Chapter 106: Holding the Pass, an Unexpected Crisis

That night, a crescent moon hung like a hook in the sky, and all was hushed.

In Li City, within the commander’s residence, in the study.

With a sharp crash, every scroll and ledger on the desk was swept to the floor.

The deputy general bowing below felt his heart tighten.

In all his memory, he had never seen Young General He fly into such a rage, nor had he ever seen such a cruel glint in those eyes.

The celebrated Young General He of the Northern Di was a prodigy of towering presence and unrivaled valor, a man no one dared to provoke.

Behind the broad desk, He Liancheng wore a ghastly expression. The twin flames in his eyes were impossible to tell apart from the fire of his anger or the candlelight in the room.

Shen Qianmo’s act of sending him the bodies of the Northern Di soldiers slain in battle had utterly enraged him.

Today’s defeat had already robbed him of face; the return of the bodies was like rubbing salt into a wound, humiliating him beyond endurance.

He felt he had never suffered such disgrace in his life, and worse still, it had come at the hands of a woman.

He had not expected this woman to be so cunning, so adept at maneuvering the heart.

All these years, he had never forgotten the four words his master once taught him: to conquer the heart is best.

And Shen Qianmo’s move was the clearest possible use of that very art.

More than three hundred bodies of Skyhawk soldiers had shaken the spirit of the Northern Di’s hundred-thousand-man army.

Skyhawk was universally acknowledged as the strongest force in Northern Di, yet in their first clash today with the Flying Cloud Cavalry, the result had been a crushing defeat.

Could the Flying Cloud Cavalry of Prince Xuan’s estate truly be an invincible divine force, capable of breaking all opposition?

Every Northern Di soldier, Skyhawk included, felt a chill at heart.

“You there. Go and bring General Yuan in,” He Liancheng said in a cold voice, his gaze like frost as he ordered the deputy general.

“Yes.” The deputy general withdrew at once.

Shen Qianmo!

The handsome young general’s face was dark as he spat out those three words.

This woman—he would surely teach her a lesson, and let her know the price of offending He Liancheng.

And Shen Qianmo, whom He Liancheng now hated to the bone, was at that very moment overwhelmed with matters.

In the battle against Skyhawk today, though the Flying Cloud Cavalry had not suffered losses as grievous as Skyhawk’s, they had by no means emerged unscathed.

Out of three thousand cavalry, more than ten had fallen in battle, over a hundred were wounded, and more than twenty horses had been lost.

For a clash of this scale, such losses were already minimized as much as possible, but the injured soldiers of the Flying Cloud Cavalry still had to be treated one by one.

The Great Sheng Dynasty had few military physicians. What capable doctor would be willing to spend year after year rushing across battlefields, eating wind and dust, and living under constant threat of death?

When soldiers were injured in ordinary skirmishes, minor wounds were rarely seen by a military physician at all; they would simply bind one another up and be done with it. Only the seriously wounded were ever brought to one.

Even here at Jinyang Pass, there was only one military physician, and medicinal supplies were likewise scarce.

Fortunately, Shen Qianmo had brought a sufficient quantity of ointments for external injuries on this journey.

Thanks to the medical book left to her by the old man Duan before his death, and to the instruction she had long received from Situ Gong, her medical skills were no longer what they once had been.

Today’s victory had greatly lifted the fighting spirit of both the Flying Cloud Cavalry and all the defenders of Jinyang Pass. And for the Flying Cloud Cavalry to have heavily repelled the aggressive Skyhawk force despite their exhausted mounts and men, Shen Qianmo had done more than enough to earn the credit.

Had they chosen to meet Skyhawk head-on in a brute-force struggle, the casualties of the Flying Cloud Cavalry would surely have been far worse than they were now.

Thus, in the ranks of the Flying Cloud Cavalry, any who had once looked down on Shen Qianmo had now been utterly won over.

Seeing her come in person to the camp to dispense medicine and treat wounds, the wounded were naturally moved to tears, while those unhurt felt only private regret, wishing they too had been injured so that they might have had the chance to draw near to the Princess Consort, beautiful as a celestial fairy.

If Shen Qianmo had known the soldiers’ thoughts, she would not have known whether to laugh or cry.

“Corporal Xue, you’re injured too!” Green Bamboo cried softly from behind her.

Shen Qianmo turned and saw that upright figure standing beneath the dim lamplight, his bearing respectful yet awkward. Who else could it be but Xue Hao?

His refined face looked somewhat pale, and the white bandage on his left arm seemed only half-wrapped. Perhaps, hearing that Shen Qianmo had arrived, he had hastily risen to greet her and had not yet had time to finish tying it.

Seeing Green Bamboo looking concerned yet too shy to step forward and inspect the wound, Shen Qianmo lifted an eyebrow, instantly understanding.

It seemed the girl truly did have feelings for Xue Hao.

Xue Hao cupped his hands and bowed to Shen Qianmo. “Xue Hao greets the Princess Consort.”

Shen Qianmo nodded. Though her tone was light, it carried just the right degree of concern. “How severe is Corporal Xue’s injury?”

“Only a flesh wound. Nothing serious. Thank you for your concern, Princess Consort,” Xue Hao replied.

“That is good. Green Bamboo, help Corporal Xue bind the wound here first. I’ll go look elsewhere,” Shen Qianmo said as she turned to give Green Bamboo her instructions.

“But Miss…” Green Bamboo looked at her in difficulty. She also very much wanted to help Xue Hao tend the wound, but she was supposed to stay close to her young lady.

“It’s nothing. I’ll be not far away,” Shen Qianmo reassured her, then turned and left to inspect the other wounded.

She would simply let the two of them be alone for a while.

Seeing Green Bamboo hesitate to step forward, the personal guard nearby scratched his head and was just about to say that there was no need to trouble Miss Green Bamboo; in truth, he could bandage Corporal Xue himself.

But Xue Hao shot him a hard glare at that very moment, and the guard’s heart chilled. Whatever words he had been about to say were swallowed back down. He rubbed his nose and walked off.

Only Xue Hao and Green Bamboo remained, staring at one another, both embarrassed. Fortunately, the dim light concealed the blush rising on their faces.

A faint, ambiguous tenderness began to stir between the two young people.

Shen Qianmo had not gone far when she ran into Yun Yi, resplendent in white.

She was truly curious. Jinyang Pass was buried in dust all day long, so how did he manage to keep his white robes spotless?

Yun Yi came up to her, tapping his folding fan lightly as he said, “Qianmo, I have one good piece of news and one bad piece of news. Which would you like to hear first?”

Shen Qianmo silently rolled her eyes. In this bitter cold, he was still carrying a fan—was he not afraid of making a fool of himself?

“Bad news,” she said flatly, giving him no chance to build suspense.

Yun Yi gave a helpless, wry smile. “Ah, you and Ah Heng are indeed alike. He always wants the bad news first too.”

Shen Qianmo raised her eyebrows, signaling him to continue.

Yun Yi took the hint and said, “The bad news is that our shadow guards have just reported that General Lin’s thirty thousand Meng family troops, while rushing here to Jinyang Pass, were ambushed by Northern Di forces. They are having trouble breaking free and may be delayed for some time before they can reach us.”

As expected! Shen Qianmo had already considered this possibility.

Northern Di had come prepared this time; of course they would not allow reinforcements to arrive at Jinyang Pass so easily.

Seeing that she remained calm, Yun Yi went on, “The good news is that Ah Heng left Shengjing in the middle of the night last night. He should be able to arrive here and join us in three days.”

He had already left last night!

At this, Shen Qianmo’s composed expression finally changed. “How reckless. Does that mean he’s given up the final course of treatment?”

Yun Yi spread his hands helplessly. “Situ Gong said he should be fine for normal circulation of power and walking about, but as for whether there will be any lasting complications in the future, even he cannot say for certain.”

Shen Qianmo was so angry she nearly burst. That man—he had only ten days left before the treatment would have been complete. Why must he be so impatient?

Then she let out a resigned sigh. Most likely, he simply could not rest easy worrying about her.

And had she not been thinking of him every moment as well?

Since the matter was already settled, there was nothing for it but to accept it. Yet at the thought that she would see him again in three days, Shen Qianmo could not help a flutter of excitement.

When they met again, he would no longer be that frail man who could only rely on a wheelchair to move about.

He would surely ride after the wind, mounted on horseback with whip in hand, galloping to her side and pulling her into his arms, whispering into her ear all the longing he had gathered over these days.

Perhaps he would also pull a stern face and scold her fiercely, blaming her for making her own decision without asking his, and taking the frontier campaign upon herself in his stead.

Thinking of his exasperated yet helpless look, her lips curved faintly.

Three days. As long as she could hold Jinyang Pass safely for three more days, she would be able to lay down her burden and simply stay by his side in peace.

Only then did Shen Qianmo realize how deeply she missed him.

She had never considered herself a weak person, and yet in this moment, she found herself missing that embrace scented faintly with medicinal herbs.

Late that night, Shen Qianmo lay in bed. Outside the window, the wind howled and raged along the frontier, while beside her Green Bamboo’s breathing was even and steady.

That night, she drifted into sleep wrapped in longing.

At dawn, when the sky was only just beginning to lighten, a frantic report shattered the calm of the garrison camp at Jinyang Pass.

Thirty civilians from Li City had been slaughtered by the Northern Di army. At this very moment, their bloodied heads were hanging high upon the city walls of Li City.

Worse still, the Northern Di army had released the news that from this day forward, they would massacre the same number of Li City civilians every day, until every last surviving inhabitant had been wiped out.