Dai Li jolted awake from her deep sleep. The clamor rushed into her ears like a tide. She heard someone shouting "Enemy attack!" followed by the continuous beating of gongs and drums. The silence of the night was like a shattered bronze mirror, every piece sharp enough to pierce the eardrums.
She instinctively hugged the quilt and sat up, turning her head toward the door curtain.
The tent was unlit. The curtains rolled up on both sides for ventilation let in a bit of firelight, though it wasn't bright, only illuminating the inside just enough to see beyond one's fingers. Thus, Dai Li saw a tall silhouette who had also sat up.
Qin Shaozong touched Dai Li's forehead. Finding no cold sweat, he still asked, Were you frightened, Madam?
There's an enemy attack. Could we have run into mountain bandits? Dai Li frowned, guessing.
It wasn't impossible. After all, they had many carriages, and at first glance, it indeed looked like the travel procession of wealthy merchants. In the eyes of bandits, wasn't this a guaranteed fat sheep?
Qin Shaozong got up unhurriedly. Mere bandits, what is there to fear? If we meet them, we meet them.
Dai Li's sleepiness completely vanished, and she also got up to dress. I don't know why, but I feel a bit uneasy.
Uneasy? With your husband here, how could petty thieves snatch you away? Qin Shaozong seemed to suddenly think of something, his eyes flashing. Why doesn't Madam stay in the tent and wait for good news.
Dai Li didn't stop dressing. I'd rather not. I'll go out with you to take a look.
Qin Shaozong paused slightly but said nothing.
After dressing neatly, the two stepped out of the tent together. Outside, the firelight blazed, illuminating the area as bright as day. Earlier in the tent, they had heard the clanging of gongs and drums, along with faint screams, but once they truly came out, the surroundings were not as chaotic as Dai Li had imagined.
The soldiers had poured out in full force, each holding a sharp blade, like wolves baring their sharp fangs, just waiting for the alpha's order to swarm forward.
The sound of clashing weapons came continuously from the north side of the square camp. Qin Shaozong took one look over there and laughed. A sneak attack from the north? They sure know how to pick a spot. Feng Feng, what's the situation now?
Qiao Wangfei and Wei Qing had already gone to assist. Bai Jianping stayed behind to guard the south, while Feng Feng waited outside the main tent for instructions.
Now called upon by his superior, he immediately replied, Visually, the attackers number no more than a hundred. They're likely some blind mounted bandits who learned a bit of amateur martial arts and came out to make trouble.
Qin Shaozong turned his thumb ring. A hundred or so men can be considered a fairly sizable bandit gang. Surprisingly, no news of them reached us beforehand. Leave a few alive, and try to save those useless sacks of wine and rice from the imperial court.
Feng Feng: Understood.
Hearing the north, Dai Li also looked over and, sure enough, saw that the north had fallen into chaos. People were raising their swords to hack and kill, the shiny blades reflecting a chilling light.
Second Uncle, Second Aunt...
Dai Li turned her head and saw Shi Rongyue with her hair down.
The little girl's face was pale. It was her first time encountering such a thing, and being young, she was still in shock.
It's cold at night. Why didn't Rongrong put on more clothes before coming out? Their tents were close to each other, so Dai Li simply ushered the girl back to where she came from. Don't worry. The enemy's numbers are far fewer than ours. Your Second Uncle will handle it.
Shi Rongyue was coaxed back inside by Dai Li.
Emerging from the little girl's tent, Dai Li suddenly shuddered.
With such a big commotion tonight, even Rongrong ran out. Why had there been no movement from Zhou Zhou and Qinian's side? Could it be...
Dai Li quickened her pace, bypassing the main tent and Qin Shaozong, who stood in front of it, and headed straight for the brothers' tent.
The door curtain of that tent fluttered slightly in the wind, obviously unfastened from the inside. Dai Li's heart skipped a beat. Restraining the urge to lift the curtain directly, she first called out, Zhou Zhou, Qinian.
No one answered from inside.
Her heart sank to the bottom. Dai Li abruptly lifted the curtain. The firelight shone in from both sides of her, climbing onto the empty soft couch inside.
No one!
Both brothers were gone.
The distant sounds of killing seemed to magnify infinitely at this moment, as if shaking the earth along with it. Otherwise, why would she feel so dizzy that she couldn't even stand steady?
An iron arm reached out from behind her side, scooping up Dai Li, who was about to collapse onto the ground. She heard a low, slightly surprised male voice close to her ear ask, Where did those two boys go?
...
Where do you petty thieves come from? Hand your lives over to your daddy! Qin Qinian raised his sword and hacked.
The man was startled. He hadn't expected someone to suddenly pop out while he was engaged in combat, coming at him so fiercely as if carrying the momentum of thousands of troops.
However, the opponent's self-cheering roar actually did him some good, serving at least as a warning.
The man quickly pulled another short sword from his lower back, turning the blade horizontally to block. Just as he was about to mock the young upstart for being too impulsive, his expression changed the moment the blades actually clashed.
It felt as if a tremendous weight had been added to his wrist. He was already fighting one-handed, and now defending with his left hand, he couldn't bear the force.
The blades crossed for merely two breaths before his short sword was sent flying by Qin Qinian.
Li Wu, I'm coming to help you! Seeing the situation turn grim, his companion, muscles bulging, cleanly dispatched a wounded imperial soldier and prepared to step forward.
Yet before he could take two steps, a chilling, scalp-numbing murderous intent wrapped around him like a snake, making the hairs on his back stand on end.
The man instinctively turned his head and raised his blade at the same time, but unfortunately, he was a beat too late. The viper's fangs had silently approached his throat. As the blade sliced cleanly through, a line of blood sprayed out like a fountain.
A heavy body fell straight down.
Qin Yanzhou's handsome face was as cold as ice, completely devoid of emotion. He didn't even spare a glance at the fallen corpse, nor did he flick the blood off his blade, before plunging into another fray like a wild beast.
While finishing off the burly man whose short sword he had knocked away, Qin Qinian kept a portion of his attention on Qin Yanzhou. Seeing this, his eyes lit up, and he chased after him with his blade. Qin... Second Brother, how about we compete? Let's see who claims the most heads in the end.
Qin Yanzhou shifted his gaze over there for a moment, said nothing, and continued reaping lives with his blade.
The young man's inner garments were black, blending into the night as if melting into an inconspicuous pool of ink. Stabbing, thrusting, hacking, retreating, and dodging were all done in one smooth motion, flowing like water. Wherever he passed, rolling objects continuously fell to the ground.
Toward the end of the slaughter, the circle of people around Qin Yanzhou, whether they were mountain bandits or from the imperial court, unconsciously avoided him.
Deng Qianfeng had previously given orders to mainly attack the imperial soldiers and kill them if possible. The first wave of the night raid was a rain of arrows, taking down the outermost soldiers. By the time they reacted, the attackers had already penetrated a good distance under the cover of night.
But this fierce offensive didn't last long. With the arrival of reinforcements from the northern territory, the situation quickly reversed.
It's not a merchant caravan, retreat first! someone roared out of nowhere.
The attackers fought as they retreated, attempting to flee. But having suffered a silent loss, the imperial forces, seeing the northern reinforcements, couldn't swallow this insult. They immediately called out to their companions to give relentless chase.
After taking down several people in a row, Qin Yanzhou paused upon hearing the order to pursue the enemy. He finally lowered the blade in his hand and did not follow the others.
Qin Qinian originally wanted to follow Qiao Wangfei and the others in pursuit, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Qin Yanzhou stopping. He abruptly changed direction and stood before the young man. "Right now, we are strong and the enemy is weak. The situation is greatly in our favor. Why aren't you pursuing them?"
Qin Yanzhou shook his head. "No, this is enough."
Qin Qinian didn't understand. The youth frowned. "The invading enemies haven't even been annihilated, how can you say it's enough? Let's go. Brothers fight together on the battlefield, come with me to kill the enemy."
Qin Yanzhou, however, simply sheathed his blade and turned around without a word.
"Second Brother, what are you doing?" Qin Qinian was dumbfounded. He watched as the other man walked toward a nearby tent and picked up a bundle from a corner of the small tent.
Qin Qinian: "?"
He watched the young man, whose sword was sheathed, first lower his head and spread his arms as if inspecting himself. Only after confirming everything was fine did he open the bundle and take out a white robe he usually wore.
He shook out the white robe and slowly put it on, tying the waist sash and gathering his long hair up into a simple, high ponytail.
In just a moment, the man who had just been wielding a blade to slaughter enemies, as cold and sharp as a night demon, transformed into an elegant young lord.
Qin Qinian's eyes widened in shock. "You, you..."
"I'll give you my sword. If you're going to kill the enemy, you can bring it back for me when you're done." Qin Yanzhou shoved his sword into Qin Qinian's arms.
Qin Qinian instinctively hugged it. "No, you gave me your sword, so where are you going?"
"Going back. If Mother doesn't see me, she'll be worried." Qin Yanzhou turned and headed toward the main tent.
Qin Qinian looked down at the sword, then at Qin Yanzhou who was gradually walking away. He stepped forward to follow him. "You are a grown man with extraordinary martial arts skills, what is there for Mother to worry about? If you ask me, we should just follow Uncle Qiao and the others to pursue the enemy first. To think there are bandits of this scale in the North; if we don't deal with them promptly, I'm afraid they'll snowball and grow bigger and bigger..."
Although his mouth didn't stop talking, Qin Qinian's footsteps following Qin Yanzhou didn't stop either.
"Second Brother, Qin the Second, say something! If you're going to make up a lie, at least make it believable. It's just going to the battlefield to kill enemies, not putting away your sword to offer up your head. What's there to worry about?"
Qin Yanzhou suddenly stopped.
Qin Qinian thought he had changed his mind, but turning his head, he saw their parents and Feng Feng standing not far away. The people nearby noticed their gazes and looked over.
He didn't know if it was his imagination, but in the flickering firelight, his mother's eyes were much brighter than usual, as if a pool of tears was welling up in them.
Seeing the two brothers' attire, Qin Shaozong couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
The taller one was neatly dressed in a clean and tidy white robe, looking completely spotless. The shorter one was holding a sword, his hair disheveled, wearing black inner garments, with a drop of blood splattered on his face from who knows where.
One white and one black, a stark contrast.
When Dai Li saw Qin Yanzhou return, her pupils suddenly contracted. She hurriedly looked him up and down. Seeing him in snow-white, with not much dirt or dust on him, let alone bloodstains, the heart that had been in her throat finally settled down.
With people coming and going around them, it wasn't a place to talk. Dai Li pursed her lips and looked away, not looking at Qin Yanzhou again.
Seeing that his mother had no intention of speaking and wasn't even looking at him anymore, Qin Yanzhou's eyelashes couldn't help but tremble.
As gazes gathered from all around, he had no intention of putting Dai Li on the spot, so he only said to Qin Shaozong, "Father, Garrison Chief Qiao and Garrison Chief Wei have led men to pursue the enemy."
Qin Shaozong took in his micro-expressions. "Then leave it to them. You two go back and rest. They are just some petty thieves anyway, no need to make a big fuss."
With that said, there was nothing left for the two brothers to do tonight.
The atmosphere stagnated slightly. At this moment, Dai Li finally spoke, "Qin Yanzhou, come with me."
Qin Qinian watched Dai Li and Qin Yanzhou walk further and further away, scratching his head in confusion. "What's wrong with Mother and Second Brother?"
"You want to know?" Qin Shaozong suddenly asked.
Qin Qinian belatedly realized he had spoken his thoughts aloud. He hesitantly nodded and said he did, but saw that his father didn't say anything, only lifting his chin in the direction the two had left.
Qin Qinian said uncertainly, "But Mother didn't call me just now."
Qin Shaozong clicked his tongue in distaste.
...
Dai Li led the person directly to a tent used for storing supplies. There was no one else here, making it a good place to talk.
Qin Yanzhou followed Dai Li inside. Seeing a rolling pin resting on a stack of wooden crates nearby, he picked it up without hesitation, then lifted his robe and knelt down, holding the rolling pin high with both hands. "Your son has gone against Mother's expectations, I beg for your punishment."
Dai Li hadn't been able to find him earlier and was both shocked and terrified, afraid something had happened to him. When she saw Qin Yanzhou return in one piece, the panic in her heart quickly morphed into anger.
Now seeing him voluntarily asking for punishment, the flames of her anger surged even higher. Dai Li snatched the rolling pin, pointed it at him, and scolded angrily, "Qin Yanzhou, what did I tell you before? It just goes in one ear and out the other, doesn't it? Do you really think I can't bear to hit you?!"
"Master said, 'Learn the arts of literature and martial combat to serve the imperial family.' However, the world is like this now. Your son has received the grace of the Qin family and is in the Qin army, how could I sit by and ignore a night attack by scoundrels?" The young man lowered his eyes.
Hearing his plausible arguments, Dai Li's fury reached its peak. Unable to hold back, she struck his arm with the rolling pin. "It seems you haven't listened to a single word I said before."
The young man kowtowed. There were no wooden boards underneath, so this kowtow wasn't as loud as the first, but his attitude was firmer than before. "Mom, going to the front lines is not a difficult thing. You see, I went, and I came back safely."
Dai Li was trembling with anger. "Qin Yanzhou, you are dead set on doing this, aren't you?"
He slowly straightened up. "I have already come of age. Please give me your permission."
Dai Li was so angry her head was buzzing. Just as she was about to strike again, she suddenly saw a pair of dark eyes peeking through the gap in the wind-blown tent curtain.
The other party didn't seem to expect to be discovered, and those somewhat round eyes blinked. Soon, the curtain was lifted, and the youth, who was still growing, cautiously stepped inside.
"Mother..." Qin Qinian felt the atmosphere was a bit strange.
He had just arrived and heard the gist of it; it seemed Mother didn't agree to let Qin the Second go to the front lines.
Dai Li took a deep breath, trying hard to restrain her anger. But before she could say anything, she unexpectedly saw Qin Qinian kneel down beside Qin Yanzhou.
Dai Li paused.
"Mother, I also went to the front lines just now." Qin Qinian glanced at the rolling pin in Dai Li's hand.
For some reason, Dai Li inexplicably felt a hint of eager anticipation from him.
She had only raised one child before, but she had heard from colleagues with a second child that the most important thing in raising children is to treat them equally—people do not worry about scarcity, but rather about uneven distribution.
You can't give love and good things to only one, nor can you punish one and not the other.
In the past, Dai Li just listened to it for fun, after all, Zhou Zhou was an only child, but now there was another one...
Holding the rolling pin, Dai Li hesitated for a couple of breaths before finally striking Qin Qinian's arm as well. "There are so many soldiers in the army, do the two of you need to keep rushing to the front?"
Receiving this light tap, Qin Qinian's previous caution vanished in a poof, replaced by the comfort of a large dog being scratched in just the right spot.
Dai Li: "..."
Dai Li was both angry and amused, and after all this commotion, the burning anger in her heart had finally subsided a little. "You are both young men now, in your late teens and twenties. Be more careful with your actions from now on."
The two of them nodded in unison.
Dai Li glanced at the brothers, said nothing more, and turned to leave.
"My Lord, the enemy's remnant forces have retreated into the mountains. They are familiar with the terrain and used the cover of night to escape," Qiao Wangfei reported, his face flush with shame.
Qin Shaozong asked, "Were any kept alive?"
"We struck down forty-two men this time and captured five alive." Wei Qing looked troubled. "My Lord, the casualties on the imperial court's side are rather heavy. Out of their twenty men, ten have died. Beyond that, Attendant Guo is the most severely injured."
Qin Shaozong raised an eyebrow slightly. "How severe? Half-dead?"
The brazier to the side flickered wildly in the wind, casting a gloomy shadow over Wei Qing's expression. "The man lost an arm. I don't know if he lost his mind from the shock or if he harbors ulterior motives, but at the very beginning, he actually yelled, 'The North goes too far in bullying others!'"
Right at this moment, Qin Yanzhou and Qin Qinian returned.
Hearing this, Qin Qinian found it utterly baffling. "He is as fragile as a twig and got his own hand chopped off. What does that have to do with our North? He can't just shove all the blame onto us simply because he was traveling with our group."
Qin Shaozong narrowed his long, slender eyes and suddenly ordered Wei Qing, "Keep a close watch on those five captives. Gag their mouths tightly right away. You absolutely must not let them commit suicide."