Border Soldier: My fiancée snatched credit and broke off the engagement, so I promptly became a marq

Chen Mu crawled back from a pile of dead bodies.

The north wind lashed my face like a knife cutting into my flesh.

His blood had frozen solid, and the scales clung to his flesh. With each step he took, the wound on his chest felt as if it were being torn open again.

Blackstone Castle is just ahead.

Red lanterns hung on the city walls.

It's not a white light announcing a death.

It's a red lantern used for celebrations.

Chen Mu looked up and suddenly smiled.

Last night, he led seventeen cooks out of the city, burned the barbarian's grain carts, killed the barbarian general Wugudu, and even rescued Su Wan from the barbarian's horse.

Of the seventeen people, only he survived.

He thought the red light was hung up for them by Blackstone Fortress.

But when he reached the camp gate, he heard a great commotion of gongs and drums inside.

Someone shouted:

"Young General Zhao has slain the barbarian general Wugudu and rescued Miss Su, earning the greatest merit!"

"By order of the centurion, a victory celebration is to be held tonight!"

"Miss Su, deeply grateful to General Zhao for saving her life, wishes to become engaged to him!"

Chen Mu stopped.

General Zhao?

A life-saving grace?

engagement?

Su Wan is his fiancée.

We got engaged three years ago.

Last night, the barbarians broke into the camp, and she was dragged onto a horse. It was Chen Mu who risked a knife wound to his chest to snatch her back from the horse.

But right now, someone else is celebrating their victory in Blackrock Fortress.

She still wants to marry someone else.

Chen Mu looked down at the thing wrapped in rag in his arms.

Half a black iron tooth plaque.

The ivory plaque of the barbarian general Wugudu.

In the chaos last night, Wugudu's head was taken by the Zhao family, but this half of the ivory tablet was torn off Wugudu's waist by Chen Mu himself.

Barbarians recognize heads as objects.

They also recognize tooth tags.

Chen Mu gripped the token tightly, pushed open the camp gate, and went inside.

The victory celebration banquet was held on the drill ground.

The brazier was burning very brightly.

Lamb, strong liquor, drumbeats, and laughter mingled together, creating a lively atmosphere like Chinese New Year.

In the center of the high platform stood a young man.

Zhao Chenglie.

The only son of Zhao Hong, a centurion of Heishibao.

He was dressed in brand-new black brocade armor, with a barbarian scimitar hanging at his waist, and was holding a wine bowl, accepting the compliments of the crowd.

Chen Mu recognized that knife.

Wugudu's knife.

Standing next to Zhao Chenglie was Su Wan.

She was wearing a red dress with a blood-red fox fur cloak draped over it.

Chen Mu recognized that cloak even more.

Last night, when Wugudu was dying, he was wearing this.

The certificate of beheading a general should have been sent for verification along with the severed head.

Now, it has become her wedding dress.

Even more glaringly obvious is that the slanted cut on the left side of the cloak is still there.

Last night the wind and snow were too heavy, and the firelight was too chaotic; others may not remember it.

But Chen Mu remembered.

That was the gash he left when he swung his knife behind Wugudu's back.

The blade first grazed the fox fur, then slid upwards along the nail seam.

A person who hasn't personally performed the surgery will never know where the incision came from.

And there was that charred patch at the hem of the cloak.

That wasn't from the campfire.

When the grain carts caught fire last night, Wugudu turned to fight the flames, his cloak stained with rye oil ash and licked an inch by the flames. Chen Mu was right behind him at the time and smelled the charred fox fur mixed with blood.

If Zhao Chenglie were truly the one who executed the general, he would know that this cloak was not simply stripped cleanly from the corpse.

It was covered in dust from grain carts.

It was stained with the blood of Wugudu.

It also touched the fire started by Chen Mu's seventeen brothers.

But now, Su Wan stands on the high platform wearing it, like she's wearing a new wedding dress.

This was even more conspicuous than the curved sword at Zhao Chenglie's waist.

The knife was merely a weapon stolen.

The cloak was a testament to the hard-won victory Chen Mu had achieved the previous night, now worn by her.

Chen Mu walked back from the north slope, considering many possibilities.

He had considered that the Zhao family might suppress the credit.

I thought Su Wan might be scared.

I also thought that I would be stopped as soon as I entered the door.

But he never imagined that they wouldn't even wait for him to die completely.

He was still wounded, and the blood of his seventeen brothers hadn't even dried yet, but the celebratory wine had already been poured into Zhao Chenglie's bowl.

The cloak was too big, making her slender waist appear even more supple. In the firelight, her face was as white as jade, and her eyes held a hint of pride, but also a touch of barely concealed unease.

Chen Mu looked at her.

Su Wan also saw him.

Her smile froze for a moment.

But soon, she raised her head again.

Zhao Chenglie followed her gaze and smiled.

"Yo."

"Isn't this Chen Mu?"

The noise on the drill ground gradually subsided.

Everyone looked at Chen Mu.

A lowly cook, covered in blood, pale-faced, carrying a broken knife in his hand.

Like a wild dog crawling out of a grave.

Zhao Chenglie walked down from the high platform with a wine bowl in his hand.

"You're still alive?"

Chen Mu did not look at him.

He only looked at Su Wan.

"Who rescued you last night?"

Su Wan's fingers clenched the cloak tightly.

She did not answer.

Zhao Chenglie chuckled and reached out to put his arm around her waist.

"Of course it's me."

"Chen Mu, you're just a lowly soldier who tends the fire, how come you've learned to steal credit?"

Several of Zhao's personal guards laughed along.

"Even the cooks from the kitchen dare to kill Wugudu?"

"I'm afraid his brain was damaged by the barbarians."

"Judging by all the blood on him, did he somehow manage to pull a tattered suit of armor from a pile of corpses and bring it back to claim credit?"

Chen Mu was still looking at Su Wan.

"you say."

Su Wan bit her lip.

Her eyes darted away for a moment, then hardened again.

"Chen Mu".

"Stop messing around."

Chen Mu smiled.

"Am I making a fuss?"

Su Wan took a breath, her voice turning cold.

"The person who saved me last night was General Zhao."

"Wugudu was also killed by General Zhao."

"You were just a lowly soldier who went out of the city; it's lucky you came back alive."

"What else do you want?"

Chen Mu looked at the red fox cloak she was wearing.

"You're wearing my military achievements and asking me what more I want?"

Su Wan's face turned pale.

Zhao Chenglie's eyes turned cold.

"Chen Mu, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want."

Chen Mu raised his hand and pointed to the curved knife at his waist.

"The knife belongs to Wugudu."

He then pointed to the cloak on Su Wan's body.

"The cloak is also from Ugudu."

Finally, he pointed at Zhao Chenglie's face.

"But you didn't kill Wugudu."

The drill ground erupted in chaos.

Zhao Chenglie's face turned ashen.

Su Wan exclaimed urgently, "Chen Mu! Are you crazy?"

Chen Mu looked at her.

"Whether I'm crazy or not, you know best in your heart."

Su Wan's eyes immediately reddened.

But she wasn't feeling wronged.

It was anger born of embarrassment and shame.

"What do I know?"

All I know is that you're a nobody!

"Your father died young, your mother is bedridden with illness, and you've been burning firewood in the kitchen for three years, yet you don't even have a decent suit of armor!"

"If I give you this military merit, can you keep it?"

She spoke faster and faster.

It was as if he wanted to crush all the panic in his heart into a knife and stab it back into Chen Mu.

"General Zhao is the son of a centurion. He was able to be promoted to colonel based on this merit, and he will be able to lead troops in the future."

"And you?"

"What good are your military merits? Can you keep the reward money? Can you hold onto your official position?"

"A single word from someone can send you packing!"

"Chen Mu, I'm doing this for your own good!"

Chen Mu laughed when he heard this.

"You're stealing my credit and then claiming you're thinking of me?"

Su Wan's face flushed red and then turned pale.

Zhao Chenglie patted her shoulder and laughed, "Wan'er, why bother explaining to a dog?"

He turned to look at Chen Mu.

"Chen Mu, I'm in a good mood today."

"Kneel down now, kowtow three times, and say that you took credit for someone else's work and that you slandered me."

"I can reward you with twenty taels of silver."

He slowly bent down, his voice low, yet loud enough for everyone around him to hear.

"That's enough for you to buy your mother a coffin."

Chen Mu's eyes darkened.

In the original owner's memory, the old woman who was sick on the earthen bed couldn't bear to burn firewood in winter and covered her son with the only cotton quilt.

The original owner joined the army to earn money for her medicine.

Zhao Chenglie's words struck a nerve with Chen Mu.

Chen Mu took a step forward.

Two bodyguards immediately stepped in to block them.

Zhao Chenglie sneered, "What, you want to make a move?"

"beat."

The guard punched Chen Mu in the stomach.

Chen Mu was already seriously injured, and he bent over, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Su Wan subconsciously took half a step forward, then abruptly stopped.

Zhao Chenglie saw this and became even more smug.

He grabbed Su Wan's chin in front of Chen Mu.

Su Wan blushed but did not dodge.

Another burst of laughter rang out on the drill ground.

"Chen Mu, did you see that?"

Zhao Chenglie looked up and smiled very slowly.

"Your fiancée is now mine."

"Your military achievements also belong to me."

"Your life, I can take it if I want to."

Chen Mu supported himself on his knees and slowly stood up straight.

He didn't look at Su Wan again.

From this moment on, this woman had nothing to do with him anymore.

He took the tattered bundle from his pocket and threw it onto the table.

The rags scattered.

Half of a black iron tooth token rolled out.

The ivory plaque is engraved with a barbarian wolf head.

The drill ground suddenly fell silent.

Zhao Chenglie's expression changed slightly.

Chen Mu picked up the ivory tablet, his voice not loud, but it drowned out everyone's laughter.

"Half of the ivory tablets from Wugudu are here."

"The other half should still be hanging on his head."

He looked at the wooden box on the high platform, containing the severed head, which was being displayed to claim credit.

"Since General Zhao claims that you were the one who did it, then tell me."

"Does Wugudu have several old scars behind his left ear?"

Zhao Chenglie was taken aback.

Chen Mu then asked:

"Is he missing a few fingers on his right hand?"

What did his last words in a barbarian language mean before he died?

Zhao Chenglie's expression grew increasingly grim.

Su Wan panicked too.

Zhao Chenglie gritted his teeth and said, "Stop playing tricks!"

Chen Mu did not rush to open the wooden box.

He first raised his hand and pointed to the red fox cloak on Su Wan's shoulder.

"And that cloak."

Su Wan froze.

Zhao Chenglie frowned: "What's wrong with the cloak?"

Chen Mu stared at him.

"Wugudu has a backhand knife wound under his left rib."

"Last night, when he turned around to save the grain cart, I stabbed him in the back."

"The knife didn't cut into the flesh; it grazed the left side of the cloak, leaving a three-inch diagonal cut."

Chen Mu moved forward step by step.

"Since General Zhao says that you killed Wugu, then you should know that."

"Is that opening from top to bottom, or from bottom to top?"

Zhao Chenglie's face turned slightly pale.

Chen Mu continued:

If you can't answer—

He slammed the broken domino on the table, the sound as cold as a knife.

"The next moment, I stripped off the cloak in front of everyone and showed it to the entire castle."

The sword had just been drawn when a cold female voice came from outside the training ground.

"Verify."

Everyone turned around.

At the entrance to the training ground stood a woman in silver armor.

Her red cloak fluttered in the north wind. A long sword hung at her waist, and her boots trod through the snow. Her steps were slow, yet they silenced the entire training ground.

Lu Shuangyi, the military commander of Black Stone Fortress.

There's a saying among the border troops.

Better to offend the King of Hell than Lu Shuangyi.

Lu Shuangyi glanced at the ivory token in Chen Mu's hand, then at the red fox cloak on Su Wan's shoulder.

"Take off your cape."