The Unsung Hero

Yang Qing returned the salute. "You are too kind, General. Yan Pass belongs to our Western Chu. As a citizen of Western Chu, I am duty-bound to do everything I can to keep it safe!"

Chen Lin said, "With this battle over, Northern Liang should settle down for a while. You have spent many days toiling here, Lord Yang. It is time you returned beyond the pass."

"You are quite right, General. I shall set out for Yan Prefecture tomorrow. Please take good care of yourself!"

At those words, Chen Lin offered no reply. Instead, he reached out and gave Yang Qing a firm pat on the shoulder.

"Take care of yourself as well, Lord Yang!"

After parting with Chen Lin, Yang Qing returned to his tent.

The moment he entered, he saw someone already waiting there.

"This subordinate greets the young master!"

Yang Qing waved lightly, signaling for the figure to rise.

"Phantom Shadow, how are the arrangements outside coming along?"

"Young master, all our people have withdrawn to the camp, and every trace has been erased. Please rest assured."

"Mm, good. Has any new information come from Northern Hawk?"

Phantom Shadow said quietly, "Northern Liang is investigating the leak of their plan to attack Yan Pass with all the resources at their disposal. They have discovered the informant's whereabouts and are sending death warriors after him."

Yang Qing started. "Really? Have we sent anyone to rescue him?"

The one who had brought word of Northern Liang's impending attack on Yan Pass was Jiang Zhizhou. But shortly after explaining the plan to Yang Qing in detail, he had left.

Although Yang Qing had sent people to protect him in secret, hearing from Phantom Shadow that Northern Liang had dispatched death warriors only deepened his unease.

"Do we know where they are heading?"

Phantom Shadow replied, "Soulbreak Valley, in the Yan Mountain Range."

Yang Qing turned to Bu Er. "Bu Er, go with Phantom Shadow. You must bring Xiao Zhou back safely."

Bu Er and Phantom Shadow left together, leaving Yang Qing alone to sigh into the empty tent.

Yan Mountain Range, Soulbreak Valley

Jiang Zhizhou scrambled over the broken rocks on his hands and feet.

Several days earlier, while passing through a Northern Liang checkpoint to enter its territory, he had been spotted by soldiers lying in ambush.

Northern Liang had sent large numbers of troops to pursue and intercept him, but he had ultimately seized a narrow opening and escaped by a stroke of luck.

Yet he had also been wounded in the process, in the small of his back.

The arrow had been poisoned. Although Jiang Zhizhou had done everything he could to force the poisoned blood out, some had still remained in his body.

Now, under the poison's influence, his movements were becoming increasingly clumsy, and he was leaving more and more traces along the way.

It was precisely those traces that had drawn Northern Liang's death warriors after him. Now they were close behind.

At last, they surrounded him atop a heap of scattered rocks.

A fierce mountain wind swept out of the valley, whipping Jiang Zhizhou's robes in every direction. His expression was impassive as he watched the Northern Liang death warriors behind him, now fewer than a hundred paces away.

"Jiang Zhizhou, I never imagined you would be the one who leaked the information!"

The leader stared straight at Jiang Zhizhou, a mocking smile curling his lips. "I wonder what Western Chu offered you to make even the heir of the Marquis of An's Residence so devoted to risking his life for them?"

"Or have you spent so many years in Western Chu that you have forgotten your own name, and now want nothing more than to be their running dog?"

Jiang Zhizhou returned his smile. "All I know is that a gentleman knows what he should do and what he must not do. Once war breaks out between Northern Liang and Western Chu, it will not only be Western Chu's people who suffer, but our Northern Liang people as well!"

"Pah! Jiang Zhizhou, do you feel no remorse at all for what you have done? You are from Northern Liang! Northern Liang's blood runs through your very bones! Yet you openly betrayed your own country!"

Jiang Zhizhou paid no heed to these accusations.

"Jiang Zhizhou, with death at your door, do you have any last words?"

The leader slowly drew the sword at his waist and pressed its tip against Jiang Zhizhou's chest.

At those words, Jiang Zhizhou merely cast his gaze toward the vast mountains in the distance. "Speaking to you of righteousness would be no different from playing a lute to an ox. I may as well save my breath!"

"If His Majesty learns that you leaked such confidential information, I wonder how he will deal with the Marquis of An's Residence."

He threw back his head and laughed. "If you confess now, you still have a sliver of hope. After all, our emperor cherishes old ties."

Jiang Zhizhou said, "I have done nothing wrong. What guilt is there for me to confess?"

"So you do not even care about the Marquis of An's safety? In that case, let me help you fulfill your lofty ideals!"

The sword in his hand had already pierced the clothing over Jiang Zhizhou's chest. A little more pressure would be enough to kill him on the spot.

Jiang Zhizhou kept his eyes fixed on the man holding the sword against him, a low chuckle rising from his throat.

"Death is staring you in the face, yet you still refuse to repent!"

Enraged, the man sharply increased the force of his thrust. Blood was already soaking the front of Jiang Zhizhou's clothes.

"If I laugh, it is naturally at someone laughable. His Majesty is wise and decisive. How could a few foul words from you tarnish his name?"

"You!"

As though Jiang Zhizhou had struck a nerve, the swordsman's face twisted with even greater anger, and he drove the blade harder into Jiang Zhizhou's chest.

Jiang Zhizhou felt a searing pain in his chest, and his blood flowed ever more freely.

His vision began to double, then blur.

Just as he felt his body about to collapse, he heard blades clashing around him. He even felt someone catch him.

"Young Master Jiang..."

Who? Who was calling him?

Before Jiang Zhizhou could look at the person calling his name, his eyelids fell shut, and his consciousness sank into darkness.

When Bu Er and Phantom Shadow arrived, they saw that the leader of the Northern Liang death warriors had already plunged his sword into Jiang Zhizhou's chest. They immediately leaped into action, one engaging the surrounding death warriors while the other lunged at the man facing Jiang Zhizhou.

Before that death warrior could react, Bu Er's sword had already slashed across his neck.

Squelch!

A gush of warm blood sprayed out. The death warrior's eyes bulged, and before he could utter a word, he toppled stiffly onto his back.

Bu Er laid Jiang Zhizhou flat on a rock, then tore open his clothing and poured all the wound medicine he carried onto the injury. Afterward, he tore off a strip of cloth and bound the wound tightly.

"Young Master Jiang is gravely wounded. He cannot withstand being carried over a long distance. Notify our brothers in the alliance and have them send help. I will return to report to the young master."

Bu Er entrusted the unconscious Jiang Zhizhou to Phantom Shadow and gave these instructions with utmost solemnity.

"Rest assured. I will send people to take him away at once."

Bu Er and Phantom Shadow went their separate ways and soon disappeared into the mountain forest.

If you encounter advertisements such as "Are you a real person?", simply ignore and close them. Do not scan any QR codes or send text messages!