I have been farming since I crossed over.

"Is it the enemy or Wang Zuxian's people?" Lu Jintang reached out to grab the crossbow trigger beside the pillow, but groaned because of the pain in his wound.

Yang Mingxi lifted the corner of the tent a few inches, and saw the torches swaying at the bottom of the cliff in the light of the fire. Sure enough, the leading few people had leather bags engraved with twined branch patterns hanging around their waists.

She swung the copper basin filled with hot water against the tent door, dragging Lu Jintang under the bed amidst the splashing steam. "It's an old acquaintance—they knew you were seriously injured and couldn't walk."

Lu Jintang lay beside her, smelling the scent of medicine in her hair, and suddenly remembered the warmth of Yang Mingxi's fingertips on her skin when he was cleaning the wound just now.

Amid the sound of blades ripping through the tent cloth outside, he could hear his own heartbeat like a drum, mixed with Yang Mingxi's whisper in his ear: "Don't be afraid, when they get close, we'll use explosives..."

The sky became brighter, and the green tent was shattered into pieces by the sword light. Lu Jintang looked at the fire dancing in Yang Mingxi's eyes, and suddenly felt that every wound in the deep mountains was just a mark leading to dawn.

Lu Jintang reached out and touched Yang Mingxi's belly, "Baby, stay quiet. Your mother and I are going to fight side by side."

After a few "bang bang" sounds, the outside of the broken tent became quiet.

"General, Madam, are you frightened?" Lu Da's voice sounded outside.

Just as Yang Mingxi was about to speak, Lu Jintang held her hand and asked, "What happened? His Royal Highness the King hasn't returned yet?"

Lu Da was covered in blood, but his heart was in turmoil?

I've been out for over an hour. Did something happen?

Lu Da was in despair. He had just brought his wife back when he discovered that enemy troops had sneaked in. Then he heard the sound of fighting from the granary, so he rushed towards the granary. It turned out that he had been lured away.

There were only about a hundred people brought by his wife in front of the general's tent, while the other side had at least 500 people, causing the other side to charge into the general's tent.

Fortunately, I arrived in time.

Joey Wong is such a bad person. She took advantage of the time when His Royal Highness the King was leading the troops to fight and her own general was seriously injured to launch a surprise attack. It seems that they have completely torn their relationship apart.

Lu Da, who had figured it out, no longer hesitated, "They probably haven't returned yet. There are only about a hundred guards at the camp. Wang Zuxian's men climbed up from the nearby cliff."

Yang Mingxi helped Lu Jintang lie back on the bed. "I see. Look at the guards at the camp. They're too lax."

Lu Da accepted the order and turned to leave.

"Come back! This is our trick. Just make some noise. I'm seriously injured again and unconscious!" Lu Jintang stopped Lu Da who was about to leave.

Lu Da was startled, stopped, and turned to go into the tent.

The personal guards brought by Yang Mingxi began to rebuild the tents.

Inside the dilapidated tent, Lu Jintang suddenly grabbed Yang Mingxi's wrist and crushed the ashes of the secret letter into her palm. "When you go down the mountain tomorrow, you must act as if you are in a hurry. When you pass through Shuanghe Town, remember to stop at the Yuelai Inn—the owner there is an informant planted by our family."

He loosened his hand and rubbed his fingertips across Yang Mingxi's palm. "To convince them that I'm going to die soon, someone who has seen my wound with their own eyes must pass on the message. Ah Xi..."

Lu Jintang paused, his eyes fixed on the gradually whitening sky outside the tent, "Let Mr. Lu take you to the mountain pass."

When Lu Da stood up, the jade pendant on his waist accidentally caught on the corner of the tent and fell on the blue bricks with a plop.

Lu Jintang looked at the jade pendant engraved with "Lu Clan Lineage" and suddenly chuckled: "Axi, do you know that on New Year's Eve I was shot by an arrow in the mountains behind Yingzui Cliff, and the enemy used the same tactics as the Lu Clan's secret guards?"

Lu Jintang picked up the jade pendant and held it up to the firelight. He saw the inscription on the back, as fine as a mosquito's foot, which was exactly their ranking. "One of them has rebelled."

When the morning mist drifted into the tent, Lu Jintang had changed back into his ordinary clothes, wearing a blue shirt and a breastplate that Yang Mingxi had made overnight before he left for the battle.

He touched the small chrysanthemum embroidered on the inside of the armor, and remembered the look of Yang Mingxi threading the needle with her eyes lowered before going to the battle, and his fingertips suddenly felt hot.

The whispers of Yang Mingxi and Duan Mei were heard outside the tent. When he turned around, he saw Yang Mingxi coming in with a medicine box. There were a few drops of dew on her hair, like a handful of broken diamonds.

"When will Mr. Lu come down the mountain?" Yang Mingxi placed the medicine bowl on the table, his eyes sweeping over the newly exposed knife scar on Lu Jintang's wrist. "Have him take me to Fengling Ferry. The terrain there is dangerous, if we encounter an ambush..."

Lu Jintang suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her close to him, the faint scent of mugwort lingering on her nose: "Axi, are you willing to do something for me?"

Lu Jintang looked at the other person's slightly stunned eyes, suddenly loosened his hand, and took out a copper whistle engraved with winding branches from his arms, "Help me buy a set of burial clothes..."

"I don't allow you to say that." Yang Mingxi suddenly grabbed his fingertips, and the copper whistle hurt her palm. "You said you would take me to see the lotus flowers in the Humble Administrator's Garden and drink sweet osmanthus porridge on the bow of the boat..."

Yang Mingxi suddenly realized that she had lost her composure, and the tips of her ears turned slightly red, but she did not let go of her hand.

Lu Jintang looked at her trembling eyelashes, suddenly chuckled, and stroked the calluses on her palms with his fingertips - those were the marks left by years of holding a knife.

"Fool, just pretending." He stuffed the copper whistle into Yang Mingxi's palm and closed her fingers with his own hand. "Wait until the wise king sends back the news, then we can go down the mountain..."

Lu Jintang paused, looking through the tent door at the distant morning glow, "The Wang family's pawn is returning home with the news of her death."

At three quarters past noon, Lu Da came down the mountain carrying a backpack, Yang Mingxi followed him holding a sword, and Chunhua and others followed from a distance.

Lu Jintang was helped out by Lu Er and stood at the edge of the cliff. He watched the two figures gradually become smaller dots, and suddenly took out the silver mirror from his arms.

The mirror reflected his pale face, but in the curve of his lips, there was a light sharper than the morning light.

He turned the words "Lu Shi Atang" engraved on the mirror towards his heart before putting the silver mirror back.

Duan Mei is responsible for taking care of Lu Jintang in the camp.

Pine branches were added to the brazier. Amid the crackling sounds, Duan Mei saw Lu Jintang close his eyes. His eyelashes cast dark shadows under his eyes, just like the ferns in the mountains that never see sunlight all year round.

She reached out and adjusted the wick to make the flame brighter, so as to illuminate the green tent swaying in the wind and the road ahead where there were many more dangerous rapids.