Mengshui Pass had weathered two hundred years of wind and frost. Its outer walls were scarred all over, yet the interior was exceptionally clean and orderly.
A closer look revealed that these buildings did not match the city walls. Most had been newly constructed.
Since the founding of the Great Wei Dynasty, the Barbarian Tribe had repeatedly pushed northward to assail the border.
Though they had always been driven back by the Dingyuan Army, there had been several occasions when the Barbarian Tribe broke into the pass, reducing the buildings inside to ruins.
The houses built near the southern wall, in particular, differed greatly from those in the north.
The dwellings were sturdier, and the alleys narrower.
It was said to have been Old Marquis Xiao's idea after the great battle five years ago.
Whenever the Barbarian Tribe broke into the pass, street fighting was always the hardest.
Especially when Barbarian soldiers charged together, it was difficult for the defenders not to be overwhelmed.
Thus, the narrow alleys were meant to prevent the Barbarians from properly spreading out, while the sturdy houses served the same purpose.
It was already deep into the night.
Apart from the soldiers standing guard atop the pass, those responsible for relieving them had long since washed up, eaten, donned their scale armor, hung their weapons at their sides, and marched onto the walls in orderly ranks.
Xiao Jinghong ran into those soldiers head-on. She stood to one side and watched them disappear around a bend in the pass before descending from the walls and heading straight for her temporary residence.
Su Zhenyue and Ma Kui waited at the entrance. They bowed and said, "General."
Xiao Jinghong's eyes, visible through her half armor, swept over Ma Kui. She signaled for the two of them to speak