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

When Chen Mu woke up, there was only half a lamp in the medical tent.

The lamplight flickered in the wind, and footsteps echoed outside the tent. Some carried wounded soldiers, others moved medicine chests, and still others whispered the names on the merit list. The battle at the north wall was over, but Blackstone Fortress had not found a moment of peace.

Lin Qinghe lay on the edge of the bed, clutching a roll of clean cloth in her hand. She had dark circles under her eyes, and her fingertips were covered in medicinal powder; she was sleeping very lightly.

She woke up the moment Chen Mu moved.

"Don't get up."

Her first words were still this.

Chen Mu didn't try to force himself on; he simply shifted his gaze to the tent entrance.

"Where's the ranking?"

Lin Qinghe was stunned for a moment, and her eyes immediately reddened.

"You just woke up, and you're already asking this?"

The wind outside the tent lifted the corner of the curtain, and the sunlight shone through the gaps, falling on Chen Mu's pale face. His lips were chapped, and his chest was bound with layers of cloth, making even his breathing shallow.

"The north wall has been held." Lin Qinghe brought over the medicine bowl, her voice low. "The achievements of the cooks, the spoils of the White Fox Guards, Zhao Chenglie's attack, and Su Wan's protective register have all been recorded. Lieutenant General Lu personally oversaw the posting."

Chen Mu closed his eyes.

This feels like coming back to life.

Suddenly, a low murmur arose outside the tent.

Chen Mu listened intently for a moment.

It wasn't barbarians, nor the Black Tiger Camp; it was the cooks from the Cook's Battalion reading out names in front of the merit list. Someone who wasn't very literate misread Old Chai's name, and was laughed at and scolded by the person next to him, so he read it again. That laughter carried the hoarseness of someone who had survived a calamity, and also a confidence he had never had before.

As Chen Mu listened, his fingers slowly gripped the edge of the couch.

He knew why he had to wake up.

Holding the north wall is only the first layer. The real challenge is keeping that notice alive. If the notice lives, the cooks will believe their lives are valuable; if the notice dies, all the blood shed last night will become a filthy stain on the pen of the powerful.

Lin Qinghe saw that he was using force, so she reached out and pried his knuckles apart one by one.

"If you keep doing this, the wound will reopen."

Chen Mu glanced at her.

Her eyes were filled with exhaustion, but her words remained defiant. The medicine box rested beside her knees, its lid slightly ajar, filled with bandages, powder, and a small packet of heated salt. Clearly, she hadn't slept a wink all night.

He said softly, "You've worked hard."

Lin Qinghe paused, her ears turning slightly red, but she quickly suppressed it.

"Stop talking about that." She shoved the medicine bowl into his hands. "If you really think I'm suffering, then stand up less often."

Lin Qinghe held the medicine to his lips. The medicine tasted bitter, and the steam made her eyes red. She didn't scold him anymore, but simply lowered the rim of the bowl so he could drink it sip by sip.

Suddenly, the sound of armor plates clashing came from outside the tent.

Lu Shuangyi lifted the curtain and came in.

She wasn't wearing a cloak, and her silver armor still bore the ash marks left from the north wall. Zhou Tie followed behind her, holding a military document bearing the seal of the Commander.

Chen Mu's eyes cleared when he saw the document.

"Is Han Zhao in charge of escorting them?"

Lu Shuangyi was not surprised.

"The messenger had already finished reading it before you fainted."

As Lu Shuangyi put the documents away, a series of footsteps outside the tent suddenly stopped.

Several cooks stood at the tent entrance, not daring to come in, and simply placed a coarse cloth bag on the snow.

Old Chai's voice rang out from outside: "Sergeant Chen, these are the iron claws and short axes we seized from the north wall. The brothers said they'd show them to you first, then put them away."

Lin Qinghe frowned, and was about to shoo him away when Chen Mu said, "Bring it in."

Zhou Tie put it into the cloth bag.

The bag was opened, revealing seven pairs of iron claws, several short axes, and two tattered pieces of leather armor. The metal objects clanged together with a dull thud. Last night, these items were hung on the White Fox Guards, intended to climb the wall and kill him; now they lay in his medical tent, becoming the cooks' next tool for scaling the wall.

Chen Mu reached out and touched the tip of the iron claw.

"You don't need to show it to me."

He looked at Lu Shuangyi.

"Enter the temporary armory of the cookhouse. Whoever surrenders it has priority in use; whoever damages it shall compensate for the damages, not for silver."

Zhou Tie was stunned for a moment.

Old Chai heard this outside the tent and immediately chuckled.

"Did you hear that? From now on, our cookhouse will have tents too!"

The suppressed laughter from outside the tent rang out again.

Lu Shuangyi did not object, but her gaze towards Chen Mu deepened.

He had been awake for less than half an incense stick's time and had already gone through the wounds, notices, certificates, and weapons.

It's as if one's own life is ranked last.

Read it to me.

Lin Qinghe frowned: "You should go to sleep now."

Chen Mu looked at Lu Shuangyi.

Lu Shuangyi paused for a moment, took the document, and spoke in a low voice, but clearly enunciated each word.

The military merits at Black Stone Fortress have been highly controversial since last night. Chen Mu, Zhao Chenglie, Zhao Hong, and Anato will be escorted to White Wolf Pass for retrial in three days. Han Zhao of the Black Tiger Battalion will be responsible for escorting them. All cases involving first merit, beheading generals, defending the city, and treason will be temporarily suspended from rewards.

The medical tent fell silent.

The fire crackled, and a few drops of water splashed out of the medicine pot.

Zhou Tie couldn't help but curse, "This isn't a review, it's handing you over to Han Zhao."

Lu Shuangyi's hand rested on the hilt of the knife, her knuckles slightly white.

"I can submit a petition in defense."

Chen Mu shook his head.

"It takes time to defend oneself."

"I can also choose not to hand over the people."

"That's the Commander of the Anti-Japanese War." Chen Mu leaned on the edge of the couch, trying to sit up. Lin Qinghe immediately pressed him down, so he had to stop. "Han Zhao is just waiting for you to defy the order. If you do, all the military achievements of Black Stone Fortress can be attributed to the Lu family's private records."

Lu Shuangyi's eyes turned cold.

She knew Chen Mu was right.

Han Zhao's blow wasn't just aimed at Chen Mu; it was aimed at the list of military merits.

Someone else stopped outside the tent.

Su Wan stood at the doorway, holding a wooden box. Her hands were wrapped in cloth, and red burn marks were visible beneath. She didn't come in, but whispered, "The supplementary register, the list of the fallen, and the few books I protected last night are all here."

Chen Mu glanced at her.

"Give it to the registrar."

The light in Su Wan's eyes dimmed slightly, but she neither cried nor offered any explanation.

"I've already submitted one copy. This one was sent to you by Dr. Lin."

Lin Qinghe pursed her lips, not denying it.

She took the wooden box and placed it beside the couch.

Chen Mu reached out, his fingertips landing on the lid of the box. The wooden box was old, with a blackened corner from the fire. Inside was not silver, nor an official seal, but something heavier than those things.

Anato's voice came from outside the tent.

"You Han Chinese are such a hassle."

She was being watched by two guards, her hands still bound, her old fur coat draped askew. She peeked inside, a smile playing in her light brown eyes.

"The person who wants to kill you is responsible for escorting you on your way; you have no choice but to go."

Zhou Tie glared at her: "Shut up."

Anato didn't shut up.

"I'm just telling the truth. White Wolf Pass isn't close to here, and there are many places along the way where you can kill someone."

Chen Mu looked at her.

"Which route is the easiest to take action on?"

Anado smiled.

"That depends on which path Han Zhao chooses."

No sooner had he finished speaking than hurried footsteps came from outside.

A guard entered the tent and handed over a wooden plaque sent by the Black Tiger Camp.

"The escort route sent by Han Zhao."

Lu Shuangyi took it, glanced at it, and her face darkened.

Chen Mu asked, "Where?"

Lu Shuangyi turned the wooden sign over.

There are three characters engraved on it.

Black Pine Ridge.

The wind outside the tent suddenly picked up, making the papers on the list of military merits rustle.

Anado's smile slowly faded.

Chen Mu stared at the wooden sign but did not speak immediately.

The name "Black Pine Ridge" seemed to drain half the warmth from the medical tent.

Zhou Tie lifted the tent flap a crack and looked outside. The cooks in front of the military merit list were still counting the spoils, and Registrar Su was copying the supplementary list with several minor officials. No one knew that a new killing plot had already been laid out on paper.

"Should we detain the person who delivered the cards?" Zhou Tie asked in a low voice.

Chen Mu shook his head.

"Detaining him won't do any good. Since Han Zhao dared to send us the route, he's not afraid of us finding out."

Lu Shuangyi said, "He wants to force you to leave."

"I also want to force you to protect him." Chen Mu looked at her. "The more you protect him, the more it will resemble the Lu family's private soldiers robbing the order; the less you protect him, the more opportunities he will have on the way."

Lu Shuangyi's face was as cold as snow.

Lin Qinghe couldn't understand all the military matters, but she understood one thing.

Chen Mu is about to set off again.

She fastened the medicine box back up, as if she had made up her mind.

"I'll follow."

Chen Mu looked at her.

Lin Qinghe did not dodge.

"You don't need to persuade me. There are wounded soldiers in the escort team, and I'm a military medic, so it's the right thing to do to go with them."

Anado chuckled softly outside the tent.

"The women around you are all incredibly good at finding excuses."

Su Wan held the wooden box, her knuckles turning white, but she didn't say anything.

Lu Shuangyi only glanced at Anato indifferently.

Anato immediately shut up.

Chen Mu placed the wooden plaque beside the couch.

"Go to the Hall of Military Merit."

Lin Qinghe's expression changed.

He added a sentence.

"Carry me there."

"That way."

She whispered.

"It's for the dead."