Tang Dynasty: Starting with 3,000 elite cavalry, a bloody battle to retake the city.

She was a mighty female general, a high-ranking official appointed by the emperor, and the sharpest knife in Li Shimin's hand.

Once he admits it, what awaits him is not only court intrigue, but also a vortex from which there is no turning back.

Even when facing a massive army, he dared to remove his mask.

He dared not do so in front of her.

So he smiled, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, and said in a flippant tone, "Yes, that's me."

boom--!

Li Yingge's eyes snapped open, her heart almost stopping!

Before she could react, he suddenly burst out laughing, his eyes full of mockery: "You believe me?"

In an instant, Li Yingge's face turned ashen.

She gritted her teeth, her eyes unfathomable, staring at him as if trying to see through his facade: "So, are you really...?!"

Han Ye sighed, shook his head with a wry smile, and said, "If I were really like that, would I still be lying here talking to you? I would have been chopped into mincemeat and fed to the wolves by the Turks long ago."

"Then what's wrong with your body?!"

She pointed at his arm, her fingertips trembling. "You can explain it all away with just a 'cold'? Do you know how badly the rumors are circulating? They say you single-handedly cut off three thousand enemy soldiers at the Wei River, fought your way through enemy lines, and then fell into the river and disappeared—and now you're telling me you just had a cold?!"

She became more and more agitated as she spoke, her eyes reddening, as if her emotions, which had been suppressed for too long, were finally breaking down.

Han Ye looked at her, remained silent for a moment, and finally chuckled softly: "Rumors... always tend to be exaggerated."

Han Ye remained calm and spoke in a gentle tone: "Didn't Xiao Tuan tell you? I just caught a cold and am a little weak."

"It's not like I rolled on a knife's edge, where did all these scars come from?"

Li Yingge bit her lip, her fingertips gripping his left hand tightly, her eyes burning with determination: "Then what about this mole on your palm?! Explain it to me!"

Han Ye chuckled softly, raising an eyebrow slightly with a hint of nonchalance: "There are people with moles on their palms all over Chang'an. Does that mean every single one of them is the Ghost-Faced General? Or perhaps—" He suddenly moved half an inch closer, his voice deepening, "You're mistaken? That's not a mole…it's blood?"

The words fell like a cold blade slicing through her throat, directly silencing all her questions.

Li Yingge froze, her eyes darting around, her cherry lips parted slightly, but she couldn't utter a single word. She could only stare intently at him with her large, watery eyes.

"That……"

She wanted to argue, to press for answers, but Han Ye didn't give her a chance to speak. He gently withdrew his hand, his tone calm yet unquestionable:

"You say the Ghost-Faced General should be fighting bloody battles on the frontier right now, while I'm recuperating in Chang'an." He smiled, his gaze as clear and cold as a star in a snowy night. "One is killing ten thousand enemies in the north, the other is coughing up blood three times in his own home—tell me, could I be him?"

He paused, then added, his voice as soft as a breeze brushing past his ear:

"Or... General Li, deep down, you're actually hoping for something from me?"

These words were like a feather falling into a deep pool, creating ripples.

In an instant, Li Yingge's cheeks flushed red, as if her secret had been exposed. She glared at him angrily, gritting her teeth, "Nonsense!"

He uttered four words, turned and left, his steps hurried, as if he were fleeing.

But her mind was in turmoil.

How is that possible?!

If Han Ye truly was the Ghost-Faced General, it meant he had single-handedly broken through the Turkic encirclement and rushed back to Chang'an day and night—a feat almost legendary! She didn't believe it, yet she couldn't completely deny it…

Something just doesn't feel right.

I always felt that there was some unseen connection between Han Ye and that man with the bronze ghost mask who struck fear into the hearts of the enemy.

She walked to the door, then suddenly stopped. Without turning around, she spoke softly:

"I forgot to tell you... His Majesty has issued a decree, bestowing upon the Ghost-Faced General the title of Marquis of Champion."

The voice paused, taking on a solemn and respectful tone.

"I also brought back the corpses of those masked warriors."

His Majesty personally promised that a separate mausoleum would be built to bury them, with statues and monuments erected for all to pay their respects.

These words should have been said to a hero.

But now, she insisted on speaking to this weak and pale man lying on the couch.

She slowly turned her head, her beautiful eyes flashing like lightning, locking onto Han Ye's face—she was waiting, waiting for him to be moved, waiting for him to lose his composure, waiting for him to reveal the slightest flaw.

Han Ye just listened quietly.

In that instant, a dark current indeed flashed in his eyes, unfathomable, like a fleeting glimpse of sword light beneath a icy pool.

But in the blink of an eye, the storm subsided.

He smiled slightly, his tone calm to the point of indifference: "It's fine."

Thank you for telling me.

Li Yingge's heart sank, and disappointment washed over her like a tidal wave.

She remained silent for a moment, then turned and left without saying anything more, her back view revealing a hint of resentment and loneliness.

Until the footsteps completely disappeared outside the courtyard.

Han Ye slowly closed his eyes, lay back on the bed, and a faint bitter smile appeared on his lips.

"The Marquis of Champions?"

He murmured to himself, his voice as soft as a dream.

What use is such empty fame to him?

If he truly wanted to be ennobled and appointed as a general, he would have already been among the Three Dukes five years ago.

Why wait until today, to be covered in blood for a title?

But when he heard, "I have brought back the body of the masked warrior," his knuckles tightened slightly, and a dull pain shot through his chest.

Those were his soldiers.

They were the Ghost-Faced Iron Cavalry that he personally trained.

They crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, only to be buried in foreign lands, their bodies wrapped in tattered armor as they returned to Chang'an.

Han Ye closed his eyes and slowly exhaled.

He will definitely go to pay his respects when the cemetery is completed.

Not in the name of the champion, but in the name of their head coach.

The room was completely silent.

Before long, Xiao Tuan lifted the curtain and entered, her footsteps light and her eyes complicated.

Looking at the seemingly frail but actually unfathomable young master on the bed, she finally couldn't help but ask:

"Young Master...why do you insist on keeping this from Miss? She is the person you trust most."

Han Ye opened his eyes, smiled at her mysteriously, and asked, "Want to know?"

Xiao Tuan nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling.

"come over."

He beckoned.

Xiao Tuan obediently sat on the edge of the bed. Before she could react, her face was pinched by him. The force was not strong, but it caught her off guard.

"Hey! Young master, what are you doing!" She stomped her feet angrily and turned to hide.

Han Ye laughed heartily, and only stopped after he had teased him enough, but his expression gradually turned serious.

He gazed at the rooftop, his eyes reaching into the distance, as if piercing through time and space.

"Some identities cannot be revealed," he said slowly. "Once they are made public, I will no longer be 'me,' but the 'him' that everyone is waiting for."

"Like the Ghost-Faced General—he is no longer just a person, but a monument, a spirit, a demon that no army dares to look directly at."

"If I stand up and admit it, then I will have to live with that mask on forever."

"But I don't want to."

"I want to catch my breath, I want to lie down and bask in the sun, I want to be scolded for 'slacking off again,' instead of kneeling and shouting 'Long live the general!'"

Xiao Tuan seemed to understand but not quite, but her eyes welled up with tears, and she nodded silently.

Han Ye reached out and ruffled her hair, sighed softly, and said no more.

After a moment, he waved his hand and said, "Alright, stop standing there and get out."

Xiao Tuan pursed her lips and glanced at him, but ultimately withdrew.

The door closed.

The room fell silent again.

Han Ye leaned against the headboard, his consciousness sinking into the depths of his mind.

The familiar system interface appeared before my eyes.

Golden light shimmered, and the taskbar flashed with notifications of unclaimed rewards.

He stared for a long time, his gaze gradually sharpening.

Now, it's time to take a good look—

How many secrets does this system, which has accompanied him through life and death, still hold?

The night was as dark as ink. The moment Li Yingge stepped out of Han Ye's courtyard, her heart felt as if it had been violently tugged, and her steps were unsteady, as if she were walking on clouds.

She returned to the main hall of the mansion in a daze, her skirt brushing against the bluestone slabs, stirring up a cool breeze.

Just then, Li Jing rushed back, still in his armor, his brow furrowed with anxiety.

"How is it?" He grabbed his daughter, his voice trembling barely concealing his pain. "Is Han Ye—is he home?!"

Li Yingge's lips parted slightly, her voice as soft as a snowflake falling to the ground: "Yes."

"He's here?" Li Jing breathed a sigh of relief, a weight lifted from his shoulders as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted. "That's good...that's good!" he murmured to himself, a glimmer of relief in his eyes. "As long as he's in Chang'an, he's not the Ghost-Faced General! This is incredibly good news!"

But when he looked up, he saw that Li Yingge's eyes were darting around, and her expression was so complicated that it seemed as if she was hiding a storm.

"Really...isn't it?" she murmured, as if asking her father, or perhaps herself.

She didn't believe it, but she had no choice but to.

If it were the Ghost-Faced General, he should be fighting bloody battles on the border, amidst iron horses and icy rivers. How could he be sitting peacefully in his mansion in Chang'an, drinking tea and listening to music? But for some reason, she always felt that there was a layer of mist around Han Ye, and that his ambiguous smile concealed a truth she could not reach.

She tried to leave, but a loud shout froze her in place—

"Stop right there! Where do you think you're going?!"

Li Jing glared, his imposing aura like thunder, startling the birds roosting under the eaves into taking flight.

Li Yingge froze, then turned around: "Father?"

Li Jing's face darkened, and he lowered his voice, enunciating each word clearly: "Do you know what His Majesty said when you said you wanted to find the Ghost-Faced General by the Wei River?"

She shook her head, her eyes filled with confusion.

"Your Majesty," Li Jing gritted his teeth, his voice almost squeezed out from between them, "I want to betroth you to that Ghost-Faced General!"

boom!

These words struck like a thunderbolt in the hall, and should have stirred up a great deal of controversy.

But Li Yingge's pupils only widened in shock, her beautiful eyes widened, and then her cheeks suddenly flushed crimson, like peach blossoms blooming in early spring, dazzling to the eye.

She didn't argue or get angry; she just kept her head down and remained silent.

"You…" Li Jing's heart skipped a beat, his eyes widening as he stared at his daughter. "You wouldn't actually be falling for her, would you?!"

absurd!

That man's fate is now unknown, and he doesn't even dare to show his face. How dare she fall in love with him?!

Li Jing, enraged, bluntly confronted him: "Wake up! You are the legitimate daughter of the Li family, and you are already engaged to Han Ye! He is your future husband! Who are you thinking about?!"

Li Yingge's ears turned bright red, and she lowered her head, biting her lip, her teeth almost digging into her flesh.

"My daughter knows... she hasn't forgotten." Her voice was barely audible, yet it carried a hint of stubbornness.

Li Jing felt slightly relieved, then snorted coldly, his gaze suddenly sharpening: "Since that's the case—then let's not delay any longer."

"Let's marry Han Ye as soon as possible, so it's legitimate and puts an end to any outsiders' hopes! What do you say?"