A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

When Liu Jingshuang tied the wooden box to the horse's back, Huo Qingluan stood under the city gate without saying a word.

The wooden box contained Bai Tu Lie's sheepskin letter and the golden crown.

This thing is heavier than a cartload of arrows.

Liu Jingshuang refused to leave last night, but she left today.

It wasn't that she had figured it out; it was that Huo Qingluan slammed the list of wounded soldiers in front of her and pointed at the more than three hundred Black Flag Army prisoners, saying something else.

"If you stay here, you'll only kill a few more people. If you return to the capital, it will prevent Wei Zhao from making a mistake."

That's not a nice thing to say.

But Liu Jingshuang listened to her.

She mounted her horse, her plain armor still wet from washing, and her sword hanging at her waist.

"Don't die."

Huo Qingluan glanced at her.

"I'm tired of hearing that."

Liu Jingshuang reined in the reins, her face expressionless.

"Then let's change the sentence."

She paused.

"I will return to the capital and have Wei Zhao lead troops to pick you up."

Huo Qingluan chuckled.

"Hurry him up."

This is no joke.

The Black Flag Army outside Yangguan Pass was driven back, but the tens of thousands of allied troops in the Northwest were still on their way.

If Bai Tu Kui really came, he wouldn't have sent someone to make a message like his brother did.

He would send the knife directly to the city wall.

What Huo Qingluan needs now is not sweet talk, but time.

With each extra day she repairs, she can fix one more crossbow.

In half a day, she can melt another pot of arrowheads.

For every extra hour she could save, she could save several wounded soldiers from dying.

Liu Jingshuang said nothing more and led the wounded soldiers and a troop of cavalry eastward.

The moment the city gate closed, Huo Qingluan placed her hand on the bolt, her fingers pausing for a moment.

It's okay to leave.

Staying here will only lead to more deaths.

On the afternoon of the third day, the scouts outside the south gate suddenly ran up the city wall.

"General! There's a cavalry unit approaching from the southeast!"

Huo Qingluan turned around abruptly.

"How many?"

"Not many, about twenty riders, they seem to be one of our own!"

Huo Qingluan took the binoculars and looked southeast.

Behind the sand dunes, a group of people were approaching Yangguan via the old road.

The man at the front was riding a white camel, his left arm was wrapped in cloth, and his sleeve was covered in blood.

Behind her was a hastily converted carriage, its curtains drawn low.

After Huo Qingluan saw that face clearly, she finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Open the south gate."

The lieutenant was taken aback.

"General, what if there are pursuers behind us..."

"open."

Huo Qingluan put down the binoculars.

"Nie Yinniang is back."

The south gate is open.

Huo Qingluan personally emerged from seclusion.

Nie Yinniang reined in the camel and, as she dismounted, her left foot landed a beat too late.

She didn't cry out in pain, but simply handed the reins to the scout beside her.

Huo Qingluan glanced at her.

"How badly are you injured?"

"Not heavy."

"Can he still use a knife?"

"able."

Huo Qingluan nodded.

This is enough.

For someone like Nie Yinniang, if it's not serious, then it's not just a matter of dying quickly.

As for whether it hurts or not, she won't say, and it's pointless to ask.

The carriage curtain was lifted.

Fang Zhaoru got out of the car, his white hair was a little messy from being weighed down by the sand, his face was tired, but his eyes were still clear.

Huo Qingluan stepped forward and clasped her hands in a salute.

"Mr. Fang."

Fang Zhaoru looked at her, then at the arrow marks and charred wooden frame on the Yangguan city wall.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Huo Qingluan did not respond to this polite remark.

She can't bear to hear the word "hard work" now.

Hardship is something the living tell each other. The corpses beneath the city walls can no longer hear it.

"Is the old man able to walk?"

"able."

"Then let's rest for half an hour and continue eastward."

Fang Zhaoru looked up at her.

"So urgent?"

Huo Qingluan pointed northwest.

"Bai Tu Kui is on his way, and so is the Western Regions Allied Forces. If you stay in Yangguan, they will hold onto it tightly. Only if you return to the capital can His Majesty decide this matter."

Fang Zhaoru remained silent for a moment.

"Aren't you afraid they'll go even crazier if I leave?"

"They're crazy enough already."

Huo Qingluan's voice was very flat.

"If we go even crazier, it'll be a siege."

It's unpleasant to hear, but it's true.

Fang Zhaoru glanced at her again and suddenly smiled.

"The Wei family members are not known for their good tempers."

Huo Qingluan remained expressionless.

"I am a member of the Huo family."

"She's almost married into the Wei family."

Huo Qingluan was too lazy to argue.

She doesn't have time to argue about surnames with an old man right now.

All she wanted was to send the people away, send away the landscape painting, and extract a bit of Yangguan from this mess.

Half an hour later, Nie Yinniang changed horses and escorted Fang Zhaoru on their continued journey eastward.

Before leaving, Huo Qingluan handed over a water bag.

"Don't stop on the road. Liu Jingshuang has already returned to the capital. If you walk quickly, you might be able to catch up with her on the post road."

Nie Yinniang took the water bag.

"How many days can you hold out?"

Huo Qingluan looked at her.

"Five days."

Nie Yinniang did not ask if it was enough.

They all knew that even if it wasn't enough, it had to be enough.

Fang Zhaoru sat back in the carriage, and the curtain was lowered.

The cavalry headed east.

Huo Qingluan stood outside the city gate, watching the group disappear into the sand dunes before turning back to the pass.

On the second day of their journey east, Fang Zhaoru barely spoke.

Nie Yinniang rode her horse alongside the carriage. The wound on her left arm had been dressed once, but the bandage was still soaked with blood.

She didn't look at it, but stared at the post road ahead.

She needs to be quick.

The sooner the better.

Yangguan was behind, and Huo Qingluan was behind.

For every hour she is slower, Bai Tu Kui may get a little closer to the destination.

Fang Zhaoru's voice suddenly came from inside the car.

"Miss Nie."

Nie Yinniang tilted her head.

"explain."

Fang Zhaoru lifted the carriage curtain, his face pale.

"I looked at that 'Landscape Painting' three times back then."

Nie Yinniang did not respond.

She knew the old man wasn't just chatting idly.

Fang Zhaoru looked at the official road in the distance, his voice very low.

"What was drawn was not only the terrain, but also the markings left by the White Wolf tribe along their westward migration three hundred years ago."

He paused for a moment, as if rummaging through his mind to recall those old memories.

"Wells, oases, mountain passes, valleys that offer shelter from wind and snow."

Nie Yinniang tightened her grip on the reins.

now it's right.

One map wasn't enough to drive tens of thousands of people crazy.

But if that picture is the way home, that's enough.

Fang Zhaoru continued, "They didn't come to settle scores with me; they wanted me to give them directions back."

Nie Yinniang finally spoke.

"Where is the White Wolf tribe's home?"

"The far west."

"Can we go back?"

"have no idea."

Fang Zhaoru gave a wry smile.

"Perhaps the road has long been cut off, perhaps the wells have dried up, perhaps the mountain pass is blocked by snow. But they have been searching for three hundred years, and someone must tell them whether the road is still there or not."

Nie Yinniang looked ahead.

She doesn't understand the obsession that has lasted for three hundred years.

She only knows the present.

Blood is being shed at Yangguan Pass, and people are waiting in the capital. Wei Zhao must obtain the truth before he can decide whether to fight to the end or to change this path to a knife.

"Old sir, let's save these words for when we see His Majesty."

"I'm afraid it won't be enough time."

"There's still time."

I will take you there.

Fang Zhaoru looked at her for a while, then lowered the carriage curtain.

The caravan continued eastward.

No one spoke on the street anymore.

On the evening of the third day, the city gates of the capital appeared ahead.

Fang Zhaoru lifted the carriage curtain and saw the people standing on both sides of the road inside and outside the city gate.

Some recognized the Embroidered Uniform Guard's badge and dared not approach, only watching from afar. Others saw the white-haired old man in the carriage and whispered among themselves.

Fang Zhaoru stared at it for a long time.

"It's good that you're back."

Nie Yinniang remained on her horse, without turning her head.

Fang Zhaoru's voice came from inside the car.

"What needs to be repaid should be repaid, and what needs to be said should be said. The rest is up to His Majesty to decide."

Nie Yinniang still did not answer, but only raised her hand to urge the group to speed up.

She doesn't like those kinds of words.

It sounds like we've handed everything over, but who knows how many people will be killed after that?

Hua Jieyu was already waiting with her entourage in front of the palace gate.

She saw the blood on Nie Yinniang's left arm, her expression changed, but she didn't ask about it on the spot.

"Did you bring the person back?"

Nie Yinniang dismounted.

"I brought it back."

Fang Zhaoru got out of the carriage and looked up at the palace gate.

Hua Jieyu stepped aside.

"His Majesty is waiting for you in the Imperial Study."

Nie Yinniang did not go in.

She handed the reins to the men from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, turned around, mounted her horse, and glanced at the western sky.

Fang Zhaoru has returned to Beijing.

The landscape painting has also returned to Beijing.

But on the other side of Yangguan Pass, the younger brother of the White Wolf Khan was already on his way with the Western Regions allied forces.

This matter is not over yet; it's even bigger than before.