s heart at ease,” Ni Su said, holding a paper umbrella as raindrops pattered incessantly against its rim. A wisp of pale mist lingered at her sleeves.

The moment Qingqiong’s head emerged from the well opening, Ni Su immediately stepped forward, moving the umbrella over his head.

The wooden cover over the well had been made by Fan Jiang—like a door. For over a decade, he and Qingqiong had lived in this well, becoming outcasts in people’s eyes.

Qingqiong fastened the bronze lock. This dried well had transformed from his home into his father’s burial place.

Duan Rong directed soldiers to bring a stone monument and erect it beside the well. The epitaph carved upon it had been painstakingly chiseled stroke by stroke by Xu Hexue the previous night in the felt tent by lamplight.

He had carved until his spirit body grew faint and nearly lost its form.

“Those who repair humble dwellings for others possess the courage to support great mansions. Though born to humble circumstances, their hearts are as precious as the pearl of Sui.”

Last night, Ni Su had watched Xu Hexue carve this final line.

For sixteen years, Fan Jiang had remained in Yongzhou City cleaning Xu Hexue’s monument for sixteen years through wind and rain without fail, even becoming an outcast for it. Now, Xu Hexue erected a monument and wrote an epitaph for him, ensuring people could no longer view this man with contemptuous eyes.

Ni Su saw that at the text’s end were Qingqiong’s name and her own name, but not Xu Hexue’s name.

She lowered her eyes. The pale mist clung to her sleeves. Ni Su supported Qingqiong, saying, “Let’s go.”

Qingqiong said nothing, walking like a wandering soul, slowly following her. Upon returning to the felt tent, he lay down on the felt blanket, wrapped himself in the quilt, and said he was tired.

Ni Su remained silent. She remembered Qingqiong once telling her that he used to dream of the Underworld—he had seen the Waters of Resentment there, that field of silver grass, even the pagoda at the end of the Waters of Resentment.

He wanted to see his father and mother in his dreams.

Before dawn, Yang Tianzhe personally executed the traitors Dong Chengjiao and Hu Da before the Yongzhou army and the rebel forces, hanging their severed heads from the city wall. But even this failed to completely calm the anxious hearts of the military and civilians.

The city’s common people feared the name “Yelu Zhen.” The Yongzhou army suspected more than just Dong Chengjiao and Hu Da existed among the rebels, while the rebel forces worried the Yongzhou army might massacre them out of this suspicion.

“Dong Chengjiao and Hu Da came to pledge themselves to me after I raised my revolt. They followed me throughout, dedicating themselves wholeheartedly.” Yang Tianzhe’s right knee bent as he knelt before Qin Jixun. “General Qin, it was my failure to judge their character!”

“Commander Yang need not do this.”

Qin Jixun shook his head and bent down to help him up.

“These two men followed you and never hesitated when killing barbarian soldiers under Shi Monu’s command. Were I in your position, I might not have perceived their true intentions either.” Shen Tongchuan stood nearby, his expression grave. “Yelu Zhen is the foremost general under Prince Qin of the Changbo tribe. The Danqiu King’s first queen came from the Changbo tribe. Queen Changbo bore a son—the current First Prince of the Danqiu royal court, Xinchuo. Commander Yang, it appears that from the moment you raised your revolt, Yelu Zhen was already brewing this poisonous scheme.”

After Queen Changbo’s death, the Danqiu King took a princess from the Nanyan tribe as his new queen. Though the Changbo tribe’s influence now fell short of the Nanyan tribe’s, the Changbo tribe’s ambition to help First Prince Xinchuo compete for the throne went far beyond this.

Looking back now, Yang Tianzhe’s ability to safely escape Danqiu territory with his rebels and those elderly, weak women and children likely involved covert assistance from the Changbo tribe.

By releasing Yang Tianzhe and trapping Su Qile in a difficult predicament, Dong Chengjiao and Hu Da entered Yongzhou City while Yelu Zhen was already leading his tribal army in a rush toward Yongzhou.

Using the danger of the destroyed bird path at Tianju Mountain, Dong Chengjiao and Hu Da made Shi Monu and Qin Jixun’s forces exhaust each other—killing two birds with one stone. This both suppressed Shi Monu from the Nanyan tribe and depleted the Yongzhou army’s strength.

Wei Dechang nearly broke out in cold sweat. “So that’s why Young Master Ni said not to pursue! If Brother Yang and I had truly given chase that day, Shi Monu might have died, but our Yongzhou City’s military strength would likely have been reduced by more than half… Wouldn’t that have perfectly allowed that Yelu Zhen to exploit the opening!”

The felt tent fell silent for a moment.

“Originally, the barbarian forces stationed at Juhan Pass matched our Yongzhou City’s strength. Calculating the time, whether it’s the barbarians’ reinforcements or ours, they all need at least another ten days or so. But this Yelu Zhen has probably already passed Ru Mountain…”

Shen Tongchuan clasped his hands together within his sleeves, yet they remained cold for a long while.

Once Yelu Zhen arrived, Yongzhou would truly become an isolated city, its survival or destruction determined within these ten days.

“This old man would rather die,”

Cold wind lifted the felt curtain, letting in great swaths of ash-blue skylight. Wei Dechang raised his head to look at the fine drizzle outside. “But I must hold Yongzhou City until reinforcements arrive!”

Shi Monu had previously galloped across the grasslands but rarely engaged Qi people in battle, while Yelu Zhen was a general forged through blood in national wars. He had not only fought siege warfare but had breached Yongzhou City sixteen years ago.

Sixteen years ago, Miao Tianning drove him from Yongzhou City. Now, he surely came with the determination to completely conquer Yongzhou City.

On the first day, Yelu Zhen did not reach Yongzhou City. When night fell, the scouts Qin Jixun had sent out reported that Shi Monu’s condition had worsened beyond treatment and he had died.

But whether Qin Jixun or Shen Tongchuan, they both understood clearly that Shi Monu had definitely not died from illness or injury, but from Yelu Zhen’s covert assassination.

With Shi Monu’s death, the soldiers under his command could only obey Yelu Zhen’s orders, temporarily setting aside inter-tribal conflicts to jointly attack Qi.

On the second day, before dawn fully broke, barbarian hoofbeats connected in continuous sheets, raising dust as they came. Dense masses of black-armored barbarian soldiers loomed like dark clouds. The barbarian general astride his horse, gripping a hook-sickle spear, possessed a burly physique. Though already over forty years old, his cheeks showed no wrinkles, stretched taut with muscle. Chewing dried meat, he gazed with dark, sharp eyes at the two severed heads hanging from the city wall. “As expected, Qi people willing to bend their backbones aren’t even worth as much as the cattle and sheep of my grasslands.”

Yelu Zhen did not issue challenges. He knew these Qi people would never easily emerge from their city to engage in battle. He ordered his great army to surround Yongzhou City on three sides, deliberately leaving one side open.

The fortified villages surrounding the city had already been cleared by Shi Monu. Now he only needed to besiege this Yongzhou City itself. Fire attacks, catapults—he employed every method at his disposal.

Qin Jixun, Wei Dechang, and Yang Tianzhe remained fearless in the face of danger. The newly constructed crossbows with a fifteen-hundred-pace range prevented the barbarians from advancing another step past the moat before the city. Together they defended the city until nightfall, when Yelu Zhen finally showed signs of withdrawing.

“General! What is this thing!”

The catapult below the city suddenly launched something toward the city wall. It hit the ground with a dull thud. A soldier cried out in alarm. Qin Jixun immediately turned back, seeing the object wrapped in white cloth, its contents unclear.

The soldier boldly used his blade to cut open the white cloth. His face showed astonishment. “It’s a dead ox!”

Torchlight revealed a stiff mass inside—a wild ox. The putrid smell struck them. Yang Tianzhe’s face changed drastically. “Quickly! Everyone move away from it! Burn it on the spot!”

“Brother Yang, what’s wrong?”

Wei Dechang didn’t understand.

“It’s a plague ox! It must be a plague ox!” Cold sweat soaked Yang Tianzhe’s back. “When I was in the Nanyan tribe, I saw in their documents that over twenty years ago, when they attacked our Great Qi’s Qingya Province, they sent plague-infected corpses into the city, causing the military and civilians of Qingya Province to contract the plague! Afterward they besieged without attacking—the city destroyed itself!”

“Quickly! Burn it immediately!”

Qin Jixun’s heart and courage turned cold with fear.

Even though the plague ox was burned in time, unease spread among the defending soldiers. When Ni Su received the news in the city, she immediately said to Qingqiong, “If anyone comes seeking Xu Ziling, you must block them. Say he’s unconscious and cannot be exposed to wind or see people!”

Xu Hexue had not yet reformed his body, existing only as pale mist at her sleeve. For these two days she had guarded this secret, refusing visits from Qin Jixun and the others. At this moment, she absolutely had to find Medical Officer Tian.

“Quickly put on all the face coverings!”

Reaching the felt tent for treating patients, Ni Su saw Medical Officer Tian instructing his apprentice physicians to don face coverings.

“Are there enough?”

Ni Su asked.

“Of course not enough! The city’s common people, and all the soldiers—how could these possibly suffice!” Medical Officer Tian was at his wits’ end. “We have prescriptions for preventing and treating plague, but we lack manpower!”

Ni Su thought for a moment and said, “Medical Officer Tian, don’t panic. Let’s think of solutions together!”

She quickly left the felt tent and found Zhong Niangzi. “Our current people aren’t sufficient. We need to find more.”

Being wartime, Yongzhou City’s common people had nearly all been settled in the rearmost part of the city. Ni Su had Zhong Niangzi and the others call out everyone they knew, but when those people heard “plague,” they were too frightened to risk helping.

Ni Su had no choice but to find Duan Rong and ask him to summon Clan Leaders Qin and Wei. Clan Leader Wei still remembered this woman’s refusal to show him face, so naturally he had no pleasant expression. “Young Lady Ni, previously when I wanted to see you, it was harder than ascending to heaven. Now that you want to see me, I must come?”

“But Clan Leader Wei still came, didn’t he?”

Ni Su looked at him. “General Qin, Commander Wei, Commander Yang—they’re all defending the city at the front day and night without rest. Yet the barbarians are vicious, actually throwing plague oxen hoping to trap Yongzhou with pestilence, making us die from disease. If the soldiers contract plague, who will defend the city? If you all die, what becomes of Yongzhou?”

Clan Leader Wei suddenly fell silent.

Old Clan Leader Qin stood beside him, once again scrutinizing this woman. She was not from Yongzhou, yet she remained here treating injuries and illnesses for women and soldiers.

“Qingya Province fell into barbarian hands because of plague. Please don’t underestimate it. If one person contracts the disease and isn’t treated in time, then the lives of everyone in the city will be difficult to preserve.” Cold wind made Ni Su’s veil and skirt ripple slightly. Standing before these people, she bowed. “I, Ni Su, beseech you all—regardless of gender, step forward and help the soldiers defending the city, help yourselves.”

“Young Lady Ni saved my life. Even if I must die now, I want to die worthily.” Among the refugees who had fled with Yang Tianzhe’s rebel army, a woman stepped forward without hesitation.

She was the woman the barbarians had branded with characters.

As soon as she spoke, nearly all the able-bodied men and women among the refugees stepped forward. They were tired of fleeing. Having finally set foot on Great Qi’s soil, even if they must die, they would die in Great Qi.

Zhong Niangzi stood nearby, watching her husband step forward. She couldn’t help secretly wiping away tears.

Then more and more people stepped forward.

“Everyone from the clan who can help, all go!” Old Clan Leader Qin spoke.

Clan Leader Wei turned back, surveying the group. “Did you hear? The soldiers defend the city—we must defend it together too!”

The plague ox most likely carried bubonic fever toxin, proving the barbarian army already suffered this affliction. They used this method hoping to rapidly break Yongzhou City.

Fleas biting animals or people’s limbs, or exposure through mouth and nose to the foul stench of plague-infected dead creatures could cause the plague to spread rapidly. When people contracted this disease, initially the illness showed no clear signs and daily life continued as normal—hunger without appetite, or limbs feeling sore and numb, alternating between chills and fever.

But whether Ni Su or Medical Officer Tian, physicians like them knew from the beginning of their medical studies that the harm of pestilence ran deep and heavy. Since the Qingya Province incident, over these twenty-some years, countless Great Qi physicians had exhausted their abilities researching prescriptions to treat plague.

By now, a complete set of plague prevention and treatment methods existed.

“Everyone must wear shoes—you absolutely must wear shoes. And these long scarves tied over your faces must never be removed…” Medical Officer Tian’s apprentices loudly taught the common people plague prevention methods. Ni Su led Zhong Niangzi and the others in mixing medicine, while the men followed Medical Officer Tian grinding and brewing medicines.

On the third day, Yelu Zhen attacked the city again.

Unable to construct watchtowers, he used shield carts for cover, filling the moat outside the city gate, approaching the base of the city wall to build siege mounds.

Qin Jixun dug pits in the city corners to place listening jars as warning against barbarians digging tunnels into the city. When barbarians dug tunnels, he dug trenches to redirect them and released smoke inside, preventing barbarian entry.

But the Yongzhou army’s military strength had too great a gap compared to the barbarian forces.

From time to time, thunderbolt cannons exploded. Above the city wall and outside the city gate, earth-shaking shouts intertwined continuously. Flames clustered one after another. A soldier fell from the city wall, landing heavily before Ni Su.

She staggered back two steps, seeing those wide-open eyes and the dozens of sharp arrows piercing through his chest.

A hand grasped Ni Su’s arm. In an instant, a chill like ice and snow enveloped her. She discovered the pale mist at her sleeve had vanished at some point. She raised her head to see the glass lamp that had been placed not far away now lifted by the person before her. His robes were snow-white, his collar crimson-red. He held a sword in his hand—transformed from his Yingchen, a sword belonging only to him.

His eyes and brows were coldly clear as he looked down at her.

“You’ve worked hard.”

He said.

Ni Su’s dry, pale lips pressed tightly together. She didn’t speak, only shook her head.

Day after day she had lit lamps for him, filling the entire felt tent with their light, finally enabling him to reform his body and appear openly and honorably before everyone.

Ni Su couldn’t tell whether the wounds hidden beneath his robes and cap had healed.

From the city tower, Qi soldiers shouted loudly—barbarian soldiers had scaled the city wall despite the rain of arrows.

“I have my battlefield,”

Ni Su looked at the sword in his hand. “You go to your battlefield as well, Young Presented Scholar General.”