The morning light was bright, and the smoke of battle had not yet fully dissipated, but the city and its outskirts had been mostly cleaned up.
Last night, aside from their arrival, the troops who had been lured out of the city to chase the Western bandits—only to fall for a diversion tactic—had also returned. All the soldiers had stayed up through the night, clearing the battlefield and counting the captured heads, while the officers discussed the details of the battle.
By the time the sky began to lighten, the Northwest Inspector and the Deputy Military Commissioner, who had been kept safely in the rear to avoid danger, had also arrived. However, receiving them was a matter for the high-ranking officers.
After the flurry of activity, Xu Maoxiu and his companions were settled in the military camp to rest briefly.
Splashing hot water was poured into a large wooden tub, carried into the room by two laborers.
“Soldiers, the water’s ready. Go ahead and wash,” they said, bowing obsequiously.
Xu Maoxiu nodded and casually tossed a handful of coins to the two men.
They caught them eagerly, thanking him profusely.
These brave men had dared to charge alone—just five of them—into a formation of a hundred enemy soldiers the night before, buying precious time and frightening the Western bandits. In everyone’s eyes, they were true heroes.
And to think, these heroes were also quite wealthy.
Outside, Xu Bangchui’s shouting rang out again.
“Any more hot water? Is there any more hot water?”
The two laborers immediately scrambled to rush out, but they were a step too slow—another pair of workers had already gotten there first.
“Damn it, don’t you know the rules? This area’s our responsibility!” the first two snarled, unwilling to back down.
But the other two workers were no pushovers, especially with a big pot of meat right in front of them. They spat in contempt.
“Yours? Where were you when there was work to be done?” they shot back.
Just as the two groups were about to come to blows, Xu Bangchui, annoyed, hurled his money pouch at them.
“Move your damn asses, all of you! What’s all the yelling about? We’re still waiting to wash up!”
The four men immediately forgot about fighting—serving these masters came first.
“Strange… these soldiers look like penniless grunts, yet they’ve got so much money…”
“If they’re rich, why the hell are they even soldiers? Weirdos…”
Muttering under their breaths, the crowd dispersed.
When the hot water was brought over, Xu Bangchui basked in the envious gazes of the other soldiers outside.
“What’s with all the washing? You some delicate maiden or somethin’?” someone muttered sourly.
“Hah! Just used to bathin’ at home—hard to break the habit even out here,” Xu Bangchui replied with a loud laugh, chin raised.
“Ain’t you Xu Bangchui from Jieshibao?”
A sudden shout came from the crowd of watching soldiers.
Xu Bangchui squinted in the direction of the voice—sure enough, it was an old acquaintance.
“Bangchui, didn’t you guys run away?” the acquaintance shouted.
Xu Bangchui really didn’t like the word “run.”
“We went to the capital to appeal our case—the court has already exonerated us. The official pardon was issued ages ago,” he retorted.
The acquaintance then crowded closer, eyeing Xu Bangchui in surprise.
“Just heard folks say there was some rich soldier here—so it’s you guys? Bangchui, did you strike it rich or what?” he asked.
Xu Bangchui, puffed up with pride, was just about to answer when a loud plop came from inside the house. His expression changed, and he rushed over—only to find Liu Kui already stripped bare, soaking in the wooden tub, eyes blissfully narrowed.
“…You shameless bastard, get the hell out…”
In the rear hall of the city government office, all the officials and generals had convened. The preliminary distribution of merits and rewards had been deliberated and settled, and the victory report, after careful refinement, had been unanimously approved. One after another, messengers rode out from the official hall, carrying the victory announcements in all directions.
In the courtyard outside the hall, lower-ranking officers who weren’t qualified to enter waited, gathered in groups to chat.
Zhou Liu-lang stood among them, surrounded by a few men.
“Good lad, good lad! Daring to charge straight into the front lines as soon as you arrived—now that’s the blood of our Zhou family!” A senior officer with a dark, weathered face laughed heartily, clapping Zhou Liu-lang on the shoulder.
“You flatter me, Uncle,” Zhou Liu-lang replied. “I didn’t contribute much—the enemy retreated as soon as I got there.”
“Don’t say that. Showing up at all takes courage,” his uncle chuckled. “Otherwise, why didn’t you just stay in the rear escorting Master Zhou and the others?”
“Exactly! We thought you’d turned into a little white lamb after all that time in the capital with your uncles. Turns out you’re still a young tiger!” Other clansmen joined in, laughing.
After the great battle, the triumphant joy of the survivors enveloped Zhou Liu-lang. It was a complex mix of brutality and exhilaration—something he had never experienced in the capital, on the training grounds, or even in his dreams. The young man couldn’t help but grin.
Amid the laughter, a group of officers emerged from the government hall, prompting everyone to straighten up in greeting.
“Old Zhou!” a man called out loudly, waving at Zhou Liu-lang’s uncle.
“That’s Guo Xifeng, the garrison commander of Longgu City,” Uncle Zhou whispered to Zhou Liu-lang before standing at attention and cupping his fists. “Commander Guo!”
Guo Xifeng strode over, his gaze settling on Zhou Liu-lang.
“So this is one of the three hundred heroes from last night?” he said, sounding slightly surprised. “Still just a boy! Your Zhou family is in quite a hurry—sending someone so young straight into battle?”
“Though I may be young, my heart for slaying enemies and serving the nation is no less fierce!” Zhou Liu-lang declared, puffing out his chest,
Guo Xifeng burst into laughter and gave Zhou Liu-lang’s chest a hearty slap.
“Good lad! Solid as an ox,” he chuckled.
The men behind him joined in the laughter.
“I heard that when the scouts were dispatched that day, it was Young Master Zhou who took the initiative to propose it—and even declared he would take full responsibility if anything went wrong?” someone asked.
Though this was indeed the case, admitting it outright wouldn’t be prudent.
Uncle Zhou was just about to shoot Zhou Liu-lang a warning glance when the young man spoke up first.
“I wouldn’t dare claim such credit. It was Master Zhou and Master Jiang who discerned the situation clearly and granted us permission to act, taking all responsibility upon themselves,” he declared loudly, standing straight. “Only then did we dare take the risk.”
Uncle Zhou let out a relieved chuckle.
The others in the room also laughed, nodding in approval.
Since it had been made clear that this was a member of the Zhou family—a clan with many brothers and kinsmen in the military, renowned for their battle achievements—everyone was inclined to show some face. One after another, they began recounting the events of that night, praising Master Zhou and Master Jiang for their strategic brilliance and lauding the three hundred soldiers for their fearless valor. Then, they asked Zhou Liu-lang to narrate the previous day’s events in detail—how they had rushed to the rescue despite exhaustion.
Of course, they had already heard the story once. But having him retell it now was an opportunity—both for Zhou Liu-lang to shine and for everyone to remember his name.
A flicker of hesitation crossed Zhou Liu-lang’s expression.
“Don’t worry, just speak freely,” Uncle Zhou whispered, assuming the young man feared misspeaking and offending the senior officers. “Just focus on what you did.”
This was a deliberate opportunity given to him, of course—one meant to highlight his own actions.
Chances like this didn’t come to just anyone. Glancing at the other junior officers nearby, their eyes couldn’t conceal their envy.
Zhou Liu-lang raised his head, as if steeling himself.
“To be honest, this whole thing really began with sheer luck. If not for the scouts’ sharp eyes and the fact that we happened to have a few horses fast enough for a swift raid…” he said.
Luck? Shouldn’t he have credited their keen judgment instead?
And horses? Shouldn’t the focus be on the men’s bravery—what did the horses have to do with it?
This was an entirely unexpected take. The listeners paused, momentarily caught off guard. What had begun as a perfunctory exercise suddenly sparked genuine curiosity at the young man’s unconventional account.
When the crowd poured into the barracks, Xu Maoxiu and his companions had already finished washing up. The hot bath had soaked away the exhaustion of the night’s fierce battle, and now clad in clean military uniforms, they stood chatting with an old acquaintance.
“Brother Xu, you’ve really changed…” The acquaintance eyed them with admiration, then glanced back at the laborers—usually sluggish and reluctant even when urged—now cheerfully clearing away the wooden tubs.
In just half a day, news of these generous soldiers had spread like wildfire among the laborers.
Officers could command the laborers by law, but ordinary soldiers had to rely on tangible rewards. It went without saying that Xu Maoxiu and his men would enjoy a comfortable life from now on.
“So you really struck it rich in the capital?” the acquaintance asked curiously. “Then why come back to risk your lives as soldiers?”
Xu Maoxiu shook his head with a smile.
“No, no,” he denied.
Just as they were talking, a large crowd surged in through the door.
“Where are those heroes who dared to fight a hundred men with just five?” shouted the leading officer. “Step forward and let us have a look!”
“It’s the Deputy Commander,” the soldiers present murmured in hushed tones, quickly making way.
Xu Maoxiu and his companions didn’t dare delay and bowed in greeting. Xu Bangchui, who had just chased Liu Kui out of his bath, hadn’t even had time to dry himself properly—he hastily threw on his clothes and rushed out.
The garrison commander of Longgu City swept his gaze over each of them in turn.
“Good! Fine work! You are true men of our Northwest Army!” he declared loudly.
True men of the Northwest Army!
They were true men of the Northwest Army now!
No longer the deserters, the cowards of the Northwest! Never again would they be called deserters or cowards!
Xu Maoxiu and the others trembled with emotion.
“Slaying enemies for our country is only our duty,” they replied in unison.
“By the way, where are your horses?” the deputy commander asked after the commendations, as if suddenly remembering. “I heard they could charge swiftly even after traveling a thousand miles?”
When Xu Maoxiu led the group over, Xu Sigen—as usual—was lingering in the horse encampment, his expression gloomy, embroiled in some argument.
Having lost his horses, he hadn’t joined the reinforcements but had instead arrived at dawn with Master Zhou and the others.
“Sir, I beg you—let’s go retrieve those two dead horses, or at least bury them on the spot…” He clutched the sleeve of a junior horse officer, pleading.
“I know you’re obsessed with horses, but this is absurd! Driving carts dozens of miles just to haul back two corpses—horse corpses at that? Even when we die, we’re just burned on the spot. Are your horses worth more than men?” The officer scowled, exasperated.
“Of course they’re precious. Extremely precious. They were my sister’s…” Xu Sigen nodded insistently.
Seeing the approaching crowd, the junior officer quickly pushed Xu Sigen aside and hurried forward to greet them. Upon learning their purpose, he was surprised. Although these horses had contributed significantly in the battle, he hadn’t expected the deputy commander himself to come and inspect them.
Could these horses truly be so extraordinary?
“So they really traveled all the way from the capital?” the deputy commander asked, crouching down to examine one of the horses.
After a night’s rest, the exhausted horses had regained some vigor. One snorted impatiently as its hoof was lifted for inspection.
The deputy commander continued his examination while asking detailed questions—what route they had taken, how many miles they covered daily, and so on. Xu Sigen answered earnestly, one by one.
After hearing the answers, the deputy commander’s expression shifted to astonishment, as if he couldn’t quite believe it.
“To think they really reduced wear and tear…” he murmured. “Just by relying on these pieces of iron?”
No sooner had he spoken than a voice chimed in from behind the crowd.
“Let me take a look!”
The voice was hoarse and aged.
The crowd parted, and gasps of surprise rippled through them.
“Commander Zhu!”
The newcomer was none other than the veteran general Zhu Si, who had defended Longgu City and prevented its fall. Exhausted from the battle, he had been carried off the field on the garrison commander’s orders to rest—yet here he was now, leaning on someone’s arm as he made his way forward.
Though the deputy commander outranked him in current position, he showed deep reverence for the seasoned old general, stepping forward personally to support him.
“Old General, why have you come as well?”
The old general didn’t answer. Instead, he leaned on his supporters and walked straight to the horses, then pushed them aside and half-knelt on the ground, staring intently at the horseshoes.
“Indeed… indeed… To think it’s really…”
As he muttered to himself, his body trembled more and more violently, as if he were about to collapse from exhaustion.
Everyone rushed forward to steady him—only to see the old general throw himself to the ground.
“A divine gift from the heavens! A divine gift! Our sons will never again fear the difficulty of raising horses!” he wailed, prostrate on the earth.
The people around him were stunned into silence by his cries.
Old General Zhu quickly scrambled back to his feet.
“Who? Who?” he demanded.
Though his words were slurred, everyone understood his meaning. Someone immediately pushed Xu Sigen forward from where he had been crowded to the back.
“You!” The old general staggered a step toward Xu Sigen and seized his shoulders with a grip like iron.
Though aged, the veteran’s forty years of battle had honed his presence into something bone-deep—so much so that the young Xu Sigen couldn’t even meet his piercing gaze.
“You—you will be the hero who strengthens our Northwest Army!” Old General Zhu roared, shaking Xu Sigen violently by the shoulders.
The hero who strengthens our Northwest Army…
The hero who strengthens our Northwest Army!
Xu Sigen stood dumbstruck. The crowd around them gaped in equal shock.
“…With these horses—these horse…what? Horse shoes—our warhorses won’t wear down so quickly…”
“…Less wear means more can be equipped…”
“…Even with the auxiliary troops, we barely have five thousand cavalry now… But one day, we’ll have ten thousand…”
“Ten thousand cavalry! Ten thousand! Boys, we’ll crush those barbarian bandits under our hooves! We won’t return until we’ve conquered Loulan!”
“…Two horses died on the road and were left behind? Unacceptable! Retrieve them—bring them back! Of course they’re precious! Even if the Western bandits copy this eventually, every day we stay ahead makes us stronger…”
“…Yes, yes! I must report this to the Garrison Commander, the Inspector, the Deputy Military Commissioner at once…”
As Old General Zhu ranted, the crowd around him erupted into frantic activity. Only Xu Sigen remained dazed, jostled until he stumbled and sat hard on the ground.
Xu Maoxiu and the others, standing nearby, were similarly stunned. It took them a long moment to snap out of it.
“My dear heavens, just because of these horses, Fourth Brother has become the hero who strengthens the entire army?” Xu Bangchui muttered in disbelief.
“We fought tooth and nail, killing enemies, and only earned the title of ‘brave men’…” another brother murmured. “How can a few horses make someone a hero?”
“Because,” Xu Maoxiu said, stepping forward to gaze at the horses leisurely chewing hay in the pen, “killing enemies is the strength of one man, yielding the fruit of one man. But these horses can aid hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands. Just as a doctor heals individuals, a great doctor heals the nation itself.”
He turned his head, looking toward the eastern horizon.
“Sister… this third gift of yours is far too grand…”
Meanwhile, on the other side, Zhou Liu-lang was also gazing toward the eastern horizon.
“Listen, Liu-lang,” Uncle Zhou said with a frown, “just who are those men to you? How could you just hand the opportunity over to them like that?”
Zhou Liu-lang snorted.
“They’re nothing to me. I don’t even know those bastards,” he said, then allowed himself a faint smirk. “I was just telling the truth.”
Uncle Zhou’s frown deepened. Even the truth had its time and place.
Zhou Liu-lang kept his eyes on the horizon, where a mass of dark clouds rolled in, the distant rumble of thunder growing louder.
Rain’s coming…
What’s she doing right now?
A thunderclap exploded across the sky, and a shriek came from inside the carriage.
“We’re stopping! We’re stopping!” Wang Shi’qi-lang yanked the carriage curtain open and shouted. “That thunder could split a man in half! How can we keep going? The rain’s about to pour down any second!”
The procession ahead continued moving forward.
“Our mistress said this storm won’t bring rain—the thunder will pass soon,” one of the riders called back impatiently without even turning.
Your mistress said, your mistress said—damn it, why is everything about what your mistress says on this journey?!
Wang Shi’qi-lang yelled for the carriage to halt and jumped out.
“Young Master!” The old servant who had dismounted from behind hurriedly called out, but Wang Shi’qi-lang had already dashed toward the carriage ahead.
“Cheng Jiao-niang! Will you listen to reason or not?” He stood by the carriage and yanked open the curtain, shouting furiously, “It’s me—”
A thunderclap roared at that moment, drowning out Wang Shi’qi-lang’s words. Ban Qin watched as the young man in front of her opened and closed his mouth like a fish without making a sound, and she couldn’t help covering her mouth with a giggle.
As the thunder rolled away, Wang Shi’qi-lang nearly lost his balance.
“What do you want?” a girl’s voice asked from inside the carriage, calm and devoid of inflection. At some point, her voice had lost its former hoarse unpleasantness, yet it still didn’t sound particularly soothing.
“Cheng Jiao-niang, I am the one escorting you home, not the other way around. On this journey, who exactly is supposed to be in charge—you or me?” Wang Shi’qi-lang shouted, glaring into the carriage.
The girl inside sat as still as a temple bell, her black skirts pooling around her like unfurled petals. From the wide, gold-embroidered sleeves, her pale, slender fingers held a book. Slowly, she lifted her gaze.
“You are,” she said.
Wang Shi’qi-lang stood beside the carriage, momentarily dazed.
This was the nature of painted beauties—no matter the circumstance, they remained as still as stagnant water, yet their every glance could steal a man’s soul.
“Young Master.”
The old servant’s voice called softly from behind.
Wang Shi’qi-lang jolted back to his senses. The beauty was indeed captivating, but indulgence had its limits. A spoiled beauty was only allowed to be spoiled when he permitted it—not whenever she pleased.
“I’m in charge?” he shouted. “Since we left the capital, when have you ever listened to me?”
“You’re taking me home, aren’t you?” Cheng Jiao-niang replied.
Wang Shi’qi-lang choked on his words, momentarily speechless.
Above them, thunder rolled again.
“Enough nonsense—we need to find shelter now! Getting caught in the rain halfway would be the death of us!” Wang Shi’qi-lang shouted.
“We won’t get caught in the rain,” Cheng Jiao-niang said, offering a faint smile. “Aren’t we following your orders to find shelter right now?”
The carriage continued forward, forcing Wang Shi’qi-lang to step aside.
“Young Master, please get back in the carriage,” the old servant urged quietly.
Wang Shi’qi-lang gritted his teeth.
“Following my orders? Aside from the literal words, what part of this is actually my decision?” he yelled, glaring at the carriage ahead. “Won’t get caught in the rain? As if you’re on such familiar terms with the heavens!”
