Considering that Huo Ci’s face had probably become a nightmare etched into the memory of every Beiluo soldier, Jiang Xingyan had no choice but to cover her entire head tightly. She was already sweating profusely by the time they reached their position.
But then she remembered it was Huo Ci’s face anyway, so there was no need to be overly cautious.
She and Xin Zhui each followed a team of soldiers, stationed on the necessary routes down the mountain.
Their persistence paid off. Finally, during the Mao hour, they heard the sound of carts and horses in the distance.
Everyone held their breath simultaneously.
The leader let out a distinctive whistle—a hallmark of Beiluo.
“Hey, did you hear? Those two little brats at the rear mountain actually tried to bring women up the mountain. The squad leader whipped them good, had them crying for their mothers.”
Wild laughter echoed through the mountains.
“General Tuoba strictly forbids women. Even the captains have been abstaining for half a year. How dare those guys think about having fun? They’ve got no sense.”
“Let me tell you, it’s much better following our Centurion. We come down the mountain every three days for drinking, eating, whoring, gambling, and smoking. That Prefect of Qingzhou arranges everything perfectly for us. However much energy you have, it’ll all be drained.”
“Heh heh heh…”
Lewdy laughter rose and fell incessantly. Jiang Xingyan wished she could plug her ears.
“Silence! Is this something to discuss openly? Do you all have a death wish?”
The road instantly fell quiet.
“Centurion, don’t be angry. We brothers all know our limits. This is a little apology for our loose tongues today; you must accept it. Otherwise, we’d be too anxious and ashamed.”
The Centurion snorted coldly, took the pieces of silver, and tucked them into his robe.
“The Grand Sorcerer has given a strict order: we must mine two hundred thousand tons of iron ore before the Start of Autumn, or all of us will lose our heads! But a few more of those useless Xizhou pigs have died, and the higher-ups are already furious. If they find out we’re down here indulging ourselves, they’ll skin us alive! If anyone leaks even a whisper of this, I’ll kill him myself!”
The men assented meekly, swearing oaths and promising never to mention it again.
“Centurion, I have an idea. That spineless Prefect only finds one or two Xizhou pigs for us each time; it’s not enough. Why don’t we just go grab some directly from the streets?”
The Centurion rapped the speaker sharply on the head twice.
“Grab, grab, grab! Is there anything else in your brain? I told you, this needs to be done secretly. If you cause a scene by snatching people publicly, and if you attract that King of Hell Huo back, none of us will survive!”
The man covered his head, not daring to say another word.
The cart rolled silently past Jiang Xingyan.
She peeked up, clearly noting the men’s attire and committing it to memory.
She signaled to the soldiers with her to stay put, remain hidden, and keep watch.
Then, using a pre-scouted path, she employed her Qinggong and sprinted at full speed.
The distance between Kan Mountain and Qingzhou City took half an hour by cart. Jiang Xingyan focused intensely, not daring to divert her attention at all, and managed to cover the distance in just the time it takes two incense sticks, flying right up to the outskirts of Qingzhou City.
Qingzhou City had four main gates and four smaller gates. Yesterday, she had stationed ten men outside each gate.
She first went to the East Gate.
Among the crowd line up waiting to enter the city was a beggar in tattered clothes—one of her disguised soldiers.
From a distance, she tossed a pebble into his bowl.
The soldier understood. He stretched, yawned, and said, “This line is so long, who knows how long it’ll take. This old man is going to lie down over there for a bit, I’ll come back when it’s closer. You people behind, remember, this is my spot. If any of you dare take one step forward and steal it, I’ll get my beggar brothers to sing lianhualao all day tomorrow at your doorstep!”
Jiang Xingyan’s corners of the mouth twitched: I told you to imitate, not to surpass!
The beggar walked to the city wall. Seeing the guards, he instantly switched to a fawning demeanor, nodding and bowing with a smile. “Hard work, gentlemen soldiers!”
A guard frowned and barked, “Get lost!”
“Yes, yes!”
“Get further away!”
The beggar grumbled under his breath as he moved to a corner of the city wall.
Jiang Xingyan was already hiding there. She described the number, appearances, and clothing of the men from the mountain cart to him, instructing him to keep an eye out once inside the city. If a suitable opportunity arose, he was to pass the message along so more of their men would know.
Over fifty of their soldiers had entered the city today, all fresh recruits who hadn’t served on the front lines; they were safe.
Qingzhou was originally an important trade city, so they didn’t strictly check household registers or identity tablets, aiming for an atmosphere of prosperous bustle. Currently, although Qingzhou was effectively under Beiluo control, this couldn’t be openly acknowledged. If they strictly inspected everyone entering the city, it would inevitably raise suspicions in neighboring prefectures and counties. Once exposed, Xizhou would have absolute justification and pretext to gather an army of over a hundred thousand to exterminate Beiluo.
Using her speed advantage, Jiang Xingyan ran to the remaining seven gates and notified everyone.
Her identity was too special to enter the city herself, so she could only pick a gate at random and wait, relying on luck.
Before long, a soldier disguised as a farmer came out, carrying empty baskets on a shoulder pole. He had dug up some wild vegetables and picked some wild berries near their base, never expecting they would sell out so quickly. The people in Qingzhou City really hadn’t seen much good stuff!
With his baskets empty, he couldn’t linger without raising suspicion. He bought some rice and flour and came out looking dejected.
Jiang Xingyan followed him. Only when they reached a deserted spot did she have a chance to ask, “Did you see the group that came down from the mountain?”
The farmer thought carefully, then shook his head. “General, I set up my stall right next to the brothel district. I didn’t see the people you described.”
Jiang Xingyan waved her hand, indicating he should go back and rest.
She stayed there and asked the next eight people who came out. None had seen them.
Her instincts told her something was wrong, but she couldn’t pinpoint the issue.
It wasn’t until a soldier disguised as a knife grinder came out that she got a lead.
“General, I saw a cart like the one you described near the Prefect’s residence. The number of people matched too, five. But their clothes and their appearances and builds were different. Maybe they weren’t the Beiluo scoundrels, just a coincidence?”
Jiang Xingyan narrowed her eyes.
In business, the worst thing you could do was attribute everything to coincidence. There weren’t that many coincidences in the world. Everything happened due to causes and conditions, with cause and effect. She figured warfare probably wasn’t much different.
She asked the knife grinder for details.
“Those five men seemed to defer to one person in particular. The Prefect himself came out to greet them. I only took an extra glance before the residence guards chased me away.”
Suddenly, everything clicked for Jiang Xingyan.
Back on the mountain path, she had noticed their appearances didn’t look particularly Beiluo, and had thought they’d just picked soldiers with more Xizhou-like features. Now she realized they must have used disguise techniques.
This ‘number one wicked art of the Jianghu,’ often featured in operas and stories, was dredged up from the corners of her memory. Legend said the highest level of disguise could not only change a person’s appearance but also their age, even their build and gender. But the one drawback was it couldn’t change their voice. Unless they specifically trained in vocal mimicry.
These Beiluo soldiers had such strong accents; if they went into the city to procure goods themselves, they’d be exposed instantly. Connecting this to what they had said, everything they needed was probably supplied directly from the Prefect’s residence and transported up the mountain.
Having figured this out, Jiang Xingyan returned to the city gates and informed all the surveillance teams: follow any cart loaded with supplies.
By the time she returned to the foot of Kan Mountain, dusk had fallen, and the only sound was the chirping of insects.
The heavy sound of cart wheels approached.
Jiang Xingyan held her breath, placed her hand on her sword hilt, and prepared for battle.
Unexpectedly, the supply cart turned at a fork in the road and headed towards the hidden path.
She had no choice but to follow, watching helplessly as they unloaded all the supplies by the side of the path. Soldiers stationed every five and ten paces along the path then passed them up the mountain.
Jiang Xingyan made a hand signal to the soldiers ambushed there: Take them all out.
The emptied cart returned to the main mountain road.
“Centurion, why did we deliver to the small path?” This man was clearly new to the trip.
“Heh, are you stupid? We’re carrying supplies vital to the whole mountain. If we get ambushed, we’re all finished!”
The Centurion’s words had barely left his mouth when a cold sensation touched his neck. His head was already being lifted by someone.
In the blink of an eye, all five men were dealt with, replaced by the Huo Family Army.
Jiang Xingyan was originally a gentle woman who couldn’t even kill a chicken. But after three years of mistreatment by her mother-in-law, her heart had hardened. Wielding a sword to cut people down wasn’t a first or second time anymore—was she actually getting used to it?
Xin Zhui, who had arrived via another route and witnessed this, felt his corners of the mouth twitch. I’ll never dare to offend the General’s wife in the future!
The cart was large enough to hold ten people. The rest hid nearby, following the cart up the mountain.
“Password!”
Soldiers at the mountain gate drew their bows.
“Chicken head!”
This was the password the procurement team had arranged with the guards before setting out in the morning.
Silence from the other side.
Jiang Xingyan’s heart sank.
“Not good! Take cover!”
In the darkness, countless arrows flew towards them.
The Huo Family Army outside the cart used trees as cover. Those inside flipped underneath, using the cart as a shield.
Neigh!
The horse pulling the cart let out one last wretched whinny before collapsing to the ground with a thud.
Countless torches suddenly flared to life.
“Release the Iron Pagodas!”
After the earth-shaking cry, Jiang Xingyan witnessed a nightmare she would never forget for the rest of her life:
Over a dozen cavalrymen, clad in heavy armor made of countless interlinked steel plates, wearing steel helmets that revealed only their eyes. Reflecting the torchlight, they gleamed with a bloodthirsty cold light. They brandished spiked clubs as they charged down the slope towards them. Their warhorses were similarly armored across their chests and bodies, with protective plates on the neck, hindquarters, and heavy steel headpieces. The horses, seeing nothing, knew only to charge.
Terrified, Jiang Xingyan turned and shouted to the stunned Huo Family Army: “Run!”