As dawn rose in the east, four fine horses galloped toward the army encamped outside the city.
On the jolting horseback, Lin Qiye steadied Wu Quan with one hand while awkwardly handling the reins with the other. He had learned to operate every kind of modern vehicle back at Training Camp, but he had never learned to ride a horse. Fortunately, he was fairly talented; despite it being his first time in the saddle, he could barely manage to control it.
The unconscious Gongyang Wan was held aloft by an invisible force, floating behind Huo Qubing. Perhaps Lin Qiye's punch had been too heavy—she still had not awakened.
As they drew closer, someone in the army spotted Huo Qubing. At a shouted command, the soldiers swiftly parted to open a path, allowing the group to pass directly into the army's core. The deputy general dismounted, said something to a soldier, and before long, someone pushed over an empty grain cart.
"Put the child on it," he said to Lin Qiye. "His broken bones have only just been reset. He cannot ride for long; it would be safer for him to lie in the cart."
Lin Qiye nodded, placed Wu Quan on it, and secured him in place.
"Right, my name is Zhan Yuwu. I am the Marquis's deputy general." The deputy general introduced himself. "That hypocrite from earlier is called Yan Zhong. He is the Marquis's strategist. The two of us have followed the Marquis for years, and aside from him, we are the highest-ranking Extraordinary Individuals in this army."
Zhan Yuwu, Yan Zhong... Lin Qiye found both names somewhat familiar.
Suddenly, the enormous stone stele beneath the Night Watchmen headquarters surfaced in his mind again. Beneath the names "Huo Qubing" and "Gongyang Wan," these seemed to be the two