Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

That night, at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), when people are in their deepest sleep, several ropes suddenly dangled from the city wall of Jialing Pass. A dozen masked men dressed in black silently followed the ropes to the foot of the city wall.

Then, under the leader's command, the dozen or so people split into several directions and rushed quickly towards the enemy's camp opposite. They were so fast that they arrived near the enemy camp in the blink of an eye.

The two soldiers on guard duty huddled together listlessly, chatting.

"Hey, when do you think we're going to stop here?"

"Who knows? We've been besieging the city for almost a month now, it's about time. I wonder when the prince will finally order the attack," another person said with a yawn.

"I have to say, the people inside are really patient. They haven't come out for days. No matter how much our people shout and curse from below, they haven't reacted at all."

"You really want to fight? If you ask me, this is fine. We'll surround them until they run out of food and can't hold out any longer, then they'll have to come out of the city and surrender."

"You make it sound so easy. Didn't someone deliver food a few days ago?"

"It's really strange. We've surrounded this place like an iron barrel, so how did we get the grain in? I just can't figure it out, I've racked my brains and still can't understand it."

"Tch, if you could figure everything out, you would have gone to sleep over there long ago, instead of keeping watch here at night?" As he spoke, the man nodded his chin toward the direction of the main tent.

The man next to him followed his gaze, but what he saw startled them both. They immediately prepared to strike their gongs. Before they could even move, they felt a chill on their necks. Looking down, they saw blood gushing from their necks like a fountain.

"Heh heh..." The two tried to shout, but their throats had been cut, and all they could do was gurgle blood and foam from their mouths. They couldn't utter a single syllable.

The two murderers exchanged a glance, gently placed the person they were holding on the ground, and made no sound. The same thing was happening simultaneously elsewhere in the camp. Several patrol groups were all silently eliminated by the men in black.

A man in black tiptoed into the main tent, which had been cleared of its surroundings. This tent was the largest and closest to the center of the camp, and it was undoubtedly the tent of the Prince of Ding'an.

Holding a short knife, she stealthily approached the source of the snoring. If she could kill this man, the war would be over.

Turning around the screen, she saw the person sleeping sprawled out on the couch. Thinking of how villains often die from being too slow in TV dramas, she gathered her strength and rushed towards the couch with incredible speed, using her lightness skill to its fullest extent.

Unexpectedly, the snoring on the bed abruptly stopped the moment the man in black approached. Unsure if the person on the bed was truly awake, the man in black raised his dagger and plunged it towards the man's heart. Just as the dagger was about to pierce flesh, the person on the bed suddenly rolled towards the direction the man in black was standing. The force of the downward thrust of the dagger was too great, and the momentum only managed to pierce the person's left arm. Crimson blood gushed from the person's arm.

The man suddenly rolled towards them, knocking the man in black off balance and sending him staggering several steps back. Taking advantage of the moment the man was unsteady, the man pulled out a large knife from somewhere, turned, and slashed at the man in black, shouting loudly as he did so.

"There are assassins!"

In a flash, the woman in black recognized the face of the man she was fighting. With just that one glance, she knew for certain that this man was not the Prince of Ding'an.

"Damn it, an ambush!" Alarm bells rang in his mind, and he didn't bother fighting the man he had just been fighting. He put his finger in his mouth, gave a loud whistle, and then flew out of the tent.

By this time, chaos had broken out in the camp. Many soldiers were running out of their tents, their clothes disheveled, some not even wearing boots, and clutching their weapons haphazardly. They didn't seem to be on guard at all.

Hearing the whistle from the main tent, another man in black pulled a tinderbox from his robes and threw it at the spot where he had just spilled tung oil. Instantly, flames roared up, shooting skyward and turning the night sky a vibrant red. The granaries of the Prince of Ding'an's army had been burned, and not just one.

"Fire! The grain supplies are burning..." People were running and shouting. Some were yelling for help, others for assassins, some were looking for buckets of water, and others for weapons. In an instant, the camp of the Prince of Ding'an was bustling with activity.

Zhao Bei, standing on the city wall, saw the raging fire and excitedly pounded on the wall.

"Damn it, why didn't we think of that!"

In the firelight, a dozen slender figures, like ghosts, flew swiftly toward the Jialing Pass city wall.

"Archers, prepare!" The young general, feeling a mixture of excitement and nervousness, ordered the archers on the city wall as he watched the figures flying towards them through the firelight.

Inside the city gate, dozens of soldiers stood ready. They would open the gate according to the general's orders from the city wall, letting the people in. During this time, they had to ensure the safety of those entering, while also preventing the enemy from taking advantage of the situation to breach the gate.

Everyone was in their pre-arranged positions, and this was their first proactive attack since the siege of Ding'an by the Prince of Ding'an. Everyone was excited.

The man in black arrived at the foot of the city wall, gave a whistle according to the pre-arranged signal, and soon threw down more than a dozen ropes from above.

Using the ropes, the dozen or so people who had gone out earlier returned safely. Once they stood on the city wall, they pulled down the black veils covering their faces, revealing the faces of a dozen young women—none other than Xia Yu and her bodyguards.

Zhao Bei and his generals stood before Xia Yu, so excited they were almost at a loss for words.

“Princess, we’ve succeeded! Why didn’t I think of sending men to burn their granaries before? Your plan is brilliant! They wanted to burn our granaries, so we gave them a taste of their own medicine. I bet those rebels are furious by now.”

"Yes, four of the five granaries were burned down. We left one open to prevent them from taking desperate measures. Be careful tonight. We're heading back now." Xia Yu gave a few simple instructions and then led his men back.

In truth, she felt a deep sense of regret. She had originally planned to take this opportunity to kill Prince Ding'an. If successful, it would have been the easiest way to avoid a fight altogether. However, she hadn't anticipated that the other side was already prepared, having arranged for someone to sleep in the main tent, while Prince Ding'an himself had disappeared without a trace.

If this attempt failed, there would be no second chance. Therefore, she wasn't in a good mood, secretly regretting that she shouldn't have investigated further before taking action. However, facing the excited crowd, she couldn't dampen their enthusiasm.

They walked in silence until they returned to the villa. After tidying up, they went to sleep.

Outside the city, Prince Ding'an was awakened by the commotion outside. He emerged from a very inconspicuous little tent, sword in hand. The moment he stepped out, more than a dozen bodyguards surrounded him, and Mr. Hua arrived in a hurry.

Mr. Hua breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that Prince Ding'an was safe and sound.

"Sir, what happened?"

"Your Highness, are you alright?" the two asked simultaneously.

"Your Highness, the people staying in the main tent tonight have been assassinated, and our provisions have been burned." In the firelight, Mr. Hua saw Zhou Ji's pupils suddenly contract, and he remained unresponsive for a long time.

After a long while, the prince finally asked in a trembling voice.

"Is that person dead?"

Although no one was mentioned, Mr. Hua understood that the prince was asking about the stand-in for the prince in the main tent.

"No, it's just a minor injury to my left arm; it's not life-threatening!"