In the study of the Liangzhou governor’s residence, a charcoal fire warmed the entire room, and the air was filled with the smoke of incense. On the thick nanmu wood desk lay a letter marked “Confidential” with a special red seal from the Ministry of War.
This letter had just been rushed eight hundred miles to Duan Xu’s desk, and it hadn’t even been an hour since he opened it. Currently, he was sitting behind the desk, while Meng Wan and Xia Qingsheng stood before him. He hid nothing from the two of them; the letter was left open on the desk for them to see clearly.
Meng Wan’s gaze looked grim. She clenched her fists and said, “This is too much! They are sending you to die!”
Duan Xu rested his elbows on the desk, tightly interlaced his fingers, then loosened them again. This was his habit when thinking.
After a brief silence, Duan Xu raised his gaze and said, “Commander Qin’s reasoning is not wrong. Currently, Liangzhou has been reclaimed, but the majority of Yuzhou is still in the hands of the Danzhi army. To the south of Yuzhou are flat plains; Daliang no longer has any natural strongholds to defend. If the Huqi tribe captures Yuzhou, they will attack the southern capital directly, so Yuzhou must not fall. Both Danzhi and Daliang understand this perfectly, which is why the most crucial battlefield is there, and the war has reached a stalemate.”
“The Danzhi army traveled far to fight; what they fear most are long nights fraught with dreams. Yuzhou still has six cities controlled by Daliang’s elite troops. If they cannot conquer them for a long time, Danzhi will definitely send reinforcements. Having lost Liangzhou, the only reinforcement route left is this one.”
Duan Xu traced a line on the map on the desk with his index finger, indicating the rear of Yuzhou and the Guan River.
“However, the rear of Yuzhou is heavily guarded by the Danzhi army. They must have anticipated we would try to cut off their reinforcement route and are prepared to fight to the death there. The Tabai Army only has eighty thousand men; they cannot afford such heavy losses. To save Yuzhou, we must…”
Duan Xu’s hand moved to Liangzhou on the map, pointing to the section of the Guan River in Liangzhou, “Cross the Guan River, take a detour to occupy Danzhi’s provincial capital of Shuozhou, and cut off the Huqi tribe’s communication lines north and south of the Guan River. When spring arrives and the ice on the Guan River melts, Danzhi won’t be able to do anything anymore.”
Meng Wan laughed out of anger. She said, “True, Commander Qin’s reasoning is not wrong. It’s easy to just talk. Let alone waiting until the ice melts in spring and we’re trapped in Shuozhou as dead pawns, just thinking about crossing the Guan River and attacking Danzhi is impossibly difficult. Qin Huanda himself usually only defends desperately and never attacks when facing the large Danzhi army, yet he tells us to attack Danzhi?”
“A task this important, why doesn’t he send his Suying and Shengjie Armies to do it? They’re his trusted troops! He’s Duke Pei’s brother-in-law, and you are a thorn in his side. It’s obvious he’s sending you to die!” Meng Wan said, holding back tears, her eyes red. She clenched her fist and slammed the desk, “Damn it, even at a time like this, he still hasn’t forgotten to pull dirty tricks to get rid of those who disagree with him!”
She had been in the military camp for years; although she came from an official’s family, she had grown accustomed to using harsh language.
Duan Xu’s eyes remained clear and calm, he even smiled, contrasting sharply with his serious expression earlier, looking relaxed.
“Regardless, Commander Qin is the Supreme Commander of the entire army; military orders cannot be disobeyed. If someone really has to sacrifice themselves to protect Daliang, we can’t argue over who should go and who shouldn’t, right? Commander Qin sending me to sacrifice myself, doesn’t that mean he values me?”
Meng Wan widened her eyes at Duan Xu, feeling both pity for his fate and anger that he didn’t fight back. The Meng family and the Duan family were old friends. She had known Duan Xu for years, but she never understood how he could have a temperament like this. Even bad things could be seen as good things by him, and he never blamed anyone.
Duan Xu stood up. His posture was tall and slender, with handsome eyebrows and eyes. When he smiled, he truly lived up to the phrase “bright eyes and white teeth.” His whole being exuded a cheerful and open-minded aura.
He walked to the front of the desk, shifting his gaze to Xia Qingsheng, who had been silent the whole time. Xia Qingsheng and Meng Wan were the people he brought from the Imperial Guards in the southern capital. Xia Qingsheng was naturally quiet, and currently, he kept frowning with a serious expression.
“Qingsheng, what’s wrong with you?”
Xia Qingsheng gritted his teeth, suddenly knelt to pay his respects, and said firmly, “I am the one who implicated the General. If it weren’t for saving my younger sister, you wouldn’t have conflicted with Young Master Fan, and been impeached by Official Fang, thereby falling into this dangerous situation.”
He looked at Duan Xu. There was guilt but also strong determination in his eyes. He said earnestly, “Whatever the General’s decision, I swear I will loyally follow you to the death!”
Duan Xu looked at the resolute Xia Qingsheng, then shifted to the angry Meng Wan. He couldn’t help but look down and burst out laughing, surprising both Xia Qingsheng and Meng Wan.
Duan Xu always liked to smile. Meng Wan, who had known him for years, had never seen him with a sour face. Yet still, she couldn’t get used to Duan Xu’s sudden laughter.
Duan Xu reached out to help Xia Qingsheng up, then said to them, “What is this? You all have expressions like we’re going to die for a righteous cause right now. Are you that certain I will lose?”
“I’m telling you this beforehand, make sure you don’t leak a single word to anyone else. Qingsheng, tell Middle General Wu to see me at the governor’s residence in two hours. Meng Wan, come with me, we have something to do.”
Duan Xu patted Xia Qingsheng’s shoulder, as if to reassure him. His bright smile showed that he truly didn’t consider this a big deal. After giving a few instructions, he left the governor’s residence.
At the border, he also maintained his lifestyle from the southern capital, not bringing guards. This time he only walked out of the governor’s residence with Meng Wan, stood for a while on the deserted street that still bore bloodstains, then turned right towards a small courtyard next to the governor’s residence.
A girl was sitting on the steps in front of the courtyard. She wore a pale white padded jacket, wrapped in a pale pink cloak, with white fur around her neck. Her face was very sweet, her skin fair and rosy, like a peach.
The girl was holding a sugar figurine with an intricate shape. The boy in a blue jacket beside her also held a similar sugar figurine, sitting leaning against her. They were surrounded by a group of seven or eight-year-old children sitting on the ground, looking up and listening attentively as the woman told a story.
As soon as Meng Wan saw He Xiaoxiao, her anger flared up, “General, all this time you told me to take care of her. She asked for a house, food, clothes, I gave her everything. Now she lives like a spoiled princess. How long are you going to take care of her?”
Duan Xu said casually, “Didn’t you say she might be from the Pei faction, and approached me with bad intentions? She asked for food and a house, not my life, isn’t that a good thing? Anyway, let’s not talk about that for now. How has your relationship with her been these past few days?”
Meng Wan suppressed her anger, gripped her sword, and reported, “She claims she has no relatives. Xue Chenying’s father once helped her, so she takes care of Xue Chenying. But I’ve investigated; no one in Liangzhou City has ever seen her, and no one has ever heard Xue Chenying’s father mention her.”
“These past few days I deliberately asked her about weather changes, and her guesses were always right. The timing can be accurate down to the hour, the wind direction and strength are also correct. But General, I feel this person cannot be trusted.”
Duan Xu didn’t comment on Meng Wan’s opinion, merely saying, “I understand.”
As they approached the crowd at the entrance of the small courtyard, they heard He Xiaoxiao’s loud voice.
“That evil ghost looked as beautiful as a flower, but her eyes were pitch black, and she held a large urn that continuously dripped blood. Suddenly her sharp fangs and nails grew, and she opened her mouth wide, which was covered in blood…”
He Simu raised her slender hands, her eyes flashing with a fierce light, pretending to pounce. The group of children screamed in terror. Her expression instantly turned gentle, and she burst out laughing. The children who had run away then returned.
A little girl with two braids asked tremblingly, “Sister, do ghosts really exist? Are ghosts scary?”
“Of course they exist, Chen Ying and I were almost eaten! Later, if you meet a strange person, especially someone whose eyes are pitch black with no whites, you must run away quickly.” He Simu clutched her chest, looking as if she were still terrified, “I’m most afraid of ghosts, I haven’t been able to sleep well for nights, and keep having nightmares! I heard that a person eaten by a ghost will have bad luck for their next few lives, maybe they won’t be able to eat sugar figurines for their whole life!”
The children instantly showed expressions of genuine fear.
“Do evil ghosts have anything they’re afraid of?” asked a chubby boy anxiously, perhaps afraid he couldn’t run fast enough.
“They do, I heard from my father, they’re afraid of magic weapons, talismans, and also…” He Simu thought for a moment, then said, “Their leader, the Ghost King.”
The boy in blue beside her was surprised, “Ghost King? Ghosts also have a king? Like an emperor?”
“More or less. I also heard from my father, only the Ghost King can reproduce with humans, and their descendants are born as evil ghosts, much stronger than ordinary evil ghosts, and usually inherit the Ghost King’s throne…”
He Simu was promoting knowledge about the ghost world to the children—which was actually her own story. However, when she looked up, she saw Duan Xu standing outside the group of children, watching her with a smile.
He was still wearing casual clothes, a round-collared robe with a cross-square pattern, his hair tied with a crown, and a gray hair ribbon hanging down. Today’s sunlight was very bright; he stood under the brilliant light, his clean eyes reflecting her image.
He Simu recalled that Fengyi had told her Duan Xu was only nineteen this year. Truly the brightest time of youth.
He Simu showed a joyful smile. She stood up and bowed to Duan Xu, “General.”
Duan Xu also bowed and said, “Miss He has vast knowledge, I am impressed.”
He Simu was very humble, lowered her head, and said, “It’s all just rumors.”
She dispersed Chen Ying and the other children, turned around, and walked toward Duan Xu, standing in front of him and looking straight at him, “General, is there something you need to discuss?”
“I heard Miss He has extraordinary skills, able to predict the weather,” Duan Xu said, getting straight to the point.
“This servant was merely born with better eyesight, able to discern the wind direction and clouds, it’s just a small trick.”
“Is Miss willing to become the weather wind guide for my Tabai Army?”
Warfare relies heavily on timing, location, and harmony among people. A weather wind guide is a role in the military tasked with deducing the state of the heavens.
He Simu was slightly surprised, thinking to herself that since Meng Wan was suspicious, shouldn’t this young general be wary of her? Why did he suddenly trust her so much, and entrust her with an important task?
She temporarily put on a flattered expression and said, “If I can be by the General’s side and contribute to Daliang, I am certainly willing. What does the General want me to do?”
Duan Xu ignored Meng Wan’s anxious gestures beside him and said, “Does Miss know on which night in the next few days there will be an east wind? The stronger the better, and it would be even better if accompanied by snow.”
Nighttime, an east wind, and falling snow.
He Simu was slightly stunned; in an instant she showed a slight expression of pity, as if guessing what Duan Xu was going to do. But that pity vanished in a flash, and He Simu returned to her original joyful expression.
“This place is low and has many buildings, so a lot of the wind is blocked. If the General doesn’t mind, could you take me up the city wall to observe the wind?”
Meng Wan finally couldn’t hold it in anymore. Initially, she didn’t understand why Duan Xu sought help from someone with an unclear background, and now she was even angrier.
“The city wall concerns the city’s defense and is a crucial military site. Who are you to think you can go there whenever you please?”
“Who am I, am I not the Tabai Army’s weather wind guide, Captain Meng?” He Simu smiled innocently.
“You!”
Duan Xu stopped Meng Wan, who was about to step forward. He looked at He Simu for a moment, then smiled and nodded, “Alright, I will take you up the city wall.”
