If I, a death row inmate, am not to become a demon, am I to become a member of the Imperial Guard?

The wind on the grassland carries the smell of blood.

Zhou Yang's fingertips brushed against Qin Shuang's cheek. The movement was very gentle, as if he were afraid of breaking some fragile porcelain.

The bloodstains were wiped away, revealing her original skin. Pale, yet clean.

Qin Shuang did not move.

She just looked at him. At this man. His face was bloody, his hair disheveled, as if he had just crawled out of hell. But his eyes shone with an astonishing light, like two glowing red-hot gold.

She wanted to say something.

Thank you? Or something else?

His throat felt so blocked that he couldn't utter a single word.

Zhou Yang withdrew his hand.

He turned and walked toward Batel's body. His steps were steady, his footsteps on the blood-soaked grass without the slightest hesitation.

He picked up the enormous head from the ground.

His long hair was still covered in mud, and his eyes were wide open, as if he had died with his eyes open.

Zhou Yang didn't even glance at it. He lifted his head as if it were an ordinary object. He then walked to another spot and picked up Batel's son's head.

Two heads, one in each hand.

He walked back to Qin Shuang's side.

"We're going back."

His voice was a little hoarse, but very calm.

Qin Shuang nodded. Leaning on her knife, she straightened her body. Her bones were cracking, and exhaustion washed over her like a tide, but she forced herself to persevere.

Zhou Yang hung Batel's head on his saddle. The thing was so heavy that it bounced like a pendulum.

He mounted his horse and then reached out his hand to Qin Shuang.

Qin Shuang took his hand.

The hand was rough, but very strong. With a gentle pull, she was seated on the horse, behind Zhou Yang.

The warhorses began to move.

Step by step, they walked out of the slaughterhouse.

Behind them lay the setting sun, broken walls, and the corpses of two thousand wolf riders. Crows circled and cawing all over the ground.

No one looked back.

The city walls of Nongyang City appeared on the horizon.

On the city wall, a lookout rubbed his eyes. He thought he was seeing things.

Two people arrived on the grassland.

No, it was two people and one horse.

There seemed to be something hanging on the horse's back.

He squinted hard.

That thing... looks like a human head?

His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly sounded the alarm bell beside him.

"Jingle bells—"

The piercing sound of the bell echoed throughout the city walls.

Soon, the city wall was filled with people.

General Wang Hu, a border general, leaned against the wall, holding a half-eaten steamed bun in his hand. He looked in the direction the soldier was pointing.

In the distance, two figures became clearer and clearer.

One horse, two people.

The man was in front, the woman behind. The woman's hands were wrapped around the man's waist. They were both wearing tattered armor, stained with dark red blood.

Two round, plump things were hanging from the side of the horse.

A gust of wind blew, and the hair on that thing fluttered up.

Wang Hu's steamed bun fell to the ground.

His mouth slowly opened wide, and he forgot to close it.

"It's...it's them..." a lieutenant stammered.

Wang Hu recognized him.

That's Zhou Yang. That's Qin Shuang.

A few days ago, the two of them, along with two thousand cavalry, charged out of the city to hunt down Batel's five thousand elite Canglang troops.

Everyone thought they were going to their deaths.

The people in the city were all praying silently. But no one really believed they could come back.

But now, they're back.

Moreover, only two people returned.

No. Wang Hu's gaze sharpened.

What was hanging on the horse's back were indeed two human heads.

One is big, and one is small.

Wang Hu's heart skipped a beat.

A crazy idea struck him like lightning.

He snatched the monocular binoculars from the soldier next to him.

The scene is zoomed in through the lens.

That huge head, the rugged face, the bushy eyebrows, and that signature beard...

Wang Hu's hands began to tremble.

The image through the telescope was shaking.

He saw it clearly.

That's Batel!

King of the Wolf, Batel!

The other, younger one, was his eldest son, the vicious Balu!

"Open...open the city gates!" Wang Hu's voice trembled. "Quickly! Open the city gates! Beat the drums! Welcome the heroes with the highest honors!"

The entire city wall erupted in chaos.

The dull drumbeats, boom! boom! boom! resounded through the sky.

The heavy city gate creaked open slowly.

Upon hearing the drumbeats, the people in the city rushed out of their homes and flooded the streets.

"What's going on? What drum?"

"It's the sound of drums welcoming the general! The drums of victory!"

"Who's back? Wasn't Commander Chen leading troops to suppress bandits?"

"I don't know! Go check at the city gate!"

The crowd surged toward the city gate like a tide.

Zhou Yang and Qin Shuang rode their horses slowly into the city gate.

The light dimmed and then brightened again.

At the city gate, Wang Hu, along with all his adjutants, stood in two rows, clad in full military attire. They looked at Zhou Yang and Qin Shuang with indescribable shock, awe, and a hint of... fanaticism in their eyes.

Zhou Yang did not dismount.

He rode his horse up to Wang Hu.

He raised his hand and threw down the head of the Wolf King.

boom.

The head rolled to Wang Hu's feet.

Wang Hu's body tensed instinctively. But he didn't back down. He bent down and cradled the head in his hands.

What he was holding was Nongyangcheng's nightmare of the past few months.

It is a nightmare for countless border soldiers.

Now, it's in my hands. It's dead.

Wang Hu raised his head and looked at Zhou Yang on horseback. He opened his mouth, a thousand words swirling in his throat, but in the end, they all boiled down to two words.

"Hard."

Zhou Yang nodded.

He then threw down another head.

"Bartel's eldest son, Balu."

Wang Hu bent down again and picked it up.

This time, he said nothing. He simply bowed deeply to Zhou Yang.

All the generals behind him bowed in unison.

This is the highest form of respect between military commanders.

At first, the people at the city gate were just curious. But when they saw the two bloody heads, the crowd fell silent for a moment, then erupted into a thunderous cheer.

"It's Batel! It's the Wolf King!"

"He's dead! He's dead!"

"My God! Just two people? They came back with only two people?"

"Heroes! They are heroes!"

The cheers were so loud they seemed to threaten to overturn the entire city.

Qin Shuang sat behind Zhou Yang, taking in all of this. She felt somewhat dazed. Just a few months ago, they were fugitives being hunted down. They were rats everyone wanted to kill.

Now, they have become the saviors of this city.

Fate is a strange thing.

She instinctively hugged Zhou Yang's waist tightly.

Zhou Yang's body was very stable, like a mountain.

The news was sent to the capital as quickly as possible.

Urgent dispatch.

The horses at the post station died one after another from exhaustion. Messengers came and went in waves.

That battle report was frighteningly simple.

Qin Shuang, a centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and Zhou Yang, a captain, led two thousand men in a surprise attack on the Canglang Royal Court, killing Batel and his son Balu. The main force of the Canglang Royal Court was completely wiped out.

The capital city, the Forbidden City.

The Imperial Study.

The emperor's hands trembled slightly as he looked at the battle report.

He watched it three times.

I recognize every single word.

When put together, it sounds like a fairy tale.

"Two thousand, exceeding five thousand? And Batel was executed?" The Emperor raised his head, looking at the Grand Secretary below. "This isn't a dream, is it?"

The Grand Secretary bowed and said, "Your Majesty, General Wang Hu of the border region sent this urgent message eight hundred li away, guaranteeing with his own head that it is absolutely true. Moreover, the heads of Batel and his son are already on their way to the capital."

The emperor remained silent.

He walked to the window and looked at the gray sky outside.

He remembered many things. He remembered Commander Chen's complaint, Qin Shuang's father, and the chattering voices in the imperial court.

He had initially thought that Qin Shuang and Zhou Yang were merely two pawns, stones thrown out to test the waters.

Unexpectedly, these two pebbles led to the discovery of a gold mine.

"Qin Shuang..." the emperor murmured the name.

He remembered her. The girl who always had a stern face, like a block of ice. He put her in the Imperial Guard to toughen her up, and also to give her father an explanation.

But now, she has accomplished such an unparalleled feat.

"Zhou Yang..."

The emperor also remembered that name. The man who killed his beloved dog in Anyang County. The troublemaker he had casually sent to the border.

Now, this trouble has become a great help.

The emperor smiled.

"deliver an imperial order."

He turned around, his eyes gleaming.

"Issue Qin Shuang and Zhou Yang to return to the capital immediately to meet the Emperor and receive their rewards."

"Qin Shuang is promoted to Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, a fifth-rank official. He is bestowed with a python robe and is equipped with an embroidered spring knife."

"Zhou Yang is promoted to centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, a sixth-rank official. He is awarded a thousand taels of silver and a hundred bolts of brocade."

"Have the Imperial Astronomical Bureau select an auspicious day. I will personally bestow honors upon them."

The imperial edict arrived in Nongyang City three days later.

At that time, Zhou Yang and Qin Shuang were having a meal at the best restaurant in the city.

There weren't many people in the store because Wang Hu had booked the entire place.

Zhou Yang was eating meat, eating heartily. He seemed to be trying to make up for all the energy he had expended over the past few days.

Qin Shuang sat opposite him, sipping her soup. Her complexion had improved considerably, regaining some color.

The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict had a high-pitched and thin voice, and he read the edict with great intonation.

Qin Shuang listened, her fingers tightening slightly.

Thousand households.

My father's official position back then.

She finally returned to that position. Even higher than her father.

After reading the imperial edict, the eunuch looked at the two men with a smile: "Commander Qin, Commander Zhou, quickly accept the decree. This is an immense favor!"

Zhou Yang wiped his mouth and stood up. He and Qin Shuang knelt down together.

"Your subject, Qin Shuang, receives the imperial decree."

"Your subject, Zhou Yang, receives the imperial decree."

They kowtowed.

When they got up again, their status was different.

After the eunuch left, the private room returned to silence.

Wang Hu was still rubbing his hands excitedly: "Excellent! Excellent! Lord Qin, Lord Zhou, your return to the capital will surely bring you a bright future! Don't forget your brothers who have suffered on the frontier!"

Qin Shuang smiled at him; it was a genuine smile.

Zhou Yang remained silent.

He walked to the window and looked down at the bustling street. The people all wore smiles. Several children were chasing and playing.

A vendor selling candied hawthorns walked past the alley entrance.

Everything was so peaceful and full of life.

He suddenly realized that all of this wasn't so bad after all.

The moment of peace gained at the cost of one's lifespan seems... worth it.

"What are you thinking about?" Qin Shuang walked to his side and asked softly.

Zhou Yang turned around and looked at her.

"I wonder if the wind in Beijing is colder than on the grasslands."

Qin Shuang was taken aback for a moment, then understood what he meant.

She reached out and took Zhou Yang's hand.

"Then we'll block them together."

Her hands were a little cold.

But it's very stable.

Zhou Yang smiled.

He took her hand in his own.

Neither of them spoke again.

They simply watched the city in silence, observing the peace they had risked their lives to secure.

In the distance, the road leading to the capital has been laid out.

At the other end of the road lies an even larger arena of fame and fortune, a deeper vortex, and even more deadly dangers.

But at least for now, they are standing together.