When they heard that there were reinforcements on the way to add to the prince’s troops, the relaxed atmosphere immediately vanished and gave way to tension.

Ning Wei’s expression grew grave. “I expected it, but not so soon. How many are coming?”

The messenger didn’t look happy. “At least three hundred men. There are two separate search teams with approximately a hundred and fifty each, and both are heading this way. There might be more catching up later.”

Ning Wei’s gaze turned heavy. Currently, he had a total of about two hundred soldiers while the prince’s people under their captain’s command amounted to only a hundred and fifty overall. But if the reinforcements arrived…

 “How long do we have?” the general questioned.

“Thirty to forty minutes at the earliest,” came the answer.

With a grim expression, Ning Wei pondered on what to do.

Ke Jing pursed his lips, his eyes sharp. “General, our main objective is to protect the duke.”

Ning Wei paused, then sighed and nodded. “I understand. You go and plan a retreat route for us and see if you can locate Sister Qiu.”

Ke Jing nodded, relieved that his general realized what he meant. He climbed atop his horse, and with a hand on the chain whip hanging from his belt, Ke Jing rode away into the forest.

Yan Yixuan frowned. “Ah-Wei, you have something in mind?”

After a moment of hesitation, Ning Wei nodded. His expression said he didn’t like it. “Ah-Xuan, the main reason for this battle is because the prince’s people want to take you back. So, as long as we can get you away from here and make sure that they can’t follow you, no matter who has the superior numbers here, the battle will most likely wind down.”

Yan Yixuan’s and Ruan Shu’s expressions turned thoughtful, while Cang Xiyu and the bandits looked at him with confusion.

“That’s indeed true,” Cang Xiyu said. “But how are you going to block the route you’re sending him away through? You know you can’t just build a blockade or stimulate a landslide at will?”

Ruan Shu looked to the side and spoke quietly, “General, you want to use the bridge?”

Everyone turned to look at the inconspicuous bridge as one.

The reason Yan Yixuan and the bandits had come here in the first place was to cross that bridge and continue on their route to the empire on the other side. But the prince’s people had set up an ambush here and taken them off-guard. And then Jian Lan and Ke Jing arrived, closely followed by Ning Wei, turning the entire place into a battlefield. Since the fighting spread all over, including blocking the mouth of the bridge, no one had considered escaping through there.

“So what if there’s a bridge?” one of the bandits asked perplexedly.

Li Yang was much quicker. “General…you want to let the brat cross it and then cut the ropes so that those people can’t follow him?”

Ning Wei nodded. “I can temporarily have people clear the bridge. I want Steward Ruan, Official Cang, and the rest of you to follow Ah-Xuan over and keep him safe. Can I count on you?”

They nodded, some reluctantly and others resolutely. Yan Yixuan was the only one who remained quiet and motionless throughout.

“Ah-Xuan?” Ning Wei called.

Yan Yixuan fiddled with his sleeve, looking down with worry scrunching his brows. “Ah-Wei, what about you?”

Ning Wei gently placed his hands on his lover’s shoulders. “I’ll be fine. We will most likely only have to fight for a few dozen more minutes after you leave. Once the prince’s people have given up, I and the others will take a different route and we can meet up directly in the empire.”

Yan Yixuan’s frown only increased, his shoulders tensing under Ning Wei’s hands.

Realizing that something was bothering him, Ning Wei asked softly, “What is it, Ah-Xuan?”

The young man finally looked up. His expression was stricken. “Ah-Wei, I don’t want to leave you. We just met again. Do I have to go?”

Ning Wei’s heart ached at the sorrow and distress he saw in his beloved’s eyes. He hugged him tightly and pressed a kiss to his hair. “It’ll be alright. We’ll meet again once this is over and stay together as much as possible. But until then, even without me, you won’t be alone.”

Yan Yixuan closed his eyes and murmured sullenly, “But none of them are you. Can’t you come with me?”

“I would like to. But I can’t ask my soldiers to fight and die for me, then walk away from danger myself. I have to stay here and lead them,” Ning Wei explained quietly. He smiled and asked, “You know why all this is necessary, don’t you?”

The young man hesitated but nodded. He truly did understand that what his lover said made sense. Rationally, he knew that he couldn’t waste time here and should get going before the reinforcements arrived. Dilly-dallying like this sentimentally was a stupid and silly waste of precious time.

And yet…Yan Yixuan couldn’t bear to let go of the man in his arms. It was only by his side that he felt the most safe and secure. It was only when he could look into his Ah-Wei’s eyes and read the quiet affection in his gaze that he could reassure himself that yes, this wasn’t a dream. He really did gain the good fortune of having his beloved general reciprocate his love.

If he let go now…would he have to go through the same uncertainty and doubts as before?

Yan Yixuan took a deep breath to still his raging mind and pushed away his thoughts. No, he couldn’t make this about his comfort. He was being an unnecessary burden on his lover. He needed to stop dragging this out so that everyone could start moving quickly and get out of danger.

The young man put on his usual composed mask again and stepped back. He forced a slight smile onto his stiff lips and looked at Ning Wei. “It’s alright, I understand. I’m sorry for holding everything up. You’re right, there’s no other way for now. I suppose I should get going with the others then.” He paused, his hands clenching inside his sleeves. Struggling to keep his voice even, he said, “Ah-Wei…stay safe, alright? No matter what, you have to stay safe.”

Ning Wei looked at him with an unfathomable gaze.

Feeling that the general’s incisive eyes might pierce through his external composure and see the vulnerability beneath, Yan Yixuan looked away, trying not to appear too defensive.

Ning Wei sighed, then bent to place a quick kiss on his cheek. Yan Yixuan was startled and looked up at him with wide eyes.

“Do you think I still can’t see your insecurities after spending so much time with you?” Ning Wei asked with a wry smile.

Yan Yixuan didn’t know what to say. He wanted to bow his head uneasily but Ning Wei’s rough hand pulled it up by the jaw. The general whispered, “Ah-Xuan, look at me.”

The young man stilled and finally met his lover’s eyes again, letting his uncertainty bleed through into his gaze.

Ning Wei’s thumb brushed his cheek in gentle strokes. “Would you feel better if I gave you a love token?”

Yan Yixuan’s stiff expression slowly brightened. If he ever felt doubtful in his Ah-Wei’s absence, he would only have to look at the token to reassure himself.

Letting go, Ning Wei took his father’s sword while it was still in its scabbard from his waist and presented it to his lover with both hands. The tassel hanging from the hilt swayed gently. The general smiled and said, “Here, keep it as both my love token and a talisman. Since Father is alive, I know that there is no chance of his spirit possessing it and looking after me as I so whimsically hoped. But it has still served me well enough as a good luck talisman all these years, so I hope it will do the same for you. Ah-Xuan, I want you to have it. Remember me whenever you see it.”

Yan Yixuan looked at him incredulously. He knew how precious this sword was to his beloved. He floundered, shock still stamped on his face, “B-But Ah-Wei! You need a sword to fight, so how can I…?”

Ning Wei smirked, and without looking, took out the ivory-hilted long knife he had been using before. “I still have this to use as a weapon.”

With great satisfaction, Ning Wei watched Yan Yixuan’s eyebrow twitch in recognition when he saw the blade, followed by his inconspicuous struggle to hide his bashfulness. After all, the young man had been the one who had sneakily sent over that ivory hilt inscribed with ‘harmonious union’ to be used for Ning Wei’s blade, fully knowing that it was a Yan household tradition for the head of the family to give an ivory ornament engraved with those words to their betrothed. Seeing Ning Wei take it out so casually now, Yan Yixuan realized his beloved had managed to carry it with him all these years and felt both pleased and flustered.

Ning Wei grinned. “Since I have this lovely knife to use, you can keep the sword.”

Yan Yixuan didn’t suspect he knew anything and nodded while deliberately avoiding looking at him or the knife. He reached over to carefully lift the sword out of Ning Wei’s hands. His fingers were gentle as if what he held was not a heavy blade that had seen countless battles and been drenched with blood, but instead the most delicate and precious of treasures.

Looking up at his lover again, Yan Yixuan asked, “Is it really alright for me to keep this?”

Ning Wei nodded firmly and spun a bullshit reason, “Leaving it in your hands will give me peace of mind so that I won’t get diverted mid-battle worrying about your safety. You know how dangerous it can be for a soldier to get distracted like that during battle, don’t you? To avoid that and reassure me, you should take the sword.”

Yan Yixuan chuckled. He knew that his beloved was deliberately giving him a ridiculous reason to amuse him, and what could he do but oblige and cheer up?

With gleaming eyes, the young man finally conceded, “Alright, I’ll keep it with me.”

Yan Yixuan glanced at the tassel swinging freely from one end of the sword. When he and Ning Wei won the couples’ contest, they split up the prize so that he got the white jade hair stick that he wore even now, while Ning Wei took the tassel hanging from it to put on his sword. Since Ning Wei now gave him his share of the reward together with the sword, Yan Yixuan reached up to take out the jade hair stick from his coronet and held it out to Ning Wei.

“Despite a tumble down a cliff and weeks’ worth of hard trekking through a forest, I’ve managed to hold onto it,” Yan Yixuan said with a smile. “Here, Ah-Wei. Since you’re giving me your sword as a love token, I’ll give you my hair stick in return.”

Ning Wei’s gaze softened with the memory of how they won it. He accepted the hair stick and carefully tucked it into his robe under the armor. “Thank you, Ah-Xuan. I’ll take care of it.”

“Take care of yourself even more,” Yan Yixuan said in return. He reached up to quickly tie up his hair so that it would stay out of his face even without the hair stick pinning it in place.

When he was done, Ning Wei gently swept away a few stray strands of his lover’s hair and bent to touch their foreheads together, meeting his beloved’s gaze. They were close enough to feel the heat from the other’s skin and sense their mingling breaths. Yan Yixuan’s eyes slowly brimmed with emotions and he held nothing of himself back. Ning Wei drank it all in and expressed his own longing and unwillingness to part with his gaze, along with soft feelings of affection and devotion.

“Ah-Xuan,” he murmured. “We’ll meet again on the other side.”

Yan Yixuan closed his eyes and took in as much of this moment as he could. When he opened his eyes again, there was no fragility or wistfulness. He nodded and leaned back. His voice was steady and without doubt, “Yes, we will.”

They had said everything that needed to be said and did all they could for the other, so without hesitation, the couple turned away and began walking in opposite directions.

Yan Yixuan headed back to the group and gathered them, preparing to break through to the bridge the moment there was an opening. Ning Wei walked up to and mounted his horse, then rode over to conscript a few of his soldiers to clear the path to the bridge’s entrance.

Ten minutes later, the fighting near the bridge intensified. The people sent over by Ning Wei managed to engage the prince’s men scattered nearby and slowly drew them away from the entrance. The moment the coast was clear, Yan Yixuan and the others bolted for the bridge. The bandits formed the outer perimeter of the group with their weapons out and eyes vigilant. The group didn’t pause to look back. They had to trust that Ning Wei’s troops would cover for them.

Behind them, the prince’s people realized they were escaping and made to follow, but Ning Wei’s troops were prepared for this and quickly formed a sturdy barricade across the bridge’s entrance, refusing to let them through.

“Brother Jian! Strengthen the barrier!” Ning Wei shouted.

Jian Lan galloped over on his horse, and shedding all pretenses, the entirety of the empire’s troops blocked all access to the bridge from this direction. They knew that they only had to hold on for a few minutes until Yan Yixuan’s group made it to the other side, so they went all out in pushing back the prince’s people.

Once the last person in Yan Yixuan’s group successfully crossed the bridge, Ning Wei borrowed an axe to personally hack away the binding ropes. With a relieved expression, he watched the bridge fall as the shouts of alarm rang out from the prince’s men behind him.

Ning Wei smiled. Yan Yixuan was now out of their reach.

On the other side of the chasm, Yan Yixuan stared fixedly at Ning Wei, his feet stably placed at the very edge of the cliff.

Ning Wei waved at him and patted his chest, right over where he was keeping the white jade hair stick, with assurance and promise. Then knowing that he couldn’t just keep standing here while a fierce battle was underway behind him, Ning Wei walked back to his horse, climbed to sit in the saddle, and dove into the carnage with his weapons out.

Yan Yixuan stayed there a moment longer, then silently stepped back from the cliff’s edge and turned to the others. “We’re safe for now.”

Ruan Shu, Cang Xiyu, and Li Yang nodded.

Ruan Shu had been a bit worried about separating Yan Yixuan from Ning Wei. But seeing that the young man looked alright, he decided there was no cause for concern for now.

Standing beside him, Cang Xiyu looked at the battle on the other side uneasily. He couldn’t wait to put all that danger behind them and start their journey towards the empire.

Meanwhile, the bandits were still electrified after being able to meet their hero and from the thrill of running through a battlefield while protecting others. They moved about restlessly, eyes bright.

One of the bandits teasingly prodded Yan Yixuan, “Brat, what sweet words of love did the general whisper to you in the end there?” The bandits had been watching their interactions with interest, and that part was the only thing they had missed.

Yan Yixuan thought back to the last words he and Ning Wei exchanged and looked towards the other side of the chasm as if able to see his beloved within the chaos. He answered quietly, “He said that we’ll meet again on the other side.”

The bandit immediately grew alarmed. “Is the general planning on dying?!”

Ruan Shu scowled at him. “Stop talking nonsense. That’s definitely not what he meant.”

The bandit protested, “How else am I supposed to take those words?”

Cang Xiyu rolled his eyes. “Why are you reading something so dramatic from it? He must have simply meant that they will meet on the other side of the border.”

Finally understanding, the bandit went, “Oh!”

Witnessing this, Li Yang had an intense urge to facepalm. Why were his men so stupid? Even worse, why did they go out of their way to display this stupidity to outsiders?!

Yan Yixuan took one last look at the other side of the chasm, then turned to them. “We better get going. It’s better not to stay in the same place for long.”

The others nodded in agreement and the group soon set off.

On the other side of the chasm, all softness and affection had drained out of Ning Wei the moment he turned away from Yan Yixuan, leaving only a hard edge to his smile and coldness in his gaze. He barked short commands to his men while swinging his swords with his hands and steering his horse with his legs. His faithful stallion had been with him for years and had gone through the latter portion of the war with him, so it easily picked up his signals through the tiniest of gestures. Ning Wei couldn’t have been gladder for not putting his faithful horse down as some had suggested after the war.

Time felt both speedy and stagnant as his blades collided with metal or sank into flesh again and again. His eyes surveyed the battlefield and its edges often, never letting anything slip past him. Eventually, he spotted what he hoped for.

Ke Jing had returned. And he seemed to have not only secured a retreat route for when the reinforcements would arrive but had also run into Qiu Qingyue on the way.

Fifteen minutes later, the battle was called to a temporary halt and the two sides faced each other once again.

The empire’s men were injected with Qiu Qingyue’s troops as well and grew bigger, while the reinforcements turned the count of the prince’s soldiers to almost double that of the empire’s.

However, Qiu Qingyue’s soldiers were fresh and well-rested, unlike the other side’s reinforcements who had to slog through the forest these past few weeks to painstakingly comb it for traces of Yan Yixuan.

On top of it, the prince’s troops consisted of a guard that was based in Sui’s capital. Their job was to protect the prince specifically, not serve as soldiers or hunt people through a thick forest. They were used to the comforts of the city and hadn’t had the opportunity to fight anyone of significant skill in a life or death situation. As a result, they fared much worse than Ning Wei’s troops who were battle-hardened and used to maintaining their spirits through harsh living conditions. In the current situation, when pitting numbers against skill and experience, the outcome was uncertain.

And realizing this, the captain of the prince’s guard had called the battle to a halt to negotiate with the empire’s general.

But due to their arguments before, the captain felt humiliated by the other side and wanted to get at least some sense of accomplishment out of it. He thus acted more confident than he felt and stated, “General Ning, seeing which side has the superior numbers, I think you already know who is going to win. It would be better if you accept our conditions quietly so that we can part on good terms and avoid damaging our countries’ relationship.”

Ning Wei sighed and shook his head. “You disappoint me. Here I thought we would have a conversation like two adults, but you’ve once again started on your childish demands. If you really think the situation has us at a disadvantage, you are grossly unqualified for your position.”

The captain bared his teeth.

Before he could retort, Ning Wei spoke, “But since I’m fair and generous, I’ll give you a chance to state these conditions of yours. If I think you’re actually onto something—stranger things have happened—I might even agree.”

The captain glared daggers at him. Through clenched jaws, he made his demands, “First, I want you to sign a document stating that you will never disclose anything you saw on your ‘vacation’ to this side of the border. If anyone here from the empire does so, you, as the general, will take responsibility. We do not want any of our country’s weaknesses or strengths to be leaked unintentionally.

“Second, you and your lieutenants will hand in a written apology for crossing our country’s borders without due permissions and engaging with us in a hostile manner. The apology will be pasted in public places over the entire kingdom’s cities and towns.

“Thirdly, once we part, your people will immediately leave Sui. Any questions?”

From behind Ning Wei, Qiu Qingyue crossed her arms and said, “Yes, I have one. Do you not have a brain growing in your head? Is it all wind and clouds in there? Do you think this is your dream where all your ridiculous wishes come true?”

The captain’s face grew red with rage and he almost exploded.

Ning Wei half-heartedly reprimanded her. “Sister Qiu, it’s rude to speak like that.”

Ke Jing immediately nodded and supplied, “Yes, if you have to insult someone, you should phrase it like this.” Turning to the captain, he smiled brilliantly and said, “Hello, distinguished sir! May I ask why you were let out of your house today? Your absolute lack of intelligence seems like it might be extremely injurious to other people. Hearing your reasoning might cause others to laugh until they bust a gut. Therefore, I must advise you to please not venture outside without your caretakers the next time.”

The captain’s face turned from red to a bulging purple. “Shut up!” he roared.

Ning Wei glanced at him amusedly and gave Ke Jing a look of approval. “Yes, now that’s acceptable language.”

Qiu Qingyue seriously nodded as if digesting some important knowledge while Ke Jing preened happily. It was all Jian Lan could do to suppress his laughter to mere twitching of lips.

The captain’s eyes burned like wrathful suns. “General Ning! This is an unacceptable way of speaking to someone under the direct employment of the First Prince of Sui! This is utterly disrespectful! I must ask you to control your subordinates better!”

Ning Wei cocked an eyebrow. “After hearing your ridiculous terms, I feel that their reaction was completely justified.”

“My terms are perfectly fair and reasonable!” the captain burst out. “In what way do you find them ridiculous?”

Ning Wei sighed. “Let’s start with the first condition. You say it’s for your national security that you don’t want us to speak about anything we saw in Sui, but it’s obvious to me that you just don’t want it leaked that you have been hunting an imperial court official. You tried to physically silence us, and when that didn’t work, you’re trying the legal route. Of course, I have no obligation to do you any favors by shutting up about what I saw, and neither do my people.

“Going on to the next one, I don’t think any of us did anything that warrants a written apology. If you carefully study Sui’s laws, you will see that citizens from allied countries are only restricted from entering your kingdom’s human settlements without permission. I’ve heard about it firsthand from people who had to live in the forests because of it and resort to banditry to survive. Since it concerned their way of life, they have very extensively researched it. And so, we haven’t actually broken any of your laws by crossing the borders.

“And last of all, you seem intent on chasing us out as soon as possible. But putting your objectives aside, this is actually the only term I’m willing to agree to. We’re more or less done with everything we came to do anyway.”

Hearing all this, the captain became unsure and had trouble finding words. He had truly not expected a soldier who was only supposed to know fighting to make such well thought out arguments. In the end, he still blustered, “General, I don’t care what objections or reasoning you have to refute these conditions. I will not budge. If you want to avoid further unnecessary bloodshed, you have to comply.”

Ning Wei’s expression turned deceptively mild. “Oh? I do?”

“Yes!” the captain bit out. “Or what? Do you think you can take us on and win? It’s still not certain who will lose if we go toe-to-toe. You have to be absolutely stupid to refuse my conditions and choose to fight in these circumstances!”

Ning Wei chuckled and turned to look at the people behind him. His three subordinates, Jian Lan, Qiu Qingyue, and Ke Jing, formed a line at his back. Behind them, the soldiers who had willingly followed him here, the people who had fought with him in the war before and had wholeheartedly given their life and loyalty to him, stood in neat rows with glinting eyes, waiting for his command.

Smiling, he said casually, his voice calibrated to spread to every corner of the field, “You heard him. Apparently, this man here thinks it’s stupid to fight when we can choose to return home at the price of our dignity. What do you think? Shall we be stupid?”

Without hesitation, they all thundered as one, “Yes!” Their voices rose up to fill the sky, full of exuberance. After hearing everything the captain said, they couldn’t wait to rush forward and personally give him and his people a round of thrashing.

Ning Wei laughed approvingly and turned back to face the captain. The other man looked like he had bitten deep into a lemon. Shrugging, the general said, “Well, you heard them. I’m afraid we’re the sort of stupid people who choose to not humiliate ourselves even at the cost of our lives. The question is, are you prepared to let us call out your bluff?”

The captain was unwilling to back down. “What makes you think it was a bluff? Do you think I won’t go through with this?” He faced his men and shouted, “Guards of the First Prince, charge! Don’t let a single one of these imperial scum leave this place alive!”

Unperturbed, Ning Wei laughed and took out his weapons. He looked straight at the prince’s men and challenged, “Those who want an early meeting with the Lord of the Netherworld, come at me. I’ll be happy to oblige. I just hope you’ll find it worth it to give your lives so that your prince can force an innocent young man into his bed.”

The prince’s troops shifted with uncertainty as caution and chagrin tautened their faces. They had already had a chance to match their skills against the empire’s soldiers and they knew they were inferior. Unlike them, who had only ever had the chance to fight a few times against small teams of assassins targeting the prince or trained against other units, the empire’s soldiers had seen war not even a year ago and still stank of blood and exuded viciousness.

Before, they had arrogantly followed their captain’s orders to fight them and felt their hearts in their throats and frantic fear for their lives as they were slowly pushed back. Now that they had stopped fighting, they didn’t dare go against the empire’s people directly again. Ning Wei’s confidence only made them more uncertain in their own chance of winning. And his words reminding them what a ridiculous and disreputable cause they were fighting for only added to their reluctance.

Looking at their lack of movement, their captain snarled, “What are you doing?! Is this how you act while representing the first prince?!”

Ning Wei shook his head and mocked, “What is this? Do Sui’s people have such pathetic amounts of courage that they can’t even come and take a beating straightforwardly? Did your mothers not give you a spine while birthing you?”

The hotblooded people in the prince’s troops stiffened with fury. Bit by bit, they finally scrounged up some semblance of dignity, and under their captain’s venomous scolding, the battle finally started.

Facing the tide of men and horses charging his way, Ning Wei smiled with satisfaction and murmured, “Now this is what I’m talking about.”

As Ning Wei dived into the fray, Jian Lan and Ke Jing followed behind him with exasperated smiles while Qiu Qingyue grinned with anticipation at finally getting to fight.

In fact, Ning Wei wasn’t as reckless as he acted.

He knew that both sides were relatively well-matched, so he decided to use another decisive factor to tip the scales―their morale. He and his subordinates insulted and ridiculed the opposing side’s captain, exposing the flaws in his reasoning again and again in a way that would make the empire’s soldiers laugh at him and feel energized, while the prince’s troops would feel ashamed and grow subdued at how incompetent and foolish their leader looked. Would anyone be able to stand behind a laughing stock and dedicate their lives to his command?

And so, though one side had the numbers advantage and the other had more expertise, the vast difference in morale resulted in the skirmish lasting only an hour.

During the battle, a good portion of the prince’s troops fought halfheartedly, hesitated often, or directly ran away rather than face their opponents’ blades. In stark contrast, the empire’s soldiers were in a good mood. Full of enthusiasm, they cracked jokes to each other about their opponents in the midst of fighting and charged forward with more confidence.

As the battle thus turned in the empire’s favor, Ning Wei cut his way through unenthusiastic troops and finally reached the captain. The general exchanged a few blows and defeated him, then put a blade to his throat. In the end, the captain was the one who was forced to capitulate to the other’s conditions in return for his life.

And so, with an unwilling expression, the captain had to write out how he had received orders from First Prince Tai Long to pursue and capture the imperial court official Yan Yixuan, using force if necessary.

In the meanwhile, after losing, the rest of the prince’s troops were well-behaved; they didn’t struggle, try to help their captain, or make a peep throughout. By the looks on their face, it was as if they were questioning their life and ruing everything that brought them to this moment, starting with when they entered the prince’s service. It was safe to say that they no longer had any intention or motivation to continue opposing Ning Wei and his people.

The captain was, of course, very grudging in listening to Ning Wei’s demands, so Ke Jing told him with a smile, “Guard Captain, please consider that you can either give up the truth and blame the prince or end up taking responsibility for all of this by yourself. Surely you don’t think your prince will let you rest easy after your failure?”

The captain’s expression turned grim and heavy with realization. His prince was indeed the sort who wouldn’t have qualms about blaming his subordinate for his wrongdoings if it meant he could go free. Thus, the captain’s enthusiasm in writing about the truth noticeably increased.

Once the paper was dry after the captain finished writing his statement and affixed his palm print for veracity, Ning Wei rolled it up and stored it in a bamboo tube. He knew that he would no longer face any trouble from this bunch. After being beaten both physically and verbally, they no longer had the necessary strength and willpower to go against him.

As for the captain, though the bruising to his ego was considerable, he had bigger things to worry about than vengeance. Now that he had ratted out the first prince, it would be suicide to go and work under him again. The best solution for the captain would be to run as far as he could and hide as deep as possible before the prince found out about his betrayal.

With everything here thus settled, Ning Wei and his soldiers left behind the prince’s miserable troops and their beaten-up captain, and finally departed to find their own way home.

Thinking of the bamboo tube nestling securely in his sleeve, Ning Wei smiled. He reached up to touch his chest, right over where the jade hair stick was hidden, as indulgence shone in his eyes. He hoped his little fox liked the gift.