Half of Guyuan City lay in ruins. In the darkness of the night, the desolate wreckage made one’s heart feel barren.

Chen Ji struggled to find his bearings in the dim light of dusk. Behind him, the urgent sound of hoofbeats grew closer; he couldn’t tell how many Tiance Army soldiers were pursuing them, having crossed through the blazing fires.

As the Tiance Army closed in, Li Xuan suddenly said, “You go; I’ll hold them off.”

But Chen Ji merely glanced at him, then pulled him into a section of the ruins. The acrid smoke in the wreckage stung their nostrils. Chen Ji held his breath and closed his eyes.

Li Xuan was filled with unease. Having spent the entire day dealing with the Tiance Army, he knew it wouldn’t be easy to escape their search. Yet, he didn’t dare utter a sound to warn Chen Ji.

As his apprehension grew, the Tiance Army galloped past the ruins. They hadn’t gone far, however, when a leading armored soldier, identifiable by the black pheasant tail on his helmet, sensed something amiss. He reined in his horse and halted.

He listened intently for a moment, then immediately wheeled his horse around. “Search!” he commanded. “Don’t miss a single ruin nearby. Those two might be hiding right here!”

Dozens of armored Tiance cavalrymen charged towards the ruins. Some wielded eighteen-foot horse lances, using them to pierce every section of the wreckage, as if to scour the area completely.

The Tiance Army was closing in, their hoofbeats deafeningly close.

Li Xuan’s heart seized. Just as he was about to move to divert the pursuers, Chen Ji held him down with a firm grip.

The next moment, urgent metallic clanging echoed from the distance, followed by the sound of what seemed like a blade being dragged. In an instant, dozens of armored Tiance Army soldiers simultaneously turned their heads towards the source of the noise.

The armored soldier with the black pheasant tail pointed his spear and roared, “Kill on sight! No quarter given!”

As the thundering hoofbeats faded into the distance, Chen Ji finally moved, fleeing in the opposite direction. It wasn’t until he had run about three *li* that he gradually slowed his pace, unable to suppress a cough.

They were safe, for now.

Li Xuan looked around, somewhat incredulously. *They escaped?* he thought.

Unable to suppress his confusion, he lowered his voice and asked, “What just happened? Do you have support here? Was it your maid, or Miss Zhang Er? How are they supposed to get away?”

Chen Ji said nothing. He simply walked through a cloud of thick smoke, his two sword-seeds returning to their patterned scabbards at his waist under the cover of night. After determining their general direction, he turned towards Taohuai Ward.

Li Xuan silently followed him, scrutinizing his every move.

As they passed a well, Chen Ji paused to listen for any sounds. Once he confirmed no one was around, he carefully drew up a bucket of water, soaking the hem of his robe completely. This, he reasoned, would protect him should he need to pass through fire and thick smoke again.

Li Xuan followed his example, wetting his own robe.

Chen Ji re-gathered his disheveled hair, securing it with a hairpin.

Seeing this, Li Xuan also tied back his hair.

Chen Ji rubbed some charcoal onto his hand and smeared five diagonal black marks across his face.

Though puzzled, Li Xuan still copied him.

Chen Ji glanced at him. “Master Li, why are you imitating me?”

Li Xuan hesitated for a moment before explaining, “You navigate Guyuan City with such ease; I thought it couldn’t hurt to follow your lead.”

Chen Ji calmly replied, “You don’t need to learn, Master Li.”

Li Xuan was slightly taken aback. “Why not?”

Chen Ji casually explained, “Master Li, you’re too kind-hearted. I fear you won’t live long, so learning all those things would be pointless.”

Li Xuan was momentarily speechless.

Chen Ji suddenly asked, “What did the armored infantry you saw earlier look like? Were they wearing leather armor?”

Li Xuan was startled. “How did you know? Did you see those infantrymen too? Where did they come from, and which unit are they assigned to?”

Chen Ji didn’t answer, simply pressing on.

Li Xuan asked again, “I saw you use a saber earlier, and where did you learn that archery skill? Could you teach me?”

Chen Ji still offered no reply.

“Where is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?”

“Is Master Chen alright?”

“Is Qi Zhenzhuo still alive?”

Gradually, Li Xuan realized Chen Ji had no intention of engaging with him, and so he fell silent.

Chen Ji led the way, with Li Xuan following clumsily behind, as if Chen Ji were the Imperial Guard Commander and Li Xuan a green recruit just joining the ranks.

Chen Ji evaded the Tiance Army searching for them, constantly shifting direction to draw closer to Taohuai Ward.

But just two streets from Taohuai Ward, he suddenly pulled Li Xuan behind a burned-out ruin, where they quietly peered out.

At the intersection ahead, Tiance soldiers carrying torches were passing by. An orderly column of armored cavalry slowly moved north, accompanied by infantry leading hunting dogs.

The seemingly endless procession cut off Chen Ji and Li Xuan’s escape route.

Chen Ji remained still. “Let them pass,” he murmured.

The two men crouched behind the ruins, waiting patiently. But after a full half-hour, the army was still passing.

Li Xuan cautiously peered out and was startled to see a formidable armored soldier atop a warhorse, holding a black banner that fluttered in the torchlight. The banner’s edge was adorned with a fringe of black pheasant tails, and the character “Yuan” was embroidered upon its surface in gold thread!

Li Xuan lowered his voice. “That’s the main banner of the central army,” he whispered. “Grand Commander Yuan Zhen of the Tiance Army is entering the city!”

Chen Ji simply acknowledged with a noncommittal hum.

A moment later, Li Xuan suddenly said, “Chen Ji, he escaped the Battle of Quwu Mountain in the 25th year of Jianing… If we kill him, it might shatter the Tiance Army’s morale.”

Chen Ji asked nonchalantly, “How old are you, Master Li?”

“Thirty-four,” Li Xuan replied.

Chen Ji continued, “Have you ever seen battle, Master Li?”

Li Xuan shook his head. “No. After marrying into the Qi family at seventeen, I joined the Imperial Guards. Since then, I’ve trained daily for ceremonial duties, never once stepping onto a battlefield.”

Chen Ji calmly stated, “Master Li, you criticize Qi Zhenzhuo as a wastrel, but how much better are you? You constantly act as if your talents are unappreciated, yet within the Imperial Guards, everyone holds you in high regard only because you are the Qi family’s son-in-law. Your swift rise through the ranks is entirely due to the Qi family.”

“You constantly boast that your ancestors served in the Myriad Years Army, as if that makes you superior to other Imperial Guards, yet you turn around and act as naive as a child. Master Li, you are indeed stronger than Qi Zhenzhuo, but only in your willingness to die, nothing more.”

Li Xuan was momentarily stunned, then lowered his head in shame. “I was just thinking that Guyuan City has fallen. Since death is inevitable, I might as well die meaningfully. Since I married into the Qi family, I’ve achieved nothing on my own, relying solely on their support. I simply…”

Chen Ji shook his head, his tone devoid of sympathy. “Master Li,” he said, “you don’t need to tell me these sentimental stories; they have nothing to do with me.”

Li Xuan was silent for a moment. “My apologies,” he said. “I’ve made a fool of myself.”

At that moment, the Tiance Army suddenly halted.

A troop of Tiance Army cavalry, escorting dozens of stumbling captives, reached the intersection.

Chen Ji quickly looked and was aghast to see Zhang Xia, Zhang Zheng, the Crown Prince, and Xiao Man among the dozens of captives. They had been discovered by the Tiance Army!

Chen Ji froze.

Why?

How were they found, even hiding in the cellar?

The cellar beneath the grain and oil shop’s well was incredibly well-hidden. As long as the entrance was properly sealed with bricks, who could possibly uncover its secret? Could they have carelessly forgotten to block the entrance? Impossible. While anyone else might be careless enough to forget, Zhang Xia never would.

Chen Ji watched the flickering torchlight before him, the flames dancing uncertainly in his eyes.

That familiar feeling returned, as if no matter how hard he tried, the outcome would remain unchanged.

In the torchlight, an armored soldier rode up to the captives. He first questioned a woman for a few moments, then raised his long spear and plunged it into her chest.

The Tiance Army then pushed another person forward for interrogation, and again, ran them through.

Chen Ji crouched low, silently inching closer until he could clearly make out Xiao Man’s cursing lips and the defiant, unwilling expressions on Zhang Xia and Zhang Zheng’s faces.

The armored soldier on the warhorse cast a cold gaze over everyone, then pointed his spear at the Crown Prince within the crowd. “Bring him forward for questioning,” he commanded coldly.

The Tiance Army pushed the Crown Prince one step forward. The armored soldier on horseback used the tip of his spear to hook the jade pendant at the Crown Prince’s waist, then asked in a low voice, “Who are you?”

The Crown Prince slowly replied, “I am a merchant from the Central Plains, here on business.”

The armored soldier on the warhorse burst into uproarious laughter, as if he had heard the most preposterous joke. “Oh, Your Royal Highness, Crown Prince of Ning,” he sneered, “tell me, what merchant in this world dares to wear a four-clawed coiled dragon jade pendant? Someone! Ride quickly to the city outskirts and inform the Grand Commander — we’ve captured the Crown Prince of Ning!”

“Yes, sir!” A cavalryman wheeled his horse around and galloped towards the city outskirts.

The armored soldier on the warhorse waved his hand. “Keep the Crown Prince of Ning,” he commanded. “Kill the rest!”

From the midst of the captives, a figure stumbled forward. “Don’t kill us, we can be useful!” he cried. “I am a Ning Dynasty *juren* scholar, Chen Wenxiao, son of the Junior Expositor of the Zhan Shi Fu! Those two there are Zhang Zheng and Zhang Xia, children of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel! Please don’t kill us!”

The armored soldier on the warhorse paused, then burst into even more raucous laughter. “Excellent, excellent! My favorite kind of person is a spineless Southern official like you! Put an iron chain around his neck and keep him by my side as a dog from now on!”

As he spoke, Chen Wenzong burst from the crowd and tackled Chen Wenxiao. He straddled Chen Wenxiao, raining punches down upon his face.

One armored soldier moved to pull Chen Wenzong away, but the Tiance Army soldier on horseback scoffed. “Let them fight,” he sneered. “Southerners are always keen on a dog-eat-dog brawl!”

Chen Ji held his breath in the dark ruins. Beside him, Li Xuan clenched his fists, gritting his teeth. “I’ll draw the pursuers away by killing some of them,” he muttered, “and you seize the chance to save them?”

Chen Ji didn’t answer. This was the main force of the Tiance Army’s central command; they wouldn’t have enough lives to confront them, even if they had hundreds to spare.

He stared intently at the intersection. “Wait,” he whispered. “Just a little longer.”

Li Xuan anxiously gripped his sword hilt, though he had no idea what Chen Ji was waiting for. He had initially wanted to charge out, but after glancing at Chen Ji and remembering his recent words, he forced himself to hold back.

After the equivalent of two incense sticks burning, a procession arrived, guarding a middle-aged man with greying temples as if he were the moon surrounded by stars.

The middle-aged man wore no armor, only a black robe and a golden beam crown.

It was Yuan Zhen.

With the arrival of this retinue, the Tiance Army quickly fanned out, securing the area within a hundred paces to prevent any assassination attempts.

Chen Ji and Li Xuan were forced to retreat further, able only to watch discreetly from a greater distance.

At that moment, Yuan Zhen slowly rode his horse to stand before the Crown Prince, looking down at him askance. “Look up,” he said lightly.

The Crown Prince ignored him. A Tiance Army soldier stepped forward and forcibly tilted his head up, making him face Yuan Zhen.

Yuan Zhen calmly said, “Bring someone to identify him.”

A personal guard turned and left, returning shortly with the innkeeper of Dragon Gate Inn.

Yuan Zhen raised his horsewhip and pointed at the Crown Prince. “Is this the Crown Prince?”

The innkeeper bowed, cupping his hands. “Indeed, Grand Commander!”

Yuan Zhen calmly asked, “Why did the men sent to Dragon Gate Inn never return?”

The innkeeper quickly bowed his head. “This humble subordinate doesn’t know,” he replied. “Perhaps one must go to Dragon Gate Inn to find out.”

Yuan Zhen offered no comment. He turned to the Crown Prince, asking with a hint of amusement, “Zhu Chunwen, I’ll offer you a chance to live. Do you want it?”

The Crown Prince straightened his back, lifted his head, and sneered, “You won’t kill me. What you should be concerned about is what happens if I die. If I die, you lose a valuable bargaining chip.”

Yuan Zhen smiled. “The Zhu family certainly are all stubborn,” he remarked. “No matter. While the death penalty may be averted, a living torment cannot be escaped. Someone, take the collar off that hound’s neck and put it on this Crown Prince of Ning.”

Li Xuan watched the scene from a distance, his eyes blazing with fury.

He growled in a low voice, “I am a subordinate of the Eastern Palace! How can I stand by and watch His Highness suffer such humiliation!”

Chen Ji reiterated, “Just wait a little longer.”

Li Xuan clenched his fists. “Until when?”

Chen Ji suddenly said, “I knew Guyuan was a trap, but I couldn’t understand why the person behind it remained inactive, even after the Tiance Army had already entered the city. Now I understand: they were waiting for Yuan Zhen to enter. For this moment, they were willing to sacrifice even half of Guyuan’s citizens.”

Li Xuan was stunned.

Chen Ji was silent for a moment. “Now that Yuan Zhen has entered, it’s time for the moment of truth.”

No sooner had he spoken than a violent roar echoed from afar, startling the Tiance Army’s warhorses into neighing.

In the distance, flames shot skyward. Amidst the fiery glow, a vast section of the city wall at Guyuan’s gate suddenly collapsed, like mountains toppling. The towering gatehouse crumbled, completely blocking the city entrance.

Chen Ji gazed at the distant conflagration. So Bai Long had used the firearms here.