Isolated town in northern border region

Tie Muyun raised his head without the slightest hesitation.

"This is the deputy commander's plan!"

"Use the epidemic to isolate information and prevent court spies and various forces from discovering the existence of grasslands and warhorses."

She paused.

"Your Highness, they are merely a few lowly commoners!"

Those who aspire to great things cannot be swayed by womanly sentimentality!

"if only……"

"Untouchables?"

Xiao Lie interrupted her, his Taiping Blade gleaming coldly.

"Womanly compassion?"

Tie Muyun looked at Xiao Lie with some surprise, wondering where he had said something wrong.

To everyone's surprise, Xiao Lie showed no regard for martial ethics and gave the order directly!

"kill!"

"Keep the woman alive, chop off her limbs, and then question her!"

The Trapped Camp acted swiftly, forming an impenetrable encirclement.

Tie Muyun's confusion deepened. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but seeing Xiao Lie's murderous gaze, he had no choice but to shut up.

Although somewhat hesitant, Tie Muyun was still not prepared to sit idly by and wait for death. She murmured softly.

"To die."

The dozen or so burly men in leather armor seemed to have received some inviolable command, and suddenly sprang into action.

With bloodshot eyes, they roared like wild beasts and charged at the shield wall of the Trapped Camp, brandishing their weapons.

They were no longer silent, no longer calm, but like a group of war machines given the highest orders.

The burly man kneeling before Xiao Lie, offering his sword, suddenly stood up and lunged at him with his bare hands.

Xiao Lie swung his sword in response!

The Taiping sword drew an arc, and the burly man's head fell to the ground. His body lurched forward two steps before collapsing with a thud.

But when he looked up again, Tie Muyun was gone.

Xiao Lie stared at the path leading upwards, hidden by bushes, and remained silent for a moment.

Zhao Xiaohu finally caught his breath and quickly reminded him.

"Your Highness! That woman's arrows are incredibly accurate!"

Ledo walked up to him.

"Your Highness, should we give chase?"

Xiao Lie shook his head.

"Don't chase."

Ledo was taken aback.

"what?"

"Even if she's incredibly accurate, there are hundreds of us!"

"I'm not familiar with the terrain."

Xiao Lie's gaze swept over the leather-armored strongmen lying on the ground.

"These people are well-equipped, well-trained, and strangely fearless of pain."

"If there are still hundreds of such troops on the mountaintop... and they launch a surprise attack without preparation, they will pay a heavy price."

He paused.

"Moreover, the epidemic in Qingzhou has just been brought under control; now is not the time for war."

Ledo paused for a moment, then nodded.

"Then...shall we retreat?"

"withdraw."

"Take the wounded brothers and head back to camp."

"Also, take two bodies back and show them to Xu De."

The troops began to retreat.

Soldiers from the Trapped Camp carried the wounded in pairs, slowly descending the mountain along the route they had come from.

Xiao Lie walked at the very back, holding the precious sword left by the late emperor in his hand. The dragon pattern on the hilt undulated at his fingertips, like a lingering curse floating in his heart.

He glanced back at the mountain ridge hidden in the mist.

The Panlong Guard, having been lying in wait for him for many years, said they were waiting for him!

They even went so far as to create a plague!

If the Panlong Guard is truly a contingency plan left to him by his father...

So, who should be held responsible for the lives of these tens of thousands of people?

Xiao Lie changed from the day he came down the mountain.

Zhao Xiaohu and Ma Sanzhu were sent back to the camp to recover from their injuries. Old Sun's shoulder bone was broken in half, and it took Xu De three days to gradually put the broken bone back in place.

Xiao Lie visited them every day, but each time he would only stand outside the tent for a short while, without going in or saying a word, and then turn around and leave.

Ledo noticed that the way the prince looked at the wounded brothers had changed.

Before, it was just heartache; now it's more about something else.

Xiao Lie started taking on all the work.

He no longer stood on the platform giving orders, but followed Bisu into the intensive care tent to feed patients water, wipe their bodies, and change their dressings.

Bisu stopped him several times, saying that his identity was inappropriate.

He said it without turning his head.

"What does it matter if it's suitable or not? As long as it can help, that's fine."

The people came to thank him; some knelt at the camp gate and kowtowed, while others clung to his sleeves and wept, unable to speak.

In the past, Xiao Lie would smile and help people up, saying a few words of comfort.

Now, all he does is frown, wave his hand and say "You're welcome," then walk away quickly.

Until one day, an old man grabbed Xiao Lie and wouldn't let go, and Xiao Lie could no longer suppress the anger in his heart.

"Alright, alright, I understand. You can go back now."

The old man stood there, stunned and at a loss.

Jiang Min saw all of this.

She didn't ask him on the spot, but instead asked the people from the Geyuan Bureau to keep a close eye on what was happening on the mountain.

It wasn't until the evening of the third day that she found Xiao Lie sitting alone under the old locust tree at the entrance of Liushugou Village.

"Your Highness."

Jiang Min stood beside him without sitting down.

"There's news from the capital."

Xiao Lie didn't even bother to lift his head.

"explain."

"The Second Prince Xiao Zhang, in collusion with the Imperial Observatory, spread rumors in the capital that His Highness is the reincarnation of a cursed lone star."

"The late emperor, the eldest prince, and this plague in Qingzhou have all been blamed on Your Highness."

She paused.

"Your Highness is not surprised?"

Xiao Lie remained silent.

He was silent for a moment, then chuckled.

"Perhaps the Imperial Observatory wasn't wrong!"

"Perhaps I truly am a cursed lone star!"

Jiang Min looked at him.

"This doesn't sound like something the King of the Northern Frontier would say."

Xiao Lie tapped his finger on the stone beside him, gesturing for Jiang Min to sit down.

"Princess, I met someone in the mountains."

Jiang Min took two steps closer, but still maintained her composure and did not sit down.

She said she was a member of the Panlong Guard, the personal guard unit of the late emperor.

"She said they had been hiding in the Great Chu for years, raising horses and training soldiers, all in preparation for waiting for someone!"

"The plague in Qingzhou... was their doing."

"In order to keep the news out of the court and prevent them from discovering what they were doing in the mountains."

Jiang Min's brows twitched slightly.

"Who is she waiting for?"

Xiao Lie did not answer, but he took the sword from his waist and placed it on his lap.

Jiang Min's gaze fell on the dragon pattern on the sword guard, and he remained silent for a moment.

She seemed to have guessed something, but didn't ask further.

"His Highness is feeling guilty."

She spoke, her tone calm and resolute.

"Your Highness believes that those people, using the late Emperor's name and the pretext of waiting for Your Highness, are slaughtering the people..."

"Does His Highness bear any responsibility for this?"

Xiao Lie did not deny it.

His silence was the answer.

"Your Highness."

Jiang Min squatted down beside him, her voice softening.

"I have read extensively and observed the myriad aspects of life; I have seen far too much..."

Those who achieve hegemony tread upon countless bones!

"Your Highness feels guilty because you still consider yourself an ordinary person."

"But His Highness is no ordinary person! His Highness is the King of the Northern Frontier, a descendant of the late Emperor, and the rightful king of Great Chu!"

She looked into his eyes.

"Your Highness, you can't avoid it!"

Xiao Lie raised his head, and Jiang Min continued speaking.

"Those Panlong Guards possess unpredictable fighting styles and are fearless in the face of death. If Your Highness could recruit them into your ranks, and combine them with the equipment and training of the Trapped Camp, they would become an unparalleled iron army!"

"At that time, the northern border will be as solid as a rock, and Your Highness will be able to contend for the world or remain invincible."

Jiang Min's voice was soft, yet it carried an undeniable certainty.

"I know Your Highness has a knot in your heart, but Your Highness might consider this: if that iron army could be trained, how many fewer people could die in the future?"

Xiao Lie did not answer.

Jiang Min waited for a moment, and seeing that he still didn't speak, she stood up.

"Your Highness, please think it over carefully. I will not disturb you any longer."

She turned and left, but after a few steps, she stopped and looked back at him.

Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just sighed softly, then turned and disappeared into the twilight.

Xiao Lie sat under the old locust tree, holding the sword, and didn't move for a long time.

After Jiang Min left, the noise in the camp gradually faded away, leaving only the sound of flowing water.

Xiao Lie stood up, walked to the small river at the entrance of the village, and squatted down.

After several days of self-cleaning, the river has become crystal clear, revealing pebbles and fine white sand at the bottom.

He reached out and scooped up a handful of water; it was icy cold and clean, leaving no trace as it flowed through his fingers.

But a faint, lingering stench of decay remained on the tip of his nose.

As he was lost in thought, he heard light footsteps behind him.

Xiao Lie didn't even turn his head.

"Bisu, you've been busy all day, aren't you going to sleep yet?"

Bisu walked over carrying a cloak, unfolded it, and draped it over his shoulders.

"Your Highness, it's chilly by the water; you should put on a coat."

Xiao Lie didn't reply. After a long while, he asked in a low voice.

"Bisu, tell me... shouldn't a real man, while alive, achieve great things and rule the world?"

Bisu was stunned for a moment.

She scratched her head, thought about it seriously, and finally shook her head honestly.

"Your Highness, how would this servant know about these things..."

"All I know is that when His Highness didn't want to be the Crown Prince and wanted to go to the Northern Frontier, I followed him."

"Whatever Your Highness does, this servant will follow."

She paused, then added.

"This servant doesn't understand anything about hegemony or anything like that."

"All I know is... if Your Highness is happy, then I am happy."

Xiao Lie was somewhat stunned by what he heard.

He squatted by the river, looking at his reflection in the water, and remained silent for a long time.

He suddenly remembered the day he left the capital.

There was no wind that day, and no one saw them off.

He sat in an old carriage, with a few clothes he had brought from the Eastern Palace and the transfer order to the northern frontier tucked in his arms.

At that time, he just wanted to escape Kyoto and survive.

He didn't look back at the palace, because he knew it wasn't his final destination.

The place he was going to was in the north, where there was snow, wind, and a crumbling city called Cangwu.

No one thought he would survive.

But he survived!

Not only did he survive, but he also conquered the northern frontier and subdued the northern barbarians!

When he did all this, he never thought about the word "hegemony".

He simply couldn't bear to see people like him being slaughtered like animals by the Northern Barbarians!

They just couldn't bear to see the people of northern Xinjiang unable to return home, living in constant fear and anxiety!

When I went to Qingzhou, I couldn't bear to see living people just sitting in a corner like rotten wood, waiting to slowly rot!

Perhaps he... is just... soft-hearted!

Xiao Lie closed his eyes, then opened them again, and suddenly laughed.

"Damn it!"

"I just want to live a carefree life, who cares about grand ambitions or imperial achievements!"

"Strength is the foundation of confidence and the right to be compassionate!"

He put his hands in the river, washed them, then stood up and walked towards the camp.

Bisu quickly followed.

"Your Highness, please wait for me!"

"Hey! You little short-legged thing! Get to work!"