Isolated town in northern border region

Jiang Min and his party sped along the official road for three days and three nights.

With Bisu absent, no one in the delegation mentioned her.

Jiang Min knew in her heart that the maid who always smiled so happily must be the one who slept with Xiao Lie on Wolf Gu Mountain.

She simply rode at the very front, taking Xiao Lie's place, and remained silent the entire way.

Xu De followed behind on a packhorse, his face covered in dust, but he always held a piece of dried mud in his hand.

That was the face mold left behind by Xiao Lie.

On the bumpy horseback, he kept adjusting the knife in his hand, using an extremely fine carving knife to replicate that face on the thin, cicada-wing-like leather, the stitches so fine that it was as if he were embroidering a destiny that could not be wrong.

On the third night, they arrived at the northern border of Xinjiang.

Looking into the distance, the fortresses along the border have changed their appearance.

Several makeshift cannons left behind by Xiao Lie were mounted on the gray-white cement wall, and the modern lanterns slowly turned in the night wind, making the Northern Frontier Army flag on the city wall flicker.

Upon seeing the banner of the Jing Kingdom, the soldiers guarding the city immediately opened the city gates.

The captain leading the group came forward and was about to salute, but after scanning the area, he couldn't find the prince from the northern frontier.

Where is Zhou Xun?

Jiang Min reined in his horse.

"At the Youzhou government office."

Jiang Min didn't say much. He lashed the horse's back with his whip, and the horse's hooves trampled the moonlight as it rushed into the city gate.

The steam trains in northern Xinjiang were fast, and Jiang Min and his group sped along amidst billowing white smoke.

Jiang Min leaned back in her seat, and her eyes finally welled up with tears as the night wind blew through the northern frontier.

"Xiao Lie..."

"This is the Northern Frontier you created..."

"Such a wondrous creation, why can't you come back and see it for yourself?"

In the back hall of the government office, Zhou Xun was sitting under the lamp, flipping through the development plans left behind by Xiao Lie.

He heard hurried footsteps outside the window, put down his book, looked up, and saw that the door had been pushed open.

Jiang Min stood at the door, his robes covered in dust, his face tired, but his eyes clear.

She didn't exchange pleasantries, but simply took the dried clay slab from her bosom, placed it on the table, and then stepped aside.

Xu De followed him in, took out a human skin mask from his bag, gently unfolded it, and placed it next to the clay tablet.

The face on the mask matched the markings on the clay tablet perfectly.

The eyebrows, the contours, the curve of the lips—everything was perfectly precise, as if Xiao Lie himself were looking at them through the light.

Zhou Xun's gaze fell on the mask.

He was silent for a moment, his voice very soft.

"Your Highness... what's wrong?"

Xu De nodded.

"My name is Xu De, a physician. I have some connections with the Prince in Qingzhou."

Zhou Xun turned and stared at him.

"I know you. All I want to know now is, where is the Prince?"

Xu De opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Jiang Min took a deep breath and spoke up for Xu De.

"The Chu Emperor's secret guards kidnapped Xu De, and the prince was poisoned while trying to save him."

"They fought for three days against the Chu Emperor's new army at Langgu Mountain in Bingzhou..."

Jiang Min's voice also choked up.

"That's what he told me before he left."

"He said... if the Northern Frontier exists, then he exists."

"This mask... is for you."

Zhou Xun reached out and gently touched the mask.

His fingers paused on the edge of the mask, not picking it up, but just touching it, as if to confirm that it was real.

Then he withdrew his hand and turned to Jiang Min.

"Princess, you must be tired from your journey. Please go and rest."

"I'll take care of what happens next."

Jiang Min looked at him.

"What are you planning to do?"

Zhou Xun turned around, walked to the window, and looked at the flag fluttering in the wind on the northern border city wall in the distance.

"With the prince absent, the northern frontier must not be thrown into chaos."

"If others don't know that the prince is in trouble, then let them not know."

He paused.

"We'll drag it out as long as we can."

"If Luo Daniu and Xiao Xiong's group of thugs found out..."

"The Great Chu is likely to be ravaged by bloodshed!"

"His Highness...said...this world shouldn't be like this..."

"As long as I patrol the border every day, the northern frontier will enjoy peace and tranquility!"

Over the next few days, Zhou Xun began operating with almost ruthless efficiency.

He ordered stricter checks at all checkpoints in the five northern prefectures, claiming he was "investigating the northern barbarian spies."

Caravans were subjected to stricter checks, and official correspondence between states was upgraded to a higher level of secrecy. All information concerning the "Prince" had to be personally signed by him.

At the same time, he found someone with a similar build to Xiao Lie, trained him rigorously, and finally got him to wear that human skin mask.

Then, the "King of the Northern Frontier" sat in the study of the Youzhou government office and received several officials from other places through a gauze curtain.

The gauze curtain was very thin, and one could vaguely see the outline of a person sitting behind a desk, flipping through documents in his hands, occasionally uttering a few low replies.

After the officials returned, they relayed the message to their respective heads of households: "The King of the Northern Frontier is well, but he has caught a slight cold and is unable to receive guests."

The news reached the capital seven days later.

The Chu Emperor sat in his study, holding two secret reports in his hands.

A copy from Peng Xuan.

Wolf Lookup Mountain searched it three times but couldn't find Xiao Lie's body. The wildfire was too big, and most of the traces were burned away.

Another report came from a spy who had infiltrated northern Xinjiang.

The Northern Frontier King Xiao Lie was still working in the Youzhou government office, but he did not show his face behind a gauze curtain.

The Chu Emperor placed the two secret reports on the table, read them three times, then stood up and walked to the window.

"Alive? Or dead?"

He said in a low voice.

"If he's alive, why doesn't he show up?"

"If he were dead, why would Jiang Min rush back to the northern frontier?"

"What trick is Xiao Lie up to now?"

"Good nephew... can't you just die a quick and painless death?!"

He thought for a long time, then turned to the eunuch beside him and said.

"deliver an imperial order!"

"Fifth Prince and Sixth Prince, depart immediately for the Northern Frontier to visit the King of the Northern Frontier on my behalf."

The eunuch was taken aback.

"Your Majesty, the two princes are too young..."

The Emperor of Chu waved his hand.

"Only young children can go!"

"I sent them not to do anything, but to go and see..."

"Let's see if that 'prince' sitting in the Northern Frontier King's Mansion is real or fake!"

He paused.

"Tell the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince that whoever can see through the true nature of the Northern Frontier for me will be the next Crown Prince."

The eunuch received the order and left.

The Chu Emperor sat back on his dragon throne, watching the sky outside the window gradually darken.

In the Northern Frontier Prefecture, Zhou Xun also received a message from the Bureau of Folklore Collection.

After reading the secret report, he didn't say much. He simply went to the study with the gauze curtains, took the human skin mask off the shelf, wiped it carefully, and then hung it back up.

On the day the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince arrived, it rained lightly in Youzhou City.

Two carriages drove side by side into the city gate, without any ceremonial procession or music.

The 12-year-old Fifth Prince Xiao Jin lifted the carriage curtain, glanced at the sky outside, and turned to the guard beside him.

"I wish to see my imperial brother."

Zhou Xun lowered his head.

"Your Highness, the Prince... is unwell, I'm afraid he cannot..."

"Then I'll wait until he's fully recovered."

The Fifth Prince's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable stubbornness.

Meanwhile, the Sixth Prince, Xiao Ye, was sitting in the carriage, quietly reading a book, as still as a small statue.

His eyes never left the pages, but his ears were constantly perked up...

He was listening.