The Regular Army Arrives

Two days.

For two whole days, North-Rejecting City waited in vain for another Di attack. Instead, another army arrived.

On the morning of the third day, a vast formation appeared on the southern horizon.

Fifty thousand troops.

Their banners blotted out the sun, their armor stood like a forest, and the thunder of their horses' hooves shook the earth.

On the city wall, the surviving defenders crowded behind the battlements, watching the magnificent army slowly draw near. Their eyes were filled with complicated emotions—excitement, anticipation, and a trace of unease they couldn't quite explain.

It was the army from the Capital City.

Great Zhou's most elite border troops, superbly equipped and well trained. Every soldier had reached at least the fifth layer of Body Forging. More than a dozen generals led them, each with a deep, powerful aura. Even the weakest was in the late stage of Inner Strength.

But what truly made their hearts pound were the five figures at the very front.

Their presence was overwhelming!

Pulse-Opening Realm.

Five of them.

At their head was a woman in her early thirties, dressed in a purple palace gown, her hair pinned high in an elegant coiffure, her skin fair as snow, her features as lovely as a painting. She was stunningly beautiful, but her eyes were as cold as winter ice. As she looked over the bloodstained defenders on the wall, undisguised disdain shone in her eyes.

She raised a hand and covered her nose and mouth with a silk handkerchief, as though even the air here stank.

"So this is North-Rejecting City?" Her voice was cool, neither loud nor soft, yet every word reached everyone's ears clearly. "It reeks of blood. What a filthy place."

Four men followed behind her. They varied in age, from the youngest, who was twenty-seven or twenty-eight, to the oldest, who was in his early forties. Each wore fine silks and carried himself with a reserved air, yet their lofty arrogance was impossible to hide.

A middle-aged man stepped forward. His gaze swept across the city wall and came to rest on Zhao Zheng, who was covered in wounds.

"You're Zhao Zheng, the commander of North-Rejecting City?"

Zhao Zheng clasped his hands in greeting, his manner respectful. "That is correct. May I ask who you are—"

The middle-aged man waved a hand, cutting him off. "Retainers under the Seventh Prince. This is Lady Yun, Yun Ruoxi. She leads the five of us."

Yun Ruoxi.

The woman in purple didn't even raise her eyelids. She merely wiped her fingers with her silk handkerchief, as if something filthy had touched them.

The middle-aged man continued, "From this moment on, the five of us will make all military decisions in the city. Commander Zhao, go back and rest."

Zhao Zheng froze.

He parted his lips, wanting to say something, but saw another young retainer step out from behind the middle-aged man, looking at him with a faint, mocking smile.

"Commander Zhao, please."

It wasn't a request. It was an order.

Zhao Zheng fell silent for a moment, then nodded and turned to leave the wall.

After taking a few steps, he glanced back at Li Jinshui. His expression carried a complicated mix of helplessness, apology, and a hint of concern.

Li Jinshui watched him disappear below the wall, and an indescribable feeling suddenly welled up inside him.

The commander had been put under house arrest.

The other members of the Personal Guard Battalion had also been taken away, supposedly to "assist with the investigation."

He stood where he was, watching the five lofty figures without moving.

At last, Yun Ruoxi looked up from her handkerchief and glanced at the defenders on the wall.

Her gaze scraped across each face like a knife.

"You've all heard that the Seventh Prince was ambushed," she said, her voice as cool as before. "His Highness is gravely wounded and still unconscious. And only North-Rejecting City and a handful of people in the Imperial Court knew of his whereabouts."

She paused, her gaze growing colder.

"In other words, someone has colluded with the enemy."

Silence fell over the city wall.

The soldiers who had just survived a bloody battle lowered their heads, not daring to breathe too loudly.

Yun Ruoxi continued, "From today on, no one may leave camp without permission. Anyone who dares disobey will be treated as a traitor and executed on the spot."

She waved a hand as if shooing flies. "You may all go."

The defenders silently made their way down from the wall.

Li Jinshui turned and followed the crowd.

But after he had taken only a few steps, a voice rang out behind him.

"Stop."

Li Jinshui halted.

He turned and saw Yun Ruoxi staring at him.

Her eyes were cold as ice. She looked him up and down as though he were an object.

"Are you with the Personal Guard Battalion?"

Li Jinshui nodded. "I am."

The corner of Yun Ruoxi's mouth lifted slightly, but her smile chilled him to the bone. "Then the men from the Personal Guard Battalion need to be investigated even more thoroughly. After all, you were closest to the commander."

She paused, her gaze settling on Li Jinshui's face. Then she suddenly asked, "What's your name?"

"Li Jinshui."

"Li Jinshui..." Yun Ruoxi repeated it, then gave a soft laugh. "I'll remember that."

Li Jinshui stood there, his face expressionless.

He simply looked at Yun Ruoxi, his gaze as calm as a winter lake.

Yun Ruoxi was taken aback for a moment. Then displeasure flashed in her eyes.

"What, you have a problem with that?"

Li Jinshui shook his head. "No."

Yun Ruoxi stared at him for two breaths, then smiled.

It was the lofty smile of someone looking down at an ant.

"Good. You may go," she said. "Remember, you're not to leave camp. Otherwise—"

She didn't finish, but her meaning was clear.

Li Jinshui nodded and continued down from the wall.

After walking a dozen or so steps, he suddenly stopped and looked back.

Yun Ruoxi had already turned away and was talking with the other retainers. She wasn't looking at him anymore.

He turned back and kept walking.

At the foot of the wall, Monkey and Er Gou came to meet him.

"Jinshui!" Monkey lowered his voice, his face full of worry. "How'd it go? Did that woman give you a hard time?"

Li Jinshui shook his head and kept walking.

Er Gou followed behind him, grumbling under his breath. "What's with those people from the Capital City? We fought tooth and nail to defend the city, and they show up acting all high and mighty, then start talking about treason... Treason, my ass!"

"Shut up!" Monkey glared at him. "Do you want to die?"

Er Gou sulkily fell silent.

The three walked back to camp in silence.

A few unfamiliar guards now stood at the camp entrance. They were all soldiers from the Capital City, wearing gleaming armor and standing ramrod straight. When they saw Li Jinshui and the others, they watched them with scrutiny and suspicion.

Li Jinshui entered the camp, then glanced back.

The guards were staring at him, their eyes never leaving him.

He looked away and continued inside.

Back in the barracks, he closed the door and sat on his bed without moving.

Monkey and Er Gou followed him in and stood nearby, unsure what to say.

After a long while, Li Jinshui suddenly smiled.

It was a faint, fleeting smile, yet it made Monkey and Er Gou shiver at the same time.

"Jinshui... are... are you all right?" Monkey asked cautiously.

Li Jinshui shook his head.

Then he raised his head and looked out the window.

Outside, the guards from the Capital City patrolled back and forth, their armor flashing glaringly in the sunlight.

He remembered Yun Ruoxi's icy eyes, her words, "I'll remember that," and her lofty smile.

"Jinshui?" Monkey called again.

At last, Li Jinshui spoke, his voice very soft.

"I'm fine."

He lay down and closed his eyes.

He heard Monkey's footsteps as he left, Er Gou muttering under his breath, the guards patrolling outside, and the faint laughter of the retainers from the Capital City in the distance.

He listened to those sounds, motionless.

In his mind, a name was slowly being carved in.

Yun Ruoxi.

He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling.

Those in the Origin-Opening Realm stood high above others, and those in the Pulse-Opening Realm were just as lofty.

But he was only in the middle stage of Inner Strength.

He still had a long way to go.

But he wasn't in a hurry.

Because he had a panel, points, and an endless supply of enemies to kill.

One day, he would stand before those people.

When that day came, he hoped Yun Ruoxi could still smile.

Outside the window, the sunlight slowly slanted westward.

The third day in North-Rejecting City passed amid oppression and stifled frustration.

Sighs and groans filled the camp.

The soldiers who had just survived a bloody battle had thought they would be rewarded, given time to recover, and shown even the most basic respect.

Instead, they got house arrest, suspicion, and the contemptuous looks of the bigwigs from the Capital City.

Some cursed, some cried, and most simply remained silent.

Li Jinshui lay in the barracks with his eyes closed, his breathing steady.

But his hand remained clenched around the pouch of fifty taels of silver.

It was the money Li Houde had sent to buy his life.

He had accepted it.

But the score wasn't settled yet.

He closed his eyes, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

There was no hurry.